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Sports<br />
21<br />
SUNDAY, JULY <strong>23</strong>, <strong>2017</strong><br />
DT<br />
Ashes might<br />
be scrapped<br />
• AFP, Sydney<br />
Australia’s cricketers have been<br />
warned this year’s Ashes series<br />
could be scrapped, even if a new pay<br />
deal is reached with the game’s governing<br />
body, reports said yesterday.<br />
ACA chief Alistair Nicholson has<br />
warned the players via email the<br />
showpiece Test series against England,<br />
due to begin in Brisbane on<br />
November <strong>23</strong>, is under threat.<br />
Negotiations over a new Memorandum<br />
of Understanding between<br />
players and CA have all but broken<br />
down, although Nicholson and CA<br />
counterpart James Sutherland are<br />
scheduled to meet today, Fairfax Media<br />
said. CA said it was surprised and<br />
perplexed by the ACA’s claims but<br />
would not comment on key details.<br />
Australia’s next series is a Test<br />
tour of Bangladesh in August.<br />
While the Ashes are four months<br />
away, much preparation, including<br />
broadcast inventory and sponsorship<br />
and advertising deals, must be locked<br />
in far earlier, Fairfax Media said.<br />
It added that the players had<br />
thought the two parties had<br />
reached common ground since<br />
Sutherland joined negotiations<br />
earlier this month. •<br />
Lord’s to cut<br />
down on booze<br />
• AFP, London<br />
English cricket ground Lord’s is<br />
clamping down on alcohol allowance<br />
for fans after a recent “incident” at<br />
the first Test between England and<br />
South Africa, the Marylebone Cricket<br />
Club announced.<br />
Fans at the famous stadium<br />
have long been allowed to bring in<br />
as much of their own booze as they<br />
like, but new rules suggest that this<br />
will be a thing of the past.<br />
Lord’s members may only be<br />
allowed to take up to two pints of<br />
beer into the grounds if it is under<br />
6% alcohol, or a single 75cl bottle<br />
of wine if it is between six and 18%<br />
- the same restrictions as Wimbledon.<br />
“Amounts of alcohol in excess of<br />
these limits...will be confiscated,”<br />
said the MCC. •<br />
DAY’S WATCH<br />
FOOTBALL<br />
TEN 2<br />
3:00AM<br />
International Champions Cup <strong>2017</strong><br />
Real Madrid v Man United<br />
CRICKET<br />
STAR SPORTS 1<br />
3:00PM<br />
ICC Women’s World Cup<br />
Final: England v India<br />
India’s Mithali Raj bats during training yesterday, ahead of their Women’s World Cup final against England today<br />
India will offer England stern test in final<br />
• Reuters<br />
England start as favourite to lift<br />
their fourth Women’s World Cup<br />
title at Lord’s today, but face an<br />
Indian side high on confidence<br />
after knocking out defending<br />
champion Australia in the semifinal.<br />
Indian middle-order batter<br />
Harmanpreet Kaur took centre<br />
stage with an unbeaten 171 and<br />
was backed by a disciplined<br />
performance by her bowlers as<br />
India pulled off a 36-run upset<br />
win over six-time world champion<br />
Australia.<br />
England, captained by Heather<br />
Knight, edged out South Africa<br />
by two wickets in the other semifinal,<br />
and hold the head-to-head<br />
advantage over India in the 50-<br />
over format at World Cups, with six<br />
wins to the visitor’s four.<br />
But the Indian squad’s ability<br />
to grind out results under pressure<br />
will not have gone unnoticed, least<br />
of all by the English, who were<br />
beaten by India by 35 runs in their<br />
first match of the tournament.<br />
Since that defeat the host have<br />
won seven matches in a row to<br />
reach the final.<br />
Knight and opening batter<br />
Tammy Beaumont have been<br />
consistent at the top of the order,<br />
scoring 750 runs in the tournament<br />
so far, while the reliable Natalie<br />
Sciver at No 4 is the only player to<br />
have recorded two centuries.<br />
India, skippered by Mithali Raj,<br />
are chasing their first World Cup<br />
title and are known for their strong<br />
batting line-up, but it is their spin<br />
bowling trio that has wreaked the<br />
INTERNET<br />
most havoc during the tournament.<br />
Off-spinner Deepti Sharma has<br />
been the key to their success in the<br />
middle overs, picking up 12 wickets<br />
on her World Cup debut.<br />
Sharma has been backed by<br />
leg-spinner Poonam Yadav and leftarm<br />
spinner Ekta Bisht, who decimated<br />
Pakistan with a five-wicket<br />
haul earlier in the tournament.<br />
Raj and veteran fast bowler Jhulan<br />
Goswami are the only two members<br />
from the last Indian side that reached<br />
a World Cup final - when they lost to<br />
Australia in 2005. •<br />
Bangla Bantams to help<br />
disadvantaged fans enjoy<br />
Bradford matches<br />
• Agencies<br />
A Bradford City supporters’ group<br />
is looking to raise £10,000 to enable<br />
deprived members of the community<br />
to watch the club’s games.<br />
The Bangla Bantams is looking<br />
to raise the cash through crowdfunding<br />
to give people from across<br />
the Bradford district, specifically<br />
U-16s and their families, free tickets<br />
to a Bantams home match at<br />
Valley Parade this season.<br />
The scheme has been running at<br />
the club since 2015, but its organisers<br />
are now looking to expand it<br />
after initially giving tickets to residents<br />
of Manningham.<br />
The appeal total would be spent<br />
on travel expenses for its volunteers<br />
on matchdays, and transportation<br />
costs.<br />
It also aims to introduce more<br />
girls to the sport and the club and<br />
will be open to people from all<br />
faiths and cultures.
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