NZ coach says umpires are 'human' amid rule debate

Agencies
July 16, 2019

Wellington, Jul 16: New Zealand coach Gary Stead has shrugged off the debate as to whether an umpiring error cost the Black Caps dearly in the World Cup final against England, saying umpires are "human" and the result could not be changed anyway.

England beat New Zealand on boundaries after a tied Super Over, but former Australian umpire Simon Taufel suggested that the umpires had incorrectly awarded an extra over-throw run to Ben Stokes in the 50th over when the ball deflected off his bat on the way to the boundary.

While Taufel said it was an "error of judgment" by the umpires, he added that it was "unfair" to say the extra run had decided the outcome.

Stead was also sympathetic with the umpires and said he had accepted his team's heart-breaking defeat at Lord's.

"At the end of the day the umpires are there to rule and they're human as well and like players sometimes errors are made," he told New Zealand media.

"That's just the human aspect of the sport and probably why we care so much as well."

The manner of England's win has sparked fierce debate around the world and some level of angst in New Zealand, where disappointed fans vented their fury on social media.

The extra run aside, former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson was unhappy that the Super Over was used as a tiebreaker, followed by total boundaries scored.

"Using a Super Over to decide it was farcical and the International Cricket Council needs to give itself an uppercut for even entertaining it as a tiebreaker," he wrote in a column for Fairfax media.

Stead said he expected the ICC to review the way future finals were decided but added there was nothing New Zealand could do now.

"I'm sure there's going to be many things they will look at over the whole tournament," he said.

"I'm sure when they're writing the rules they never expect the world cup final to happen like that so I'm sure it'll be reviewed, absolutely.

"It's a very, very hollow feeling that you can play 100 overs and score the same amount of runs and still lose the game. But that's the technicalities of sport sometimes."

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News Network
May 9,2020

May 9: Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has donated an undisclosed amount to financially help 4,000 underprivileged people, including children from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) schools, amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tendulkar made the donation to the Hi5 Foundation, a non-profit organisation based out of Mumbai.

“Best wishes to team Hi5 for your efforts in supporting families of daily wage earners,” Tendulkar tweeted.

The organisation, through a tweet, thanked Tendulkar for doing his bit for the needy.

“Thanks @sachin_rt for proving once again that #sports encourages compassion! Your generous donation towards our #COVID19 fund enables us to financially aid 4000 underprivileged people, including children from @mybmc schools. Our budding sportspersons thank you, Little Master!”

The legendary batsman had earlier contributed Rs 25 lakh each to Prime Minister’s Relief Fund and Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for the country’s fight against COVID-19. Tendulkar had earlier pledged to bear the cost of feeding 5,000 people for a month in a couple of areas in Mumbai.

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News Network
July 5,2020

Colombo, Jul 5: Sri Lanka batsman Kusal Mendis was on Sunday arrested for knocking down a pedestrian while driving, police said.

Mendis hit a 74-year-old man, killing him in the wee hours, in the Colombo suburb of Panadura.

He is to be produced before a magistrate later today, police said.

The 25-year-old wicket-keeper batsman has represented Sri Lanka in 44 Tests and 76 ODIs. Mendis was part of the national squad which had resumed training after the Covid-19 lockdown.

Sri Lanka's international assignments, including a tour by India, have been cancelled due to the pandemic.

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News Network
January 17,2020

Jan 17: Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza cruised into the women's doubles final of the Hobart International with her Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok here on Friday.

Sania and Kichenok sailed past the Slovenian-Czech pair of Tamara Zidansek and Marie Bouzkova 7-6 (3) 6-2 in the semifinal contest that lasted one hour and 24 minutes.

The fifth-seeded Indo-Ukrainian combination will lock horns with second seeds Shuai Peng and Shuai Zhang of China. The Chinese pair got a walkover after Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens and Alison Van Uytvanck conceded the other semifinal match because of injury.

While Sania and Kichenok had to fight hard in the opening set, the second set was a cakewalk for the combination.

The first set was a tough contest between the two pairs, bringing the tie-breaker into the equation after it was level at 6-6.

In the tie-breaker, Sania and Kichenok upped their game by a few notches to outsmart their opponents and take the lead.

The second set was a no-contest as Saina and Kichenok broke their opponents thrice -- in the second, sixth and eighth game -- to easily pocket the set and a place in the summit clash.

Saina and Kichenok got 11 break chances out of which they converted four, while their opponents utilised two out of the five break chances that came their way.

The 33-year-old Sania is returning to the WTA circuit after two years. During her time away from the game, she battled injury breakdowns before taking a formal break in April 2018 to give birth to her son Izhaan. She is married to Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik.

Before the ongoing event, Sania last played at China Open in October 2017.

A trailblazer in Indian tennis, Sania is a former world No.1 in doubles and has six Grand Slam titles to her credit.

She retired from the singles competition in 2013 after becoming the most successful Indian woman tennis player.

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