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England all-rounder Ben Stokes has been named Wisden's leading cricketer in the world for the second year in a row. Stokes, 29, is the first Englishman to win the award twice since its inception in 2004. He scored more Test runs than any other batsman in 2020, with 641 in seven matches, while also taking 19 wickets. Kent all-rounder Darren Stevens has become the oldest person since 1933 to be named as one of Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year. Stevens, 44, is

Liverpool's Champions League campaign ended in disappointment as Real Madrid set up a semi-final meeting with Chelsea by keeping Jurgen Klopp's side at bay in a goalless draw at Anfield. Real arrived at Anfield protecting a 3-1 lead from the first leg and while they eventually went through in relative comfort Liverpool will curse themselves for missing several glorious first-half chances. Mohamed Salah shot straight at Real keeper Thibaut Courtois, who also saved well from James Milner, in the opening moments and shot

LIVERPOOL: Liverpool can mount another memorable Champions League comeback at Anfield when they take on a depleted Real Madrid in the quarter-final, second leg but they cannot afford any more defensive errors, manager Juergen Klopp said on Tuesday (Apr 13). Down 3-1 from the first leg, Klopp's side find themselves in a near-impossible situation in the knockouts again and will seek inspiration from their 2019 semi-final comeback against Barcelona when they 4-0 to advance with a 4-3 aggregate score. With their backs against

TOKYO: Holding the postponed Tokyo Olympics this summer will be "really difficult" given a spike in COVID-19 infections across Japan, the head of the Tokyo Medical Association has warned. Haruo Ozaki sounded the alarm as rising daily cases prompt new coronavirus restrictions in Tokyo and elsewhere in Japan. "If infections spread further, in reality it would be difficult to hold the Olympics in its regular form with athletes coming from various countries, even if the Games are held with no spectators," the Sports

Spain and Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos faced a new setback in a season littered with injury problems when his club said on Tuesday he had tested positive for COVID-19. Ramos has been nursing a calf injury since April 1 which led him to miss his side’s 3-1 win over Liverpool in their Champions League quarter-final first leg and Saturday’s 2-1 victory over rivals Barcelona in La Liga. The central defender, 35, who underwent knee surgery in February, had already been ruled out

Rajasthan Royals and England all-rounder Ben Stokes will miss the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season after breaking his finger in their opening match, his franchise said on Tuesday. Stokes sustained the injury while fielding during Monday’s narrow four-run loss to Punjab Kings, where he bowled only one over and was dismissed for a duck after opening the innings in the run chase. The Royals said the 29-year-old will not be returning to England yet. “Subsequent investigations revealed that he sustained

Fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece recorded a 6-3, 6-4 win over Aslan Karatsev of Russia on Tuesday in their second-round match at the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco. Tsitsipas smashed four aces en route to dispatching Karatsev in one hour, 24 minutes. He advanced to the third round of the tournament for the second straight edition. “I’m putting (in) hours on the court, trying to become consistent (and) get close to the legends of our sport,” Tsitsipas said. “I am working every

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson was the recipient of the Sir Richard Hadlee medal as player of the year for the fourth time in six years at the country’s 2020-21 cricket awards on Tuesday. Williamson, the number one test batsman, also bagged the International Test Player of the Year award as he led from the front with New Zealand winning 17 of 20 matches across all formats played over their summer, winning all seven series. The 30-year-old plundered test runs which included double

SEVILLE, Spain -Chelsea hung on to reach the Champions League semi-finals with a 2-1 aggregate win despite Mehdi Taremi’s stunning overhead kick in added time handing Porto a 1-0 victory in the quarter-final second leg on Tuesday. The substitute had been responsible for his side’s only attempt on target as they chased a 2-0 deficit from last week’s first leg but he provided an emphatic response in a cagey game with his acrobatic strike deep into added time. Thomas Tuchel’s side had a

PARIS - Bayern Munich felt the best team did not reach the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday after they went out on away goals but Paris St Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino reminded them that as well as a beautiful game football was a fight. PSG had struggled in the quarter-final first leg in Munich but won 3-2 thanks to their ruthless efficiency in front of goal and Bayern’s Joshua Kimmich and Thomas Mueller were confident the German champions would go through at the

Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic will miss Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City at Wembley due to a hamstring injury, manager Thomas Tuchel said. Kovacic missed Tuesday’s 1-0 Champions League quarter-final second leg defeat by Porto, though Chelsea still reached the last four 2-1 on aggregate and will face either Real Madrid or Liverpool. “(On Monday) in training he got a muscle injury in his hamstring after 20 minutes, more or less out of nothing,” Tuchel said after Tuesday’s game. “He is for

Mixed doubles will return for the 2021 French Open after being cancelled last year because of Covid-19 restrictions. The draw will feature 16 pairs, rather than the usual 32, when the tournament begins in May. Latisha Chan of Taiwan and Croatia's Ivan Dodig are the two-time defending champions on the Roland Garros clay. The French Open will run from 30 May to 13 June after being pushed back by a week in the hope that more spectators will be able to attend. Source:

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel said reaching the last four of the Champions League is a "great achievement" as the Blues moved into the semi-finals for the first time since 2014. Chelsea will play either Liverpool or Real Madrid for a place in the final after a 2-1 aggregate win over Porto. "We will become a strong side," he told BT Sport after his team lost the second leg 1-0 in injury time. "We could not finish it off with a goal so we

Chelsea survived a spectacular late overhead kick from Mehdi Taremi to overcome Porto and confirm a place in the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in seven years. Thomas Tuchel's side went into this 'home' last-eight second leg - with both games being played in Seville during the current Covid-19 pandemic - protecting a two-goal lead they only briefly threatened to surrender in the dying seconds following Taremi's brilliant finish. Chelsea, who will now face either Liverpool or Real Madrid in the

With the Games just months away, the regime’s sports ministry says it wants to protect athletes from the ‘global health crisis’. North Korea’s sports ministry said on Tuesday that it will not participate in the Tokyo Olympics this year to protect its athletes amid the coronavirus pandemic. The decision was made at a meeting of North Korea’s Olympic committee, including its sports minister Kim Il guk, on 25 March the ministry said on its website, called Joson Sports. “The committee decided not to join the

Atletico Madrid went back to the top of La Liga, by only one point, after labouring to a draw against Real Betis. Defending champions Real Madrid had gone top on Saturday after beating third-placed Barcelona 2-1. Yannick Carrasco put Atletico ahead when he latched onto a loose ball and tapped home but Cristian Tello levelled with a cushioned finish. Veteran keeper Claudio Bravo made two fantastic saves in injury time to deny Angel Correa a winner for Atletico. Diego Simeone's Atletico - who

Doha: The Qatar Swimming Association (QSA) yesterday announced that it will host the General Congress of the International Swimming Federation (FINA) for the year 2021 on June 5.  QSA President Khaleel Al Jaber (pictured) in a statement said getting the hosting of the General Congress underlines Qatar’s top billing in hosting major FINA events. The assembly will witness the election of a new  FINA board of directors.  The event will be held under strict coronavirus protocols to ensure safety and health of all

The Pakistan Super League will resume on 1 June with the final on 20 June after it was postponed because of a coronavirus outbreak. The Twenty20 tournament was halted on 4 March after seven cases were reported. A June restart was initially proposed subject to a Pakistan Cricket Board-commissioned independent report into how Covid-19 protocols were breached. Those plans have now been finalised with enhanced safety measures based on the commission's findings. "The board of governors endorsed all recommendations of the fact-finding panel,

If the 74 unforced errors were not incriminating enough, Paire's latest post-mortem on tennis in a world of Covid-19 was as explosive as ever. Benoit Paire brought his tennis horror show to mainland Europe on Sunday with a predictable first round exit at the Monte Carlo Masters followed by a signature, foul-mouthed rant at the current state of a sport which has brought him $9 million in prize money. The 31-year-old lost 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/5) in three hours to Australia's Jordan

Ishikawa, who is president of an IT company, has attended every Summer Olympics since then, becoming famous as an unofficial 'International Olympic Cheerleader'. She relishes joining in with fans from everywhere to cheer for their athletes. Tokyo: Kyoko Ishikawa was a back-packing Japanese student in Barcelona in 1992 when she says a “miracle happened.” She managed to buy a ticket to the opening ceremony of Spain's historic Olympics. She said she had only “pocket money” with her — maybe $50 — when some