Red cards in cricket set to be introduced for ‘most extreme’ behaviour
Cricket is set to implement laws to introduce a red card for ‘most extreme’ on-field behaviour into the laws of the game for the very first time.
Custodian of cricket laws, the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) have proposed the new law to discipline players and give umpires the power to send off players for on-field incidents.
Cricket fans will remember when Glenn McGrath was amusingly shown a red card by umpire Billy Bowden during a Twenty20 match between Australia and New Zealand in 2005.
MCC committee chairman Mike Brearley said that the red card system would be used for players ‘threatening an umpire, physically assaulting another player, umpire, official or spectator, or any other act of violence on the field of play’.
The laws are set to be introduced at all levels of cricket and could come into effect as early as next October.
Hat-trick hero Vardy steers foxes to a win against Man City
Jamie Vardy bagged a hat-trick in a goal fest at the King Power stadium against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, beating the northerners 4-2.
The foxes went up two goals in two minutes as Jamie Vardy broke his goal drought with his maiden hat-trick for Leicester City, pulling them up into 14th position and 4 points clear of the relegation zone.
Pep Guardiola’s side were stunned when Jamie Vardy and Andy King put the Premier League champions a couple of goals up in two minutes. After 20 minutes it was a mountain to climb for the visitors as Vardy scored another to make it 3-0.
Two late goals by Kolarov and Nolito did nothing put add two consolation goals for the blue side of Manchester who have conceded three or more goals in back-to-back league games, a first for Guardiola as a manager.
Foxes boss, Claudio Ranieri said: ‘It was the true Leicester, maybe because we have played so badly in our last few matches, but today we were so strong.’
Anthony Joshua beats Molina and announces Klitschko fight
Anthony Joshua defeated Éric Molina to defend his IBF heavyweight title with a a third-round stoppage win.
Graphic: pre-fight stats by Renuka Odedra
The 27-year-old never looked in the slightest threatened by his opponent at the Manchester Arena as he landed an overhand right punch to take the American down in his own corner.
Although Molina did manage to get up for a short time, it was all over after a barrage of blows from Joshua sealed the Americans fate, as referee Steve Gray called off the fight.
But overshadowing the fight was the announcement right after his win, when promoter, Eddie Hearn confirmed the anticipated big clash between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko.
It will take place at Webley stadium on the 29th of April next year. The fight could break the all-time British record for attendance, which was set in 1939, when 90,000 watched heavyweights Len Harvey and Jock McAvoy at the White City Stadium.
Eddie Hearn said: ‘The fight will hopefully be for the WBA, IBF and Ring Magazine belts.
The official press conference will take place at Wembley next Wednesday and tickets will go on sale before Christmas’.
Formula 1 confirm return of French GP in 2018
It’s been confirmed that the French GP at the Paul Ricard circuit will return to the Formula 1 calendar in 2018.
It’s been a decade since there has been a French GP race and the lasy at the Paul Ricard circuit was in 1990. The cicuit is in the south of France close to Marseille.
French driver Romain Grosjean tweeted his delight at the return of the Grand Prix to France: ‘Really super happy for French fans who will have their Grand Prix and who can come support us!’.
It’s the second European circuit to return to the race calendar after the Austrian GP was reintroduced in 2014.
Meanwhilst it was confirmed that the German Grand Prix will be dropped for next year in a revised 20 race calendar as it was revealed that talks between Hockenheim promoters and Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone broke down.
Novak Djokovic parts ways with coach Boris Becker
Novak Djokovic has decided to stop working with Becker after three years, winning six Grrand Slams under the German coach.
There was an air of uncertainty as to whether the pair would continue working next season when Djokovic admitted in Shanghai in October that they still have not talked about a new deal.
Djokovic put up a post on Facebook saying: ‘After three very successful years, Boris Becker and I have jointly decided to end our cooperation. The goals we set when we started working together have been completely fulfilled, and I want to thank him for the cooperation, teamwork, dedication and commitment’.
The split is reported to be ‘mutual’ as Becker told Sky Sports: “If somebody would have told us three years ago we are going to win six Grand Slams together, regain the number one spot in the world and just be the most dominant player, I would have signed up for that”.
Djokovic who has had a tough six months and surprising loss of form as the Serbian struggled in major grand slams. He exited Wimbledon in the third round, lost to Stan Wawrinka in the US final, before losing to Andy Murray in the ATP world tour finals.
After it seemed like it couldn’t get worse for the 29-year-old he lost his world end number one to Britain’s Andy Murray.
Boxing grieves the suspected murder of Alejandro Gonzalez Jr. aged 23
Reports suggest that the boxer was found dead near his home in Guadalajara, Mexico at the young age of 23, reportedly with two other victims in a vehicle.
Gonzalez was widely known as ‘Corbita’ as he’s the son of former two-time world titleholder Alejandro ‘La Cobrita’ Gonzalez.
He had an impressive record of 25 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses, including 15 knockouts to his name.
Carl Frampton who faced Gonzalez in El Paso, Texas in 2015 paid tribute to his former opponent, tweeting: ‘Just hearing the tragic news about Alejandro Gonzalez Jr. One of the nicest guys I’ve shared a ring with. RIP Champ #Corbita’.
McLaren report implicates Russian doping as ‘institutional conspiracy’
A report commissioned for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) update by Canadian law professor, Richard McLaren, suggests that a ‘systematic and centralised cover up’ could involve more than 1,000 athletes across 30 different sports at the Olympics and Paralympics.
Russian state-sponsored doping allegations have been ubiquitous ever since whistle-blowers have come forward to shed light on the rife doping practices initially in athletics involving, in particular, Russian Athletes.
Russian anti-doping laboratory director Grigory Rodchenkov came forward to the New York Times last year to claim that he was ordered to conceal drug use by 15 medal winners at the Sochi 2014 winter Olympics.
Key findings of the report:
• Upwards of 1,000 Russian athletes benefited from doping.
• There was an “institutional conspiracy” among athletes and officials within the Ministry of Sport and the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB).
• “Systematic and centralised cover up” in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympics and continued until 2015.
• London 2012 games were corrupted “on an unprecedented scale”.
• Urine samples were swapped and became a regular practice after the 2014 Sochi Games.
• Male DNA found in samples from two female hockey players.
India run riot as England are on the brink of another Test defeat
Unstoppable Virat Kohli put a commanding 235 runs on the board, with the help of Jayant Yadav’s 104, they helped India to a total of 631, leading by 231 runs.
Kohli hit 26 boundaries to dismantle any real hope of England winning and has been in record-breaking form this year.
He has scored the highest test score by an Indian captain and Indian batsman against England. Not only that but he also became the first Indian player to score three Test double centuries in one year.
Bowler James Anderson is still keeping hopes up for England to win this game: ‘We’re not going to come out of this game with a draw; we want to win this game.’
‘We’re going to have to bat extremely well tomorrow. We’ve got to keep believing.’
India lead the Test, leaving the tourists trailing 2-0 in the series.
