Year of welcome surprises generated by World Test Championship

A thrilling Test match was won by Australia when India collapsed in the final session of the final day in their crucial ICC World Test Championship clash. (AFP)
A thrilling Test match was won by Australia when India collapsed in the final session of the final day in their crucial ICC World Test Championship clash. (AFP)
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Updated 02 January 2025
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Year of welcome surprises generated by World Test Championship

Year of welcome surprises generated by World Test Championship
  • Despite certain flaws, the WTC has been one of ICC’s best initiatives, encapsulating Test cricket’s unpredictability

LONDON: There have been encouraging signs for lovers of Test cricket toward the end 2024. This is just as well because the T20 franchise season is almost upon us. There are those who are convinced that the T20 format is the only way of the future, but this seems disrespectful of the game’s oldest format.

One factor that seems to have assisted Test cricket was the creation of the World Test Championship by the International Cricket Council.

It comprises nine of the 12 ICC full members and is played on a two-year cycle. The first one, 2019-2021, was interrupted by COVID-19, with New Zealand beating India in the final. India also reached the final of the 2021-2023 cycle, but Australia triumphed. The WTC provides a framework for Test cricket by which teams are rated on the basis of results. The concept was first mooted as far back as 1996. It took until 2010 for agreement to be reached on its structure but was shelved in 2013 due to financial considerations. 

The eventual tournament structure consists of 69 matches played between the nine teams across 27 series. Each team plays six series, three at home and three away, with each series containing two to five Test matches. The two teams with the highest number of points progress to the final. 

Critics point to severe flaws in this structure. International cricket’s packed calendar means that not all teams play long series. Logistical challenges are too great to overcome to allow a home-and-away format. India and Pakistan do not play each other, while Test cricket is not financially viable outside of Australia, England and India.

It is quite an achievement, therefore, that South Africa is the first team to qualify for the final, which will be played in June, 2025, at Lords. This was achieved via six two-Test series against India, West Indies, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Pakistan. The last of these is currently in play against Pakistan. The first match was laden with drama. South Africa’s cricketing history contains many near misses and self-induced disasters, including the 2024 T20 World Cup final. Needing 30 runs from 30 deliveries, with six wickets in hand, South Africa lost by seven runs.     

Another disaster seemed a distinct possibility at Centurion Park, Pretoria. Requiring only 148 for victory, South Africa slumped to 99 for eight in the face of superb fast bowling by Pakistan. Then, Kagiso Rabada, batting at number ten and Marco Jansen, batting at eight, shared a 51-run partnership to secure victory. Celebrations, no doubt tinged with relief, erupted. Sadly, there were few people there to witness the event.

This was not the case in Melbourne, where an equally thrilling Test match was won by Australia when India collapsed in the final session of the final day. Requiring 340 to win, India seemed to have set out to draw the match. At tea, the strategy looked to be working, India reaching 122 from three in 54 overs. A carelessly given-away wicket sparked the loss of seven wickets for 30 runs. Over the five days, the Test had been watched by 373,691 spectators, a new record for a Test match in Australia.

Australia’s captain, Pat Cummins, was awarded player of the match for his performance with both ball and bat. His leadership qualities seem to know no bounds. His opposite number, Rohit Sharma, had a disappointing match. It is likely for both him and Virat Kohli to be the last series that they play in Australia. The team’s chances of making the WTC final are also fading.

Two months ago, it looked like Australia and India would be the two to reach the final. Now, it is Australia whose chances are the brightest. After a fifth Test against India next week, they have a two-match series against Sri Lanka to navigate. India’s cause was dealt a blow in a surprising twist of fate. After being beaten on tour in August in an ODI series by Sri Lanka for the first time in 27 years, the Test team lost all three matches to New Zealand in October. This ended India’s 12-year unbeaten run in Tests at home. It has not been an auspicious start to Gautam Gambhir’s term as full-time head coach.   

In the race to join South Africa in the WTC final, Australia is in second place in the standings and India is third. The standings are calculated on the basis of the percentage of points won out of the total number of points contested. Twelve points are awarded for a win, a tie draw earns six points, a draw earns four, while points are deducted for slow-over rates. Australia’s percentage of points won is 61.46, while India’s is 52.78.   

Australia requires one win from three remaining Tests — India at home and Sri Lanka away — to reach the final. India must win the final Test of their series against Australia and then rely on Sri Lanka to beat or draw with Australia. Sri Lanka has its own slim hopes. If the fifth Test between Australia and India ends in a draw and Sri Lanka wins both Tests against Australia at home, it will secure a place in the final.

A South Africa v Sri Lanka WTC final would be a major surprise and would probably lead to more concentrated criticism of the championship. In South Africa’s case, it would reopen accusations that it has disrespected Test cricket by sending a weakened squad to New Zealand in early 2024. This was because the top players were required to play in the SA T20 domestic tournament. South Africa’s defense is that, because Test cricket does not make money, the board had little option to develop another income stream.

It is impossible to know if the prospect of appearing in the WTC final affected player and team performance in the two exciting matches that have just concluded. The final matches of the cycle may yet generate more tension. Despite its flaws, the WTC has been one of governing body’s best initiatives, encapsulating Test cricket’s unpredictability.


Pressure builds on Dortmund boss Sahin after loss at Kiel

Pressure builds on Dortmund boss Sahin after loss at Kiel
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Pressure builds on Dortmund boss Sahin after loss at Kiel

Pressure builds on Dortmund boss Sahin after loss at Kiel
Dortmund were heavily favored against their promoted opponents
Kiel have now won two of their last three to boost their chances of avoiding a direct relegation

KIEL, Germany: Borussia Dortmund’s struggles in the league continued with a 4-2 loss at Holstein Kiel on Tuesday, raising the heat on under-fire coach Nuri Sahin.
Dortmund were heavily favored against their promoted opponents, who sit second-last in the table, but were overrun as Kiel scored three goals in 22 first-half minutes.
Shuto Machino, Phil Harres and Alexander Bernhardsson found the net to have Kiel up by three at half-time.
Dortmund’s Gio Reyna and Jamie Gittens scored in the second half but the visitors could not pull off an unlikely comeback, with Jann-Fiete Arp scoring Kiel’s fourth in stoppage time.
Kiel have now won two of their last three to boost their chances of avoiding a direct relegation.
With half the season played, Dortmund sit eighth, 14 points behind league leaders Bayern Munich.
Questions will continue to be asked of coach Sahin, who replaced Edin Terzic in the summer, despite the latter taking Dortmund to the Champions League final in June.
With want-away forward Donyell Malen joining Aston Villa just an hour before kick-off, Sahin handed teenage forward Julien Duranville a starting XI debut.
In cold, foggy conditions on Germany’s northern coast, Dortmund dominated possession for much of the first half-hour, but were unable to break through the dogged hosts.
With 27 minutes gone, Kiel forced Julian Brandt into an error near his own penalty box, Bernhardsson then found Machino who blasted in the opener.
Harres, a fourth-division player this time last season, doubled Kiel’s lead with a clever header on the counter shortly afterwards.
Kiel hit a third just before half-time, Bernhardsson tapping in a Harres cross to have Dortmund reeling.
Sahin made four attacking changes in the opening 15 minutes of the second half as Dortmund pursued an unlikely comeback.
But despite goals by Reyna and Gittens, the visitors were unable to find a third, with local boy Arp scoring in the dying moments to seal a famous Kiel win.
Later on Tuesday, champions Bayer Leverkusen can close the gap on league leaders Bayern Munich with a victory at home against fifth-placed Mainz.

Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus to undergo surgery for ACL injury

Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus to undergo surgery for ACL injury
Updated 14 January 2025
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Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus to undergo surgery for ACL injury

Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus to undergo surgery for ACL injury
  • “Gabby will undergo surgery in the coming days and will soon begin his recovery,” Arsenal said
  • He is expected to miss the rest of the season

LONDON: Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus will undergo surgery for an ACL injury sustained in the team’s FA Cup loss to Manchester United on Sunday.
The Premier League club on Tuesday confirmed the Brazil international’s injury after completing scans of his left knee.
“Gabby will undergo surgery in the coming days and will soon begin his recovery and rehabilitation program,” Arsenal said in a team statement.
He is expected to miss the rest of the season, though no timetable was specified.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had earlier warned that the forward’s injury was “not looking good at all.”
Second-place Arsenal, which host Tottenham on Wednesday, are already without Bukayo Saka due to a hamstring injury.
The team are “actively looking in the market to improve the squad” during the January transfer window, Arteta added.
“It would be naive not to do that because it is always an opportunity to evolve the team and improve the squad, especially with the circumstances,” he said.
“So yes, we are looking and we are trying and let’s see what we are able to do.”


Jurgen Klopp says fans of Red Bull clubs ‘deserve good football’ as he defends new role

Jurgen Klopp says fans of Red Bull clubs ‘deserve good football’ as he defends new role
Updated 14 January 2025
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Jurgen Klopp says fans of Red Bull clubs ‘deserve good football’ as he defends new role

Jurgen Klopp says fans of Red Bull clubs ‘deserve good football’ as he defends new role
  • “I thought, do they not deserve good football?” Klopp asked, referring to the Leipzig supporters
  • Watzke said he remained friends with Klopp, but that they would no longer be able talk about Dortmund

SALZBURG: Jürgen Klopp’s charm offensive as Red Bull’s head of global soccer began in Salzburg, Austria on Tuesday when the former Liverpool manager was officially presented in his new role and hit back at critics of the move.
Klopp’s decision to join the energy drinks giant to develop its branded soccer clubs around the world has confounded fans of his previous clubs – particularly in Germany, where as coach he led Mainz to Bundesliga promotion in 2004, then Borussia Dortmund to Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012.
On Sunday, Klopp was in Leipzig to see the Red Bull-backed team reclaim fourth place with a 4-2 win over Werder Bremen.
“I thought, do they not deserve good football?” Klopp asked, referring to the Leipzig supporters. “I really felt they deserve it. And it’s not only there, it’s in Salzburg, the football fans in New York deserve it if they want to be part of that journey, in Japan, in Brazil, they deserve support, improvement, all these kind of things. That’s why I want to do it. I love football.”
But Klopp is joining an organization that’s seen by many soccer fans in Germany as the antithesis of everything they love about the game.
Supporters in Mainz responded with protests when Red Bull announced Klopp’s signing in October.
“Have you forgotten everything we gave you?” asked one banner during a match against Leipzig, referring to Klopp’s tearful farewell speech when he left the club after 18 years as a player and coach in 2008.
Klopp’s decision also stung in Dortmund.
“Jürgen knows full well he could have almost picked his job at Borussia Dortmund,” the club’s chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke told Sport Bild last month.
Watzke said he remained friends with Klopp, but that they would no longer be able talk about Dortmund. Watzke had previously said that Leipzig only existed as a marketing campaign.
“Football is played there to get a drinks can to perform,” Watzke said in 2016.
The Red Bull website pays tribute to co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz for developing “not only a new product but also a unique marketing concept” when he launched the drink in 1987.
Red Bull, which announced record turnover of 10.5 billion euros in 2023, started locally when it began investing in extreme sports in Austria in 1988. It branched into motorsport in the following year by sponsoring Austrian Formula 1 driver Gerhard Berger, and went international in 1994 by sponsoring windsurfers Robby Naish and Björn Dunkerbeck.
The company’s foray into soccer started in 2005 when it bought SV Austria Salzburg and rebranded the club with its own livery. Despite opposition from the club’s supporters, violet was discarded in favor of Red Bull’s red and white, and the club was renamed Red Bull Salzburg.
The company repeated the feat in Germany in 2009 when it purchased the playing license of fifth-tier SSV Markranstädt, and rebranded the club as it had Salzburg. The club was named Rasenballsport (lawn-ball-sport) Leipzig as the company was prohibited from using its name for the club. But it financed the team’s steady ascent to the Bundesliga, which it reached in 2016.
Klopp will oversee a stable of Red Bull-backed clubs around the world that also includes New York Red Bulls, Bragantino in Brazil and Omiya Ardija in Japan. The company also has a minority stake in second-tier English club Leeds, and is set to become a minority stakeholder in French second-division club Paris FC, which Klopp observed in action on Saturday.
“I think if you want to understand you can understand, if you don’t want to understand, you will not. That’s how it is,” Klopp said of the criticism.


Al-Fateh coach Jose Gomes admits clash with Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal is a tough test

Al-Fateh coach Jose Gomes admits clash with Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal is a tough test
Updated 14 January 2025
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Al-Fateh coach Jose Gomes admits clash with Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal is a tough test

Al-Fateh coach Jose Gomes admits clash with Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal is a tough test
  • ‘We will face one of the best teams in the history of the Saudi league,’ Gomes says
  • The sides sit at opposite ends of the league table, separated by 31 points, with Al-Hilal chasing back-to-back titles

RIYADH: Al-Fateh head coach Jose Gomes predicted his team’s clash with Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League on Thursday will be a formidable test. He acknowledged the strength of his opponents, who sit top of the league and are chasing back-to-back titles.

“We will face one of the best teams in the history of the Saudi league, a team that last season earned a place in the Guinness World Records for the most (consecutive) victories,” Gomes said on Tuesday.

The Portuguese coach, who was appointed on Dec. 15, was candid about the challenge his team faces, given that they are bottom of the league in 18th spot with just one win and three draws from 14 games.

“Without a doubt, the match will be very difficult,” he said. “We must be ready and give our best performance.”

Regarding the fitness of striker Djaniny Tavares, who has been recovering after tearing a hamstring muscle on Dec. 2, Gomes said the player is still not fully match-fit.

“When I joined the club, I reviewed his medical condition and introduced specialized exercises to aid his recovery,” he said. “He played 30 minutes in our last game against Al-Wehda but, for now, that’s his limit.”

That game, on Jan. 9, was Gomes’ first in charge and ended in a 2-1 defeat. Despite the scale of the challenge the team face in the remainder of the season, he said it is important they learn to adopt a winning mentality.

“We respect Al-Hilal,” he added. “They have excellent players and a great manager, whom I respect. However, we will head to Riyadh with one mindset: to win, because this is football.”

Al-Hilal sit top of the league on 37 points, ahead of Al-Ittihad on goal difference.


Al Rajhi takes over Dakar Rally lead after miserable stage for Lategan

Al Rajhi takes over Dakar Rally lead after miserable stage for Lategan
Updated 14 January 2025
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Al Rajhi takes over Dakar Rally lead after miserable stage for Lategan

Al Rajhi takes over Dakar Rally lead after miserable stage for Lategan
  • Lategan led the Dakar for the past week
  • Al Rajhi, like Lategan, has never won the Dakar

HARADH: Local driver Yazeed Al Rajhi took advantage of a miserable stage by South Africa’s Henk Lategan to grab the Dakar Rally lead in the Saudi Arabia desert on Tuesday.
Lategan led the Dakar for the past week, but errors and bad luck on the 357-kilometer ninth stage from Riyadh south-east to Haradh turned his overall lead of more than five minutes over Al Rajhi into a potentially decisive seven-minute deficit.
The rally has effectively two days and 400 kilometers remaining in the dunes of the Empty Quarter. The last day, Friday, is a ceremonial drive to the finish line in Shubaytah.
Al Rajhi, like Lategan, has never won the Dakar. This is the Saudi’s 11th attempt with a best finish of third in 2022. He’d been lying second since last Wednesday. The title race appears to be between only them.
Third-placed Mattias Ekström of Sweden and five-time champion Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar were about 25 minutes behind.

 


“It’s a bit of disaster to be honest,” Lategan said. “About 13 kilometers in we got lost. We thought we missed the waypoint but we actually had it. When we got lost we got one puncture and then toward the end we got another one and the wheel is actually flat. So, it was a messy, messy, messy day for us but it’s not the end of the world, we’re still in it.”
Lategan and navigator Brett Cummings were 11th on the stage and Al Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk third.
“We did a great job like we planned to,” Al Rajhi said. “We pushed well. We enjoyed it, that’s the most important. I hope everything goes well the next two or three days to win the Dakar ... I will fight to win. It won’t be easy.”
Al-Attiyah won the stage ahead of Belgium’s Guillaume de Mévius in under three hours to rise to one minute off third place overall.
His 49th car stage win, and first in the Dakar for Romanian manufacturer Dacia, lifted him to only one behind the record jointly held by Finland’s Ari Vatanen and France’s Stephane Peterhansel.
Sanders cushions motorbike lead
Australian rider Daniel Sanders bolstered his motorbike lead to nearly 15 minutes when closest challenger, Spain’s Tosha Schareina, crashed early.
The back wheel of Schareina’s Honda hit a rock and sent him flying only 20 kilometers in. He resumed racing but the nearly four minutes he finished behind Sanders dropped him in the general standings.
Schareina’s teammate Adrien van Beveren of France remained third, more than 20 minutes behind, while Sanders’ KTM teammate Luciano Benavides of Argentina strengthened his position in fourth place by winning his second successive stage.
Benavides, thanks to collecting time bonuses of nearly five minutes by opening the way, beat Van Beveren by nearly two minutes, and repeated his win into Haradh two years ago. Sanders was third after leading until about 70 kilometers from the end.
“I only got lost a couple of times ... and lost a little bit of time,” Sanders said. “I could have pushed and made some more (time) but it’s not too bad.”