THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Dominant Qatari hurdler Abderrahman Samba will be looking to shine under a different flag when a star cast of athletes representing Europe, Africa, Americas and Asia Pacific compete in the IAAF Continental Cup in Ostrava, Czech Republic today and tomorrow.

Samba, along with his com-patriot and the fastest 400m sprinter in Asia, Abdalelah Haroun, middle distarnce runner Jamal Hairane and hammer thrower Asian Games gold med-allist Ashraf Elseify will compete for Asia Pacific team, highlighting Qatar’s presence during the two-day event.

“It’s my last race of the season so I’m going to do something big,” the 2018 Asian Games double gold medallist Samba told the IAAF website yesterday.

Samba, who has taken the world of one-lap hurdling by storm this year, will take on world champion Karsten Warholm and IAAF Diamond League winner Kyron McMaster on Sunday.

The event has provided some of the biggest highlights of this year’s IAAF Diamond League circuit and with the main protag-onists all in action in Ostrava,

more fireworks can be expected.Samba became the second

fastest man ever with his 46.98 in Paris. He has been unbeaten this season in eight finals, all of them under 48 seconds, including six IAAF Diamond League races and the Asian Games.

Warholm, who has set four Norwegian records this year, improved to 47.64 in winning the European Championships final. McMaster from British Virgin Islands has run even faster than Warholm with 47.54 in Paris and has three international titles to his name this year: the Common-wealth Games, Central American and Caribbean Games and NACAC Championships.

He comes to Ostrava fresh off another major win in the IAAF Diamond League final, where he finished just ahead of Warholm.

“I want to celebrate it tomorrow,” Samba, who turned 23 earlier this week, said.

“I always think about some-thing big in races and I want to give myself a big present here.”

“Everything until now has been perfect, this will be my last race and I hope it will be great.”

To earn maximum points for the Asia-Pacific team, however, he will have to overcome McMaster and Warholm, but Samba plans to use their presence

to push him to new heights.“For sure, when you have

strong athletes running together it will always be a good result,” he said.

In the men’s 400 metres, Qatar’s world bronze medallist Abdalelah Haroun is currently fourth on the 2018 world list thanks to his winning time of

44.07 at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in London.

But the 21-year-old cannot afford to take anything for granted given the presence of his highly talented contemporary, Botswana’s Baboloki Thebe, who has run 44.54 this season and won the African title last month.

In hammer throw, Qatar’s

Elseify who threw 76.88m in his gold winning attempt in Jakarta last month, will team up with Tajikistan’s 36-year-old Olympic champion and 2015 world silver medallist Dilshod Nazarov to challenge the European dominance.

Hairane wil l comete in the 800 meters in Ostrava along with his A s i a - P a s i f i c t e a m - m a t e from India, Asian Games Silver med-allist Jinson Johnson.

E a c h of the four t e a m s competing in Ostrava has two athletes in the indi-vidual events and the competitors will claim points based on their finishing positions.

The winning team will be awarded with a unique trophy and each member of the team will receive part of the trophy. Shaped like an athletics track, the trophy is made in 116 sticks from Bohemian Crystal, symbol-ising relay batons.

SPORTSaturday 8 September 2018

PAGE | 17 PAGE | 18Loew rewarded

for putting faith in Germany’s old guard

Serena Williams to face Osaka in US Open final

FROM LEFT: Team Asia-Pacific’s Qatari athlete Abderrahman Samba, Australia’s Dani Stevens and her compatriot Jana Pittman pose for a photograph in Ostrava, on the eve of the IAAF Continental Cup yesterday.

Samba set for season-ending fireworks in Ostravao threw 76.88m in his ng attempt in Jakarta

h, will team up with 36-year-old Olympic

and 2015 world silver Dilshod Nazarov to the European .

ne wil l the 800

Ostrava h his s i f i c a t e ia, s

-

in Ostrava has es in the indi-ents and the rs will claim ed on theirositions.nning team

arded with a ophy andber of the

eceive part of Shaped like an

ack, the trophy116 sticks from Crystal, symbol-batons.

Qatari forward Al Moez Ali (right) vies for the ball with China’s Zhao Xuri during their friendly football match played at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha yesterday.

Ali on target as Qatar defeat China 1-0 in Doha friendly

ARMSTRONG VAS THE PENINSULA

DOHA: A first half goal from Almoez Ali helped Qatar win the international friendly match against China 1-0 at the Khalifa International Stadium here yesterday.

The all-important goal came in the 25th minute when Ali’s right footed shot from the centre of the box landed in the top right corner of the net, sending the local fans into celebration mood very early into the match.

Thereafter, China tried to break open the Qatar defence but without any success.

As the match tended to get a bit physical the referee reached out to his pocket to flash yellow cards to one player from each side. Zhang Linpeng of China and Tarek Salman of Qatar, bot got booked for bad fouls by the referee.

The teams went into the half time break with Qatar leading 1-0.

In the second half, Qatar who were treating the match as a preparation for next year’s Asian Cup, brought about a few substi-tutions as coach Felix Sanchez experimented with different combinations ahead of the con-tinental tournament.

Sultan Al Brake came in for Hasan Al Haydos with five minutes left for the final whistle while earlier, Hashim Ali replaced

Almoez Ali and Ahmed Fathi came in for Assim Madibo

On the other hand, China made two changes. Mirahmetjan Muzepper went out while Gao Lin saw action as Yu Hanchao replaced Piao Cheng.

Boualem Khoukhi of Qatar was also shown the yellow card for a bad foul in the second half

At the start of the first half, China made three changes going into the second half as they went all out for the equaliser, Coach Marcello Lippi, brought in Zhao Xuri for Yu Hai, Li Xuepeng replaced Yu Yang and Yang Xu made way for Zhang Xizhe.

Yesterday’s match was one of the two friendlies that Qatar has lined up for this month. They will take on Palestine on Tuesday, as they prepare for the 2019 Asian Cup which will be held in the UAE in January next year.

The friendly clash against Palestine will also be played at the air-cooled Khalifa Interna-tional Stadium in Doha.

The Spanish tactician named a strong 25-member squad ahead of the two friendlies all who will have a closer look during the matches.

Qatar national players took part in a preparatory camp in Austria ahead of the start of the season, during which the team played two friendlies.

Out of them, some of the young players also competed in the 2018 Asian Games which

concluded in Indonesia earlier this week.

Some of the players who played in the continental event, i n c l u d i n g g o a l k e e p e r Mohammed Bakri and Tarek Salman have been retained by the Qatar coach.

The squad also includes experienced players of the calibre of Pedro Miguel, Boualem Khoukhi, Hassan Al Haidos, Akram Afif, Bassam Hisham Al Rawi, Sultan Al Brake, Assim Madibo, Al Moez Ali and Ahmad Alaa.

China, coached by former Juventus and Italy manager Lippi, will now head to Bahrain for their next friendly game to be played on Monday.

The last time the Chinese and Qatari teams met was during the FIFA World Cup qualifying third round in which the East Asians won 2-0.

Qatar will play two more friendly matches in October, against Ecuador on 12th in Doha and Uzbekistan four days later in Tashkent.

In the 2019 Asian Cup, Qatar will be playing against Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and North Korea in Group E.

China have been drawn in Group C along with South Korea, Kirghizstan and The Philippines.

The 2019 AFC Asian Cup will be held in the UAE from January 5 to February 1.

Abdalelah Haroun

17SATURDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2018 SPORT

THE PENINSULA

DOHA: The second leg of FINA World Cup 2018 which will take place in Doha is just around the corner, and tickets sales for the showpiece event have been receiving a massive response from fans.

The FINA World Cup in Doha, which is one of the highly-anticipated events of the year, is set to take place from September 13 to 15 at the Hamad Aquatic Centre.

Nail-biting long course duels are

on the cards as over 130 swimmers including several big names from a total of 23 countries have now con-firmed their participation, eyeing glory in the three-day event.

Tickets for the high-profile com-petition are available online at Q-Tickets (www.q-tickets.com). Fans eager to catch live action at Hamad Aquatic Centre can buy their tickets simply by visiting the Q-Tickets website.

Leading swimmers, who will be seen in action, include South African

maestro Chad Le Clos, who is defending his overall FINA World Cup title this year.

The Olympic and World champion

will be joined by Russian world record holder Vladimir Morozov - while his compatriot Kirill Prigoda – the FINA World Championships medalist – and teenage sensation Michael Andrew of the US are also set to feature in the event, along with other prominent names.

Swedish star Sarah Sjostrom – world record holder in several disci-plines including the 100m freestyle (long course) – will also set the Doha pool alight as she also aims to defend her FINA World Cup crown.

Rio Olympics gold medalist Katinka Hosszu (The Iron Lady) of Hungary, 2018 Glasgow European Championships medallist Ranomi Kro-mowidjojo of the Netherlands will also make a splash in the state-of-the-art Doha pool.

There will be two sessions (morning heats and evening finals) daily on all three days of the contest.

Tickets for the event can also be bought at the venue during days of the competition.

FINA Swimming Worlds: Tickets selling fast for Doha showdownTICKETS CATEGORIES:

Standard (Kids below 8 years): QR 10Standard (Adults): QR 20

Sessions ticket (valid for all days): QR 50VIP (Kids below 8 years): QR 50

VIP (Adults): QR 100VIP (Family 2 Adults+2 Children): QR 250

Areola saves France in draw against GermanyMUNICH

REUTERS: World champions France never hit top form and had third-choice keeper Alphonse Areola to thank for a 0-0 draw against Germany in their inaugural Nations League game on Thursday, their first appearance since lifting the World Cup.

On a rainy night, Germany won back some respect with a battling performance after their shock World Cup group- stage exit in Russia, their earliest in 80 years in the tournament.

The French looked to be nursing a post-World Cup hangover, lacking their usual speed and creativity, and but for Areola’s key saves in the second half the final scoreline

would have been different in the League A, Group 1 game.

“It was a tight match and we were better sometimes and at other times they were better,” said France coach Didier Deschamps. “Obviously the players are not at the peak of their fitness at the moment but they gave it (their) all.

His Germany counterpart Joachim Loew breathed a sigh of relief, knowing a slip-up against France would only have piled on more pressure.

“This game was obviously a special one for us and what was important was the way we played,” he said. “The team did it well.

Unusually, the Germans started with four central defenders and with Joshua

Kimmich switching from right back to a holding midfield position, as Loew tried to strike a better balance between attack and defence than his team had done in Russia.

Deschamps on the other hand fielded his World Cup final team including Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Paul Pogba, apart from injured keeper Hugo Lloris, with Areola making his debut.

Neither side were eager to risk much, with a chance apiece in the first half. Germany goal-keeper Manuel Neuer did well to save a Griezmann effort just past the hour but Areola made the saves of the evening, first punching Marco Reus’ close-range effort wide.

The 25-year-old, who

started because both Lloris and second choice Steve Mandanda were injured, denied Mats Hummels, tipped a Thomas Mueller chip over the bar and stopped Matthias Ginter scoring from close range to spare his team’s blushes.

The Netherlands are the other side in the group.

The Nations League, brain-child of European soccer body UEFA, aims to boost interest in internationals, which are seen by clubs and fans as disruptive to the domestic football season.

To be held every two years, it features all 55 of Europe’s national teams divided into four divisions split into four groups, with games to be played between September and November.

Maradona to coach Mexican second-division side DoradosAFP

CULIACÁN, MEXICO: Argentine legend Diego Maradona has been hired to coach Mexican second-division football club Dorados in his latest foray into management, the club announced on Thursday.

Maradona’s colorful career has included stints coaching the Argentine national team and a series of clubs around the world, and he had just started a job as president of Belarus side Dinamo Brest in July.

But after parting ways with coach Francisco Ramirez Gamez, Dorados managed to convince 57-year-old Maradona to sign up for a spell in Mexico at the club known as “Big Fish”.

The club wants Maradona to stay for the remainder of the 2018 season and all of next season, Dorados pres-ident Jorgealberto Hank Inzunza told ESPN.

Dorados are currently in 13th place in their 15-team league.

Located on Mexico’s Pacific coast, Sinaloa is home to several famous beach resorts and the drug cartel of the same name, founded by jailed kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

French goalkeeper Alphonse Areola makes a save during the UEFA Nations League football match against France in Munich, Germany on Thursday.

South Korea beat Costa Rica 2-0 despite Son’s mishap AP

SEOUL: Despite a missed penalty from Son Heung-min, South Korea beat Costa Rica 2-0 Friday in a friendly.

Son hit the post with his penalty attempt in the 35th minute but Lee Jae-sung scored from the rebound.

Last week, Son helped South Korea win the Asian Games title. That freed him and his teammates from 21 months of military service.

Nam Tae-hee also scored for South Korea, giving coach Paulo Bento his first win in his first match as coach of the team.

The former Portugal coach replaced Shin Tae-yong in August and is starting preparations for the Asian Cup in January.

South Korea will next face Chile on Tuesday in Suwon, just south of Seoul. Costa Rica will face Japan in Osaka on the same day.

Chile was scheduled to play at Japan on Friday but the match was canceled after an earthquake in the Asian country’s northern region.

Loew rewarded for putting faith in Germany’s old guardAFP

MUNICH: Germany are trying to move into a new era after their disastrous World Cup

campaign, but Thursday’s 0-0 draw with France showed the importance to coach Joachim

Loew (pictured) of keeping faith in the old guard.

Loew’s starting line-up at the

Allianz Arena against the world cham-pions fea-tured five members o f t h e G e r m a n

team that beat Argentina in the 2014 World Cup final -- goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, centre-backs Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng, midfielder Toni Kroos and forward Thomas Mueller.

That quintet, with over 400 caps between them, made up the spine of the team that would have beaten France were it not for some exceptional saves from visiting goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, notably from Marco Reus, Mueller and then Matthias Ginter in the second half.

All of Germany’s starting line-up for their first match in the inaugural UEFA Nations League had been part of their squad in Russia, when they were knocked

out in the group stage. The only changed face was Leroy Sane, the Manchester City winger coming off the bench late on having been con-troversially left out of the 23 for the World Cup. The likes of Thilo Kehrer and Kai Havertz stayed on the bench.

“We saw that against a team as strong as France, players like Hummels, Boateng and Kroos are extremely important, because of their class, their experience and their quality. The youngsters will get their opportunity,” Loew said after the match.

Loew also opted to start with Ginter and Antonio Ruediger, centre-backs by trade, in the full-back positions, a decision that was

rewarded as Germany kept Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and company at bay.

“It was a bit frustrating that we didn’t score a goal. But we wanted to keep it tight after what hap-pened at the World Cup. That was the priority. I think we succeeded,” said Kroos.

Germany, who host Peru in a friendly in Sinsheim on Sunday, are hoping to definitively move on from the fall-out of their World Cup debacle.

That has been marked by Mesut Ozil’s decision to retire from international football amid allega-tions of racism aimed at the German FA (DFB) president, Reinhard Grindel.

AFP

MUNICH: Germany are trto move into a new era atheir disastrous World

campaign, but Thursday’s draw with France showedimportance to coach Joac

Loew (pictured) of keefaith in the old gua

Loew’s starline-up at

Allianz Aragainst world chpions ftured membo f G e r m

Top players return to Denmark team after disputeAP

COPENHAGEN: DENMARK will have its top players available again for the UEFA Nations League game against Wales tomorrow after a temporary agreement was reached between the coun-try’s Soccer association and its players’ union following a contract dispute.

The national team was forced to field a severely weakened lineup containing some futsal players for the friendly against Slovakia on Wednesday after the collapse of negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement regarding com-mercial rights. The dispute led to players from the original squad, including Christian Eriksen and Kasper Sch-meichel, being sent back to their clubs.

The federation, known as the DBU, said the game against Wales “will be played under the same conditions as earlier and that the com-mercial rights will be handled as previous.”

The DBU said both parties decided that no details of Thursday’s deal would be dis-closed “in respect for the players’ need for calm to con-centrate” on the game.

A new meeting, aimed at reaching a permanent deal, has been scheduled for Monday.

Denmark announced its 23-man squad yesterday, fea-turing the same players selected in the original group last week.

Hamad Aquatic Centre in Doha

18 SATURDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2018SPORT

Serena to face Osaka in US Open finalAFP

NEW YORK: Six-time champion Serena Williams swept aside Anastasija Sevastova on Thursday to reach a ninth US Open final, where she’ll face Japanese trail blazer Naomi Osaka.

Williams, seeded 17th as she seeks to add to her 23 Grand Slam titles for the first time since the birth of her daughter Olympia last year, needed just 66 minutes to dispatch the 19th-seeded Sevastova 6-3, 6-0.

Osaka, seeded 20th, became the first Japanese woman to reach a Grand Slam final with a

6-2, 6-4 victory over American Madison Keys -- last year’s beaten finalist.

Williams called her return to the US Open final for a ninth time “incredible” given that she was undergoing surgery for life threatening blood clots this time last year in the wake of giving birth.

“To come from that, in the hospital bed, not being able to move and walk and do anything, now only a year later, I’m not training, but I’m actually in these finals, in two in a row,” said Wil-liams, who also reached the final at Wimbledon.

“To come this far so fast....

I’m really looking forward to the possibilities,” she said.

Williams lost out in the semi-finals of her last two US Opens, in 2015 and 2016.

But with six titles in New York she needs just one more to surpass Chris Evert for most all-time -- and she needs just one more Grand Slam title to equal Australian Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24.

Osaka, 20 and in the last four at a Slam for the first time, admitted she was driven by the idea of facing Williams.

Asked how she managed to save all 13 break points she faced, Osaka said: “I was just thinking I really want to play Serena.” Osaka, who had already made history along with men’s semi-finalist Kei Nishikori as the first Japanese man and woman to reach the last four at the same Slam, had lost three prior meetings with Keys.

“I’m just glad I was able to get through this match,” said Osaka, who broke Keys at love for a 5-2 lead in the first set and after calmly serving it out broke her again to open the second set.

She made the break stand up, withstanding six break points in the next game.

Her overriding aim as she served for the match, Osaka said, was “Don’t double fault”.

In fact she closed it out with

a service winner that bounced wildly off the frame of Keys’s racquet.

Osaka won her only prior meeting with Williams, in the first round at Miami in March -- the American star’s second tour-nament since giving birth.

“I definitely wasn’t at my best,” said Williams, now in her seventh tournament back.

As in her semi-final win over Karolina Pliskova, Williams took a while to warm up, dropping her

serve in the opening game.But she was back on terms

after a break for 2-2, getting the break when Sevastova’s attempt at a drop shot from deep in the court failed to make it over the net.

From there Williams was on the attack, winning 24 of 28 points at the net. After breaking again for a 4-2 lead she produced a convincing hold that featured the first of her four aces.

Serving for the first set she

opened with a 120 mph (193 Km/h) ace and Sevastova was out of answers.

“I’ve been working hard on my volleys,” Williams said of her aggressive game plan. she had “I have won a few doubles cham-pionships so I know how to volley.

“I just usually come in to shake hands,” she quipped, before explaining she thought the tactic would be effective against Sevastova’s mix of spin and slice.

Serena Williams of the US hits a return to Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia during their

women’s singles semi-finals match at the 2018

US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National

Tennis Center in New York on Thursday.

Naomi Osaka of Japan celebrates a point against Madison Keys in the semi-final match on Thursday.

Nadal, Djokovic one win from renewing rivalry in New YorkREUTERS

NEW YORK: Defending US Open champion Rafael Nadal and twice winner Novak Djokovic are one victory away from renewing their rivalry in the final with both expected to get through their semis today.

World number one Nadal faces big-serving Argentine third seed Juan Martin del Potro while sixth seed Novak Djokovic meets Japanese 21st seed Kei Nishikori bidding to secure a seventh trip to the showcase match at Flushing Meadows.

Nadal, who survived a gru-elling late-night battle with Aus-trian Dominic Thiem in pun-ishing humidity to reach the last four, has a commanding 11-5

career record against Del Potro with his last loss coming in the semis at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The Spaniard, who beat Del Potro this year in the French Open semi-finals and Wim-bledon quarter-finals, has looked nothing short of brilliant but is not about to get ahead of himself as the pair have split their 10 meetings on hard courts.

“He (Del Potro) is a great player everywhere. But the chal-lenge of playing him on hard (courts) of course is even higher for me personally than playing against him on clay,” said Nadal, who has three US.Opens among his 17 Grand Slam titles.

“It will be a big challenge. It’s a match in which we know each

other very well. I know he’s playing well. I know I’ll have to play at my highest level to keep having chances of success.”

Del Potro will rely heavily on his service having won 83 percent of his first service points through five matches here, well above anyone else remaining in the men’s draw.

In Friday’s other semi-final, Djokovic will try to extend the form that has seen him win 24 of his last 26 matches, an impressive run that includes titles at Wimbledon and the US Open tune-up event in Cincinnati.

He has a 14-2 record against Nishikori, whose last victory over the Serb came in the 2014 US Open semi-finals

before he lost in the show-piece match to Croatian Marin Cilic, who the Japanese overcame in five sets to reach this year’s last four.

Djokovic, who beat Nishikori in the Wimbledon quarters, said he expected a tough match against an opponent with a lethal two-handed backhand who is one of the fastest players on tour.

“I can’t really say he’s a great match-up for me,” said the Serb. “I have a very good head-to-head score against him. But because he plays so fast he makes me more alert from the first point because I know I have to be at my best in order to compete with him from the baseline.”

Dovizioso dominates first two sessions at San MarinoAFP

PARIS: Local rider Andrea Dovizioso recorded the fastest times in both yesterday’s free practice sessions for the San Marino MotoGP.

In the morning, the Ducati man, who was born 60 kilometres up the road from the Misano track, was quickest in 1min 32.608 sec, 0.101 ahead of Briton Cal Crutchlow on an LCR Honda.

In the second session, the Italian was even quicker, com-pleting his best lap in 1:32.198, 0.160 better than his Ducati team-mate Jorge Lorenzo with Crutchlow third at 0.187.

Dovizoso is fourth in the overall standings, one point behind Spaniard Lorenzo but 72 behind the runaway leader, Marc Marquez of Honda, who was fifth fastest at 0.339. Another Spaniard, Maverick Vinales (Yamaha) was fourth at 0.213.

The other Yamaha rider, Val-entino Rossi is second in the 2018 riders’ title battle but suffering through a miserable run of results and was only 15th in the first session. The Italian, running in what he regards as his home race, improved to eighth in the second

run, 0.588 slower than Dovizioso.Two more free practice ses-

sions are scheduled for Saturday, followed by two qualifying sessions as MotoGP tries to rediscover its rhythm after the race at Silverstone in England were washed out last month. The sun is forecast to shine for most of the day. In Moto2, Ger-many’s Marcel Schroetter (Kalex)

set the fastest time, 1:37.763, ahead of two Italians. The championship leader Bagnaia (Kalex) was just 0.092sec back and Mattia Pasini (Kalex), was at 0.112.

In Moto3, Spaniard Jorge Martin (Honda), who is second in the standings, was fastest, 0.203 ahead of the championship leader Italian Marco Bezzecchi (KTM).

Fans urge Ferrari to keep Raikkonen

Ducati Team’s Italian rider Andrea Dovizioso takes part in the free practice session of the San Marino Moto GP Grand Prix race at the Marco Simoncelli Circuit in Misano yesterday.

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic celebrates winning his semi final match against Spain’s Rafael Nadal during the 2018 Wimbledon Championship in this July 2018 file picture.

REUTERS

LONDON: More than 20,000 Kimi Raikkonen (pictured) fans have signed an online petition urging Ferrari to keep the Finnish Formula One driver for another year rather than replace him with rookie Charles Leclerc.

The petition, on change.org, argued that replacing the 38-year-old was “not justi-fiable” and that the team needed him to keep the balance alongside four times world champion Sebastian Vettel.

The petition is highly unlikely to have any influence on matters, with Ferrari widely assumed to have already made their decision to replace the 2007 world champion with their 20-year-old Monegasque protege who debuted for Sauber this season.

An announcement to that effect is expected soon in Formula One circles, with the series heading to Singapore for next week’s race.

Raikkonen is the oldest driver in the sport and remains the last Ferrari driver to have won a title and one of the most popular on the starting grid.

Nicknamed ‘The Iceman’ for his often glacial demeanour, his dour nature and dislike of media and sponsor engagements has also endeared him to many fans who see him as a throwback to a bygone era.

The Finn appears to have softened this season, however, while raising his game on the track.

At Monza, Ferrari’s home track in Italy, last weekend he started on pole -- after the

fastest ever Formula One lap -- and finished second to world champion Lewis Ham-ilton to record his 100th career podium.

Former Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn, who is now Formula One’s managing director for sporting matters, said he had noticed a change in the Finn.

19SATURDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2018 SPORT

Cook exit sparks England collapseAFP

LONDON: Alastair Cook marked his final Test appearance with a fifty before India’s Jasprit Bumrah sparked an England collapse at the Oval yesterday.

England only lost one wicket before tea and were making steady, if slow, progress at 131 for one on the first day of the fifth Test.

But Cook’s exit sparked a slump that saw six wickets lost for 48 runs, with England captain Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Sam Curran all dismissed for noughts.

At stumps, England were 198 for seven, with Ishant Sharma taking three for 28 in a miserly 22 overs and fellow paceman Bumrah two for 41 in 21 that included two wickets in four balls.

England scored at barely two runs per over for the day.

Cook, England’s all-time record Test run-scorer, was making his final appearance at this level before international retirement.

The 33-year-old opener, who will continue to play for Essex, came into this match having scored 12,254 Test runs at an average of 44.88 including 32 hundreds.

But he has struggled for runs lately, with his previous best

score this series the 29 he made during India’s 203-run win in the third Test at Trent Bridge.

Cook, extending his England appearance record to 161 Tests, was thrust straight into the action when Root, his successor as England captain, opted to bat first after winning the toss.

England had already won this five-match series after a 60-run victory at Southampton gave them a 3-1 lead.

Cook, who walked out to a guard of honour from India, struck two trademark bound-aries off successive balls from Bumrah -- a square-cut and a pull.

Keaton Jennings, under pressure for his England place, made 23 in an opening stand of 60 with Cook before he care-lessly turned left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja to KL Rahul at leg-slip.

England were 68 for one at lunch, with Cook 37 not out and Moeen -- one of a trio of left-handers in England’s top three -- two not out.

Both batsmen were dropped on their interval scores.

Cook was missed by Ajinkya Rahane in the gully off Sharma and India captain Virat Kohli floored a far more difficult chance at third slip after Mooen flashed hard at Bumrah.

L u c k l e s s p a c e m a n Mohammed Shami repeatedly beat the outside edge without reward.

Cook cut Jadeja for four to go to 49 before completing a 139-ball fifty, including six bound-aries, with a capacity crowd giving him a standing ovation.

Remarkably,it was the first fifty by an opening batsman on either side this series.

Cook scored a century on his Test debut, against India at Nagpur in 2006.

But his hopes of becoming just the fifth player to score a hundred in both their first and last Tests would have to wait until England’s second innings.

His typically patient vigil of more than four hours ended after tea when, playing defensively, he inside-edged Bumrah onto his stumps to end a 190-ball innings including eight fours.

Cook walked off to this third standing ovation of the day.

Root may have been batting in his favoured position of number four, but three balls later he was lbw to Bumrah as he played across the line.

Bairstow then fell for his third noughr in four innings when he jabbed at a Sharma delivery to give wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant a simple catch.

England had now lost three wickets for one run in nine balls.

Jadeja, playing his first match this series in place of injured off-spinner Ravi-chandran Ashwin, then had Ben Stokes lbw for 11.

Moeen, batting in England’s longstanding problem position of number three, completed a 167-ball half-century only to fall for exactly 50 when he hung his bat out to Sharma and was caught behind.

Curran had revived England from the depths of 86 for six in their first innings at South-ampton but, on his Surrey home ground, he was caught behind second ball off Sharma.

England’s Alastair Cook acknowledges the applause after reaching his fifty during play on the first day of the fifth Test match against India at The Oval in London yesterday.

Asia Cup: Bangladesh recall MominulAFP

DHAKA: Bangladesh have added batsman Mominul Haque to their squad for the Asia Cup as backup to several players carrying injuries, selectors said yesterday.

“He is a top-order batsman, who can play as an opener or in (the) one-down position. So we thought his inclusion might be useful in the tournament,” said Habibul Bashar.

Opener Tamim Iqbal has an issue with his finger while uncapped left-hander Nazmul Hossain hurt his left thumb during a recent training session.

“We are hopeful they will both play. But we thought Mominul might play just in case they feel any problem,” Bashar added. Bangladesh are Pool B alongside Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in the six-nation Asia Cup, which will run from September 15-28 in the United Arab Emirates.

The Tigers also have some fitness concerns regarding all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who was keen to skip the Asia Cup to have a surgery on a finger.

But the Bangladesh Cricket

Board insisted on playing him in the tournament, putting his surgery on hold until October when they host Zimbabwe.

Shakib in a recent interview with the English-language Daily Star said that he is only 20-30 percent fit, a statement that was quickly dis-missed by Bangladesh coach Steve Rhodes.

“I don’t believe he is 20-30 percent fit. I think he is a lot fitter than that,” Rhodes said in Dhaka on Thursday.

“He is not fully fit. But if he plays anything like he played in the Caribbean, then that will be a massive asset to Bangladesh cricket,” Rhodes said.

Shakib scored 190 runs in three one-day internationals in the West Indies in July, playing a key role in Bangladesh’s 2-1 series win.

Mominul, who also can bowl left-arm spin, played the last of his 26 ODIs during the 2015 World Cup.

A Test regular, Mominul reminded selectors of his limited-overs prowess during Bangladesh A’s recent tour of Ireland, scoring 182 of 132 balls in one innings.

Cook hopes time can mend relationship with PietersenREUTERS

LONDON: Retiring England batsman Alastair Cook hopes that his strained relationship with former team mate Kevin Pietersen (pictured) can improve over time even though the pair have not spoken in four years.

South Africa-born Pietersen was sacked by England in 2014 after the ill-fated Ashes tour in Aus-tralia, during which the maverick batsman was accused of being dis-engaged from the team as the tourists crashed to a 5-0 defeat.

“I haven’t spoken to him since that day but I think time is a great healer,” Cook told BBC Radio’s Test match special.

“We spent a lot of time together and created some amazing mem-ories. The thing is, we never fell out. Since then, the internet has fallen out for us.

“As two blokes, if you take cricket out of it, we have never fallen out. He will have a different opinion, I’m sure,” he added of the batsman who brought the curtain

down on his own playing career in March.

Cook, who will retire from international cricket after the fifth and final Test against India, said that as captain, he was involved in the decision to sack Pietersen but the final call was collectively taken by senior ECB figures.

“I’d refute anyone saying that I was the one that chucked him down the stairs but I was involved in the decision and I believed it was right at that time,” Cook added.

“Looking back, I can safely say all the decisions I made were done for the best of the England cricket team at that time. On that one, there were a lot of other people, way above my head, a l s o i n v o l v e d in it.”

Schauffele grabs halfway lead at BMW ChampionshipAFP

PHILADELPHIA: Xander Schauffele boosted his chances of securing the final berth on the US Ryder Cup team, firing a six-under par 64 yesterday to seize a two-stroke lead after the second round of the PGA BMW Championship.

The 24-year-old American opened with four birdies in his first seven holes at Aronimink and stood on 13-under 127 after 36 holes in the final playoff event before the season-ending Tour Championship.

England’s Justin Rose was two strokes adrift after shooting 63 yesterday with a pack on 130 including Japan’s Hideki Mat-suyama, Sweden’s Alex Noren and Americans Rickie Fowler and Keegan Bradley.

Schauffele, last year’s PGA Tour Rookie of the Year after wins at the Tour Championship and Greenbrier, opened with a 63 to stand a stroke behind first-round co-leaders Tiger Woods

and Rory McIlroy.“It was nice to back up the

63 with a 64, something I’ve never done in my career so good timing for that,” Schauffele said.

Both Woods and McIlroy

faded yesterday. Woods closed with back-to-back bogeys, missing a six-foot par on 18, in shooting 70 and dropping to a share of 12th. McIlroy managed only three birdies, seven fewer

than Thursday, for a 69 to share seventh on 131.

Schauffele, the British Open and Players Championship runner-up, improved his case for being given the final captain’s

pick for the American squad in the Ryder Cup showdown against Europe at the end of the month in France.

But he knows that rival Tony Finau, who matched his 64 to stand on 132 alongside Woods, is also shooting for a Ryder Cup pick from US captain Jim Furyk.

“I have thought a lot more about the Ryder Cup the past couple of weeks and I’m sort of in a position where I feel like a win is the only way I’d even be in consideration,” Schauffele said.

“Tony (Finau) is the guy right now. He just shot 64 as well. He’s not making it easy on anyone else trying to get on that team. So hats off to him for playing really well.”

Schauffele began the week 41st in season points and needing a jump into the top 30 to qualify for a chance at defending his Tour Champi-onship crown in two weeks in Atlanta.

I’m very aware of where I stood coming into the week,” Schauffele said. “Obviously 41st isn’t what we wanted coming into the week but, you know, something good here would def-initely help.”

He’s now projected to junmp into sixth on the points table, one spot outside the positions that would give him the $10m season playoff prize if he could repeat his victory.

Rose birdied three of his first four holes in a round of 63.

Woods, who managed an eagle and seven birdies on day one, could muster just three birdies but undid all his good work with his closing bogeys.

“I didn’t make any putts,” Woods said after a round that included 33 putts, six more than Thursday.

“I hit a lot of beautiful putts that were on top of the edge and then obviously hit a couple bad ones on the last hole. Looked like all the putts were going to go in but they didn’t go in today.”

Xander Schauffele of the United States reacts during the second round of the BMW Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, yesterday.

own on his own playing career inarch.

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nd final Test against India, said at as captain, he was involved ine decision to sack Pietersen but e final call was collectively taken

y senior ECB figures.“I’d refute anyone saying that I

as the one that chucked him downe stairs but I was involved in the

ecision and I believed it was right that time,” Cook added.

“Looking back, I can safely ay all the decisions I made ere done for the best of

he England cricket am at that time. Onn n n nn nnnnnn nnnnn n nnnat one, there ere a lot of her people, ay abovey head,

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it.”

England (I Innings)A Cook b Bumrah ............................................. 71K Jennings c Rahul b Jadeja ..........................23M Ali c Pant b Sharma ....................................50J Root lbw b Bumrah ......................................... 0J Bairstow c Pant b Sharma .............................0B Stokes lbw b Jadeja ...................................... 11J Buttler not out ............................................... 11S Curran c Pant b Sharma .................................0A Rashid not out ................................................4Extras (b25, lb3) ............................................28Total (7 wkts) .................................. 198To bat: S Broad, J AndersonFall of wickets: 1-60, 2-133, 3-133, 4-134, 5-171 , 6-177, 7-181Bowling: Bumrah 21-9-41-2; Sharma 22-10-28-3; Vihari 1-0-1-0; Shami 22-7-43-0; Jadeja 24-0-57-2;India: KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (capt), Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wkt), Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah

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