The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Clarke 'numb' as press hails masterly Ponting
- NBA: Rondo banned two games for role in fight
- Ecclestone blasts Vettel row as 'joke'
| Clarke 'numb' as press hails masterly Ponting Posted: 29 Nov 2012 06:24 PM PST PERTH (Australia): Australian captain Michael Clarke Friday said Ricky Ponting calling it quits had left him "numb" as the press paid tribute to a batsman they described as the best since Donald Bradman. Ponting, who turns 38 next month, called time on his 17-year Test career on Thursday, with Friday's clash with South Africa to be his last. In a column for News Limited newspapers, Clarke said Ponting was one of the greatest players to ever represent Australia. "To stand in a room at the team hotel with all the players and support staff and listen to Ricky Ponting say this will be his last Test made me feel numb," he wrote. "Ricky is the last player in the team who began before me. He has been such a huge presence in Australian cricket it's going to feel strange walking out to play Sri Lanka next month without him in the team." Clarke added that there was far more to Ponting than being the second greatest Test run scorer ever, behind Sachin Tendulkar, with 13,366 ahead of his last Test Friday. "He did so much the world never saw," he said. "The time he gives his team-mates, the advice he offers, the help he gives you at training, he picks you up when you are down, he gives you a kick up the backside when you need a kick up the backside. "As a leader I learnt a lot from him. The one thing that sticks in the front of my mind is that Punter always said to me you've got to make sure you're leading from the front and scoring plenty of runs. "He made it clear that was the easiest way to earn the respect of your team-mates." The announcement of his retirement was splashed on the front pages of newspapers Friday with The Australian hailing Ponting as "A master of cricket, also a great servant." "His career was epic in scale and scope as well as in achievement," the newspaper's Gideon Haigh wrote. "So much so that it is tempting to treat his career as a kind of era." The Sydney Morning Herald said: "He's given all, and Ponting knows it's time" and called him "Australia's supreme batsman in a supreme era, with Neil Harvey and Greg Chappell, one of the best three since Bradman". The Sydney Daily Telegraph also used 'The Don' as a comparison, declaring on its back page that he was "Best Since Don Bradman". Tributes also flowed from fellow Australian greats, including Steve Waugh, with Ponting on Friday equalling his former captain's record of 168 Test appearances. "He was utterly dedicated to improving himself as a cricketer and he was always pretty much the first to training and the last to leave," Waugh recalled in The Australian. "He never let his intensity slip, especially with his fielding drills. His stats speak for themselves, but it's his attitude that always sticks in my mind." - AFP |
| NBA: Rondo banned two games for role in fight Posted: 29 Nov 2012 05:49 PM PST NEW YORK: Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo was suspended for two games by the NBA on Thursday, a day after he was ejected from a game against the Brooklyn Nets for fighting. Rondo was deemed the instigator of the brawl, which sent players sprawling into court-side seats as the first half of the clash between the Atlantic Division rivals was winding down. Rondo took exception to Nets forward Kris Humphries's hard foul on Boston's Kevin Garnett. Rondo charged at Humphries and swung at him, although the scuffle involved mostly pushing and shoving. No one was injured. Rondo was thrown out of the game, ending his streak of consecutive contests with double-digit assists at 37. Garnett was assessed a technical foul, while Humphries and Nets forward Gerald Wallace both received second technical fouls with the result they were also ejected. Wallace was handed a $35,000 fine on Thursday for escalating the altercation, with Garnett receiving a $25,000 penalty for his involvement. Humphries was not punished by the league for the incident. "Just a hard foul," Garnett himself said. "I thought the antics after it were a bit extra, but it was a hard foul." Even Celtics coach Doc Rivers didn't seem to think Humphries's initial foul on Garnett was that hard, although he said the fact that it came when Garnett was in the air made it dangerous. "I thought it was a bad foul because Kevin could've gotten hurt. You know, he's in the air," Rivers said. "He took a bad fall. And so Rondo saw that and probably reacted, and overreacted obviously." Rivers was more concerned that Rondo and the other Celtics players were by that point frustrated by their own difficulties on the court in a game they ended up losing 95-83. "We're a soft team right now. We have no toughness," Rivers said. "And that (fighting) stuff's not toughness." Rondo will miss Friday's home game against Portland and Saturday's contest at Milwaukee. - AFP |
| Ecclestone blasts Vettel row as 'joke' Posted: 29 Nov 2012 05:47 PM PST LONDON: Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone on Thursday blasted the controversy surrounding world champion Sebastian Vettel's Brazilian Grand Prix overtaking manoeuvre as a "joke". Ferrari had contacted Formula One's governing body, the FIA, concerning the move by the Red Bull driver during last weekend's season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix that won him a third successive title. There had been speculation that the manoeuvre could have been illegal and, if so, Vettel could have been sanctioned and thereby stripped of his title in favour of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso who missed out on the championship by just three points. But Formula One ringmaster Ecclestone said it was a shame that the climax to the season had been overshadowed by the row. "It's a shame because everything had gone so well," he told the Daily Telegraph. "It was a super race, a super championship. Now everyone is talking about this. The problem is that no-one knows what is going on." Earlier Thursday, the respected Autosport magazine said there was "no doubt" at the FIA that Vettel had overtaken legitimately on lap four of the race because a green flag had already been displayed in the yellow flag sector, allowing drivers to resume passing. No team had asked for a review of the incident, it added. "In the rules and regs normally you have to protest," added Ecclestone. "They (Ferrari) missed that time. Then there is the fact that a green flag was shown, which nobody seems to dispute. It's a complete joke. What they are saying in that letter is wrong. I don't think there needs to be any action taken. It's completely and utterly wrong." On Wednesday, footage emerged on YouTube which appeared to show Vettel, the youngest triple world champion in history, overtaking Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne under yellow flags. Overtaking under caution is outlawed and is usually punished with a drive-through penalty. But in cases where the infringement is not spotted, the sanction is a 20-second penalty handed out retrospectively. Vettel was sixth in Sunday's rain-lashed race, while double world champion Alonso was second behind McLaren's Jenson Button. Ferrari said they had wanted the FIA to clarify the rules. "Ferrari asked, by means of a letter, for a clarification from FIA regarding VET's (Vettel's) overtaking move on VER (Vergne) during lap 4 of the Brazilian GP," the Italian team said on its Twitter account @insideferrari. Vettel's victory had already been overshadowed by claims from Ferrari that Alonso should have been crowned champion, pointing to controversial races in Belgium and Japan to support their argument. Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said that Alonso paid a heavy price for first lap exits in Belgium and Japan where he was shunted out of contention by Lotus duo Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen respectively. The Italian giants had been further aggrieved when Vettel, accused of blocking Alonso in qualifying in Japan before going on to win the race, escaped with just a reprimand. Vettel refused to get involved in a war of words although he did allude to his rivals' controversial decision in Texas to change the gearbox on Felipe Massa's Ferrari in order to allow Alonso to enjoy a starting advantage on the grid. "A lot of people tried to play dirty tricks but we did not get distracted by that and kept going our way and all the guys gave a big push right to the end," Vettel said. - AFP |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online: Sports To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan