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Thanks to the finger injury that kept him out of Bangladesh's tour of New Zealand, the recently concluded tri-series in Ireland was Shakib Al Hasan's first taste of ODI cricket in nearly five months. He recovered from that injury in time for the IPL, but only got to play three matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the tournament.

In Ireland, Shakib played an important role in Bangladesh winning their first ever non-bilateral ODI tournament, scoring two unbeaten fifties and bowling economically. Though he missed the final with a side strain, the performance was enough to move him back up to the top of the ICC rankings for ODI allrounders, 20 points clear of Afghanistan's Rashid Khan.

Shakib is fit again in the lead-up to the World Cup, and, according to Bangladesh coach Steve Rhodes, is looking to prove a point.

"Shakib is fine," Rhodes told the ICC in Cardiff, after Sunday's warm-up match against Pakistan was washed out. "He's in a great position physically. He had a little problem in Ireland but he's got over that and is raring to go.

"He's looking forward to a wonderful tournament. I think he's got a bit of a point to prove and he probably thinks that as well. He seems to have been a little bit forgotten but now he's back as the world's No.1 allrounder in ODI cricket - and that's where we think he belongs.

"But he's got a point to prove to make sure everybody else believes that."

Another Bangladesh player who hasn't been at full fitness of late is Mahmudullah, who has been playing as a specialist batsman in recent matches thanks to a shoulder issue that is keeping him from bowling his offspin. While admitting that the injury was affecting the balance of the side, Rhodes was confident Mahmudullah would be back to bowling in matches at some point during the World Cup.

"Mahmudullah's shoulder is coming along a little slowly," Rhodes said. "I don't think it would have been possible for him to bowl against Pakistan. We're very optimistic that we can get him up and running for the early stages of the World Cup.

"It may affect our balance slightly, but the good thing about Mahmudullah is that he doesn't need a lot of practice to be good at bowling."

Bangladesh's squad is among the most experienced at the World Cup, featuring five players with 175 or more ODIs under their belt.

"People keep telling me that to win a world tournament you need experience," Rhodes said. "I'm glad because we've got a wealth of experience there. I listen to them a lot because why wouldn't you with that vast experience?

"It will be a good thing when it gets a little tight towards the end of the group. There are 10 teams in this World Cup, but when I looked at the odds, we were ninth favourites and Afghanistan were tenth favourites - but on our day we both could beat the favourites.

"There's going to be a lot of winning and losing by all teams."

Pirates' Cervelli placed on 7-day concussion list

Published in Baseball
Sunday, 26 May 2019 11:02

The Pittsburgh Pirates placed catcher Francisco Cervelli on the seven-day concussion list Sunday in a series of moves.

Cervelli left Saturday night's game against the Dodgers in the fourth inning after he was hit in the helmet by Cody Bellinger's bat following a swing by the outfielder.

Catcher Jacob Stallings, who was on the Pirates' Opening Day roster, was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis. He was with Pittsburgh in the majors until he hit the injured list with a strained neck on April 21 and then outrighted to the minors after completing a rehab assignment. He hit .275 with two homers and seven RBIs with Indianapolis.

The Pirates also recalled utilityman Jose Osuna from Triple-A. He hit .268 with two home runs and 13 RBIs for Indianapolis.

Cervelli, 33, is hitting just .193 with a homer and five RBIs this season.

Mets reinstate Conforto (concussion), DFA Davis

Published in Baseball
Sunday, 26 May 2019 10:42

New York Mets outfielder Michael Conforto has been activated from the 7-day concussion injured list and is in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against the Detroit Tigers.

To make room for Conforto on the roster, the Mets designated outfielder Rajai Davis for assignment. Davis had a memorable debut for the Mets on Wednesday, arriving in the third inning after being called up from Triple-A and hitting a three-run home run in his first at-bat.

Conforto had been participating in baseball activities over the past two days and cleared MLB's concussion protocol. He had been sidelined since suffering a concussion on May 16 against the Nationals.

Mets manager Mickey Callaway said Conforto is "full go" with no limitations.

Conforto, 26, is batting .271 with nine home runs and 21 RBIs this season. He will start in right field and bat third in the lineup Sunday against Tigers right-hander Spencer Turnbull.

Davis, 38, had two hits in seven at-bats in four games since he was called up.

Callaway said the Mets hope that no other team claims Davis and that he remains in the organization. He said it was a tough decision to cut Davis, but the Mets wanted to take a longer look at newly acquired outfielder Aaron Altherr.

"I signed here to play here," Davis said as he packed his bag inside the clubhouse.

"I'm playing," he said. "Nothing wrong with me."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Padres scratch ace Paddack; Quantrill to minors

Published in Baseball
Sunday, 26 May 2019 12:02

San Diego Padres rookie ace Chris Paddack was scratched from his start Sunday against the Toronto Blue Jays because of a stiff neck.

The Padres announced that left-hander Robbie Erlin replaced Paddack as their starter.

"It's nothing serious in our minds whatsoever," manager Andy Green told reporters regarding Paddack's neck, according to MLB.com. "He woke up today and felt like he could pitch. We know, through the course of 162, he's not pitching every five days, so we chose to push him back for three days."

Paddack, 23, is 4-2 with a 1.93 ERA and a 0.76 WHIP in nine starts this season. He will start Wednesday's game against the New York Yankees.

The Padres also optioned rookie right-hander Cal Quantrill to Triple-A El Paso on Sunday after he recorded his first major league win on Saturday. Quantrill pitched six innings, striking out nine and allowing two runs in the Padres' 19-4 rout of the Blue Jays.

Reliever Luis Perdomo was recalled from El Paso in a corresponding move.

Green said he expects Quantrill, who is 1-2 with a 5.14 ERA in four starts, will be back with the Padres soon.

"We also expect to see Cal back in short order again, this is just baseball for the Padres in 2019," Green said, according to MLB.com. "We have a lot of starters we're going to use. We're going to give guys extra rest. We're going to do everything we can to make sure these guys are healthy for the long haul."

Cora: Price (illness) to be moved up in rotation

Published in Baseball
Sunday, 26 May 2019 11:55

HOUSTON -- Red Sox manager Alex Cora said David Price, who left Saturday's game after throwing just 15 pitches because of flu-like symptoms, will be moved up in the rotation and could start on Tuesday or Wednesday.

If he is moved up, Price would be facing the Indians at Fenway Park on just two or three days of rest. It would also mean the Boston lefty would not pitch against the Yankees in New York, where he has a 9.79 ERA in six starts since signing with Boston in 2016.

"We'll see how he feels," Cora said on Sunday before Boston's series finale against Houston.

Cora was asked by reporters whether he would have still started Price on Saturday knowing what he knows today.

"Yeah, because you trust the individual and he felt he was going to be able to compete," Cora said. "But I got the feedback from the bullpen and then I saw it and I was like, 'No, we'll go somewhere else and try to get 27 outs somewhere else.'"

While Price was frustrated, Cora preferred to take out his star pitcher instead of risking injury.

"Obviously [he was frustrated] but he understands," Cora said. "It's too important for us. Like I said yesterday, shame on me if I let him pitch like that and something happens and he gets hurt."

With the bullpen short on arms after Price's short outing on Saturday, Boston called up left-handed pitching prospect Darwinzon Hernandez from Double-A Portland. Hernandez was slated to start in Portland on Sunday and will provide depth in the bullpen. To make room on the roster, the Red Sox sent down righty reliever Colten Brewer, who threw 2.1 innings on Saturday.

Jays rookie Biggio gets first hit, homer in majors

Published in Baseball
Sunday, 26 May 2019 12:02

Toronto Blue Jays rookie second baseman Cavan Biggio recorded his two first major league hits on Sunday, including a home run, with his Hall of Fame father in the stands at Rogers Centre.

Biggio, who is playing in his third major league game on Sunday, had been 0-for-6 with three strikeouts before he singled to right field past San Diego Padres first baseman Wil Myers in the bottom of the second inning.

Then in the the bottom of the fourth inning, he homered 405 feet into the upper deck in right field for his first major league home run.

His father, Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, had 3,060 hits in his career. He started his career 0-for-7 before singling in his fourth career game, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Cavan Biggio, who turned 24 in April, was hitting .306/.440/.507 with Triple-A Buffalo this season. He was selected in the fifth round of the 2016 draft.

Laura Muir beaten into third as Melissa Courtney wins women’s race on busy day at Vitality-sponsored event in London

Melissa Courtney finished a superb third in the European Indoor Championships 3000m but could be in for even a better summer over 5000m as she surprisingly outkicked Laura Muir in the Vitality Westminster Mile.

Despite a strong wind along Birdcage Walk, Courtney showed her strength by leading after a slow start and then repelling the challenges of Sarah McDonald and European champion Muir along the finishing straight outside Buckingham Palace as the Commonwealth bronze medallist retained her title.

Courtney was given a time of 4:31 which was the same as McDonald with Muir timed at 4:32.

Courtney said: “I’m delighted but a little shocked. I felt strong but the wind was tough and everyone was sitting behind me but I finished well.”

Muir had only arrived back from altitude in Switzerland the day before and endured a lot of travelling but admitted Courtney and McDonald were better on the day.

“I wanted to win but it’s okay at this time of year with a long season,” she said. “I had a break after the indoors and trained very hard at altitude.”

Scotland fared better in the men’s race as Chris O’Hare used his dependable strong finish that has won him European outdoor and European indoor medals in the past.

The clock was clearly showing 3:59 as he crossed the line and it looked as if he achieved the first sub-four-minutes mile in the event but road times are rounded up to the nearest second and it was officially recorded as 4:00.

“I was not too bothered about the time but to win the race but Tom Marshall set a good pace and I knew it would be fast,” said O’Hare (pictured below).

Also matching that time was the race revelation Jonathan Davies. The former European under-23 cross-country champion showed impressive speed in finishing second with Elliott Giles having his best mile race to date to finish a close third in 4:01 after having made much of the earlier pace.

On a day that saw had world record numbers competing over one mile – a total of 9198 finished – Anthony Whiteman came out of retirement to win the Olympians’ race in just over five minutes while Alyson Dixon (pictured below) was first woman with a time around 30 seconds slower than she had run in winning the masters title 10 minutes earlier.

Both W55 Clare Elms (5:10) and W70 Angela Copson (6:30) not only shattered the UK age group records but set world road bests that are significantly faster than the track world records.

Craig Sharp won the men’s masters race in a tight finish, while Mark Symes set a UK M50 record of 4:37 and Nigel Gates a UK M65 record of 5:20.

Steph Twell and husband Joe Morwood set a world record of 4:50 for a couple holding hands in a separate race, while Daniel Sidbury won the wheelchair race.

All the junior races were closely contested and there were under-20 wins for Sabrina Sinha and Will Stockley.

The under-15 races were won by small margins by Lewis Sullivan and Olivia Martin. The under-13 races, which were not GB championships events, saw success for Will Steadman and Isabelle Martin, the sister of Olivia.

Greek sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas comfortably beat German world number 110 Maximilian Marterer to reach the second round of the French Open.

The Australian Open semi-finalist won 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7-4) to set up a second-round meeting with Bolivian world number 92 Hugo Dellien.

Nicolas Mahut, 37, produced an upset, coming from two sets down to beat 16th seed Marco Cecchinato of Italy.

The French wildcard beat the 2018 semi-finalist 2-6 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-2 6-4.

Elsewhere, Japanese seventh seed Kei Nishikori beat French world number 153 Quentin Halys 6-2 6-3 6-4.

The two-time Roland Garros quarter-finalist will face Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or German Peter Gojowczyk in the second round.

Croatian 11th seed Marin Cilic is also through with a 6-3 7-5 6-1 victory over Italian Thomas Fabbiano.

The former US Open champion will face Bulgarian world number 47 Grigor Dimitrov, who beat Serb Janko Tipsarevic, in the second round.

Tsitsipas has been in good form heading into Roland Garros, reaching the final of the Madrid Open following victories over fourth seed Alexander Zverev and five-time champion Rafael Nadal.

He also captured his third ATP title - and his first on clay - when he beat Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas 6-3 7-6 (7-4) to win the Estoril Open before losing in the semi-finals to Nadal in Rome.

The Greek, who is the rising star on the ATP Tour, also played in clay tournaments in Monte Carlo and Barcelona - winning 13 matches in total on clay before coming to Paris.

"It is quite different to other tournaments I have played. It is slow. It is not too fast, it is fine. I love playing on this court though. It gives you another energy on the big arenas," said Tsitsipas following his win over Marterer.

"These are the moments that we are practising and dreaming of."

Roger Federer made a winning return to the French Open with a dominant first-round victory over Lorenzo Sonego.

The Swiss 20-time Grand Slam winner, playing at Roland Garros for the first time in four years, beat the Italian 6-2 6-4 6-4.

He arrived to a standing ovation on Philippe Chatrier court and left with the crowd on their feet in delight.

The 37-year-old will play German lucky loser Oscar Otte, ranked 145th in the world, in the second round.

"I knew I can play very well on clay and I am very happy I did it in straight sets today," Federer said.

"I missed the French crowd so thanks for the warm welcome today."

Four years away - 101 minutes to first victory

The rapturous reception he received was the only clue that Federer had ever been away from the Paris clay-court Grand Slam tournament.

The third seed missed the 2016 event with a back injury and skipped the past two clay-court seasons to preserve his body.

He raced to a 4-0 lead in the opening set before Italian world number 73 Sonego finally held his serve.

But while Sonego temporarily stemmed the flow, Federer marched on to claim the opening set in just 24 minutes.

"Two breaks in the first set was very important for me and when I was leading 4-0 I could take more risks and play more aggressive," Federer said.

He had looked like he was going to race away with the match until Sonego began to find some form when he was a double break down midway through the second set.

A cross-court forehand winner set up three break points for the Italian, all of which Federer saved before Sonego snatched the break when the Swiss double-faulted.

The 24-year-old celebrated the breakthrough as if he had won the match - and was soon fist-pumping again when a delightful lob had Federer well beaten to seal a hold in the next game.

But the brief glimmer of hope for the Italian was soon stamped out as Federer wasted no time in a hold to love to take the second set.

A closely contested third set was effectively decided by a thundering Federer backhand across the court that gave him a break for 5-4 and he went on to wrap up the match when Sonego sent a service return wide in the next game.

Meanwhile, in an era when the sport becomes ever faster two defenders prevailed, Japan’s Hitomi Sato won the women’s singles title.

Men’s Singles

…………Ruwen Filus, the no.3 seed beat Korea Republic qualifier, Seo Hyundeok in the final (11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8, 9-11, 11-8), after at semi-final stage having ousted Frenchman, Andrea Landrieu, the no.10 seed (11-8, 11-9, 11-9, 5-11, 10-12, 11-8).

…………It was one step higher for Ruwen Filus who had been the runner up on the ITTF World Tour in Belarus in 2015; for Seo Hyundeok, the same outcome, his one previous final was in 2010 in India when also he lost to a German, on that occasion he was beaten by Dimitrij Ovtcharov.

Women’s Singles

…………Hitomi Sato, the top seed, emerged the winner but she did things the hard way. At the semi-final stage she beat Honoka Hashimoto, the no.3 seed in seven games (8-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-3, 11-9), before in an equally testing final against a further Japanese colleague, Saki Shibata, the no.2 seed she repeated the feat (5-11, 11-5, 9-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-7).

…………Success for Hitomi Sato meant she won her fourth ITTF Challenge Series women’s singles title to add to the one success on the ITTF World Tour when she won in Croatia in 2016.

Men’s Doubles

…………Ruwen Filus and Steffen Mengel, the no.5 seeds, beat Chinese Taipei’s Feng Yu-Hsin and Wang Tai-Wei, the no.8 seeds, (11-7, 8-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-5) to secure the title. They won in five games (11-7, 8-11, 12-10, 7-11, 11-5).

…………Previously partnering Ricardo Walther, Ruwen Filus had appeared in three ITTF World Tour men’s doubles finals; always he had been the runner up.

Women’s Doubles

…………Satsuki Odo and Saki Shibata, the no.2 seeds, beat Japanese national team colleagues and qualifiers, Ayane Morita and Yuka Umemura (11-6, 12-10, 11-4) at the final hurdle.

…………Thus they secured their second ITTF Challenge Series women’s doubles title of the year, the third of their career. Earlier this year they won in Oman, last year they succeeded in Belarus and Belgium.

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