Sports
Eleven ATP and WTA Tour tournaments cancelled in China because of coronavirus pandemic
Eleven more tournaments across the ATP and WTA Tours have been cancelled after China announced it would hold no sporting events for the rest of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Seven tournaments on the WTA Tour have been cancelled, including November’s WTA Finals in Shenzhen.
On the ATP Tour, the Shanghai Masters is the most high profile event to have been called off.
WTA chairman Steve Simon said the WTA was “extremely disappointed”.
“We do however respect the decision that has been made and are eager to return to China as soon as possible next season,” he said.
ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said: “We respect the Chinese government’s decision to do what’s best for the country in response to the unprecedented global situation.
“These important events have been a cornerstone of the Tour’s presence in Asia and I want to thank the organizers for their commitment and cooperation. Chinese fans are some of the most passionate in the world and I know players will be looking forward to the next opportunity to play in front of them.”
The ATP Tour is currently set to resume from 20 August with the Cincinnati Open and the US Open scheduled to take place back-to-back in New York.
The WTA Tour is set to resume with the Palermo Open on 3 August, marking the return of top-level tennis after the professional tours were suspended because of the pandemic.
(BBC Sports)
[Cricbuzz]
West Indies suffered another batting collapse against New Zealand’s spinners in Guyana as the visitors took a 2-1 lead in the ODI series with a six-wicket victory, although Vitel Lawes continued his impressive start to international cricket to ensure they had to work for it in the chase.
Jayden Lennox followed his five-wicket haul in the second match with 4 for 52 – meaning he equaled the most wickets for a New Zealand spinner in a bilateral ODI series – as West Indies lost 6 for 19, to fall from 121 for 3 to 140 for 9, which brought the end of their innings after John Campbell had been forced to retire hurt with what appeared a hamstring injury. An unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 52 between Tom Latham and Dean Foxcroft then ensured New Zealand overcame a wobble to ease across the line.
On the same pitch that was used for the opening game of the series, batting was rarely a simple prospect even if the turn on offer wasn’t quite as lavish off the surface for the previous match.
Will Young and Henry Nicholls played carefully through the powerplay, the latter left grateful for the DRS on two occasions when given lbw against Gudakesh Motie and Alzarri Joseph. But Lawes’ introduction put a different complexion on the chase when he skidded one through to take Nicholls’ off stump with his second delivery.
Mark Chapman was then beaten on the inside edge as he played forward to fall lbw and Young drove a wide delivery to cover to leave New Zealand 77 for 3. Although Lawes still served up the occasional loose delivery – understandable for a 19-year-old in his third professional game – his control has improved markedly even in the short space of time of this series.
The game felt even more in the balance when Daryl Mitchell was beaten by Khary Pierre but the pressure was eased when Lawes returned for his eight over and two full tosses were cashed in on by Latham and Foxcroft. However, had West Indies reviewed for lbw against Foxcroft when he had 9, Lawes would have had a fourth wicket in his final over with 33 still needed. The umpire gave it as a run, and Foxcroft was down the pitch, but replays confirmed there was no edge and ball-tracking projected it hitting half way up leg stump. From there, New Zealand did not have too many further problems in finishing the job.
West Indies were twice handily placed with the bat before it all fell apart in an almost action-replay of the previous game. Campbell had retired hurt in the sixth over after he collapsed on the ground having sprinted through for a single and was stretchered off, then Ackeem Auguste gave away a promising start when he was brilliantly held by Mitchell Santner running back from mid-off.
However, the hosts were 67 for 1 in the 17th over when Shai Hope was beaten by Lennox’s arm ball for the second game in a row. Three overs later, Sherfane Rutherford top edged a reverse sweep to deep point. Keacy Carty worked hard to give himself a base and alongside the recalled Shimron Hetmyer, playing his first ODI since last June, took West Indies to 121 for 3 with Hetmyer having twice cleared the leg side against Lennox. Hetmyer’s inclusion after MLC had been so rushed that his kit hadn’t arrived.
The collapse started when Carty was beaten by a delivery from Michael Bracewell which turned to take the back pad for an lbw and Hetmyer, trying to hit a third six, picked out deep square leg in Bracewell’s next over to expose the lower order.
Lennox produced a couple of excellent deliveries to bowl Motie and Joseph – particularly the arm ball that curved past Motie’s outside edge – as he turned figures of 1 for 49 after eight overs into 4 for 52 from his 10 with West Indies’ last six wickets falling in 51 balls. They will now need to win both matches in Barbados to claim the series.
Scores:
New Zealand 141 for 4 in 39.3 overs (Tom Latham 31*;Vitel Lawes 3-39) beat West Indies 140 in 37.1 overs (Keacy Carty 48; Jayden Lennox 4-52) by six wickets
[Cricinfo]
Aiden Markram, Laura Wolvaardt and Simon Harmer were the biggest winners at the Cricket South Africa (CSA) Awards 2026, picking up the highest individual honours after stellar seasons across formats. Fast bowler Lungi Ngidi and wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock also went home with multiple awards.
Harmer, 37, was named Test Player of the Year after spearheading South Africa’s red-ball attack during the awards cycle, between April 2025 and 2026. The offspinner enjoyed a prolific return in this period, where he took 30 wickets in four matches. After taking eight wickets in the Rawalpindi Test against Pakistan to help draw the series, he led South Africa to a famous series sweep against India with match hauls of 8 for 51 and 9 for 101 in Kolkata and Guwahati respectively.
Wolvaardt, meanwhile, continued to set the benchmark in women’s cricket. South Africa’s captain was named the Women’s Player of the Year, SA Women’s Players’ Player of the Year and Women’s ODI Player of the Year, completing the awards sweep. Across the eligibility period, she piled up runs in all conditions and played a key role in South Africa’s run to the ODI World Cup final in 2025, finishing as the top scorer of the tournament with 571 runs at an average of 71.37, including centuries in the semi-final and final. Wolvaardt was South Africa’s leading run-scorer in the ODI series in New Zealand before dominating the home T20I series against India, where she scored 330 runs in five matches and was named Player of the Series.
The biggest winner among the men’s all-format awards was Markram, who claimed both the SA Men’s Player of the Year and SA Men’s Players’ Player of the Year awards, after a season in which he led South Africa to major success across formats, most noticeably in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia last year.
Ngidi, meanwhile, collected the Men’s T20 International Player of the Year award and the SA Fans’ Player of the Year prize. His dismissal of Jos Buttler during South Africa’s second ODI against England was also voted the Best Men’s Delivery of the year.
Matthew Breetzke’s breakthrough campaign earned him the Men’s ODI International Player of the Year award, while Dewald Brevis and Kayla Reyneke were recognised as the International Men’s and Women’s Newcomers of the Year, respectively.
The SA20 awards reflected the competition’s standout performers. De Kock, the tournament’s leading run-scorer, was named both SA20 Batter of the Season and Betway SA20 Player of the Season (MVP). Ottneil Baartman collected the SA20 Bowler of the Season award after finishing as the leading wicket-taker, while Jordan Hermann was named SA20 Rising Star of the Season.
Among the domestic awards, Kyle Simmonds and Mignon du Preez were named the men’s and women’s Most Valuable Players, while Robin Peterson, JP Triegaardt and Sandile Masengemi received the top coaching honours in their respective competitions.
CSA also recognised contributions beyond performances on the field. Arno Jacobs was named CSA Umpires’ Umpire of the Year, Lubabalo Gcuma received the CSA Umpire of the Year award, and Sinalo Jafta was presented with the Makhaya Ntini Power of Cricket Award.
[Cricinfo]
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