Sports
Sally Pearson and Christian Taylor announced as ambassadors for World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25
Sally Pearson and Christian Taylor have been announced as World Athletics ambassadors for the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25, with two months to go until the 20th edition of the global showpiece in Japan.
Australia’s Pearson and USA’s Taylor have claimed a sensational six World Championships titles between them, and they will both be in Tokyo to see the sport’s current stars go for gold medals of their own during nine days of action from 13-21 September.
It was in Japan that Pearson made her individual World Championships debut, reaching the semifinals of both the 100m and the 100m hurdles at the 2007 edition in Osaka. She had formed part of Australia’s 4x100m squad as a 16-year-old at the World Championships in Paris four years earlier.
She went on to win two world 100m hurdles titles, in Daegu in 2011 and in London in 2017, as well as world silver in 2013, Olympic gold in 2008 and Olympic silver in 2008. At the time, her 12.28 in Daegu placed her fourth on the world all-time list. Indoors, she secured the world 60m hurdles title in 2012 and silver in 2014.
“I remember, as a 16-year-old, racing at my first World Championships way back in 2003 in Paris,” said Pearson, whose first major medal was the world U18 gold she gained in Sherbrooke the same year she made her senior World Championships debut.
“There I was, standing on the side of the track, getting ready to anchor the 4x100m relay. I look up and there are 80,000 people in the stands. That’s when I decided I wanted that as my career; I wanted to be a professional athlete. My dreams came true, and I represented Australia at six editions of the World Championships. Being at peak performance at the highest level of our sport is something dreams are made of and I am so glad that I got to experience it. That’s why being selected as an athlete ambassador is a huge honour. This sport is so important to me, and I can’t wait to see you all there in Tokyo in September.”
Taylor’s global journey also began at the World U18 Championships and he soared to triple jump gold and long jump bronze at the 2007 edition in Ostrava.
He started his senior World Championships career in style, winning triple jump gold in Daegu on his debut in 2011. After claiming the first of his two Olympic titles in London in 2012, he regained his world title in Beijing in 2015 and repeated the feat in London in 2017 and in Doha in 2019 to become a four-time winner and the most successful athlete in the history of the men’s triple jump at the World Championships. He won his second Olympic title in 2016 and claimed world indoor silver in 2012.
The North American record of 18.21m that Taylor achieved to win his second world title in Beijing places him second on the world all-time list, just eight centimetres behind the world record Jonathan Edwards set at the World Championships in 1995.
“I am very excited to announce that I have been selected as one of the World Athletics athlete ambassadors for the World Championships in Tokyo, my absolute favourite city in the world,” said Taylor.
“As a World Athletics athlete ambassador, I have the privilege of cheering on and witnessing my fellow athletes in phenomenal performances which will be held on the runway, in the circle and on the track. One of my favourite World Championships experiences has to be my first World Championships, because I went there with everything to gain and nothing to lose, and I came out with a world title. That was the snowball effect that really changed the trajectory of my career. Reflecting on that and passing that positive energy towards you athletes, I just wish you nothing but the absolute best.”
[World Athletics]
Canada captain Dilpreet Bajwa won the toss and asked South Africa to bat in their World Cup opener in Ahmedabad.
South Africa have opted for a pace-heavy attack. Keshav Maharaj slots in as their only spinner, alongside the speedy quartet of Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi. Tristan Stubbs also begins the tournament at the No. 6 spot – a position Jason Smith had occupied in their last T20I, while Stubbs had slid down to No. 7. Smith is in the World Cup squad but did not find a spot in South Africa’s starting eleven.
South Africa’s pace is expected to get the most out of a characteristically flat Ahmedabad black-soil pitch. But first, their batters will have a hit in a game they begin as overwhelming favourites against Canada, who are their second World Cup.
Canada’s new captain, Bajwa, will lead the side at a global tournament for the first time. He also slots in at the top of the order, alongside Yuvraj Samra, and their batting power will be key to their hopes of causing a massive upset.
Canada have lost both their warm-up games – to Italy and Nepal – but should their batters come off on a friendly pitch, South Africa will look to have the added insurance of a few more runs in the bank before dew takes over when Canada begin their chase at night.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram (capt), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi
Canada: Dilpreet Bajwa (capt), Yuvraj Samra, Navneet Dhaliwal, Nicholas Kirton, Shreyas Movva, Harsh Thaker, Saad Bin Zafar, Jaskaran Singh, Dilon Heyliger, Kaleem Sana, Ansh Patel
(Cricinfo)
Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza decided to field first against Oman in the men’s T20 World Cup match at the SSC in Colombo. Both teams were pleased to arrive in Sri Lanka early to get themselves attuned to the conditions.
Zimbabwe have Blessing Muzarabani back in the squad after he missed the tri-series in Pakistan in November.
Oman, meanwhile, include 44-year-old Aaamir Kaleem the oldest player in the tournament – after he came into the side in place of Hasnain Shah, who was injured after the squad was named.
Zimbabwe return to the tournament after missing out on the previous edition in West Indies and the United States of America. They had made it to the Super 12s of the 2022 T20 World Cup but failed to progress through the qualifiers for the 2024 tournament. They completed qualification alongside Namibia; Brian Bennett was the tournament’s top run-scorer, while Brad Evans and Richard Ngarava were among the leading wicket-takers.
Zimbabwe are bolstered by the return of Graeme Cremer, whose November 2025 comeback marked the longest gap between T20I appearances.
Oman are one of three qualifiers from the Asia-Pacific region, alongside Nepal and the UAE. They have previously appeared in the 2016, 2021, and 2024 editions of the T20 World Cup.
Oman: Jatinder Singh (capt), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Karan Sonavale, Jiten Ramanandi, Vinayak Shukla (wk), Sufyan Mehmood, Nadeem Khan, Shah Faisal, Shakeel Ahmad
Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Dion Myers, Brendan Taylor (wk), Sikandar Raza (capt), Ryan Burl, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani
Scotland may have suffered a blip the last time they faced Italy in a T20I but ensured they picked up the first points of their 2026 T20 World Cup campaign after a dominant performance at Eden Gardens. George Munsey’s 54-ball 84, supported by cameos from Brandon McMullen and Michael Leask, followed by Leask’s four-wicket haul helped Scotland spoil Italy’s debut in the tournament. The 73-run win gave Scotland two points after their defeat to West Indies in Kolkata two days ago.
Brief scores:
Scotland 207 for 4 in 20 overs (George Munsey 84, Michael Jones 37, Brandon McMullen 41, Richie Berrington 15, Michael Leask 22*; Ali Hasan 1-21, Grant Stewart 1-44, Thomas Draca 1-37, JJ Smuts 1-38) beat Italy 134 in 16.4 overs (Anthony Mosca 13, JJ Smutts 22, Harry Manenti 52; Michael Leask 4-17, Brad Currie 1-12, Brad Wheal 1-29, Mark Watt 2-24, Oliver Davidson 1-33 ) by 73 runs
(Cricinfo)
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