AFP – MANCHESTER

Ben Stokes made his presence felt with both bat and ball as England beat the West Indies by 113 runs in the second Test at Old Trafford yesterday.

West Indies, set a nominal 312 to win, were bowled out for 198 on the fifth and final day as England levelled the three-match series at 1-1.

All-rounder Stokes made 176 in England’s first-innings 469-9 declared and a dashing 78 not out on Monday that set up another declaration by home captain Joe Root.

Stokes then took two key wickets after Stuart Broad’s early treble helped reduce the West Indies to 37-4.

Shamarh Brooks (62) and Jermaine Blackwood (55) kept England at bay during a fifth-wicket stand of exactly 100.

But Stokes, yet again in his career, proved a part-nership breaker when his short b a l l h a d Blackwood, who made a match-clinching 95 in West Indies’ four-wicket win in the first Test at Southampton, gloving to diving wicketkeeper Jos Buttler on the stroke of tea.

England’s plans for this match were thrown into disarray when fast bowler Jofra Archer had to be omitted for breaching the bio-secure regula-tions governing a series that marks international cricket’s return from the coronavirus lockdown.

England suffered more frustration when rain washed out the whole of Saturday’s third day.

But such was their dominance they still had time enough to win.

Recalled paceman Stuart Broad,

angry at being rested from the series opener, struck just five balls into the West Indies second innings Monday when he had John Campbell caught behind.

Broad finished with 3-42 having rocked the West Indies in their first innings with a three-wicket burst in 14 balls.

Chris Woakes then had West Indies dangerman Kraigg Brathwaite lbw and Broad bowled Shai Hope with an excellent delivery that clipped the top of off stump.

Broad struck again after lunch when Roston Chase was lbw playing no shot to a nip-backer.

Brooks’ fine innings ended when he was plumb lbw to left-arm quick Sam Curran.

England spinner Dom Bess then got in on the act.

Two balls after Jason Holder drove him for six, Bess bowled the West

Indies captain between bat and pad with a classic off-break.

Bess finished the match when Kemar Roach was brilliantly caught by Ollie Pope at short leg.

Earlier, Stokes, promoted to open in a quest for quick runs, took England to 129-3 declared in their second innings.

Having batted cautiously before upping the tempo in his first-innings century, Stokes produced another brilliantly judged batting display as England scored 92 runs in 11 overs on Monday.

Stokes should have been out for 29 when he slogged Shannon Gabriel to deep extra cover only for Campbell to drop a routine catch.

Stokes, England’s captain in Root’s absence for the first Test, cashed in and went to fifty with a six off Gabriel that cleared the towering Holder at long-off.

SPORT | 18

Rahm wins

Memorial and

claims world

No. 1 ranking

SPORTOnly gutsy Bottas

can stop

Hamilton, say

Ferrari drivers

SPORT | 19

TUESDAY 21 JULY 2020

T20 World Cup falls victim to COVID-19 as ICC postpones eventREUTERS – DUBAI

This year’s Twenty20 World Cup became a high-profile casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic yesterday after the sport’s governing International Cricket Council (ICC) postponed the tournament scheduled in October-November.

The ICC has been exploring con-tingency plans since hosts

Cricket Australia (CA) acknowledged the logistical challenges involved in staging a 16-team tournament amid travel and other restrictions this year.

Consequently, there will be back-to-back men’s T20 World Cups in 2021 and 2022 before the 50-overs World Cup in India in 2023.

“The decision ... was taken after careful consideration of all of the options available to us and gives us the

best possible opportunity of delivering two safe and successful T20 World Cups for fans around the world,” ICC chief executive Manu Sawhney said in a statement.

In the original calendar, India was scheduled to host the 2021 edition of the Twenty20 World Cup.

The ICC did not specify the hosting order and a spokesman told Reuters the governing body was yet to finalise,

between India and Australia, who will host which edition.

The powerful Indian cricket board (BCCI) has resented a late call on the fate of this year’s World Cup, saying the uncertainty created a scheduling headache for the cricket boards already bruised by the pandemic’s financial impact.

The BCCI has also been open about its plans to stage its delayed Indian

Premier League Twenty20 competition in the now-vacant October-November slot. The governing body also moved the 2023 ODI World Cup in India to an October-November window from its original February-March slot.

The ICC said it would continue to evaluate situation while preparing for the 2021 women’s 50-overs World Cup, which is scheduled in New Zealand from February 6.

Al Sadd set to welcome Cazorla, Brazilian Dudu joins Al DuhailTHE PENINSULA – DOHA

Spanish international Santi Cazorla has become Al Sadd’s latest high-profile player, the QNB Stars League’s (QSL) defending champions announced yesterday.

The 35-year-old midfielder played his last game for Villarreal on Sunday as the La Liga outfit finished their league campaign with a 4-0 win over Eibar to finish fifth in the standings.

Cazorla, who played a major role in Vil-larreal’s qualification to Europa League this season, confirmed his departure for Qatar after 70 appearances with the Spanish side in his final stint.

Cazorla will join former team-mate and Barcelona great Xavi Hernandez who is in charge of the Wolves. Al Sadd are currently occupying the third spot in the QSL standings.

“We have reached an agreement with Santi Cazorla,” Al Sadd said on their official Twitter handle yesterday.

“He will reach Doha soon to complete the formalities and join the team,” Al Sadd added.

Cazorla had completed three stints at

Villarreal and has made 316 appearances, making him the fifth most-capped player for the side. He has scored 57 goals for the side. Cazorla also spent six seasons at Premier League side Arsenal where he won the FA Cup twice before his final two seasons with the club were limited due to an injury which almost threatened to end his career.

Cazorla made 81 appearances for his national team and played alongside Xavi

since 2008. He was also a member of the Spanish squad that won Euro 2008 and 2012 tournaments.

Meanwhile, QSL table toppers Al Duhail also announced yesterday their latest signing, Eduardo Pereira Rodrigues, also known as Dudu.

The Brazillian will be joining the ranks of Al Duhail on loan from Palmeiras. Dudu is expected to play for the QSL giants for at least one year.

The 28-year-old Dudu’s recruitment comes days after Al Duhail announced the departure of Croatian Mario Mandzukic.

Al Duhail, under their Moroccan coach Walid Regragui, are leading the QSL standings with 42 points, with possible threats from second-placed Al Rayyan (38) and holders Al Sadd (31) who are currently in the third spot.

Al Duhail will resume the QSL action when they take on Umm Salal on July 25 at the Education City Stadium in their Week 18 fixture as the sports activities in the country resume after a long break forced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ENGLAND, 1st innings .................. 469-9 dec(B Stokes 176, D Sibley 120; R Chase 5-172)WEST INDIES, 1st innings ...................... 287(K Brathwaite 75, S Brooks 68, R Chase 51; C Woakes 3-42, S Broad 3-66)ENGLAND, 2nd innings (overnight: 37-2)B. Stokes not out ...................................................78J. Buttler b Roach .....................................................0Z. Crawley b Roach .................................................11J. Root run out (Dowrich/Joseph/Holder) ............22O. Pope not out ...................................................... 12Extras (b1, lb1, nb1, w3) ........................................6Total (3 wkts dec, 19 overs, 98 mins) .....129Did not bat: R Burns, D Sibley, C Woakes, S Curran, D Bess, S BroadFall of wickets: 1-0, 2-17, 3-90 (Root)Bowling: Roach 6-0-37-2 (1w); Gabriel 7-0-43-0 (1nb); Holder 4-0-33-0 (1w); Joseph 2-0-14-0WEST INDIES, 2nd innings (target: 312)J. Campbell c Buttler b Broad .................................4

K. Brathwaite lbw b Woakes ................................ 12S. Hope b Broad ....................................................... 7S. Brooks lbw b Curran ..........................................62R. Chase lbw b Broad ..............................................6J. Blackwood c Buttler b Stokes ...........................55S. Dowrich lbw b Woakes .......................................0J. Holder b Bess ......................................................35K. Roach c Pope b Bess ........................................... 5A. Joseph c Bess b Stokes .......................................9S. Gabriel not out .....................................................0Extras (lb3) ............................................................. 3Total (all out, 70.1 overs, 306 mins) ...... 198Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-19, 3-23, 4-37, 5-137, 6-138, 7-161, 8-183, 9-192, 10-198Bowling: Broad 15-5-42-3; Woakes 16-3-34-2; Curran 8-3-30-1; Bess 15.1-3-59-2; Stokes 14.4-30-2; Root 1.2-1-0-0Result: England won by 113 runsPlayer of the match: Ben Stokes (ENG)Series: Three-match series level at 1-1

SCOREBOARD

Stokes magic helps England level seriesR

e his presence felt ball as England beat by 113 runs in the

d Trafford yesterday.set a nominal 312 to d out for 198 on the as England levelled

series at 1-1.Stokes made 176 in -innings 469-9 shing 78 not out set up another me captain Joe

ook two key art Broad’s ed reduce o 37-4.oks (62) ckwood

d at bay wicket 00.yet

eer, t-

er t

d ho linching 95 in Weset win in the first Tes, gloving to diving

Villarreal’s Spanish midfielder Santi Cazorla controls the ball during the La Liga match against SD Eibar at La Ceramica Stadium on Sunday.

England’s Ollie Pope takes a catch to dismiss West Indies’ Kemar Roach and seal the victory on the final day of their second Test match at the Emirates Old Trafford, yesterday.

Man of the match Ben

Stokes

18 TUESDAY 21 JULY 2020SPORT

Ballon d’Or cancelled this year amid COVID-19 pandemic AP – PARIS

The prestigious Ballon d’Or will not be awarded this year because the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the soccer season.

Awarded by France Football magazine, the Ballon d’Or has been given out every year since Stanley Matthews won the first one in 1956. Lionel Messi has won it a record six times - one more than longtime rival Cris-tiano Ronaldo.

The magazine started giving out a women’s award in 2018, but that has also been put on hold.

“It’s such a strange year that we couldn’t treat it as an ordinary one. Let’s say that we started talking about (making the decision) at least two months ago,” France Football

editor Pascal Ferré told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

“It isn’t a decision we took lightly but we had to accept it couldn’t be a normal or typical Ballon d’Or winner, and what really worried us it that it wouldn’t be fairly awarded.”

Because the game’s rules have been modified during the pandemic, the award itself was impacted.

“The season started with certain rules and ended with other rules. In January and Feb-ruary, soccer was played in front of full stands. Then from May and June it was with empty stands,” Ferré said.

“Then we had the five sub-stitutes rule and not three. Then other changes happened in terms of the competitions, notably the final eight

(eight-team knockout format) for the Champions League when it had started with home and away legs.”

With the European Cham-pionship and the Copa America postponed this year, the Cham-pions League would have mas-sively weighed on the award’s outcome but with a format inadvertently providing a shortcut for an eventual victor.

“The Ballon d’Or would have been decided over just three games: quarter-final, semifinal, final,” Ferré said. “There were loads of changes (to soccer’s rules) which are totally legit-imate and which we don’t contest given the worldwide health crisis, but we couldn’t consider this as a typical year. Exceptional circumstances led to an exceptional decision.”

The Kopa Trophy for the

best player under 21 and the Lev Yashin award for best goal-keeper have also been cancelled this year, Ferré said.

Ronaldo, who will be 36 in February, can still win an Italian league-Champions League

double with Juventus this season, but he is not the only player affected by France Foot-ball’s decision.

Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski reached 50 club goals for the first time and can

win a treble. Kylian Mbappé and Neymar can clinch quadruples for Paris Saint-Germain.

To maintain the award’s authenticity and level of sus-pense, players were not informed of the decision before the announcement.

If the virus impacts next season the same way, however, the award will be awarded.

To fill this year’s gap, the magazine created another trophy: the France Football Dream Team.

The magazine’s jury of 180 will elect history’s best team from a shortlist of five players in each position. The star-studded lineup will be known sometime in autumn.

Ronaldo will not be able to equal Messi this year, but he could find himself in the same team for the first time.

RECENT NUMBER 1 GOLF RANKINGS

July 19, 2020 - Jon Rahmx-February 9, 2020 - Rory McIlroy (11 weeks)(x-The world ranking was frozen for 13 weeks

because of the COVID-19 pandemic)May 19, 2019 - Brooks Koepka (38 weeks)April 14, 2019 - Dustin Johnson (5 weeks)April 7, 2019 - Justin Rose (1 week)March 3, 2019 - Dustin Johnson (5 weeks)January 6, 2019 - Justin Rose (8 weeks)November 25, 2018 - Brooks Koepka (6 weeks)November 18, 2018 - Justin Rose (1 week)November 11, 2018 - Brooks Koepka (1 week)November 4, 2018 - Justin Rose (1 week)Oct. 21, 2018 - Brooks Koepka (2 weeks)September 23, 2018 - Dustin Johnson (4 weeks)September 09, 2018 - Justin Rose (2 weeks)June 10, 2018 - Dustin Johnson (13 weeks)May 13, 2018 - Justin Thomas (4 weeks)February 19, 2017 - Dustin Johnson (64 weeks)March 28, 2016 - Jason Day (47 weeks)November 8, 2015 - Jordan Spieth (20 weeks)October 18, 2015 - Jason Day (3 weeks)September 27, 2015 - Jordan Spieth (3 weeks)September 20, 2015 - Jason Day (1 week)September 13, 2015 - Rory McIlroy (1 week)September 8, 2015 - Jordan Spieth (1 week)August 30, 2015 - Rory McIlroy (1 week)August 16, 2015 - Jordan Spieth (2 weeks)August 3, 2014 - Rory McIlroy (53 weeks)May 18, 2014 - Adam Scott (11 weeks)March 24, 2013 - Tiger Woods (60 weeks)August 12, 2012 - Rory McIlroy (32 weeks)May 27, 2012 - Luke Donald (11 weeks)May 6, 2012 - Rory McIlroy (3 weeks)April 29, 2012 - Luke Donald (1 week)April 15, 2012 - Rory McIlroy (2 weeks)March 18, 2012 - Luke Donald (4 weeks)

Rahm wins Memorial and claims world No. 1 ranking

May 1FebruMarchNovemOctobSepteSepteSepteSepteAugusAugusAugusMay 1MarchAugusMay 2May 6April April March

REUTERS – OHIO

Spain’s Jon Rahm overcame nerves and a two-shot penalty to claim victory at the Memorial Tournament on Sunday and replace Rory McIlroy at the top of the world rankings.

Rahm began the final round at a steamy and gusty Muirfield Village Golf Club with a four-shot lead and padded that to eight with nine holes to play, but late drama saw his advantage shrink to three before the 25-year-old sealed his fourth PGA Tour win.

Rahm, who joins childhood hero Seve Ballesteros as the only Spaniards to hold the top ranking, celebrated with a massive fist pump in fading light and near silence with spectators still banned due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“I don’t know how to describe it,” said Rahm. “It’s been a goal since I was 13-, 14-years-old.

“I remember I heard a story on the radio from my swing coach back in Spain, Eduardo Celles. We were driving somewhere and he asked me what my goals were and my ambitions and this and that, and I remember telling him I’m going to be the best player in the world.”

Rahm’s final round of three-over 75 saw him finish on nine-under 279, three shots ahead of Ryan Palmer (74), with Matthew Fitzpatrick (68) in third on 283, and Matt Wallace (72) and Aus-tralian Jason Day (73) one shot further back.

Rahm’s round began to unravel with a bogey at 10 followed by a double-bogey at 11, while Palmer rolled in a birdie at 12, and when he missed a routine three-footer to take bogey at the 14th the Spaniard’s once commanding lead was reduced to three.

But the big-hitting Spaniard steadied the ship with a flash of brilliance at the 16th, chipping in from 30-feet to restore a four-

shot cushion with two to play.There was more late drama,

however, when Rahm was later handed a two-shot penalty when his ball moved while addressing the shot at 16.

Rahm was unaware of that penalty and, after Palmer bogeyed the 17th, walked to the 18th tee without being told his lead was three strokes, not five.

“As unfortunate as it is to have this happen, it was a great shot, serious,” said Rahm.

“What it goes to show is you never know what’s going to happen.

“So I’m glad I grinded those last two up-and-downs because had I missed both of them, plus the penalty stroke, maybe Ryan finishes strong, I would be in a playoff, and I’m glad I finished it off good.

“But it did move, so I’ll accept the penalty, and it still doesn’t change the outcome of the tournament.”

US PGA TOUR MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT SCORES279 - Jon Rahm (ESP) 69-67-68-75282 - Ryan Palmer 67-68-73-74283 - Matthew Fitzpatrick (ENG) 75-66-74-68284 - Matt Wallace (ENG) 72-70-70-72, Jason Day (AUS) 73-66-72-73285 - Mackenzie Hughes (CAN) 74-66-73-72, Henrik Norlander (SWE) 74-66-71-74286 - Tony Finau 66-69-73-78287 - Kevin Na 74-69-71-73288 - Luke List 70-68-79-71, Patrick Reed 71-76-70-71, Zhang Xinjun (CHN) 72-73-70-73289 - Xander Schauffele 78-69-72-70, Harris English 70-73-74-72, Billy Horschel 76-71-70-72, Jordan Spieth 70-70-74-75, Brendan Steele 68-75-71-75290 - Steve Stricker 73-67-77-73, Justin Thomas 74-67-75-74, Kim Si-woo 73-73-70-74, Patrick Rodgers 70-72-71-77

Woods focuses on positives after

stumbling finishREUTERS – OHIO

Tiger Woods’ first PGA Tour event in five months ended with a grinding final round

four-over 76 at the Memorial Tournament on Sunday, but the 15-times major winner said he was leaving Muirfield Village Golf Club focused on the positives.

Woods, who last competed on the PGA Tour in mid-February at the Genesis Invitational where he finished last among players who made the cut, showed a bit of promise but plenty of rust on a layout where he had won five times.

The Memorial offered up a mixed bag for Woods as he returned two promising rounds of one-under 71 but then offset those with two far less impressive 76s.

Woods finished well down the leaderboard on six-over 294 but shrugged off the score as a result of diabolical conditions in Dublin, Ohio combining with some shabby putting and a lack of competitive rounds.

“As far as my swing, it felt good,” said Woods, summing up his performance. “I was able to hit good shots.

“Friday was a bit off physically, but overall for my first week back it was a lot... of positives.” Woods got his round off to a bright start with a birdie at the first but there was little to smile about the rest of day.

The 44-year-old reigning Masters champion carded his first bogey at the fourth then stumbled into the turn with a double-bogey at the par five seventh followed by two more bogeys at eight and nine.

After yet another bogey at 11, Woods had looked poised to at least head off on a high note after picking up back-to-back birdies at 16 and 17 only to collect his fifth bogey of the day at the last.

Despite Woods’ complaints about his putting, he showed some masterly touches on the greens with his three birdies all coming courtesy of monster putts of 35, 22 and 18 feet.

“I think I need to work on my putting a bit and clean that up,” he said. “Tough, tough conditions to start out my first week back but it was good to get the feel and the flow of competing again.” Asked what his tournament schedule is going to be and when he will be back out on the course Woods had a one word answer.

“Soon,” he said.

Nicklaus reveals he had coronavirusAFP – LOS ANGELES

US golf legend Jack Nicklaus said on Sunday that he and his wife Barbara tested positive for the coronavirus back in March and both recovered.

The 80-year-old Nicklaus, winner of a record 18 major titles, revealed the experience on the television broadcast of the US PGA Tour’s Memorial tournament, which Nicklaus hosts at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio.

He said his wife had no virus symptoms, while he dealt with a sore throat and cough from March 13 “until we were done with it” more than a month later.

“It didn’t last very long, and we were very, very fortunate, very lucky,” said Nicklaus, who noted that he and his wife, both 80, are at an “at-risk age” for more serious COVID-19 symptoms.

“Our hearts go out to the people who did lose their lives and their families. We were just a couple of the lucky ones.”

Jon Rahm of Spain celebrates with the trophy after winning The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. RIGHT: Rahm celebrates after chipping in for birdie on the 16th hole during the final round.

19TUESDAY 21 JULY 2020 SPORT

Only gutsy Bottas can stop Hamilton, say Ferrari driversREUTERS - LONDON

Lewis Hamilton leads the Formula One world championship after three races and Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas already looks like the only man who can deny the Briton a record-equalling seventh title.

That at least is the view of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc, whose own hopes of building on last year’s challenge have melted away.

Hamilton dominated Sun-day’s Hungarian Grand Prix from pole position, with a bonus point for fastest lap, to take a five point lead over Bottas, the winner of the Austrian season-opener.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is third overall, 30 points off the lead.

Asked whether they could see a scenario where Hamilton might not be champion at the end of the year, Vettel and Leclerc agreed it was unlikely.

“I think (only) if Valtteri wins the championship,” said the German, himself a four-times world champion.

“I think Lewis is obviously the main contender,” added Leclerc. “The only one that could probably stop him doing that is Valtteri.”

Mercedes, winners of the past six drivers’ and constructors’ championships, have started 2020 with three wins and three poles and are 66 points clear of closest rivals Red Bull.

Hamilton, fourth in the opener at the Red Bull Ring, has won two in a row and the next races are at his home Silverstone circuit.

Bottas has a win, a second place and a third -- in that order -- and blew Sunday’s race at the start. The Finn started stronger last season and still ended up far behind his team mate by the end.

The only others on the podium have been Leclerc, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Verstappen -- the first two both failing to

score on Sunday. Mercedes have responded with fighting talk to those who suggest the championship is already sewn up, with team boss Toto Wolff and technical head James All ison warning against complacency.

“I’m not sure I’m seeing the competition

fall apart,” commented Wolff on Sunday night.

“We can see that Red Bull was struggling all through the weekend and then they had a pretty decent race car.

“It’s 30 points after three races that we have with Lewis to Max. If you have one DNF (non-finish) the gap is gone.”

The evidence suggests Mercedes are on

another level, however. Hamilton lapped all but three cars behind him before his final pitstop in Hungary and was still nearly a minute clear of fourth-placed Lance Stroll in a Racing Point that is basically a copy of last year’s Mercedes.

While the Briton saw no danger of the

championship becoming a procession, he said he would like more of a fight in the championship.

“I think the Red Bulls have been doing a great job and I’m sure at some stage they’re going to make some improvements as we get into the season,” he said.

“I’m hopeful we will still find some chal-lenges up ahead.”

Hamilton can break Schumacher's record at Ferrari-owned Mugello in SeptemberAFP - BUDAPEST

Lewis Hamilton’s early season form has raised the prospect that he could match or break Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 Grand Prix wins on Ferrari’s home soil in Italy in September.

World champion Hamilton has looked supreme in his last two outings and his victory in Hungary on Sunday was his 86th in Formula One.

This year’s coronavirus-delayed season continues with four races in August - two at Hamilton’s home circuit Silver-stone, one in Spain and then the Belgian Grand Prix - before moving to Italy for two races.

Schumacher won five of his seven titles and gained 72 of his 91 victories with Ferrari. If Hamilton keeps winning, he could be chasing the record at Monza on September 6 and Ferrari-owned Mugello a week later.

The race at Mugello, named the Grand Prix of Tuscany, was created to cele-brate Ferrari’s 1,000th Formula One Grand Prix.

Hamilton’s Mercedes team have won all three races this year and on Sunday were so supreme that the Briton lapped all but three of his rivals.

His win in Hungary enabled him to draw level with another Schumacher record: winning eight races at a single venue. Schumacher won eight French Grands Prix.

But the 35-year-old defending champion, who has never previously won more than five races in succession, knows he will have to maintain his momentum at Silver-stone in the two versions of the British Grand Prix without any support from a crowd.

“I love Silverstone but I’ve got to say that’s something that’s bugging me a little bit,” he said on Sunday after being reminded that the British races would be run behind closed doors. “It’s the highlight of the year, the support is insane,” he said. “It grows every year and I get to interact with the fans differently on that weekend and it’s such an honour and privilege to be able to perform well and win a Grand Prix in your home country.

“It feels great to be out there once you’re in the zone, but I do really miss the energy they bring. There’s nothing like it. I don’t have a lot of years left and that’s going to be one year that I miss all the fans.

“But I do want them to stay safe and we are in that period of time where safety is everything. So, I hope I can perform well for them there because I know they will be watching.”

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in action during the Hungarian Grand Prix at Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary, on Sunday.

Formula One rejects criticism of anti-racism effortAFP - BUDAPEST

Formula One bosses reacted to Lewis Hamilton’s stinging criticism of their confused anti-racism efforts by saying that the sport is on course to make lasting changes.

Six-time champion Hamilton, the only black driver on the grid, spoke out after winning Sun-day’s Hungarian Grand Prix to go top of the embryonic drivers’ championship after three races.

He said F1 was not doing enough, lacked lead-ership and had presented a campaign that required better coordination - adding that he would pushing for improvement this week.

He said the sport’s ‘We Race As One’

campaign had made no progress since its pre-season launch.

Following another hurried and shambolic pre-race anti-racism ceremony, during which several drivers took a knee while others stood, arrived late or remained absent, Hamilton said he would write to Formula One chief Chase Carey and the president of ruling body the International Motoring Federation Jean Todt.

“Moving forward, we need to speak to Formula One,” said Hamilton “They’ve got to do a better job. It was such a rush, us getting out of the car, running over, quickly doing the knee. They need to do more.

“I don’t know why they’ve only done it for the first race. They did it at the start, but they’ve not

done it since then. They’ve come out saying they’re going to be fighting for diversity and end racism, but they’re not giving us the platform to continue that.”

Referring to the muddled support for ‘taking a knee’ during the pre-race routine, he added: “There definitely is not enough support for it.

“Many drivers seem to be of the opinion that they have done it once and are not going to do it again,” he added.

“It’s almost like it has gone off the agenda. It’s lacking leadership. There needs to be leadership from the top.”

Formula One responded overnight with a statement: “Ending racism and increasing diversity and inclusion in F1 is a clear priority.

We set out our plans for diversity and inclusion last November and have in recent weeks announced additional plans to create a Taskforce to tackle these issues and a foundation with over $1 million already donated to create apprentice-ships and job opportunities for under represented groups. We want to make lasting change and are acting to do this.”

The initial $1m was provided personally by Carey with Todt pledging that the FIA will add a further € 1m ($1.15m).

On Sunday, the ceremony that had been organised on the grid prior to the national anthem at the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix was switched to the ‘parc fermee’ in the pit lane and received only brief television coverage.

Beckham’s Miami first MLS expansion team at 0-5

AP - LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA

David Beckham’s Inter Miami became the first Major League Soccer team to lose its first five games when Ismael Tajouri-Shradi scored midway through the second half yesterday in New York City’s 1-0 victory.

Two other expansion teams had been winless in their first five games, including draws: Chivas USA in 2005 and Montreal in 2012.

NYCFC (1-4) won for the first time in the 2020 season and guar-anteed a third-place finish in Group A with three points.

But NYCFC will need help from others to advance in the MLS is Back tournament as one of the top four third-place finishers. NYCFC’s minus-2 goal differential through three matches means it likely will need stumbles from a combination of teams in order to reach the knockout round.

Tajouri-Sharadi scored on NYCFC’s first shot on goal in the match. Coming

off a water break, Tajouri-Sharadi split the Inter Miami defence to collect a long pass from Alexandru Mitrita and beat Inter Miami goalkeeper Luis Robles. It was just the second goal for NYCFC.

Inter Miami finished with 10 players when striker Juan Agudelo was sent off late in the match for his second

yellow card. Inter Miami had the better scoring chances early in the match, including headers by Agudelo and Nicolas Figal that forced saves from NYCFC goalkeeper Sean Johnson.

But Inter Miami’s attack failed to test Johnson in the second half and it became the first team eliminated from the tournament..

New York City FC midfielder

Alexandru Mitrita (28) dribbles

the ball against Inter Miami CF

defender Nicolas Figal (5) during the second half

in Kissimmee, FL, USA.

Pakistani pacer Amir set to join England tourAFP - ISLAMABAD

Fast bowler Mohammad Amir will join Pakistan’s tour of England having orig-inally withdrawn from the squad citing personal reasons, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said yesterday.

The 28-year-old pulled out so he could be at the birth of his second child in August, but his daughter was born last week.

Amir will have to test negative for the coronavirus twice before travelling to England, where Pakistan will play three Test matches and three T20 internationals.

The left-armer surprisingly retired from Test cricket last year.Amir infamously deliberately bowled no-balls as part of a spot-fixing scandal

in a Test against England at Lord’s in 2010. He was banned for five years and jailed by a UK court.

The PCB also said the arrival of batsman Shoaib Malik had been delayed due to India’s extension of a ban on international flights pushing back his planned family reunion.

Malik is married to Indian tennis star Sania Mirza.MEANWHILE IN DHAKA, Bangladesh cricketers have resumed training,

but only one player and a trainer are allowed inside Dhaka’s main stadium at a time as a precaution against coronavirus.

“I could hold the bat again after about four months... It felt good,” said batsman Imrul Kayes, one of two cricketers to train at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday. “We did gym work at home over the past four months but couldn’t practise batting,” he said.

“Hopefully we can take advantage of this opportunity.”The Bangladesh Cricket Board opened the stadium on Sunday, with wick-

etkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim, batsman Mohammad Mithun and pacer Shafiul Islam among the first allowed to train.

Race winner Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and third-placed Valtteri Bottas, also of Mercedes, during a press conference after the Hungarian Grand Prix in Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary, on Sunday.