HAMILTON: New Zealand could hardly not be confident of sealing their first series triumph over South Africa in 72 years of trying when they take to the field at Hamilton’s Seddon Park for the second Test on Tuesday.

The Black Caps romped to a 281-run victory in the first test at Mount Maunganui last week and all the factors that contributed to that comprehensive win remain in play this week.

Foremost amongst those is the yawning gap in experience between the two sides after South Africa Cricket decided to send a weakened team and prioritise their financially lucrative Twenty20 competition.

New Zealand captain Tim Southee has resolutely refused to engage on the subject of his team potentially making a little bit of history this week and said the prospect had not been discussed in camp.

“We obviously had a great week last week. And like every test match our focus has been on our preparation over the last couple of days,” he told reporters on Monday. “It doesn’t change who you play or what Test match.”

There will be changes to the home side, however, as Daryl Mitchell will miss the match and the Twenty20 series against Australia that follows with a foot injury.

Will Young will come into the middle of the batting order to replace him, while rangy paceman Will O’Rourke was included in the squad for this Test only and could make his debut.

“His strengths are obviously his height and his ability to extract bounce,” Southee, who will name his team at the toss, said of the 22-year-old. “He’s got the tools to be a very, very good bowler and someone I’m sure will thrive at this level and have a long career at this level.”

South Africa captain Neil Brand, who made his Test debut with several of his team-mates last week, said there would also be changes to his side, most likely in the bowling department.

Brand thought the Proteas were not “miles off” in the first Test and were determined not to be the first South Africa team to lose a series to New Zealand.

“We definitely want to come away with something,” he said. “So we are desperate to put in a good performances and we can hopefully we can get ourselves into the game.”

SEVERAL budding players are showcasing their prowess in top-level Test cricket contests these days.

If Yashasvi Jaiswal’s stupendous double hundred against ‘Bazballing’ England enabled India to come back in the home series, Shamar Joseph’s raw pace and swing against Australia in their own backyard reminded many of West Indies’ glory days. And one can’t take anything away from Rachin Ravindra for the outstanding double ton, his first in Tests, against a second-string South Africa.

Joseph may never be able to repeat the sensational seven-wicket show he produced in Brisbane, the world Test champions’ happy hunting ground, but the precisely-executed bowling by the rookie pacer — who had made his Test debut in the preceding game at Adelaide a few days ago — was a perfect show of overpowering flair.

Pakistan too contains loads of cricketing talent but its system is riddled with several flaws, and therefore its players — and subsequently the team — continue to underachieve in top-shelf games. No wonder very few of them manage to get a foothold.

Not long ago, Pakistan were in Australia where the Shan Masood-led side suffered a traditional 3-0 series sweep. However, there were bright spots in the form of Aamer Jamal, Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique and Khurram Shahzad. Unfortunately, none of them could manage to extract a victory, or even came close to doing so.

Even at home in 2022, Pakistan suffered back-to-back home Test series losses to Australia (1-0) and England (3-0) and barely avoided another early last year against New Zealand. It’s obvious many of Pakistan’s players have not been able to shine in big games whereas teams like India, New Zealand and England have improved miles in recent years.

Take the cases of Jaiswal and Saim. Both are left-handed openers of nearly the same age, and are almost equally belligerent; their stats in domestic cricket have a number of similarities. While Jaiswal on his Test debut against West Indies struck a sedate yet match-winning 171 in Roseau last year, Saim in his debut Test (his only so far) at Sydney had scores of zero and a rapid 33. There is a world of difference between the strength of current West Indies bowling and that of Australia particularly Down Under, no doubt. Still, one feels, it is the mindset that defines a player and his team. And a player’s positive mindset for success needs to be backed timely by an encouraging system comprising top management, selectors, captain and coaches.

Will Saim, or for that matter any other gifted Pakistan player, get an extended run in Test cricket? The southpaw’s bold, innovative strokeplay in white-ball signifies his go-get it stance. Moreover, if a record match-winning double century and century in the 2023 final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan’s premier first-class contest, cannot convince the selectors to give this batter proper chances, then what will?

Jaiswal is not the only success example in contemporary Indian cricket. K.L. Rahul, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer have developed through a system that gives appropriate time and freedom to its players. Jasprit Bumrah’s impressive and steady rise to the top of ICC Test bowlers’ rankings is another classic example of the productive way Indian cricket system has progressed.

Has Pakistan cricket in recent years raised a batter who can replace Babar Azam, if need arises, for a couple of top-level international games? Take it another way: will our team management rest any main player of the national team to give chance to any deserving youngster, without putting him under the pressure of ‘perform now or face the axe’?

Gill and Jaiswal in Virat Kohli’s absence (in the first two Tests of the ongoing England series due to personal reasons) showed their structure’s solidity which does not depend on just one or two players.

Left-handed Ravindra, who transformed himself as a world-class top-order batter in the 50-over World Cup staged in India late last year, is another success story.

After failing to reach even 20 in any of the six innings of his first three Tests against India and Bangladesh, the 24-year-old finally shone with a scintillating 240 last week in Mount Maunganui where he was playing a Test after a gap of more than two years.

He did it despite shifting from slam bang limited-overs games to enduring five-day format. More importantly, the system kept faith in him and he delivered.

Similarly, who can dare overlook — other than the great Kane Williamson — the likes of Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson and many others who through accurate management have raised New Zealand from mere pushovers to top-class competitors in all three formats.

Reaching the grand finale of the 2019 50-over World Cup and winning the 2021 World Test Championship decider against India were the highest points of New Zealand cricket which it has pretty much sustained.

The present West Indies cannot boast of anything but raw talent that rarely dazzles, but if Cricket West Indies works on developing its players on professional lines the Caribbean team can surely regain at least some of its pride. Anyway squaring the series against Australia on their soil is no mean feat.

Mohsin Raza Naqvi, the recently elected chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, will head the fourth PCB regime in the last 14 months. Change of guard at the highest level can and does have an effect on the game management as well as the players.

The PCB, if it wants the team to compete and win against the best in business in an evolving international cricket landscape which has made a very traditional England undergo massive overhaul in its game, will have to genuinely invest in up-and-coming talent on consistent basis. Otherwise Pakistan will continue to lag behind in top-notch contests.

The 2024 Super Bowl showdown is set to take place this Sunday, with the San Francisco 49ers facing the Kansas City Chiefs for the Vince Lombardi Trophy, according to CBS News.

The Chiefs aim to become the first National Football League (NFL) franchise in 20 years to win back-to-back Super Bowl championships, but must overcome Christian McCaffrey and the Niners to do it.

As Kyle Shanahan and Andy Reid prepare their teams' schedules and playbooks for Super Bowl LVIII, fans are eager to know when the game starts, how long it runs, and all the logistics for the day so they don't miss out on any snaps, passes, plays, or Usher's smooth halftime show moves.

What you need to about Super Bowl 2024

Super Bowl LVIII will be played on Sunday, February 11, 2024, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and will be aired live on CBS and streamed live on Paramount+.

The game starts at 6:30pm ET on Sunday, with NFL-style pageantry before the game, including Reba McEntire's rendition of the national anthem followed by performances by Post Malone and Andra Day.

The Super Bowl is expected to end around 10pm ET, with the game potentially going into overtime.

How long are NFL quarters?
NFL football games are divided into four 15-minute quarters, separated by a halftime break.

Quarters last longer than real-time due to missed passes, timeouts, two-minute warnings, and commercial breaks. The clock stops between plays, and teams can call time-outs.

Additionally, commercial breaks add to the real-time length of a quarter.

When is Super Bowl halftime show?

Usher will hit the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show approximately at 8pm ET, two hours after kickoff.

Halftime for a regular NFL game lasts 13 minutes, but Super Bowl halftime lasts a bit longer to accommodate the show's stage setup and take down.

DOHA: Hosts and holders Qatar squeezed into an Asian Cup final showdown with Jordan after beating Iran 3-2 with an 82nd-minute winner in a frenetic semi-final on Wednesday. Almoez Ali struck in Doha to send Qatar into their second straight final, further exorcising the demons of their first-round exit at the 2022 World Cup.

Qatar lost all three of their World Cup games on home soil just over a year ago, the worst record of any host in the competition’s history. But that was all a distant memory as they celebrated in front of over 40,000 fans after a breathless encounter at Al Thumama Stadium.

Sardour Azmoun gave Iran the lead in the fourth minute before Qatar equalised soon after when Jassem Gaber’s shot went in via a heavy deflection. Qatar’s Akram Afif then notched his fifth goal of the tournament with a wonderful strike minutes before half-time, only for Iran to equalise through an Alireza Jahanbakhsh penalty early in the second period.

Match-winner Ali scored an Asian Cup-record nine goals to lead Qatar to their first title in 2019 but he had managed only one heading into the semi-finals of this year’s tournament. His late strike was worth the wait for Qatar, and ended Iran’s bid for a first Asian title since 1976.

Iran had Shojae Khalilzadeh sent off in second-half injury time, before Jahanbakhsh hit the post in the final minute. The game had barely begun when Azmoun gave Iran the lead with a well-taken finish, hooking the ball over his head and into the net.

Mehdi Taremi should have made it two when Jahanbakhsh teed him up in front of goal soon after, and Qatar made them pay with the equaliser in the 17th minute. Afif pulled the ball back for Gaber, whose shot on goal deflected off Iran’s Saeed Ezatolahi and looped up over goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand.

Iran were incensed that no foul had been given in the build-up. The equaliser gave Qatar new energy but Afif failed to take advantage in a one-on-one with Beiranvand just after the half-hour mark. Afif made no mistake in the 43rd minute, curling home a superb strike after jinking his way into the box.

Iran regrouped at half-time and drew level just six minutes after the break. A VAR check ruled that Qatar defender Ahmed Fatehi had blocked a goal-bound shot with his hand, and Jahanbakhsh made no mistake from the penalty spot. The action continued at breakneck speed and Ali restored Qatar’s lead when he controlled a shot from Abdulaziz Hatem and turned it past Beiranvand. There was more than a hint of offside about the goal but it was allowed to stand. — AFP

PARIS: Podium finishers at the upcoming Paris Olympics will be rewarded with a piece of the Eiffel Tower, organisers said on Thursday, unveiling the events medals which are set with hexagon-shaped tokens forged out of scrap metal from the monument.

The idea was to link the Games with symbols of France, said Thierry Reboul, creative director of Paris 2024.

“The absolute symbol of Paris and France is the Eiffel Tower,” Reboul told reporters. “It’s the opportunity for the athletes to bring back a piece of Paris with them.”

Designed by jeweller Chaumet, the 18-gram hexagon tokens, representing the shape of France, are made of iron taken from the Tower during past refurbishments then stored for years in a warehouse whose location is secret.

They sit in the centre of the gold, silver and bronze medals, ringed with grooves evoking light rays bursting outward drawn from a tiara design in Chaumets archives.

The back of the medals features the Greek goddess of victory, Nike, charging forward, with the Acropolis to one side and the Eiffel Tower to the other.

Paralympics medals feature a view of the Eiffel Tower from underneath, and are stamped with Paris 2024 in braille homage to the Frenchman who invented it.

The 5,084 medals are produced by Frances mint, the Monnaie de Paris.

“We want to make sure those pieces of Eiffel Tower stay at home,” French wheelchair tennis player Pauline Deroulede told reporters. “Seeing them so close gives some extra motivation,” added another home nation athlete, wrestler Koumba Larroque.

With an exciting schedule like this, fans are eagerly waiting for the tri-country edition of World Cup

The Fifa World Cup 2026 schedule was unveiled on Sunday in a star-studded livestream featuring Kevin Hart, Drake, and Kim Kardashian, USA Today reported.

Fans worldwide eagerly tuned into the timetable announcement for the tri-country edition of the World Cup and finally learned that the final will be held on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Group stage matches will run from June 11, with Mexico opening the tournament in Estadio Azteca, through June 27.

The United States will start and end their group stage campaign in Hollywood at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on June 12 and will play one group stage match in Seattle at Lumen Field.

Meanwhile, Canada will open its leg of the tournament in Toronto at BMO Field on June 12 and play the balance of its group-stage games in Vancouver at BC Place.

The knockout stage will begin with the first-ever round of 32 on June 28, with the round of 16 starting on July 4.

The Quarterfinals will be held in Los Angeles, Miami, Kansas City, and Boston starting on July 8. Semi-final matches will be played in Dallas and Atlanta on July 14 and 15, respectively.

Finally, the bronze medal match will be held in Miami on July 18. With an exciting schedule like this, fans are eagerly waiting for the World Cup to begin!

Fans can watch the World Cup on Fox and Telemundo which now have the English and Spanish television rights to the tournament, respectively.

World Cup 2026 stadiums
BC Place Vancouver, Canada
Lumen Field, Seattle
Levi's Stadium Santa Clara, California
SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
Estadio Akron, Guadalajara, Mexico
Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City
AT&T Stadium, Dallas
Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta
NRG Stadium, Houston
Estadio BBVA, Monterrey, Mexico
Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico
BMO Field, Toronto, Canada
Gilette Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts
Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
Metlife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey