29/07/2025

SPORTS TUESDAY | JULY 29, 2025

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Stokes ready to ‘run through brick wall’

SHORTS ‘Bumrah not ruled out’

ENGLAND captain Ben Stokes proclaimed “pain is just an emotion” as he insisted he will do everything in his power to feature as a fully fledged all-rounder in next week’s series decider with India. The fourth Test at Old Trafford, which ended in a draw on Sunday, was a personal triumph for Stokes as he became just the fourth England cricketer after Tony Greig, Ian Botham and Gus Atkinson to score a hundred and take five wickets in the same Test. Stokes, 34, is also now only the third man in Test history to have scored 7,000 runs and taken 200 wickets after West Indies’ Garry Sobers and South Africa’s Jacques Kallis. But the performance came at a cost for Stokes, whose career has been blighted by hamstring trouble, as he struggled with cramp and more general soreness. Meanwhile a bicep problem in his right arm

“I don’t want to eat my words but the likelihood I won’t play (at the Oval) is very unlikely.” England seemed well set for victory at Old Trafford when India collapsed to none for two before eroding any bit of a 311-run deficit on first innings. But KL Rahul and India captain Shubman Gill kept England at bay with an excellent third wicket partnership of 188. Stokes, who did not bowl on Saturday, had Rahul lbw for 90 during an eight-over spell on Sunday morning and England hopes were high when Jofra Archer finally removed Gill for 103 on the stroke of lunch. However, Joe Root’s drop of Ravindra Jadeja from the next ball proved expensive, with the India all-rounder and Washington Sundar batting out the rest of the day as both left handers made unbeaten hundreds. – AFP

emerged on Sunday’s final day in Manchester. His latest injuries are perhaps unsurprising given a heavy workload that has seen lively fast medium bowler Stokes already send down 140 overs – the most he has bowled in any series. However, Stokes, the leading wicket-taker of the series with 17 at an average of 25.2, expects to take the field at the Oval on Thursday as England attempt to seal a 3-1 campaign triumph. “Hopefully I will be alright going for the last one,” he told reporters. “It’s just a workload sort of thing. We got a fair amount of overs and everything starts creeping up on you. I’ll keep trying, keep going and as I say to all the bowlers: pain is just an emotion.” Stokes, who said “I’ve physically been better,” added: “I’ll always try to run through a brick wall for the team.

INDIA head coach Gautam Gambhir said they had not ruled out playing pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah in the final Test against England at the Oval this week as they look to avoid a series defeat. Bumrah has already played three tests in the series, the maximum workload team management had targeted for the bowler after he spent three months on the sidelines with a back injury before returning to action in April. India snatched an unlikely draw in the fourth test at Old Trafford on Sunday but trail the hosts 2-1 in the five-match series. “We haven’t had any conversation around the combination for the last Test,” Gambhir said. “No decision has been made on whether Jasprit Bumrah will play or not. Ultimately, whoever plays, they will try and do the job for the country.” India captain Shubman Gill suggested it might be left up to Bumrah to make the call. “If he feels like he’s fully fit and available for us, I think it would be a great deal for us,” Gill told the BBC . Zverev gets Rafa insight ALEXANDER ZVEREV returns to tennis with his confidence under repair after losing in the Wimbledon first round a month ago. And the world No. 3, playing as top seed at the ATP Toronto Masters, is bolstered by the unique insight from one-time rival Rafael Nadal. Zverev confirmed yesterday in Toronto that he had sought advice – and possibly a new coach – as he travelled to Mallorca this month to visit Nadal’s training academy on the Spaniard’s home island. While apparently failing to sign Nadal’s uncle Toni as his travelling coach, Zverev did have a chance to chat with Nadal, who retired last season. “(Toni is) a great coach, no question about that, but he’s a personality that I think can give you confidence as well,” the German said. “When he speaks and when Rafa speaks, you listen. They definitely spent a lot of hours talking to me, and Rafa gave me some great insight of what it is actually like to play against me. “He saw me as a player. He sees me now as a spectator. It was very helpful. We spent hours and hours talking, sometimes past midnight at some dinners. It was great to be there.” Monfils’ final Toronto visit GAEL MONFILS said he has played for the last time in Toronto after crashing out of the Masters in Sunday’s opening round of the ATP Masters to a Chilean qualifier. The 38-year-old French tennis icon missed out on four match points to exit 6 4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3) to wolrd No. 142 Tomas Barrios Vera, who won the first Masters match of his career and ended a seven match loss streak at the ATP level. Monfils symbolically touched the baseline as he walked off a loser after nearly three hours in torrid summer temperatures approaching 35 ° C. “There’s no explanation, it’s the last one,” he said. “It will be two years to play (again) in Toronto, so pretty much I won’t be able to play it. Obviously I think the next one is too old for me, so I think it was the last time I’ll play here.” He added: “I actually thought at the end, and I was like, ‘Well, I think it’s, unfortunately, but the last time I think I would play here.’”

Imperious Pogacar Defending champion wins Tour de France for the fourth time T ADEJ POGACAR completed a supreme performance to win the Tour de France in a rainy Paris on Sunday, crushing his rivals to collect a fourth title. to contend with Pogacar, but the winner paid tribute to the Dane. “I spoke to Jonas today. We’ve been racing each other for five years now and we have raised each other to a higher level,” he said.

the race, adding he would turn his attention to the Tour of Spain. “I’ll have a week off now, and then start training for the Vuelta,” he said. Breakout German star Florian Lipowitz, 24, took third on his debut, rounding out the podium a distant 11 minutes off the pace in third. Defending his title, Pogacar embarked from the start in Lille as clear favourite and won four stages along the way. In the first week, he struck on rolling runs in the north and west at Rouen and the Mur de Bretagne. He then turned the screw on the slopes of the Pyrenees in week two with his rivals as good as vanquished. After it was all over, a beaming Pogacar said he could finally relax.

Wout van Aert triumphed in the final-day cliffhanger around Montmartre, but Pogacar was spared any late challenge to his overall lead when the weather forced organisers to neutralise times to avoid accidents on the slippery cobbled roads. However, Pogacar more than played his part in a thrilling finale before Belgian rider Van Aert pulled away on the last climb. “I was really happy they neutralised the times of the GC (general classification),” Pogacar said. “Then it was more relaxed to race and you just had to have good legs to be in front. I tried but hats off to Wout, he was incredibly strong. It was a really nice race.” The Slovenian has now won the Tour four times in six years and finished runner-up twice. “It’s six years in a row on the podium and this one feels especially amazing,” he said. Second-placed Jonas Vingegaard was unable

Despite the rain, tens of thousands of spectators packed Montmartre to follow Pogacar’s progress through the narrow streets of the popular tourist spot. He played to the delighted crowds by racing to the head of the peloton near the Moulin Rouge cabaret at the foot of the climb before Van Aert produced a well-timed attack to drop Pogacar and charge to the finish line on the Champs Elysees avenue. Pogacar was fourth on the day but after wins in 2020, 2021 and 2024, he again proved untouchable in the world’s greatest bike race. Vingegaard, the champion in 2022 and 2023, suffered two shocking off-days and ended second overall, 4min 24sec adrift. “I had some of my worst days here and some of the best,” he said after

“Everybody has different ideas about how to celebrate. I want some peace and beautiful weather, enjoying some quiet days at home,” he said. – AFP

XRG team’s Tadej Pogacar (right) cycles with the pack of riders (peloton) past the Arc de Triomphe during the final stage of the Tour de France. – AFPPIC

De Minaur battles to DC crown after Fernandez dominates Kalinskaya AUSTRALIA’S Alex De Minaur saved three match points on his way to a battling 5-7, 6-1, 7 6 (7-3) victory over Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to clinch the ATP Tour DC Open crown yesterday. But Davidovich Fokina responded to that missed opportunity by then earning three match points on De Minaur’s serve in the next game. myself to commit no matter what, and if I lost this match, it was going to be on my terms. “I’ve had a couple of brutal ones not go go my way, so I’m glad this one went my way,” the 26-year-old from New South Wales said.

Yet once again, the Spaniard was unable to take advantage and De Minaur survived to hold serve and level the match at 5-5. The next two games went on serve to set up the tie break and De Minaur was quickly in control, sealing victory on the first of three match points with an ace, to settle a 3hr 2mins slugfest. De Minaur said he had never doubted his ability to turn around the final. “I just kind of knew I could do it,” De Minaur said in his on-court interview. “I just backed

On Sunday, Canada’s Leylah Fernandez produced a dominant performance to defeat Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya in straight sets and win the WTA Tour’s DC Open in Washington on Sunday. The 22-year-old bagged the first WTA 500 victory of her career and her first title since 2023 to win 6-1, 6-2 in just over an hour. Fernandez will head to Canada for this week’s WTA 1000 Canadian Open in Montreal, where she is anticipating a tougher test. – AFP

Seventh seed De Minaur looked to be heading for defeat against his 12th-seeded Spanish opponent after trailing 5-2 in the deciding set in Washington. But Davidovich Fokina – chasing the first ATP title of his career after losing in three previous final appearances – failed to capitalise on his hefty lead. The Spaniard appeared to tighten when serving for the match at 5-3 up to allow De Minaur to claw it back to 5-4.