Global Sport — Woolmer alleges Aussie hand in ball-tampering

DEC 17: BRISBANE: Allegations of ball tampering against captain Hansie Cronje were a conspiracy to unsettle the South Africans ahead of the...

DEC 17: BRISBANE: Allegations of ball tampering against captain Hansie Cronje were a conspiracy to unsettle the South Africans ahead of the opening boxing day test in Melbourne, coach Bob Woolmer said here today. Woolmer would not identify the alleged conspirators, but he claimed to know the details of a campaign he believes was concocted to distract his team with nine days to the MCG Test.

“I know exactly why it’s happened, I’ve been to Australia before. It’s obvious to me they are trying to rattle the South African team before the test match.” Television footage uncovered and aired by Channel Nine shows Cronje with his cricket boot spikes on the ball during the crowd disruptions in a one-day match against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. South African manager Alan Jordaan, a lawyer, revealed that the proteas had held their own investigation into the incident but absolved their captain. Cronje refused to speak on the incident but is said to claim complete innocence.

Russian swimmers banned for doping

LAUSANNE: Three Russians were handed two-year suspensions by the International Swimming Federation (FINA) for taking a banned anabolic steroid. European 50 metres freestyle champion Natalya Meshcheryakova, 4×200 relay gold medalist Vladimir Pyehnenkoand and 4×100 medley relay silver medalist Olga Kochetkova were all found guilty of having taken metandienone. The three had earlier tested positive in a FINA check but had maintained they had been tricked into eating a spiked cake. Another Russian swimmer, Alexei Kolesnikov, was suspended for three months for using cannabis.

Amsterdam to host Euro Cup final

GENEVA: Amsterdam will host the European Cup final on May 20, Europe’s governing body UEFA said. But the Dutch will have to work out conflicting commercial obligations within the next 10 days before receiving the final approval, UEFA said. The UEFA Cup final, will be played on May 6 at the Parc des Princes Stadium in Paris. The Winners Cup, set on May 13, will be played at Stockholm while the Super Cup final will be contested in Monaco on August 28.