Bits and Pieces

Omar CC cruise to victory in KG Ramazan T20

By our correspondent

KARACHI: The star-studded Omar Cricket Club demolished Dubai Hawks by five wickets in a low-scoring Group A encounter of the Omar Associates Karachi Gymkhana Ramazan Festival Twenty20 here at the Karachi Gymkhana on Thursday.

Asked to bat in overcast conditions, Dubai Hawks struggled after a promising start to be bowled out for 131 in 18.4 overs. Chasing a modest target of 132 off 20 overs, Omar CC lost five wickets before getting over the line in 17 overs with their all-rounder Saad Nasim clinching Man of the Match award.

Opener Daniyal Liaquat’s 37 off 21 balls provided a flying start to Dubai Hawks who looked poised for an imposing total, having scored 59 for the loss of just one wicket in the first six overs. They, however, lost the plot in the later part of the innings with Test left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar (3-26) and leg-spinner Saad Nasim (2-6) doing the damage.

Omar CC appeared in a spot of bother after losing the wickets of Khurram Manzoor, Sami Aslam and Ehsan Ali in quick succession but they were rescued by Sohaib Maqsood (39 off 35 balls) and Saad Nasim (36 off 24 balls).

Kellogg fights Kokkinakis over ‘Special K’ trademark

SYDNEY: Australian tennis ace Thanasi Kokkinakis faced court action on Thursday from cereal giant Kellogg, which is not happy at plans to use his nickname “Special K” commercially.

Kokkinakis and doubles partner Nick Kyrgios have been dubbed the Special Ks by media and the public, and the 21-year-old wants to use the moniker as a branding campaign across clothing and tennis wear.

But the US-based multinational — which has held an Australian trademark for its Special K breakfast cereal for more than 50 years — launched court action to stop him.

A spokeswoman for Kellogg told AFP that the Kokkinakis family had tried to register their own trademark, which sparked the retaliatory action, with a procedural hearing on Thursday.

“Kellogg will continue to defend our very strong and iconic Special K brand — which is known and loved by many Australians,” the company said.

The Sydney Daily Telegraph said Kokkinakis, who has slipped down the rankings from a career-high 69 due to injury, wanted to create a logo and brand for himself in a similar way that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have created lucrative businesses marketing for their own range of products.

It is not the first time an Australian player has become embroiled in a trademark dispute, with Lleyton Hewitt losing a case in 2011 over the use of the term “C’mon”, which was a hallmark of his game. Another Australian had already trademarked the phrase in 2004, the newspaper said.

Man City complete move for goalkeeper Ederson

LONDON: Manchester City have completed the signing of Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson from Benfica, the Premier League club announced on Thursday.

The announcement came a week after Benfica said they had agreed to sell the 23-year-old to City for 40 million euros ($45 million, £34.7 million), making him the second most expensive goalkeeper ever.

Ederson will officially become a City player on July 1. City did not disclose the length of his contract.

“I like everything about Manchester City,” Ederson said in quotes published on the City website.

“This is a great club, they have amazing fans and they play splendid football. I have always had the dream to play in English football and now I’m going to make it true.

“With Pep Guardiola, City are growing more and more. He is putting in place a young team for the future. Those were important factors in making my decision.”

In signing Ederson, City manager Guardiola hopes to have put an end to the goalkeeping saga that plagued his first season at the Etihad Stadium.

Guardiola allowed Joe Hart to join Torino on loan, but Hart’s replacement, Claudio Bravo, proved inadequate and back-up goalkeeper Willy Caballero ended the campaign as City’s number one.

Ederson becomes the most expensive goalkeeper since Gianluigi Buffon joined Juventus from Parma for 53 million euros in 2001.

He began his career with home-town club Sao Paulo and spent time in Benfica’s youth system before launching his senior career with Portuguese club Ribeirao.

After a three-year spell with Rio Ave, he returned to Benfica in 2015. Ederson only became Benfica’s first-choice goalkeeper last season and helped the club to a league and Portuguese Cup double.

He is uncapped at senior level, but was named in Brazil’s squad for their upcoming friendlies against Argentina and Australia in Melbourne.

South Africa’s Morkel wary of Kohli threat

BIRMINGHAM: Morne Morkel is hoping for a chance to put the brakes on the prolific Virat Kohli when South Africa face India in their final Champions Trophy group match this weekend.

Sunday’s clash against the title-holders at the Oval has taken on added significance for the Proteas after a shock defeat by Pakistan at Edgbaston on Wednesday.

The one highlight in the field for South Africa was the form of the towering quick bowler Morkel, who took two wickets in four balls on his way to three for 18 in seven overs.

But asked what his plans were for bowling at India’s captain Kohli, who made an unbeaten 81 against Pakistan last weekend, paceman Morkel told reporters: “I was hoping you guys could tell me that.

“Sunday is a big day for us. It’s going to take a big team effort to knock over India. But we have to back ourselves to win.”

Prior to South Africa’s recent series against England, the 32-year-old had not played an ODI since June 2016, with Proteas coach Russell Domingo worried his inclusion lengthened the batting tail.

But with wickets likely to be at a premium against India’s powerful top order, Morkel, a veteran of 111 ODIs, may have done enough to retain his place.

“The last eight months there have been a lot of uncertainties,” said Morkel.

“When I got on the field, I said to myself this is really an opportunity for me to stand up and unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be.

“Today, we need to write off, just see it as an average game. Hopefully on Sunday we can turn it up and deliver something special.”