The Times - UK (2022-04-09)

22 2GS Saturday April 9 2022 | the times

True cost of Masters glory

It is not quite the case that no one

leaves Augusta empty-handed,

but the Masters hands out more

prizes than any other major. The

winner gets a gold medal and a

replica of the trophy, the runner-

up a silver medal and salver, the

best amateur a silver cup and

there are assorted vessels for

each day’s lowest score and other

feats. In 2015 alone, 94 crystal

highball glasses were given to

players who made eagles, while

a hole in one receives a big

bowl.

Yet the most treasured trophy is

remarkably cheap. The wool and

polyester green jacket presented

to the winner costs just £200.

Costs the club, that is. You can’t

buy one and lawyers are hot on

imitations. Mullion in Cornwall

(green fee: £20 with a member)

were told in 2019 they were

breaching copyright by awarding

their own version.

The idea came from England.

Bobby Jones, founder of Augusta,

liked the red jackets worn at

Royal Liverpool and felt it would

give his club gravitas. Red, yellow

and peach were considered before

he settled on green. Every

champion has been given one

since 1949, though the most

successful winner had to wait 35

years for his own.

Jack Nicklaus was a chubby

young man when he won the

first of his six titles in 1963 but

not as chubby as Augusta

thought. Nicklaus said the 46in

jacket he was given by Arnold

Palmer “hung on me like an old

blanket”.

No replacement was ordered

and so for the next few years he

simply borrowed one from a

similar-sized member, Thomas E

Dewey, former governor of New

York.When Dewey died in 1971,

Nicklaus asked a sponsor to

make him one but the green they

used was a long way from

Pantone 342 so he continued to

borrow one until he got the

courage to ask Augusta for his

own in 1998.

I wonder if Tiger Woods’s win

the previous year — at last

someone who might surpass him

— made him do it.

A proud sport

gone to dogs

“Before we start,” the chairman

said, “if anybody is in any doubt,

the person with four legs in the

gallery is a dog”. So began a

recent Commons debate about

whether greyhound racing should

be banned, called after 105,000

people signed a petition. They

cited almost 5,000 injuries while

racing and 710 deaths in 2019.

Defenders observed that figures

are improving, slowly; 95 per cent

of retired greyhounds now find

homes; and the industry employs

7,000 people.

A ban remains unlikely but

what was once a huge spectator

sport is vanishing. During the

Depression, Mick the Miller was a

national hero, watched by

millions, while in the 1940s there

were 77 licensed tracks in Britain

and 200 independent ones. Now

figures are 20 and

three.

Those that

remain cater far

more to remote betting

than spectators. As the

Greyhound Derby

nears its centenary in

2027, for many the sport

may as well be a video

game.

THETAILENDER

Patrick Kidd

Playing down

the wrong line

The England and Wales Cricket

Board’s Twitter account has

1,013,156 followers, some of whom,

it may not be wholly naive to

assume, would be interested to

know about the start of the

English season. So it was a

disappointment that the account’s

total original output previewing

the County Championship

amounted to three words on

Wednesday afternoon: “One more

sleep.. .”

Compare that with the ECB’s

seven previous tweets: two about

Ramadan, two about a

programme to encourage

diversity in the game, two about

racism and one about the

“exciting new partnership” with

an official sparkling wine.

Meanwhile the ECB apologised

this week for failing to get

accreditation passes out in time to

journalists covering the first

round of matches. They

have, however, been

able to organise

an anti-

discrimination

course for the press. I

hope that it comes

with free sparkling

wine.

FIXTURES

RESULTS

Today

Football

Kick-off 3.0 unless stated

Premier League Arsenal v Brighton;

Aston Villa v Tottenham (5.30); Everton v

Manchester Utd (12.30); Southampton v

Chelsea; Watford v Leeds.

Sky Bet Championship Blackburn v

Blackpool; Bristol City v Peterborough;

Middlesbrough v Hull; Millwall v Barnsley;

Nottingham Forest v Birmingham;

Preston v QPR; Reading v Cardiff;

Sheffield Utd v Bournemouth (12.45);

Swansea v Derby; West Bromwich v Stoke.

League One AFC Wimbledon v MK Dons;

Bolton v Sheffield Wednesday; Burton v

Plymouth; Cambridge Utd v Morecambe;

Cheltenham v Portsmouth; Doncaster v

Crewe; Fleetwood v Accrington;

Gillingham v Wycombe; Lincoln v Wigan;

Oxford Utd v Sunderland; Rotherham v

Charlton; Shrewsbury v Ipswich. League

Two Carlisle v Exeter; Colchester v

Stevenage; Crawley v Barrow; Forest

Green v Hartlepool; Northampton v

Bradford City; Port Vale v Oldham;

Rochdale v Walsall; Salford v Harrogate;

Scunthorpe v Mansfield; Sutton Utd v

Leyton Orient; Swindon v Newport

County; Tranmere v Bristol Rovers.

Vanarama National League Aldershot v

Boreham Wood; Barnet v Solihull Moors;

Bromley v Dagenham & Redbridge;

Dover v Maidenhead; Halifax v Woking;

King’s Lynn v Yeovil; Stockport County v

Southend (5.20); Torquay v Notts County;

Wealdstone v Chesterfield; Weymouth v

Grimsby; Wrexham v Eastleigh. North

AFC Fylde v Hereford; AFC Telford v Blyth

Spartans; Alfreton v Darlington; Brackley

v York; Bradford PA v Chorley; Curzon

Ashton v Boston; Farsley Celtic v

Kettering; Gateshead v Chester;

Gloucester v Guiseley; Kidderminster v

Southport; Spennymoor v Leamington.

South Chelmsford v Tonbridge;

Chippenham v Maidstone; Concord v

Bath; Dartford v Hemel Hempstead;

Dulwich v Oxford City; Hampton &

Richmond v Billericay; Havant &

Waterlooville v Braintree; Hungerford v

St Albans; Slough v Eastbourne.

Cinch Scottish Premiership Aberdeen v

Ross County; Celtic v St Johnstone;

Dundee Utd v Dundee; Hearts v

Hibernian; Livingston v Motherwell.

Cinch Scottish Championship Ayr v

Inverness CT; Hamilton v Arbroath;

Kilmarnock v Dunfermline; Raith v Morton.

League One Alloa v Clyde; Dumbarton v

Peterhead; Falkirk v Cove Rangers;

Montrose v Airdrieonians; Queen’s Park v

East Fife. League Two Albion v Stranraer;

Annan v Cowdenbeath; Edinburgh City v

Forfar; Elgin v Stenhousemuir; Kelty

Hearts v Stirling Albion.

Cricket

LV= Insurance County Championship:

Third day of four (11.0; 96 overs minimum):

Division One: Chelmsford Essex v Kent.

Ageas Bowl Hampshire v Somerset.

Northampton Northamptonshire v

Gloucestershire. Edgbaston Warwickshire

v Surrey. Division Two: Sophia Gardens

Glamorgan v Durham. Leicester

Leicestershire v Worcestershire. Lord’s

Middlesex v Derbyshire. Hove Sussex v

Nottinghamshire.

Rugby league

Kick-off 3.0 unless stated

Betfred Challenge Cup: Quarter-finals

Catalans Dragons v St Helens (2.30);

Huddersfield v Hull (5.0)

Betfred League One London Skolars v

North Wales (3.0).

AB Sundecks 1895 Cup: PLay-off

Sheffield v Whitehaven (2.0, at

Featherstone).

Rugby union

Kick-off 3.0 unless stated

Heineken Champions Cup: Round of 16,

first leg Bordeaux-Bègles v La Rochelle

(1.0); Exeter v Munster (5.30); Sale v

Bristol (1.0); Stade Français v Racing

(5.30); Toulouse v Ulster (3.15).

European Challenge Cup: Pool one (8.0):

Biarritz v Toulon; Newcastle v Zebre. Pool

two Benetton v Perpignan (3.15); Dragons

v Gloucester (8.0).

United Rugby Championship Cardiff

Rugby v Scarlets (3.10); Sharks v Lions

(3.05); Stormers v Blue Bulls (1.0).

Championship Cup: Pool one Ampthill v

Coventry; Doncaster v Cornish Pirates

(2.30); Jersey v London Scottish (5.0).

National League One Birmingham

Moseley v Sale; Blackheath v Rams; Caldy

v Bishop’s Stortford; Cambridge v

Taunton Titans; Chinnor v Rosslyn Park;

Darlington Mowden Park v Plymouth;

Tonbridge Juddians v Leeds Tykes.

League Two: North Chester v Bournville;

Huddersfield v Rotherham Titans; Hull v

Blaydon (2.0); Loughborough Students v

Wharfeda (2.0); Luctonians v Hull Ionians;

Sheffield Tigers v Harrogate; Stourbridge

v Fylde; Tynedale v Sedgley Park. South

Barnes v Leicester Lions; Clifton v

Worthing (2.30); Esher v Bury St

Edmunds; Henley v Barnstaple; Hinckley

v Dings Crusaders; Old Albanians v

Guernsey (2.0); Redruth v Rochford

Hundred; Westcliff v Canterbury.

Guinness Women’s Six Nations England

v Wales (4.45).

Other sport

Snooker: English Institute of Sport,

Sheffield Betfred World Championship

qualifying.

Swimming: Ponds Forge, Sheffield

British Championships.

Tomorrow

Football

Kick-off 2.0 unless stated

Premier League Brentford v West Ham

(2.0); Leicester v Crystal Palace (2.0);

Manchester City v Liverpool (4.30);

Norwich v Burnley (2.0).

Sky Bet Championship Fulham v

Coventry.

Cinch Scottish Premiership St Mirren v

Rangers (midday).

Cricket

LV= Insurance County Championship:

Final day of four (11.0; 80 overs

minimum): Division One: Chelmsford

Essex v Kent. Ageas Bowl Hampshire v

Somerset. Northampton

Northamptonshire v Gloucestershire.

Edgbaston Warwickshire v Surrey.

Division Two: Sophia Gardens

Glamorgan v Durham. Leicester

Leicestershire v Worcestershire. Lord’s

Middlesex v Derbyshire. Hove Sussex v

Nottinghamshire.

Rugby league

Kick-off 3.0 unless stated

Betfred Challenge Cup: Quarter-finals

Wakefield v Wigan (2.30).

Betfred Championship Bradford v

Barrow. League One Cornwall v Midlands

Hurricanes (1.0); Doncaster v Swinton;

Oldham v West Wales; Rochdale v

Hunslet.

Rugby union

Heineken Champions Cup: Round of 16,

first leg Clermont Auvergne v Leicester

Tigers (3.15); Montpellier v Harlequins

(1.0).

Guinness Women’s Six Nations Ireland v

Italy (5.0); Scotland v France (1.0).

Other sport

Snooker: English Institute of Sport,

Sheffield Betfred World Championship

qualifying.

Swimming: Ponds Forge, Sheffield

British Championships.

Football

Premier League

Newcastle(0) 1 Wolves (0) 0

Wood 72 (pen)

Cinch Scottish Championship Queen of

the South 0 Partick Thistle 1.

Cricket

Second Test match

South Africa v Bangladesh

Gqeberha (first day of five; South Africa

won toss): South Africa have scored 278

for five wickets against Bangladesh

South Africa First Innings

*D Elgar c Das b Islam 70

S J Erwee c Das b Ahmed 24

K D Petersen lbw b Islam 64

T Bavuma c Shanto b Ahmed 67

R D Rickelton c Ali b Islam 42

†K Verreynne not out 10

P W A Mulder not out 0

Extras (w 1) 1

Total (5 wkts, 90 overs) 278

K A Maharaj, S R Harmer, L B Williams and

D Olivier to bat.

Fall of wickets 1-52, 2-133, 3-184, 4-267,

5-271.

Bowling Ahmed 20-4-59-2; Miraz 19-2-58-

0; Hossain 16-2-75-0; Islam 32-7-77-3;

Shanto 3-0-9-0.

Bangladesh Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudul

Hasan Joy, Najmul Hossain Shanto,

*Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, †Litton

Das, Yasir Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul

Islam, Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain.

Umpires A Paleker and M Erasmus.

Cycling

Tour of the Basque Country

Leading positions: Fifth stage (Zamudio

to Mallabia, 163.8km): 1, C Rodríguez (Sp,

INEOS Grenadiers) 4min 7:09sec; 2, D

Martínez (Col, INEOS Grenadiers) at 7sec

behind; 3, R Evenepoel (Bel, Quick-Step-

Alpha Vinyl) 9. Overall 1, Evenepoel

18:12:29; 2, Martínez at 2sec; 3, I Izagirre

(Sp, Cofidis) 21; 9, A Yates (GB, INEOS

Grenadiers) 1:15.

Rugby league

Betfred Challenge Cup: Quarter-final

Hull KR 34 Castleford Tigers 10.

Rugby union

Heineken Champions Cup: Round of 16,

first leg Connacht 21 Leinster 26.

European Challenge Cup: Pool three

Brive 5 Saracens 55; Edinburgh 54 Pau 5.

Championship Cup: Pool one

Nottingham 14 Bedford 38; Richmond 26

Hartpury 61.

Swimming

British Championships

Ponds Forge, Sheffield: Finals: Men:

Freestyle: Breaststroke: 200m 1, J Wilby

(Loughborough) 2min 9.48sec; 2, A

Chillingworth (Plymouth) 2:12.17; 3, G

Butler (Loughborough) 2:12.30. Butterfly:

100m 1, J Guy (Bath) 51.69sec; 2, J Peters

(Bath) 51.93, 3, J Ingram (Manchester)

52.46. Women: Freestyle: 100m 1, A

Hopkin (Loughborough) 53.45; 2, F

Anderson (Bath) 53.92; 3, L Hope (Uni of

Stirling) 55.14. Backstroke: 200m 1, K

Shanahan (Glasgow) 2min 11.25sec; 2, H

McGill (Hearts) 2:11.84; 3, H Osrin

(Loughborough) 2:12.12.

Tennis

ATP US Men’s Clay Court Championship

Houston: Second round F Tiafoe (US) bt P

Cuevas (Uru) 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4); J Isner (US)

bt S Johnson (US) 6-7 (1-7), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3; C

Garin (Chile) bt J Thompson (Aus) 3-6, 6-3,

6-3; T Fritz (US) bt A Tabilo (Chile) 6-1, 6-4.

WTA Credit One Charleston Open

Charleston, South Carolina: Third round

A Anisimova (US) bt A Sabalenka (Bela) 3-6,

6-4, 6-3; C Vandeweghe (US) bt J Pegula

(US) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4; O Jabeur (Tun) bt I-C Begu

(Rom) 6-3, 6-2; A Kalinina (Ukr) bt A Cornet

(Fr) 7-6 (7-5), 7-5; M Linette (Pol) bt K Kanepi

(Est) 6-3, 4-6, 7-2; E Alexandrova (Russ) bt

Karolina Pliskova (Cz) 6-3, 6-1; B Bencic

(Switz) bt M Keys (US) 6-4, 6-4; P Badosa

Gibert (Sp) bt C Liu (US) 3-6, 7-6 (10-8), 6-1.

PIC OF THE WEEK

It’s not just the batsmen

who need protection in

the middle. Steve

O’Shaughnessy donned

cap, gloves and fleece

snood to umpire the first

game of the county

season at Edgbaston

between Warwickshire

and Surrey where the

temperature, like the

England openers,

struggled to reach

double figures.

Evert: Breakdowns show

the mental toll on players

Tennis

The former world No 1 Chris Evert has

called for discussions on the toll tennis

is taking on players’ mental health after

a spate of angry outbursts and

emotional breakdowns on court.

The German Alexander Zverev was

thrown out of a tournament in Acapul-

co in February after smashing his rack-

et against the umpire’s chair during an

expletive-laden tirade, and Nick Kyr-

gios, of Australia, was fined for his out-

bursts at Indian Wells and Miami last

month. Men’s governing body ATP this

week warned of stricter punishment for

on-court misconduct, but Evert said

she is worried about the players.

“I’m not making any judgments on

the players, but it’s an area of concern

— why are players losing control and

breaking racquets and putting others in

harm’s way?” she said.

“Why are they breaking down on the

court emotionally? It’s something that

needs to be addressed. It’s something

that needs to be talked about. Tennis is

a sport and it’s not life.”

The former world No 1 Victoria

Azarenka retired from her match in

Miami and said she should not have

played as her personal life had been

“extremely stressful” in recent weeks.

Naomi Osaka brought the issue of

athletes’ mental health into the spot-

light when she pulled out of grand-slam

events and chunks of the 2021 season.

Kyrgios thanked Osaka for helping him

to deal with his issues after he opened

up on his mental health struggles,

saying that he had suicidal thoughts

during one of his “darkest” periods

around the 2019 Australian Open.

“A lot of the women tennis players

have sports psychologists,” Evert said.

“And have therapists, that’s a growing

occurrence, and I think it’s great.”

Zverev smashes the umpire’s chair

INSIDE TODAY

Boris Becker facing years in jail over

bankruptcy scam

News, page 7

Our display was

disgusting, says

Castleford coach

Rugby league

The Castleford Tigers head coach Lee

Radford criticised his players’ attitudes

after their 34-10 defeat by Hull Kings-

ton Rovers in the quarter-finals of the

Betfred Challenge Cup.

The in-form winger Greg Eden

scored two tries to help last year’s run-

ners-up fight back from 12-0 down, but

the Tigers conceded three late tries to

bow out meekly.

Radford claimed there were no posi-

tives from his team’s performance and

described their failure to complete their

sets as “disgusting”. “It went downhill

from the kick-off,” he said.

“The errors were disgusting. You get

one evening to get it right in the cup

and we were as bad as I’ve seen us with

the ball.

“We just tried cheating our way to

winning a game tonight, forcing plays

on play one and play two. It was down

to attitude and mindset.”

The loose forward Elliot Minchella

scored two early tries to put Rovers on

their way before late scores from

Rowan Milnes, Sam Wood and Jordan

Abdull clinched a trip to Elland Road in

the last four.

The England winger Ryan Hall was

also among the tries as Rovers gained

revenge for their 33-32 golden-point

extra-time defeat by Castleford in last

season’s sixth-round tie.