ROUND-UP: England’s push; Warne’s auction; Ronaldo’s hat-trick; Ibrahimovic’s return; and Rudiger’s situation
International Round-up: South Africa frustrate England’s victory push; Warne to auction off ‘baggy green’ for bushfire appeal; Ronaldo scores first Serie A hat-trick; Ibrahimovic on as sub on AC Milan return; and ‘no evidence’ of racism against Chelsea’s Rudiger
CRICKET: South Africa frustrate England’s victory push
England need eight wickets for victory on the final day of the second Test in Cape Town after being frustrated by South Africa’s top order.
Dom Sibley made 133 not out – his maiden Test ton – and Ben Stokes hit 72 as England declared on 391-8 to set the Proteas a Test record 438 to win.
Joe Denly removed opener Dean Elgar for 34 and Zubayr Hamza fell for 18 to James Anderson in the penultimate over.
But Pieter Malan remained unbeaten on 63 as South Africa closed on 126-2.
Anderson’s late strike provided England a welcome boost on a Newlands pitch not offering as much variable bounce as England would have hoped for by now.
They will still have to work hard and stay patient to secure victory, but have time and runs to play with, given the hosts require a further 312 to win.
CRICKET: Warne to auction off ‘baggy green’ for bushfire appeal
Australian cricket great Shane Warne is set to raise more than 300,000 Australian dollars (£160,000) for the bushfire appeal by auctioning off his prized ‘baggy green’ Test cap.
The 50-year-old wore the cap throughout his 145-Test career, in which he took an Australian record 708 wickets.
At least 24 people have died since the fires began in September.
“Everyone is in this together and we continue to find ways to contribute and help on a daily basis,” said Warne.
“This has led me to auction off my beloved baggy green cap that I wore throughout my Test career.
“I hope my baggy green can raise some significant funds to help all those people that are in desperate need.”
All money raised will go to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund, with the highest bid at 07:00 GMT on Monday standing at A$301,500. The auction is open until Friday.
FOOTBALL: Ronaldo scores first Serie A hat-trick
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first Serie A hat-trick as Juventus beat Cagliari.
Ronaldo took advantage of a Ragnar Klavan error early in the second half to give the champions the lead, before scoring a penalty after Marko Rog fouled Paulo Dybala.
Portugal legend Ronaldo then set up Gonzalo Higuain to put Juve 3-0 up.
And moments later he got his 56th career hat-trick when he slipped the ball under goalkeeper Robin Olsen.
The 34-year-old is in his best scoring run since his £99.2m move from Real Madrid in 2018, scoring in each of his last five Serie A games.
FOOTBALL: Ibrahimovic on as sub on AC Milan return
Zlatan Ibrahimovic came on as a second-half substitute in his first game since returning to AC Milan as his side were held to a goalless draw by Sampdoria.
The 38-year-old Swedish striker, who helped Milan win Serie A in 2010-11 and has signed a six-month deal, replaced Krzysztof Piatek after 55 minutes.
Ibrahimovic had two headed chances but one was cleared off the line and the other was saved by Emil Audero.
The result leaves Milan 12th, four places ahead of Sampdoria in 16th.
Sampdoria had chances to win the game but former Southampton striker Manolo Gabbiadini shot wide from the edge of the penalty area after he had taken the ball around goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
FOOTBALL: ‘No evidence’ of racism against Chelsea’s Rudiger
Tottenham say there is no evidence to support allegations of racism from Spurs fans towards Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger during their Premier League encounter on December 22.
Play was stopped during Chelsea’s win at Tottenham after German defender Rudiger said he heard monkey noises.
A Spurs statement said the club and the Metropolitan Police had “now exhausted all avenues of investigation”. Spurs added that the police had closed the crime report on the matter.
The Tottenham statement added: “We fully support Antonio Rudiger with the action that he took – however there is no evidence to corroborate or contradict the allegation and as such neither ourselves nor the police are in a position to take any further action.”
A total of six arrests were made following the match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as part of the Metropolitan Police operation at the fixture, but none were linked to the incident involving Rudiger.
