Strauss'' wife dies at 46 after battle with lung cancer

LONDON
Ruth Strauss, whose cancer diagnosis prompted her husband Andrew Strauss to step down from his role as England’s director of cricket, has died, her family announced in a statement. The statement said Ruth had died aged 46 of the rare form of lung cancer she suffered from in her home country of Australia. Ruth was diagnosed with cancer during the Ashes in December 2017 and Strauss took a break from his position earlier this year after she began a new course of treatment.

NEW DELHI
Tharoor tables bill to

regulate online gaming Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor has introduced a Private Members Bill, titled the Sports (Online Gaming and Prevention of Fraud) Bill in the Lower House. The bill aims to introduce an effective administration to maintain the integrity of sports in India by preventing and penalising sports fraud and for regulation of online sports gaming. 

Chennai
Current attack can take 20 wickets in every Test: Dravid 

Rahul Dravid hailed the current Indian bowling attack and said its ability to take 20 wickets in a Test has given a huge fillip to the team. — Agencies

Karachi
Pakistan Hockey Federation secretary Shahbaz resigns 

Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) secretary Shahbaz Ahmed has resigned in disgust over the step-motherly treatment being meted out to the national sport in the country. “When the government doesn’t have either the time or funds for our national game than I also don’t have time for hockey,” Ahmed said while submitting his resignation at the PHF’s Working Congress meeting. Pakistan’s lacklustre performance at the World Cup has already seen the resignations of the coaches and manager.

Beijing
China to make doping criminal offence

Chinese athletes who use performance-enhancing drugs will receive criminal punishments and jail terms from next year as China cracks down on doping ahead of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, state media reported. China’s sports administration and top judicial authority are drafting rules that would apply criminal law to doping cases, official news agency Xinhua said.

Melbourne
Australian Open develops new extreme heat policy

Officials have scrapped the use of wet bulb globe temperature readings for next month’s Australian Open which should result in more matches suspended or delayed by Melbourne’s notoriously hot, dry and often windy conditions in January. Australian Open officials said Saturday a newly developed “heat stress scale” will instead be applied along with more comprehensive measuring of conditions. — Agencies