Mickey Arthur appointed Pakistan’s director of cricket

Lahore: Pakistan have appointed their former coach Mickey Arthur as director of cricket, the cricket board (PCB) said today. Ex-South Africa, Australia and Sri Lanka coach Arthur was in charge of Pakistan from 2016 to 2019 when they won the 2017 Champions Trophy and became the world’s top-ranked T20 team. The Johannesburg-born 54-year-old is Derbyshire head coach and will now also oversee strategy for Pakistan. Arthur will also serve as a member of Pakistan’s coaching staff for this year’s World Cup in India.

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Omitama (Japan)

Two late double bogeys hit Sharma hard in Japan

India’s Shubhankar Sharma ran into trouble on his second nine and dropped down the leaderboard to tied-117th despite a good start at the ISPS Handa Championships. Sharma was 2-over after the first round and will now need a solid second round to make the cut. England’s Andy Sullivan and South Korean Kim Yeongsu shot a 63 each to lead the way.

New York

Tiger has ankle surgery, rest of Majors in doubt

Tiger Woods had fusion surgery on his right ankle to alleviate arthritis from a broken bone, putting in doubt whether he plays any more Majors this year. Woods disclosed the surgery on Twitter on Wednesday and said it was a subtalar fusion procedure to address post-traumatic arthritis from when he broke his talus bone in February 2021.

Milan

Italy sports authority scraps Juve’s 15-point penalty

Italy’s top sports body on Thursday cancelled a decision to dock Serie A club Juventus 15 points in a case centered on the club’s transfer dealings, ordering football authorities to hold another hearing. With eight games left to play, the decision will lift Juventus from seventh to third in the Serie A table – with 59 points, still 16 behind leaders Napoli but back into the qualifying spots for the lucrative European Champions League. Agencies