Cricket Australia on Thursday confirmed the Adelaide Strikers will host the first Big Bash League semifinal on Jan. 21, regardless of whether the team finishes first or second place on the ladder. The Strikers' win over the Hobart Hurricanes on Wednesday at Adelaide Oval cemented the Strikers a top-two position heading into the finals, and therefore the right to host a semifinal (BBL). ... The 11th edition of the Int'l Cricket Council U19 Cricket World Cup will be played across four cities in Bangladesh from Jan. 27-Feb. 14, featuring nine Test-playing nations and seven associate and affiliate members: Afghanistan, Canada, Fiji, Ireland, Namibia, Nepal and Scotland (ICC). ... The 2017 Tour de France will start with a 13-km time trial in Düsseldorf, offering home favorite Tony Martin "an opportunity to take the yellow jersey on the opening day" as Germany hosts the Grand Départ for the first time since Berlin in '87. The stage, which will take place on July 1, 2017, will start across from the Messe fairgrounds in Düsseldorf "before barrelling along the banks of the Rhine, taking in Königsalee before doubling back towards a finish near Messe" (CYCLING NEWS, 1/14).
'FAIR AND EQUITABLE': An independent accounting firm has ruled the process in awarding the 2018 Commonwealth Games opening and closing ceremonies "was fair and equitable." Jack Morton Worldwide won the tender to produce the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2018 Commonwealth Games, which will be held on the Gold Coast from April 4-15. The decision "outraged local firms." The report found the evaluation panel "was consistent throughout the process in considering tender offers from four firms" (ABC, 1/14).
