Ferrari has been "forced to cancel" a Pirelli wet-weather tire test following a heavy crash by Sebastian Vettel. The four-time champion did about 40 laps at Ferrari's Fiorano test track "before Thursday's accident." Pirelli said that he "simply lost control." Vettel "could give no further details of what happened," but said, "All good. I have no injuries or ailments." The car was "too damaged to continue with the test" (BBC, 2/10).
Former Australian cricketer Stuart MacGill "left cricketing officials baffled" when he failed to turn up to court in person or have legal representation in his A$2.6M ($2M) case against Cricket Australia. MacGill issued a writ against CA in Jan. '15 claiming he was owed A$1.6M in match payments and prizemoney, and almost A$1M in interest, plus costs. More than two years later, a directions hearing was held in the Victorian Supreme Court on Feb. 3 but MacGill "did not show up" (THE AGE, 2/11).
Pakistan Super League Chair Najam Sethi on Saturday said that no player, apart from Khalid Latif and Sharjeel Khan, would be suspended from the League provided there was no "new cause for action." He said, "Failure to promptly report any attempt to corrupt and subvert PSL will be cause for action. Players should relax, play the game and bring joy to millions of fans at home and abroad." Sethi's reassurances "followed a match-fixing scandal allegedly involving defending champions Islamabad United's players Khalid Latif and Sharjeel Khan, which rocked the PSL on the second day of play" (DAWN, 2/11).
Pakistan Cricket Board Chair Shaharyar Khan opened the second edition of the Pakistan Super League describing "the glitzy Twenty20 event as key to paving the way for his country's return to hosting international series." Pakistan has been a "no-go zone for all of their major rivals since a terror attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore" in March '09. Khan: "We are staging the second edition of the PSL with the aim of staging the final in Lahore on March 5. The success of the PSL will open the gates for teams to start coming into Pakistan" (AFP, 2/11).
