Sport in brief

Press, 14 September 1989, Page 44

Sport in brief

Late start sought PA Auckland The medium-pacer, Martin Snedden, wants permission to make a late start to New Zealand’s cricket tour of Australia in November. Snedden’s wife is expecting the couple’s second child on November 10, five days after the team leaves for its four-match tour. Last season’s vice-captain has written to the New Zealand Cricket Council and has also spoken to officials » requesting dispensation to make a late start. That would mean missing the opening day-night match in Perth on November 8 and the game against Western Australia from November 10-13. Snedden would anticipate linking with the team in Adelaide for the four-day game against South Australia. N.Z. tennis scoop PA Wellington New Zealand’s two international men’s tennis tournaments this summer have been given a dream start by two players in the world’s top 20 confirming their entries yesterday. The flamboyant Spaniard, Emilio Sanchez, will play in Wellington’s BP Nationals while Czech, Miloslav Mecir, who has been ranked as high as fifth (March 1987), returns to Auckland’s Benson and Hedges Classic to recapture the title he won in 1987. Sanchez, the brother of the French Open women’s champion Arantxa, will be perhaps the biggest crowdpuller at Wellington’s Renouf Centre in January. Now 24, he has been ranked in the top 20 for the last four years and before the U.S. Open was No. 14. The New Zealand Tennis chairman, lan Wells, said Sanchez’s inclusion would make it difficult for the Kiwi No. 1, Kelly Evernden, to retain his Wellington title. Kiwi leads golf NZPA-AAP Suva New Zealander Tom Stout fired a six-over-par 78 yesterday to open up a seven-stroke lead-after two rounds of the 54-hole Air Pacific-Qantas Fiji International seniors golf title. Stout, the Fiji club champion of 1964-65 now based at Titirangi, totalled 153 to head the defending champion, Bill Sidwell, and last year’s runner-up, Alan Hawkins, both from Australia, who carded second rounds of 80 and 79 respectively. Farewell to Coe NZPA-AFP London Sebastian Coe, due to announce whether he will carry on running next year, will make what will probably be his last British appearance at Crystal Palace tomorrow. However, the 32-year-old two-time Olympic 1500 m champion’s decision to run 800 m at the invitation meeting means he will miss a rematch with Abdi Bile, of Somalia, who beat him in last Saturday’s World Cup 1500. Bile wanted to run the mile but has been turned down by the organisers as Morocco’s multi-talented Said Aouita is making a world record bid in that event. Rangi wins hockey Rangi Ruru Girls’ School first hockey XI completed an exceptional season when it won the final of the “Press” secondary school girls’ competition, 5-2, against Darfield High School at Porritt Park last evening. Rangi had a comfortable 4-1 lead at the interval and went to a 5-1 lead before Darfield scored a late goal. Rangi played 25 games against secondary school teams during the season and lost just one. It scored 111 goals and conceded 21. Jane Seay, Sarah Lynn, Emma Leech, Ann Warden and Melinda Lucas scored for Rangi and Jayne Baird and Megan Yazley scored for Darfield. In the boys’ “Press” game, Shirley Boys’ High School’s skills as a team surpassed the stilted individual efforts of Linwood High School with a 4-1 win. The score was 3-0 at half-time. Darren Clarkson scored all Shirley’s goals. Yaseen Lalu slotted in Linwood’s point.

• Inside sport: Pages 31-33