Sports
Teenage Australian cricketer dies after being hit by ball
A promising 17-year-old Australian cricketer died on Thursday after being struck by a ball, with his family saying they were “utterly devastated”.
Ben Austin was in the nets with a helmet on before a Twenty20 game in Melbourne on Tuesday when he was hit in the neck while facing a ball-throwing device.
He was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
“We are utterly devastated by the passing of our beautiful Ben, who died earlier on Thursday morning,” his father, Jace Austin, said in a statement.
“This tragedy has taken Ben from us, but we find some comfort that he was doing something he did for so many summers — going down to the nets with mates to play cricket.
“We would also like to support his teammate, who was bowling in the nets. This accident has impacted two young men and our thoughts are with him and his family as well.”
Austin was an emerging bowler and batter, considered by his Ferntree Gully Cricket Club as a “star cricketer, great leader and an awesome young man”.
Deaths in cricket are rare.
The most recent high-profile one in Australia came in 2014 when Test star Phillip Hughes was killed when hit in the neck by a rising ball during a domestic Sheffield Shield game.
His death stunned Australia and the world cricket community, sparking an outpouring of grief and ushering in stronger protocols around concussion and better safety equipment.
Cricket Victoria chief Nick Cummins told broadcaster ABC there were similarities between the two tragedies.
“The ball hit him (Austin) in the neck in a similar accident that Phil Hughes suffered 10 years ago,” Cummins said.
Cricket Australia chair Mike Baird said his heart “was broken” and lessons needed to be learned.
“Clearly there are things we have to learn from this,” Baird told reporters. “But right now we are concerned about the family and trying to support them in every way.”
Arne Slot insisted his Liverpool team selection in the Carabao Cup defeat was about protecting key players, like Alexander Isak, from injury.
Liverpool’s bad run of form extended to a sixth defeat in seven games when Crystal Palace ran out 3-0 winners at Anfield on Wednesday.
Slot rotated his starting XI with 10 changes from their most recent Premier League match against Brentford. Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk were notably absent from the squad.
“Everybody can have [an] opinion about it, but with the squad we have — maybe 15, 16 first-team players available — this is the choice I’ve made,” Slot told Sky Sports.
“It’s not of Liverpool’s standards to lose five out of six, or six out of seven.
“Last time we played Southampton here in the League Cup, Giovanni Leoni got injured. We don’t have such a big squad as people might tell. There was so much focus on the amount of money we spent.
“People all of a sudden think we have 25 players available. But we mainly have 20 players then we have four injuries.
“I only have one right full-back, Conor Bradley, as an example. Every time I had to play him twice in three days or three times in seven days [last season] I had to take him off with a hamstring injury or something else.
“Are you willing to take that risk with such a big week coming up?
“Last time I played a player that wasn’t fully prepared — we thought he was prepared but it was the first time — Isak, he got injured.
“Last time we played Southampton Leoni was injured and it was a red card for Hugo Ekitike. Those are the things we can’t use with a big week coming up.
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“But there’s always a choice. What if I had played Virgil and [Ibrahima Konate], for example, if one of them got injured people would have said ‘what a stupid choice!’
“And also with [the key players] it was very difficult for us, for our starters to beat Palace because it’s not the first time we lose against them.”
Liverpool play Aston Villa on Saturday in the Premier League at Anfield. They also face Real Madrid and Manchester City before the international break.
The skipper, chosen by new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, has much to address as his tenure with Washington begins.
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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Flamengo is into the Copa Libertadores final after salvaging a scoreless draw against Racing Club on Wednesday in the second leg of their semifinal series.
The Brazilian club managed to hold on to the 1-0 lead it took in the first leg, and will be aiming to win the prestigious South American soccer tournament for the fourth time.
Flamengo won the Copa Libertadores in 1981, 2019 and 2022. Another win for Flamengo would give Brazil an eighth title in the past nine editions of the tournament.
The final is scheduled for Nov. 29 in estadio Monumental in Lima, Peru.
Flamengo held on to clinch a final spot despite playing most of the second half with 10 men after Gonzalo Plata was sent off in the 56th minute.
Ecuador’s Liga de Quito has a 3-0 lead over Brazil’s Palmeiras in the other semifinal series.
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