Holder named Knight Riders captain for Major League

LOS ANGELES, United States:

West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder will lead the Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR) in the 2025 Major League Cricket.

The 33-year-old Holder has led the West Indies in all three formats, and brings plenty of leadership experience and all-round ability to the team.

However, Holder will miss the first two matches of the season, as he is currently representing the West Indies in their three-match T20I series against Ireland.

“We are excited to announce Jason Holder as the new captain of Los Angeles Knight Riders for the 2025 Major League Cricket,” the club announced in a release on Wednesday.

“Jason has led West Indies in all three formats in the international circuit, and we are confident he will do a great job for us at LAKR too.”

Trinidadian Sunil Narine will lead the squad in his absence, with Holder expected to join the squad ahead of their third match against the Washington Freedom on June 17 in Oakland.

The Knight Riders squad will feature several other West Indians including Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Andre Fletcher and Rovman Powell.

-CMC

Biles apologises for heated exchange over trans athlete

Two-time Olympic all-around champion Simone Biles has apologised for getting personal in a heated online exchange with former collegiate swimmer turned anti-trans athlete activist Riley Gaines.

Biles, an 11-time Olympic medallist and the most decorated gymnast of all-time, initially responded to a post by Gaines on the social media platform X after Gaines called a player on a Minnesota high school softball team “a boy”.

Biles wrote that Gaines was “truly sick” and a “straight up sore loser”, comments Biles later retracted.

Biles wrote that the current system in sports doesn’t adequately address the balance between competitive equity and inclusivity, and the discussion of the topic can lead to “frustration and heated exchanges”.

“It didn’t help for me to get personal with Riley,” Biles wrote.

Biles clarified that her main objection was that Gaines opted to single out an underage athlete, when that athlete has no control over what Biles called a “flawed system”.

“I believe sports organisations have a responsibility to come up with rules supporting inclusion while maintaining fair competition,” Biles posted. “We all want a future for sport that is fair, inclusive, and respectful.”

-AP