Australia Routs Pakistan in World Cup Cricket Final

Australia ended 12 years of frustration in record fashion Sunday, trouncing Pakistan in the World Cup final of cricket at Lord’s in London.

The winning margin of eight wickets was a World Cup finals record, one more than Sri Lanka had in 1996 against Australia.

Australia, led by captain Steve Waugh, won its first World Cup in 1987. Waugh and Tom Moody are the only remaining members of that championship team.

“Earlier in the tournament we were not doing ourselves justice,” said Waugh, who is 34 and probably played his last World Cup. “I knew we had a good enough side, a side good as any in the competition.”

Tennis

Patrick Rafter waited through a five-hour rain delay before defeating Andrei Pavel of Romania, 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-4, to retain the ATP Heineken Trophy at Den Bosch, Netherlands.

Play began at almost the last minute, as the players were waiting to be whisked away by helicopter to London, where both are scheduled to play at Wimbledon.

John McEnroe defeated longtime rival Jimmy Connors, 6-2, 6-1, to win the 1999 Quality Challenge senior tournament at San Diego. McEnroe increased his all-time record against Connors to 24-19, but Connors has a 6-4 edge on the senior tour.

Soccer Violence

Nepalese soccer fans surged on the field and fought with Malaysian players during an Olympic qualifier at Hong Kong, leaving several players injured, one hospitalized and the game called off with two minutes left.

The violence flared when Nepalese fans swarmed the field at Hong Kong Stadium after Nepal’s Anil Subba tied the score in the 88th minute. One of the fans grabbed the ball and refused to give it to the Malaysian players. Dozens of other Nepalese fans then jumped onto the field, triggering wild scenes as they fought with the Malaysian players.

The Paulista championship final between Corinthians and newly crowned South American champions Palmeiras was abandoned at 2-2 in the 76th minute following a massive brawl between the players at Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Three Palmeiras players streamed in on Corinthians’ Edilson, apparently incensed by his making light of the passionate contest by juggling nonchalantly.

Immediately, players, officials and substitutes from both sides joined in, aiming karate-style kicks and punches at each other. One of the most aggressive was Palmeiras striker Oseas, who was seen fighting with ball boys.

Miscellany

International Olympic Committee members may accept gifts only of “nominal value” under new rules adopted because of the Salt Lake City scandal. The new code does away with the previous $200 gift limit, a rule that has been widely ignored.

Rookie Tamika Whitmore scored a season-high 16 points and the New York Liberty moved into first place in the Eastern Conference with a 69-62 victory over the Detroit Shock at New York in the only WNBA game of the day. New York improved to 4-1, while Detroit fell to 3-2. . . . In Major League Soccer, five Kansas City players scored, including Chris Brown twice, as the Wizards destroyed the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, 6-0, at Kansas City, Mo.

Holly McPeak and Nancy Reno of the United States upset Shelda Bede and Adriana Behar of Brazil, 15-8, to win the women’s beach volleyball title at the $500,000 Labatt Blue Toronto Open. ZeMarco deMelo and Ricardo Santos of Brazil won the men’s event, beating compatriots Emanuel Scheffer and Jose Loiola, 15-10.

Natalya Kostitchenko, a Belarus triple jumper, ran away after winning her event in a junior track meet at Mannheim, Germany rather than submit to doping control. Kostitchenko, who still hadn’t been found by the time the evening banquet for athletes took place, faces a two-year suspension for refusing testing.

Jan Ullrich, the 1997 winner, said he will definitely miss the Tour de France because of a knee injury. The captain of Team Telekom withdrew from the Tour de Suisse 10 days ago because of sharp pain in his right knee, injured when he spilled three weeks ago. . . . Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli, an Olympic cycling medalist and a 12-time world champion, won the 12-day, 13-stage Women’s Challenge at Boise, Idaho. . . . Lawrence Phillips ran for two touchdowns and 46 yards to become the first player in NFL Europe history to rush for 1,000 yards as the Barcelona Dragons advanced to next Sunday’s World Bowl with a 28-26 victory over the Frankfurt Galaxy at Berlin. The Dragons (7-3) will again play the Galaxy (6-4). The World Bowl will be held in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Lacrosse has been added to the sports from which athletes will be considered for the Honda-Broderick Cup, given each year to the most outstanding collegiate woman athlete.