Tag: ahead

PGA Tour: Davis Thompson two ahead of Aaron Rai going into John Deere Classic final round | Golf News

PGA Tour: Davis Thompson two ahead of Aaron Rai going into John Deere Classic final round | Golf News
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American Davis Thompson fired nine birdies in a third-round 62 to take a two-shot lead into the final day of the John Deere Classic.

Soft conditions on the TPC Deere Run in Illinois continued to bring low scores, Thompson moving to 21 under par – two clear of England’s Aaron Rai and fellow American Eric Cole.

“I guess it was just my day today,” said Thompson, who is seeking his first PGA Tour victory. “The guys behind me are playing really well.

Image:
Aaron Rai is two off the lead with 18 holes remaining

“I know it’s going to be tough to finish off a golf tournament, but I’ve done it before. I just have to stay present-minded.”

With the final day being played in threesomes with a delayed start in a bid to beat storms, Rai, co-leader after the second round, will play in the last group for the second successive week.

He had six birdies in a round of 66 as he bids to go one better than his second place at the Rocket Mortgage Classic last week.

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Hayden Springer, who shot a 59 on the opening day, is a further two strokes back on 17 under par after a 66, alongside Taiwan’s CT Pan.

Rookie Michael Thorbjohnsen and amateur Luke Clanton are among those on 16 under par, while a third-round 70 saw England’s Harry Hall tumble down the leaderboard to seven shots adrift.

Watch the final round of the John Deere Classic live on Sky Sports Golf from 5pm on Sunday.

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British GP: George Russell tops wet Silverstone practice from Lewis Hamilton ahead of qualifying | F1 News

British GP: George Russell tops wet Silverstone practice from Lewis Hamilton ahead of qualifying | F1 News
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George Russell set the pace from Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in a wet final practice for the British Grand Prix.

Heavy rain fell in the morning at Silverstone but stopped in time for practice, where Mercedes immediately looked strong in the cold, wet conditions.

Russell was just 0.035s quicker than Hamilton, with Friday’s fastest driver Lando Norris 0.185s off the 1:37.529 benchmark time ahead of qualifying, which is live at 3pm on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Showcase.

After the three Brits there was a gap of six tenths to Carlos Sainz in fourth and championship leader Max Verstappen was 0.864s behind Russell.

Verstappen had a spin early in the session, while Alpine’s Pierre Gasly also lost control of his car but beached it in the gravel and caused a short red flag.

Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri and Fernando Alonso made up the top eight.

Rain mixes up pecking order

For the first half of the session, there was no rain and the track continued to get faster with the drivers electing to use just one set of intermediates for the practice hour.

Several drivers traded top spot but Russell pipped Hamilton as the Mercedes pair were told where to find lap time on the radio, with different lines being used.

Mercedes have traditionally been strong in the rain, so will be hoping the wet weather continues into qualifying later on.

The only fully wet competitive qualifying this year was Sprint Qualifying in China, where Norris beat Hamilton to pole.

After topping both of Friday’s practice sessions, Norris said he was open to rain and he also looks strong in the wet.

Verstappen has often delivered when it mattered most, so cannot be ruled out. However, Red Bull look to be on the back foot compared to McLaren in all conditions, and Mercedes in the rain.

Sky Sports F1’s live British GP schedule (all F1 sessions on Sky Showcase)

Saturday July 6
1.10pm: F2 Sprint
2.15pm: British GP Qualifying build-up
3pm: British GP Qualifying
5pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook

Here’s what you can look forward to during coverage of this weekend’s British Grand Prix

Sunday July 7
8:15am: F3 Feature Race
9:50am: F2 Feature Race
11:50am: Porsche Supercup
1:30pm: Grand Prix Sunday – British GP build-up
3pm: The BRITISH GRAND PRIX
5pm: Chequered Flag: British GP reaction
6pm: Ted’s Notebook

F1’s summer triple-header concludes with the big one, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Watch every session live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Showcase, with Sunday’s race at 3pm. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime

James Anderson takes six wickets in opening spell for Lancashire ahead of England international farewell | Cricket News

James Anderson takes six wickets in opening spell for Lancashire ahead of England international farewell | Cricket News
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James Anderson marked his first County Championship of the summer by taking six wickets in his opening spell as Lancashire dominated Nottinghamshire in Southport.

The 41-year-old is back in action for the first time since featuring for England in India in March and ahead of his farewell international in their Test opener against the West Indies, live from July 10 on Sky Sports.

Anderson rolled back the years as took 6-19 from 10 overs, ripping through the Nottinghamshire top order in cloudy conditions, leaving the visitors struggling at 40-6 in reply to Lancashire declaring on 353-9.

England cricket managing director Rob Key says James Anderson will continue in the national setup after his final Test against West Indies, and admits that the internationally retiring Anderson still has more to offer to English cricket

Lancashire declared early on Tuesday morning after securing a third batting bonus point, following day two being washed out by rain, with Anderson finishing unbeaten on nought off two deliveries as opener Keaton Jennings fired a brilliant 187 not out.

Anderson made the breakthrough when Nottinghamshire captain Haseeb Hameed (six) defended a delivery that rolled onto his stumps, with New Zealand’s Will Young (two) caught behind by keeper Matty Hurst in his next over.


Wednesday 10th July 10:00am


Jennings caught Joe Clarke (nought) in the slips and Jack Haynes (two) fell soon after to Anderson, who completed the 55th five-wicket haul of his career when he removed Lyndon James for five.

Liam Patterson-White (four) became Anderson’s sixth wicket in as many overs before the bowler was replaced by George Balderson, with Nottinghamshire reaching lunch at 69-6 and leaving work to do to avoid the follow-on.

Take a look at some of the landmark moments throughout James Anderson’s Test career, with the 41-year-old becoming the first seamer to reach 700 wickets

Anderson is set to step into a newly-created role as England’s fast-bowling mentor for the last two Tests against the Windies, following his farewell Test appearance, along with the following three-match series versus Sri Lanka that follows.

Watch the first Test between England and West Indies, at Lord’s, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10am on Wednesday July 10 (11am first ball). The series then continues at Trent Bridge (July 18-22) before the final game at Edgbaston (July 26-30).

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Gareth Southgate wary of England changes and ‘losing continuity’ ahead of Slovakia last-16 clash | Football News

Gareth Southgate wary of England changes and ‘losing continuity’ ahead of Slovakia last-16 clash | Football News
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Gareth Southgate has warned against “throwing everything out the window” by making sweeping changes to his England line-up despite their poor Euro 2024 performances.

There had been suggestion Southgate may be tempted to bring in one or both of Anthony Gordon and Cole Palmer for Sunday’s last-16 clash with Slovakia after the pair’s bright impact from the bench against Slovenia – despite playing for a combined total of 30 minutes in that match.

Kobbie Mainoo is increasingly likely to start on Sunday, Sky Sports News understands, but the England manager is expected to resist the urge to make wholesale changes. Southgate has made only one alteration to his starting XI across the tournament so far despite England’s toils in Germany.

Southgate said: “A team is never quite as poor as people might think, and never quite as good as people might think.

Image:
Anthony Gordon made his first appearance of the tournament as an 89th-minute substitute against Slovenia

“You’re probably about five per cent off where you’d like to be. Therefore you’ve got to be very careful not to throw everything out the window, lose things you’re doing well and lose continuity and the confidence that comes from players playing together and the understanding that comes with that.

“You have to ignore external advice and be assured in what you’re doing. Equally, we’ve had some players who have come in and had a big impact from the bench.

“Our substitutions in all of the matches have had a big impact, and we’re mindful people are pushing for places, there’s competition, we need that strength in depth.

“The squad are very together. they’re training well, that’s pushing the starting team that’s been in place. The other players have to be ready; you might need five or six changes tomorrow, that’s over half the team now.

“It’s important that when players come on, they perform as the guys did the other night.”

Southgate doubled down on that mindset by calling the Slovenia performance a “step in the right direction” despite his side failing to find the net, and managing only four shots on target against a side ranked 57th in the world.

He told reporters he had seen an increase in intensity on the training pitch ahead of the knock-out stages, and said morale was growing in the camp – including through celebrations for Jude Bellingham and Eberechi Eze’s birthdays on Saturday.

England stuttered to a boring 0-0 draw with Slovenia in final Group C game
Image:
England stuttered to a boring 0-0 draw with Slovenia in final Group C game

“Confidence is growing, the players know a lot of the performance against Slovenia was a step in the right direction,” he said.

“We have to find more incisiveness in the final third and creativity, but we have the players to do that.

“The understanding of playing together, sticking to the plan and making sure we show the right level of composure to sustain attacks in that area of the pitch, all of those things will add to the performance.

“Of course, goals have a huge impact on individuals and teams. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be one moment, you keep having to show evidence of what you’re doing well and building on what you’re doing.”

Fitness has proven a nagging issue for England both ahead of and during the tournament.

Southgate mentioned fatigue issues following their last warm-up game with Iceland at Wembley, before the Three Lions looked leggy in their opening game with Serbia and struggled to cope with Denmark’s intensity in their second.

Jude Bellingham said he was “dead” after an underwhelming personal performance against Slovenia, having struggled in the final months of the campaign with club side Real Madrid during a gruelling first season at the Bernabeu.

Jude Bellingham's stats vs Slovenia

When asked about the 21-year-old’s fitness, Southgate said: “When you’ve walked off the pitch giving everything you’re going to feel physically in a certain way and perhaps emotionally too.

“He missed a period towards the end of the season with an ankle injury, and didn’t play every game because they were preparing for a Champions League final.

“He will have benefitted from the matches we’ve had and the recovery period in between, as have a number of players.

“But we always have to be mindful of the quality we have to be able to come into the game, the freshness and how that might make a difference in the latter stages of matches.

“That might make a difference, but I’m not concerned about where he’s at in terms of his condition. He’s obviously smiling a lot today, it’s a big day for him, and a reminder of his age and how well he deals with the expectation around him at a remarkably young age.

“I can think of few players who have had to live in that world. I can think that his world is different to most 21 year olds that I know. He’s dealing with that exceptionally well.”

Novak Djokovic: Seven-time Wimbledon champion ‘pain free’ ahead of first round | Tennis News

Novak Djokovic: Seven-time Wimbledon champion ‘pain free’ ahead of first round | Tennis News
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Novak Djokovic has declared himself “pain free” after overcoming Daniil Medvedev in an exhibition match ahead of Wimbledon.

The former world No 1 was expected to miss the tournament he has won seven times after having knee surgery less than three weeks ago but now appears almost certain to play against Vít Kopriva in the first round on Monday.

Annabel Croft assesses what Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal from the French Open to injury

Djokovic’s movement was not completely perfect in a 6-3 6-4 win over Medvedev at the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic at Hurlingham, with the 37-year-old, who wore strapping on his right knee, showing a reluctance to push off from that leg when out wide, but he served well and struck the ball crisply.

Asked about his fitness afterwards, the record 24-time Grand Slam winner gave a big sigh before saying: “I can tell you that I enjoyed myself really, really much today.

“I can tell you that pain-free tennis is the best tennis. I was pain-free and I’m really glad. It was a great test obviously against one of the best players in the world.

“I’ve played a couple of practice sets but I really wanted to test myself. The test was very successful so I’m obviously really glad. It’s been an intense three weeks after surgery, spending a lot of hours rehabbing.

“I kind of always wanted to give myself a chance to be in London. I think my surgeon is here. He’s the MVP for sure the last three weeks. I’m trying to take it day by day and see how far it goes.”

Image:
Novak Djokovic lost out to Carlos Alcaraz in last year’s Wimbledon’s men’s singles final

Djokovic has been leaning on fellow athletes who have suffered similar injuries, including American Taylor Fritz, who faced the same situation three years ago and recovered in time for Wimbledon.

“I asked him, I asked many athletes – [Stan] Wawrinka, Lindsey Vonn, Zlatan Ibrahimovic – and they were all very kind to share some of their experiences and give me some contacts of people who could help me out,” said Djokovic.

Medvedev did not sense any physical weakness in his opponent but thinks there could still be question marks about how Djokovic will handle the demands of Wimbledon.

“He seems to be fine,” the world number five told the PA news agency. “You never know what he feels inside of him.

“It’s a five-set match on grass [at Wimbledon], never easy for the knee, so I don’t know how it’s going to go during the matches. But he seemed to be moving well, even if I got him off guard a little bit.”

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Lando Norris identified as most ‘consistent challenger’ to Max Verstappen by Red Bull ahead of Austrian GP | F1 News

Lando Norris identified as most ‘consistent challenger’ to Max Verstappen by Red Bull ahead of Austrian GP | F1 News
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Lando Norris has “emerged from the pack” as the most “consistent challenger” to Max Verstappen with Red Bull expecting the McLaren driver to remain a big threat to them at their home Austrian GP this weekend.

Verstappen and Norris have finished in the top two positions at five of the past six grands prix.

Although the reigning champion has won five of those races to Norris’ one, the McLaren driver finished on the Red Bull driver’s tail at Imola, Montreal and, last Sunday, Barcelona to suggest he could still yet prove a genuine title threat to Verstappen over the 14 races that remain in the record-length 2024 season.

Norris’ latest runner-up finish in Spain moved him ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc into a career-best second place in the Drivers’ Championship, with the 24-year-old trailing Verstappen by 69 points.

And reflecting on his driver’s narrow two-second victory over Norris at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said: “If Lando would have had track position it would have been difficult to beat them.

“It was so close between the two of them and they were 18 seconds ahead of the rest.

“I would say that Lando has emerged from the pack as the most consistent challenger.”

Speaking to Sky Sports News, Horner added: “We’ve had four pole winners in the last four races. It’s very, very tight.

“But Lando I would say, he seems to have worked out these tyres, McLaren have done a great job as well, and they’re going to push us hard for the rest of the year.”

Watch as George Russell and Norris battle for P2 at the Spanish Grand Prix

Norris, who won his maiden grand prix at the start of May at the Miami GP, has now finished second 10 times in races – nine times as runner-up to Verstappen – since McLaren introduced their transformative car upgrade at last year’s Austrian GP.

A lap of the Red Bull Ring takes little over 60 seconds to complete and Horner said ahead of this weekend’s Sprint event: “On such a short lap, it’s going to be so tight and we expect McLaren and Lando to be fast again.

“Ferrari and Mercedes? Who knows. If you look at the gap to those guys after the race it was pretty similar to last year. The one who has stepped up is Lando.”

Max Verstappen reflected on his thrilling performance to take the win at the Spanish Grand Prix

Indeed, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff – whose improving team finished third and fourth at Barcelona ahead of the Ferraris – acknowledged that Red Bull and McLaren currently are a step ahead of the field.

“The McLaren was very quick [in Spain]. How quick, I don’t know, I think Max always has a little bit in the pocket and you see that makes that difference,” said Wolff.

“But definitely there’s not a lot at the moment between these two and they are definitely setting the benchmark.”

Is Norris a genuine title threat to Verstappen?

Although Norris’ championship deficit to Verstappen has grown by 13 points in the last two races despite McLaren having chances to win both – with the Dutchman now enjoying a season-high lead at the top of the standings of those 69 points – that could yet change quickly if the McLaren driver is able to convert his car’s ever-growing pace into a run of wins given how many points remain up for grabs this season (396).

This weekend’s Sprint event in Austria alone, which features a 100km race on the Saturday in addition Sunday’s main grand prix, offers an additional eight points compared with the majority of events.

A frustrated Lando Norris reviews the Spanish Grand Prix where he finished second.

Asked about his title chances after Spain, Norris said: “We should have got some points back on Max. Potentially, there was a chance to beat him in Canada. So two races that I finished second and he’s won

“But Max needs to stop winning in order to achieve that. Yeah, even though I moved into second in the championship, that doesn’t matter. I couldn’t care if I was second or 10th.

“It’s more about the gap to what Max is and he’s still extending it at the minute and that’s something we can’t afford to do or can’t afford to kind of let him run away with it at this point of the season.

“But we can do. You know, if I just made some better decisions in Canada and if I had a better start [on Sunday], we could have won two races. And I know there’s a lot of, and there kind of always has been a lot of ‘shoulda, woulda, couldas’, but we have what it takes. It’s just about putting it all together.”

‘Red Bull know where to improve’

Norris won a thrilling qualifying duel with Verstappen to claim just his second career pole position in Spain but then almost immediately lost that advantage at the start of the race when he dropped from first to third behind his victory rival and a fast-starting George Russell at the first corner.

George Russell snatches the lead from Lando Norris at the Spanish Grand Prix.

Having lost crucial track position, McLaren then extended Norris’ first two stints compared with the Red Bull with the Englishman coming back at Verstappen on pace on each occasion on fresher tyres after his pit stops before effectively running out of laps to attempt an overtake at the end of the race.

“McLaren certainly look fast at the end of stints, which is something we’ve seen at a couple of races now,” noted Horner.

“So their degradation seems to be good. But that’s a little bit offset by the strategy and the overlap in the tyre life.

“We had enough to get the job done and it’s the seventh victory of our 10 races. Four of them have been very hard but, again, the team are working at a level that we’re still delivering the pit stops, strategy etc but Max again demonstrated why he’s the world champion – at the key, key moments he delivers.”

The best of the action from an eventful Spanish Grand Prix.

Horner added: “He’s fantastic under pressure, he’s always been fantastic. Last year was a unicorn year, now it’s a more normal year. It’s not normal to win all the races, all of the time, and we’re having to fight very, very hard for them and Max is making the key difference.

“But we know where we need to improve. We are getting a better understanding of where our strengths and weaknesses are and we are doing enough at the moment to keep growing that championship lead.”

Sky Sports F1’s live Austrian GP schedule

Thursday June 27
12.30pm: Drivers’ Press Conference

Friday June 28
7.50am: F3 Practice
9am: F2 Practice
11am: Austrian GP Practice One (session starts at 11.30am)
12.55pm: F3 Qualifying
1.50pm: F2 Qualifying
3pm: Austrian GP Sprint Qualifying (session starts at 3.30pm)*

Saturday June 29
8.25am: F3 Sprint
10am: Austrian GP Sprint (race starts at 11am)*
12.25pm: F2 Sprint
2pm: Austrian GP Qualifying build-up
3pm: Austrian GP Qualifying
5pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook

Sunday June 30
7.25am: F3 Feature Race
8.55am: F2 Feature Race
12:30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Austrian GP build-up*
2pm: The AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX*
4pm: Chequered Flag: Austrian GP reaction*
5pm: Ted’s Notebook

*also live on Sky Sports Main Event

F1’s triple-header continues at the Austrian Grand Prix this coming week – with the Sprint format returning at the Red Bull Ring. Watch every session live on Sky Sports F1, with Sunday’s big race at 2pm. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime

The Hundred 2024:Jason Roy joins Northern Superchargers ahead on new season | Cricket News

The Hundred 2024:Jason Roy joins Northern Superchargers ahead on new season | Cricket News
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Former World Cup winner Jason Roy will feature for the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred this summer, live on Sky Sports.

The opener, part of England’s 2019 World Cup win, has played for the Oval Invincibles for the past three seasons but was overlooked in the draft earlier this year.

Roy scored 154 runs in nine matches last year and 391 runs over this three-year stint, the second-most in the team’s history, with the 33-year-old part of the Invincibles side that lifted the trophy in 2023.

Watch the best of the action from the 2023 men’s Hundred final as Oval Invincibles beat Manchester Originals by 14 runs at Lord’s.

He replaces Brydon Carse, who will miss this summer’s competition as he serves a ban for betting offences, with Roy now part of the Superchargers team coached by Andrew Flintoff.

“I can’t wait to join Northern Superchargers,” Roy said. “It looks like we’ve got a really good group forming and the thought of playing for Freddie’s team is pretty exciting. You watch a bloke like him smash it when you’re a kid and it’ll be fun to work with him.

“I’d have been disappointed to have missed out on The Hundred, so I’m glad to have got an opportunity, and I’m looking forward to getting up to Leeds and enjoying the competition.”

Northern Superchargers men’s squad: Harry Brook, Graham Clark, Jordan Clark, Adam Hose, Tom Lawes, Callum Parkinson, Dillon Pennington, Nicholas Pooran (overseas), Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Ollie Robinson, Jason Roy, Daniel Sams (overseas), Matthew Short (overseas), Ben Stokes, Reece Topley.

Watch The Hundred live in full on Sky Sports from July 23 to August 18. Stream cricket and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership. No contract, cancel anytime.

T20 World Cup: Afghanistan’s Gulbadin Naib plays down injury controversy ahead of semi-final | Cricket News

T20 World Cup: Afghanistan’s Gulbadin Naib plays down injury controversy ahead of semi-final | Cricket News
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Afghanistan all-rounder Gulbadin Naib has made light of his controversial injury delay as his side prepare for a historic appearance in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.

Gulbadin was at the centre of a strange moment during his side’s Super 8s game against Bangladesh, dropping dramatically to the ground and clutching his leg despite standing still at slip.

Moments earlier, with Afghanistan narrowly ahead on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method and with rain beginning to fall, head coach Jonathan Trott could be seen gesturing animatedly from the dugout encouraging his team to slow the game down.

Highlights from the T20 World Cup Group 1 match as Afghanistan defeated Bangladesh to reach their first-ever semi-final where they’ll play South Africa.

Afghanistan eventually bowled out Bangladesh to win the game, edging out Australia, with a mysteriously fit-again Gulbadin bowling two overs and taking an enthusiastic part in his team’s celebrations as they made the final four at a global event for the first time.

Former New Zealand international Simon Doull had branded the incident “unacceptable” while commentating, while fellow pundit Ian Smith joked: “I’ve a dodgy knee for the last six months. I am going to see Gulbadin Naib’s doctor straight after the game.”

The reactions continued to flow in, with former England captain Michael Vaughan posting on X: “Great to see Gulbadin become the first cricketer in the history of the game to get a wicket 25 mins after being shot”.

Australia spinner Adam Zampa posted a video of Gulbadin’s tumble on Instagram with the caption “the old rainstring”.

Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan suggested in post-match interviews that his team-mate had suffered an attack of cramp, but there was a mischievous tone to their subsequent social media posts.

Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain discuss why the two T20 World Cup semi-finals will be played to different playing regulations because of the schedule of the tournament.

Gulbadin – who is expected to be fit for the semi-final – posted a picture of himself smiling broadly with physio Prasanth Panchada on Instagram, writing: “Wonders can happen”.

He also commented on a video posted by pace bowler Naveen-ul-Haq, which saw footage of Gulbadin running crudely cut into a movie clip, writing: “Hey mate I am not felling well (sic)…Hamstring problem.”


Live ICC Men's T20 World Cup


Thursday 27th June 1:00am


What’s next?

Afghanistan face South Africa in the first semi-final in Trinidad (live on Sky Sports Cricket on Thursday, first ball at 1.30am), with the Proteas having topped Group 2 of the Super 8s ahead of England.

Speaking on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast, Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain discuss whether England have finally settled on their strongest line-up in time for their semi-final against India.

India took top spot in Group 1 and in doing so set up a Thursday date with England in Guyana (live on Sky Sports Cricket from 3pm, first ball at 3.30pm).

There is no reserve day available for the second semi-final between England and India – although an extra 250 minutes is available on the scheduled day – so if the game cannot be completed due to weather India will advance by virtue of topping their Super 8s pool.

Catch every match from the T20 World Cup, including the final in Barbados on Saturday June 29, live on Sky Sports. Stream Sky Sports live with no contract on a Month or Day membership on NOW.

Emma Raducanu beats former US Open champion Sloane Stephens in Eastbourne opener ahead of Wimbledon | Tennis News

Emma Raducanu beats former US Open champion Sloane Stephens in Eastbourne opener ahead of Wimbledon | Tennis News
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Emma Raducanu has cruised into the second round of the Rothesay International after a straight-sets win over fellow former US Open champion Sloane Stephens in Eastbourne.

Raducanu twice battled back from a break down to take the opening set before rattling through the second in impressive fashion, claiming a 6-4 6-0 victory to the delight of the home crowd.

The 2021 US Open champion has struggled with form and injuries in recent seasons, but said ahead of this week’s event that she was confident “good things are 100 per cent going to happen” after rekindling her love of tennis.

Raducanu, who has a wild card into Wimbledon next week, will play second seed Jessica Pegula – who received a bye – in the next round.

“It was a very close first set and I was down quite a bit all the way through and managed to break,” Raducanu said. “But it’s very difficult because Sloane is super athletic and, in the first set especially, she was making a lot of balls and counter-punching really well.

“It took a lot to try and hit through her but I managed to figure it out in the second set.”

Raducanu missed the entire grass-court season last year following surgery on both wrists and one ankle, yet she showed little sign of any fitness troubles as she warmed up for Wimbledon in devastating fashion by building on her recent run to the semi-finals of Nottingham.

British tennis stars Cameron Norrie and Raducanu revealed what their ideal days away from tennis would look like!

Having been cheered on to Centre Court by a supportive home crowd, Raducanu was aggressive from the outset. A succession of early holds was followed by four consecutive breaks of service during which the home favourite impressively dug in to prevent 31-year-old American Stephens gaining the upper hand.

A deft drop shot followed by an ace in game nine helped turn the contest in Raducanu’s favour before she unleashed a stunning backhand cross-court winner en route to sealing the set.

She then cruised through the second set as world No 45 Stephens, who triumphed at Flushing Meadows in 2017, struggled to cope with her opponent’s power and precision.

What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis?

In the run-up to the third Grand Slam of 2024 – Wimbledon – you can watch the biggest tennis stars in action live on Sky Sports as they compete across the grass-court season.

Find out all the ways to watch tennis on Sky Sports, including the US Open, ATP and WTA tours

  • Mallorca Championships (ATP 250) – June 23-29
  • Bad Homburg (WTA 500) – June 23-29

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Ireland assistant coach Mike Catt dismisses South African comments ahead of summer Test series | Rugby Union News

Ireland assistant coach Mike Catt dismisses South African comments ahead of summer Test series | Rugby Union News
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Ireland assistant coach Mike Catt dismissed the significance of potentially provocative comments from the South Africa camp ahead of next month’s tantalising two-match series.

Springboks trio Eben Etzebeth, Damian de Allende and Cheslin Kolbe are among those to have stoked the flames of a growing rivalry between the world’s two top-ranked sides since last year’s Rugby World Cup in France.

Ireland are due to fly to Johannesburg on Tuesday ahead of facing the world champions on July 6 in Pretoria and seven days later in Durban, both live on Sky Sports.

“People can say what they want. It means nothing to us. It’s something we don’t particularly worry about,” South Africa-born attack coach Catt told reporters.

Image:
Ireland are back-to-back winners of the men’s Six Nations

“Let them keep talking. It’s not a problem. It doesn’t fuel anything. It doesn’t make it any or worse. We know exactly what we need to do to go down there and be successful.”

Ireland have won the past three meetings between the two nations and five of the last seven.

Former Munster centre De Allende said the Springboks felt “disrespected” by heavy media criticism after a crushing 38-3 defeat in Dublin in 2017.

Lock Etzebeth branded Andy Farrell’s players “arrogant” for their behaviour following September’s 13-8 World Cup pool-stage victory in Paris.

While South Africa recovered from that Stade de France defeat to retain the Webb Ellis Cup, Ireland suffered a familiar quarter-final exit, losing 28-24 to eventual runners-up New Zealand.

“The rivalry’s been good, that’s what you want at Test level, it’s why you play the game,” continued Catt. “We’ve been pretty successful over the past three times we’ve played them, they’re champing at the bit.


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“There’s been a lot said in the press and this and that. It’s getting rid of all the white noise. What’s important for us is to put in a hell of a performance, and go and challenge to win a series down in South Africa.

“It’s healthy, you want that rivalry. You want that – not hatred – but whatever it is that stirs it all up. It’s good.”

Catt, who will leave his role following the tour, confirmed Ireland have no fresh injury concerns in their 35-man squad after Jamison Gibson-Park was last week ruled out with a hamstring injury.

Sky Sports News’ James Cole and Megan Wellens discuss Ireland’s dominant Six Nations defence and the legacy Peter O’Mahony will leave following what was rumoured to be his last game.

While Rassie Erasmus’ Springboks warmed up for the series with a 41-13 win over Wales at Twickenham on Saturday, the Irish have not played since retaining the Guinness Six Nations title in March.

“It’s exciting to go and challenge yourself against the best in the world,” said Catt. “That’s the opportunity these guys have got. Hopefully we can go make the most of it.”

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