Southern Brave were crowned the first men's Hundred champions after beating Birmingham Phoenix by 32 runs in an action-packed Lord's final. Chasing 169, Phoenix's Liam Livingstone thrashed 46 from 19 balls, animating a raucous Lord's crowd with an effortless flow of boundaries, before the game swung in dramatic and unlikely fashion. Tim David, only brought into the Brave's squad earlier this week, ran out Livingstone with a 60m direct hit from the deep - the in-form Livingstone agonisingly inches short. Birmingham still needed
Second-half tries from Makazole Mapimpi and Malcolm Marx helped South Africa to a 29-10 victory over an ill-disciplined Argentina in the Rugby Championship. Fly-half Handre Pollard kicked 19 points as the Springboks dominated in Gqeberha, Mapimpi going over after Willie le Roux's pinpoint pass. Hooker Marx dotted down less than 10 minutes later but they failed to score more to get the bonus point. Pablo Matera scored the Pumas' only try in added time in a scrappy finish. Argentina saw forwards Rodrigo Bruni
This season's Japanese Grand Prix, planned for 8-10 October, has been cancelled because of a rise in Covid cases in the country. "The decision has been taken by the Japanese government to cancel the race this season due to ongoing complexities of the pandemic," said Formula 1. "Formula 1 is working on the details of the revised calendar and will announce the final details in the coming weeks." Japan was due to be the 17th of 23 rounds in this season's circuit. Races
Naomi Osaka says she felt "ungrateful" at points during the last year for being unable to appreciate her success. The world number two was speaking after beating American teenager Coco Gauff at the Cincinnati Open on Wednesday. She also discussed her reasons for withdrawing from the French Open in May, having said on the eve of that tournament that speaking to the media was damaging her mental health. "I wonder what affected me... made me not want to do media?" she said. "I'm wondering if
On 19 August 1989, a 37-year-old man walked on to the Old Trafford pitch before the first game of the new league campaign. Arsenal were the opposition, and the stands were packed; the official attendance was 47,245 - about 10,000 higher than the previous season's average. In full Manchester United training kit, Michael Knighton juggled the ball skillfully before firing it into an empty goal. He stood in front of the Stretford End, arms out, taking in the adulation. A few weeks before,
Yorkshire batsman Dawid Malan has been recalled to the England squad for the third Test against India, with Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley both dropped from the 15-man squad. Malan, 33, played the last of his 15 Tests in August 2018. Seamer Saqib Mahmood is included, while spinner Jack Leach misses out but will be on standby as back-up to Moeen Ali. England fell to a 151-run defeat in the second Test, having drawn the first match in the five-Test series. The third
The 2022 London Marathon will take place on Sunday, 2 October as the event is moved from its traditional April date for a third successive year. Event director Hugh Brasher confirmed the race has been moved to allow for the "best chances" of a full-capacity event, including crowds. Shura Kitata won the men's elite race in 2020, while Brigid Kosgei defended her women's title, but there were no crowds or fun runners because of the coronavirus pandemic. "The London Marathon is an extraordinary
Fabio Jakobsen won his first Grand Tour stage since suffering serious injuries in a crash last year with a bunch sprint victory at the Vuelta a Espana. The Dutchman, 24, held off Arnaud Demare and Magnus Cort to claim an emotional win on stage four in Molina de Aragon. Jakobsen sustained severe head injuries at the 2020 Tour of Poland in a crash with Jumbo-Visma's Dylan Groenewegen. "It's a dream come true for me," said Deceuninck-Quick-Step rider Jakobsen. "After the crash it was
Liam Livingstone's devastating hitting powered Birmingham Phoenix straight into the men's Hundred final with a crushing eight-wicket win over Northern Superchargers at Headingley. At one stage Livingstone seemed to be in his own six-hitting contest as he smashed the highest score of the tournament so far - 92 not out from just 40 balls. In a match televised live on BBC Two, Livingstone hit an incredible 10 sixes as his side raced to victory with a massive 26 balls remaining. The Phoenix had
Holders Algeria have drawn former winners Ivory Coast in the group stage of the delayed 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon next year. At a star-studded ceremony in Yaounde on Tuesday, Algeria were drawn in Group E where they will also face Sierra Leone and Equatorial Guinea. The tournament, which features 24 teams and runs from 9 January to 6 February, will see the winners and runners-up in each of the six groups, plus the best four third-placed teams, reach the knockout
The Tokyo 2020 Paralympics will not have any spectators as the Covid-19 situation in Japan remains serious, according to organizers. The announcement was made on Monday, following a remote meeting of four Paralympic and Japanese government groups responsible for the Games. "In light of the current emergency declaration issued for Tokyo, Saitama and Chiba Prefectures, another declaration of the state of emergency being requested by Shizuoka prefecture and the current infection situation broadly, more stringent measures will be taken for competitions to be
American midfielder Carli Lloyd has announced she will retire later this year after an illustrious career. The 39-year-old has made 312 international appearances, scoring 128 goals for the USA women's soccer team (USWNT). Lloyd, who had a loan spell at Manchester City in 2017, won two World Cups and two Olympic golds. "Every single day I stepped out onto the field, I played as if it was my last game," she said. USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski said Lloyd is "a true legend"
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has revealed the Spanish club is 1.35bn euros (£1.15bn) in debt, describing the situation as "very worrying". The club's wage bill currently accounts for 103% of total income. Laporta blames predecessor Josep Maria Bartomeu for the debt, accusing him of leaving a "terrible inheritance". Extending Lionel Messi's contract would have made the wage bill accountable for 110% of revenue, which La Liga refused to accept. Messi announced an emotional exit from the Nou Camp last week and signed for Paris
Naomi Osaka broke down in tears before resuming her first news conference since the controversy over refusing to speak to media at the French Open. Osaka became emotional shortly after being asked about "dealing with media in this format" - and the Cincinnati Masters video call was briefly halted. Earlier, the Japanese star, 23, said she was "proud" of the stand she took in Paris. "It was something that needed to be done," she said. At May's French Open, four-time Grand Slam winner
India captain Virat Kohli said criticism from commentators motivated his tailenders in the 151-run win over England in the second Test at Lord's. Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah shared an unbroken stand of 89 for the ninth wicket to effectively end England's hopes of victory. Set 272 to win or bat 60 overs to draw, the hosts were bowled out for 120. "Someone told our tailenders that the commentary teams didn't rate them. They proved them wrong," said Kohli. "They made a point.
"Almost close to have that fight, but there was a problem about something. I will not disclose it," Manny Pacquiao says he wanted to face Amir Khan but is still hopeful that he can showcase his skills in the UK Manny Pacquiao admits he 'almost' agreed a deal with Amir Khan, but the Filipino star has revealed that he still hopes for a blockbuster fight in Britain. Pacquiao can produce another epic world title triumph when he challenges Yordenis Ugas for the WBA
The 40-year-old Swiss, a 20-time Grand Slam champion, had two knee operations last year. In a video post on Instagram, Federer said he hoped the surgery would give him "a glimmer of hope" to return to action. He was knocked out in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in July and then missed the Tokyo Olympics. "I'll be on crutches for many weeks, and also out of the game for many months," Federer, who turned 40 a week ago, said on Sunday evening. "It's going
The second Test is set for a grandstand finale after England made late inroads into the India batting on the fourth day at Lord's. England took three wickets for 20 runs to leave India 181-6, 154 ahead, with all four results possible on the final day. A see-saw Test continued to fluctuate on a compelling Sunday at Lord's, with England reducing India to 55-3, only for the tourists to grind it out through a partnership of 100 between Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane.
Kane - heavily linked with a move to Manchester City - sat out this pulsating encounter but Pep Guardiola wasted no time in throwing in his British record signing from Aston Villa. It was Son Heung-min who gave new manager Nuno Espirito Santo the perfect start to his reign with a low shot that snaked beyond Manchester City keeper Ederson 10 minutes after the break. Spurs fully deserved their win as they survived a shaky opening phase to play with real purpose, already
France striker Kylian Mbappe, 22, has turned down a six-year extension to his contract with Paris St-Germain, which expires next summer, and would prefer to join Real Madrid this summer. (Marca - in Spanish) Mbappe did not join his team-mates for Ander Herrera's birthday party on Sunday and is set for a meeting with PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi on Monday. (Mundo Deportivo - in Spanish) Spain centre-back Pau Torres, 24, has rejected a move to Tottenham Hotspur as Spurs cannot offer Champions League football this season and his hometown club Villarreal can. (Marca - in