Category: 6. Sports

PA Media

PA Media

What happened in the Conor McGregor appeal?

McGregor co-accused appealing costs

PA Media

The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) new regulations for ODI cricket came into effect for the first time on Wednesday (July 2) during the first ODI of a three-match series between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

After the 34th over of Sri Lanka’s innings, the umpire was seen asking Bangladesh’s captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz to choose between two balls. This indicated the first instance of the new provision being used as the world cricket governing body brought a change to the rule book.

As per the new rules introduced by the ICC in the latest playing conditions, which are applicable in white-ball cricket from July 2, only one ball will be used in ODI cricket after the 34th over of the innings. This decision has come on the back of the ICC being criticised for the two-ball rule in ODI cricket, which several people like Gautam Gambhir and Ravichandran Ashwin have pointed out has taken finger spinners as well as reverse swing out of the equation while making the format more batting-friendly.

As per the new regulations, the match will start in a similar fashion with two new balls with one from each end. However, there will only be one ball used after the 34th over of the match. At this point, the bowling team’s captain will be given a choice and be allowed to use either of the two balls in action.

This was the most significant change in the latest playing conditions, which have also seen major changes in Test cricket that have come into action from the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. After being brought into action in ODI and T20Is, a stop clock has been introduced in the longest format to act against time wasting.

Meanwhile, the ICC have also introduced a chance to the short-run rule, as in addition to the five-run penalty, now teams can choose which batter takes a strike on the next ball.

The lawmakers have also amended the provision for catches on the boundary line as any airborne player must make contact with the ball only inside the boundary line.

Only the group winner after single-headed round robin football matches in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers will make the cut for the 12-team main event.

Wednesday’s result also ended Mongolia and Timor-Leste’s chances of qualifying for the Women’s AFC Asian Cup 2026.

India last qualified directly for the main draw of the Women’s AFC Asian Cup in 2003. They automatically received a spot at the last edition in 2022 as the tournament hosts but were forced to withdraw due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the squad.

Basfore converted from close range to give India, 70th in the FIFA world rankings, the early lead. The goal materialised after the Iraqi goalkeeper mishandled a corner from Indian captain Sanju.

The world No. 173 Iraq football team fell 2-0 behind just before half-time as Manisha Kalyan’s weak strike slipped through the hands of the Iraqi goalkeeper before rippling the net.

With a two-goal cushion handy, the Crispin Chettri-coached Indian team played freely in the second half and added three more to the tally.

WIMBLEDON — Four Top 10 seeds had exited Wimbledon at the first hurdle, and Madison Keys had only just avoided joining the exodus. Two days after pulling through a 2-hour, 41-minute rollercoaster against Elena-Gabriela Ruse, the No. 6 seed was far more efficient in dismissing Olga Danilovic 6-4, 6-2 in 75 minutes.

Wimbledon: Scores | Order of play | Draws

In contrast to the baking conditions of the first two days, second-round action began in a more familiar scenario: clouds, cooler temperatures and a two-hour rain delay owing to persistent drizzle. This suited Keys down to the ground.

“I definitely felt a little more comfortable today,” she said in her on-court interview. “It’s the cloudy, rainy England we know and love, so that helps a lot. It felt a little bit more normal out here today.”

Danilovic has been one of the most improved players of the past 12 months, raising her ranking from No. 150 last July to No. 37 this week. But the Serb’s surge has mostly been down to her results on clay and hard courts — her first-round defeat of qualifier Zhang Shuai was her first tour-level win on the surface.

By contrast, Keys is a three-time grass-court titlist and a two-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist (2015 and 2023), and used her wealth of expertise on the surface to pull away after a tight first set.

More to come…

Wimbledon 2025 – Victoria Mboko, from lucky loser to first-round winner

Such a late change of plans could easily disrupt the preparations of any athlete, not least an 18-year-old. But you just have to watch Mboko in action to understand that she plays far beyond her years, demonstrating tactical prowess and clean shot-making that fully justify her place at the Grand Slam table.

She explained of the situation, “I would understand why I would be such a disadvantage, but I think for this instance, it helped me a lot, because I was so relaxed and I had no thought in my mind that I was going to play a match.

“Because it was just such a relaxing morning and so slow and chilled, I didn’t really feel any nerves going into it. It helped me be a lot looser on court because I technically wasn’t supposed to be there.”

With the music of fellow Canadian Drake to get her into game mode and the pressure afar from her shoulders, Mboko dispatched Fręch in 73 minutes to advance to round two.

Tuesday’s victory was special for many reasons: not only was it her debut on the grounds of Wimbledon, yet it also fell on Canada Day. Her best major performance came at Roland-Garros this year, a run to the third round on the clay courts of Paris.

Next up for the 18-year-old starlet is USA’s Hailey Baptiste, who is also playing in her maiden Wimbledon main draw.

Like last weekend in Perth, the Lions toiled in the early exchanges, the Reds setting about them with a vengeance, the outstanding centre Hunter Paisami leading the charge.

The Lions grew into the game and completely bossed from late in the first half, but they had their issues before the floodgates opened.

The tourists were wasteful, failing to find their range and dropping ball left, right and centre.

There was the old chestnut of a botched restart reception; there were forced passes and hesitant defence. It wasn’t great. They knocked on eight times to the Reds’ one in the opening 40 minutes, some of them with the hosts struggling to hold them out.

First blood went to the Reds, a bust through the Lions midfield by Paisami giving them field position, some heavy carries taking them deeper still. When the line beckoned, Toomaga-Allen lunged and scored.

Harry McLaughlin-Phillips banged over the extras and the Suncorp rocked to the sound of Reds on the march.

The Lions responded when Daly put Freeman over and Russell tied it up with the conversion, but it was not a cue for the Lions to take control.

Rather, it was the precursor for another Reds try, sparked by Porter getting done on the floor. Paisami was involved again before Kalani Thomas’ grubber kick for Josh Flook down the left.

Van der Merwe hesitated in dealing with the bouncing ball and Flook stole in – 12-7 to the Reds.

The imperfections, and perhaps desperation, in the Lions game was clear with a couple of missed opportunities, but they eventually started to make stuff stick.

Porter drove over after a close-range tap penalty from his Leinster and Ireland front-row pal Ronan Kelleher. Russell converted.

Next, Van der Merwe finished off a terrific move in the corner with the help of Ollie Chessum and Jack Conan. Russell launched the conversion from somewhere close to Caxton Street. A pearler.

At the break, the Lions led 21-12. Could have been better, could have been worse.

It improved early in the new half when smart work from Jamison Gibson-Park drew the heat and then slipped an inside pass for Itoje to crash over.

Russell, who could have kicked them over with his eyes closed, did it again – 28-12 Lions. Getting there.

Farrell made big changes at that point, replacing his front-row and his half-backs.

Not many fireworks from the Russell-Gibson-Park axis but more than enough to get excited about.

The rest is a sea of red. Morgan, doing his mightiest to make a statement, which he did, went over from an Alex Mitchell pass. The Lions were now playing with an intensity that the Reds could not deal with.

Freeman got a second, with Morgan heavily involved at the start of that play, then Jones gathered a daft chip ahead from Tim Ryan and ran more than half the length of pitch to score.

A final try came in the last breath, Ringrose scampering over to bring up the half-century.

It was a pleasing night’s work for the Lions, but the sight of Daly in pain in the aftermath was a troubling one.

Like last weekend with Tomos Williams, the Lions are sweating on a medical call.

Navigating life and pressure at Barcelona

After a productive stint at Benfica, Nazareth was rewarded with an offer from Barcelona in July 2024, where she was signed for a record €500,000 fee – the biggest in Portuguese women’s football history.

The terms included four seasons with the Spanish giants, seeing Nazareth through to 2028.

It sent shockwaves through the sport but also spoke to the prestigious side’s belief in the midfielder’s talent.

For Nazareth, the headline-making transfer fee sparked mixed feelings. On the one hand came a weight of expectation, seeing every performance through the lens of money. But on the other hand, came a sense of belief.

“If they paid this amount for me to be here, it’s because they believe in me, it’s because I have value. And I believe, I believe that I can eventually be worth this,” the Portuguese star told Forbes Portugal.

“I also have to be able to change my way of thinking, I have to value myself, and that means recognising my quality.”

Accepting Barcelona’s investment in her, Nazareth has been rising to the challenge of the game in Spain.

Up until her ankle injury in March of this year, the Portuguese prodigy had shown flashes of her potential. She scored three goals in 12 starts with three assists in the Liga F this season and bagged three goals and two assists in the Champions League.

The step up in work ethic, she says, has been significant, but the special environment has balanced the challenge.

“It’s a different level. I remember that in the first training session I was like, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’” Nazareth continued to Forbes Portugal on her initial experiences at Barcelona.

“I’m not saying that there wasn’t quality at Benfica, because there is a lot of quality, but, once again, without comparing, it’s a different world. It’s playing with the best, it’s easy to play with them, they all think the same way.”