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England lost control with game in their hands - Dawson

Published in Rugby
Sunday, 03 November 2024 05:45

Hindsight is very handy, but I was surprised with the timing of some of the changes England made, as I didn't feel they were necessary.

They replaced the entire front row early in the second half when they were still handling themselves well.

New Zealand were behind in the scrum in the first half and you knew they were definitely going to do something about it.

The first scrum after the break, the All Blacks just had a little edge and immediately England made changes in the front row.

You probably thought they would go to another scrum and see if England could handle it, but it was immediate.

I wholeheartedly disagree, however, with the timing of the decision to replace half-backs Ben Spencer and Marcus Smith with Harry Randall and George Ford.

Spencer and Smith had managed the game really well. There were threats everywhere and they were playing a great style of rugby.

They didn't have a lot of possession but when they did, Marcus created problems.

The game was nowhere near won. England were leading by eight points but you knew New Zealand were still going to have a say.

I just think it took the momentum out the game and the way England were organising their defence.

Nonetheless, there is not one part of me that will lay any blame with Ford for the missed drop-goal attempt in the final play.

It was an utter shambles of a drill.

From the moment that scrum went down under the posts, it seemed every single player looked at Ford for the drop-goal. Randall picked up from the middle of the scrum, when it should have been Alex Dombrandt's ball at number eight.

Then he shipped it on and they go through the phases a bit. Everyone is looking at Ford but no-one is doing their job of trucking it up and getting into a good position.

Go back to England v Ireland in the Six Nations when it all came down to Marcus Smith's drop-goal.

England had two penalty advantages right in front of the sticks. If Smith had topped that, they had a penalty because of the amazing work the forwards had done to create that situation.

Jonny Wilkinson was great at drop-goals but he had an England forward pack in front of him to control the narrative around the breakdown.

You could see Ford was looking at Randall and not wanting the ball because he was on the back foot and static. When he did get it, it is above his head with several All Blacks running at him.

It was a one in a 100 shot.

Lookman brace sees Atalanta hurt Napoli title tilt

Published in Soccer
Sunday, 03 November 2024 05:38

Forward Ademola Lookman scored twice inside the first half to help Atalanta to an emphatic 3-0 win at Serie A leaders Napoli on Sunday as the visitors moved second in the standings.

Lookman opened the scoring after 10 minutes with a volley from close range, netting a headed cross from Charles De Ketelaere.

Ademola Lookman starred as Atalanta ended Napoli's unbeaten run.

Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty Images


He doubled the lead after the half-hour mark with a long-range strike from another De Ketelaere pass, before substitute Mateo Retegui added the third in stoppage time.

Atalanta, provisionally second on 22 points, have cut the gap to their opponents at the top to three points. They are one point above third-placed Inter Milan, with a game in hand, and Juventus in fourth.

"I think the team played well," Napoli manager Antonio Conte said after the defeat. "There were obviously areas, particularly around the goals we conceded, where we could have done better -- but I have nothing to criticise in terms of the will and commitment shown by my team.

"We have to take these results as lessons without being ashamed of what happened."

John Turner keen to prove he's the real deal

Published in Cricket
Sunday, 03 November 2024 06:07
"I've seen a few things on Twitter asking if I actually exist," jokes John Turner. Five England squads and 15 months after his first call-up, he finally earned his debut in Antigua this week.

A first appearance came on Thursday and a first wicket arrived on Saturday, when Brandon King's flashing drive was brilliantly caught by Jordan Cox at backward point.

"It's nice to have been involved in the last few months, but now to get that opportunity to actually play is really exciting," explains Turner. "To get your first wicket is really cool and is probably a moment I'll never forget."

One of the founding members of England's 'pace project', Turner was plucked from obscurity last year when he went from professional debut for Hampshire to an England call-up in 70 days. The ECB have since doubled-down on their punt by handing Turner another 12-month development contract.

"I think the whole 'pace project', as they call it, is really exciting," Turner said. "There's quite a lot of us that's in and around. I think just being in and around the squads is really exciting to try and put my name in the hat for a spot on the Test team, or the T20 team. I think I'm still very raw, I'm very young and still have a lot to learn."

Turner's two outings so far have been a qualified success. On debut, he beat King and Evin Lewis regularly without reward, while in his second appearance he dismissed both within his first seven balls. In both instances, you looked at the scoreboard and were surprised to see he'd conceded his runs at 5.2 an over and then 7 an over. But a couple of pulled sixes on each occasion will do that.

Handed his cap by Jofra Archer, the Bajan-born quick announced to the world that Turner was the best player of PIG, the football-based headers and volleys warm-up game England play, in the squad. This was a lie. Turner is bottom of the pile.

Which, if anything, is a relief. A better hockey player than cricketer growing up, Turner completed his degree in economics and finance at Exeter University over the summer which he had been studying for full-time. A year ago, if you walked through the team hotel of this same tour, chances are you'd have seen Turner with his head buried in his books and a laptop with a coffee on the go.

"I'm obviously not planning on using it right now," Turner commented. "But I think I'll probably end up doing a masters at some stage in the next few years, just to add to my CV and keep ticking over."

During this year's Hundred, Turner finished a match for Trent Rockets in Birmingham on a Monday night, drove back to Exeter where he arrived at 2:30am, sat his exam at 9:30am, and then drove back to Nottingham the next day for the Rockets next match. He passed.

One of the first picks of this England generation to be selected on attributes as opposed to a proven body of work, Turner appreciates the benefits and also the slightly awkward nature of leapfrogging those who have been putting in the hard yards for years.

"It's obviously really exciting that someone sees something in you," he says. "Probably before you see it yourself.

"Cricket is a stats game, but you need those attributes to prove yourself or be successful at the top level. And whether I've got that, or whether some other guys, younger guys, have got that, no one really knows until you're put in this environment and either succeed or you fail.

"You see guys doing really well in county cricket, and not necessarily getting opportunities in the national setup. And you feel for them, it's tough grinding away and almost you're not tall enough or not big enough, and you're being labelled as that's why you're not going to succeed. But on the flip side, I'm fortunate enough to be benefiting from this and, hopefully, just make the most of it and take whatever opportunity I'm given."

Turner's pace, he admits, has been down this tour and is something he's looking to address.

"It's one of my biggest attributes but I feel like I've been down on that in the last few games. I reckon I've been low 80s when I prefer to be high 80s. I know in The Hundred I was high 80s with one or two in the 90s.

"So I know I can get there. It's just, what am I not doing and I need to figure that out and put that into practice and hopefully get up there.

"But then again, it's something to improve on and then just trying to hit the deck hard and make life uncomfortable for the batter. Use whatever the surface has to offer - so whether that's going to nip around, or stay low, pop up - just trying to take advantage of that. [I want to] be really attacking and try and be that point of difference."

Cameron Ponsonby is a freelance cricket writer in London. @cameronponsonby

Rishabh Pant's dismissal in India's fourth-innings chase has emerged as a potentially match-turning moment in the Mumbai Test. He was given out caught bat-pad, with DRS overturning the on-field umpire's decision, and India captain Rohit Sharma is not sure if that was the right call. Pant stood between New Zealand and a historic 3-0 series sweep with 64 off 57 balls, and before his dismissal India were 106 for 6, their target 41 runs away. New Zealand eventually won by 25 runs.

"About that dismissal, I honestly, I don't know," Rohit said after the match. "If we say something, it is not accepted well. But if there is not conclusive evidence, it has to stand with the umpire's on-field decision. That is what I have been told. So I don't know how that decision was overturned, since the umpire didn't give him out.

"The bat was clearly close to the pad. So, again, I don't know if it is the right thing for me to talk about. It is something for the umpires to think about. Have the same rules for every team, not keep changing their mind."

New Zealand had already missed a chance to review an lbw shout against Pant earlier in the day, when India were 59 for 5. Replays returned three reds on that incident. Then, in the 22nd over, Ajaz Patel twice went up in appeal against Pant. Once for a catch at slip. The on-field decision was not-out, and DRS upheld it.
Two balls later, Ajaz spotted Pant charging out of his crease, pulled his length back, and forced the batter into a defensive prod. Pant had enjoyed a lot of success when he had come down the track in this innings, often hitting the ball straight and hard to the boundary. Here he had little choice but to try and adjust, and the ball lobbed off him, into the keeper's gloves. Ajaz and the close-in fielders thought there had been an inside edge onto his front pad. Umpire Richard Illingworth didn't. New Zealand captain Tom Latham sent it upstairs for a review.

A spike appeared on UltraEdge when the ball seemed to pass the bat. But the bat and pad were also in close proximity at the same time, which meant the spike could have come from the bat brushing the pad.

When the replays came up on the big screen, New Zealand began celebrating. Pant seemed completely nonplussed until this point - he'd performed a double glove-touch with his batting partner Washington Sundar as soon as New Zealand went up to review; it was their last remaining review. Now he walked over to the on-field officials with his hand extended.

Third umpire Paul Reiffel, in making his judgment, noted that the spike could have been from bat hitting pad. But then, after further replays and rocking-and-rolling of the moment where bat, pad and ball were close together, he changed his mind based on what he thought was a deflection at the moment the ball passed the bat.

Latham explained New Zealand's thinking about the dismissal at the post-match press conference. "A few of us heard two noises, and I guess when you review in that situation you leave it up to the umpire's hands," he said. "We can't necessarily see the footage that the third umpire gets so that's certainly out of our control in terms of what that may look like. We obviously heard a couple of noises and decided to take the review and obviously it fell on the right side for us so that's obviously up to the umpires. It's out of our control."

New Zealand had reduced India to 29 for 5 on a rank turner and looked heavy favourites to win. But Pant managed to turn the tide for a while and Rohit felt his wicket had a huge impact on the game. "That dismissal actually was very, very crucial from our point of view. Rishabh was really looking good at that point. And it felt like he will take us through. But it was an unfortunate dismissal. Got out and then we were bowled out right after that."

Kings' Fox dealing with injury to shooting hand

Published in Basketball
Sunday, 03 November 2024 03:19

Sacramento Kings star guard De'Aaron Fox said he has been playing the early part of this season with an injury to his shooting hand that likely includes ligament damage.

Fox told the Sacramento Bee late Saturday that he suffered a dislocated left pinkie finger during training camp and that the injury has not healed.

Although X-rays on the finger were negative, Fox told the Bee that his injury is "probably a ligament." The 2023 All-Star has been playing this season with the pinkie and ring finger on his left hand taped together.

Fox disclosed the details about his injury to the Bee after Sacramento's 131-128 overtime loss Saturday to the Raptors in Toronto. The 2023 All-Star told the paper that he plans to continue playing through the injury and added that it hasn't gotten worse.

Fox did not score in overtime Saturday and missed all 11 of his 3-point attempts -- including a potential game-tying shot with 2 seconds remaining -- during the Kings' loss, dropping his 3-point percentage to 26.8% through six games this season.

Fox, who shot 4-for-6 from 3-point range the previous night in a victory at Atlanta, told the Bee that he did not think his finger injury contributed to his poor shooting.

"I wouldn't change anything (about my shot selection), especially the last one," he told the paper. "I got an open look, and it didn't come off right. ... I can't say (the injury) is the reason. I've had games where I've shot it well and I've had games where I haven't. I just got to get used to it."

Fox, 26, is averaging 23.5 points and 5.7 assists this season, his eighth with Sacramento. The Kings complete a four-game road trip Monday against the Heat before returning home Wednesday to host the Raptors.

Boulter beaten by Shnaider in Hong Kong final

Published in Tennis
Sunday, 03 November 2024 01:41

British number one Katie Boulter was comfortably beaten in straight sets by Russian top seed Diana Shnaider in the final of the Hong Kong Open.

Boulter, seeded second, was bidding to a win a third WTA title of the season but was never in the contest, losing 6-1 6-2 to the world number 14 in one hour 11 minutes.

Despite the defeat Boulter will move into the world's top 25 for the first time after a strong finish to the season.

"Massive congratulations to Diana, her family and her team. What an incredible week and incredible season," said the 28-year-old.

"You absolutely killed me out there today, but I will get you next time.

"A massive thank you to my team. You push me every day to try and be better and I am sure I will be back. What a season we have had."

Shnaider has now won all four WTA finals she has played in this season across all three surfaces, following victories in Thailand, Hungary and Germany.

"It feels amazing," said the 20-year-old left hander. "I hope I can keep going like this every season.

"I will keep working. I am very happy to win the last tournament of the season with my family here. The whole week has been enjoyable and memorable."

Graham smile says it all but Boks offer stiffer Test

Published in Rugby
Sunday, 03 November 2024 01:34

After missing a year of Test rugby through injury, Darcy Graham wore a smile as wide as Murrayfield following a scintillating individual display against Fiji that reminded Scotland exactly what they had been missing.

The electric winger, 27, bagged four tries and injected the sort of pace, creativity and unpredictably that encapsulates what this team is at its best.

Scotland at their best in recent years have tended to have Graham in the thick of the action, and if they are to spring shocks on the Springboks next weekend, the Hawick man will likely need to come to the fore again.

Graham beamed as he spoke to BBC Scotland after the game: "It wasn't bad, was it?

"I loved pulling that jersey back on."

You will go a long way to find a player more passionate about representing his country than Graham, but in the hell of his injury struggles of the past 12 months, doubts started to creep in as to whether he would ever make it back to the Test arena.

"When you're out that long, you start wondering when it's going to happen again, if it's going to happen again," he said.

"You have doubts in your head, but I'm just chuffed to be back. The next thing for me is to chase that 50th cap - that's my boyhood dream."

Grahams four scores took his Test return to 28 tries in 40 Tests a record to stand alongside the best in international rugby.

His fourth try drew him level with Duhan van der Merwe as Scotlands record try scorer, until his Edinburgh team-mate notched his 29th international try late in the game.

"I joined him for five minutes," Graham laughed. "It's good fun, good competition between me and Duhi. We'll take it [the record] all the way into the 30s I reckon."

All you need to know as Ireland face the All Blacks

Published in Rugby
Sunday, 03 November 2024 02:11

For 28 matches over 111 years, it was as one-sided a rivalry as you could get, with the All Blacks winning 27 and there was one draw.

However, one famous afternoon in Chicago in November 2016 got Ireland on the board, and things have developed from there.

Another landmark victory came two years later when Ireland got their first win over New Zealand on Irish soil, with a 16-9 win in Dublin.

But the All Blacks have their fearsome reputation for a reason and they rampaged through Ireland in the World Cup quarter-finals in Japan in 2019.

Ireland hit back in Dublin in 2021, and an even bigger moment came the following summer when they not only defeated New Zealand on their own turf for the first time, but came back from a game down to win the series 2-1.

But, once more, New Zealand had the last laugh at the World Cup in France.

Ireland were in top form and had defeated South Africa in the group stages, but the All Blacks once again shattered Irish dreams with another win in the last eight.

Friday's game is the first meeting since then, and also former Ireland captain Johnny Sexton's comments about Reiko Ioane, so there should be plenty of needle.

Marler retires from England duty

Published in Rugby
Sunday, 03 November 2024 02:19

England prop Joe Marler has retired from international rugby having won 95 caps.

Marler made his England debut during the 2012 summer tour of South Africa and was part of three Six Nations-winning sides in 2016, 2017 and 2020.

He also represented England at three World Cups, including in 2019 when they were beaten by South Africa.

"It's time for me to move on," said Marler, 34.

"I've been really, really lucky to experience both the mega highs and the mega lows in an England shirt. I will cherish all of them because they all count."

The Harlequins prop was also part of the British and Irish Lions squad that toured New Zealand in 2017 and made one appearance for the Barbarians in 2019.

He briefly retired from international rugby in 2018 but returned before the 2019 World Cup.

Marler was named in Steve Borthwick's squad for the autumn internationals but withdrew for personal reasons last week.

"Playing for England always felt like I was living in a dream bubble. I kept waiting for it to pop and me to suddenly go back to being a gobby, overweight 16-year-old again. But you know when it is time," Marler said in a social media post.

"I can't do what I used to do as well as I once could. I can't keep talking about my family being my priority unless they actually are.

"I want to keep untarnished all these memories of my career, both good and bad. I don't want to leave my house with my kids crying. I am ready to make the change."

Queensland 406 for 5 (Lovell 146*, McDermott 87, Hearne 58, Khawaja 58, Hadley 2-63) lead New South Wales 239 (Patterson 91, Edwards 88, Lovell 3-13) by 167 runs

Queensland No.3 Angus Lovell's maiden first-class century has powered the Bulls to a commanding 167-run lead in their Sheffield Shield clash with New South Wales.

Lovell went to stumps on day three unbeaten on 146 after crafting a patient innings at Cricket Central in western Sydney.

Queensland started Sunday at 96 for 2, but finished it at 406 for 5 thanks to Lovell's heroics. The 25-year-old put on a 310-run stand with Ben McDermott, who made 87 off 143 balls including 12 fours, as Test quick Josh Hazlewood failed to take a wicket in 24 overs.

All of the Bulls' top-six got starts as they raced past NSW's first-innings total of 239.

Lovell made NSW pay for letting slip two chances during his knock. Jack Edwards put down Lovell when he was on 22 off Hazlewood's bowling. The fifth-gamer was given another life on 53 when Oliver Davies dropped a catch at first slip.

His unbeaten century continues a superb game for Lovell, who took 3 for 13 with the ball from just 4.3 overs to clean up the hosts' tail, having come into the game off the back of making an unbeaten 250 for Queensland's second XI against Victoria's second XI a fortnight ago.

After McDermott's departure, he added 99 more with Lachlan Hearne who made 58. Hearne fell late in the day to Ryan Hadley, who picked up 2 for 63. Tanveer Sangha also has two wickets after claiming McDermott.

Queensland will need to be aggressive with the bat on the final day to establish a lead before trying to claim 10 wickets.

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