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Bird seven-for sinks South Australia as New South Wales dominate day one
New South Wales 140 for 2 (Maddinson 69, Patterson 32*) lead South Australia 110 (Bird 7-46) by 30 runs
Bird finished with figures of 7 for 46 at Adelaide's Karen Rolton Oval on Thursday, nagging away outside the off stump of South Australia's batters as they were all out for 110.
Fellow opener Sam Konstas also looked solid for his 28, before falling lbw to Harry Conway, in his first game since missing out on Australian Test selection.
But while Konstas is seen as the future of Australian cricket, Bird offered a nod to its past. The seamer will turn 38 next month, but he was at his consistent best on the opening day in Adelaide.
Five batters fell edging him to the slips, while Conor McInerney also inside-edged a ball in the opening over to Konstas at short leg off the veteran.
Bird's return marked his first five-wicket haul in the Shield since March 2021, when he bagged 7 for 18 against the Blues while playing for Tasmania.
"I felt reasonably good out there today," Bird said. "But in between the wickets I got I didn't feel like I bowled well in patches. It's funny how cricket works.
"It's obviously nice to get some wickets, but it's just one day. We've got to come back tomorrow and try and get a big lead and put some runs on the board."
Only Jake Lehmann (25), Henry Hunt (30) and Harry Nielsen (20) offered any real resistance for undefeated South Australia.
But after the hosts were all out in 41.3 overs, the winless Blues looked far more composed at the crease. Konstas punched one boundary off the back foot outside off stump, and had one of the shots of the day when he drove Conway back down the ground for four.
He hit four boundaries in his 28, before he was again out to a ball that nipped back into him slightly off a good length. Maddinson absorbed plenty of time at the crease before tea, and then took charge in the final session.
He played two drives with flourish off Nathan McAndrew as he took 14 from one of the seamer's overs, before smashing Conway through cover to bring up his 50.
But it was a Pope ball that drifted, dripped and spun back between the left-hander's bat and pad that bowled him, in a rare bright spot for South Australia.
Klaasen calls for more cricket for South Africa across formats
Asked how the team will approach the fourth and final T20 against India on Friday, given that they can no longer win the series, (and have not won a bilateral series in two years), Klaasen said they just wish they had more games.
Of course, the opposite could also happen and South Africa could go 3-1 down which would make any potential fifth game a dead-rubber but Klaasen was not pressed on that. Instead, he was unhappy with how little South Africa play across formats. "Our Test team is playing two-Test series, which is ridiculous in my eyes. It's disappointing, and it doesn't sit well with the players, because we want to play more cricket against these guys, and against the other countries as well, but we always find a way to just play two games or three games, and it's annoying."
For comparison, since August last year, India have played three five-match T20I series (against West Indies, Australia and Zimbabwe) but have also only played three-match ODI series since early 2019. Their Test schedule is far busier than South Africa's with five-Test series against Australia and England in the next eight months. The Australia Tests start in a week's time and that squad is already preparing in Perth, while the T20I outfit competes in South Africa. "You see India are playing this Friday and next Friday, which is incredible, on two different sides of the world," Klaasen said.
India are not the only country who have split squads in operation. Recently, England's Test squad finished a series in Pakistan while their white-ball outfit was in the West Indies, which speaks of both their demand as an opposition and their depth. South Africa could do something similar because they do have some players who are red or white-ball only, such as Klaasen, but whether they could field full competitive squads in two formats at the same time remains to be seen. A case in point is what happened earlier this year when most of South Africa's first-choice Test players were unavailable for a tour to New Zealand because they were contractually bound to play in the SA20. South Africa lost 2-0, the first time they had ever lost a Test series to New Zealand. Still, they remain in contention for the World Test Championship final and can get there if they win all four home Tests this summer.
The planning for those is taking place now, with Kagiso Rabada rested from the India T20Is and Lungi Ngidi on a conditioning break. But Aiden Markram has continued to captain the side and will not get any red-ball domestic game time before those Tests. Markram is in a white-ball run-scoring rut and has not gone past 30 in his last 12 T20I innings. He was dismissed for 29 in Centurion, after hitting successive sixes off Varun Chakravarthy and then dragging him down to deep midwicket. Markram's reaction was to scream and punch his bat, which Klaasen understood all too well.
"If I put your career, as whatever job anyone does, on the table, and I said, 'if you make one mistake, and that's the end,' you will be frustrated if you make a mistake. Not that his career is at all on the line, by the way," he said. "I'm just saying, people need to understand that that's what we go through. It's in the heat of the moment. There's a billion people that are going to be on your head if you fail. There's a lot of frustration and he was looking fantastically in the way that he struck the ball tonight. It's nice to see that he's finding some rhythm in his game, and hopefully he will kick on."
He also hopes that for himself. Since leaving the MLC in July because of a family emergency, Klaasen has batted in eight T20s at domestic and international level combined, with one fifty. "It's been a lean run, but I've also had a small break so it's not that easy, in this format especially, just to come in and play aggressive cricket" he said. "For the style that I play, I just have to find some form. I know and understand my game at this moment, which is very nice, and I'm in a fortunate position to understand my game and know where I need to tweak. Also, I don't look into that too much, because like I said, it's been a long year, a tough year, and it was still a fantastic year for me."
In 2024 so far, Klaasen has played 55 T20 matches (across domestic and international) in four tournaments, the T20 World Cup and the ongoing bilateral series. He has a batting strike rate of 164.32, his highest for any calendar year.
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo's correspondent for South Africa and women's cricket
Heat boost WBBL finals hopes, burn Sixers' chances
Brisbane Heat 139 for 9 (Harris 39, Kerr 4-23) beat Sydney Sixers 127 for 8 (Bryce 30, Jonassen 3-24) by 12 runs
Brisbane Heat have continued to breathe life back into their WBBL campaign, landing a mega blow to the Sydney Sixers' campaign after beating the hosts by 12 runs.
In a crucial match for both teams, the Heat's bowlers delivered to restrict the Sixers to 127 for 8 at North Sydney Oval, defending their total of 139 for 9 with apparent ease.
The Sixers, however, are at risk of missing the finals for the second straight season with a 3-4 record while sitting sixth on the ladder. Even more concerning for the Sixers is the fact they were somewhat in control midway through the match.
Kerr became Pandey's second victim shortly after, and when Ashleigh Gardner was lbw trying to scoop Jess Jonassen, the game was all but over.
But Pandey and Jonassen stood tall when it mattered in the final two overs to get the Heat home.
The other point of note for both the Sixers and Australia is the fitness of Healy. The 34-year-old opted not to keep on Thursday, with Bryce instead taking the gloves.
Healy has previously said she expects to be managed through the summer after a foot injury in the World Cup, with Thursday's move part of that.
"I've got a few things going on at the moment that I am managing," Healy told Fox between taking two catches at short third. "It's obviously a really big summer of cricket. I am still really confident I can bat, I just wasn't sure about squatting, which is one of the concerns.
"I am just trying to manage that, get through WBBL, we have six ODIs before Christmas and then the Ashes."
At 39, LeBron oldest with 3 straight triple-doubles
LOS ANGELES -- LeBron James recorded the 40th 30-point triple-double of his career Wednesday, a month before his 40th birthday, in the Los Angeles Lakers' 128-123 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
"He's mastered the game, and we don't win that game, obviously, without him," Redick said after James finished with 35 points on 13-for-22 shooting (4-of-7 from 3), 14 assists and 12 rebounds.
It was James' fourth triple-double of the season through 11 games to bring his career regular-season total up to 116. And it was his third straight, all coming in wins during L.A.'s 3-0 homestand. The Lakers are 6-0 at home to start the season for the first time since 2010-11.
The triple-double streak is tied for the longest of James' 22-year career, matching the three he had from Nov. 1 to 5, 2019; Dec. 14 to 17, 2017; and March 7 to 12, 2009. At age 39, he is the oldest player in NBA history to record three straight triple-doubles.
"Just being very patient and taking what the defense gives me," James said of the feat. "I've been doing it for a while. So, I understand time and score. I understand the waves and the swings of the game. So, it's nothing new to me."
With Anthony Davis (21 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks) picking up his fifth foul in the third quarter and needing to go to the bench or risk fouling out before crunch time, James played 11 out of 12 minutes in the fourth and controlled the action, posting 9 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists as L.A. outscored Memphis 37-27 to pull away.
"I'm just living in the moment," James said of the triple-doubles at this stage of his career. "It feels good to be able to go out and play the game that I love at a high level still. And every night I step out on the floor, I try to help our team be successful in any way, shape, form or fashion. So, in that sense it's pretty cool."
Lakers forward Rui Hachimura, one of five L.A. players to score 18 points or more against the Grizzlies, said the team is built to allow James to impact the game without needing to do it all.
"We kind of rely on him a lot sometimes, but I think now we have a good system of helping each other kind of on the court, offensively, defensively," Hachimura said. "I think it's a lot of the weight [and] pressure off him. ... He can kind of be kind of chill and then still he can be himself. I think it's good."
Former footballer Forlan beaten on pro tennis debut
Retired footballer Diego Forlan lost 6-1 6-2 in 47 minutes on his professional tennis debut in a doubles event in his native Uruguay.
The former Manchester United and Atletico Madrid striker, 45, and Argentine partner Federico Coria lost to Bolivian pair Boris Arias and Federico Zeballos after receiving a wildcard for the Uruguay Open in Montevideo.
The tournament was on the ATP Challenger Tour - the level below the main ATP Tour.
Both Forlan and Coria and their opponents held serve to start the match, but Arias and Zeballos quickly pulled away after earning a break in the third game of the first set.
'It's not about me' - Contepomi on Irish return
Rather than reflect upon history, the World Rugby Hall of Fame inductee is keen to see his side make it on Friday night.
Ireland have won 13 of the 19 Tests played between the two sides, including all ten in Dublin.
"It's not about me bringing the national team here. We have the chance, as Argentina, to play against one of the best teams in the last few years," he added.
"Ireland has been consistently in the top three for the last six, seven years, so it is a great opportunity for us. We are always very proud to come here and try to beat Ireland, which, by the way, we have never done here in Ireland.
"I think its a big challenge, a great challenge, but we always want to play against the best and thats what we are preparing for."
With so many of the Ireland side drawn from Leinster, Contepomi has coached five of Ireland's seven starting backs.
Noting that means Andy Farrell's players are equally familiar with his thought processes, the former fly-half does not believe his insight will play a major role come Friday night.
"Maybe it could have been an advantage if I could have played," he said.
"You can know the players, and I've coached them, but it's our players who need to go and do their homework and know who they are playing against.
"So I don't know if it's an advantage. It's the same way as those players know how I think as well, so it works both ways."
Kings' DeRozan (back tightness) exits win early
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Sacramento Kings guard DeMar DeRozan was ruled out of Wednesday night's 127-104 win over the Phoenix Suns because of lower back tightness, the team announced.
DeRozan did not emerge from the locker room after halftime and was ruled out shortly afterward. He scored two points on 1-of-2 shooting in 17 minutes in the first half.
So far this year, DeRozan has been Mr. Clutch for Sacramento; he's scored 36 points in the clutch this season -- the second-best mark in the league. Overall, he's averaging 24.8 points on 52.6% shooting in 38 minutes.
Losing DeRozan for any extended period would be a major hit since the Kings already are playing without sixth man Malik Monk (ankle) for at least two weeks.
Wemby hits another milestone with 50-point game
SAN ANTONIO -- Spurs star Victor Wembanyama scored a career-high 50 points -- including a career-best eight 3-pointers -- in a 139-130 win over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night.
"My first thought is eventually I want the rest of our performances, the rest of our games, to overshadow this one," Wembanyama said. "I want to make it where in the future, [this is] just another one."
Clearly, it's not.
Prior to Wembanyama, the past three 50-point games produced by Spurs came in overtime outings. David Robinson in 1994 logged the franchise's most recent 50-point performance in regulation.
At 20 years and 314 days, Wembanyama is the fourth-youngest player to score 50 points. At 7-foot-4, he's also the tallest to do so.
Wembanyama's previous career high was 40 points in a 130-126 overtime victory against the New York Knicks in March of last season.
He made his presence felt virtually from the onset Wednesday, assisting or scoring on four consecutive field goals over the first 67 seconds as San Antonio seized a 13-3 lead.
"The big fella, man, when he comes out with that mindset, it's a hard opportunity to deal with," Spurs forward Julian Champagnie said. "Big praise to him, big shoutout to him. He's working on his game. I don't know what it was that he took personal, but he took something personal, went out there and hooped."
Wembanyama inflicted most of the damage in the third quarter, shooting a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor and 4-of-4 from long range for 19 points to go with four rebounds, one assist and a block.
He piled up nearly half his points on the night from beyond the arc, where he hit 8-of-16.
"If you looked at them, they were good, rhythm shots," Spurs interim coach Mitch Johnson said. "The gravity that he occupies, or pulls, is unique. So, when he makes shots away from the basket, it's just going to pull that gravity, for sure."
Wembanyama was 18-of-29 from the field and added 6 rebounds and 3 blocks in 32 minutes en route to becoming the first player in league history with 20 3-pointers and 13 blocks over a three-game span.
For his career, Wembanyama has now recorded a 50-point game, a 5x5 game and a 10-block game. Just three other players -- Anthony Davis, Hakeem Olajuwon and Robinson -- can lay claim to those accomplishments since blocks became an official statistic in 1973-74.
It took Wembanyama 83 career games to record his first 50-point game, the fourth-fewest games needed since the NBA/ABA Merger in 1976-77.
After finishing up a quick lift in the weight room, Wembanyama walked over for treatment, admitting he planned to "reflect" during the session on his latest milestone. Wembanyama also confessed to watching the scoreboard at times as he approached 50 points.
"I love to celebrate the small wins and the big wins for a certain amount of time," he said. "But tomorrow, we're already locked in on the Lakers. I'm going to give myself a little bit of time to reflect. It's definitely a big milestone. It's kind of a private club. It's certainly something I'm proud of."
ESPN Research contributed to this report.
Giannis outscores Pistons in OT, finishes with 59
MILWAUKEE -- Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 59 points to pace the Milwaukee Bucks to a 127-120 overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.
It was a league high for points by an NBA player this season and the second-highest single-game total for Antetokounmpo, who had 64 against the Indiana Pacers last season.
Three players scored at least 45 points across the NBA on Wednesday night -- Victor Wembanyama had a career-high 50 and Karl-Anthony Towns netted 46 -- tied for the most on a single day in league history.
Antetokounmpo hit 21 of 34 shots from the field, 16 of 17 free throws and added 14 rebounds and seven assists as the Bucks rallied from an 18-point second-half deficit. It was his eighth career game with 20 made field goals, tying Kobe Bryant and Bob McAdoo for the seventh most in NBA history.
He outscored the Pistons 11-9 in overtime and is the first Bucks player to go 5-for-5 or better in a single OT period since play-by-play was first tracked in 1996-97.
Brook Lopez scored 29 points for the Bucks.
Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 35 points and Malik Beasley had 26 against his former team.
Detroit's Ron Holland II was fouled by Antetokounmpo with one second left in regulation and the score tied at 111, but Holland missed both free throws.
The Pistons were without starters Jaden Ivey and Tim Hardaway Jr. Ivey was out because of a toe injury and Hardaway sat out after taking stitches to the head following a fall in Tuesday's game against Miami.
Milwaukee played without Damian Lillard (concussion protocol), Ryan Rollins (left shoulder instability) and Bobby Portis (right elbow contusion).
Takeaways
Pistons: Beasley was hot from 3-point range, hitting 4 of 5 in the first half as Detroit shot 61.5% from beyond the arc (8 of 13). He finished 8 of 16.
Bucks: Antetokounmpo made every basket for Milwaukee in the first quarter, hitting 7-of-10 field-goal attempts and all eight of his free throws for 22 of the team's 24 points.
Key moment
Detroit's Isaiah Stewart pulled down Antetokounmpo by the jersey and was assessed a flagrant foul 2 and ejected with 3:02 left in the third quarter. Antetokounmpo made both free throws.
Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.
Former employee files civil lawsuit against Suns
A former Phoenix Suns employee sued the team Wednesday, citing allegations of harassment, racial discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination, according to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by ESPN.
In the lawsuit, Andrea Trischan, who was the Suns' program manager of diversity, equity and inclusion from September 2022 until July 2023, also alleges financial misconduct, sexual misconduct and racial discrimination by current and former team executives.
Lawyers for Trischan filed the civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Phoenix. Trischan is asking for unspecified damages to be determined at trial. In a statement, the Suns said Trischan is seeking $60 million.
"Andrea's case is built on substantial evidence that establishes a clear and undeniable pattern of discrimination within the Suns organization," Trischan's attorney, Sheree Wright, wrote in a statement to ESPN. "Key pieces of evidence include her quarterly and annual performance reviews, which consistently highlight her exceptional work, and email correspondence documenting instances of bias and exclusion. This evidence paints a stark picture of a workplace culture rife with discriminatory practices, where concerns raised by employees were systematically ignored or dismissed."
After being terminated by the Suns in July 2023, Trischan filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Arizona Attorney General's office's civil rights division. Her complaint with the Arizona Attorney General's office was dismissed on Nov. 5 because the "information obtained is not sufficient to establish violations," according to a copy of the dismissal obtained by ESPN. The dismissal noted that it wasn't concluding whether the Suns were or were not in compliance.
"Ms. Trischan's case was dismissed by the Arizona Attorney General's office earlier this week," Stacey Mitch, the Senior Vice President of Communications for the Suns and WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, wrote in a statement to ESPN. "Her claims have been without merit from day one, and now this lawsuit, in which she is seeking $60M, is based on the same claims that were just dismissed. We are fully confident the courts will agree her story is completely fabricated."
Trischan was hired by the Suns on Sept. 19, 2022, six days after the NBA announced that then-owner Robert Sarver was suspended one year and fined $10 million following an NBA investigation into his conduct and the team's workplace culture during his 18-year tenure as the team's majority owner.
Trischan's role was aimed at helping address issues that current and former Suns employees had described to ESPN as existing under Sarver, who announced his intent to sell the team soon after the NBA released the findings of its investigation.
One such finding, and the requisite requirement from the league, was that the Suns needed to address their diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Specifically, the NBA mandated the Suns retain an outside firm to "evaluate and make recommendations with respect to workplace training programs, policies and procedures, and hiring and compensation practices -- with a focus on fostering a diverse, inclusive and respectful workplace."
In November 2022, Trischan was nearly two months into her role when she said she learned that the team was creating a diversity council without consulting her and that it would feature several Suns executives. A month later, ESPN published an investigation outlining allegations of misconduct by several Suns executives who employees said played key roles in perpetuating a troubling workplace culture under Sarver. Some of those executives included then-team president and CEO Jason Rowley; executive vice president and chief revenue officer Dan Costello; Kyle Pottinger, who was then the Suns' senior vice president of ticket sales and service; and Melissa Goldenberg, who was then the team's general counsel.
When Trischan read ESPN's story, she said in the lawsuit, that she realized that some of the executives accused of misconduct had also been named to the team's diversity council. She also said that employees expressed "specific concerns" about some of the executives named in the story, citing allegations of racial discrimination, financial misconduct and sexual misconduct.
Trischan said she voiced concerns to Kim Corbitt, her direct manager and the Suns' head of human resources, about the executives who were named in the ESPN story, noting that they were mistrusted by staff while questioning their presence on the diversity council. Trischan said she also sought to investigate some claims of misconduct against those executives but that Corbitt "directly discouraged" her from doing so.
According to Trischan, Corbitt said that the executives were on the diversity council as a means to "reshape their image."
"Ms. Trischan's claims regarding the diversity council are misleading," a Suns spokesperson previously told ESPN. "The purpose of the diversity council, which is comprised of the entire executive team and other leaders in the organization, is to listen to the diversity data and information on DE&I initiatives to continue to further the organization's DE&I commitment.
"... Ms. Trischan's job did not include any sort of investigatory or employee relations responsibilities."
Both before and after her conversation with Corbitt, Trischan described facing and witnessing instances of harassment, discrimination and retaliation from colleagues and superiors, including Corbitt. She claimed that complaints by her and others reported to Corbitt were met with resistance.
Trischan was placed on a performance improvement plan in late May 2023 and was terminated in July 2023.
Trischan and the Suns, who are working with an outside law firm, previously discussed mediation to settle the dispute, but no agreement was reached.
Her deadline to file a lawsuit, her attorneys previously said, was Wednesday.
Since ESPN first reported on Sept. 10 about Trischan's ongoing dispute with the Suns, team sources said that Pottinger and Goldenberg departed the organization. Pottinger first joined the Suns in May 2009 and Goldenberg in 2014. The circumstances about their departures remain unclear.
Rowley, who joined the Suns in 2007, resigned in February 2023, just before billionaire mortgage lender Mat Ishbia was introduced as the team's new majority owner.
Ishbia bought the Suns and Mercury from Sarver at a $4 billion valuation.
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