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BJK Cup tie called off after severe weather alert
A severe weather alert in southern Spain has led to the opening tie of the Billie Jean King Cup between Spain and Poland being postponed.
The two nations were set to play in Malaga on Wednesday.
Two weeks after flash floods caused devastation in eastern Spain, several areas of the nation are on alert again.
A new weather front brought heavy rain in Malaga on Wednesday.
"This decision has been made based on guidance from the relevant authorities to ensure the health and safety of all participants and attendees," said the International Tennis Federation, which organises the event.
"We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding and cooperation."
Pressure on England is a privilege - Wigglesworth
Senior coach Richard Wigglesworth says the pressure for England to get results is all part of the privilege of representing the national side.
England have lost their past four games, including narrow defeats by New Zealand and Australia in their first two Autumn Nations Series matches.
They face reigning double world champions South Africa at Allianz Stadium on Saturday and Wigglesworth says it is the coaches job to "step back" from the outside noise.
"This job of being part of the England team is such a privilege, because so many people care, which makes your feeling on the matter really big," he told BBC Sport.
"Our job is to step back from that and see what was right, what was wrong, and what can we fix.
"We need to see the game for what it is, make the decisions for what they are, and get better every week.
"It is our job to make sure the players understand as much as they can that they cant get affected by that as well.
"We know the attention the team gets is result-dependent, and rightly so."
England last met South Africa in the Rugby World Cup semi-final, with the Springboks coming back from 15-6 down to edge a fierce contest 16-15.
Wigglesworth says the Boks are a different side compared to that day and have "evolved a little bit" in terms of their gameplan.
However, he says the visitors will still rely on their traditional areas of strength, not least a forward-heavy bench which will be unleashed in the second half.
"They have a squad and a plan they have done for a while, and when you are successful you tend to stick to things," he added.
"I have really enjoyed watching what they do, and how they do it, it is our job to meet that and rise to it."
But Wigglesworth says the England coaches are not in contact with former defence coach Felix Jones.
Jones, who was part of the South Africa set-up for the past two World Cups, quit the England set-up in August, but is serving his notice period by providing remote analysis, according to the RFU.
"I believe he is working with us behind the scenes, but we have not been in touch with him personally," Wigglesworth said.
Argentina, who reached the semi-finals at last year's World Cup, also secured some big results in this season's Rugby Championship, beating New Zealand in Wellington and world champions South Africa at home. They also scored 67 points in a home win over Australia.
Ireland have won 13 of the 19 Test encounters between the countries - including all 10 at home - but the Pumas have won three of their four World Cup encounters including the most recent 2015 quarter-final when they earned a 43-20 win over an injury-hit Irish side in Cardiff.
Robbie Henshaw, Conor Murray, Cian Healy and Iain Henderson, all of whom featured that day, are still in the Ireland squad while Matias Alemanno and Connacht's Santiago Cordero remain part of Argentina's plans although they have not been named in the squad for Friday's match.
Argentina coach Felipe Contepomi is back in Dublin where he spent six years as a player with Leinster between 2003 and 2009 in addition to a later four-season coaching stint with the Irish province.
Argentina: Juan Cruz Mallia; Rodrigo Isgro, Lucio Cinti, Matias Moroni, Bautista Delguy; Tomas Albornoz, Gonzalo Bertranou; Thomas Gallo, Julian Montoya (capt), Joel Sclavi; Guido Petti, Pedro Rubiolo; Pablo Matera, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Joaquin Oviedo
Replacements: Ignacio Ruiz, Ignacio Calles, Francisco Gomez Kodela, Franco Molina, Santiago Grondona, Gonzalo Garcia, Santiago Carreras, Justo Piccardo.
'We scrum to dominate' - behind the eight-man Boks machine
Crouch, bind, set.
No nation personifies that process more than the world champions.
Over the past five years, the golden generation of South Africa forwards have developed arguably the most formidable and feared scrum in rugby.
The development of the now famous 'Bomb Squad' before the 2019 World Cup played a huge role, but their scrum runs deeper and has been part of their culture for decades.
"What South Africa do and we have always believed is that the scrum is an area where you can enforce yourself," 2007 World Cup winner BJ Botha told BBC Sport.
"That is where we are legally allowed to be physical and manhandle players, which will hopefully overflow into other moments on the field. When we scrum, we scrum to dominate."
Paarl Boys' High School are one the powerhouses of schoolboy rugby in South Africa, drawing in a crowd of 25,000 last year for a match against rivals Paarl Gimnasium, and helped develop current Springboks props Thomas du Toit and Frans Malherbe.
Gurthro Steenkamp, another member of South Africa's 2007 World Cup-winning squad, also played his schoolboy rugby there and has seen a shift towards the set-piece at an early age.
"South Africa are putting a massive emphasis on the development of props and especially the scrum," La Rochelle scrum coach Steenkamp added.
"At my former school they start to give attention at the age of 14 and 15 to the finer techniques, so they are prepared for the ages of 15 and 16 when they have a proper contest in the scrum."
Scrumming is one of few things that is restricted until adult rugby, with teams only allowed to push a maximum of 1.5 metres in school.
Botha worked as a forwards coach at Paarl Boys' High School from 2021-2023 and now works with schools and teams on a consultancy basis to supply specialist coaching and analysis.
Rather than wait until they are old enough to go full bore at scrum time, props in the schoolboy system are trained beyond their years.
"It is a very fine balance that is regulated by the unions and referees who are doing it in a controlled manner, so we have these specialist positions coming through the system," Botha added.
"South Africa are just doing that better as they want specialists coming through."
The edge is not just at schoolboy level but also now the highest level.
Barça chief seeks clarity on VAR disallowed goal
Barcelona sporting director Deco has said the club want an explanation of the process which led to Robert Lewandowski's goal being disallowed in Sunday's defeat at Real Sociedad.
Lewandowski's 14th-minute strike at Anoeta was ruled out after the semi-automatic VAR offside technology (SAOT) ruled his toe was fractionally offside, with La Real going on to win 1-0.
Barça coach Hansi Flick said the decision was "wrong" and a "huge mistake," with some images appearing to show defender Nayef Aguerd's foot ahead of Lewandowski's at the moment Frenkie de Jong played the pass.
"I don't think VAR, and not just because of this game, has fixed what in theory it was going to fix," Deco said in an interview with Mundo Deportivo on Wednesday.
"Some things have improved, but in other areas we still have one person's interpretation. We still have controversial decisions, like the one at Anoeta on Sunday, which was probably incorrect.
"I don't understand if it's semi-automatic, not automatic, if someone has to press the button ... It's like having a car and not knowing if it's automatic, if it's hybrid ... someone will have to explain it to us.
"Why is it semi-automatic? I am lost. I still don't know if the boots were yellow [Lewandowski's] or black [Aguerd's] ... We don't want to go there because we don't want excuses, but there's a question: what happened?
"Where's the error occurred, if there's an error? If not, no problem, but we need an explanation because we're lost with what semi-automatic means, if there's an involvement from VAR, if the referee really can't do anything.
"If the semi-automatic system doesn't work, then we need to return to another system. This isn't a Barça issue, it's about improvements for all teams. Tomorrow it could be a bad decision for Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid, Sevilla, Rayo Vallecano, whoever."
SAOT was introduced to LaLiga at the start of the season. It is increasingly used in the biggest competitions in the game, but not universally. The Premier League, for example, has delayed its roll out while it waits for more testing to be completed.
It is effectively a support tool for the VAR and on-field officials to help make faster, more reproducible and more accurate offside decisions.
The technology uses 12 dedicated tracking cameras mounted underneath the roof of the stadium to track the ball and up to 29 data points of each individual player, 50 times per second, calculating their exact position on the pitch. The 29 collected data points include all limbs and extremities that are relevant for making offside calls.
Barça believe the system failed when it suggested Lewandowski was offside, but the Refereeing Committee in Spain (CTA) stand by the decision and insist it was correct.
Barça's defeat to Real Sociedad also came without Lamine Yamal. It was the second league game the 17-year-old has not started this season and the second that Barça have lost.
It illustrates the growing importance of Yamal to Flick's side, with Deco saying comparisons with Lionel Messi are to be expected even if there are differences.
"The comparisons [with Messi] aren't a problem for Lamine, it's an honour," he added. "I don't know if it's a good or a bad thing, it depends on Lamine, but he's growing, developing and I don't see any problem.
"Comparisons are going to happen. Football is emotion, passion, it's normal that people speak, compare, remember.
"Lamine is unique, he has his own story. It just so happens he's at the same club as Leo, with both breaking through young, although in different situations. Leo entered a more established side, whereas Lamine is being part of the revolution, the reconstruction of the club. But it's nice, if the comparison is there then it means he has something good about him."
Murphy, O'Neill dismantle Western Australia to end title hopes
Victoria 132 for 6 (Harper 59) beat Western Australia 108 (Murphy 4-27, O'Neill 3-12)
Western Australia's hopes of winning a fourth straight one-day cup title are over after a rain-affected 15-run defeat to Victoria under the DLS method.
Set a revised target of 124, WA never got going with the bat. Captain Ashton Turner made 24 from 24 balls before he was caught behind off Murphy, but no other WA batter went past 20.
Cameron Bancroft continued his run of poor form after missing out on Test selection and was dismissed for 4 from 17 balls. Bancroft has only once scored more than 16 in his past 12 innings, a run that includes four ducks.
When play resumed, Harper took a while to get going but picked up the pace as he hit five fours and three sixes as the anchor of the home side's innings.
The win gives Victoria a 3-2 record, putting them right in the mix for a spot in the final, while WA (1-4) are out of contention. WA have won five of the past seven one-day cup titles and six of the past 10, including the last three in succession.
Sri Lanka opt to bat; three ODI debutants for New Zealand
Toss Sri Lanka chose to bat vs New Zealand
Sri Lanka: 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Avishka Fernando, 3 Kusal Mendis (wk), 4 Sadeera Samarawickrama, 5 Charith Asalanka (capt), 6 Kamindu Mendis, 7 Janith Liyanage, 8 Maheesh Theekshana, 9 Jeffrey Vandersay, 10 Dilshan Madushanka, 11 Asitha Fernando
New Zealand: 1 Tim Robinson, 2 Will Young, 3 Henry Nicholls, 4 Mark Chapman, 5 Glenn Phillips, 6 Mitchell Hay (wk), 7 Michael Bracewell, 8 Mitchell Santner (capt), 9 Nathan Smith, 10 Ish Sodhi, 11 Jacob Duffy
Neser hamstrung as Test back-up but Richardson comeback gains speed
Barring an injury in Perth, Australia are unlikely to need Boland for Adelaide given there is a nine-day break between the first and second Tests. But there is concern about the three-day turnaround between Adelaide and Brisbane, followed by a seven-day break to Boxing Day and then a three-day gap to Sydney. The quicks themselves and the team management have publicly stated that playing all five Tests without a change, as they did last year, is highly unlikely.
"Pending selection, hopefully next game," Richardson said. "I'm still waiting to see what sort of restriction and stuff is put on that. It's a pink ball in Adelaide, and, you know, I like playing pink-ball games, so I've been pushing hard to get into that one, but we'll see how we go. Obviously, the plan's not 100% finalised."
"It's been a little bit frustrating. But I was told that at the start of this whole process. I was told it was going to be slow and very purposeful. So we're hopefully getting to the back end of it now, getting into some red ball [cricket]. Hopefully it's all worth it"
Jhye Richardson on his buildback
He has been bowling without interruption since his return in IPL 2024 but as a Cricket Australia contracted player, a decision was made during the off-season that his build towards a first-class return would be gradual. There was a period as late as September where it was thought he may not play any red-ball cricket before the BBL.
But since then he has strung together four List A games, taking 5 for 63, 3 for 36, 0 for 25 and 1 for 19 and two four-day second XI games for WA.
"It's been a little bit frustrating," Richardson said. "But I was told that at the start of this whole process. I was told it was going to be slow and very purposeful. So we're hopefully getting to the back end of it now, getting into some red ball [cricket]. Hopefully it's all worth it."
The second XI returns were hugely encouraging. He was on heavy restrictions in the first game against South Australia in early October, bowling just ten overs in the first innings and six in the second. But his performance against New South Wales in early November has changed a lot of thinking around his progression. He took 4 for 13 from 11 overs in the first innings and backed it up with 1 for 30 from 14 in the second. It was the most overs he had bowled in a game in over 12 months.
"To be honest, felt like I was alive again," Richardson said. "The bones and the muscles were a little bit sore, but that's a good thing. Means you've done something purposeful. Haven't had that feeling for a long time. So very happy.
"I think for the game, I bowled a spell of six, a spell of seven, and another two spells of six, or something like that. So they were relatively long spells, which is a good thing. I was able to sort of get into a bit of rhythm and feel what it's like to bowl a long spell again.
"I probably could have used another spell or two in there, but I'm very happy."
Richardson is still unable to throw from deep in the outfield due to the shoulder issue but he said it was manageable, while acknowledging fielding was an important part of contributing to the team.
He was asked whether he thought he could handle playing back-to-back Shield games in late November and early December, before the BBL break. "I hope so," he said. "I think I could."
Richardson confirmed he would go in the IPL auction but he did not have a target in mind in terms of his international return.
"It's [on] a game-by-game basis at this stage, especially with this process being a little bit slower," he said. "It's just looking forward to the game that I've got ahead of me. There's so much talk about who's going to be in and out with the Test squad and the changeover of personnel and stuff like that. But it's not something that I can afford to think about too much. If I put too much pressure on myself, then it's not good for anyone. So it's just about playing these games, performing and getting through that's the main thing for me."
Alex Malcolm is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo
Afridi back as No. 1 ODI bowler, Hasaranga second in T20Is
Lee lights up WBBL again with second consecutive century
Hobart Hurricanes 191 for 2 (Lee 103, Carey 64) beat Adelaide Strikers 163 for 3 (Wolvaardt, Mandhana 51) by 28 runs
The Hobart Hurricanes opener cracked 103 off 59 deliveries as her side beat a struggling Adelaide Strikers outfit by 28 runs. Lee's knock, which featured 13 fours and four sixes, came after she notched the highest-ever WBBL score of 150 not out against Perth Scorchers on Sunday.
Hurricanes posted 191 for 2 and restricted the last-placed Strikers to 163 for 3 to jump to the top of the ladder with three matches in hand before finals.
South Africa's Lee, who retired from international cricket in 2022, had to change bats after hitting a six in the second over. She was dropped twice in the 20s off the spin of Anesu Mushangwe in the fourth over and made Strikers pay dearly. She brought up her half century off just 35 balls with a six before reaching triple figures in the 14th over with a boundary.
Young legspinner Amy Smith put the breaks on Strikers in the middle overs and finished with an impressive 1 for 16 from four overs. South African import Laura Wolvaardt was unbeaten with 63 off 40 but it wasn't enough.
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