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England have handed Lions call-ups to Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley, two young openers who could come into Ashes contention, for next week's four-day match against Australia A at Canterbury.

Sibley, of Warwickshire, is currently the leading run-scorer in Division One of the County Championship, with 922 at 70.92, while Kent's Crawley is fourth with 639 at 42.60. Both are set to make debuts for the Lions, alongside Gloucestershire batsman James Bracey and Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson, who are included in a provisional XI.

There has been much uncertainty around England's Test top three, following the retirement of Alastair Cook and the absence of a regular No. 3. Andy Flower, the Lions head coach, suggested that the players selected would be "looking to stake a claim" for the Ashes, with Sibley perhaps the leading candidate after a stellar run of form.

Sibley helped Warwickshire win promotion last season and started 2019 by extending a sequence of hundreds to six in successive first-class matches. This week he compiled a career-best 244 against Kent at Canterbury, overhauling the 242 not out he made as a teenager at Surrey in 2013 (making him the youngest double-centurion in Championship history).

"We're really looking forward to a great challenge against a very experienced Australia A side, some of whom will be looking to stake a claim for Ashes selection," Flower said. "We've got a very good squad of players travelling with us to Canterbury; one that's more than capable of delivering a positive result.

"Lions selection is always tricky. We've got an eye on the England team's short-term needs ahead of a busy winter schedule, but we're looking at some medium- and long-term prospects as well. We also need to respect the counties' needs during this busy time in the domestic season.

"While some players will be playing at this level for the first time, there is plenty of experience in our squad too. This will be a great learning opportunity for all these players and a chance to test themselves against a strong opposition."

There is England experience in the side, with wicketkeeper Ben Foakes, who played five of six Tests over the winter, batsman Ben Duckett and spinner Jack Leach among those previously capped. Somerset's Lewis Gregory, who is the leading pace bowler in the Championship with 44 wickets at 12.93, won an England call-up in 2015 but has yet to feature at international level.

Also included are Essex seamer Jamie Porter, who was close to a Test cap last summer; Lancashire's rapid young faster bowler Saqib Mahmood; and Hampshire batsman Sam Northeast, who will be a contender to captain the side.

England Lions squad: James Bracey, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Lewis Gregory, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Sam Northeast, Jamie Porter, Ollie Robinson, Dom Sibley

Sources: Westbrook talking next steps with OKC

Published in Basketball
Saturday, 06 July 2019 12:17

Oklahoma City All-Star guard Russell Westbrook and his agent, Thad Foucher, are engaged with Thunder general manager Sam Presti about the next steps of Westbrook's career, including the possibility of a trade before the start of next season, league sources told ESPN.

The two sides have 11 years of history together, and both understand that the time has likely come to explore trade possibilities for Westbrook, league sources said.

In the aftermath of All-Star Paul George pushing the Thunder to trade him to the LA Clippers to partner with free agent Kawhi Leonard, Oklahoma City's window to advance in the playoffs has seemingly closed. The Clippers' return to Oklahoma City of five future first-round picks, two pick swaps and All-Rookie point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander marks the beginning of the reshaping of the Thunder roster.

The remaining four years and $170 million on Westbrook's contract is no longer sensible for a noncontender.

For the Thunder, this marks the first look at a possible franchise reset since the team moved to Oklahoma City from Seattle, with Westbrook, 30, the final player remaining from the original team that relocated.

Westbrook was faced with a similar situation in 2016 in the wake of Kevin Durant's departure to the Golden State Warriors but, after weighing options, elected to renegotiate his contract and sign an extension with the Thunder. Oklahoma City used that agreement as a springboard to extending its window, trading for George the following summer as Westbrook signed a five-year supermax extension to become the highest-paid player in NBA history at the time.

Circumstances are different in a few significant ways now, though, with Westbrook's age, current contract and position of the Thunder.

The Thunder could rework the roster to try to remain competitive around Westbrook and Steven Adams, although that scenario is unlikely. Operating well over the salary cap with a projected salary tax payment of $43 million with the existing roster, the Thunder were in cost-cutting mode before George's trade and will only accelerate on that front now.

Westbrook has had three consecutive seasons of averaging triple-doubles and was voted the NBA's MVP in the 2016-17 season.

ESPN's Royce Young contributed to this report.

Lakers agree with Cousins, bring back Rondo

Published in Basketball
Saturday, 06 July 2019 12:45

The Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to a one-year deal with free agent center DeMarcus Cousins, and have brought back point guard Rajon Rondo on a two-year deal, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne.

Agent Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports told ESPN that Cousins' deal is worth $2.3 million. Cousins and Rondo ($2.6M) are returning on minimum deals, with Rondo holding a player option for the second year.

The Miami Heat had interest in Cousins, but several Lakers players -- including Anthony Davis -- helped convince him to join the Lakers, league sources told ESPN.

Cousins surprised many by signing a one-year, $5.3 million deal with the Golden State Warriors last July amid his recovery from a torn left Achilles. He made his season debut for Golden State in January -- close to a year after having surgery on the Achilles -- and ended up playing 30 regular-season games, averaging 16.3 points and 8.2 rebounds.

He was at his best in April, averaging 20-11 and offering the Warriors a glimpse of what could be come playoff time. But in Game 2 of the team's first-round series against the LA Clippers, Cousins suffered a torn left quadriceps while chasing down a loose ball.

The injury initially was expected to keep Cousins out for the remainder of the playoffs, but he returned for the NBA Finals and, despite a limited role, was a factor in several games. He had an 11-point, 10-rebound, six-assist gem in Golden State's Game 2 win in Toronto.

Cousins said the significant injuries he has suffered recently had him contemplating whether he wanted to continue playing.

"I was just ready to quit," he told ESPN's Rachel Nichols. "Like, throw the towel in. ... Human nature is the first thing. It's like, 'Why? Why me? Why now? What did I do wrong? Why do I deserve this?' And that's not always the case. It's usually [that] it's repaying you for the next moment.

"This is you putting your armor on. Slowly but surely. Because your next moment's gonna be even tougher."

Cousins, who turns 29 in August, was an All-Star for four consecutive seasons prior to signing with the Warriors. The fifth overall pick in the 2010 draft, he spent his first six seasons with the Kings, then was shipped to the Pelicans in February 2017, and spent the remainder of that season and all of the next with New Orleans.

Among active players, he ranks 11th in points per game (21.25) and fifth in rebounds (10.9) for his career.

Rondo was one of several veteran free agents who signed a one-year deal with the Lakers after LeBron James landed in Los Angeles last summer. 

The veteran point guard's season got off to a rocky start when he was suspended three games for his role in a multiplayer fight with the Rockets during the Lakers' home opener in October. That suspension, coupled with a pair of hand injuries, kept Rondo out of 36 games during the season. 

When he did play, Rondo remained effective. His 8.0 assists per game would have ranked fifth in the league among point guards if he had qualified. And his 9.2 points and 5.3 rebounds represented his highest averages in each of those categories since the 2015-16 season. 

Rondo also drew rave reviews for his leadership during a trying Lakers season. 

Rondo, 33, is entering his 14th NBA season. The four-time All-Star holds career averages of 10.4 points, 8.5 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.9 steals. He's 18th on the NBA's career assists list and needs 62 to pass Tony Parker.

Tanaka surprised to be replacing Stroman in ASG

Published in Baseball
Saturday, 06 July 2019 13:29

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- New York Yankees right-hander Masahiro Tanaka said he was caught off guard when manager Aaron Boone delivered the news that he would be replacing Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Marcus Stroman on the American League's All-Star roster.

"It was similar to how everybody else, including you guys reacted: pretty surprised," Tanaka told reporters Sunday.

For much of the season, Tanaka has had a tough time finding consistency with his bread-and-butter pitch: his splitter. Those troubles have resulted in part to him allowing 16 home runs -- nine shy of the 25 he had all of last season -- and put him on pace to give up the most hits in a single season of his career.

"I was just surprised because I never thought I would be selected," Tanaka said. "When you kind of look at your stats and things like that, and because I was already making plans of what to do for the All-Star break, that's why I was surprised."

Stroman, the Blue Jays lone All-Star, backed out of next week's game due to a nagging pectoral injury.

This is Tanaka's second All-Star Game selection, but will mark the first time he's appeared in the Midsummer Classic. Picked for the 2014 game in Minneapolis, Tanaka went on the Yankees' disabled list a week before the game due to right elbow inflammation. He wouldn't return until that following September.

"This time around, I get to go there and be part of the celebration," Tanaka said through an interpreter before Saturday's Yankees-Rays game at Tropicana Field. "Overall, I'm very happy about it."

Tanaka -- who earned a no-decision in Friday's extra-innings Yankees win over the Rays, and who has also allowed three or fewer hits in three starts so far this year - goes into this year's All-Star break with a 5-5 record and a 3.86 ERA.

Before his mid-July elbow injury that year, Tanaka went into the 2014 All-Star break with a 12-4 record and 2.51 ERA.

"Always good to know one of your guys that has played such a big role in us being in this position in the first half gets to represent us and the American League in the All-Star Game," Boone said, referring to his team's first-place lead in the AL East.

Tanaka joins infielders DJ LeMahieu and Gleyber Torres, catcher Gary Sanchez and closer Aroldis Chapman in Cleveland. Fellow Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia was not voted into the game, but the commissioner's office has invited him and his family to be part of the game's festivities as the former Indians first-round draft pick ends his 19-year career this season.

Seven-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams produced an impressive display to beat Julia Gorges 6-3 6-4 and move into the fourth round.

The 37-year-old 11th seed did not face a single break point as she dominated her German opponent in a repeat of her win in last year's semi-final at SW19.

Two-time champion Petra Kvitova also easily moved into the last 16, beating Poland's Magda Linette 6-3 6-2.

But Dutch fourth seed Kiki Bertens lost 7-5 6-1 to Barbora Strycova.

Bertens enjoyed her best run at Wimbledon last year, when she lost to Gorges in the quarter-finals.

But after a close first set, the 27-year old struggled on serve against the 33-year-old Strycova, landing only 29% of her first serves, and winning only 33% of points on her second delivery.

Strycova, of the Czech Republic, is into the fourth round for the first time since 2014, where she will play Belgium's Elise Mertens.

Fellow Czech Kvitova, 29, triumphed in 69 minutes on court two to set up a potential meeting with British number one Johanna Konta.

She will face the winner of Konta and American ninth seed Sloane Stephens, who play later on Saturday.

'Serena's movement is back'

Williams, who will partner Andy Murray in the mixed doubles later on Saturday, took only three minutes longer to end Gorges' resistance and never looked in any trouble.

A big part of her success was down to the consistency of her first serve - Williams got 71% in and won 76% of those points - but she was also able to hurt Gorges with her play from the back of the court.

"Her movement is back, and that was a real statement match by Serena," said BBC commentator Tracy Austin.

"She elevated her game from rounds one and two - she has played so few matches this year, which is why she was so rusty in the earlier rounds."

Williams, who has reached this stage at the All England Club 16 times, will play Spanish 30th seed Carla Suarez Navarro next.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal reached the fourth round at Wimbledon with straight-set victories over French opponents.

Spanish world number two Nadal - a two-time winner at SW19 - defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2 6-3 6-2.

Eight-time Wimbledon champion Federer beat Lucas Pouille 7-5 6-2 7-6 (7-4).

Nadal will play Britain's Dan Evans or Portugal's Joao Sousa in the next round while Federer will take on Italy's Matteo Berrettini.

It was the first time Nadal had played Tsonga at the All England Club and their first meeting since 2015.

"I'm very happy. I think I played a great match," Nadal told BBC Sport.

"I was returning well, playing aggressively with the forehand and the backhand. I think I did a lot of things well.

"Tsonga is someone you don't want to face in the third round at Wimbledon.

"Every single day is a battle here. It is not a surface I play a lot of matches on during the year."

Victory over Pouille saw Federer become the first player to achieve 350 Grand Slam singles match wins.

"It was tough. It was a hard-fought match, especially in the first set," Federer said.

"I think going up two sets was key. The third was tough, it was very even.

"There is always a relief winning a third-set breaker because if it goes the wrong way, you might be here for a few more hours."

Nadal in stylish victory

In his first meeting with Frenchman Tsonga at a Grand Slam in 11 years, Nadal secured an early break to move 4-1 ahead and made just three unforced errors throughout the opening set.

The second set stayed with serve until Nadal broke to lead 4-2, and he almost sealed the set on a break before Tsonga fought back to force him to serve out for a 2-0 advantage.

Nadal dominated the third set, gaining a double break, and he almost broke Tsonga yet again on his third match point but the two-time Wimbledon semi-finalist was able to hold.

However, Nadal quickly served out the match to love in one hour 48 minutes, with Tsonga seemingly nursing a hand injury after a tumble earlier in the game.

Federer made to sweat by Pouille

Federer was meeting Pouille for the first time at a Grand Slam and the first set proved a cagey affair, staying on serve with the Frenchman scuppering two break points.

But it was Federer who finally broke serve and he did it at the perfect time, sealing the opening set on his second set point.

The second set proved the polar opposite, however, with Federer sealing a double break early on to go 4-0 up before failing to hold his own serve.

Just as he did in the opener, he won the set on a break to move just one away from a place in the fourth round.

Little could separate the two in the third set with Federer missing match point as Pouille held to take the set to a tie-break, which Federer won.

Elsewhere, eighth seed Kei Nishikori beat American Steve Johnson 6-4 6-3 6-2.

Tennys Sandgren defeated Fabio Fognini 6-3 7-6 (14-12) 6-3 and will play American compatriot Sam Querrey next after he beat John Millman in straight sets.

Italian Fabio Fognini apologised after being heard to say: "I wish a bomb would explode on this club" during his Wimbledon defeat by Tennys Sandgren.

Fognini was already under threat of a ban from two major tournaments for using misogynistic language to a female umpire at the US Open in 2017.

He lost 4-6 6-7 (12-14) 3-6 to American Sandgren in the third round.

"Something happened on court. If somebody feels offended, I say sorry. No problem," said the 32-year-old.

"Most of the time when you're on court, you're frustrated. For sure I was not happy about my performance today because I was knowing I have a lot to win in this case, because I think I have a good chance to win."

Fognini was fined a then record $27,500 (£21,600) at Wimbledon in 2014 for a series of offences during a first-round match.

After the US Open in 2017, he was given a suspended ban of two grand slam tournaments covering two years as well as a fine of more then £70,000, half of which was suspended.

Wimbledon must now decide how severely to punish Fognini for this latest act.

The world number 10 also took a medical time-out for treatment to a bloodied hand after punching his racket to the court in frustration.

Sandgren is through to the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time and will face fellow American Sam Querrey on Monday.

Wimbledon was hit by a bomb during World World II that damaged the Centre Court roof.

Andy Murray saw one of his bids for Wimbledon silverware prove fruitless as the Briton and France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert lost in the men's doubles.

Murray and Herbert were beaten 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-2 6-3 by Croatian sixth seeds Nikola Mektic and Franko Skugor.

All is not lost for the Scot, however, as he has another chance alongside American great Serena Williams in the mixed doubles.

The illustrious pair face Andreas Mies and Alexa Guarachi later on Saturday.

Murray and Williams, two of the sport's most recognisable players, will meet their German-Chilean opponents on a court to be decided after 17:30 BST.

Regardless of what happens in that match, Murray's overriding emotion of returning to Wimbledon - six months after he had a hip resurfacing operation - will be happiness at being competitive.

The 32-year-old Scot made a triumphant return when he and Herbert earned a comeback win over Romania's Marius Copil and France's Ugo Humbert, recovering from a slow start to enthral a boisterous Court One on Thursday by winning in four sets.

But this time the mood on a packed court two, one of the smaller show courts at the All England Club, faltered as Murray and Herbert's second-round match swung in the opposite direction.

The partnership failed to ignite in the same way that Murray's triumphant pairing with Spain's Feliciano Lopez did at Queens, with an almost innate understanding between doubles specialists Mektic and Skugor proving too much.

Initially it looked like it could be another positive outcome for Murray and Herbert, who edged an even first set after a crisp cross-court backhand winner from Murray swung the tie-break in their favour.

But 28-year-old Herbert, who has won all four Grand Slam doubles titles after success with his previous partner Nicolas Mahut, continued to struggle with his returning game in the second set and then crucially saw his serve taken for their opponents to level.

From that point Mektic and Skugor took control as Murray and Herbert's service game waned, the Croatians breaking three more times in the next two sets to reach the third round.

'Doubt we'll see Murray & Herbert in tandem again' - analysis

Peter Fleming, seven-time Grand Slam champion on BBC TV

Mektic and Skugor were good value for their win, after a sluggish start they did play some superb tennis.

We probably won't see a reprise of the Murray-Herbert tandem anytime soon. They just didn't gel.

Andrew Castle, former British number one on BBC TV

I think Herbert will be disappointed with himself more than Murray, who has done more than enough in this grass court season and will be delighted to be back.

Herbert went a little flat in that second set if truth be told.

British number one Johanna Konta staged a determined comeback to beat American ninth seed Sloane Stephens and reach the fourth round at Wimbledon.

The 2017 semi-finalist had trailed by a set and was under pressure on her serve before regrouping to win 3-6 6-4 6-1.

She is the only home hope left in the women's singles after Harriet Dart's 6-1 6-1 loss to top seed Ashleigh Barty.

Dan Evans, the only British man still in the singles, faces Joao Sousa in the third round later on Saturday.

Konta will face Czech two-time champion Petra Kvitova for a place in the quarter-finals on Monday.

"I just kept plugging away more than anything," Konta told BBC television.

"I was fully prepared to not be coming back in that second set because she really was playing well. I was really pleased I could keep battling, I was pleased I could mix things up and I did a good job in getting her out of that zone."

Konta turns frustration into fightback

Last month Konta had dominated Stephens in a 6-1 6-4 victory in the French Open quarter-finals last month, playing some of the best tennis of her career.

But the 28-year-old struggled to find her rhythm and became frustrated with herself at times against the 26-year-old American on Court One.

After losing the first set when she netted a backhand, Konta found herself under increasing pressure on her serve in the second.

She showed glimpses of the mental negativity that has hampered her in the past, shooting glances at her coach Dimitri Zavialoff and berating herself for her wayward shots.

But she then translated that into fighting spirit in the fifth game of the second set when she was taken to deuce six times and saved three break points before eventually holding.

That proved to be the start of a comeback as she went on to break the American in the 10th game to take the set and force a decider.

From then on she did not look back - the overcooked forehands found the lines and the head-shaking at changeovers became fist pumps as she won five games in a row from late in the second set to surge ahead in the third.

And her victory was complete when Stephens hit long with just over two hours on the clock.

Dart learns 'tough lesson'

Dart exits with her head held high after a tournament that marked her first back-to-back wins at tour level.

The world number 182 had said beforehand that the match against French Open champion Barty would provide her with a good measure of where her tennis was at.

Having lost 6-0 6-0 to Maria Sharapova in her last match against a high-profile player on the main show court of a Grand Slam at January's Australian Open, she can be comforted by the fact she got herself on the scoreboard in the 53-minute defeat by Barty.

Barty - who has been beaten by only one player outside the world's top 10 this year - dropped just three points on serve in the first set, moving a double break up before the world number 182 was finally able to hold.

Dart went a double break down at the start of the second set before showing signs of her form of previous rounds, reaching four break points before allowing Barty to hold.

"It's a good learning curve for me," she said. "She played great. She didn't let me in the match at all.

"It's a tough lesson to learn. It's been a great tournament for me. I should take a lot of positives from it."

Barty, who is the first Australian to reach the women's singles fourth round at Wimbledon since 2010, said the young Briton had a bright future.

"Harriet is going to have a fantastic career. I know she will play out on Centre Court again soon," said the Australian, who will play American Alison Riske in the fourth round.

A winning streak goes bust in Busan

Published in Table Tennis
Saturday, 06 July 2019 03:37

In fact, the decisive battle in mixed doubles was not as fierce as it might have been. On the attack from their first serve, Wong and Doo destabilized the reigning world champions early by shutting down Liu’s topspin, thereby containing Xu’s shut-em-down wellies, and the formidable Chinese duo never quite recovered. 

And when in doubt, call a timeout. The strategic playbreaking manoeuver was used to great effect by Wong and Doo late in the match, stifling the momentum Xu and Liu started to recover towards the end. The 2018 Grand Final winners and no. 2 seeds continued to impose themselves and saw out a controlled 3-1 victory (11-9, 11-8, 6-11, 13-11). 

Bringing the heat

By this point, Saturday wasn’t exactly going as planned for Team China. The normally stalwart Fan Zhendong suffered through an unanticipatedly rough quarter-final, playing not only against home favorite Jeong Youngsik but against Jeong’s adoring public as well, and ultimately failing to advance. That was before Xu and Liu went down in the mixed doubles final.

So by the time they got to the men’s doubles final, both players might have been feeling they had something to prove. 

They certainly played like it, stopping the top-seeded Korean veterans Jeoung Youngsik and Lee Sangsu in their tracks. Xu and Fan allowed the Koreans no opportunity in their 3-0 win (11-9, 11-7, 11-6) to clinch their second World Tour title so far this year. 

Xu retook the World #1 ranking from Fan this week in men’s singles, but evidently there are no hard feelings; both men certainly looked pleased to come away with a victory in Busan.

A renaissance for Chen and Wang

There were stumbles from Chen Meng and Wang Manyu: the Chinese women’s duo, playing together for the first time since 2017, presented a united front before Korea’s Choi Hyojoo and Yang Haeun for the women’s doubles title. 

The match was something of a cat-and-mouse affair, with Choi and Yang approaching the lead and forcing extra points but never quite being able to overtake their esteemed opponents and top seeds, who prevailed in three games (12-10, 15-13, 11-6).

Follow live updates from Busan and watch the action on itTV!

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