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Kuhnemann has 'no pain' after batting and bowling; hopes to fly to Sri Lanka
Kuhnemann, 28, was driven to the hospital that night by Heat team-mate Daniel Drew where he had the dislocation put back into place before having surgery the following morning to put a pin in the fracture.
Kuhnemann's recovery, though, has been rapid and he is hopeful he can fly to Sri Lanka after bowling eight overs at Allan Border Field in Brisbane on Thursday. Kuhnemann also batted, facing throw downs from Heat and Queensland bowling coach Andy Bichel. He also took a few catches during the session that was overseen by Heat's team physio Adam Smith.
Speaking to reporters, Kuhnemann said he was feeling good but needed to consult Australia's medical staff in Dubai via a conference call on Thursday evening, where the squad are holding a pre-tour training camp, before being cleared to join them when they fly to Sri Lanka in the next few days.
"Nothing's official yet," Kuhnemann said. "I think it was more about just ticking off the boxes each day this week, and so far it's gone to plan. I'm hoping so, but nothing's come out yet. I'll probably speak to the medical team this afternoon. My bowling, batting and fielding has gone excellent so far. So I'll just relay that message. There's a bit of a time zone difference and hopefully, I can get on the plane over there.
"I'm feeling really good, really grateful with how it sort of progressed in the last week. It's healed really well, and the surgery went excellent. Very fortunate and lucky so far that I'm sort of in a position to be able to bowl and bat and catch a few balls. Everything's gone to plan so far. There's not much pain at all any more, and no pain bowling and batting."
Kuhnemann has had a plastic thumb splint made to protect his right thumb and can wear it in games without needing to remove it as it is on his non-bowling hand. He has worn a similar splint in the past having previously broken the same thumb. He is confident that if a ball is hit back at him with power again, his thumb will withstand any blow.
"This is a conversation I had with the surgeons and doctors and it's really stable now," Kuhnemann said. "It's probably more stable than it was beforehand. I've broken that thumb before and now I've got surgery on it, it's probably in a better state.
"I've played cricket with splints on and I'm very confident, it doesn't affect my bowling or batting and fielding. If anything, I'm probably more confident in the field, because you've got something on your finger."
He said he would have no fear if a ball came at him in the field. "No, not at all," Kuhnemann said. "That's cricket in general. Balls have been hit back at me a lot harder, and I've been fine. So this is one of those freak incidents that it's hit probably the exact spot it had to for it to cause some damage. I've already caught some balls. Andy Bichel's already thrown some balls back at me straight away, so there's no problem with that."
Even if he is cleared to join the squad, a decision will still need to be made about his fitness to play. "I think everyone will have a bit of a say," Kuhnemann said. "I think it'd be a good discussion.
"I'll just be honest with them, I think. So far, it's tracking really well, so I'm confident. But there's obviously protocols you've got to go through."
Alex Malcolm is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo
England bowl first in bid to delay Australia's Ashes glory
England chose to bowl against Australia
England will again be chasing as they aim to keep their hopes of a drawn Ashes series alive after Heather Knight won the toss in Canberra.
There is a threat of some rain coming in during the evening, which could bring DLS into the equation, and chasing is often preferable in those circumstances.
Australia have retained the Ashes by going 8-0 up with victory at the SCG and can win them outright here.
Both teams are unchanged with England showing faith in their XI. Australia captain Alyssa Healy has been ruled out of the rest of the T20I series and will be further assessed ahead of the day-night Test in Melbourne. Ash Gardner also misses again with her calf injury and will be monitored ahead of the final T20I in Adelaide.
Allrounder Heather Graham has been added to the squad for the final two T20Is.
Australia 1 Georgia Voll, 2 Beth Mooney (wk), 3 Phoebe Litchfield, 4 Ellyse Perry, 5 Annabel Sutherland, 6 Tahlia McGrath (capt), 7 Grace Harris, 8 Georgia Wareham, 9 Alana King, 10 Kim Garth, 11 Megan Schutt
England 1 Maia Bouchier, 2 Danni Wyatt-Hodge, 3 Sophia Dunkley, 4 Nat Sciver-Brunt, 5 Heather Knight (capt), 6 Amy Jones (wk), 7 Freya Kemp, 8 Charlie Dean, 9 Sophie Ecclestone, 10 Sarah Glenn, 11 Lauren Bell
Australia hope Healy can play as a batter in Ashes Test
If Healy ultimately did not make the Test, then Tahlia McGrath would again stand in as captain.
"We're pleased with the form of the 13 players that have taken part in the series to date and feel it's a squad that offers a variety of options when it comes to selecting the makeup of the Test side," national selector Shawn Flegler said. "Alyssa has been named in the squad as a batter only and we'll give her as much time as we can to prove her fitness ahead of the match. Ash will continue to be assessed daily at this stage, she is on track to be available for the Test match."
Mooney's experience wicketkeeping in longer-form cricket is limited and she is aware it will be a new physical challenge.
"I don't think I'll be able to walk after if I have to keep but we're pretty lucky in the Australian team where we've got lots of players that can step into different roles," she said after the first T20I. "But when [Healy's] been out, I've been able to step into that role and got some good feedback along the way, so just happy to do what's required of the team."
If Voll did debut at the MCG, it would complete a full set across the three formats in less than two months following the start of her ODI career against India and then a T20I debut at the SCG.
"I'm more than happy to try and do a job up the top of the order," Voll told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday. "I love batting there and batting up the top with Beth Mooney was pretty cool [in Sydney]. I'm more than happy to fit in wherever the team needs."
Megan Schutt has again been named in a Test squad despite often saying her days in the format are over, but the pink-ball day-night element to this game may see her come into consideration for the final XI.
The other decision that will need to be made is whether to play both Alana King and Georgia Wareham, who have caused England huge problems in the limited-overs matches.
The match will be the first day-night Test at the MCG and the first women's Test match at the venue since 1948-49.
Australia squad for Ashes Test
Alyssa Healy (capt), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney (wk), Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham
India blow away Sri Lanka to top Group A, West Indies qualify for Super Six
Rashmika Sewwandi tried to inject some impetus as Sri Lanka added 21 runs for the sixth wicket, but Parunika Sisodia and Ayushi Shukla took three wickets in three overs to put the contest to bed. Sri Lanka's last two batting pairs did well to survive ten overs to avoid getting bowled out, but the match was decided halfway through the chase.
Malaysia, as a result, were knocked out after finishing bottom of the group with three defeats.
Malaysia were 38 for 2 after ten overs chasing 113 and that's when Ramnath started a collapse that saw the hosts lose eight wickets for 21 runs. The Malaysia batters were unable to read her as she got all four of her wickets either bowled or lbw.
She got two wickets in her second over, including that of her opposite number Nur Daniya Syuhada, and then picked a third in her next.
West Indies had been put in to bat and struggled to pick up the pace, but opener Assabi Callender held the innings together with a 42-ball 30, and got them to a total that proved to be more than sufficient.
Rocky Flintoff makes his England mark with century in Lions tour match
Cricket Australia XI 214 (Hicks 64, Brown 5-21) and 33 for 1 trail England Lions 316 (Flintoff 108, Davies 76, McCann 51, Whitney 4-72) by 69 runs
Flintoff, 16, leapt in the air and kissed his bat as he acknowledged the applause of his team-mates after he dominated the home attack, his innings including six sixes, in a 124-ball century.
Batting at nine, Flintoff ensured the Lions recovered from 161 for seven before being bowled out for 316. The teen's second fifty came from just 45 balls and gave the Lions a 102-run first-innings lead before the CAXI reached 33 for one at the close.
The Lions were in danger of conceding a first-innings deficit after they lost five for 27 when Flintoff strode out to bat.
The Lancastrian added 66 with fellow teenager McCann, who struck eight fours in his half-century, before he slapped off-spinner Raf MacMillan to point.
Flintoff then took charge, the feature of his innings of 108 the heaved sixes over the leg side that provided more than a striking resemblance to his father's strokeplay, as the home bowlers had no answer.
It was subtlety that took him to his century, however, a dab for two to the offside that immediately prompted him to remove his helmet and begin his celebrations.
Sam Cook then reinforced the Lions' advantage when he nicked off Henry Hunt to wicketkeeper James Rew for one.
'Special' night: SGA's career-high 54 scorch Jazz
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career-high 54 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Utah Jazz 123-114 on Wednesday night.
Gilgeous-Alexander made 17 of 35 field goals and 17 of 18 free throws to surpass his previous career best of 45 points. He also tallied 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.
"It's always fun, I guess, to get career highs, always fun to knock things off your list," he said. "And to have the support of the city behind you is special for sure."
Gilgeous-Alexander is the first Thunder player with a 50-point game since Russell Westbrook posted 50 in 2017 against the Denver Nuggets, according to ESPN Research. He is also only the fourth player in Thunder history to record 50 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in a game, joining Westbrook (four times), Kevin Durant and Ray Allen.
Gilgeous-Alexander scored 23 points in the first half to help Oklahoma City take a 57-55 advantage at the break. He put up 18 points in the third quarter as the Thunder took a 95-89 lead.
Gilgeous-Alexander took a break to start the final quarter, and the Thunder led 102-99 when he checked back in. He hit a 3-pointer that gave OKC a 115-106 lead and secured his career night. He then scored his 50th point on a pull-up jumper over Lauri Markkanen with 1:28 to go that gave the Thunder a 119-110 lead.
After it was all over, Gilgeous-Alexander was content with his performance but said he could have scored even more.
"I felt like I could've had a lot more, and I know that's going to sound very spoiled," he explained. "I feel like I didn't really have that great of a night, left a few on the table; but there's room to improve, and that's a good thing."
Jalen Williams added 25 points for the Thunder (36-7), who are tied with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the NBA's best record.
John Collins had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Collin Sexton registered 18 points and 9 assists and Walker Kessler added 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Jazz (10-32), who lost their fourth straight.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Sasaki: Joining Dodgers 'once-in-a-lifetime' chance
LOS ANGELES -- Roki Sasaki donned a No. 11 Los Angeles Dodgers jersey atop a makeshift stage Wednesday afternoon and called it the culmination of "an incredibly difficult decision."
When Sasaki was posted by the Chiba Lotte Marines in the middle of December -- a development evaluators have spent years anticipating -- 20 major league teams formally expressed interest. Eight of those clubs were granted initial meetings at the L.A. offices of Sasaki's agency, Wasserman. Three were then named finalists in the middle of January, prompting official visits to their ballparks. And in the end, to practically nobody's surprise, it was the Dodgers who won out.
The Dodgers had long been deemed favorites for Sasaki, so much so that many viewed the pairing as an inevitability. In the wake of that actually materializing, scouts and executives throughout the industry have privately complained about being dragged through what they perceived as a process that already had a predetermined outcome. Some have also expressed concern that the homework assignment Sasaki gave to each of the eight teams he initially met with, asking them to present their ideas for how to recapture the life of his fastball, saw them provide proprietary information without ultimately having a reasonable chance to get him.
Sasaki's agent, Joel Wolfe, admitted he has heard some of those complaints over the past handful of days.
"I've tried to be an open book and as transparent as possible with all the teams in the league," said Wolfe, who has vehemently denied claims of a predetermined deal from the onset. "I answer every phone call, I answer every question. This goes back to before the process even started. Every team I think would tell you that I told each one of them where they stood throughout the entire process, why they got a meeting, why they didn't get a meeting, why other teams got a meeting. I tried to do my best to do that. He was only going to be able to pick one."
Sasaki, 23, is considered one of the world's most promising pitching prospects, with a triple-digit fastball and an otherworldly splitter. Through four seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, Sasaki posted a 2.10 ERA, a 0.89 WHIP and 505 strikeouts against just 88 walks in 394 innings. But he has openly acknowledged to teams that he is not yet fully formed, and many of those who followed him in Japan believed his priority would be to go to the team that had the best chance of making him better.
Few would argue that the Dodgers don't fit that description. Their vast resources, recent run of success and sizeable footprint in Japan made them an obvious fit for Sasaki, but it was their track record of pitching development that landed them one of the sport's most intriguing prospects.
"His goal is to be the first Japanese pitcher to win a Cy Young, and he definitely possesses the ability to do that," Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. "We're excited to partner with him."
Sasaki will join a star-studded rotation headlined by Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, decorated Japanese countrymen who signed free agent deals totaling more than $1 billion in December 2023. The Dodgers went on to win the ensuing World Series, then doubled down on one of the sport's richest, most talented rosters.
Over the past three months, they've signed starting pitcher Blake Snell for $182 million, extended utility man Tommy Edman for $74 million, given reliever Tanner Scott $72 million, brought back corner outfielder Teoscar Hernandez for $66 million, added another corner outfielder in Michael Conforto ($17 million) and struck a surprising deal with Korean middle infielder Hyeseong Kim ($12.5 million). At some point, they'll finalize a contract with another back-end reliever in Kirby Yates and will bring back longtime ace Clayton Kershaw.
But Sasaki, who has drawn the attention of Dodgers scouts since he was throwing 100-mph fastballs in high school, was the ultimate prize.
"As I transition to the major leagues, I am deeply honored so many teams reached out to me, especially considering I haven't achieved much in Japan," Sasaki, speaking through an interpreter, said in front of hundreds of media members. "It makes me feel more focused than ever. I am truly grateful to all the team officials who took the time to meet with me during this process.
"I spent the past month both embracing and reflecting on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to choose a place purely based on where I can grow as a player the most," Sasaki continued. "Every organization helped me in its own way, and it was an incredibly difficult decision to choose just one. I am fully aware that there are many different opinions out there. But now that I have decided to come here, I want to move forward with the belief that the decision I made is the best one, trust in those who believed in my potential and (have) conviction in the goals that I set for myself."
Major League Baseball heard complaints from rival teams about a prearranged deal between Sasaki's side and the Dodgers before he was posted, prompting an investigation "to ensure the protocol agreement had been followed," a league official said in a statement. MLB found no evidence, prompting Sasaki to be included as part of the 2025 international signing class.
Because he is under 25 years old and spent less than six seasons in NPB, Sasaki was made available as an international amateur, his earnings restricted to teams' signing-bonus pools. The Dodgers gave him $6.5 million, which constitutes the vast majority of their allotment, and will control Sasaki's rights until he attains the six years of service time required for free agency. Sasaki said his immediate goal is to "beat the competition and make sure I do get a major league contract."
Sasaki combined to throw barely more than 200 innings over the past two years and is expected to be handled carefully in the United States. The Dodgers won't set a strict innings limit for him in 2025 but will deploy a traditional six-man rotation, which also makes sense with Ohtani returning as a two-way player. The Dodgers' initial meeting with Sasaki saw them tout the way their training staff, pitching coaches and performance-science group work in harmony. In their second, they brought out Ohtani, Edman, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Sasaki's catcher, Will Smith, in hopes of wooing him. And in the end, it was Ohtani who broke the news to the Dodgers' front-office members, letting them know they landed Sasaki in a text before his agent could get around to calling.
Friedman described it as "pure excitement." Many others, however, rolled their eyes at what they felt was inevitable. Wolfe denied that, saying, "I don't believe [the Dodgers] was always the destination." But then he went on to describe how prevalent the Dodgers are in Japan. Their games are on every morning and rebroadcast later at night. Dodgers-specific shops outfit stadiums throughout the country.
"They're everywhere," Wolfe said. "And I think that all the players and fans see the Dodgers every day, so it's always in their mind because of Ohtani and Yamamoto. But when (Sasaki) came over here, he came with a very open mind."
Six Nations to use 20-minute red cards for first time
This year's Six Nations will use 20-minute red cards for the first time.
The trial was in place for the Autumn Nations Cup in November and has been extended to this year's men's, women's and Under-20s Championships.
Lawmakers say the 20-minute red card is designed to "punish the player and not the team", with sides able to replace a dismissed player after 20 minutes.
The men's Six Nations starts on Friday, 31 January with France hosting Wales in Paris.
While referees are still able to award a full and permanent red card for "deliberate and dangerous acts of foul play", the 20-minute red card constitutes a major change to rugby union's disciplinary process.
A crackdown on head contact has been in place since January 2017, with a number of the sport's biggest recent matches affected by red cards.
The losing side in the past two Rugby World Cup finals - England's women against New Zealand in 2022 and the All Blacks against South Africa in the 2023 men's showpiece - played the majority of the match with 14 players, as did Bath when beaten by Northampton in last year's Premiership final.
"Across the game, everyone is working together to ensure we are exploring new and innovative ways to make the game as safe as possible, alongside ambitions to enhance the spectacle for fans, and the experience for players," said Six Nations chief of rugby Julie Paterson.
There are two global law trials which will also come in during the 2025 Championship, with scrum-halves being given more protection at the base of rucks, mauls and scrums, while throws that aren't straight when the line-out is uncontested will not be penalised.
Reduction in the time allowed for conversions as well as quicker formation of scrums and line-outs - introduced in the autumn - will also continue into all three championships, as will referees broadcasting key decisions over the public address system for the benefit of fans in the stadium.
Rice signs off on UCL with Arsenal passage secure
The mathematics were still causing a few heads to be scratched after Arsenal's 3-0 victory over Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday, but Declan Rice gave the new Champions League format a thumbs up.
"It's been really, really good. It's the first time trying it out and I think everyone was a little bit confused how it would work when it first got announced, but playing in this format has been really interesting," the midfielder said.
"Playing big teams, coming up against different opposition, I've really liked it."
Rice scored the opener as Arsenal made it a virtual mathematical certainty that they will finish in the top eight of the 36-team group stage which this season replaced the established format of eight groups of four.
They are in third place with 16 points and in reality can already start planning for the knockout phase, even if manager Mikel Arteta could not bring himself to say it.
"We haven't been told. I know we're in a really strong position," the Spaniard said after Arsenal extended their unbeaten home run in Europe to 15 games.
Kai Havertz took his season's tally to 14 with Arsenal's second goal and Martin Ødegaard poached his first goal since November in stoppage time to wrap up a comfortable win.
"Overall, we got the job done and well done. We didn't concede a shot on target which is really positive again. It shows that the team is really well-rounded," Arteta said. "Overall, scoring three goals, winning in the Champions League at home, another clean sheet at home -- four in a row -- and having made some changes as well.
"We rotated players that didn't play that many minutes and they responded really well."
Avoiding a Champions League playoff will also guarantee the Arsenal squad some winter sunshine as Arteta said a break is now likely to recharge batteries seeing as they are already out of the FA Cup, which continues on Feb. 7-11.
"It was very helpful [last season] and with the schedule that we've had for the last three months, you can have a break, reset a little bit and work on things and rest some people, while some people are back, that would be great," he said.
Pep: City down to 'last chance' to avoid UCL exit
Pep Guardiola said Manchester City have one "last chance" to salvage their Champions League campaign after a 4-2 defeat at Paris Saint-Germain left the 2023 European champions facing a humiliating early exit from the competition.
Despite taking a 2-0 lead early in the second half with goals from Jack Grealish and Erling Haaland, City surrendered their advantage and ended up losing convincingly at the Parc des Princes.
The loss means that City must now beat Club Brugge at the Etihad next Wednesday to reach the playoff round. Anything other than a victory will see City eliminated.
But after seeing his team outplayed by PSG, Guardiola had no complaints about the result or City's fate.
"We have a last chance against Brugge and if we don't go through it's because we don't deserve it," Guardiola told reporters. "We have to recover against Chelsea in our next game and just move forward.
"Tonight, they [PSG] were better. Congratulate PSG and accept it. The law of football is like that -- how intense and aggressive they were in key positions. You have to recover players and do it better.
"Their players suffered and they were better. They were better in the duels and we found our moment with 0-2 for the goal, but the first half they had two clear chances."
City surrendered a winning position for the ninth time this season and the defeat was their third successive away loss in the Champions League having previously gone 12 games on the road without a loss in the competition.
And Guardiola said he felt City's defeat was due to being unable to dominate the game in midfield against PSG's energetic unit.
"When they had the ball, they dropped, but we created problems," Guardiola said. "After 2-0 and especially 1-2 we could not play. You have to play with the ball and they were better.
"They had an extra man in the middle with the false nine and it was difficult. They were better. They had one more player in the middle and we expected with the buildup and to have more aggression. but they jumped back and squeezed really well and we could not make the process. The connection with Bernardo [Silva] and Kova [Mateo Kovacic] was not possible or not good and we could not make the process."
Guardiola said Manchester City could not "cope with" PSG in the transition game.
"We had to defend with the ball and it's impossible to play well," he said. "PSG played better in their games and couldn't win. Today they were able to. In the big stages, the big teams, we struggle. We have to accept it. Recover and go to Chelsea. We have to recover our game."
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