Northamptonshire 273 and 331 (Vasconcelos 88) beat Sussex 106 (Sanderson 6-37) and 105 (Sanderson 4-18, Hutton 4-32) by 393 runs

Northamptonshire claimed their first County Championship win of the season after Sussex's batsman capitulated for the second time in the match to lose by a record 393 runs at Hove.

Having been bowled out for 106 in their first innings, Sussex fared even worse as they were dismissed for 105 after another abject batting performance. Their margin of defeat was the heaviest in their history in a County Championship game.

Sussex's coach Jason Gillespie, who is desperately seeking the right formula in both batting and bowling ranks for a county plagued by inconsistency, said: "That was an unacceptable performance and there has to be a lot of self reflection as individuals on areas where we have to improve. We didn't score enough runs and the lads have to work out what they can do better to get the job done.

"We haven't batted well enough obviously but yesterday afternoon I thought our body language and our bowling was very disappointing and we allowed Northants to take the game away from us.

"I can't take anything away from them - Ben Sanderson and Brett Hutton bowled really, really well - but we were blown away again today. We need to be better all round. There was a great opportunity today for someone to put a big score on the board and we weren't able to do that. We need more lads to put their hands up than guys like Ollie Robinson and Ben Brown. We've had a couple of tough games but we need to be better."

They seemed to be making a better fist of things when Varun Chopra and Luke Wells took the score to 35 for 1 but Sussex then lost nine wickets for 70 runs with Ben Sanderson and Brett Hutton again wreaking havoc.

Sanderson's 4 for 18 in two spells included the 200th first-class wicket of his career. He finished with match figures of 10 for 50 while Hutton improved on his 3 for 47 in the first innings by taking 4 for 32 in the second to finish with a match haul of 7 for 79.

There were boos from some Sussex supporters when a second successive defeat was confirmed shortly after 4pm. Although they remain third in Division Two they have played a game more than most of their rivals, many of whom could overtake them depending on results in the other matches which finish on Wednesday.

Once again Sussex's batsmen were like rabbits in the headlights against a relentless Northamptonshire attack who found a consistent length and enough seam movement and swing to take nine wickets in 19 overs during the afternoon session.

Sussex began their notional pursuit of a target of 499 25 minutes before lunch but they didn't get to the interval unscathed with Phil Salt pinned in Hutton's second over for one of three ducks in the innings.

The experienced Chopra, who is on loan from Essex, and Wells, negotiated 12 overs either side of lunch but when Wells (11) nibbled fatally at Hutton's away-swing the innings went into a dramatic tail spin.

Laurie Evans (3) became Hutton's third victim and with the score still on 41 Chopra (22) was caught behind off Nathan Buck, who then had Delray Rawlins (8) taken mid-off off a mis-timed pull.

Skipper Ben Brown decided to go down fighting, hitting five fours and two sixes - both in the only over bowled by off-spinner Rob Keogh - as he dominated a sixth-wicket stand of 28 with David Wiese.

But when Sanderson returned to the attack Sussex's last five wickets disappeared for 13 runs with Sanderson removing Wiese and Will Beer in the space of three balls before Keogh clung on to a good catch in the gully to remove Brown for 46 in the paceman's next over.

Sanderson finished things off by bowling Aaron Thomason, Hutton having picked up his fourth wicket when wicketkeeper Adam Rossington held his fourth catch of the innings to remove Ollie Robinson.

Earlier, Buck hit a 59-ball half-century as Northants added a further 119 runs during the morning session before being bowled out for 331. Resuming on 212 for 4, they lost their first three wickets to Robinson, who finished with match figures of 10 for 132. His performance was the lone positive for Sussex.

Buck was dismissed two balls after reaching his half-century when he top-edged a pull at Abi Sakande before left-arm spinner Rawlins picked up two wickets to finish with 3 for 34.

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Warwickshire 400 for 3 (Sibley 207*, Rhodes 109) trail Kent 585 for 7 dec (Bell-Drummond 166, Dickson 161) by 185 runs

Warwickshire's Dominic Sibley's found claims that he had become the first batsman to reach 1,000 first-class runs for the season put under scrutiny as Glamorgan's Marnus Labuschagne also laid claim to the honour.

But what was abundantly clear was that Sibley - like Labuschagne - underlined that he is an Ashes contender as Kent's bowlers continued their thankless toil on day three of this Specsavers County Championship run-fest in Canterbury.

Sibley's record includes runs in the pre-season opener to the county season between MCC and the Champion County which was traditionally staged at Lord's but which now takes place in the UAE.

In a phenomenal display of concentration and will power, Sibley, the 23-year-old former Surrey batsman, took his total crease occupation to almost nine hours in reaching an unbeaten 207 from 409 balls and 31 fours.

After his marathon innings a delighted Sibley said: "We've played on some tough wickets this year and I was thinking about this opportunity a lot last night, and I told myself that I really needed to make the most of this chance."

As for his chances of forcing his name into the hat for potential Ashes selection, Sibley added: "A lot of people are chatting about it and there's a bit of hype surrounding my name, but I just want to keep batting and scoring runs. It's really that simple. If I keep batting and stay in the grove then who knows? We'll see what happens."

The World Cup has quickened conversation around Jason Roy but England are also watching Sibley - and neither England opening berth is pinned down with the likes of Keaton Jennings and Rory Burns the current incumbents.

Sibley's stoical innings helped Warwickshire to close on a season's best 400 for 3 off 143 overs as the visitors responded to Kent's summer's-best total of 585 for 7 declared.

Against a fellow Division One county in distress, which has had to resort to several loan signings to keep body and soul together, Kent have somehow produced one of the flattest pitches of the season.

Sibley and his opening partner Will Rhodes took advantage of the most placid batting conditions of the season to post a record opening stand of 221 in first-class matches between Kent and Warwickshire.

Having resumed on 142 without loss, Kent introduced the off-spin of Ollie Rayner after an hour but Rhodes swept his fifth delivery for a boundary to take Warwickshire past 196 - their previous best championship opening stand against Kent recorded by Dominic Ostler and Roger Twose at Edgbaston in 1989.

Rhodes again swept Rayner for his 14th boundary to reach his first century of the summer from 218 balls, but, only nine runs later, the left-hander chased a wide, full delivery from Grant Stewart to be caught behind for 109.

After lunch, Rob Yates succumbed to the second new ball when he nibbled outside off against Darren Stevens to be caught at slip as Kent's attack, which had hitherto banked maximum bowling points in every game, missed out completely.

Sibley, who became marooned in the 90s for 48 minutes, finally reached three-figures after tea with a clip to the mid-wicket ropes. The 10th century of his first-class career came off 241 balls and included 16 fours.

Kent made their next breakthrough when Sam Hain (40) aimed to glance against Harry Podmore only to be caught off a fine edge by Ollie Robinson, the in-form Kent keeper, diving way to his left.

Sibley ploughed on however, moving past his previous best score for Warwickshire of 144 not out scored against Sussex at Hove last season. He then went onto the back-foot to pull a Podmore bumper for four to reach 175 for his 1,000th first-class run of the season.

The landmark boundary also took him past Nick Knight's 174 scored against Kent at Canterbury in 1995, Warwickshire's highest individual score in matches between the two counties.

Sibley's record-breaking continued when, just before stumps, he reached the third double century of his career and his first for Warwickshire from 406 balls and with 30 fours as he and Adam Hose cut Kent's first-innings lead to 185 runs.

Though Kent could only manage to pick up one wicket in each of the three sessions, they will take some solace in restricting the Bears to only three batting bonus points as the dogfight to avoid championship relegation continues.

However, a final day of leather-chasing awaits Heino Kuhn's side on Wednesday, when Sibley will have one eye on surpassing his career-best 242, scored for his native Surrey against Yorkshire at The Kia Oval in 2013.

Australia 178 for 8 (Healy 66, Ecclestone 3-34) beat England 177 (Sciver 64, Perry 3-43) by two wickets

Australia - led by the bowling of Ellyse Perry and the batting of Alyssa Healy - have claimed early Ashes honours, winning a tight opening contest by two wickets in the first one-dayer at Leicester.

England never recovered from a top-order batting collapse, led by Perry's three wickets, despite the best efforts of England spinner Sophie Ecclestone, who claimed 3-34 as the tourists wobbled in their modest run chase. They reached the target with 45 balls remaining on the back of Healy's half-century but, in the face of some tense moments at the death, the match was much closer than it might appear on paper.

The hosts crumbled to 19 for 4 after Perry had Amy Jones out attempting a pull which ballooned to Healy behind the stumps and accounted for Jones's fellow opener, Tammy Beaumont, who chopped on a short time later.

Megan Schutt bowled Sarah Taylor with an in-swinger and then Perry had Heather Knight out lbw for a duck, walking across her stumps.

It became 44 for 5 for England when Fran Wilson was out to a dubious lbw decision to spinner Jess Jonassen. Replays showed Wilson clearly gloved the ball first but, with no player review system in place for this series, Wilson could do nothing but march off the field making no secret of her consternation.

Natalie Sciver launched a salvage mission with a spirited 64 off 95 balls but when she and Katherine Brunt were out lbw, to Jonassen and Delissa Kimmince respectively, and Anya Shrubsole was caught brilliantly by a leaping Rachael Haynes at mid-off, it fell to Sophie Ecclestone to carry on the attempted fightback.

Orthodox spinner Ecclestone showed fine touch, reaching 27 of as many deliveries, including five fours, but her cameo ended when she attempted to loft Ashleigh Gardner for a second four in a row but found Beth Mooney just inside the long-on boundary.

Laura Marsh was left standing unbeaten on 24 off 52 when Schutt bowled Kate Cross with a beautiful leg-cutter which clattered into off-stump.

Chasing just 178 for victory, Australia more than fancied their chances. Despite the early loss of Nicole Bolton, caught behind attempting to drive Shrubsole, the tourists were in control at 41 for 1 after the first Power Play.

But Brunt, celebrating her 34th birthday and in the rare position of first-change bowler, made the breakthrough with the first ball of her second over when she had Meg Lanning out to a plumb leg-before decision.

Sarah Taylor's stunning glovework shone as usual with a leg-side stumping to dismiss Ellyse Perry cheaply off the bowling of Sciver.

The England bowlers kept the pressure on Australia by claiming wickets at fairly regular intervals, including that of the dangerous Alyssa Healy - who reached 66 off 71 balls before holing out to Wilson off Marsh. By the time Marsh bowled Beth Mooney, who attempted to work the ball over the keeper but missed, Australia were 150 for 7 and, while the run rate required was easily attainable, England were in with a sniff if they could just take the reamaining wickets.

Shrubsole put down what should have been a regulation caught-and-bowled off Kimmince, demonstrating the less-than-assertive fielding that had bothered both sides at times during the match. Ecclestone gave England a glimmer of hope with her penultimate ball, when she tempted Jonassen into a stroke that went straight to Shrubsole at mid-on.

Needing 11 runs off the last 10 overs, the Australians held their nerve, Kimmince struck a lofted four off Brunt which had everyone's hearts in their mouths as it went just wide of star fielder Wilson and five wides off the next ball sealed a low-key end to a thrilling contest.

Bangladesh coach Steve Rhodes said that they are disappointed with their exit from the World Cup, but hoped that they would be remembered as the "people's team" for the fight they have shown against top sides.

In a must-win game to qualify for the semi-finals, they fell 29 runs short of India's 314, but their wins over South Africa, West Indies and Afghanistan added excitement and a bit of drama to the World Cup, particularly at stages when rain threatened to turn the tournament into a farce.

Rhodes also said that they were happy to bring down India's score to 314 as they looked to be pulling ahead towards a 350-plus score at the halfway stage of their innings.

"I wish luck to the guys who are in that semi-final, but I wish it was us," Rhodes said. "I am very proud with the way we played against the big teams. Maybe we will be the people's team for the amount of fight we have shown.

"I think we did well after that opening blitz by Rohit Sharma. We were very happy at the halfway stage to be chasing that score. It could well have been 370-380, or 400 at one stage. We showed a lot of spirit and fight to come back. It was pleasing to see. It was a reflection of the team. We have three victories but we also pushed these big teams throughout the competition. With a little bit of luck, we may have been one of these top four teams.

Rhodes added that when playing against top teams, Bangladesh needed to start better, and that the toss had also been a point of difference.

"There are a lot of disappointed cricketers and coaches in the dressing room," he said. "We were desparate to do well in the competition to take it further. It wasn't to be. We played against a good team, a side that are currently ranked No 1 in the world. We pushed them but we made a few early mistakes. I think you need to get out of the blocks really well against a team like India. We were playing catch-up for a lot of the match.

"In the defense of some of the batsmen, the toss was crucial. As you saw in the England match, the cutters and slower balls were difficult. When you get out to a slower ball, and chip it to someone in the ring, it looks like a really soft dismissal. Sometimes you have to give credit to the bowlers for deceiving the batsmen. The toss probably cost 20-30 runs, so 29 runs made it an even game."

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The Rugby Football Union says it is comfortable with the set-up at the Women's Rugby Super Series, despite concerns over facilities in San Diego.

The five best teams in the world - New Zealand, England, France, Canada and the USA - are meeting in a highly-anticipated round-robin tournament.

Most matches are taking place on a dry training pitch, with pop-up changing tents and limited seating for fans.

England started the event with a 38-5 win over the USA on Friday.

While it is believed the England camp have been surprised by the low-key nature of the event, RFU women's rugby chief Nicky Ponsford is satisfied the facilities are in line with what was agreed before the competition.

It's understood Ponsford has spoken to the other teams involved in the last 24 hours.

USA Rugby - who are running the tournament - add that the "practical set-up was something discussed with all teams before the tournament" and that the venue "is not specifically set up to host a large number of spectators".

"Moving forward, we will continue to support the teams and produce this important event for the international audience," added a USA Rugby statement.

World governing body World Rugby are not involved in the delivery of the competition but have assisted with the pre-tournament logistical costs. The west coast of the USA was one of very few possible locations given the travel and time-zones involved.

The final two of the eight scheduled matches are away from the Chula Vista Training Center at the better-equipped Torero Stadium, where England will play New Zealand and France meet the USA a week on Sunday.

England's next match is against Canada on Sunday July 6.

MADERA, Calif. — Madera Speedway, Naake-Klauer Motorsports and Race Face Brand Development officials have jointly announced the inaugural Junior Late Model Challenge Camp, for drivers between the ages of 10 and 15.

The camp will give 12 drivers an opportunity, free of charge, to compete for the chance to drive a Naake-Klauer Motorsports-prepared junior late model during 51FIFTY Championship Weekend at Madera on Oct. 5.

Applications will be accepted through July 12 at noon ET. To apply, visit jrlatemodelchallengecamp.com.

The Junior Late Model Challenge Camp is an extension of the highly-successful 51FIFTY Junior Late Model Series, which was created by Madera Speedway owner Kenny Shepherd in 2016 to give younger drivers the chance to grow their skills in full-size race cars, with national television exposure on MAVTV.

Graduates of the 51FIFTY Junior Late Model program at Madera include NASCAR K&N Pro Series winner Hailie Deegan, JR Motorsports CARS Tour regular Adam Lemke and Toyota Racing Development midget driver Jesse Love.

“The goal with our Junior Late Model Series is to create the sport’s next superstars,” noted Shepherd, “And the Junior Late Model Challenge Camp is a nationwide talent search that I’m extremely excited about, as this leads us closer to a real farm system to ensure we are propelling the best talent to the top of the sport.”

Drivers for the Junior Late Model Challenge Camp, which will be held Aug. 16-17 at Madera, will be selected by a five-person panel based on factors including racing accomplishments, history and experience.

The pool of applicants will be narrowed to 50 prospects on July 13, before 12 finalists are selected from that group three days later.

Once the 12 finalists are determined, six drivers will take to Madera Speedway on Aug. 16, with the other six drivers getting their turns behind the wheel on Aug. 17.

Each driver will have the chance to have 90 minutes of on-track time, as well as participate in off-track training seminars during their time at the camp. The 12 finalists will be graded on both on-track and off-track potential, and on-track speed will not be used as a deciding factor.

The camp winner will be announced on Aug. 30, earning a ride with Naake-Klauer Motorsports during the Madera junior late model finale at no cost, with no crash clause due for the opportunity.

The Junior Late Model Challenge Camp will be taped for broadcast on MAVTV as a one-hour special, as an offshoot of the successful Junior Late Model Series television package on the network.

It has been five years since the KRAVE Group took over America’s top motorcycle road racing series and Wayne Rainey, three-time world champion and successful team owner, has learned a lot.

“Being a racer, I thought the guys that ran the sport didn’t know what the hell they were doing most of the time. I quickly figured out they knew more than I thought,” Rainey said. “This side of the fence has been a lot of work. As a team owner or a racer, you are working for yourself and what it takes to be competitive. Representing 130 or 140 racers, each with their own situation, has been eye opening for sure.”

Half a decade in, the series thought to be near death’s door when Rainey’s group took control, has survived and even seen some marked improvements. The competition level of the series has vastly improved and Rainey’s group has its best TV deal yet for 2019. There is more progress to be made, but the foundation of the series is much stronger. “It’s taken five years to get to this point,” he said. “We’re excited.”

MotoAmerica, as the series was rebranded when Rainey’s group took the helm, had plenty to improve upon back then. Motorcycle road racing in America was in total shambles, with no TV, a limited schedule of a half-dozen events and a dwindling number of teams. There was no real post-recession recovery for the motorcycle industry and the Daytona Motorsports Group was ready to give up on road racing.

Rainey and his partners had numerous philosophical differences with the previous series organizers. While DMG wanted to make the series insular and uniquely American and perhaps a two-wheeled version of NASCAR, MotoAmerica wanted to realign with the world championships to help Americans contend on an international level.

“We had to do something to try to give our riders an opportunity to race in the world championship, if they wanted, and to get international riders to come into our championship and have a competitive ride,” Rainey noted. “In our case, how we ended up in the series and the partners I am with, there was a real need to get the championship and get it stable and get it where our racers and teams can be competitive — not just here but abroad. That was our main point. I think, in general, it worked.”

Changes seen throughout the motorsports landscape also meant a new reality in motorcycle road racing. MotoAmerica couldn’t just change course and go back to doing what had been done in the past.

“What we didn’t see coming was racing 10 or 15 years ago was a heck of a lot different than what it looks like now,” Rainey explained. “Back then, there was a lot more manufacturer participation in the series, there were more riders and teams, there were more international riders. Twenty years ago, the American championship was very competitive. A lot of the international riders came through our championship. The rest of the world started getting their (national) championships under control and that worked well for them. For us, it went a little stagnant.”

With four factory bikes left in the premier class and only a handful of “real” Superbikes remaining to augment them, the first obstacle was to boost those numbers. It was no surprise that Rainey, with his ties to world championship organizer Dorna, looked to the World Superbike championship for a rules package. The goal was to make things competitive and bringing the machines the rest of the world uses back to America.

“The way our rules work, we follow the FIM World Superbike rules,” Rainey said. “There are spending caps put on the electronics, so this keeps the factory teams from running away. The competition in every class has been the part we haven’t had to mess with much. It seems every race, somebody’s duking it out for the lead. It’s going well.”

Privateer J.D. Beach and Attack Performance scored a surprise victory at Virginia Int’l Raceway earlier this year.

“It was massively popular in our series, not just because J.D. is a popular rider and Attack Performance is one of the teams coming on the past coupe of years. The way the rules are laid out, it shows you can be competitive on a privateer team and a privateer bike against the factory teams,” Rainey explained. “A good example of that was J.D. winning at VIR. It was mixed conditions, half-wet, half-dry and they were able to put together a package and he won the race. They have been knocking at the door, along with the Westby team and Mathew Scholz. They are right there as well. Kyle Wyman has brought a Ducati to the series and he led when it was really wet in that race. BMW is there, Kawasaki has some bikes in the series, Jake Lewis on his Suzuki with John Ulrich’s team and also Jake Gagne coming back from World Superbike and riding the BMW. He’s been injured a bit but I think when everyone is healthy, it is very competitive. It shows the rules are working.”

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