Gloucestershire 189 for 4 (Klinger 74, Hammond 56) beat Somerset 164 (Babar 44, Smith 3-19) by 25 runs

Michael Klinger marked probably his last innings at the Bristol County Ground with a match-winning 74 to lead Gloucestershire to a vital 25-run Vitality Blast win over arch-rivals Somerset.

The home side posted 189 for 4 after losing the toss in front of an 8000 crowd, Klinger leading the way with eight fours and a six in his 52-ball innings, while Miles Hammond hit 56 from 43 deliveries. Max Waller was the pick of the Somerset attack, bowling his four overs for 25 runs. In reply, Somerset could manage only 164 all out, Babar Azam contributing 44. Tom Smith claimed 3 for 19 and Graeme van Buuren 2 for 27.

The victory strengthened Gloucestershire's hopes of reaching the quarter-finals, while leaving west country neighbours with much to do over their last three group matches.

Fresh from receiving a presentation from club officials to mark his seven years of service before the game, Klinger quickly gave Gloucestershire's innings momentum, hitting three fours from successive balls in the second over, sent down by Jerome Taylor. Soon opening partner Hammond was joining in as 54 came from the six overs of Powerplay. By the halfway point in their innings, the hosts were well placed at 84 without loss.

Hammond reached a 39-ball half-century and hit the first six of the game off Roelof van der Merwe before being caught at wide long-on in the same over, the 13th, with the total on 105.

Klinger went to his fifty off 38 balls and the 15th over, bowled by van der Merwe, saw James Bracey smack two sixes in succession. He perished for 20, but Jack Taylor ensured Gloucestershire of a meaningful score with 23 off 10 balls.

Klinger departed to a standing ovation in the final over, raising his bat to all sides of the ground as he walked off.

Somerset's reply had reached 20 in the third over when Tom Banton was caught at long-on off David Payne, having just hit the left-arm seamer for six. By the end of the Powerplay the visitors had 59 on the board, Babar and Hildreth scoring quickly with classical strokeplay. Barbar played a textbook 29-ball innings, featuring six fours, before being beaten by a turning delivery from Smith in the tenth over and stumped by Bracey. At halfway Somerset were 91 for 2.

Smith struck again to remove Eddie Byrom off a skyer in the 12th over and when Hildreth was brilliantly stumped by Bracey off a leg-side wide from van Buuren a Somerset slump set in. Craig Overton fell to a big shot off van Buuren and Tom Abell to a reverse sweep off Smith, who finished four accurate overs to a rousing ovation from home fans.

With five overs left, Somerset required 59. Tom Lammonby hit sixes off van Buuren and Andrew Tye to keep his side's hopes alive, finding a lively partner in van der Merwe, who contributed a breezy 17 before falling to Ryan Higgins, leaving 29 needed from 13 balls. But tt proved too much as Tye claimed two wickets in the 19th over and Ryan Higgins wrapped things up with the third ball of the last.

Joe Root wasn't just battling to save this match. And he wasn't just battling to save his side's hopes in the Ashes. He was, perhaps, battling to save his captaincy.

Few England captains survive two Ashes series defeats to lead their side into a third. Archie MacLaren did so, but that was more than a century ago and he had been replaced in between series. Archie didn't have Twitter to deal with, either.

But it wasn't just defeat that threatened Root. It was the thought that captaincy may be getting the better of him. England had been a bit of a shambles at the end of day two and the start of day three. Root himself had put down a relatively straightforward catch at slip - Marnus Labuschagne was on 14 at the time; it may yet prove a crucial moment - they had conceded over-throws and started to snipe at one another in the field. Increasingly it was looking hard to sustain the belief that Root was the man to drive this side forward.

ALSO READ: Labuschagne sets the example for Australia - and England

More than that, Root's primary problem was the diminishing returns from his own bat. In a side as parched for runs as England, any drop of output from their best batsman cannot be accommodated. Going into this innings, Root was averaging 18.85 in Test cricket this summer having suffered consecutive ducks in his previous two innings. Overall, he averaged 52.88 when not captain and 40.41 when captain. The evidence was starting to suggest he had been worn down by the burden of the role. The whispers were growing that, for his own good as much as the team's, it might be necessary to make a change.

That would be a nightmare for England's team management. There are few obvious alternatives for the role - Ben Stokes, perhaps, or, maybe Stuart Broad for the rest of the summer - and it would spell defeat in England's rebuilding efforts of the last few years. But, tough though the decision might have been, it was increasingly looking as if it might appear necessary.

Moments after Root came to the crease, England subsided to 15 for 2 requiring 344 more for victory. It looked a hopeless task. No England side has ever made such a total to win a Test and there's not much about this side - the team that have lost 10 wickets in a single session four times in the last three years - to suggest they will be the ones to change history.

But, at last, they found some resistance. Not swashbuckling, counterattacking, blistering resistance. The more substantial kind. The kind that is prepared to wait and leave and take blows to the body. The kind that reminds us that batting isn't just about eye-catching shots, but tight defence and well-judged leaves. It's about hours of careful accumulation.

Root was beaten at times. Josh Hazlewood, in particular, bowled beautifully and might, with a slice of luck, have won the battle. But while England pushed and prodded at deliveries in the first innings, here Root defended with bat in front of his eyes, played the line and refused to be lured into jabbing at the ball as it left him. His first three boundaries were all the result of soft hands combatting well directed deliveries and guided - sometimes with more than a hint of edge about them - to third man.

As his innings progressed, there were one or two more expansive shots. When Nathan Lyon over-pitched, for example, Root leaned into a cover driven boundary that registered his half-century from 120-balls. The next delivery, Lyon dropped short and Root turned him to fine leg for four more. And when Lyon removed his slip, Root responded with a reverse-sweep for another boundary.

But he had earned the right to those strokes. He had seen off the bowlers at their freshest and the ball at its hardest. He had forced them into third and fourth spells and, for perhaps the first time this series, exposed the limitations of Australia's three-man pace attack. This is how Test batting used to look.

One of the more remarkable moments in Root's innings came when he had scored 59. It earned no applause and will probably not feature on any highlights package. But his ability to keep out one delivery from Hazlewood - a ball that jagged in and kept horribly low - was remarkable; a testament to the batsman's hand-eye coordination and the manner in which he was keeping his eye on the ball.

It was, for the most part, good old-fashioned Test batting. There was none of this nonsense about needing to be positive or putting the pressure back on the bowler by hitting them for boundaries. Instead it was about the importance of remaining compact, the importance of wearing bowlers down and the importance of selling his wicket for the highest price possible. It was, in short, the innings of a leader.

He received admirable support from Joe Denly. There have been times in this series - really quite long times, not least in this game - when Denly has looked some way short of the standard required to sustain success at this level. Even in this innings, there were times when his most productive shot was the leave; so late was he on some leaves, that the ball flashed away off the face of the withdrawing bat to the boundary.

But there should be no doubting his toughness or determination. The Australian bowlers gave him a wonderfully sustained examination against the short-ball and, while he rarely looked anything other than hugely uncomfortable, he never took a backward step and he never gave it away. Eventually, he too produced a cut, a clip and a drive or two that suggested this attack could, in time, be overcome. He earned this half-century through bravery, bruises and bloody-mindedness.

And then there's Stokes. Forget, for a moment, the fact that he reached stumps having batted 50 balls for 2. That's an admirable demonstration of restraint, for sure. But it pales into insignificance beside his effort with the ball. Had it not been for Stokes' incredible spell - his 24.2 overs, every one of them dripping with pace and hostility, were broken only by night and four balls from Jofra Archer - this Ashes campaign would have been decided already. Not for the first time, his figures - 3 for 56 and 2 not out - provide little insight into the enormity of his commitment and contribution.

Australia remain overwhelming favourites for this match and this series. With the pitch exhibiting signs of uneven bounce and a new ball due after eight overs on the fourth day, Root may consider that his work has hardly begun. It would be little less than a miracle if England pulled this off.

But Root has, at least, shown that he has the character and skill to perform under pressure. And he has shown the leadership qualities to coax performances out of his team. Maybe, just maybe, Root can lead his side through such hardships in the manner in which Allan Border did so when captaining Australia during the defeat of 1985 and 1986-87. Border, after all, then went on to lead his side to success in the next three Ashes series. There were moments, at least, on Saturday when Root suggested he had the skill and the fortitude to do something similar.

A day after former Georgia quarterback Jacob Eason was officially named Washington's starter, sophomore backup Jake Haener has decided to leave the program, the school announced.

Haener played in four games last year and completed nine passes for 107 yards with one touchdown and an interception as Jake Browning's backup.

Although he lost the starting job to Eason, coach Chris Petersen said Friday that he planned to play Haener in the 13th-ranked Huskies' season opener against Eastern Washington on Aug. 31.

"It was awesome," Petersen said of the competition. "Jake Haener and Jacob Eason, obviously two really good quarterbacks. Tight competition, and you take it as long as you can and you've got to make a decision and roll with it. Jake Haener will play in that first game. He should, he deserves it and he will."

With Haener gone, redshirt freshman Jacob Sirmon and true freshman Dylan Morris now will compete for the backup spot behind Eason.

Redshirt freshman Colson Yankoff transferred to UCLA in June but is expected to sit out the 2019 season after Washington didn't support his waiver for immediate eligibility.

Houston Texans starting running back Lamar Miller was taken off the field on a cart during the first quarter of the team's preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday.

On first down, Miller was tackled by Cowboys tackle Maliek Collins, who hit him just above the left knee. Miller grabbed his left leg and was checked out by the medical staff. He was eventually carted off.

Miller has been the Texans' lead back since 2016. In 14 games last season, he ran for 973 yards on 210 carries and scored five touchdowns. Miller is entering the last season of a four-year contract.

Houston traded for running back Duke Johnson earlier in the month but was hoping to feature both backs in their offense. Miller was replaced in the game by Taiwan Jones.

ATLANTA -- Six spectators were injured when lightning struck a tree at East Lake Golf Club on Saturday afternoon during a weather delay at the Tour Championship.

Lightning struck the top of a tree near the 15th green/16th tee and shattered bark all the way to the bottom. The PGA Tour said in a statement that debris from the strike injured four people, who were transported via ambulances to local hospitals along with two others.

According to the PGA Tour, the injuries "do not appear to be life-threatening.''

Play in the third round of the event had been halted at 4:17 p.m. ET due to dangerous weather in the area. Players were taken off the course and many spectators left. There were two lightning strikes that occurred at approximately 4:45 p.m.

Due to the circumstances, the third round was suspended for the day, with play set to resume at 8 a.m. ET on Sunday.

"I think most of us saw what happened yesterday (when there was a weather delay), and we'd adjust accordingly today,'' said Matt Kuchar, who had completed seven holes when play was called. "We trust the Tour to do the right thing. This is an easy one to Monday morning quarterback and we should of and could of, but we didn't.''

Tee times began at 1 p.m. on Saturday despite ominous weather reports for the mid-to-late afternoon. Leaders Brooks Koepka and Justin Thomas did not tee off until 3:20 p.m.

"We had a situation where there were pop-up thunderstorms,'' said Mark Russell, the PGA Tour's vice president of rules and competitions. "We have a meteorologist on staff. We can monitor that. And a lot of times we get lucky and we don't get hit with thunderstorms, especially when it's a situation when they're pop-ups like that.

"Now, that's what we were faced with. So, we're going to see if we can deal with that. We can suspend play and get people out of here if that does happen, but a lot of times we're on the positive side, hoping that we can play golf and get lucky and not be in the path of those thunderstorms.''

Asked why tee times were not moved up far earlier in the day to take any luck out of the situation, Russell said: "I think if we did that every time we had a possibility of thunderstorms in the Southeast, we'd do that basically every time we played golf.''

Added Tyler Dennis, the tour's vice president and chief of operations: "We have a professional meteorologist that's on site every week on all of our tours. And forecasting the weather, the safety that goes along with it -- that is critical to us. Safety obviously, but just managing what we do out here. I think many of you that follow the Tour around know that just about every day of the year when we're looking at the scheduled play for the next day or the format, we're taking into account all kinds of factors with that. You know, safety, as we're talking about right now, and other things related to the competition.

"And so we have a lot of scenarios throughout the year where we look at it, and there's a very high degree of certainty that there will be storms coming. And there's a lot of other days when we look at it and we see, as it was today -- I believe it was a 50 to 60% chance of storms from 3:00 to 6:00 this afternoon -- and we just have to evaluate it and make our best decision when we make the schedule.

"Obviously when it comes down to suspension of play, we don't leave any room for error there. Safety is a huge priority for us.''

ESPN's Mark Schlabach contributed to this report.

HOUSTON -- James Harden isn't just playing around in pickup games when he launches the one-legged, step-back 3-pointers seen in viral videos shot during open runs this summer.

Harden, the Houston Rockets' superstar who led the NBA in scoring the past two seasons, is searching for ways he can continue to improve and innovate his game.

"I'm always trying to be creative," Harden told ESPN after giving away bicycles to dozens of children at Houston's Tuffly Park as part of his annual charity weekend. "I'm always trying to get better -- at basketball, life, business-wise. I'm always trying to find ways to be impactful. With basketball, you have to be creative. This is my 11th year, and every single year I want to get better. I don't want to stay the same. You've got to find ways to keep growing."

Harden, whose step-back has emerged as arguably the league's most lethal weapon over the past few years, said he doesn't know whether he's yet confident enough in the one-legged variation to use it in games that count. But that goal has been in Harden's mind as he made that shot a focus of his summer work.

"I'm not sure; it's something that I work on," Harden said when asked if he'll use the one-legged, step-back 3 this season. "But you know how Mike [Jordan] has his fadeaway and Dirk [Nowitzki] has his one-leg and [Kareem Abdul-Jabbar] had the sky hook, I want my step-back to be one of those moves that last forever. So when I travel around the world and I see little kids that [say], 'Hey James, I got a step-back!' -- I love to see that.

"It's me being a creator and me being an innovator and paving the way in basketball in my own way, doing it how I want to do it, and that's what it's all about. As a little kid playing in these parks, that's what I imagined, that's what I dreamed of. Now it's coming to reality, so it's pretty cool."

When Harden mentioned playing in the parks, he motioned toward the Tuffly Park basketball court, which was heavily damaged by Hurricane Harvey and will be refurbished with funds from his foundation 3 The Harden Way. It is one of several courts throughout the city that Harden's foundation will pay to refurbish.

"It means everything," said Houston mayor Sylvester Turner, whom Harden reached out to for guidance with his charitable efforts. "When you know you have needs in your city, especially parks that need substantial improvement, and then all of the sudden you get a phone call on your cell from The Beard and then for him to follow through -- man, it's a shot in the arm for these kids. It's a reminder to them that they have not been forgotten and that people care."

The event at Tuffly Park was part of the third annual JH-Town Weekend, which includes a concert, a comedy show and a celebrity softball game to raise money for Harden's foundation, which also has annual events in Houston to help the less fortunate at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

"Since I stepped here day one, they've embraced me," said Harden, a seven-time All-Star entering his eighth season in Houston. "They've opened the door and just showed me so much love that I felt the need to give it back.

"Obviously, I try to do my best to win games and do all that good stuff on the court, bring a championship to the city. That same time that I spend on the court doing what I need to do to prepare for basketball, I feel like that same energy needs to be spent in the community."

NEW YORK -- The first-place Atlanta Braves have signed catcher Francisco Cervelli and immediately plugged him into the starting lineup against the New York Mets.

Cervelli, who has a history of concussions, was recently granted his release by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He gives the National League East leaders a veteran replacement for injured catcher Brian McCann, who is sidelined with a sprained left knee.

The 33-year-old Cervelli joined the Braves on Saturday at Citi Field and was set to bat seventh against Mets right-hander Zack Wheeler. Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said Cervelli will split playing time with Tyler Flowers behind the plate and likely remain with the club when McCann returns because by then rosters will have expanded in September.

Cervelli batted .193 in 34 games for the Pirates this season before getting hurt. He is a .269 career hitter with 36 home runs in 700 major league games.

To make roster room for Cervelli, the Braves optioned catcher Alex Jackson to Triple-A Gwinnett and transferred left-hander Grant Dayton to the 60-day injured list.

San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval will have Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, ending his season, the team announced Saturday.

The decision to have reconstructive surgery was made after Sandoval met with Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Wednesday in Los Angeles. He will have the procedure in early September.

Sandoval, 33, hit .269 with 14 home runs and 41 RBIs in 107 games for the Giants this season.

The Giants had placed him on the 10-day injured list earlier this month with elbow inflammation, a condition manager Bruce Bochy said has bothered Sandoval to varying degrees for several years.

"He is in pain," Bochy said. "This has flared up before, but not quite like this. Sometimes it goes away in two or three days, and other times it's lingered. This time we can't get it to go away."

Although Tommy John surgery is more commonly associated with pitchers, a number of position players have also undergone the procedure in recent years, including Salvador Perez, Didi Gregorius, Corey Seager, Travis d'Arnaud and Gleyber Torres.

A member of the Giants' three World Series championship teams from 2010 to 2014, Sandoval has been a revelation since returning to San Francisco in 2017 after being released by the Boston Red Sox.

He's in the last year of a five-year, $95 million contract he signed with Boston in 2014, the bulk of which is being paid by the Red Sox.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

World No.1 at 100m, Christian Coleman, puts out statement proclaiming innocence after allegedly missing three drugs tests

Christian Coleman is confident he will be cleared of any wrongdoing at a hearing on September 4, following reports that the US Anti-Doping Agency has charged him with failing to “properly file his whereabouts information”.

The world No.1 at 100m allegedly missed three out-of-competition doping tests but in a statement given on Saturday to Ato Boldon, the commentator and 1999 world 200m champion, he protested his innocence and believes he will be given the green light to compete at the IAAF World Championships in Doha at the end of next month.

“I’m not a guy who takes any supplements at all, so I’m never concerned about taking drug tests, at any time,” said Coleman. “What has been widely reported concerning filing violations is simply not true.

“I am confident the upcoming hearing on September 4 will clear the matter and I will compete at World Championships in Doha this fall.

“Sometime after the hearing, I will be free to answer questions about the matter, but for now I must reserve and respect the process.”

Coleman, 23, holds the world title and world record at 60m, whereas at 100m he has run 9.82, 9.79 and 9.81 in the last three seasons.

He was due to compete in the Diamond League in Birmingham earlier this month but withdrew during race week citing problems with his preparations.

Triple jumper records 18.06m meeting record, while Lyles wins 200m in 19.65

Arguably, despite some notable efforts on the track, it was the men’s triple jump which produced the top performance of a very good Paris Diamond League meeting.

World leader Will Claye dominated the first two rounds with leaps of 17.36m and 17.39m, though world and Olympic champion Christian Taylor came close with a 17.38m third round and he improved to 17.49m in the fourth but Claye responded with a 17.71m leap.

Taylor went even further in round five with 17.82m to equal his season’s best but Claye’s response was a mighty 18.06m meeting record.

Claye said: “It was a great day. My confidence is very high and I’m in a very good space right now, physically and my mindset. This is the furthest I have ever jumped overseas and it’s hard to talk about a number for Doha but I want to win.”

The track highlight was provided by Noah Lyles who ran a stunning 200m to break Usain Bolt’s meeting record of 19.73.

He won by over three metres in 19.65 (0.2m/sec), a time that only he has bettered this year.

A distant second was world and European champion Ramil Guliyev in 20.01.

“I’m coming off a loaded week in training so that gives me confidence,” Lyles said. “It felt fast and it was the fastest I’ve ever felt coming off the turn.”

? 200 m ♂ (+0.2 m/s)
1⃣ @LylesNoah 19"65 MR ??
2⃣ @ramil_guliyev 20"01 ??
3⃣ @KingsleySC 20"13 ??

?Noah Lyles bat le record du meeting et efface Usain Bolt des tablettes !

?Noah Lyles broke @usainbolt's meeting record!#MeetingParis #ParisDL pic.twitter.com/MqgPbUx7rg

— MEETING de PARIS (@MEETINGPARIS) August 24, 2019

Elaine Thompson was impressive in winning the women’s 100m by almost two metres. Interestingly, though, her time was slightly slower than Dina Asher-Smith managed on the same day in Birmingham, despite a lighter headwind in Paris.

The Olympic champion won in 10.98 with Marie-Josee Ta Lou second in 11.13 and Dafne Schippers third in 11.15.

She said: “It was hard but with five weeks to go to Doha, I’m not at 100%      yet because it’s all about the World Championships.”

Daniel Roberts won the men’s 110m hurdles in an impressive 13.08 after his great rival Grant Holloway had led past halfway after a lightning start.

World and European champion Karsten Warholm started the night’s track action with a full one second victory in the 400m hurdles.

The Norwegian won in 47.26 with France’s Ludvy Vaillant second in a PB 48.30 and Kyron McMaster third in a season’s best 48.33.

The men’s 800m, which was not a Diamond League event, saw the pacemaker Abda Haran blast through 400m in 48.90. Canada’s Brandon McBride took it on and went through 600m in a still very fast 75.60 and on for a 1:41 clocking.

The final 200m took him a painful 28 seconds but he held on to win in a season’s best 1:43.78 but only just as Wesley Vasquez was a foot down in a Puerto Rican record 1:43.83.

World champion Pierre-Ambrose Bosse ran a season’s best 1:45.07 in sixth.

There was even greater depth in the 1500m. The pace was perfect with 54.97 at 400m and 1:52.19 at 800m and a big group of over a dozen was in contention at the bell which was reached in just over 2:35.

Ayanleh Souleiman led through 1200m in 2:50.02 and looked like he would hold off everyone but a fast finish from Ronald Musagala gave him victory by a foot.

His time was an Ugandan record-equalling 3:30.58 as he followed up his Birmingham victory one week earlier thanks to a well-timed 55 last lap.

Souleiman ran a season’s best 3:30.66 in second. Third place saw a battle between the Ingebrigtsens with Filip’s 3:31.06 getting the better of younger brother’s Jakob’s 3:31.33.

The first eight broke 3:32 including Australian Stewart McSweyn who equalled his PB of 3:31.81 in eighth while European Team Championships and Dream Mile winner Marcin Lewandowski could only finish 10th but his 3:31.95 was a Polish record.

Seven athletes broke two minutes in the women’s 800m. The opening lap was a far too fast 55.62 by Chanelle Price. Fellow USA athlete Raevyn Rogers led through 600m in an exciting 86.56 and looked good until hitting the straight and she faded to sixth as another American Hanna Green won in 1:58.39 with Natoya Goule second in 1:58.59.

The 1500m specialist Gudaf Tsegay was a distant last for much of the race but came through strongly to run a PB 1:59.52, just two hundredths behind Rogers, who had been three seconds ahead of her on the final bend!

The men’s 3000m steeplechase started promisingly with a 2:40.90 opening kilometre but the 2000m time of 5:28.29 ensured there would be no fast times.

On the last lap world leader Soufiane El Bakkali controlled it superbly and won in 8:06.64 to repel the challenge of Benjamin Kigen who was second in 8:07.09.

In the field the next most notable event to the men’s triple jump was a highly competitive women’s pole vault where Canadian Alysha Newman had the biggest win of her life.

After clearing 4.75m at the first attempt, a third time clearance at 4.82m gave her the win and a national record. Three others cleared 4.75m with Katerina Stefanidi beating Sanid Morris and Anzhelika Sidorova on countback.

A lower quality victory also went the way of Canada in the men’s high jump. There, Michael Mason won with 2.28m to defeat Andriy Protsenko and Ilya Ivanyuk on countback.

Another Commonwealth athlete, the 2015 world champion Tomas Walsh dominated the shot. He won with a meeting record and season’s best 22.44m. Joe Kovacs was runner-up with 22.11m where the top eight threw 21.20m or further.

World leader and world triple jump champion Yulimar Rojas further strengthened her position as favourite for Doha with a clear win in 15.05m.

Denia Caballero won the discus with a 66.91m throw as Sandra Perkovic was second with 65.01m.

World decathlon record-holder Kevin Mayer delighted the French crowd with a 13.55 win in the multi event 110m hurdles.

He also won the long jump with a 7.50m leap and was even more dominant in the shot which he won with another PB of 17.08m.

The women’s 400m was a close race but a strange one in that no one came remotely close to even a season’s best. Stephenie Ann McPherson finished strongly to win in 51.11.

The 110m hurdles B race was won by France’s Dimitri Bascou in 13.38 and France also won the women’s 4x100m in 43.48. However, the final event of the day, the men’s 4x100m, saw Canada win in a meeting record 38.26 to defeat France’s 38.67.

In the men’s 100m, Hassan Taftian equalled his Iranian record with 10.03 (-0.3m/sec).

Results can be found here.