Kinde Atanaw and Roza Dereje run course best marks, while Kaan Kigen Özbilen breaks Mo Farah’s European record

A number of records fell at the Valencia Marathon on Sunday as Kinde Atanaw and Roza Dereje both improved the course best marks and Kaan Kigen Özbilen broke the European record.

Making his marathon debut in a strong field featuring great depth, Ethiopia’s Atanaw clocked 2:03:51 to win the men’s ahead of Turkey’s Özbilen, whose 2:04:16 for the runner-up spot takes almost a minute off the European record of 2:05:11 which had been set by Britain’s Mo Farah in Chicago in 2018.

Ethiopia’s Guye Idemo Adola was third in 2:04:42, with Atanaw’s winning time moving him to joint 14th on the world all-time list.

Camilo Santiago was the top Spanish finisher, clocking 2:10:02, while Paul Pollock broke the Northern Ireland record, his 2:10:25 moving him to second on the Irish all-time list.

Former English National cross country champion Charlie Hulson clocked 2:14:23 on his marathon debut while his fellow Welshman Andrew Davies broke the British M40 record with 2:14:36.

There were many fast times in the women’s event, with a total of four athletes breaking 2:19 and five going sub-2:20 in the same race for the first time.

Dereje ran 2:18:30 to win ahead of her fellow Ethiopians Azmera Abreha (2:18:33) and Birhane Dibaba (2:18:46) as Kenya’s Vivian Cheruiyot, who was being paced by British Olympian Scott Overall, finished fourth in 2:18:52.

Dereje now sits eighth on the world all-time list, while Abreha moves to 10th and Dibaba to 12th.

When I dropped out of the WC I worried my season would be shut down. But I cross-trained, got physiotherapy from @polepolesana, and received support from @ESMINTL, @nike, @MaurtenOfficial, and others. I'm grateful to everyone for their role in CR win today @maratonvalencia ?? pic.twitter.com/TosP7YhBp8

— Roza Dereje (@DerejeRoza) December 1, 2019

Britain’s Stephanie Davis continued to impress as the Clapham Chasers athlete, who ran 2:32:38 from the mass start in London in April, further improved her PB with 2:27:42 to place 14th and achieve an Olympic qualifying time. That mark moves her to ninth on the UK women’s marathon all-time list.

Hayley Carruthers, who hit the headlines in April after crawling across the London Marathon finish line to a 2:33:59 PB, ran another PB – this time clocking 2:32:45.

After passing 25km in 88:17, Lily Partridge looks to have dropped out of the race.

The top Spanish female was Elena Loyo, who clocked 2:30:57.

The race programme in Valencia on Sunday also included a 10km for the final time, with Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei storming to a world road record of 26:38. Read more here.

More to follow…

Final bidding flurry expected ahead of auction close at 19:00 BST
By JAMES ROBERTS – Squash Mad Reporter

After a week of steady and generous bidding activity, organisers of the World Squash Day Auction 2019 are bracing themselves for what promises to be a final flurry of bidding activity to secure some collectable pieces of unique squash memorabilia.

This is the 4th auction of squash memorabilia that has been held in association with World Squash Day, with proceeds going to charitable causes such as Unicef and the John Batty Tournament’s chosen charity.

This year, the Auction has partnered with the PSA Foundation, which serves as the philanthropic arm of the Professional Squash Association. The Foundation’s mission is to inspire the next generation of squash players and foster the growth of our sport by making a positive impact on the communities that it reaches and by supporting the wellbeing of the professional players that spearhead this effort.

Star lots so far have proven to be, as expected, the World Squash Day shirt signed by an array of PSA World Tour stars who participated at the season opening events at Nantes and San Francisco. Current bidding for this stands at £100.

Daryl Selby however is demonstrating his popularity with squash fans, with his signed signature playing shirt also reaching £100 bid.

A poster for the Allam British Open 2019 held in May this year signed by the PSA players is also keeping pace with £100 having been bid for this so far.

A used squash ball has seen quite an array of competitive bidding, with a bid of £40 currently out in front. However, it is not any old squash ball, but one used in the final of the British Nationals 2019 between Champion James Willstrop and runner up Daryl Selby, signed by both players.

A Birmingham Lions Premier Squash League shirt signed by the Birmingham and Pontefract team line ups for their season-opening match completes the array of lots. This includes the signatures of 2 former World no. 1s James Willstrop and Laura Massaro, as well as the current Welsh No. 1 Joel Makin. £25 is the current highest bid, but this is sure to attract some last-minute bidding interest with that price looking on the low side.

Bidding will close tonight, Sunday 1st December at 19:00 BST (that is UK time). You can place your bids either via the Auction Facebook page, Twitter account or using direct messages through either platform. Links to these are also posted below. You can also email your bids to James Roberts, [email protected].

Please continue to bid generously to raise the maximum amount of money possible to support the great work of the PSA Foundation. Happy bidding!

World Squash Day Auction Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WSDAuction

World Squash Day Auction Twitter page: https://twitter.com/WSDAuction

To find out more about the work of the PSA Foundation, visit their website.

Pictures courtesy of  James Roberts

Pyramid power lifts world junior champion to new heights
By SEAN REUTHE – Squash Mad Correspondent

Egypt’s Hania El Hammamy has broken into the top 10 of the PSA Women’s World Rankings following her run to the semi-finals of the CIB PSA Women’s World Championship last month in front of the iconic Great Pyramid of Giza.

The 19-year-old El Hammamy, the reigning World Junior Champion, came back from two games down to stun World No.5 Camille Serme as she reached the last four of the biggest tournament in women’s squash before she was halted by eventual winner Nour El Sherbini.

El Sherbini, who captured her fourth World Championship trophy on her 24th birthday last month, moves up two places to No.2 as she sits behind runner-up Raneem El Welily, who completes a calendar year at World No.1.

U.S. Open champion Nouran Gohar drops a spot to No.3, while Nour El Tayeb is the other woman to feature in the top five after falling a place to No.4. 

New Zealand’s Joelle King stays at No.6, while Amanda Sobhy moves up a place to No.7, her highest ranking since April 2017, which came a month after she suffered a torn achilles at the Ciudad de Floridablanca tournament in Colombia.

As a result, Sarah-Jane Perry drops a place to No.8, her lowest ranking since October 2018, while Evans stays at No.9 ahead of El Hammamy.

Hong Kong’s Annie Au drops out of the top 10 to No.11, while Joshna Chinappa (No.12), Alison Waters (No.13), Salma Hany (No.14) and Victoria Lust complete the top 15.

Yathreb Adel moves up to a joint career-high ranking of No.16, with Olivia Blatchford Clyne rising two places to No.17. Nele Gilis stays at No.18, while Nadine Shahin reaches a career-high ranking of No.19. Hong Kong’s Joey Chan drops four spots as she completes the top 20.

The biggest mover on the women’s tour is South Korea’s Mingyeong Heo, who rises 80 places to World No.246 after reaching the Pacific Toyota Cairns Squash International quarter-finals. 

PSA Women’s World Rankings Top 20 – December 2019.

Report by SEAN REUTHE (PSA) Edited by ALAN THATCHER. 

Pictures courtesy of PSA 

Western Australia 4 for 70 (Marsh 32*, Agar 2-12) & 8 for 492 dec lead South Australia 353 (Carey 143, Stoinis 3-42) by 209 runs

Alex Carey sent a reminder of why he is a Test player in waiting, scoring an outstanding century to haul South Australia back from the brink against Western Australia at the WACA.

WA are still in command at stumps on day three, but they would be much further in front if not for Carey's stunning hand and some stubborn resistance from Chadd Sayers.

South Australia slumped to 7 for 154 early on day three. But Carey and Sayers dug in and produced a 128-run stand. Carey played magnificently, reaching his fourth Shield century and his second of the season. Sayers was excellent making 47. Even after Sayers fell, Carey got further support from Wes Agar to ensure South Australia kept WA's lead under 150. Carey was the second last man out for 143, his highest first-class score.

Agar made an early breakthrough in WA's second innings bowling Jake Carder from around the wicket when the opener didn't offer a shot. Cameron Bancroft's continued his run of unusual dismissals as he was strangled down the leg side off Liam Scott with Carey taking a good diving catch. Four of his previous five first-class dismissals had come caught at a leg slip or gully. Marcus Stoinis was pinned lbw for a duck by Joe Mennie before Ashton Turner skied a pull shot of Agar to leave WA leading by 209 with six wickets in hand and a day to play.

World 10,000m champion clocks 26:38 to improve Leonard Komon’s 2010 mark

Joshua Cheptegei stormed to a world 10km road record with 26:38 in Valencia on Sunday.

After world cross country and 10,000m titles won in March and October respectively, this record rounds out an impressive year for the 23-year-old Ugandan.

Clocking 13:24 for the first 5km, he went on to run a 13:14 second half to take six seconds off the world record set by Kenya’s Leonard Patrick Komon in 2010.

The record earned him a €40,000 paycheck as the 10km event was held alongside the marathon for the final time.

“World Cross champion in Denmark, 10,000m world champion in Doha and now the world record here in Valencia,” said Cheptegei. “What a year it has been. I can’t believe it!

“I knew that Valencia was going to be a really fast course, one of the fastest in the world. So to get to achieve what we came here for is something really special. This year has made me so happy.”

More to follow…

Mashrafe Mortaza will captain Dhaka Platoon during the 2019-20 Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) season. Mashrafe is recovering from a back injury, and had also sustained a groin injury last month. He has begun training with the Platoon team as part of his rehabilitation process.

Mashrafe has captained three BPL teams in the past, and led each of them to the title at least once: Dhaka Gladiators in 2012 and 2013, Comilla Victorians in 2015, and Rangpur Riders in 2017.

Despite all his success as a captain in the BPL, Mashrafe wasn't a popular choice in last month's player draft, since he hadn't played any competitive cricket since the World Cup in July. He missed the subsequent Sri Lanka series with a hamstring injury, and hasn't played any domestic cricket either.

Platoon eventually signed him as their second A-plus category pick, having earlier acquired Tamim Iqbal with the draft's first call.

Platoon coach Mohammad Salahuddin is confident Mashrafe will be available from the start of the tournament, which begins on December 11.

"I think he can play the whole tournament," Salauddin told reporters on Saturday. "I hope that he will perform. Today he bowled for the first time since his injury. There is a problem in his rhythm but I think that if he bowls for a few days then it will be sorted out. The main advantage for us is his experience. We can never deny that. When he will play, he will give 100 per cent effort.

"He has talked to the physio when he started bowling. He didn't feel any pain when he was bowling. It also looked normal to me. I think Mashrafe is more motivated than me. He has been doing practice individually for last few days to regain fitness. He has reduced his weight. He has been trying to be fit. I think he is more motivated to do well for himself and the team."

Platoon will take on Rajshahi Royals in their first match of the season in Mirpur on December 12.

Left-arm fast bowler Qazi Onikfaces a lengthy suspension after he failed a dope test during this season's National Cricket League. As a result, he has been removed from every BCB programme he had been part of previously, chief selector Minhajul Abedin said.

"The BCB's medical team informed us of his results," Minhajul told Bengali daily Kaler Kantho. "He wasn't allowed to play in the NCL thereafter, and his name was also withdrawn from the BPL draft. He was also part of some of our other programmes, but from there too we have withdrawn him."

Once the full report is ready, the BCB will take a decision based on its anti-doping policy.

Onik, now 20, had represented Bangladesh in the 2018 Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand, and was part of the Dhaka Dynamites set-up in the BPL earlier this year. So far, he has taken 15 wickets in four first-class matches, 41 wickets in 26 List-A games and 11 wickets in nine T20s.

He was talked up by some Bangladesh coaches as an international prospect, but his future remains uncertain now, as he awaits his punishment.

LONDON -- Frank Lampard has had better days. The Chelsea manager is quite rightly being extolled as a breath of fresh air at Stamford Bridge and in the Premier League this season, but this was a day when two of his old bosses proved that there is more to management than youthful exuberance and being the next big thing.

Lampard has been on an upward curve at Chelsea, exceeding expectations by putting his team in contention for Champions League qualification this season, and the recent sackings of Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham and Unai Emery at Arsenal mean he is already the longest-serving manager (he has only been in the job since June) among London's big three. But after being squeezed by Jose Mourinho and beaten 1-0 by Manuel Pellegrini's West Ham, the 41-year-old was given a reminder that management at the top level comes with its ups and downs.

"Shocked isn't the word; the Premier League is what it is," Lampard said after the game. "No game is given to you. There were always going to be days like this.

"It's one of those days and not a time for harsh reactions and judgments."

After losing at Manchester City last week, and then this home loss to West Ham, Lampard has taken a knock, however.

When Mourinho, the man who guided him to three Premier League title medals at Chelsea, took charge at Tottenham less than two weeks ago, Spurs were 12 points and 11 places behind Lampard's team in the league table. After beating Bournemouth on Saturday, at the same time as Chelsea were losing 1-0 at home to Pellegrini's men, Spurs closed the gap on Chelsea to six points and one position, ensuring that they are once again firmly back in the race for a top-four finish.

Lampard will feel Mourinho's breath on his neck now -- the two men meet again when Spurs visit Stamford Bridge on Dec. 22 -- but he will also watch the video of Saturday's defeat to West Ham knowing that he was outdone by Pellegrini, his manager for a season at City, in a game that Chelsea always expect to win. Prior to this fixture, West Ham had not won at Stamford Bridge since September 2002, when Jermain Defoe and two goals from Paolo di Canio secured a 3-2 victory for the Hammers.

Had West Ham lost this game, Pellegrini would have been clinging onto his job at the London Stadium. Last Saturday's 3-2 defeat at home to Spurs, in Mourinho's first game in charge, was their fifth loss in six league games and they had only drawn the other.

So a run of one point from a possible 18 had placed Pellegrini in jeopardy. The Chilean's position appeared even more vulnerable with the sacking of Emery on Friday because, with it coming less than two weeks after Pochettino's exit at Tottenham, we are now clearly into sacking season. It was merely a question of who would go next: Would it be Pellegrini, Everton's Marco Silva or Quique Sanchez Flores at Watford?

But by inspiring West Ham to victory at Chelsea, Pellegrini bought himself time, and also the earned the favour of the supporters, who will cherish this win more than most.

The former City, Real Madrid and Villarreal coach has earned a reputation for lacking passion and even enthusiasm over the years. There is little expression from the 66-year-old, on the touchline or when addressing the media, and his personality is cited as one factor why the West Ham fan base has struggled to warm to him.

But even if his job wasn't on the line, Pellegrini's actions at Chelsea suggested that he felt something had to change. He was more visible on the touchline, more expressive in the technical area, than usual and his second-half spat with Felipe Anderson, when the two men argued in the dugout after the forward was substituted, showed that Pellegrini does have fire in his belly when required and his players responded by performing like a squad that retains faith in their manager.

Pellegrini made a big call by dropping goalkeeper Roberto, who had conceded nine goals in his past three games, in favour of handing a debut to third-choice David Martin, the son of former West Ham defender Alvin Martin. That change, one of four from last week's defeat against Spurs, ignited the fans, who had chanted the keeper's name throughout, and his presence in goal gave the West Ham defenders the reassurance they have lacked in the absence of injured first-choice Lukasz Fabianski.

Having been overrun by Spurs last week week, West Ham were organised and spirited and deserved to take the lead through Aaron Cresswell on 48 minutes. Michail Antonio made it 2-0 20 minutes later, only for VAR to rule the goal out for handball.

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Cresswell's goal was enough for the three points, but Pellegrini insisted that fear for his own job was not a factor in the victory.

"The most difficult thing this week was not worry about my job, but to convince the players not to change," he said. "We had been making mistakes and they can lead to bad results, but we were consistent and solid all game.

"We didn't come here to draw. We played as we should always play and the players did very well."

Pellegrini might have played down his situation, but his reaction at the final whistle betrayed his true feelings when he congratulated every member of his backroom team with the kind of embraces and smiles that suggested relief was the greatest emotion.

It was a bad day for Lampard, but a great one for Pellegrini.

Chelsea suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to struggling West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Aaron Cresswell scored the winner in the second half to condemn Chelsea to back-to-back Premier League defeats.

Chelsea remain in fourth place but Tottenham reduced the gap to seven points with a win over Bournemouth.

West Ham thought they had doubled their lead after 67 minutes through Michail Antonio but VAR disallowed the goal for handball.

The victory sees West Ham steer four points clear of the relegation places and eases pressure off manager Manuel Pellegrini.

Frank Lampard's side host Aston Villa in midweek, while West Ham visit Wolves.

"I still believe in the squad. I think we've shown some great things this season. But we played below par today. It's time for a bit of character and see our reaction for Aston Villa [on Wednesday]," Lampard told reporters.

"We did not do enough in the final third I think that's been the story in the last three games."

Before the game, Chilean Pellegrini had looked in danger of becoming the third London Premier League manager this month to lose his job after Tottenham Hotspur dismissed Mauricio Pochettino and Arsenal sacked Unai Emery.

"For me the most difficult thing this week was not about my future or about the job, it was to convince the players not to change, that we were doing the right thing," Pellegrini said.

#ImNotCryingYouArepic.twitter.com/ath3MP3Tdb

— West Ham United (@WestHam) November 30, 2019

West Ham goalkeeper David Martin, whose father played for the club, made his debut on Saturday aged 33 and was in tears at the end.

"It still doesn't feel real. I'm just pleased got through it, I didn't let anyone down and actually I enjoyed it in the end," he told the BBC.

"My dad didn't say much -- I think we were both in tears. For my dad to play for the club for 21 years and see it, and for me to make my debut, keep clean sheet and get win for the boys, it is so pleasing."

Jose Mourinho's dream start as Tottenham manager continued and he had high praise for the "amazing" Dele Alli, who scored twice in a 3-2 victory at home to Bournemouth on Saturday.

The win marked a third-successive victory for the Portuguese since replacing Mauricio Pochettino and Mourinho said pushing Alli further up the pitch -- a position he played in the early days under the Argentine coach -- has been key.

"For me, Dele is not a midfielder. He needs to be playing where he is, right behind Harry Kane," Mourinho said. "I couldn't ask for more. He's playing amazing, scoring goals, assisting, working, fantastic."

Despite watching them win their first back-to-back league games since April, it was not all good news for Mourinho, though, as his side conceded late goals for the second week running to take the gloss of a commanding display.

While Mourinho will be acutely aware that conceding six goals in three games is not sustainable, he has returned some smiles to Tottenham who moved up to fifth spot in the Premier League, six points behind Chelsea.

"I could say we conceded four goals in two games at home but I prefer to say we scored seven goals at home," he told reporters.

Alli has been a shadow of the player that helped Tottenham to successive title challenges under Pochettino but appears to have his mojo back which is good news for club and country.

However, the 23-year-old has now scored three goals in three games, including their midweek Champions League win against Olympiakos, after scoring just three in 23 appearances before Pochettino's departure.

Tottenham's drastic improvement will be tested at Manchester United on Wednesday, the club that sacked Mourinho a year ago. Win that and talk of a top-four finish will resume.

"I am very happy with many things in the game but I think we have to improve on aspects. I am pleased with the victory, the points and the goals," Mourinho said. "Now we are closer and we have match, match, match for the Christmas period."

Information from Reuters was used in this report.