Derbyshire 199 for 4 (Hosein 56*, du Plooy 55) trail Middlesex 260 (Robson 93, Malan 72) by 61 runs

Dawid Malan and Billy Godleman joined something of an exclusive club as the game between Middlesex and Derbyshire meandered towards a draw on day three at Lord's.

The respective captains became just the fifth and sixth batsmen in Division Two to reach 1,000 Championship runs for the season on the campaign's penultimate day. Only Warwickshire's Dominic Sibley has managed the feat in Division One.

Malan's came in a score 72 out of a Middlesex total of 260, while Godleman achieved four figures when reaching 19, going on to make 27 as Derbyshire replied with 199 for 4.

The loss of much of the first two days to rain means without contrivance this game will peter out on the final day of the season on Thursday.

Middlesex began a day which started 45 minutes late on 199 for 5 and Malan, left on 999 for the season overnight, raised his landmark by stroking his first ball to the cover boundary, but departed soon afterwards, lbw to Luis Reece, who claimed 4 for 61.

Reece claimed his fourth wicket when Toby Roland-Jones was lbw playing no shot before Fynn Hudson-Prentice mopped up the tail, leaving James Harris 25 not out.

Godleman and Reece started with a flurry of boundaries, the openers added 49 in fewer than 10 overs before Ethan Bamber removed the latter lbw for 26 with the score on 49. When Wayne Madsen went the same way first ball Bamber was on a hat-trick, but excitement got the better of him as a leg-stump delivery on the hip was tucked away for two runs by new batsman Leus Du Plooy.

Nevertheless, Derbyshire were 55 for 3, having lost three wickets for six runs, when Godleman edged Roland-Jones to Malan at slip.

Du Plooy and Alex Hughes steadied matters with a stand of 48, but Tim Murtagh returned to have the latter caught by Miguel Cummins at wide mid-off just before tea.

The third session saw Derbyshire in charge, du Plooy finding an ally in wicketkeeper Harvey Hosein, the pair prospering against Middlesex's seamers who persistently banged the ball in too short. Hosein was first to reach 50 from 80 balls with six fours, while Du Plooy took 31 deliveries more, but with eight boundaries.

Bad light ended play shortly afterwards meaning another 16 overs were lost in this weather-ruined fixture.

Kyle Abbott has signed a new three-year deal with Hampshire, a week after recording the best first-class figures since 1956, and effectively ended any chance of an international comeback.

Abbott, 32, signed a Kolpak deal with the club in 2017, and has repeatedly maintained that he has no regrets about the decision to put a premature end to his international career.

He has taken 182 County Championship wickets in the past three seasons, and has the most wickets of any seamer in the country this year. He took 39 wickets at 22.71 in his 11 Tests for South Africa, but said that he had "never felt far away from being dropped" throughout his international career.

"I'm delighted to have signed a new three-year contract with Hampshire," said Abbott. "We have a great bunch of players and coaching staff all striving to achieve success for the club and I look forward to contributing to winning trophies in the coming years."

Asked by ESPNcricinfo last week if he had any regrets about giving up international cricket, Abbott said: "No, absolutely not. I haven't from the day I walked away.

"All I want to do is play cricket and enjoy it. Hampshire have brilliant in giving me a home since that day in early 2017. I love playing here, I love the club, my team-mates, and I couldn't be happier."

There remains uncertainty over whether Kolpak deals will be honoured after the UK leaves the European Union.

The ECB sent an email to counties earlier in the year explaining that in the event the UK leaves without a deal before the end of 2019, new applications for Kolpak/EU registrations would become void, although those with existing contracts would be permitted to continue under existing terms until the end of the 2020 season.

That said, the Daily Mail has reported that the ECB is considering an increase in the number of overseas players permitted in the County Championship from one to two, and that several contracts contain clauses that would trigger a switch to overseas status after Brexit.

Hampshire's press release made no mention of Abbott's Kolpak status, nor the possibility that the final two years of his new contract could theoretically be rendered void if no such clause exists.

Rilee Rossouw, who signed for Hampshire at the same time as Abbott, will not play red-ball cricket for the club next year. He returned to South Africa after the culmination of the Vitality Blast group stages, and is expected to return to play in the Blast in 2020, though it remains unconfirmed whether he will do so as an overseas or a local player.

It is unclear whether Rossouw intends to resurrect his international career - which may prove tricky after the circumstances of his departure - or instead to continue plying his trade on the global T20 circuit.

The club's director of cricket, Giles White, said he couldn't "speak highly enough" of Abbott.

"He has once again shown what a valuable asset he is to the team," White said. "He continually puts in match winning contributions, he is a great role model for the younger players and he shows a great passion for playing for the club.

"For all these reasons we are delighted he will be with us for the long-term."

Essex 25 for 0 trail Somerset 203 (van der Merwe 60, Abell 45, Harmer 5-105, S Cook 4-26) by 178 runs

Andy Hurry has insisted Somerset can still win their first County Championship title despite a wash-out on the third day of their match against Essex.

Somerset need to defeat Essex if they are to leapfrog them to the title on the final day of the season. But with rain allowing just 72.4 overs over the first three days of the match and the forecast for Thursday not especially encouraging, their task is now close to impossible.

The pitch is likely to remain very helpful for spin bowlers and there will be a maximum of 96 overs available, but it is hard to see Somerset being able to take not only 20 wickets, but squeeze in a second innings of their own. Essex, as a consequence, are on the brink of claiming their second Championship title in three years.

Somerset supporters may bemoan their bad luck with the weather and even a seeming unwillingness to play on behalf of the umpires. In truth, however, they are a side that has lost three games - Essex have lost just one - have no batsman averaging even as much as 32 and who allowed Hampshire to recover twice (once from 88 for 7 and once from 103 for 8) to lose their previous match just as the title appeared to be in their grasp. Few can dispute that Essex will be deserving champions.

So while the frustration of a decent-sized crowd was understandable as they waited until 4.40pm for the announcement of an abandonment and a new bank of rain swept in every time it seemed a resumption was imminent, there was little the groundstaff or officials could do. After several hours of mopping and verti-draining, there was a danger that any further use of machinery on the relevant areas would result in something resembling a ploughed field. And the umpires felt that areas close to the wicket were unstable and therefore unsafe. It really has rained a great deal and, long after players and spectators had left, the groundstaff were still working on the outfield.

But while you could be forgiven for concluding that Hurry, Somerset's director of cricket, was attempting an impression of Monty Python's Black Knight - "Tis but a scratch" et al - in honour of John Cleese's presence at this game, it is worth remembering that he is a former Royal Marine. And they're probably not a breed terribly comfortable with accepting defeat.

"We've put too much on the line for too long a period to wave the white flag," Hurry said. "It's definitely not the end. There's belief in the dressing room and it's really important we bring that tomorrow.

"The challenge now becomes stiffer. But I think it's important we don't lose the courage, conviction and belief we've demonstrated throughout the whole season overnight. It's a funny old game. We've got to keep believing."

While Hurry's method for the final day - "get runs on the board and bowl them out" - sounded admirably straightforward, it ignored the pesky fact that Essex have only just started their first innings. But Somerset, runners-up in the Championship five times this century already, are now in a position where pretty much only a miracle can help them. Belief and positivity are just about the only weapons left to Somerset; they may as well use them.

Leicestershire 155 (Gleeson 6-43) and 40 for 0 (Horton 30*) lead Lancashire 170 (Croft 44, Mike 3-41) by 25 runs

Leicestershire's bowlers needed just 47.3 overs to bowl Lancashire out after play finally got underway on the third day of the Specsavers County Championship match at the Fischer County Ground.

Overnight rain on an already sodden outfield - no play at all had been possible on day two - meant it was 2pm before the umpires decided the ground was fit for play, with a possible 59 overs to be bowled.

Lancashire had moved from their overnight score of 2 for 1 to 20 for 1 when Alex Davies edged a Dieter Klein delivery low to second slip, where Colin Ackermann held a neat low catch.

Liam Livingstone had made 10 when a fine out-swinger from Ben Mike found the edge and wicket-keeper Harry Swindells dived to his right to take the catch. Mike was finding more movement than any other bowler, and Rob Jones was clearly anticipating plenty of out-swing when he left a delivery which pitched on off and duly thumped into the top of off stump.

Josh Bohannon played well in going to 20 but was drawn into playing an airy drive at another Mike out-swinger, succeeding only in edging a catch to Paul Horton at first slip, and the champions were reduced to 77 for 6 when captain Dane Vilas also played a head-up drive at a delivery from Klein that swung back, beat the bat and hit middle stump.

Tom Bailey then chipped a straight delivery from Wright towards mid-on, and 12th man Arron Lilley threw himself forward to get his hands under the ball just before it hit the ground.

Liam Hurt, on his first-class debut, joined Steven Croft in adding 60 for the eighth wicket before Croft drove at Klein and Leicestershire captain Horton took a fine catch diving low to his right at first slip.

The Foxes' left-arm spinner Callum Parkinson then took revenge on his twin brother Matt when he trapped him leg before wicket - appropriately enough, the self-same dismissal inflicted by Matt on Callum in Leicestershire's first innings.

Parkinson then ended Hurt's knock in exactly the same manner, before Horton and Hassan Azad put together an untroubled and unbroken partnership of 40 for the opening wicket when the Foxes began their second innings.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

New York Knicks guard Dennis Smith Jr. told NC State officials that neither he nor his family was ever paid by Adidas or anyone else to ensure that he played for the Wolfpack for one season.

Smith, the ACC freshman of the year in 2016-17 and the No. 9 pick in the 2017 NBA draft, told NC State officials that he didn't know former Adidas consultant T.J. Gassnola, whom the NCAA has accused of providing $40,000 from Adidas to former Wolfpack assistant Orlando Early to give to Smith's family in October 2015.

Smith told NC State officials that he wasn't aware of the payment Gassnola allegedly made or any payments from Early or former Wolfpack coach Mark Gottfried, who is now coaching at Cal State Northridge.

NC State received a notice of allegations from the NCAA in July, in which the Wolfpack were charged with two Level I violations, the most serious, including a failure-to-monitor charge against Gottfried. The NCAA said Smith was ineligible while competing in 32 games for the Wolfpack during the 2016-17 season.

The allegations regarding Smith's recruitment were revealed in a federal indictment and criminal trial in New York last year. Gassnola testified during the October trial that he made two payments to people close to Smith.

The first payment, of an unspecified amount, came during Smith's junior year of high school after Andy Miller, who ran the ASM Sports agency, informed Gassnola that Smith wanted to leave the Adidas grassroots circuit.

The second payment came in the fall of 2015, after Early reached out to Gassnola to say there were issues surrounding Smith, who had committed earlier in the fall.

NC State deputy athletic director Chris Boyer, assistant AD for compliance Steve Shults and senior associate AD for compliance Carrie Doyle interviewed Smith on April 30, when he was working out at NC State's practice facility.

According to a memorandum summarizing the interview, which was obtained by ESPN from the university on Wednesday, Smith told the NC State officials "if he had accepted money he would not have been driving his grandmother's car."

The Associated Press and The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina, first obtained the memo.

Smith also said he "knew how to help himself financially." Doyle asked what he meant, and Smith told them that he received exclusive shoes and gear from Adidas, which sponsored his grassroots team, and that he sold the shoes and apparel to family and friends. Smith said he sold "Yeezy's for like $300." Smith initially said he didn't sell the gear until after he turned pro, but later admitted that he'd been doing it since high school.

NC State officials also asked Smith why he chose to play for the Wolfpack.

"Smith said that was easy," the memo said. "He said his grandmother was a long-time fan of NC State and wanted him to attend. Smith said that he only took one official visit, which was to NC State. He said that his final two schools were Duke and NC State and when Duke signed a point guard that clinched it for him that he would attend NC State."

Smith also denied that he ever wavered in his commitment to the Wolfpack.

ESPN reported in March that court filings in the federal criminal case linked Gottfried to direct payments to Smith's family.

According to a disclosure from federal prosecutors, Early's attorney said his client disclosed that Gottfried on two occasions gave him envelopes -- containing what Early believed was cash -- to deliver to Smith's trainer, Shawn Farmer, to ensure Smith signed with the Wolfpack in 2015.

Gottfried's attorney, Scott Tompsett, disputed the veracity of the disclosure.

UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic is "highly unlikely" to compete again in 2019 after suffering an eye injury during his fight against Daniel Cormier in August, according to his agent.

Miocic (19-3) reclaimed his heavyweight title by knocking out Cormier in the fourth round of their title fight rematch at UFC 241. The UFC has expressed interest in booking a trilogy bout between Miocic and Cormier, potentially as early as UFC 245 on Dec. 14 in Las Vegas, but Miocic told ESPN he is still recovering from a procedure on his retina.

"I'll be ready to fight when I can see out of both eyes again," Miocic said in a statement to ESPN. "I can't wait to defend my belt."

According to Miocic's agent, Jim Walter, the injury occurred when Cormier accidentally poked Miocic in the eye during their rematch. Miocic complained of eye pokes during both of his fights against Cormier, in 2018 and 2019.

"Mr. Miocic sustained a major retina injury from multiple eye pokes during his bout at UFC 241," said Walter, of Kaulig Sports and Entertainment. "Our client's health and safety is our top priority. We are excited for him to return to action when he is healthy to compete in his seventh consecutive world title fight."

Walter said that Miocic is scheduled to have the eye reevaluated in three weeks to determine whether another procedure is necessary. Once he receives medical clearance, Miocic will resume only noncontact activities at first, leaving a fight in 2019 virtually impossible.

Cormier, 40, told Ariel Helwani's MMA Show on Monday he is putting off retirement to fight Miocic a third time. Cormier (22-2) defeated Miocic via first-round knockout during their first meeting at UFC 226 in July 2018.

"I'm gonna fight this guy again," Cormier said. "My intention is to fight him in the right way. ... It has to be against Stipe, no one else matters."

Miocic, of Independence, Ohio, set the UFC record for consecutive heavyweight title defenses at three, from 2016 to 2018. His loss to Cormier in their first bout is his only defeat in his past eight bouts.

Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey was at the team's facility Wednesday morning, but he will not practice because of a back injury, coach Doug Marrone said.

Ramsey, who has asked the Jaguars to trade him, is dealing with tightness and soreness in his back, Marrone told reporters.

The two-time Pro Bowl cornerback did not participate in the team's workouts Monday because he was ill, though he did make an appearance at the facility.

Marrone does not know when Ramsey first started experiencing the back issues. Ramsey played in Jacksonville's game last Thursday against Tennessee and did not report the back injury to the team after the game.

"I don't like to talk about -- talk for players," Marrone said. "One thing I don't have a problem saying about Jalen is that he loves football -- loves football. So if he has the ability to play, I'd be on the understanding that he will play. The guy loves football and he loves his teammates."

Ramsey has not rescinded his trade request, which he made after the Jaguars' 13-12 loss at Houston on Sept. 15. Jaguars owner Shad Khan, however, does not want to trade Ramsey, according to league sources.

League sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Wednesday that, at this time, it is considered unlikely that Ramsey will play Sunday against the Denver Broncos as he and the team are engaged in the impasse.

I don't want to discuss Nomar Mazara's 505-foot moon blast back on June 21 in Texas. I'm not here to discuss Hunter Renfroe's walk-off grand slam against Kenley Jansen on May 5 or Bryce Harper's walk-off grand slam against the Cubs on Aug.15 or any of the other 69 walk-off home runs. No, I want to discuss the worst home runs of 2019. As you know, there has been a record total of home runs hit this season. Not all of them have looked impressive. Some of them, it appears, perhaps benefited from the lively baseball. Perhaps.

Here are 13 of those home runs, starting with our five finalists.

*All data from Statcast, MLB's tracking system.

5. The lowest exit velocity home run of 2019

Back on April 11, Eugenio Suarez cracked his third home run of 2019 off Sergio Romo of the Marlins -- no doubt, you knew at the time, he was on his way to a 48-homer season. It registered an exit velocity of 86.7 mph, the lowest of any over-the-fence home run (two inside-the-park home runs were lower) of 2019. As you can see, it looks like Suarez barely even swings, but he got just enough to hit it into the corner by the foul pole:

4. It's a line drive to second ... no, it's a home run

This is actually the most memorable home run on the list because it was a walk-off home run for Keston Hiura off Craig Kimbrel on July 27. Cubs fans probably figure it's fitting that Kimbrel appears here. No doubt Hiura hit it hard (106.9 mph exit velocity), but based on the initial flight path, it looked like a line drive to second base or maybe one of those screamers that goes right to the right fielder.

Instead, Hiura lasered the ball all the way over the fence. Is this a home run with the 2018 baseball? Maybe. The 2014 baseball? No way. You know, instead of messing with the ball again, how about just moving the fences back at some of these parks? Some of the power alleys across the majors -- Cincinnati, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Milwaukee, right field at Yankee Stadium -- are a joke, smaller than the old ballparks they replaced, even though players are bigger and stronger than they were in the 1970s and '80s. (Apologies for the soapbox.)

3. A grand slam

Here's Javier Baez hitting a grand slam against the Reds on June 29:

I mean, look at the swing. Does that look like:

(A) A foul ball into the first-base seats?

(B) A little blooper into right field?

(C) A 98.6 mph home run?

Well, you already know the answer. We'll learn that a lot of awkward-looking swings, especially to the opposite field, can produce good things.

2. The one that ruined a perfect game

Shed Long's home run off Gerrit Cole on Sept. 8 has several key factors that make it one of the season's worst home runs.

(1) It came in Houston, home of the legendary Crawford Boxes, where some of the cheapest home runs in the majors land. Home runs are hit there that aren't home runs anywhere else (including the one Rafael Devers hit off Justin Verlander in the American League Championship Series last year). Long's home run traveled just 338 feet.

(2) Poor exit velocity. The 95.2 mph blast isn't bottom of the barrel, but it's in the lowest 4%.

(3) Awkward swing. In fact, Long doesn't even run or initially pick up the ball. It certainly looks like he doesn't think it's a home run.

(4) IT COST COLE A PERFECT GAME! Cole absolutely crushed the Mariners this day, striking out 15 in eight innings while throwing just 96 pitches. The Mariners had no chance. The only baserunner was Long. If Long's home run hadn't happened, Cole would have gone out there in the ninth and finished with 17 or 18 strikeouts, and we'd be talking about one of the most dominant games ever pitched.

1. The least likely to be a home run home run

Statcast publishes a figure called expected batting average (xBA), which factors in the exit velocity and launch angle of the ball in play to determine the likelihood that it will be a hit. This honor goes to Andrew Benintendi for a 309-foot fly ball with a low 87.7 mph exit velocity against CC Sabathia in July. It had an expected batting average of .005. Benintendi hit it in the one place in the majors where it was a home run:

This one hits the trifecta: low exit velo, no distance, low hit probability. Red Sox announcer Dave O'Brien called it: "You can't hit a cheaper home run in Major League Baseball." Congrats, Andrew Benintendi, for the worst home run of 2019.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

The one homer Tulo hit

How long ago was March? You probably forgot Troy Tulowitzki played five games for the Yankees, starting the team's first two games at shortstop. He had two hits in his Yankees tenure, and one of them was this home run off Richard Bleier of the Orioles on March 30. He kind of just throws his hands at the pitch, and the ball almost lands in the second deck in right field, with an estimated distance of 358 feet.

Dee Gordon crushes one

With 18 career home runs in nine big league seasons, Dee Gordon isn't exactly known for his power. On April 11, he hit a curveball from the Royals' Jorge Lopez 360 feet into the right-field seats, and he didn't even appear to put everything into it. (By the way, the Mariners won this game, their 15th of the season, and were 13-2 at the time.)

This ball went 417 feet

OK, Pete Alonso is a little stronger than Gordon. Strong enough to muscle the ball more than 400 feet in a game against the Marlins on May 17. Let's freeze this swing.

You're laughing -- no, I'm laughing

This home run by Jean Segura in the first inning on June 10 against Taylor Clarke of the Diamondbacks had the fourth-lowest hit probability of any home run, with an expected batting average of .013. The ball had an exit velocity of 91.4 mph with a 40-degree launch angle but somehow soared 344 feet into the Philadelphia evening (and, thanks to the cozy dimensions at Citizens Bank Park, over the wall). What stands out, however, is Segura laughing as he rounds second base. He couldn't believe it went out, either.

Oh, this was also the game in which the Diamondbacks and Phillies combined for 13 home runs -- a major league record.

How to make Justin Verlander unhappy

Here's Derek Dietrich hitting one of the softest home runs of the season on June 18 off Verlander -- 88.2 mph exit velocity (fifth lowest), a 33-degree launch angle (a little high for a home run) and a .040 expected batting average. Even Reds announcer Thom Brennaman said, "Did he get a cheapy? He did!" Baseball in 2019, everyone!

No wonder the Tigers have lost 109 games

I mean, does this look like a home run swing by Devers on July 12 off Detroit's Ryan Carpenter?

It was! He hit it 98 mph at a 27-degree launch angle to the opposite field -- not a rocket but right at the sweet spot in launch angle (25 to 30 degrees is optimal for home runs). Watch the video closely, and note how twisted Devers' feet end up at the end of the swing.

It's high ... it's very high ...

Josh Donaldson hit this home run off Steven Matz on Aug. 25 -- a ridiculous 46-degree launch angle blast that had an expected batting average of .120. Mets left fielder J.D. Davis kept drifting back and back and back ... and the ball kept going and going and, finally, was gone.

One more from the Crawford Boxes

We could do an entire list of cheap home runs hit between sections 100 and 104 in Houston. The Astros and their opponents have hit 61 more home runs in Houston this year, in large degree because of that short porch in left field (the left-field line is just 315 feet from home plate). Here's non-power hitter David Fletcher of the Angels hitting one off the top of the wall against Wade Miley on Sept. 21 -- 88.5 mph and just 341 feet. Fletcher didn't hit it hard, and he didn't hit it far, but it goes in the books just the same as a 115 mph, 450-foot rocket, another of the many home runs of 2019.

A Japanese comedy duo have apologised after they reportedly said Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka "needed some bleach" during a live event.

Japanese Osaka, 21, won her first Pan Pacific Open title in her hometown Osaka on Sunday - her first trophy since January's Melbourne win.

The duo, known as 'A Masso', also reportedly said "she is too sunburned".

Their management company, Watanabe Entertainment, says they have been severely warned following the remarks.

Both women apologised for making "inappropriate, hurtful remarks", though they did not name two-time Grand Slam winner Osaka, who is Haitian-Japanese.

"We sincerely apologise for making the specific person feel uncomfortable, as well as for everyone else connected to the event," comedian Ai Murakami said.

"We also sincerely apologise for causing trouble. Though we should have thought about it, we made remarks that hurt many people, something we will never do again."

In January, Japanese noodle company Nissin was accused of "whitewashing" the mixed-race Osaka in a manga drawing.

Former world number one Osaka was born in Japan before moving to the United States when she was young.

British number three Cameron Norrie was beaten by France's Gael Monfils in the second round of the Zhuhai Championships in China.

Third seed Monfils, 33, won 5-7 6-3 6-4 and will play Spain's Albert Ramos Vinolas in the quarter-finals.

Australian sixth seed Nick Kyrgios lost his first-round match to world 74 Andreas Seppi 7-6 (7-5) 6-1.

Britain's three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray faces Australian Alex de Minaur on Thursday.

Former world number one Murray recorded his first singles victory at Tour level since January by beating American Tennys Sandgren in the first round.