Geoffrey Boycott says he "does not give a toss" about criticism from anti-domestic abuse campaigners, after he was conferred a knighthood by Theresa May in her resignation honours list, despite his conviction in a French court in 1998 for assaulting his then-girlfriend, Margaret Moore.

In a testy exchange on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Boycott hit back at criticism from Adina Claire, the co-acting chief executive of Women's Aid, who described his honour as "extremely disappointing".

"I don't give a toss about her, love," Boycott, 78, told the presenter, Martha Kearney. "It was 25 years ago. You can take your political nature and do whatever you want with it. You want to talk to me about my knighthood. It's very nice of you to have me, but I couldn't give a toss."

Boycott was fined £5,000 and handed a three-month suspended jail sentence in the wake of an incident at a French hotel in 1996, but he has always denied the charge - adding that his experience of the French judicial system had contributed to his outspoken support for Brexit.

"Twenty-five years ago, love. In a French court, she tried to blackmail me for £1million," he said. "I said no, because in England if you pay any money at all, we think: 'Hang on, there must be something there.' I said: 'I'm not paying anything' … I'm not sure I'd actually got a million at the time.

"It's a court case in France where you're guilty, which is one of the reasons I [didn't] vote to remain in Europe - because you're guilty until you're proved innocent. That's totally the opposite from England and it's very difficult to prove you're innocent in another country and another language.

"Most people in England don't believe it. I didn't do it. Move on. It's a cross I have to bear, right or wrong, good or bad, I have to live with it. And I do, because I'm clear in my mind and I think most people in England are that it's not true."

May, who stood down as Prime Minister in June, is a keen cricket fan and often cited Boycott as her sporting hero - telling Test Match Special earlier this year she admired the way he "stuck at it, he had a plan and got on with it, and more often than not delivered".

Boycott's honour for services to sport was one of two knighthoods for former cricketers in May's resignation honours, alongside the double-Ashes-winning captain Andrew Strauss, whose three-year role as England director of cricket was integral in laying the groundwork for this year's World Cup victory.

May introduced a landmark domestic abuse bill to parliament earlier this year, which led a spokeswoman from the Woman's Trust to criticise the honour for Boycott.

"It's disappointing to see Geoffrey Boycott included in Theresa May's honours list, given her vocal support for domestic abuse survivors and the domestic abuse bill.

"While we welcome the recent domestic abuse bill for its work to widen the definition of domestic abuse, the inclusion of Geoffrey Boycott in the honours list shows just how much our attitude as a society needs to change when it comes to supporting survivors."

Boycott, however, was unmoved. "This is just recognition of my cricket," he said. "[It's] very nice, very honoured, thankful to Theresa May and I thank all the people that supported me and cared for me throughout my cricketing career."

USA will be making their home ODI debut on Friday without two of their most high profile stars with Ali Khan and Hayden Walsh Jr. absent from the 14-man squad for the Cricket World Cup League Two tri-series against Papua New Guinea and Namibia starting September 13 in Lauderhill, Florida.

Both of them had already rejected central contracts offered by USA Cricket and are now choosing to stay on at the CPL which clashes with the dates of the tri-series. Khan is in his second year with Trinbago Knight Riders while Walsh Jr. switched from St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots to Barbados Tridents for the 2019 tournament.

They are two of five players who have been switched out of the USA squad that played the recent T20 World Cup Qualifier Americas regional final in Bermuda. USA finished in third place behind Bermuda and Canada after losing twice to both sides in the double round-robin event. Their only wins were over Cayman Islands as they fell short of reaching the global T20 Qualifier in the UAE next month.

Also, according to sources, fast bowling coach David Saker has abruptly gone back to Australia rather than serve out the remainder of his three-month contract as part of USA's coaching staff in Florida. Saker had been one of USA's assistant coaches in Bermuda but decided to cut his term short after the team's poor results at the T20 qualifier.

Among the players, fast bowler Cameron Gannon also went back to Queensland at the end of the Bermuda tour for the start of the Australian domestic summer and was unavailable for selection. Batsman Sunny Sohal has been dropped while allrounder Timroy Allen has been relegated to a reserve member despite being part of the main 14-man squad in Bermuda.

As expected, former South African international Rusty Theron has been named in USA's ODI squad after meeting the three-year residency threshold under the ICC's eligibility requirements. Theron moved to Florida in 2015 and was part of a USA squad camp in July. He was recently given a three-month retainer contract but was unable to be part of USA's touring squad last month in Bermuda because he had to submit his passport along with other documents as part of his application for permanent residency.

The others to come into the team are left-arm spinner Nosthush Kenjige, left-arm seamer Elmore Hutchinson and opening batsman Sagar Patel. Kenjige and Hutchinson were part of USA's squad to Namibia in April where they played the WCL Division Two and the team won ODI status, but both men were dropped for the tour of Bermuda. Sagar has not played for USA since a bilateral tour of Oman in December 2017.

Three other players in USA's roster besides Khan and Walsh Jr. were also taken in the CPL draft this spring: Aaron Jones, Xavier Marshall and captain Saurabh Netravalkar. But Jones and Marshall accepted central contract offers from USA Cricket over the summer and were not given NOCs to skip the tour. Netravalkar has opted to miss the early part of the CPL to fulfill his role as USA captain.

USA are scheduled to play four ODIs as part of the tri-series. The first match against PNG takes place on September 13 at the Central Broward Regional Park. They play three more matches on September 17, 19 and 20 before PNG and Namibia go head to head in the final two matches of the series on September 22 and 23.

Stephen Fleming has become the latest high-profile overseas coach to be appointed for next year's inaugural season of The Hundred, after it was confirmed that he will serve as the head coach for the Nottingham-based men's team.

Fleming, the former New Zealand captain, is the most successful coach in the history of the Indian Premier League, winning three titles with Chennai Super Kings. He was also Nottinghamshire captain for three seasons in the mid-2000s, winning the County Championship title in 2005.

The Hundred's reliance on overseas coaches was criticised recently by Andrew Strauss, the former director of England cricket, who described it as a "missed opportunity" to promote home-grown talent. The confirmed names so far include several Australians in Shane Warne, Simon Katich and Andrew McDonald, as well as the South African Gary Kirsten, and Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene.

Fleming will be joined at Trent Bridge by Salliann Briggs, the coach of Loughborough Lightning from 2016 to 2018, who will head up the women's squad. Briggs led her team to the Kia Super League Finals Day for the first time in 2016, and is currently coach of the Hobart Hurricanes in the Women's Big Bash League in Australia.

"I am looking forward to returning to Nottingham," said Fleming. "It was a special part of my career and it allowed me to fall back in love with the game. My memories with Nottingham and Trent Bridge are outstanding."

The draft for the Hundred takes place on October 20, and Fleming said he would be leaning on the local knowledge of his assistants - as-yet unconfirmed - to ensure the Nottingham team makes astute picks.

"I'm really looking forward to working with some of the talented local coaches," Fleming said. "You really have to be on your game from the first pick in The Draft and make sure you get players that represent what you stand for and how you want to play. Having local coaches is a massive part of that - working with our three counties - to tap into their knowledge of the players."

Sanjay Patel, Managing Director of The Hundred said: "Stephen is the most successful coach in IPL history and Salliann has made a real impact at the Loughborough Lightning over the past few years. It is great to have their knowledge and expertise as part of the first year of The Hundred."

"It's a great opportunity and I'm really looking forward to getting started and building the team," added Briggs. "When The Hundred was first announced I was struck by how it was different from the IPL and the Big Bash and I thought it was a great idea to create something different from those tournaments, rather than attempt to compete with them.

"Since then you look at the coaches who are getting involved - and it looks as if the best players want to be involved as well - and it just feels like we're set to be involved in a really good competition."

LSU's victory on the road against Texas on Saturday night came without the benefit of an air-conditioned visitors locker room, according to Tigers coach Ed Orgeron.

Speaking with reporters Monday about the 45-38 win, Orgeron said he was tipped off to the lack of air conditioning by Louisiana Tech, which played at Texas a week earlier, and brought fans as a supplement.

"It wasn't great, but it was better. At least we had air in there," Orgeron said, referring to the fans. "[Louisiana Tech] didn't have air. We had some blowers in there. I don't think that caused as much as going out there and having to play 93 plays on defense. I think that had a lot to do with it."

The temperature at kickoff was upward of 95 degrees, and several LSU players had to leave the game due to cramping and other injuries.

Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte issued a statement following Orgeron's comments, saying it was the "first we've heard of any issues in that area."

"We provide one of the best visitor setups available and are proud of the efforts we put forth in hosting our guests," the statement read. "Our facilities staff did not receive any complaints from either Louisiana Tech or LSU, and we've confirmed that our air conditioning in the visiting locker room is in good working order."

Orgeron said that although it was hot, the humidity "wasn't like Louisiana." Moving forward, he said the team will use more IVs at halftime as a preventative measure.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Tom Brady and Antonio Brown spent part of Monday together, taking the initial steps toward building more on-field chemistry.

"Antonio, meeting him today, I really enjoyed being around him," Brady said in his weekly Westwood One interview that aired Monday night. "He's a very smart football player, knows how to play the game. He's been extremely productive."

But the New England Patriots quarterback said that alone won't be enough for them to succeed.

"The only thing that I know what we can do is to go out there and work at it, to meet and to communicate, and get on the practice field and go through things," Brady said on Westwood One. "I'm not buying into any hype or potential. I'm into work. He's into work and our entire offense is into doing what's in the best interest for the team. I'm really excited to get to practice on Wednesday."

Brown spent his first day with the Patriots on Monday, with the club officially announcing the signing of the wide receiver in the late afternoon. His contract includes an option year in 2020 at $20 million that becomes guaranteed if executed, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter. It was done to help for salary-cap-proration purposes this season.

Brown posted a picture on Snapchat that indicated he arrived at Gillette Stadium at 6:58 a.m. ET on Monday -- just hours after New England beat his former team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, in its season opener. He also knows he has an open invitation to stay with Brady.

"You know, I have asked a lot of guys over the years to stay at my house," Brady said. "Some have taken me up on it and others haven't. I just want this transition for him to be really smooth. It's been a lot of travel for him to go from the West Coast to the East Coast. Learning the playbook. I just want him to be comfortable. Whatever's up to him, I'm totally cool with."

Brady spoke about urgency.

"We're going to meet as much as we possibly can," he said. "I think that quarterback-receiver relationship is so important. The more you know each other, the more you know what each other's thinking, the faster you can accelerate the trust and confidence in one another when you get on the field. I have that with a lot of guys that I played with; certainly with the guys that are on the roster now, Julian [Edelman], Phillip Dorsett, Josh [Gordon] -- you saw that last night. But when you haven't played with guys, you got to try to do it as quickly as possible and the clock is ticking on us right now. This is not the offseason program. This is about real games that count, and we are going to try and spend as much time as we can together and really get up to speed and lock in with what [our] roles and responsibilities are."

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Oakland Raiders cornerback Gareon Conley sustained a neck injury and was strapped to a gurney and taken off the field on a cart with 5 minutes, 6 seconds remaining in the third quarter of the Raiders' season opener against the Denver Broncos on Monday night.

Conley gave a thumbs up with his right hand as he was moved.

"I got good word on him that he's going to be okay," Raiders coach Jon Gruden said after the game. "Don't know his status for the next game, but most importantly he's alright. That was a scary hit that he took. But all the reports I have are very, very positive."

The injury came on a play down the right sideline as Conley was trying to take down Broncos running back Royce Freeman on a 27-yard run. Raiders safety Johnathan Abram caught Conley on the top of his helmet with a leg whip as he hit Freeman.

Abram was flagged for leading with his helmet on the play.

NEW ORLEANS -- The New Orleans Saints burned through 11 kickers in Sean Payton's first 11 years as head coach. But they finally found a keeper when they signed Baltimore Ravens castoff Wil Lutz during Week 1 of the 2016 season.

He made history for them on Monday with a game-winning 58-yard field goal as time expired in the Saints' 30-28 victory over the Houston Texans.

Not only was it a career long for Lutz, but it was also the longest field goal in the final 10 seconds of a season-opening game since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

"We all felt like it was going to happen the minute we heard that ball go off his foot," Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. "It was a thundering kick, and we all knew it was going in the uprights."

That isn't hyperbole -- well, not totally. The Saints were so confident in Lutz's leg that receiver Ted Ginn Jr. appeared to celebrate after he caught a pass at the Texans' 40-yard line with two seconds left. He thought that was close enough for Lutz to win it.

"We all knew," Saints running back Alvin Kamara said. "We see him do it in practice. If we get Wil in position, we knew he could hit it."

Lutz actually missed a 56-yard attempt wide left before halftime Monday. But he finished the game 3-for-4 on field goal attempts. Last season, he made 28 of 30 before the Saints signed him to one of the richest kicker deals in the NFL (five years, $20.25 million).

The Saints obviously had more success borrowing a young kicker from the Ravens than the Minnesota Vikings did (Minnesota traded a fifth-round pick to Baltimore for kicker Kaare Vedvik this summer, only to cut him weeks later). But part of that was because the Saints stuck with the undrafted rookie from Georgia State even when he had a couple early wobbles in 2016, including a missed 61-yard attempt that would have won his NFL debut.

Lutz brought up that game on Monday when asked how much pride he takes in the confidence the Saints have in him.

"You know, it's crazy. It brings back a memory. And the only reason I thought about it today is because Brad Seely is [the Texans' special-teams] coach. He was the Oakland coach my first game ever, when I missed a 61-yarder left. And Coach [Payton] stood up here and told me that he still had confidence in me," Lutz said. "And it kinda gives me chills thinking about that. And here we are three years later, so it's pretty wild."

Like most kickers, Lutz talks all the time about trying to keep the process the same for every kick. But he admitted Monday, "I gotta be honest, that one felt a little different."

"Obviously, I'm confident in what I do. I'm confident in my operation. I knew with 37 seconds left that we were going to have an opportunity to get at least close to field goal range. In that situation, there's not a single kick I'd turn down," Lutz said. "You know, we talk about the ebbs and flows of a game. The first half didn't go my way. And that's what this game is all about is bouncing back and being able to have your teammates have your back and make a kick like that.

"That's gotta be -- that's gotta be a top-one moment for me."

NEW ORLEANS -- Another controversial officiating mistake nearly cost the New Orleans Saints in their return to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Monday night.

NFL senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron admitted that the Saints should have had 15 more seconds to work with during their hurry-up drive at the end of the first half, which resulted in a missed 56-yard field goal attempt.

Fortunately for the Saints, they got a redo when kicker Wil Lutz nailed the winning 58-yarder as time expired in their 30-28 victory over the Houston Texans.

"Listen, that can't happen. I mean, that's a game-changer, right?" Saints quarterback Drew Brees said after the game. "We end up having to kick a [56-yarder] or whatever it was. If we had 15 more seconds, are you kidding me? We're gonna get closer.

"So that's a game-changer. That can't happen."

Saints fans booed the officials relentlessly during those final seconds of the first half -- which was reminiscent of the previous game in this building. The Saints lost the NFC Championship Game here in January in large part because of the infamous blown pass interference call against the Los Angeles Rams that led to groundbreaking replay rule changes in the offseason.

In Monday's case, referee John Hussey correctly called for a 10-second runoff after officials reviewed the spot following a 17-yard catch by Saints receiver Michael Thomas, since he was tackled in bounds. (The Saints could have avoided the 10-second runoff if they wanted to use their final timeout instead, but they declined.)

However, Riveron said the officials should have first reset the game clock to 41 seconds, because that's how much time was left when Thomas was whistled down. So, the Saints should have snapped the ball again with 31 seconds remaining. Instead, Riveron said the officials "inadvertently set it to 26" seconds, which was the amount of time left on the clock when they called for the review.

That left the Saints with just 16 seconds remaining. Riveron, who handles reviews from New York, was in contact with Hussey during the review of Thomas' catch.

Saints coach Sean Payton didn't appear to realize the league had admitted its error during his postgame news conference, when he said, "It is what it is," adding that the rule calls for a 10-second runoff. Still, Payton was disappointed officials had to review the spot in the first place, since he believes Thomas should have been granted the first down right away.

"To me, it was pretty obvious he made the yards to gain," Payton said.

HOUSTON -- The Houston Astros showed how powerful their lineup can be for a second straight game.

Zack Greinke struck out five in six strong innings, Robinson Chirinos and Yordan Alvarez each homered twice as Houston hit a major league-record six home runs in the first two innings, and the high-scoring Astros routed the Oakland Athletics 15-0 Monday night for their fifth straight victory.

Monday's offensive outburst, combined with Sunday's 21-1 win over Seattle, helped the Astros set a franchise record for runs scored in consecutive games with 36.

The Astros scored 32 runs over nine team turns at-bat, a span that included the second through eighth innings on Sunday and the first and second innings on Monday. That's the second-most runs over any span of nine team turns at bat in the modern era (since 1900), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Only the 2007 Rangers (whose span included a record 30-3 rout of the Orioles) scored more over any such span, according to Elias.

"We were just incredibly explosive again tonight in a game that had a really good feel in the beginning," Houston manager AJ Hinch said. "We ambushed Mike (Fiers). I don't know how to describe it. We came out locked in and did a ton of damage. He made some mistakes, and we didn't let him get away with really any of them."

Helped by six of their seven total homers, Houston raced to an 11-0 lead after two innings. The seven shots matched a franchise record for homers in a game set Sept. 9, 2000, against the Chicago Cubs.

Chirinos capped the first with a two-run homer and hit a three-run shot in the seventh. He added an RBI single in a five-run second inning.

"It's really special when you see a team put up that many runs in back-to-back games," Chirinos said. "It says a lot about the approach and the talent we have on this team."

Alex Bregman started the offensive display with a three-run homer, and Alvarez followed with a solo shot into the second deck in right field.

Alvarez hit his second solo shot into the third deck in right field in the second inning. Alvarez has 24 home runs, an Astros' rookie record, and has 72 RBI in his first 71 games, which is tied for second-most in major league history with Ted Williams (1939) and Rudy York (1937), and trailing Walt Dropo's 80 (1949-50).

"We thought this guy was going to be very impactful, but this is beyond belief or anything that people could have expected," Hinch said. "He's doing historic things in a middle of a lineup. He's completely comfortable in the big leagues. . It's incredible to see the production."

Jose Altuve hit a two-run homer to left to start the scoring in the second, and Michael Brantley followed with a solo blast to right that chased Mike Fiers (14-4). Brantley's homer was his 21st, a career high.

The Astros extended their lead over Oakland to 10 1/2 games in the AL West. They remain tied with the New York Yankees for the best record in the majors.

Greinke (15-5) retired 11 of the first 12 batters he faced. He allowed just two hits and didn't walk a batter.

Houston's offensive exploits spoiled Fiers' try at a piece of A's history. The right-hander had won 12 straight decisions and was bidding to match Hall of Famer Catfish Hunter's run in 1973 for the best since the club moved to the Bay Area.

"I feel like I didn't make the pitches I needed to make, and that's what happens when you don't make them," Fiers said. "They weren't missing any mistakes."

Fiers allowed a career-high nine runs on nine hits in one-plus innings. He allowed a career-high five home runs.

"He missed his spots a few times, and they are a home run hitting club," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. "It's amazing how many runs they have scored the last two nights. They got on him early, and he didn't have an answer for that."

TRAINER'S ROOM

Athletics: OF Ramon Laureano was out of the lineup a second straight day after leaving Saturday's game with cramps in his right leg.

Astros: 1B Yuli Gurriel was out of the lineup for a third straight game with a sore left hamstring, but he took ground balls and ran prior to the game. ... Correa fielded ground balls and took batting practice Monday.

A'S ROSTER MOVES

Oakland promoted LHP Jesus Luzardo and recalled RHP Daniel Mengden from Triple-A Las Vegas. To open up a spot on the 40-man roster for Luzardo, Oakland recalled OF Luis Barrera from Double-A Midland and placed him on the 60-day disabled list.

UP NEXT

Athletics: RHP Tanner Roark (9-8, 3.86 ERA) starts Tuesday looking to continue his solid work since being acquired at the trade deadline. Roark has allowed two runs or fewer in four of his six starts with the Athletics.

Astros: LHP Wade Miley (13-4, 3.35) starts Tuesday looking to rebound after yielding five runs without recording an out in his last start Thursday against the Mariners.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

NEW YORK -- Pete Alonso sent a couple more pitches flying into the seats while Jacob deGrom's tosses kept darting in and out of the strike zone.

It all added up to a crucial win for the Mets.

Alonso hit two homers to take sole possession of the major league lead, deGrom struck out 11 and New York beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-1 Monday night in the opener of an important four-game series for both teams.

The Diamondbacks fell 2 1/2 games behind the Cubs for the second NL wild-card spot while the Mets remained four back. Chicago beat San Diego 10-2.

Alonso hit a solo drive in the first inning, then connected for his 47th home run in the fifth. He moved two ahead Mike Trout for most in the majors and closed within five of Aaron Judge's rookie record set two years ago.

"When they throw him strikes, he's going to hit the ball hard," manager Mickey Callaway said. "That's first and foremost. There's got to be some anxiety with pitchers having to face Pete. So, if he doesn't get on via hit, he's getting on via walk. He's just a great hitter."

Alonso set a team record by reaching base safely in his 34th consecutive game. The first baseman recorded his fourth career multihomer game and joined Daryl Strawberry as the only Mets rookie to get four multihomer games.

"We just made some mistakes in the wrong inning at the wrong time and he took advantage of them," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said.

DeGrom (9-8) allowed one run and three hits in seven innings. He gave up a home run to former teammate Wilmer Flores in the fifth and little else.

"For him to throw the ball the way he did tonight, that was awesome," Alonso said. "That's Cy Young, vintage Jake deGrom right there. That was really special."

The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner recorded his 41st career double-digit strikeout game and ninth this season, tying Max Scherzer for the league lead. DeGrom struck out multiple batters in four innings and reached double-digit strikeouts when he fanned Ketel Marte with a fastball for the first out of the sixth.

DeGrom achieved his latest dominant performance by throwing his off-speed pitches more often. He threw his slider and changeup 57 times and got nine strikeouts on those pitches, including two to Marte, who struck out four times.

"It had a lot of movement tonight, probably more than it's had all year," deGrom said. "So I think we saw that early and kind of stuck with it."

DeGrom also pitched at least seven innings and allowed one run or fewer for the ninth time this year. Only Justin Verlander and Patrick Corbin have done it 10 times.

Seth Lugo pitched two innings for his fifth save.

Amed Rosario added an RBI single in between the Alonso homers.

Merrill Kelly (10-14) allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings.

The Diamondbacks fell to 11-3 in their last 14 games and lost consecutive games for the first time since Aug. 21-24.

WELCOME BACK, WILMER

Flores made his first appearance in Citi Field since signing with Arizona in the offseason. He tipped his helmet after receiving a standing ovation before his first at-bat in the second inning.

Flores also got video tribute before the game that ended with Led Zeppelin's "Thank You" playing as the videoboard showed him embracing Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo.

"It was a little weird because I was used to being on the New York side," Flores said. "But I met a lot of good friends there, good teammates. It was a special night."

Flores appeared in 581 regular-season games for the Mets since making his major league debut in August 2013. He is best known for his game-winning homer against the Washington Nationals on July 31, 2015, four days after nearly being traded to Milwaukee for Carlos Gomez and breaking down in tears.

"I think just the ovation that he got tonight just shows you what type of guy he is, what type of player he is, what type of teammate he is," Kelly said.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Diamondbacks: LHP Robbie Ray (blister, left middle finger) threw a bullpen session and will make his next start on Wednesday. ... RHP Luke Weaver (right forearm tightness) will have a bullpen session Tuesday and could appear in a simulated game or a rehab game if there are no problems. ... RHP Taijuan Walker (right elbow surgery) will have a bullpen session Tuesday.

UP NEXT

Arizona RHP Zac Gallen (3-4, 2.50 ERA), who is one of three NL starters all-time to allow three earned runs or less in his first 13 games, opposes RHP Zack Wheeler (10-7, 4.33).

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