A look ahead to the Diamond League meeting in Oslo, where Norwegian stars Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Karsten Warholm are among those in action

A stadium where 69 world records have been broken since 1945 looks like staging another top-class Diamond League event as the series moves on to the Bislett Games on Thursday.

In the 100m, world indoor 60m champion Christian Coleman will be looking to continue his great form after his season-opener of 9.86 in Shanghai. Usain Bolt’s track record of 9.79 may be a stretch this early in the year, but he will be pushed by fellow American Mike Rodgers, plus Brits Reece Prescod and Chijindu Ujah and Italy’s up-and-coming Filippo Tortu.

Another highlight will be the men’s pole vault where last year’s world No.1 Armand Duplantis, the current AW cover star who has already gone over 6.00m this year, takes on world champion Sam Kendricks and European champion Pavel Wojciechowski.

.@samkendricks speaks with @stuartweir about tomorrow’s @BislettGames, @mondohoss600 and the global pole vault scene right now #BislettGames #OsloDL pic.twitter.com/fEI8tljWrY

— Athletics Weekly (@AthleticsWeekly) June 12, 2019

Organisers are claiming to have assembled possibly the best women’s steeplechase line-up in Diamond League history. World record-holder Beatrice Chepkoech will start favourite after dominating the chase in Rome, but world champion Emma Coburn will hope to push her as she makes her 2019 Diamond League debut. Olympic silver medallist Hyvin Kiyeng, European champion Gesa Felicitas Krause, Norwegian record-holder Karoline Bjerkeli Grøvdal and Britain’s Rosie Clarke are also on the start list.

World junior 400m hurdles record-holder Sydney McLaughlin will compete in her main event in a Diamond League for the first time. The athlete rated to be America’s next female track and field star was second in the flat 400m in Shanghai and here takes on Olympic champion Dalilah Muhammad and European champion Lea Sprunger.

The men’s event includes home favourite Karsten Warholm, the world champion, but is missing Abderrahman Samba through injury.

The women’s 100m hurdles features Norwegian record-holder Isabelle Pedersen, plus Diamond League leader Sharika Nelvis and Olympic champion Brianna McNeal, while in the women’s 200m, world champion Dafne Schippers goes up against Gabrielle Thomas and Jenna Prandini of the US.

Last year’s IAAF world female athlete of the year Caterine Ibarguen switches back to triple jump after opening up her 2019 campaign in the long jump. The double 2018 Diamond League champion will meet Jamaica’s Kimberly Williams and Shanieka Ricketts, European champion Paraskevi Papachristou and former world champion Olga Saladukha.

For more than 50 years, the Bislett Games Dream Mile has assembled the world’s best middle-distance runners. In this year’s edition, double European champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen and brother Filip will enjoy plenty of home support.

The men’s 3000m features Selemon Barega and Muktar Edris, plus Henrik Ingebrigtsen and Britain’s Andrew Butchart.

Andreas Hofmann goes up against his fellow Germans Johannes Vetter and Thomas Rohler in the javelin, while the women’s high jump features Britain’s Morgan Lake and world champion Mariya Lasitskene. In the women’s shot, Shanghai winner Chase Ealey again takes on world champion Gong Lijiao.

Britain’s Shelayna Oskan-Clarke and Lynsey Sharp race in the non-Diamond League 800m.

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – The ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway for NASCAR late model stock cars will see significant changes later this year.

The changes to the event will see the purse increase for the top-five finishers, a new qualifying procedure, and a new race format.

“We’re adjusting the purse this year to better reward the top-five finishers in NASCAR’s most prestigious late model stock car race, the ValleyStar Credit Union 300,” Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell said. “This is, no doubt, the biggest Late Model Stock Car race in the country, and with the format and purse changes, we feel the 2019 edition will reflect that fully.”

The winner’s share of the $110,000 purse will now be $32,000, with second paying $8,000, third paying $6,000, fourth paying $5,000, and fifth paying $4,000.

All 40 teams to make 200-lap feature will receive a minimum payout off $1,000.

As for the format, time trials on Friday, Oct. 4 will be more important than ever in the competitive modern world of NASCAR late model stock cars.

Single-car qualifying will set the top-20 starting positions for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 feature race on Saturday, Oct. 5. There will also be a $5,000 bonus for the driver who wins the pole.

The remaining 20 positions will be set on Saturday, Oct. 5, with two 50-lap heat races.

The top 10 finishers from each heat race will advance to the feature race. Caution laps will count during the heat races.

“This format really rewards the drivers who can perform under pressure, and rewards the fans in the grandstands,” Campbell said. “The drama of single-car qualifying on Friday night will really be something to watch. By making the heat races 50 laps, we are giving the drivers more time to work their way through the field, giving the fans two dramatic heat races on Saturday afternoon to set the field.”

The feature race will also see format changes.

The 200-lap race will be stopped at lap 75 and at lap 150. The leader at each break will receive a $1,000 bonus. There will be no invert after either break.

DRP Performance Products has also added a bonus of $25 for each lap a driver leads, for a total of $5,000.

As in 2018, teams will have four fresh tires behind pit wall at the start of the race. The teams will be able to use those four fresh tires as they desire throughout the 200-lap feature event, with two opportunities to change tires during the planned breaks.

The breaks will set up a 50-lap dash to the finish for the $32,000 winner’s check and a grandfather clock trophy.

“When it comes right down to it, the changes we are making are for the fans,” Campbell said. “We want them to feel like they just saw the best race possible when they leave our parking lots on Oct. 5. I feel confident these changes will produce just that.”

Another change to the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 involves the overtime procedures for the race. There will be an unlimited amount of attempts at a green-white-checkered finish, a change from previous years, where the amount of attempts was limited to three.

The engine rules for the race will be governed in accordance by the 2019 NASCAR rule book, and no changes will be made outside of the NASCAR rule book by Martinsville Speedway to create parity between engine suppliers.

“The engines teams find work best each and every week, from a competitive standpoint, will not be compromised or enhanced based on speeds during testing and practice,” Campbell said.

Car numbers will still be issued, and garage stalls assigned, for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 weekend based on the postmark date of the completed official NASCAR entry form.

C.E. Falk III is the defending winner of the ValleyStar Credit Union 300.

LA Galaxy forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic is earning a Major League Soccer-record $7.2 million salary this season.

The 37-year-old Ibrahimovic, who earned a relatively modest $1.5m last year, broke the previous mark set by former Toronto FC midfielder Sebastian Giovinco, who had $7,115,556 in total compensation in both 2017 and 2018.

- Carlisle: Does MLS have a double standard for Ibra?
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The MLS Players Association said Wednesday the average base salary for all players this year is $376,174 and the average guaranteed compensation is $417,643, including a prorated share of guaranteed money not attributable to a specific year. The average salary for senior roster non-designated players increased 13.3 percent to $345,867 and is up from $138,140 in 2014.

Striker Giovani dos Santos, released by the Galaxy in March, is second with a base salary of $4.75m and total compensation of $6.5m.

Toronto midfielder Michael Bradley ($6m base, $6,428,571 total) is third, followed by Toronto striker Jozy Altidore ($4,891,250, $6,332,250), LAFC forward Carlos Vela ($4.5m base, $6.3m total), Chicago midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger ($5.6m base and total), Montreal winger Ignacio Piatti ($530,000, $4,443,333), Toronto midfielder Alejandro Pozuelo ($3.8m), DC United forward Wayne Rooney ($3.5m, $3,507,500), Atlanta forward Josef Martinez ($3m, $3,058,333), Seattle forward Nicolas Lodeiro ($2m, $2,502,500), Orlando midfielder Nani ($2,333,333, $2,486,250) and Colorado goalkeeper Tim Howard ($2m, $2,475,000).

The minimum salary for each team's 18-20 senior players rose to $70,250 this season and the minimum for its maximum eight reserve players increased to $56,250.

This is the final season of a five-year labor contract.

India will commence their run in the inaugural World Test Championship with a two-match Test series in the West Indies, beginning late August.

The two Tests which will be played in Antigua (August 22-26) and Jamaica (August 30-September 3) come at the back end of the tour which also comprises three T20s and three ODIs.

The tour was originally slotted to begin immediately after the World Cup but was pushed back following the BCCI's request. India will begin the tour with two T20Is, the first of which will be played in Florida on August 3. In recent times, Florida has become a regular venue for Cricket West Indies. The venue also hosted two T20Is during India's tour to the Caribbean in 2016, apart from a number of Caribbean Premier League matches.

In March, CWI had sent a request to the BCCI asking to play an additional T20I. Another request from CWI was two of the three agreed T20Is to be played in Miami. According to the minutes of meeting on March 18 between the BCCI officials and the Committee of Administrators, the first request was struck off, but the second one was approved provided the T20I series took place ahead of the Test series.

ALSO READ: All you need to know about the World Test Championship

This will be India's only overseas Test assignment in 2019. Earlier this month, CWI confirmed the hosting of India A on a shadow tour, consisting of five one-dayers and three four-day fixtures from July 11 to August 9.

The revised fixtures give CWI a clear window for the CPL. The seventh edition of the T20 competition is set to be played between September 4 and October 12. Originally, it was slotted from August 21 to September 27. The revised schedule also means all the West Indies players are likely to be available for the entire duration of the CPL.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

Australia 307 (Warner 107, Finch 82, Amir 5-30) beat Pakistan 266 (Imam 53, Cummins 3-33) by 41 runs

A wild, seesawing game that always seemed just a little too far out of Pakistan's reach proved to be just that at the end, with Australia wrapping up a 41-run victory that was far nervier than the scorecard suggested. It came about thanks to a century from David Warner at the top end, coupled with generosity to the point of self-sacrifice from Pakistan both with the ball and in the field. Australia were so far on top in the first half of the first innings, talk of 350 and 400 rolled easily off the tongue, until a vintage performance from Mohammad Amir curtailed them to 307, his five-for bowling out a side that hadn't lost a single wicket for 22 overs.

Pakistan, in response, oscillated between dismal and distinguished. Babar Azam looked princely for a knock that lasted all of 28 deliveries, before an 80-run partnership between Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez looked to have put Pakistan on top. Another collapse, this one entirely of Pakistan's own making, followed, before a late rearguard by Hasan Ali and Wahab Riaz put the fear of God into Australia. They usually win such games, however, and Pakistan tend to find a way to lose them. In that sense - but strictly in that sense alone - this was business as usual.

This was such a disjointed game it's hard to know where to pick it up and thread it all together. Was it Warner's knock, the shackles that bound him so tightly against India (mostly) thrown off, the innings that set the tone for the day? Certainly not, in all frankness. Pakistan dropped catches, allowed overthrows, and committed errors in the field which were criminal enough to have interested the local constabulary, not just Mickey Arthur. In the meantime, they had Shaheen Afridi endure one of the worst games of his career, undoing much of the good work the excellent Amir had done at the other end with the new ball. At first change, Hasan didn't enjoy a much better day either, and with no semblance of a plan Pakistan's bowlers were following, Aaron Finch and Warner made hay for the best part of half the innings.

Finch benefitted the most from sloppiness in the field, which saw Asif Ali put him down in the slips. It was a position he should never have been fielding in, but Babar was deputising at point for Shadab Khan, controversially left out altogether in favour of an all-seam attack and Hafeez and Shoaib Malik in the middle order. Wahab also saw Warner put down by the same man at third man, an even easier take if possible, and with Hafeez struggling badly against Finch and Glenn Maxwell, Pakistan were running out of players to turn to.

Watch on Hotstar (India only) - Warner's century

Amir was superb, in sharp contrast to his team-mates. He seemed to know exactly what would work on this surface, and that is a trait of Amir's that hasn't quite been appreciated of late, with the focus more squarely on why he wasn't picking up wickets. He managed to fulfil roles of both container and strike bowler in one - and boy did he need to. It wasn't until his final over, where he took two wickets and bowled Australia out, that he completed his five-for, remarkably the first of his ODI career. In an innings that saw 307 runs scored, his figures read 10-2-30-5.

Pakistan might have taken heart from that second half of the first innings, but all of that seemed to have been lost in the lunch interval. Australia started tightly, save a first-ball no-ball that shouldn't have been called. By the third over, Fakhar Zaman's patience had run out, and he lashed out at Pat Cummins, only succeeding in slicing the ball to third man, in a similar position to where Asif had put Warner down a couple of hours earlier. Richardson on the boundary was far more ruthless, and Pakistan immediately found themselves on the back foot.

Babar was the big hope, and if shots counted for more based on their elegance and beauty, Pakistan might have wrapped this up in the 28 balls he was around. They fetched seven fours, each more graceful than the last, and it appeared as if this would be the day Babar stood tall in a World Cup game and became the de facto leader of this young side. What he did instead was painful to see, no matter who you supported, throwing away a start of that kind by pulling loosely at a short delivery that carried to fine leg.

The following partnership was the last time Pakistan could aspire to win the game through normal cricketing strategy. Imam and Hafeez were well in control in the middle overs. Mitchell Starc had been seen off, and when brought back, was seen off once more. But Australia persisted with tactics they had clearly worked on, Cummins frustrating Imam down the leg side until the opener swiped at one and gloved through to Alex Carey instead. Hafeez's dismissal was even more farcical, with the right-hander holing out off a knee-high Finch full toss on the midwicket boundary, and when Shoaib and Asif fell within the next three overs, a big defeat looked inevitable.

What followed was what will in hindsight make this game memorable, a breezy cameo from Hasan taking Pakistan to 200. Sarfaraz Ahmed and Wahab then found themselves batting out time for a while, before suddenly appearing to realise they had taken the game deep, and with run rate not really an issue, were in with a shot of winning it. That was when Wahab took the attack to Maxwell using a concoction of luck and brute force, waking the heavily pro-Pakistan crowd up to the same epiphany. The target was under 50, the asking rate under seven. Would this finally happen for Pakistan?

Australia, however, had quashed such a revolution just last week, when West Indies came much closer to threatening an unlikely win. As they had done then, they turned the ball over to Starc. In his second over back, he coaxed a feathered edge from Wahab, so faint Finch nearly didn't review Australia's unsuccessful appeal. Amir was beaten by a low full toss a couple of balls later, and Pakistan's back had finally been broken. There was even time for a comedy run-out to cap off things.

It was a fitting way for things to end, with a clutch Australia having signed off the game in nerveless, ruthless fashion. The last sight for Pakistan will have been their captain stranded in the middle of the pitch, bails being dislodged by a direct hit. It might just have been 41 runs, but in that moment, the contrast couldn't have been captured more accurately.

Leicestershire 36 for 3 v Middlesex

Middlesex picked up three wickets in the 11 overs that were possible on the third day of their County Championship match against Leicestershire at the Fischer County Ground, Grace Road.

Constant heavy rain having forced play to be abandoned without a ball being bowled on each of the first two days, there was a certain amount of surprise when, after Herculean efforts by the ground staff but with the outfield still damp, umpires Steve O'Shaughnessy and Ulhas Gandhe decided it was possible to start play at 3.10pm, with 48 overs to be bowled.

After Middlesex exercised the away team's prerogative to bowl first, seamers Tim Murtagh and Tom Helm were understandably tentative in their opening overs, but even so the visitors made a quick breakthrough when Leicestershire captain Paul Horton, having squeezed a Murtagh delivery into the leg side, was slow to respond when opening partner Hassan Azad called him through for a quick single.

Leicestershire's captain was well short of his ground when George Scott, running in from midwicket, turned and threw down the stumps at the non-striker's end.

The left-handed Azad picked up a couple of neat fours off his legs off Murtagh, but Sam Evans, making his first first-class appearance of the season, had no answer to a Murtagh delivery that seamed back in to the young right-hander and hit the top of off-stump.

Middlesex then ensured that from their point of view the 11 overs had been worth playing when Helm found the edge of Mark Cosgrove's bat and captain Dawid Malan held a fine catch two-handed high to his right at third slip to secure a bowling bonus point.

Bad light closed in soon afterwards, and the forecast for the fourth day was extremely poor but, in recent years' championships, promotions and relegations have been decided by a point. Middlesex may yet come to look back on four otherwise hugely frustrating days in the East Midlands fondly.

Match organisers in Taunton were forced to turn to the press box when it became apparent they were missing a scorer for the World Cup match between Pakistan and Australia.

Moments before the toss, James Emmerson - a stewardship officer with the Church of England - was asked to deputise when it became apparent that one of the official scorers wasn't going to arrive. The original choice claims he had no knowledge he was expected to score the game.

Emmerson is no stranger to scoring. His detailed scorecards and knowledge of statistics make him a popular figure in the press box, where he has worked from time to time as the media's scorer, while he has previously deputised as an official scorer for two Tests and an ODI at Old Trafford when the Lancashire scorer has been busy on county duty. In one of those Tests he demonstrated the unflappable temperament which served him so well in Taunton by somehow managing not to miss a single delivery despite his fellow scorer vomiting heavily over both him and his scorebook during play.

Remarkably, Emmerson managed not just to fulfil his duties as official scorer in Taunton (alongside Gloucestershire stalwart Keith Gerrish, who was the other official scorer) but fulfil his original role keeping the media updated on any items of statistical interest as they arose.

"He did an amazing job in tough circumstances," Sally Donoghue, the Chief Operating Officer at Somerset told ESPNcricinfo. "It was all very last minute, but he was very calm and seemed to enjoy every minute of it."

Emmerson said: "I did enjoy it. It was a great honour to score such a prestigious match and I hope I gave a good account of myself."

Dan Evans clearly doesn't want to dwell on his much-discussed past.

The British number three knows he "lost time" and is well aware he has no one else to blame for serving a 12-month ban from April last year for testing positive for cocaine.

Why waste energy on what's gone when the present makes much more pleasing reading for the 29-year-old?

Since returning to the tour, Evans has spent 14 months steadily climbing the world rankings and is just a strong summer away from getting back into the top 50.

Victory in the Surbiton Trophy earlier this month shows his game is in very good health at the start of the grass-court season.

"It really couldn't have gone any better," Evans told BBC Sport on Wednesday as he awaited his first outing at this year's rain-soaked Nature Valley Open in Nottingham.

"It was great to get a lot of tennis under my belt. I played five matches and got better and better with each round, and I am really happy with my form.

"The grass courts suit me and my game. I like to get into the net. I enjoy playing on grass, and winning in Surbiton was a great start."

The stats back that up. Last year saw Evans reach the semis in Surbiton - his first tournament after his suspension - before shining in Nottingham, where he made it all the way to the final.

His run ended with defeat in a tight match against Australian teenager Alex de Minaur.

But his form has remained impressive and Birmingham-born Evans is back up to 70 in the world following his success in South West London, not far from the more prestigious surroundings of Wimbledon.

It still feels like Evans has much more to give. And while he "doesn't want to put numbers" on a ranking target, he wants to "get higher than I was" - namely the 41st place he attained in March 2017.

Things looked to be pretty rosy around that time, but even before his drugs ban, Evans had spent much of his career fending off accusations of wasting his talent and not putting in the required amount of work to really break into the sport's elite.

He has twice been stripped of his Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) funding and had numerous run-ins with former coaches over his off-court attitude and a lack of discipline.

But he sees any past troubles as just that - past troubles.

He did not have a world ranking in April 2018, but was 189th in January 2019 and 70th after winning in Surbiton.

"I don't think about what has happened now," he said, with more than a tinge of irritation. "It has gone. It's behind me.

"I have worked hard to get back where I am in the top 100 and am playing well. I don't think about where I could get to at Wimbledon, but if I make it to the fourth round then who knows."

Analysis

Russell Fuller, BBC tennis correspondent

I've felt for several months now that Dan Evans was going to be a very dangerous man to face on the grass this summer.

He's worked very hard for the past 12 months, and his ranking is nearly where it was before the ban.

If you look at his results for 2019 alone, he is a top 50 player, with Cameron Norrie the only British player above him.

Evans has beaten John Isner and Frances Tiafoe, and came very close to beating Stan Wawrinka in Indian Wells in March.

He has a lovely touch and a great slice, and so will always be very comfortable on the grass.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is a doubt for this year's tournament after she withdrew from the Birmingham warm-up with an arm injury.

The 29-year-old world number five, who lifted the singles title in 2011 and 2014, pulled out of her first-round French Open match last month.

"Unfortunately Birmingham is too soon," she wrote on Twitter

"I'm working really hard to get back as soon as possible and keeping everything crossed for Wimbledon."

Kvitova beat British number one Johanna Konta on her way to a successful defence of Birmingham's Nature Valley Classic title last year.

Her 2017 victory at the event was her first title since she was stabbed by an intruder in her home the previous December.

"I have the best memories of Birmingham," she added. "It was the first place that I won a title after I came back from my injury. I always have the best time there and I hope next year I will see you on the beautiful grass courts."

However Kvitova's fellow Czech Karolina Pliskova will be in the draw.

The world number three joins Australian and US Open champion Naomi Osaka and newly-crowned French Open winner Ashleigh Barty among the field.

It is the first time the Edgbaston tournament has featured the world's three best-ranked players. This year's event begins on 15 June.