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Ben Green stars as Somerset rout rock-bottom Middlesex
Somerset 142 for 1 (Kohler-Cadmore 64) beat Middlesex 136 (Green 4-20, Davey 3-34) by nine wickets
Rampant Somerset made it five victories from as many Vitality Blast South Group games with a nine-wicket demolition of winless Middlesex at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton.
The victory was as emphatic as the formbook suggested it would be and left Middlesex without a point from their first five group matches.
Having been rested for the previous game against Kent, a refreshed Craig Overton steamed in from the River End at the start of the game, bowling four fiery overs for just 15 in a single spell.
The accurate Davey profited at the other end, scattering the stumps of Joe Cracknell and Pieter Malan in his first two overs to leave Middlesex 14 for two.
Max Holden threatened briefly, hitting a straight six and 2 fours in the sixth over, bowled by Davey, but despite his efforts the power play ended with his side 40 for two.
Holden also pulled a six off Peter Siddle, who ended his nine-ball frenzy by bowling him for 22, attempting a big shot through the off side.
It was 59 for four when Roelof van der Merwe's second delivery of left-arm spin saw Stephen Eskinazi, on 18, loft a catch to long-off and 68 for five when Green struck in the following over, the 11th of the innings, Ryan Higgins being caught at long-on for six.
Five runs later, Luke Hollman chipped a catch to mid-off to give Lewis Gregory his first wicket. Davies and Martin Andersson then produced the most substantial stand of the innings, adding 43 before Andersson, who had struck a six and two fours in his 25, aimed a reverse pull off Davey and guided the ball straight to Tom Abell at backward point. Davies hit sweetly-timed sixes off van der Merwe and Siddle, as well as three fours, before departing in the 19th over, caught at deep mid-wicket off Green.
Toby Roland-Jones fell to the next delivery and Green wrapped up the innings by dismissing Nathan Fernandez via a boundary catch by Kohler-Cadmore.
A target of 137 never looked likely to test a Somerset team brimming with confidence. So it proved, as Banton and Will Smeed set about the task in typically positive fashion.
Smeed has struggled for runs in the early group games and the scorer of the first ever century in The Hundred was relieved to survive a loud lbw appeal from Roland-Jones with his score on five.
The response was a straight six and pulled four in the same over from the talented 21-year-old, who had another scare in Roland-Jones' next over when dropped by Hollman, a low chance running in from deep mid-wicket. Smeed's luck ran out at the start of the fifth over when bowled by Tom Helm for 26 off 14 balls. By then the scoreboard read 39 for one and he was replaced by Kohler-Cadmore, making his 150th T20 appearance.
Another catch went down when Banton, on 18, top-edged a pull shot off Helm and Roland-Jones spilled a skyer. With such a small score to defend, Middlesex could not afford such generosity.
At the end of six overs, Somerset were 58 for one and in command. Kohler-Cadmore audaciously uppercut Helm for six and also hit two fours as 17 came off the seventh.
At 75 for one, Banton had to hobble off with a suspected side strain, but by then the outcome was almost beyond doubt. Kohler-Cadmore signalled as much with a straight six off Roland-Jones as Somerset reached the halfway stage of their innings needing only a further 31.
The former Yorkshire player reached his half-century off 28 balls before ending the game with a huge six off Roland-Jones, Tom Abell (25) providing solid support in an unbroken stand of 67.
Surrey lose ground on leaders as Gloucestershire edge thriller
Gloucestershire 127-8 (S Curran 3-20) beat Surrey 124 for 9 (Payne 3-21, Taylor 3-27) by two wickets
Matt Taylor produced a gritty all-round performance to help Gloucestershire edge past Surrey in a thrilling Vitality Blast contest beneath the Seat Unique Stadium floodlights.
He took 3 for 21 with the ball and then scored a crucial eight not out under pressure as Gloucestershire chased down a modest victory target of 125 with two wickets and five balls to spare on a low and slow Bristol surface.
Ollie Price top-scored with 25 and James Bracey contributed 22, but Surrey took wickets at key moments to keep up the pressure, with Sam Curran returning figures of 3 for 20 to help take the game into the final over.
Gloucestershire won the toss, inserted the visitors and produced their most complete bowling and fielding performance of the campaign so far to restrict Surrey to 124 for 9 from their 20 overs. Left-arm seamers David Payne and Matt Taylor claimed three wickets each.
Surrey never recovered from the wreckage of 29 for 4 in the fourth over, Jamie Smith top-scoring with 29 and Jordan Clark and Chris Jordan contributing 25 and 24 respectively as only four batsmen made it into double figures in an innings that yielded a mere 12 boundaries.
Gloucestershire's second win in five matches breathed renewed life into their attempt to progress from the South Group, but Surrey, beaten for only the second time, lost ground on leaders Somerset, who comfortably beat Middlesex at Taunton to extend their lead at the top of the table.
Gloucestershire came at Surrey hard with the ball, Slow left armer Smith, having been hit for a four and six off consecutive deliveries by Laurie Evans, made amends when Will Jacks holed out to Price in the deep Having smashed a match-winning 83 not out against Hampshire at Southampton two days earlier, Jacks mustered a mere six on this occasion.
Unsettled by Gloucestershire's new-ball intensity, Surrey then losing three wickets in as many balls with the score on 29. Matt Taylor removed the Curran brothers without scoring in successive deliveries in the third over. Sam was caught in two minds and bowled by a ball that came back into him and hit middle and off, while Tom, cramped for space, drove to Jack Taylor at mid-off. Worse followed when Payne, now operating from the Bristol Pavilion End, had Evans held at cover point for 16 off the first ball of the fourth over to spark pandemonium among a vociferous home crowd.
Determined to fight fire with fire, the fifth wicket pair of Clark and Smith went on the attack, plundering six boundaries between them in the next three overs as Surrey still managed to raise 58 from the Powerplay. But Clark hoisted Smith high to long-off as Surrey further subsided. A parlous situation that was not helped when loan signing Danny Lamb induced former West Indies all-rounder Sunil Narine to edge a short-pitched delivery behind.
Economical in the extreme, Zafar further heightened Surrey's discomfiture, the visitors failing to record a single boundary between the ninth and 18th overs. Smith attempted to accelerate, only to send a leading edge spiralling to mid-off as the returning Payne struck in the 17th over.
Gloucestershire's new-look opening partnership of Grant Roelofsen and Ben Charlesworth posted 28 in four overs before the latter was held at mid-off off the bowling of Sam Curran, while Jordan bowled Miles Hammond for four to reduce the home side to 34 for 2 in the sixth.
Tied down by Narine's wily off breaks in the previous over, Roelofsen played an injudicious shot against Cameron Steel and sliced to backward point for 21 with the score on 37, after which Zafar and Price found the going tough against the spinners. Zafar had made 11 when he was bowled by Narine, reverse sweeping, with Gloucestershire still requiring 67 from 59 balls.
No doubt relieved to have seen off Narine, who only conceded 16, the fifth-wicket pair of Price and Bracey brought reassurance in a stand of 36. They took 11 runs off Steel's final over to ease the pressure, only for Bracey to hit the returning Sam Curran to long-on and depart for a 17-ball 22 with the score on 94 in the 15th over.
Gloucestershire needed 23 more runs from 25 balls when Price lofted Gus Atkinson to midwicket, and the pressure was right back on when captain Jack Taylor hit Jordan to mid-off.
Charged with the task of seeing their side over the finish line, Matt Taylor and Lamb obliged in a gritty alliance of 19 from 14 balls. By the time Lamb fell to Sam Curran for 11, Gloucestershire were virtually home and dry. With two needed off the final over, Smith hit the winning runs, glancing Jordan off his legs to the boundary.
Worcestershire overwhelm Notts to maintain unbeaten run
Worcestershire 226 for 5 (Bracewell 55, Hose 51*) beat Nottinghamshire 170 (Hales 71, D'Oliveira 4-11 Brown 4-25) by 56 runs
Worcestershire Rapids made it four wins from four matches in the Vitality Blast after their 226 for five - the second highest total in their history in the T20 format - proved way too many for North Group rivals Notts Outlaws at Trent Bridge, who lost by 56 runs.
Nott coach Peter Moores admitted: "We are struggling without three frontline bowlers and that hurt us tonight. Having said that we didn't play well, which is frustrating because we lost control of the game right from the start. Steven Mullaney and Matt Carter bowled well on a really good pitch but the other lads didn't quite get it right."
Rapids piled up a massive 87 without loss in the six powerplay overs, D'Oliveira setting the pace with 44 from 20 balls, Bracewell not far behind with 38 from 17. Both cleared the ropes twice.
The pair put on 98 in 41 balls for the first wicket, although Bracewell had a let-off on six when chipping Afridi to short midwicket, where Colin Munro stretched an arm above his head but could only push the ball behind him. That came during an eventful over that saw the Pakistan star visibly aggrieved over a no-ball call for having too many fielders outside the ring, his mood not helped when the extra ball flew off the edge of Bracewell's bat for four.
A breakthrough for the Outlaws arrived when D'Oliveira holed out to deep square leg off Samit Patel in the seventh over, after which two wickets in consecutive overs hinted at a fightback as Bracewell was bowled making room to cut and Mitchell Santner, back from the IPL to start a third stint with the Rapids, gave Mullaney an easy caught-and-bowled.
But at 125 for three in the 11th, Jack Haynes was joined by Adam Hose to add another 53 from 22 balls, the former cracking a couple of slog-swept maximums before Matt Montgomery completed a fine catch on the run at deep extra cover to end his progress on 42 from 25 balls.
Mullaney, easily the pick of the Outlaws bowlers, conceded only two from the 17th but the last three overs saw Afridi and Conor McKerr surrender another 41 for the solitary wicket of Kashif Ali as Hose finished 51 not out from 27 balls with three fours and four sixes, two off McKerr in the penultimate over and an audacious scoop for another off Afridi in the last.
Needing more than 11 runs per over to go close to the Rapids' total, the Outlaws were comfortably ahead of that with 76 on the board from the powerplay, although they lost one of their key weapons when Joe Clarke, after an escape on 17, was caught at short fine leg for 25 off 16 balls.
Hales was finding the gaps in the field with ominous regularity, reaching his third fifty of this season's Blast in 21 balls with two sixes, carved over extra cover off Adam Finch and off-spinner Bracewell, as well as seven fours, but a couple of tight overs from Bracewell and Santner's left-arm spin brought the first element of scoreboard pressure and yielded a dividend for the Rapids when their former team-mate Colin Munro, another who might have done some serious damage, skied one off Brown to be caught at long on.
Two more wickets lost in the next over, as new Montgomery and Tom Moores both found fielders in their efforts to put the pressure back on the visiting side against D'Oliveira's leg spin, left the Outlaws 99 for four after 10 overs with Hales seemingly now their only hope of making a game of it.
But he lost more partners when Bracewell bowled Lyndon James and Mullaney was caught on the extra cover boundary by a diving Hose off D'Oliveira, Hales departing in the same over, throwing everything into a similar shot but falling to a superb catch, again by Hose, who parried the ball above the rope and caught it as it dropped.
Afridi's four sixes off one Bracewell over provided a flurry of late entertainment but he, Samit Patel and Matt Carter predictably perished in their desperate pursuit of runs as the Outlaws were bowled out for 170 in the 19th over.
BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox placed left-hander Chris Sale on the injured list with shoulder inflammation on Friday, another setback for the seven-time All-Star as he attempts to re-establish himself as a reliable member of the rotation.
A day after being pulled from a start in the fourth inning, Sale told reporters that doctors weren't sure what the injury was but he didn't expect to need surgery. Acknowledging his past injury problems, he said he had always come back before and will do so again.
Sale, 34, who hasn't had an injury-free season since 2017, left Thursday night's start against Cincinnati in the fourth inning after two visits from the medical staff. He had an MRI on Friday morning.
Sale, 34, has been to the IL in each of the last five seasons, missing all of 2020 while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
The team reinstated righty Corey Kluber from the paternity list.
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Mariners starter Marco Gonzales remained in Seattle for tests on his left forearm and will not make his scheduled start against the Texas Rangers on Saturday, manager Scott Servais said.
Servais said Gonzalez felt discomfort after throwing 5 2/3 innings last Sunday at home against Pittsburgh. The left-hander still wasn't feeling right when throwing his bullpen session earlier this week.
"Wanted to get it checked out," Servais said Friday, adding that he wouldn't elaborate further until the team gets reports back from the doctors.
Mariners right-hander Bryan Woo will pitch in Gonzales' spot in what will be his big league debut. The team will have to make a roster move before Saturday's game to add him to the roster.
Seattle has won six of the last seven games started by Gonzales (4-1, 5.22 ERA).
Gonzales allowed one run on three hits over 5 2/3 innings against Pittsburgh, after giving up two runs over six innings against Oakland his previous start. Those followed his shortest outing of the season, when Boston scored eight runs over 1 2/3 innings against him.
Woo is 3-2 with a 2.33 ERA with 32 strikeouts and eight walks over 27 innings in five starts for Double-A Arkansas. The 23-year-old right-hander was a sixth-round draft pick by the Mariners out of Cal Poly in 2021.
Faith Kipyegon smashes world 1500m record in Florence
Kenyan creates history by becoming the first woman to break 3:50 barrier with 3:49.11 at Diamond League
With one of the greatest performances in the history of female middle-distance running, Faith Kipyegon stormed to a world 1500m record of 3:49.11 in Florence on Friday (June 2).
The 29-year-old from Kenya beat Genzebe Dibaba’s eight-year-old mark of 3:50.07 on a cool and still evening in the Luigi Ridolfi Stadium in Italian city. It means Kipyegon is the first woman to break the 3:50 barrier and, after winning two Olympic and two world titles in recent years, she can now lay claim to being called the greatest female 1500m runner in history.
Brooke Feldmeier paced the field through 400m in 62.37 with fellow rabbit Sage Hurta-Klecker passing 800m in 2:04.00 with Kipyegon not far behind. Laura Muir of Britain and Jess Hull of Australia were also hanging on to the swift pace as the rest of the field lagged some distance behind, but Muir and Hull were struggling to stay in contact whereas Kipyegon was cruising in comparison.
Cutting loose in the final 600m and passing the 1000m mark in 2:34.5, Kipyegon only had the Wavelight technology for company and down the back straight she seemed to pull ahead of the lights, which had been set at world record pace. Coming into the home straight it looked like she would break Dibaba’s mark and, sure enough, she charged through the final metres before celebrating. Her final 800m was a scintillating 2:00.6, last 400m 58.9 and final 200m 29.2.
Faith Kipyegon (Getty)
Despite the savage early pace, Muir held on to run a fine 3:57.09 in her season’s opener, as Hull ran an Australian record of 3:57.29 and Ciara Mageean of Ireland finished strongly to clock 4:00.95.
“This means a lot to me,” said Kipyegon, who gave birth to her daughter, Alyn, in 2018. “I knew everything was possible. My fans were really looking for this world record and I thank them for praying for me.
“I was not expecting to run this fast tonight. Maybe a world lead, but not a world record.”
“It was great to be part of the world record race,” said Muir. “But it was not the first world record race I was running in, I was in previous ones. I am so happy for Faith. I would have loved to be closer to her. But for the first race of the season this is really decent. I have never gone through the first 800m as fast as today.”
Faith Kipyegon is congratulated by fellow athletes (Getty)
Such was the quality of Kipyegon’s run, she would have put former men’s world record-holder and nine-time Olympic champion Paavo Nurmi 2.7sec behind her. When it comes to previous barriers being broken, the first sub-4:10 was in 1971 by Karin Burneleit of East Germany with 4:09.6 and the first sub-4:00 came in 1976 by Tatyana Kazankina of the Soviet Union with 3:56.0.
Fred Kerley was once again in formidable shape in the men’s 100m as he coasted away to win in 9.94 (0.0) from runner-up Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya, who ran 10.05 with Trayvon Bromell third in 10.09.
Akani Simbine of South Africa was fourth in 10.09 while the surprise Italian winner of the European indoor 60m title, Samuele Ceccarelli, was fifth in 10.13.
Fred Kerley (Getty)
Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs of Italy withdrew from his head-to-head with Kerley a few days before the meeting, but the Italian would have had his work cut out to beat the American.
There was delight for the home crowd in the women’s long jump, though, when Larissa Iapichino took victory ahead of a strong field in 6.79 (0.7). The Italian, whose mother is former English Schools champion Fiona May Iapichino, beat American Tara Davis-Woodhall by five centimetres although the distances were not as far as expected and Olympic and world champion Malaika Mihambo of Germany was only fifth with 6.57m, one place ahead of Britain’s Jazmin Sawyers’ 6.43m.
Femke Bol (Getty)
Femke Bol cruised to a meeting record and world lead of 52.43 in the women’s 400m hurdles. The Dutch athlete saw off the challenge of Shamier Little, the in-form American running 53.38, as Anna Hall, the heptathlon winner in Götzis five days earlier, clocked a PB of 54.42 in third.
Running in still conditions but cloudy and around 20C, Erriyon Knighton of the United States pulled away from his rivals in the final 50m of the 200m to win comfortably in 19.89 (0.0).
Erriyon Knighton (Getty)
Dina Asher-Smith was a last-minute withdrawal from the women’s 100m due to cramp in a calf muscle. In her absence Marie-Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast sped to victory in 10.97 (-0.4) from European champion Gina Lückenkemper of Germany as Britain’s Imani Lansiquot clocked 11.16 in third just a few days after her breakthrough 11.03 run in the UK.
This meeting in 1987 saw the first-ever sub-13-minute clocking when Said Aouita set a world record of 12:58.39. But on Friday the first 13 runners broke that barrier as Mo Katir of Spain won narrowly ahead of Yomif Kejelecha of Spain with 12:52.09.
In third, Luis Grijalva set a Guatamala record of 12:52.97 with Olympic champion Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda fourth in 12:53.81. It was a good race for the American visitors too as Woody Kincaid ran a PB of 12:54.40 in sixth, just ahead of Joe Klecker, who also ran a PB of 12:55.16 as Grant Fisher ran 12:56.99 in 11th.
Mo Katir (Getty)
Such was the standard, Olympic 10,000m champion Selemon Barega was ninth and fellow Ethiopian Berihu Aregawi, the Diamond League champion in 2022, 14th.
Sembo Almayew, the rising star of the women’s steeplechase, came close to breaking the nine-minute barrier as the 19-year-old from Ethiopia clocked a meet record and world lead of 9:00.71 to win by four seconds from Jackline Chepkoech from Kenya.
After a rare defeat in Rabat, Grant Holloway was back to winning ways as he clocked 13.04 (-0.2) ahead of Jason Joseph of Switzerland and fellow American Devon Allen.
Grant Holloway (Getty)
Only five centimetres separated winner Valarie Allman from runner-up Feng Bin in the women’s discus as the American threw 65.96m to beat the Olympic champion.
The men’s shot put was also close with a home nation win as Leonardo Fabbri of Italy threw 21.73m to delight the home crowd as he beat Tom Walsh of New Zealand by 4cm as Tomas Stanek of Czech Republic placed third with 21.64m, Joe Kovacs of the United States fourth with 21.55m as Italy’s recent European indoor champion Zane Weir was sixth.
Diamond League triple jump champion from 2022, Andy Díaz, the Cuban-born Italian, won with a PB of 17.75m. In the men’s high jump, JuVaughan Harrison of the United States took the win with 2.32m.
Recent filing could force LIV to disclose political and public relations activities in U.S.
A filing last week with the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) by a public relations firm that had been hired by LIV Golf could lead to more scrutiny for the Saudi-backed league.
Gitcho Goodwin, a Boston-based firm, filed a registration statement with FARA last week after “further consideration” that “the Saudi [Public Investment Fund] occasionally oversaw [LIV Golf’s] public relations activities.”
According to the filing, Gitcho Goodwin – which no longer works with LIV Golf, according to the Wall Street Journal – drafted press releases and marketing brochures for LIV Golf and also provided media training for players. The agreement between the firm and LIV Golf began in February and included a $55,000 monthly retainer fee and one-time $125,000 bonus.
Gitcho Goodwin decided to file with FARA following a hearing in the U.S. District Court where a “Saudi attorney acting on behalf of the PIF stated that the PIF is ‘inextricably intertwined with the [Saudi] government such that [the PIF's] objectives may be indistinguishable from the interests of the Saudi government.’”
After the hearing, which was part of the antitrust and counterclaim lawsuits between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour, a magistrate judge ruled, “It is plain that PIF is not a mere investor in LIV; it is the moving force behind the founding, funding, oversight and operation of LIV.”
LIV Golf has claimed it is an advocate for golf, not the government of Saudi Arabia and shouldn’t have to register as a foreign principal or agent; but critics claim Saudi Arabia has invested more than $2 billion according to court filings into the league as a form of “sport washing.”
Gitcho Goodwin’s filing with FARA, which requires agents of a foreign government to disclose their political and public relations activities in the U.S., could force LIV Golf, or the other firms it does business with, to register under FARA, which could be seen as a concession that the PIF is engaged in commercial activity through LIV in part for profit and in part for propaganda.
The antitrust and counterclaim lawsuits are currently mired in multiple discovery disputes, as well as a possible appeal with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the current trial date is May 17, 2024.
Manchester City's second-choice goalkeeper Stefan Ortega will start the FA Cup final against Manchester United, manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed.
Ortega has played in every round during City's run to Wembley and will keep his place in the team against United at the expense of usual No. 1 Ederson, who is set to return to the XI for the Champions League final against Inter Milan in Istanbul on June 10.
- Stream LIVE: Man United vs. Man City, Saturday, 9:40 a.m. ET, ESPN+
"He is going to play," Guardiola said, when asked about Ortega at a news conference on Friday. "I have always been like that in the FA Cup. At Barcelona and Bayern as well. The goalkeeper who plays in the FA Cup is going to play."
Ortega's inclusion in City's team opens the door for Guardiola to stick with other players who have been rotated into the XI for domestic cup games.
Aymeric Laporte and Riyad Mahrez have usually been substitutes in the Premier League and Champions League during the second half of the season but have played in the FA Cup. Mahrez scored a hat trick in the semifinal victory over Sheffield United at Wembley in April.
Ruben Dias and Jack Grealish are set to be fit despite sitting out the last three games of the Premier League season against Chelsea, Brighton and Brentford.
"They trained well the last two sessions," Guardiola said. "They are all of them more or less fine. It's the final of the FA Cup. It's a pleasure to be here, we will travel tonight [Friday] and be ready for tomorrow. It's a final, nothing else."
Bangladesh A hang on for draw with Joy ton as West Indies seal series 1-0
West Indies A 445 (Chanderpaul 83, Da Silva 82, Sinclair 60, Nasum 5-133, Musfik 2-59) and 220 for 5 dec drew with Bangladesh A 205 (Nasum 38*, Saif 32, Permaul 3-38, Philip 2-36) and 306 for 4
West Indies A were on top for most of the third game as well but found Mahmudul Hasan Joy hard to dismiss, as he scored 114 - the only century of the series - to save the game for the home side.
Joy's 114 included 14 boundaries, as he stuck around for seven hours and two minutes of Bangladesh A second innings. He added 93 for the opening stand with Zakir Hasan, another 53 with captain Saif Hassan for the third wicket before the match-saving 117-run fourth-wicket stand with Yasir, who made 67 with six fours and four sixes, lasting 85 balls.
Nasum Ahmed took five wickets, while Musfik Hasan and Shoriful Islam shared two wickets each in the first innings.
Marlins place reliever Barnes (hip) on injured list
The Miami Marlins placed right-hander Matt Barnes on the 15-day injured list Friday with a left hip impingement.
The team recalled rookie right-hander George Soriano from Triple-A Jacksonville in a corresponding transaction.
Barnes, 32, is 1-0 with a 5.48 ERA in 24 appearances (one start) in his first season with the Marlins.
Barnes played his first nine seasons with the Boston Red Sox, winning a World Series in 2018 and making the All-Star team in 2021.
Soriano, 24, made his MLB debut on April 16. He has no decisions and a 2.57 ERA in three relief appearances with Miami.
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