I Dig Sports
Florida to face Georgia Tech in NCAA men's golf championship match
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Ricky Castillo birdied the third extra hole to beat Brett Roberts and give Florida a 3-2 victory over Florida State in the NCAA semifinals Tuesday at Grayhawk.
National co-runner-up Ross Steelman two-putted for par to beat Peter Fountain, 1 up, giving Georgia Tech a 3-2 victory over top-seeded North Carolina in the other semifinal. The Yellow Jackets will play for their first national championship Wednesday.
Castillo rallied from 2 down with three holes to go with birdies on 16 and 17. Neither player could get up and down for par on No. 18, sending the match to extra holes.
After trading three pars, Roberts missed a birdie putt on the par-4 10th hole. Putting on the same line, Castillo rolled his in, pumping his fist as the Gators rushed onto the green in celebration.
It didn't look good for the Gators for a while.
Florida State won the first two matches, starting with freshman Jack Bigham's 6-and-5 win over Yuxin Lin. Frederik Kjettrup followed with a 3-and-1 decision over Matthew Kress.
Florida tied it when NCAA individual champion Fred Biondi birdied the par-4 17th to beat Cole Anderson, 1 up. Then John DuBois beat Luke Clanton, 1 up, with a par on No. 18.
Castillo, a senior with three career wins, caught Roberts down the stretch with two birdies and made the final one to cap a day that started with an early morning 3-2 win over Virginia in the quarterfinals.
The final match went down to the wire as well.
Georgia Tech needed extra holes to secure its quarterfinal match against Pepperdine in the morning, moving on when Hiroshi Tai birdied the 19th hole against Roberto Nieves.
North Carolina got the early lead in the semifinals when Dylan Menante won six straight holes, starting at No. 6 to beat Christo Lamprecht, 6 and 5.
Georgia Tech’s Bartley Forrester beat Ryan Burnett, 4 and 2. Connor Howe followed with a 4-and-2 win over Austin Greaser.
David Ford then closed out Tai, 1 up, with a par on 18 to pull North Carolina into a tie at 2-all.
That left it up to Steelman.
The senior had a three-shot lead through 15 holes Monday in the individual finale but closed with three straight bogeys to end up a shot behind Biondi.
He finished it off this time.
Leading 1 up, Steelman dropped in a birdie on 17, but Fountain matched him with a birdie putt that rolled around the lip before dropping. Fountain had to lay up after hitting into a fairway bunker and Steelman hit it to the middle of the green.
Fountain conceded the winning putt after Steelman rolled it up to about a foot.
Ricky Castillo delivers in extras to send Florida to NCAA final vs. Ross Steelman-anchored Georgia Tech
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – As soon as Florida State junior Brett Roberts asked Florida senior Ricky Castillo to move his mark, Gators head coach J.C. Deacon knew that Roberts likely had to make it.
Roberts was facing 20 feet for birdie on Grayhawk’s par-4 10th hole, the third extra hole in what had suddenly become the deciding match in Tuesday afternoon’s NCAA Championship semifinal between the two in-state rivals. Castillo, meanwhile, was a few feet inside of his opponent, and on the same line. If Roberts missed, Castillo, one of the most clutch putters in the country, would get a great teach.
After Roberts’ putt slid by low, Castillo re-marked and, on cue, drained his.
“I’ve played this course a lot,” Castillo said, “and I know that putt breaks a lot more than people think. Whatever I thought, I put a little bit extra on it, about 5 feet high, just so I could have it die in there, and as soon as I hit it, I knew it was on a really good line.”
Before the clinching putt even got to the hole, Castillo loaded up his right arm. And when it fell, Castillo unleashed the powerful fist pump while letting out a huge roar.
“A dagger fist pump from ol’ Rick!” Deacon followed, screaming aloud as he and the rest of the Gators mobbed their hero, who had just sent Florida, in match play for the first time at nationals, to its first NCAA Championship final, where the Gators will meet Georgia Tech, a 3-2 winner over top-seeded North Carolina.
“I've known all these guys for years, and we've played together a long time,” Castillo said. “And, you know, when they're counting on you, and you can deliver, it's a pretty special feeling. There’s nothing like it honestly.”
Deacon has known Castillo since Castillo was 11 years old, when Deacon was an assistant at UNLV and recruiting Castillo’s older brother, Derek. There was something special, though, about the younger Castillo bro, and even to this day, Deacon can’t fully explain the complexity of it.
“He's got a special gift,” Deacon said. “I got to walk those playoff holes with him, and that’s just his element, that's where he wants to be. It's where he feels comfortable, and it's where he thrives.
“And he's just got an answer for every situation.”
Especially in match play. Castillo’s record in the format is remarkable. Not only is he now 8-3-1 in college match play, including 2-0 this week, but he’s also shined countless times at the most prestigious match-play championships. He's made the Round of 16 at the U.S. Amateur three times. He’s won three matches at two different U.S. Juniors. At the grueling Western Amateur, he’s qualified for the 16-man match play four times, reaching two semifinals. And at the 2021 Walker Cup, Castillo went a perfect 4-0.
So, with his Gators' team – though talented with NCAA individual champion Fred Biondi and two-time Asia-Pacific Amateur winner Yuxin Lin also in the lineup – in uncharted territory at nationals, Deacon leaned on Castillo in the anchor spot.
It helped even more that Castillo teed off in Tuesday morning’s quarterfinals opposite Virginia’s Ben James, the likely national freshman of the year, with an extra edge. Castillo closed Monday’s final round of stroke play with a costly bogey on Grayhawk’s par-4 finishing hole that not only dropped him out of the top 10 individually but also kept him from improving two more spots in PGA Tour University, to No. 7, which would’ve probably been enough to get him into every Korn Ferry Tour event this summer.
“To be honest, I think that worked in the team’s favor because it pissed Ricky off,” Deacon said. “He didn't say much last night, and he didn't say anything this morning. And when Ricky gets that look in his eye, get out of his way.”
Added Castillo: “I was disappointed for a while, but I just knew that my team is out here counting on me.”
After trouncing James, 4 and 3, in a 3-2 Gators’ win over the Cavaliers, Castillo again back-ended Deacon's lineup for the semis. But Florida State put two points on the board – an easy one with Jack Bigham’s 6-and-5 rout of Lin, and another after Frederik Kjettrup topped Matthew Kress, 3 and 1 – and Castillo suddenly found himself the potential victim of a clinching point, 2 down with three holes to play.
Castillo, though, didn’t quit. Despite finding the front-right bunker at the par-3 16th hole, he got up and down to save par and win the hole. Then at the drivable par-4 17th hole, Castillo hit what Deacon described as the “prettiest 3-wood that you’ve ever seen,” a tight draw that hit the green, ran up the slope, used the fringe to kill some speed and finished 15 feet away. A cozy first putt tied the match. But with all the momentum, Castillo spun a drive well right and into the rough, just over the bunker, with some 210 yards left, over water and with a stiff wind at his back.
Deacon considers Castillo world-class in making flush contact from even the worst of lies. As a kid, Castillo would often finish several hours before his brother at tournaments around his hometown of Yorba Linda, California, and as he waited, he’d head to the practice area and see if he could scramble from seemingly impossible spots – bushes, rocks, behind buildings.
So, this lie on Tuesday, it was nothing Castillo hadn’t seen before. And with an 8-iron, he made a steep strike, drew clean contact, and left himself a 15-yard chip from just off the back of the green. Roberts, meanwhile, found the left bunker with his approach. Both would bogey to extend the match. Two straight par-tying holes would follow, at No. 10 and again at No. 18, where Castillo hit another deft approach, this time finding the green from the right fairway bunker, before Castillo finally put away Roberts with birdie on the 21st hole in what he described as probably his greatest match-play achievement.
“I would put this above the Walker Cup,” Castillo said.
With Castillo in the anchor position for a third time in Wednesday’s final against the Yellow Jackets, that means he’ll face a back-end star that might not have all the credentials of Castillo but who has played better than the Gators’ standout so far this week. Georgia Tech senior Ross Steelman nearly won the NCAA individual competition before finishing runner-up. He then rolled through Castillo’s Walker Cup teammate, Pepperdine’s William Mouw, in the quarters, 5 and 4, and dispatched North Carolina’s Peter Fountain, 1 up, later in the day for a deciding point of his own.
Prior to this spring’s ACC Championship, the Yellow Jackets got together to decide who would anchor should they make match play. Steelman, in his second season with the squad after transferring from Missouri, won the vote unanimously, and he embraced that role to earn winning points in both the semifinals and final that week in Pinehurst, North Carolina.
“He’s tough as nails, and he really believes in himself,” Georgia Tech head coach Bruce Heppler said. “But I don’t know that he’d really been on a lot of successful teams, so he was always like, what’s coach talking about with this team stuff? … And all a sudden, they hand him that ACC Championship trophy, and you can ask him, it was like the light went off; this is the coolest thing ever, I won something with people that I live with, that I eat with, that I work out with and do all this stuff with, and so for him, it was like, wow.”
Steelman usually chooses to ride with assistant Devin Stanton at tournaments because he doesn’t like listening to country music, which is what’s often playing in Heppler’s vehicle. But when the team landed at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport the morning after ACCs, Steelman and Heppler were the last ones to finish some interviews, so Steelman had no choice but for Heppler to take him back to campus.
“I remember he’s sitting in the front seat, and he has the trophy in his lap, and he goes, ‘Coach, when do I need to bring this back?’” Heppler said. “I said anytime you want, so we had a student-athlete dinner that night with the whole department, and guess who’s the dude walking in with the trophy over his head?”
Yes, that would be Steelman, Georgia Tech’s anchor man.
“Whenever a little bit of nerves creep in,” Steelman said, “it’s a nice reassuring factor to think about, hey, my guys wanted me on this spot.”
And with an NCAA title on the line this time, Steelman still isn't losing any votes.
Neither is Castillo, Florida's answer man.
The LA Galaxy have fired president Chris Klein amid a turbulent season that has seen fan protests and the team languishing at the bottom of the Western Conference.
Klein was in his 11th season with the Galaxy but his continued presence had been a source of fan unrest throughout much of this season. The former Galaxy player and U.S. international sent an email to supporters last month stating that he would step down if the team failed to make the MLS playoffs this season.
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However, the club announced Tuesday that he will now leave with immediate effect.
"As a Club we have not achieved our goals or met the standard that we have established for the LA Galaxy," Dan Beckerman, president and CEO of Galaxy parent company AEG said.
"We believe it is in the best interest of the Club to make a change and begin a comprehensive process to seek new leadership that will return the Club to the level that our fans and partners expect. We are thankful to Chris for his years of dedication and commitment to the LA Galaxy as both a player and an executive."
Added Klein: "I'd like to thank Phil Anschutz and Dan Beckerman for the opportunity to serve as president for the LA Galaxy for the past 11 years. My family and I love this club and I'm grateful to have spent 16 years with this organization as a player and an executive. Thank you to our supporters, partners, players, coaches, and staff for all of the passion, dedication and hard work."
Head coach and sporting director Greg Vanney will continue to lead all soccer operations and will now report directly to Beckerman, the Galaxy said.
Last December, Klein was suspended and the team fined $1 million by Major League Soccer for undisclosed payments involving Argentine winger Cristian Pavon in 2019.
MLS also stripped the team of $1 million in future general allocation money and said the Galaxy will not be allowed to acquire players coming to MLS internationally during this summer's transfer window.
Klein was the target this year of several Galaxy fan organizations infuriated by the team's miserable recent seasons and its inability to return to contention despite one of MLS' biggest payrolls. The fan groups threatened to boycott the team if Klein stayed in charge, and they followed through on the threat to varying degrees in recent months.
The record five-time MLS Cup winner has failed to make the MLS playoffs in four of the past six seasons. After 14 games this season, the Galaxy have the worst record in MLS with just nine points.
Also on Tuesday, it was revealed that a Brazilian court is seeking the arrest of LA Galaxy winger Douglas Costa for failing to pay for child support.
An attorney for the former Brazil international said on Tuesday in a statement that he trusts the decision by a judge in the city of Porto Alegre will be reversed.
Details of the case are sealed.
The 32-year-old Costa cannot be arrested outside Brazil, according to the court's ruling, which was issued on Friday.
Costa has played for Brazil, Bayern Munich and Juventus. He signed a deal with the Galaxy in February 2022, and it runs to December.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Manchester United's preparations for the FA Cup final have been hit by an injury to Anthony Martial.
The Frenchman has been ruled out of Saturday's clash with Manchester City at Wembley after suffering a hamstring injury during the 2-1 win over Fulham.
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Martial came on as a second-half substitute at Old Trafford on Sunday, playing the last 23 minutes.
After reporting the injury after the game, assessments done by United medical staff on Monday and Tuesday revealed a muscle tear and the 27-year-old will now not be part of Erik ten Hag's squad against City.
A statement issued by the club on Tuesday read: "Anthony Martial is out of Saturday's Emirates FA Cup final against Manchester City due to injury.
"The France international strained his hamstring towards the end of Sunday's 2-1 win against Fulham at Old Trafford.
"Assessments have since revealed a muscle tear that rules the 27-year-old out of the Wembley showdown."
Martial has struggled with injury all season and has been restricted to 29 appearances in all competitions, scoring nine goals.
His latest injury will raise further doubts about his long-term future at Old Trafford, particularly with Ten Hag prioritising a new striker in the summer transfer window.
Martial's absence will further reduce United's options ahead of the cup final with Lisandro Martinez, Donny van de Beek and Marcel Sabitzer already missing.
However, there is hope that Brazilian winger Antony will be fit despite being stretchered off during the 4-1 win over Chelsea last week. Antony's ankle injury is not as serious as first thought and he could be available to face City.
Where do teams place in Premier League 'expectation vs. reality' table?
How do you gauge the success of a season? Looking at the final table is factual, but can be a little deceptive, so how about measuring preseason hopes against what was delivered at the end? Where would your team feature with those factors in play?
Here's how this season's Premier League "expectation vs reality" table might look.
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1. Brighton (actual finish: 6th). The club saw manager Graham Potter leave for Chelsea early on, but brought in the brilliant Roberto De Zerbi to replace him. Brighton's sizzling football enchanted fans all over the country and earned them first adventure in the Europa League by finish sixth.
The club is expertly run from top to bottom, especially when it comes to signing quality players on the cheap, and they will already have lined up replacements for star midfielders Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo if, as seems certain, they are allowed to go.
2. Bournemouth (15th). Every pundit predicted relegation and even their ex-manager Scott Parker thought they weren't good enough to stay up -- saying so cost him his job after four games at the end of August. But Gary O'Neil came in to defy the critics in his first managerial appointment, keeping kept them in the Premier League by five points.
3. Arsenal (2nd). The Gunners deserve thanks for giving us some sort of title race. They led the table for 248 days -- the most a team has ever done so without finishing top -- and were so good to watch, but ran out of gas. A title challenge was never the objective before the season, so finishing second is a big achievement. They will rue how it all fell apart in the final games, but signing West Ham midfielder Declan Rice would strengthen them this summer.
4. Newcastle (4th). Despite their huge financial backing from Saudi Arabia, a place in the top four and Champions League football came ahead of schedule for Eddie Howe's side. Solid and stylish, they did it playing attractive football and lost only five times -- the same as champions Manchester City.
5. Fulham (10th). In a new division for the fifth year running after bouncing up and down between the Premier League and the Championship, it was evident from an early stage that Marco Silva's dynamic team were more likely to be challenging in the top half of the table than fighting the drop. And so it proved.
6. Nottingham Forest (16th). After a summer spending spree on 30 new players left them with a squad full of strangers, they looked relegation certainties. But manager Steve Cooper deserves credit for moulding a team that managed to stay afloat, with help from a rocking City Ground.
7. Aston Villa (7th). In 16th place when the meticulous Unai Emery took over from Steven Gerrard in October 2022, Villa rose to 7th and claimed a place in the UEFA Europa Conference League. They ended with seven successive home wins and have a young star in 22-year-old midfielder Jacob Ramsey to build around.
8. Manchester City (1st). They are easily the best team in the country and brushed Arsenal aside in the final weeks of the season to claim a fifth title in six years. Pep Guardiola's side are unplayable at times and won 17 of 22 league games in 2023 (including 12 straight in the run-in) but, given the quality of the manager and players, it was all to be expected. Hence they are only 8th in this table.
Mark Ogden explains why there is a cloud hanging over Manchester City despite the club winning yet another Premier League title.
9. Manchester United (3rd). Manager Erik ten Hag has overseen a revolution at Old Trafford in his first full season, restoring sanity and discipline. A return to the Champions League is a major target achieved and while United still have their off days, they're trending in the right direction now.
10. Brentford (9th). Thomas Frank's side made nonsense of preseason predictions that they would struggle in their second Premier League campaign. They won twice against Man City -- home and away -- which is a sign of how hard they are to play against. But if they are to do as well next year, they need to sign a striker to fill the gap left by Ivan Toney's eight-month suspension after he was found guilty of gambling offences.
11. Crystal Palace (11th). After failing to win a game in 2023 under Patrick Vieira, the Frenchman was sacked in March and replace by 75-year-old Roy Hodgson. The former England manager completed quite the turnaround to push Palace up the table and, with young stars like Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise, they could do even better.
Hodgson only signed a contract until the end of the season, but could stay on.
12. Wolverhampton Wanderers (13th). They had a relegation look about them until manager Julen Lopetegui arrived in November to reorganise and revamp the team. They played a better brand of football, too.
13. West Ham (14th). It was mostly disappointing for the Hammers this season, but some important wins (vs. Man United, Fulham and Bournemouth) kept them just out of trouble. Reaching the Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina has given the season a gloss it never looked like delivering.
14. Liverpool (5th). By Jurgen Klopp's high standards, this season has been way below expectations. A late revival containing seven straight wins saw them push for the top four and eventually earn the consolation prize of a Europa League place. But Klopp will need to refresh and rebuild to make them title challengers again.
15. Everton (17th). Another season, another relegation scrap. It has been an agonising few years for fans at Goodison Park. Frank Lampard was sacked in January with the club second from bottom and Sean Dyche did a superb job to save them from the drop, via a 1-0 win over Bournemouth on the final day.
The brinkmanship has to stop here. It is a big summer ahead for the owners.
16. Tottenham Hotspur (8th). This season was a mess. Often turgid to watch, Spurs have struggled to find a manager to replace Antonio Conte (who acted as if he was doing the club a favour by being there) since he was sacked in March. They missed out on a European place and need to bring in a top coach quickly.
Persuading star striker Harry Kane to renew his contract, which expires in 2024, might be tough given how things went.
17. Southampton (20th). The Premier League's worst side, statistically, never looked good enough to avoid relegation and they were not helped by poor recruitment and managerial choices. They will struggle to hold on to star midfielder James Ward-Prowse, who would be key to their hopes of bouncing up again next season.
James Olley breaks down what could be the next steps for Leicester City after being relegated to Championship despite a win over West Ham.
18. Leicester City (18th). The end of an incredible fairytale which brought the Foxes the Premier League title (2016) and FA Cup success (2021.)
Allowing goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel to leave last summer was just one of several poor decisions, while manager Brendan Rodgers seemed to lose enthusiasm with no money to spend and not sacking him until early April was too late. Leicester lacked the grit and fight to stay up, with Dean Smith unable to do anything about it.
19. Leeds United (19th). The club have such a rich history and big fan base, but they have lost their way since the iconic Marcelo Bielsa left in February 2022. Leeds signed players unproven in the Premier League and their experiment with a base of U.S. stars failed under American coach Jesse Marsch. Sacked inside a year, the club always had a fragile look about them and that didn't change under Sam Allardyce. No team can expect to concede 78 goals and survive.
20. Chelsea (12th). A calamitous season in which they spent £600m, but didn't bring in a central striker. Thomas Tuchel was sacked days after summer transfer window closed, Brighton's Potter seemed to find the job too big, while re-hiring club legend Lampard as interim boss didn't work as they lost 8 of 11 games under him. Goals were an issue (Southampton only scored two less) and a bloated 31-man squad could never any establish any pattern of play.
New boss Mauricio Pochettino has a lot of work to do.
Essex's own Bobby Dazzler gets their Blast season up and running
Essex 196 for 7 (Das 69, Khushi 34, Westley 31*) beat Gloucestershire 195 for 7 (Charlesworth 52, Dent 33) by three wickets
"There is a lot of scope for things to go better but I guess I've had worse weeks," Das said. "I am really happy with how the week has gone and hopefully can keep the ball rolling and keep the momentum going.
"It is very pleasing to contribute with Feroze. I have played with him since club cricket at the age of 13 or 14. It is nice to play with those players you grew up with and shows a really strength to our club; players coming through the pathways and into the first team."
Essex and Gloucestershire hadn't bowled a ball at each other at the Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford since 2016, following an incredible run of five consecutive washouts. Essex had also delayed the start of their Blast season due to the Ireland clash.
Former Eagles Grant Roelofson and Chris Dent got Gloucestershire off to a strong start in the powerplay - 61 for 1 - but the former feathering an edge behind saw them stall.
Miles Hammond and Dent fell in the following two overs, with Ollie Price bowled soon after, leaving the visitors on 80 for 4 just past the halfway point. But after an unspectacular start, where he was dropped on 13 and had 20 off his first 13 balls, Charlesworth went into hyperdrive.
He took Matt Critchley for two consecutive sixes on the leg side before tearing into Sam Cook. Two fours through mid-on were followed by two maximums over deep square - one on the back foot, the other flicked off the front - to take him to his half-century.
Next ball, Cook had the last laugh by finding his edge. James Bracey heaved his first ball for six - which made it 47 runs in 12 balls for Gloucestershire - but next ball he picked out long off, with Jack Taylor coming and going in the same Daniel Sams over.
Danny Lamb, who arrived on a short-term loan from Lancashire before the match, crashed a four and a six off the last over to take Gloucestershire to an imposing 195 for 7.
Fast bowler de Lange had Adam Rossington caught at deep midwicket with his third ball but pulled out of his delivery stride before bowling another ball before walking out of proceedings.
Khushi had already pinged de Lange back over his head before repeating the trick twice off Tom Smith's spin. But he fell to a stunning catch at short third as Essex blasted 72 for 2 in the powerplay.
Das showed his classy shot-making against Ireland but proved his outright power for a small man with 11 fours and sixes straight and over midwicket. His maiden T20 fifty came in 27 balls, although he had earned a life when dropped on 38. He may not have even played had Michael Pepper not suffered a knock in a Second XI match.
The Eagles were well ahead of the rate but were pegged back when Critchley slogged to long-on and Das top-edged a slog-sweep.
Walter was bowled by Price, Sams chopped to short fine and Simon Harmer clubbed to long-on, but Westley eased to the conclusion to condemn Gloucestershire to a third defeat in four.
Somerset emerge from paywall and showers as South Group's top dogs
Somerset 154 (Lammonby 34, Agar 3-18, Hogan 3-33) beat Kent 112 (Green 3-19) by 13 runs via DLS method
Somerset's 154 had always resembled a defendable score on a seaming pitch and, as squally showers increasingly played havoc on a cold Canterbury night, they held their nerve impressively in the field to claim their fourth successive win and maintain their position at the top of South Group.
Kent had never really threatened as Somerset's experienced seamers jousted for the delivery of the night. Henry's break-back to bowl Joe Denly came close but it was probably shaded by Peter Siddle's away-seamer to strike Daniel Bell-Drummond's off stump. Sam Billings shaped better than most until he made room against Lewis Gregory and his off stump also went flying.
Kent threw free t-shirts into the crowd during the match, but winter coats would have been a more appropriate offering on a showery and chilly night. Online coverage was a persuasive option - it would have set you back £5.99, though. Kent don't have a reputation as one of county cricket's natural innovators, but they have become the first club to risk what will surely be an inevitable outcome: they are charging for their in-house coverage of the Vitality Blast.
If county cricket's tie-up with BBC radio commentary has been a symbiotic relationship that has helped to promote the county game like never before, financial imperatives will surely mean that, in T20, Kent's experiment will soon be adopted by others. They are a curious outlier as, according to Wisden Cricketers Almanack, their coverage was the third least-watched among the counties in 2022, although those figures were not helped by a disappointing season in which they finished bottom of South Group.
As the quality of in-house coverage has improved, so have the costs and if free coverage of Championship cricket remains a highly persuasive loss-leader that it would be foolish to abandon, then T20 is a different animal. For a modest outlay, it was possible to receive professional coverage, fronted by an experienced broadcaster and former captain, Dave Fulton, who had the know-how to keep home favouritism to acceptable levels. Away supporters can watch Kent's coverage without calling for the sick bag.
Shane Burger, Somerset's assistant coach, emphasised the importance of his side's doughty attitude in the field. "There was never a moan, there was always a mindset of trying to get out there and play cricket. I think many a team would try to get off the field rather than play. People were slipping over and the ball was wet but full credit to the guys. It just shows what you can do if you have the right mindset."
Banton, whose reputation has taken a battering in the past two years, has had a good start to the season, but his attempt to hit Michael Hogan inside-out, up the slope, came to grief. Kohler-Cadmore's talent reel included 20 off one over from Joe Denly until he failed with a blow down the ground. Denly's two overs cost 29 and hindsight suggested an introductory over should have been enough on such a night.
Agar's stay at Kent has been extended for a further two months as cover for Kane Richardson and George Linde, and he gained an immediate opportunity after Richardson withdrew because of an unspecified illness. Another quick bowler, India's Arshdeep Singh, is also scheduled to play red-ball cricket in June and July.
His T20 experience is sound enough: although not capped by Australia, he is a Big Bash winner with Adelaide Strikers and his career-best 4 for 6 came in the notable BBL match in December when Strikers dismissed Sydney Thunder were dismissed for just 15 runs. His 3 for 18 will do for a start.
That Somerset reached 154 was due primarily to Lammonby's restrained 34 from 31. He fell to his first adventurous moment. The "five overs left" bell rang in his head; he shuffled outside off stump for a pre-meditated scoop and Grant Stewart followed him shrewdly to force a catch at the wicket.
An over of strong-arming against Hogan by Roelof van der Merwe helped Somerset to a competitive score, a sequence in which Jordan Cox once again encouraged the belief that he is an T20 outfielder to rival anybody in the world. In narrowly failing to pull off a brilliant relay catch with Denly, and again flinging himself to the ground later in the over, he turned a six and a four into a couple of twos. On many a night, those six runs would have been crucial. Not this night.
David Hopps writes on county cricket for ESPNcricinfo @davidkhopps
Yorkshire break nine-month winless run by sneaking past Notts
Yorkshire 182 for 7 (Malan 95*, Masood 34, Brooks 4-51) beat Nottinghamshire 174 for 4 (Hales 53, Munro 46) by eight runs
"There were a lot of nerves at the end but Jordan Thompson bowled a fantastic last over to get us over the line," Ottis Gibson, Yorkshire's coach, said. "We have been struggling a bit for wins without playing as badly as the results might suggest and and we are hoping the confidence the players draw from that will set us up nicely for another big game, a Roses game, on Thursday night.
"When you win the toss and bat, you need someone to bat through the innings for you and Malan is one of the best in England and played a really a good innings. We had spoken about needing one of the top four to bat through the innings and he took it upon himself to do that tonight."
Yorkshire posted a modest 41 for 2 in the powerplay, losing two wickets in the space of four deliveries in the sixth over as Adam Lyth and debutant Will Luxton departed in similar fashion, each trying to hit over the infield but succeeding only in launching the ball vertically, Matt Carter and Colin Munro respectively combining safe hands with a steady eye as Brooks celebrated his first two wickets.
The right-arm seamer, who turns 39 next Sunday, had seen his first over against his former county go for 17 runs as Malan and Lyth went on the attack and it was little wonder his wickets brought animated celebrations.
Masood joined Malan in plundering 50 runs in 35 balls but the Pakistan international, having cleared the rope a couple of balls earlier, holed out to Lyndon James on the leg-side boundary.
Malan missed few chances to score but lost another partner as Wiese picked out long-off, handing veteran spinner Samit Patel his 200th T20 wicket for Outlaws, and at 122 for 4 from 15, Yorkshire needed some acceleration.
It came in the last three overs, which contained another two fatal miscues off Brooks and one off Shaheen Shah Afridi but a feisty 15 in 6 balls from Ben Mike and 17 off the last Brooks over, including a fourth six for Malan, just clearing the fielder at long-off.
Outlaws were marginally in front at 48 from the powerplay, having lost Joe Clarke to a steepling top edge in the second over and though they were slightly behind the required rate at 78 for 1 from 10, the second-wicket pair were still together, Hales completing 50 from 30 balls with his eighth boundary, although Munro had an escape on 24 when his pull fell just short of deep backward square.
That changed in the 13th over, when Hales edged Wiese straight into the hands of Luxton at backward point. He and Munro had added 84 but Outlaws needed 84 from 47 balls and needed to maintain momentum.
Fortunately for them, Montgomery was into his stride immediately, a couple of streaky boundaries followed by a clean hit six into the Fox Round stand off Dom Bess. Nonetheless, the pressure was still on with 54 required at the start of the last five overs and it was cranked up still more as Munro holed out to long-on.
The loss of the big-hitting left-hander in a tight over from Jordan Thompson turned out to be a crucial scalp for the Vikings, with every subsequent dot ball turning the screw on Outlaws, who suffered another blow when Montgomery hit Mike straight to extra cover, although with 26 still needed from just eight balls the game by then was effectively won.
Hazlewood hopeful of WTC final: 'My fitness is pretty good'
Hazlewood played just three matches in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore after arriving to the tournament late due to an Achilles issue that saw him miss Australia's entire four-match Test series with India in February and March and the three-match ODI series that followed.
The decision to withdraw Hazlewood from the IPL early was precautionary and scans cleared him of any damage to his side. He has suffered two side strains in the past two years which saw him miss four Tests in the 2021-22 home Ashes series and then three more last summer against West Indies and South Africa.
But he was able to bowl at home in Sydney before travelling with the team to England last week. The squad held their first official training session in England on Tuesday in Formby in West Lancashire where Hazlewood went at close to full tilt having had a gentle bowl on his own shortly after arriving in England.
He told the ICC that he is close to full fitness but would need to get through a week's worth of bowling to be declared fit to play in the WTC final against India starting next Wednesday at the Oval in London.
"My fitness is pretty good," Hazlewood said. "It is just a matter of ticking off every session from here until that date basically.
"In T20 you are bowling a lot of various different balls every over. A wide yorker to a bouncer to a slower ball, and [the side] just got jammed up a little bit and a bit of scar tissue from previous injuries flared up.
"It calmed down pretty quickly. I had a week off, I didn't quite get back to going 100 percent at [the] IPL, but the last few bowls have been good and I have been building up nicely."
Australia began their UK tour in Lancashire with a golf trip that included a training session at Formby on Tuesday before heading to London on Wednesday where they will hold a three-day camp at Beckenham.
Hazlewood will likely have to get through two solid bowling sessions on Thursday and Saturday if he's any chance to play in the WTC final. Australia will train at the Oval on Monday and Tuesday and the quicks often have another solid bowling session two days out from a Test match before resting the day prior to the match.
Australia's side will be settled for the WTC final outside of the decision between Hazlewood and Boland, with Pat Cummins returning to captain the team after missing the last two Tests in India for family reasons. Mitchell Starc is fully fit having played as the lone quick in Australia's final two Tests in India after missing the first two due to a finger injury.
Hazlewood has only played four of Australia's last 19 Test matches and has not played in back-to-back first-class games since early 2021. He was aware that six Tests in seven weeks would be a big ask for the fast bowlers to undertake despite a desire to play every game.
"If you asked that question three years ago I probably would have said I would have liked to play all six Tests, but it is just different now," Hazlewood said. "It is just so tightly consumed together now and coming off not an ideal build-up, it is getting there now.
"But we have got enough quicks here and a couple of others playing county cricket to cover all bases. Pat is perhaps looking at all six potentially depending how much we bowl in each so you play it by ear a little bit. It is such a dense schedule, it is tough."
Alex Malcolm is an Associate Editor at ESPNcricinfo
'We can work harder and that's our job' - Amelia Kerr expects NZC deal to change the game for women
"For a while, we have had half the team full-time professionals, and half balancing cricket and work. To have everyone as full-time professionals allows us to invest more in our cricket and that's so important," Kerr said during New Zealand's camp ahead of the tour of Sri Lanka. "We want to perform and the only way to get better is if we can train every day and put our focus into that.
"It is good to have balance outside of it. Having full-time professional athletes means we can work harder and that's our job - we turn up every day and that's what we are meant to do."
"How many people we were playing in front of was pretty incredible"
Amelia Kerr on the WPL experience
Before that, Kerr had been on the road for large parts. She was part of New Zealand's bronze-medal finish at the Commonwealth Games last August, which was followed by stints in the Hundred and the WBBL. She also toured West Indies, played Bangladesh at home and then the T20 World Cup in South Africa earlier this year before the WPL.
"I am not one to always take that break, but it was a pretty full-on year last year," Kerr said. "To be a part of the WPL and playing there and to see how much they love cricket over in India, the crowd… how many people we were playing in front of was pretty incredible and an amazing tournament to be a part of. The passion and love India has and going over there to play cricket is one of the best experiences you will get."
"To play alongside them and to see how they go about their business and how they train and prepare are all valuable learning experiences for me. [It is] also nice to play with a group of different people as well and learn how to connect and gel with not much time before you are into game one."
"The WPL is a valuable tournament and it's also life-changing," she said. "It's only going to improve women's cricket around the world. It's nice to have opportunities around the world to grow your game.
"It's all quite confronting - your value is determined by someone else and what your worth [is]. At the end of the day, it's just an opinion and you've got to know what you think of yourself as a cricketer. The most important thing is how you are as a person is pretty subjective. It's someone else's opinion and doesn't define you. You can go out there and do your best to prove people wrong."
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