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Australia opener David Warner has dismissed suggestions he and Steve Smith are going to quit Test cricket after the final Ashes contest against England beginning at the Oval on Thursday. Warner has expressed his desire to play his last Test in Sydney against Pakistan in January next year though he wants to play on until the 2024 Twenty20 World Cup. Australia have already retained the Ashes urn taking a 2-1 lead heading into the final Test, and former England captain Michael Vaughan is among those who believe the duo could exit after the match at the Oval. Warner, talking to reporters on the eve of the match, called it a “joke”. “And Smithy (is retiring) too apparently. So obviously it’s a joke,” Warner said. “I won’t take that too seriously ... I don’t have an announcement.” A fixture at the top of the Australian order since his debut in 2011, Warner has managed 201 runs in the ongoing Ashes series averaging 25.12 with a top score of 66. Warner, who scored 43 and 1 in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against India in June, survived the horrors of the 2019 tour to England when he averaged 9.50. “I’ve probably left a few out there but in saying that, I’ve played a lot better than what I did last time,” Warner said. “I feel like I’m in a good space, contributed well, and as a batting unit we’re all about partnerships, and I think the partnerships that we’ve had in key moments of this series have actually worked very well for us as a team. “I came here last time and it was a draw. Hopefully, we can go away with a series win and then that’ll be a fitting Ashes campaign for us and a fitting tour over here in England with the World Test Championship as well,” Warner said. “Look at the dismissal against (Chris) Woakes in the first innings last Test. That one seams,” he said. “If it doesn’t seam, it hits the middle of the bat and that’s what happens in this game. I would have been disappointed if I went forward to that and just tried to defend it. So that’s how I’ve wanted to play. I do feel like I’m playing pretty decently.” Warner knows he is near the end of his Test career and the 36-year-old backed Matt Renshaw to succeed him and dominate both Test and one-day formats like Australia great Matthew Hayden did in his playing days. Australia’s captain Pat Cummins also dismissed the “completely made up” suggestion that Warner and Smith would walk away at the Oval and said they were focused on the task at hand. “It’s a big week,” the fast bowler said. “If we win this one and you look back, it’s been an incredible tour over.” “It’s already a fantastic tour. But to go home winning the urn will be phenomenal. “It’s a final thing to tick off the list of titles to win for a few of the guys. You never know if you’ll get another chance to do it.” Meanwhile Australia will assess the fitness of pace ace Mitchell Starc after the Australian star landed heavily on his shoulder during the second day’s play in the previous Test at Old Trafford, www.cricinfo.com reported yesterday. If there was a need to change the pace attack, Michael Neser could play his first match of the series. “(There were) two separate incidents where he dived and landed on the point of his shoulder...then the other one he slipped down on the rope and sort of extended the shoulder joint,” Australian coach Andrew McDonald said. “So he’s looking worse for wear and a little bit sore. All indications are that he’ll be right to go but that’ll be assessed. “Everyone’s on the table, every selection. And Michael (Neser) knows that.”

Opener Abdullah Shafique’s maiden double century and an unbeaten 132 by Agha Salman put Pakistan in the box seat on Wednesday on day three of the second Test against Sri Lanka.The tourists reached 563-5 at stumps, leading Sri Lanka by 397 runs in their first innings at Colombo’s Sinhalese Sports Club.Salman and concussion substitute Mohamed Rizwan, on 37, were batting in an unbeaten stand of 95 after Shafique’s departure on 201.Salman played attacking cricket to reinforce Pakistan’s new aggressive style in this series and reached his second Test ton with a boundary.“Pakistani batsmen are employing the same batting tactics of the teams playing in the Ashes trying to maintain a run rate of four runs an over,” Sri Lanka’s spin bowling coach Piyal Wijetunge told reporters.“They were helped by the wicket becoming easier and our bowlers not bowling at 100 percent.”Shafique led the mammoth reply in response to Sri Lanka’s 166 as he put on three century stands including a 124-run sixth-wicket partnership with Salman.Shafique, who began the day on 87, reached 200 in the final session with a single off Asitha Fernando, taking off his helmet and pointing to his name on the back of his jersey.But he was soon caught out at deep mid-off by left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, who also had skipper Babar Azam for 39 earlier in the day.Fernando cut short Saud Shakeel’s knock on 57 in the afternoon session to take his wicket tally to three.The fast bowler came around the wicket to trap the left-handed Shakeel lbw and end a 109-run partnership with Shafique.Wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed made 14 before he retired hurt after feeling dizzy, likely due to a blow he received on his helmet on the first ball faced from Fernando.He was finally substituted by Rizwan.Shafique passed 150 for the second time against Sri Lanka with a single off Ramesh Mendis, and then went past his previous Test best of 160 not out.Pakistan resumed on 178-2 after Tuesday’s downpours restricted the action to just 10 overs.Shafique started cautiously but soon hit two successive boundaries off Fernando before a single got his hundred.Azam added 11 to his overnight 28 before being trapped lbw, with the decision upheld by the third umpire after review.It was the sixth time Azam had been dismissed in Test cricket by Jayasuriya, who bowled unchanged from one end in the first session. Pakistan won the first Test in the two-match series by four wickets.SCOREBOARDSri Lanka 1st innings 166Pakistan 1st innings (overnight 178-2, Shafique 87, Azam 28)A. Shafique c Madushanka b Jayasuriya 201Imam-ul-Haq c Madushka b Fernando 6S. Masood c K. Mendis b Fernando 51B. Azam lbw b Jayasuriya 39S. Shakeel lbw b Fernando 57S. Ahmed retired hurt 14A. Salman not out 132M. Rizwan not out 37Extras (b4, lb16, nb3, w3) 26Total (5 wickets, 132 overs) 563Still to bat: N. Ali, S. Shah Afridi, N. Shah, A. AhmedFall of wickets: 1-13 (Haq), 2-121 (Masood), 3-210 (Azam), 4-319 (Shakeel), 4-344* (Sarfaraz, retired hurt), 5-468 (Shafique)Bowling: Fernando 24-0-133-3 (nb1, w3), Madushanka 17-3-77-0, Mendis 36-2-139-0 (nb1), Jayasuriya 52-11-181-2 (nb1), de Silva 3-1-13-0

Australia captain Pat Cummins insisted on Wednesday that his side remains hugely motivated to complete a long-awaited Ashes series win in England, even though they have already retained the urn.The tourists head into a fifth and final Test at The Oval starting today, 2-1 up after last week’s Old Trafford washout denied a dominant England the chance to claim a series-levelling win.Australia, as the holders, are assured of retaining the Ashes. But the goal of a first Ashes series win away to England since 2001, a run that spans five tours, remains in their sights.Australia were 2-1 up heading into The Oval four years ago only to pay the price for some over-exuberant celebrations before they arrived in London as England fought back to square that series 2-2.Fast bowler Cummins said the circumstances were different this time and that ending a 22-year wait for an Ashes series win in England would be the ideal way to finish a tour that started at The Oval with Australia’s victory over India in the World Test Championship final.“I think the good thing is that it’s a really similar group to 2019,” Cummins told a pre-match press conference at the Oval yesterday.“That Manchester (in 2019) was a big win to retain the Ashes, which we hadn’t done for a long time off the back of Headingley, even Lord’s, where we probably missed a trick last series. I felt like that was a big exclamation mark on the end of that series with still one Test match to play.” He added: “It feels really different here, this group has been really motivated to win the series.“We know that it wasn’t our best week last week and at the end of the game it was a bit of a pat on the back, ‘well done, we’ve retained the Ashes’ but really it feels like the job’s not done.”The upcoming match could mark the end of an era for an Australia team. Several players are 30 or older, although under-pressure opening batsman David Warner, 37 in October, quashed rumours Tuesday he is set to retire, insisting he intends to stick to his plan of finishing on home soil early next year.“It’s a hard one,” said the 30-year-old Cummins when asked about managing a transition from one generation to the next. “I certainly don’t want to rush anyone out of the door.” He added: “I think this is about the fourth Ashes series where (England veteran paceman) Jimmy Anderson has said it’s going to be his last one, so you never quite know.”Cummins’s captaincy was criticised after England’s three-wicket win in the third Test at Headingley was followed by Australia’s pummelling at Old Trafford before rain came to their aid. Mark Waugh, the former Australia batsman, suggested the cares of captaincy had made Cummins look “tired and frazzled”.“Is Pat Cummins the right man for the long-term captaincy?” Waugh asked on Fox Sports. “Because when it’s tough I don’t think he is. I think he’s OK when it’s easy and he doesn’t have to think too much, but it’s a real question mark.”Cummins, however, received support from Ben Stokes yesterday, with the England captain saying of his rival skipper: “I’m not sure why someone would say he should give it (the captaincy) up. I don’t know who has made those comments, but I think he’s done a great job for Australian cricket. It’s probably a little bit unwarranted from whoever said that – and that’s coming from an Englishman.”Meanwhile Stokes has no doubts over James Anderson keeping his place in an unchanged side for this week’s Ashes finale, hailing the veteran seamer as “the greatest fast bowler to play the game”.Anderson, 41 on Sunday, has taken just four wickets in three matches this series at a costly average of 76.75 apiece. But Anderson, whose 689 Test wickets are the most taken by any fast bowler, insisted in a recent newspaper column he has no intention of retiring any time soon and plans to continue an England career that already spans 20 years.“James Anderson is the greatest fast bowler to play the game and he’s still looking as good as he was two years ago,” said Stokes at the Oval yesterday.“Although he’s not had the impact or the wickets he would have liked to in this series, he’s a quality bowler and quality performer. To have nearly 700 Test wickets is phenomenal, and to be able to do it all around the world as well.”Stokes also paid tribute to Stuart Broad, Anderson’s longstanding new-ball colleague.The Nottinghamshire seamer is the leading bowler in the Ashes with 18 wickets and is about to appear in his sixth Test in a row this season, having featured in the off-match against Ireland at Lord’s.“At 37 years old it’s testament to the work and effort he puts in,” said Stokes. “It’s amazing. It was always going to be hard for one bowler to play every game this series but he’s been incredible for us. He’s been very good at coming on with the ball and changing the game.”

Major season in men’s golf wrapped up with Brian Harman’s runaway win at The Open Championship, but back in the United States, plenty of intrigue remains over the next several weeks on the PGA Tour.Defending champion Tony Finau and company head to TPC Twin Cities for the 3M Open, beginning on Thursday in Blaine, Minnesota, with two weeks left in the PGA Tour regular season.Finau won last year’s 3M Open at 17-under 267 after Scott Piercy gave up a big lead on Sunday.It launched Finau into the best run of his career - he won in Detroit the next week, Houston in November and Mexico this past April to get to six career wins on tour.“I think winning just breeds confidence, and after I left here I had a lot of confidence in what I was doing,” Finau said. “And that confidence, I’ve been able to just again notch a few wins since I came here last year, but it all started here.”Despite that run of form, Finau is one of several American players in Minnesota who have work to do to make the Ryder Cup team. He ranks No 19 in qualifying points; the top six after Aug 20 will automatically make the team, and captain Zach Johnson will make six more selections.“I’ve been in this type of position before, you know, where (I’m) probably on the outside looking in,” Finau said. “Going to have to play some good golf over these next few weeks and make my case. The good news is I’ve been in this position before, I’ve made the teams before and hope to show some good form to make my case for myself over the next few weeks.”That goes double for Justin Thomas, who is No 14 in the standings but has played far worse in recent months. He missed the cut at three of four majors in 2023, shooting rounds of 81 and 82 at the US Open and Open Championship, respectively.He’ll make his 3M Open debut this week and then play the regular-season finale, the Wyndham Championship, searching not only for Ryder Cup points but FedEx Cup points, as well. Thomas ranks No 75 entering the week, and only the top 70 players in FedEx Cup points qualify for the first leg of the playoffs.“This is a good chance for me to learn a little bit about myself and push myself and become better,” Thomas said. “I mean, this game, nothing’s given to you. I’ve had great chances to win the FedEx Cup the last five or six years and now I’m trying to make the playoffs. That’s just the way that this sport is.”Cameron Young (No 15 in world ranking, No 8 in US Ryder Cup points) is in the 3M field, ready to try for his first PGA Tour win once again. He played with Harman in the final Sunday pairing at The Open but faded to a T8 finish.Austria’s Sepp Straka rose to No 15 in FedEx Cup points by tying for second at The Open, making his case for a spot on the European Ryder Cup team in the process. Before heading from Liverpool to Minnesota, he hesitated to consider himself a lock for the team.“I don’t know about that, but I feel like my game is in a good place,” Straka said on Sunday. “I’ve got a couple more months of tournaments to take advantage of the good play, and hopefully I can do that.”Erik van Rooyen of South Africa will play without his usual caddie, Alex Gaugert. That’s because Gaugert, a friend and teammate of his at the University of Minnesota, earned his way into the field through the Monday qualifier. “I think expectations are a massive thing and I went in with zero expectations and played well,” Gaugert said.

Evian, France: What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago, Allisen Corpuz was a newcomer to the professional ranks and missed the cut at the Evian Championship.Now the American enters the fourth major of the women’s season as the reigning US Women’s Open Champion and relishing the prospect of a game with former US President, Barack Obama.Corpuz became the newest women’s major title-holder at Pebble Beach earlier this month and her first professional victory has been a life-changing experience.“I’ve had time off since winning and it’s been great to just let it all sink in,” said the 25-year-old, who tuned pro in 2021. “There have already been a lot of changes, and I’m just taking it day by day. But they’re good changes.”Corpuz, now ranked six in the world, comes from Hawaii and went to the same school as Obama and Michelle Wie, who finished second at Evian as a 14-year-old amateur in 2005.“I’ve had congratulations from both,” she said. “Barack says he is looking forward to having a round with me.”American Nelly Korda, the world No 2, is aiming to continue her bounce back from injury. Last year, she suffered from a blood clot in her arm and this season has been blighted by back trouble. But she won the individual title at the Team Series event in London this month and arrived in France after a trip to see her Czech grandparents in Prague.“We go every year around this time and it’s great fun,” she said. “It was a good confidence boost to get the win in London and I’m looking forward to Evian. It’s such a lovely place.”The new sensation in the women’s game is 20-year-old American, Rose Zhang. She racked up a record 141 weeks as the world No 1 amateur and made more history by winning on her LPGA professional debut at the Mizuho Americas Open. She turned pro on May 26 and won on June 4.“The first time I played golf outside the US was as a 14-year-old at the Evian Junior Cup so this place has special memories,” she said. “It has been an incredible start to my professional career. I certainly couldn’t have imagined it. Everything has been happening so quickly.“Tour life is different and quite challenging, but everyone has given me good advice.”Already ranked 35 in the World, Zhang is in the reckoning for a Solheim Cup debut in Spain in September.“That would be a dream,” agreed the youngster. “I played for the US in two Junior Solheim teams and loved every minute”Canadian Brooke Henderson defends the Evian title, while World No 1 Ko Jin-young is aiming to get her major career back on track after a shock missed cut at the US Women’s Open.Ko won the second of her major titles at Evian in 2019 and has two wins this season on the LPGA Tour.

Amulya Guruprasad, a Grade 10 student at Doha Modern Indian School, finished runner-up at the Asian Schools Chess Championship held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan recently. The 15-year-old Qatar resident secured 6.5 points out of 9 rounds in Standard Chess for Under 15 Girls.She was also conferred with WCM (Woman Candidate Master) title by FIDE, International Chess Federation. This is her first silver medal in International tournaments, after she secured bronze at FIDE World Amateur Women Chess Championship (Under-17) in Malta, Europe last October 2022.Earlier this year in February, she secured another bronze at National Amateur Chess Tournament (U-17) for Women in Punjab, India. In June, Guruprasad finished fifth in Batumi, Georgia at the FIDE World Cadets & Youth Blitz tournament. She also taken part in various tournaments in Thailand, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan this year.Guruprasad is a Qatar resident but has been representing India in multiple international tournaments since July 2022.

The Qatar Volleyball Association (QVA) at a press conference on Tuesday announced details of the Volleyball Challenger Cup Qatar 2023 to be held in Doha and for the first time in the Middle East at the Aspire Zone from July 28 to 30.Youssef Ahmed Kano, Secretary-General of QVA and the tournament director and Saeed al-Hitmi, member of the Board of Directors of the federation addressed the press conference. Jumbo Electronics Company was revealed as the official sponsors of the championship on the occasion.Kano affirmed the federation’s keenness to make this continental event a big success and bring out the tournament in the best way. Al-Hitmi said that the Qatari team will be participating in Challenger Cup and aiming to put up a top show against some of the tough teams from different continents.The event will also help Qatar prepare for the upcoming events, the most important of which is the Asian Championship to be hosted by Iran, as well as the Asian Games qualifiers and the Olympic Games qualifiers, he said.The competing teams at the Volleyball Challenger Cup Qatar 2023 include Qatar, Tunisia, Chile, Ukraine, China, Thailand, Turkiye and the Dominican Republic in the men’s competitions while in the women’s category Sweden, France, Vietnam, Croatia, Ukraine, Kenya, Colombia and Mexico will vie for top honours.The tournament will begin with Tunisia and Chile playing the inaugural match tomorrow. The Qatari men’s team will also begin their campaign the same day against Thailand.There will be two women’s matches on the opening day where France will play Vietnam, and Croatia will meet Ukraine. The quarter-final stage matches will conclude with a meeting between Turkiye and the Dominican Republic. The semi-finals will be held on Saturday and the final on Sunday (July 30th).

Rampant title contenders Spain and former champions Japan became the first teams to reach the Women’s World Cup last 16 yesterday as both won with ease.Two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas started for Spain following her serious knee injury and played her part in a 5-0 demolition of Zambia. Japan had been on the brink of reaching the knockout rounds following their 2-0 win over Costa Rica earlier in the day and the Spain result sent both of them sailing through.In the final match of the day, Olympic champs Canada took a step towards the next round by fighting back from a goal down in soaking-wet Perth to win 2-1 against Ireland, whose hopes of progressing are over. Japan and Spain meet on Monday to decide who wins Group C, and with it a theoretically easier draw. Both have a perfect six points from two games and are yet to concede a goal.Costa Rica and Zambia play the same day in the fight to avoid finishing bottom of the pile. Barcelona’s Putellas came off at half-time at Eden Park in Auckland but Zambia were already dead and buried by then with Spain two goals in front against the lowest-ranked team in the tournament. Jennifer Hermoso and Alba Redondo both scored twice in the victory in front of just over 20,000 spectators, but Spain coach Jorge Vilda warned their best was still to come.The 2011 champions Japan beat an error-prone Costa Rica comfortably in front of 6,992 spectators in Dunedin, the smallest crowd at the finals yet. Japan, who began their campaign by thrashing Zambia 5-0, were never in trouble against an outclassed Costa Rica at the nearly 30,000-capacity Dunedin Stadium. The game was effectively killed off in the space of three first-half minutes with goals from Hikaru Naomoto and 19-year-old Aoba Fujino.In Group B, World Cup debutants Ireland took the lead against Canada after just four minutes when captain Katie McCabe scored direct from a corner. But an own goal in the tricky conditions brought Canada level just before half-time and then Adriana Leon scored what turned out to be the winner in the 53rd minute to end Ireland’s World Cup hopes.Canada top the group with four points from two games, but Australia will look to leapfrog them by beating Nigeria today.Today’s action is headlined by a heavyweight clash between the United States and the Netherlands in Wellington. Both teams will expect to get out of Group E, so bragging rights and group supremacy are at stake in a re-run of the 2019 final. On that occasion the Americans won 2-0 and are pursuing an unprecedented third successive World Cup title.

Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan said she was “a wreck” after breaking the women’s 200m freestyle world record at swimming’s world championships on Wednesday, while French superstar Leon Marchand claimed more gold.O’Callaghan beat Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus and Canada’s Summer McIntosh to touch the wall in 1min, 52.85sec in Fukuoka, breaking a world record that had stood since 2009.The 19-year-old injured her knee five weeks before the championships in Fukuoka and she said she was “really shook” to break the record.“I couldn’t really explain it in the moment,” said O’Callaghan, who had fired a warning shot when she beat Titmus over 200m at the Australian trials last month. “There were tears, there was happiness. It was very mixed emotions.”There was more glory for Marchand, who added the 200m butterfly title to the 400m individual medley gold he won in record-breaking time on the opening day. Tunisia’s Ahmed Hafnaoui took revenge on Australia’s Sam Short to win the men’s 800m freestyle, while China’s Qin Haiyang picked up his second gold in the men’s 50m breaststroke. China then claimed another title when they won the mixed 4x100m medley relay.O’Callaghan came out on top after another epic women’s freestyle battle. Titmus was looking to grab her second gold of the championships after winning the 400m in a world record time on the opening night. She led for most of the race but O’Callaghan turned on the afterburners over the home straight to reel her in.Titmus finished second in a personal-best time of 1:53.01, ahead of McIntosh on 1:53.65. O’Callaghan’s time beat the world record of 1:52.98 set by Italian Federica Pellegrini – wearing a supersuit – at the 2009 world championships. “Heading into this, I just really wanted to have fun and enjoy it and try my best and try some new race plans,” said O’Callaghan. “To come out with a world record was really unexpected for me.”Marchand made headlines on Sunday when he beat Michael Phelps’s legendary 400m IM world record, a mark that had stood since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He picked up his second title in the 200m butterfly, coming home in 1min, 52.43sec, ahead of Poland’s Krzysztof Chmielewski on 1:53.62 and Japan’s Tomoru Honda on 1:53.66.Marchand was back in action just 40 minutes later, qualifying from the 200m individual medley with the fastest time. “I have one more race, then relays with the team,” said Marchand, who has dropped the 200m breaststroke from his programme. “I’m just trying to enjoy the moment and keep going. It’s been very good the past few days.”Hafnaoui came off second best to Short in the 400m freestyle final on Sunday, an event in which the Tunisian is the reigning Olympic champion. He got the better of his Australian rival in the 800m, coming home in 7min, 37.00sec, ahead of Short on 7:37.76 and American Bobby Finke on 7:38.67.Hafnaoui, Short and Germany’s Lukas Martens were neck-and-neck for almost the entire race until Hafnaoui pulled away at the last. “It’s too much adrenaline when you see all these guys next to you battling for the gold,” he said.China endured a championships to forget last year in Budapest, picking up only one individual swimming gold medal. Qin gave the Chinese team their third success so far this week in the 50m breaststroke, and his second individual title of the competition.He finished in a time of 26.29sec, ahead of American Nic Fink on 26.59 and China’s Sun Jiajun on 26.79. China then won the mixed 4x100m medley relay in a time of 3min, 38.57sec, ahead of Australia on 3:39.03 and the United States on 3:40.19.

Al Sadd players reached Abha, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday to participate in the King Salman Club Championship, which will be held from July 27 to August 12. Al Sadd are drawn in Group B alongside Saudi’s Al Hilal, Moroccan Wydad and Libya’s Al Ahly Tripoli with 16 Arab teams participating in the tournament.The team’s delegation consists of 27 players, with club’s CEO Turki al-Ali accompanying the team along with other officials. The team concluded their final training session on Monday at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, with the participation of all players. During the session, the coaching staff, led by Portuguese head coach Bruno Miguel, focused on physical, technical, and tactical aspects.Squad: Saad al-Dosari, Meshaal Barsham, Yousef al-Balushi, Hassan al-Haydos, Guilherme Torres, Pedro Miguel, Ahmed Sayyar, Paulo Otavio, Abdullah al-Yazidi, Mateus Uribe, Baghdad Bounedjah, Akram Afif, Khoukhi Boualem, Salem al-Hajri, Ahmed al-Saadi, Hashim Ali, Amin Hazbawi, Gonzalo Plata, Romain Saiss, Ali Asad, Musaab Khidir, Mustafa Tarek Meshaal, Yousuf Abdurisag, Ahmed Suhail, Mahdi Salem, Tarek Salman, and Mohamed Waad.Morocco’s Saiss joins Sadd from BesiktasMeanwhile, Al Sadd announced the signing of Morocco’s Romain Saiss from Turkish side Besiktas on a two-year contract. The Qatari giants made the announcement on Monday, sharing a video on their social media platform of the Atlas Lions’ captain wearing Al Sadd’s jersey.Besiktas confirmed the transfer in a statement saying, “Besiktas JK has informed KAP (Turkiye’s Public Disclosure Platform) that an agreement has been reached with Al Sadd SC regarding the transfer of our professional football player Romain Saiss.”Besiktas said they will receive a guarantee fee of €2.5mn and a conditional fee of €300,000 from Sadd for Saiss. The 33-year-old defender had a successful stint at Besiktas, where he showcased his defensive skills.Prior to his time in Turkiye, Saiss had played for French side Le Havre, Angers SCO and Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers. Several European clubs were reportedly interested in signing the Saiss, who was integral part of Morocco’s run to the semi-finals at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. However, he has evidently decided to pursue a new challenge in Qatar. With more than 70 international appearances, Saiss brings a wealth of experience and prowess to Al Sadd’s defensive lineup.Meanwhile, Sadd also have signed Ecuadorian Gonzalo Plata from Spanish club Real Valladolid on a five-year contract. But the Wolves were dealt a major blow as their Brazilian striker Giovani Henrique suffered a torn cruciate ligament and cartilage injury during the recent friendly match against Raja CA of Morocco. Giovani sustained the injury in the early minutes of the game and as a result will be unavailable for the remainder of the season with the Al Sadd team.Duhail sign South Korean Kim Moon HuanAl Duhail have signed South Korea’s Kim Moon Huan from twice Asian champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. The 27-year-old midfielder has earlier played for Busan IPark in the Korean league besides playing in the US Major League for Los Angeles before joining Jeonbuk. Huan has also represented South Korea. He is the second professional from Korea to join Al Duhail after the experienced Nam Tae Hee.

Action from Qatar’s 3-1 win over at the Schools World Cup clash in Rabat, Morocco, on Tuesday. Group leaders Qatar, who exhibited good form, have qualified for the next round.

India would be reasonably pleased with the smooth start to the transition of their Test team against the West Indies, even if a 1-0 series victory against a side seven rungs below them in the official rankings may not sound impressive.Persistent rain in Port of Spain did not allow any play on Monday, resulting in a stalemate between the sides and depriving India of a 2-0 series sweep when they needed eight wickets to win.Smarting from their defeat, second in a row, in the World Test Championship final against Australia last month, India went to the Caribbean with a new top order, an uncapped stumper, and a rookie pace attack for the two-test series.With Shubman Gill moving down to number three after veteran Cheteshwar Pujara was dropped, India harnessed an uncapped Yashasvi Jaiswal with skipper Rohit Sharma in a left-right opening combination.Jaiswal smashed a match-winning 171 in his debut in Roseau and scored 57 and 38 in the drawn Test in Port of Spain making immediate impact.Gill is yet to settle in his new position, but the team management is more than willing to be patient with a player hailed as the future of Indian cricket.India have badly missed wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant since his horrific car crash in December but have unearthed a replica in stumper Ishan Kishan, an identical left-handed batter known for his six-hitting prowess.While his glovework drew praise from his captain, Kishan smashed an unbeaten 52 off 34 balls in India’s second innings at Port of Spain after being promoted to number four.“You need guys like Ishan. We wanted quick runs, we promoted him,” Rohit said.“He wasn’t afraid, he was the first one to put his hand up.”“You need the mixture of everything. We have depth, we have got variety, which is quite important. We are in the right place, it’s just about going and doing the right thing. I always believe in getting better as a team, no matter what the results are. Except the WTC final, we played good cricket throughout that phase. To improve in all three departments is what we want to focus on,” Rohit said.While Jaiswal finished the series as its leading scorer, Rohit and Virat Kohli completed the top three. Of India’s old guard, only Ajinkya Rahane should worry about his Test future having managed just three and eight in his two outings in West Indies.Rohit was particularly pleased how Mohamed Siraj led an inexperienced pace attack in the absence of a recovering Jasprit Bumrah and a rested Mohamed Shami. “I have been watching him closely,” Rohit said of the right-arm seamer who breathed fire on a docile track to claim 5-60 in West Indies’ first innings at Port of Spain.“He’s taken such a giant step. He has led this attack (superbly).”Indian skipper Kaursuspended by ICC for Code of Conduct breachesIndia captain Harmanpreet Kaur will miss two international matches and be fined 75% of her match fee following two breaches of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Code of Conduct, the sport’s governing body said yesterday.The 34-year-old also received three demerit points on her disciplinary record after she expressed frustration over her dismissal by hitting the wickets with her bat during the third match of the Women’s Championship series against Bangladesh in Dhaka last week.“She was found guilty of breaching article 2.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, relating to ‘showing dissent at an umpire’s decision,’” the ICC said in a statement.“Kaur was also fined... for a Level 1 offence relating to ‘public criticism in relation to an incident occurring in an international match’ when, during the presentation ceremony, Kaur openly criticised the umpiring in the match.”The ICC said she admitted the offences and agreed to the sanctions proposed, due to which there will be no formal hearing.

Abdullah Shafique and skipper Babar Azam steered Pakistan to a 12-run lead but rain halted their charge early on day two of the second Test against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.The tourists were 178-2 after resuming under gloomy skies on 145-2 with Abdullah Shafique, on 87, and skipper Babar Azam, on 28, batting in a stand of 57.Only 43 minutes of play were possible before the downpour began and forced officials to call lunch, tea and finally stumps with the ground fully covered.More rain is predicted on day three and Pakistan, who lead the two-match series 1-0, will depend on an aggressive approach to clinch the series.Shafique and Azam took on the Sri Lankan bowlers with a string of boundaries after a couple of maiden overs to push for a big lead in response to Sri Lanka’s total of 166.Shafique has smashed eight fours and two sixes in his 131-ball stay so far. Azam, who began the day on eight, took on the bowlers with a six and two fours in the 10 overs since play resumed.Pakistan bowlers combined to dismiss Sri Lanka in the second session on the opening day after the hosts elected to bat first.Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed, who made his Test debut last December, and fast bowler Naseem Shah shared seven wickets between them to dismiss the hosts in the second session on Monday.Shafique extended Pakistan’s domination with a second-wicket stand of 108 with Shan Masood, who made 51, to put Sri Lanka on the back foot with theirattacking play.SCOREBOARDSri Lanka 1st innings 166Pakistan 1st innings (overnight 145-2)A. Shafique not out 87Imam-ul-Haq c Madushka b Fernando 6S. Masood c K. Mendis b Fernando 51B. Azam not out 28Extras (lb2, nb2, w2) 6Total (2 wickets, 38.3 overs) 178Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Haq), 2-121 (Masood)Still to bat: S. Shakeel, S. Ahmed, A. Salman, N. Ali, S. Shah Afridi, N. Shah, A. AhmedBowling: Fernando 8.3-0-51-2 (w2, nb1), Madushanka 9-1-38-1, Mendis 8-0-39-0, Jayasuriya 13-2-48-0 (nb1).

Records are made to broken, world high jump king and international idol Javier Sotomayor said, smiling behind dark glasses as the fierce Caribbean sun beat down on Havana’s Pan-American Stadium.At 55 years old, however, the lanky, unassuming Cuban athlete is now celebrating the third decade that his record-breaking 2.45-metres leap over the outdoor high jump bar in Salamanca, Spain, in 1993, remains unmatched. Including his prior 2.43m indoor world record in Budapest five years earlier, Sotomayor counts 35 years as world record holder, though the weather-sensitive outdoor title carries more weight internationally.Sotomayor first hurled himself to the world’s top high jump spot in 1988, before beating this with a 2.44m spring in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the following year.While his record has gone unbeaten since Salamanca, it has not been for a lack of rivals hoping to snatch his crown.“There was very strong competition between us at every stage,” Sotomayor told Reuters in an interview. “They were the ones to blame for my jumping 2.45 metres.”The culprits include Sweden’s Patrik Sjoberg, who once set the world record at 2.42m, as well as Kazakhstan’s Igor Paklin and American Charles Austin, with personal bests of 2.41m and 2.40m respectively.“Today with 2.33 or 2.34 metres you are a gold medallist and a medallist in any competition, whether at the world or Olympic level,” Sotomayor said. Two younger athletes have nevertheless threatened his title: Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim with a 2.43m leap in Brussels and Ukraine’s Bogdan Bondarenko, who jumped 2.42m in New York - both in 2014, nearly a decade ago. Now secretary of Cuba’s athletics federation, Sotomayor also advises his son Jaxier, who leapt 1.99m in Spain at 15 years old, and organises an annual children’s high jumping event in honor of his late coach, Jose Godoy. “I feel very happy and proud to still have the glory of being the world record holder after so many years,” Sotomayor said.“I will live with that pride, and it will carry on even after someone surpasses me.”

Dutch rider Lorena Wiebes sprinted to victory in Tuesday’s third stage of the women’s Tour de France with Belgian teammate Lotte Kopecky holding onto the leader’s yellow jersey.SD Worx’s Wiebes crossed the line in Dordogne ahead of compatriot Marianne Vos and Kopecky for her tenth win of the season.Wiebes took advantage of the work of her teammates as the peloton caught Julie Van de Velde on the wire, after the Belgian broke clear with 58km to go before being reeled in 250 metres from the line.The Flemish climber was the main protagonist of the stage. After her attack on the Cote des Andrieux, she widened the gap of two minutes 30 seconds 30km from Montignac.A lead that forced the peloton to react in the final straight, at the initiative of the DSM team of Dutch sprinter Charlotte Kool and Frenchwoman Juliette Labous, a podium hopeful after her recent second place at the women’s Giro d’Italia.But Kool, finally seventh, could do nothing against the power of Wiebes, expertly led to 50 metres by Kopecky.“I really was perfectly set up by Lotte: it’s an honour to have the yellow jersey as a pilot fish (domestique)” said Wiebes.After Kopecky’s victory on Sunday in Clermont-Ferrand, this is a second success for SD Worx, whose team leader Demi Vollering shares the status of race favourite with compatriot and defending champion Annemiek van Vleuten.The two women crossed the line at the same time within the peloton.On Wednesday, the riders will tackle the longest stage this year over 177km between Cahors and Rodez which includes five climbs on the final 40km.(AFP)

Though he hadn’t won on the PGA Tour since 2017, Brian Harman entered last week ranked a respectable No. 26 in the Official World Golf Ranking.That number skyrocketed to No. 10 in the world Monday after Harman won The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club by six shots on Sunday. Coincidentally, Harman’s move bumped Wyndham Clark out of the top 10, from No. 10 to No. 11. Clark won his first major title just last month at the U.S. Open to soar in the rankings. Harman, 36, earned a healthy move up the United States Ryder Cup team rankings, as well. He jumped 17 spots to No. 3 in qualifying points. The top six players in qualifying points on Aug. 20 will automatically make the team. The lefty from Georgia passed the likes of Jordan Spieth (No. 12), LIV golfer Brooks Koepka (No. 14) and Tony Finau (No. 19) in the OWGR. The top six players remained the same after The Open: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, Jon Rahm of Spain, Patrick Cantlay, Viktor Hovland of Norway and Xander Schauffele. Max Homa, who earned his first top-10 finish at a major by tying for 10th at The Open, passed Australia’s Cameron Smith for No. 7 in the OWGR. Following Smith were England’s Matt Fitzpatrick and Harman to round out the top 10. South Korea’s Tom Kim jumped seven spots to No. 17 after earning his best major finish to date, a T2. Australia’s Jason Day, a former World No. 1, also tied for second at Royal Liverpool and moved up six spots to No. 21. (Reuters)

Japan’s Naoya Inoue knocked out American Stephen Fulton in his super-bantamweight debut to claim the WBC and WBO world titles in Tokyo on Wednesday.The unbeaten Inoue, nicknamed “Monster”, floored Fulton in the eighth round with a volley of juddering punches.He took his record to 25-0, with 22 knock-outs, dethroning 29-year-old Fulton - one of the two world champions in the super-bantamweight division along with Marlon Tapales of the Philippines. “In the super-bantamweight division, I think I can grow even stronger,” Inoue told a roaring crowd at the Ariake Arena after the fight. But I only hold two belts now - my goal is to unify all the four super-bantamweight titles.”In December, Inoue became the first undisputed world bantamweight champion in half a century - a feat last accomplished by Panama’s Enrique Pinder in 1972 - by beating England’s Paul Butler to add the WBO title to his WBC, WBA and IBF belts. Then in January, Inoue relinquished all his titles to move up to the super-bantamweight division.While Fulton proved tenacious and returned fire with some clean shots, the Japanese boxer lived up to his nickname.A ferocious right followed by a left hook knocked Fulton to the canvas in the eighth round.Fulton got back up, but Inoue’s rapid fire punches drove him deep into the corner and onto the canvas, persuading the referee to call a technical knockout. “I’m very disappointed in myself and my performance,” Fulton told reporters after the fight, but added that he “doesn’t feel bad”.The victory means 30-year-old Inoue has now held world titles in four different weight divisions, after previously claiming belts in light-flyweight, super-flyweight and bantamweight.

World number two Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the ATP Toronto Masters due to fatigue, Tennis Canada said.The announcement comes a week after the 23-time Grand Slam champion from Serbia fell to Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in the final at Wimbledon.His withdrawal deprives the US Open tune-up tournament that starts on August 7 of a four-time champion. “I have always enjoyed my time in Canada, but after speaking with my team, we believe this is the right decision to take,” Djokovic said in a statement released by Tennis Canada.“I would like to thank Karl Hale, the Tournament Director, for understanding this decision. I really hope I can return to Canada and Toronto in the coming years to play in front of great fans there.”Alcaraz denied Djokovic a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title last week, handing him his first defeat on the All England Club’s Centre Court in 10 years.The Spaniard’s victory also ended 36-year-old Djokovic’s chance of a calendar Grand Slam after his triumphs at the Australian Open and French Open took his tally of major titles to a men’s record 23.Wimbledon quarter-finalist Christopher Eubanks will now gain automatic entry into the Toronto main draw. The American defeated fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas and 12th-seeded Cameron Norrie en route to the last eight at Wimbledon.Hale acknowledged that Djokovic, who won the Canadian title in 2007, 2011, 2012 and 2016, would be missed.“Of course, we’re disappointed that Novak won’t be playing at the National Bank Open this year,” Hale said in a statement. “He’s an incredible player and one we know our fans were eager to watch at Sobeys Stadium.“He will be missed but we still have a long list of sensational players confirmed for this year’s event, including 41 of the top 42 players in the world.”

The Philippines won a World Cup match for the first time as they stunned co-hosts New Zealand yesterday but former champions Norway suffered a double blow to leave their hopes in the balance.Philippines coach Alen Stajcic said on the eve of the New Zealand match his side wanted to “crash the party”, and they did just that with a gutsy 1-0 victory in front of 32,357 fans in Wellington. Sarina Bolden scored the only goal with a header in the first half for a famous Philippines win – the country’s first at either a men’s or women’s World Cup. Switzerland and the 1995 champions Norway – who lost star striker Ada Hegerberg moments before kickoff with injury – then drew 0-0 in the Hamilton rain, leaving the Swiss in the driving seat in Group A.Switzerland are top with four points, one ahead of New Zealand and debutants the Philippines. Norway have scored no goals and garnered just one point. Switzerland just need to avoid defeat against New Zealand on Sunday to reach the last 16. The Philippines could join them for a fairytale place in the knockout stage, but no matter what happens next up against Norway at the weekend, beating the Women’s World Cup hosts will live long in the memory.“I can’t believe what we have achieved,” said tearful Philippines midfielder Sara Eggesvik. In contrast, the New Zealand players were left in tears. “It’s so heartbreaking for everyone in this team,” said their Czech coach Jitka Klimkova, whose side beat Norway 1-0 in the opening game of the tournament for a first-ever World Cup win of their own. “We were fighting until the end, but it wasn’t enough.”In the first game of the day, Colombia were too good for a blunt South Korea with a 2-0 victory. Eighteen-year-old striker Linda Caicedo, who overcame cancer three years ago, was the beneficiary of a glaring goalkeeping error when Yoon Young-geul allowed the striker’s shot to squirm through her hands.Catalina Usme had scored a penalty to put the South Americans in front on the half-hour in bright sunshine in Sydney before Caicedo got the second nine minutes later. South Korea coach Colin Bell brought on US-born attacker Casey Phair as they chased the game in the second half. At 16 years and 26 days, she made history as the youngest Women’s World Cup player ever.But it was all about Caicedo and one of the best young attackers in women’s football has now scored at the Under-17 World Cup, the Under-20 World Cup and on the biggest stage of all. Assistant Angelo Marsiglia, standing in for Colombia coach Nelson Abadia – who was suspended for the game – called Caicedo “extraordinary”. “She wants the ball, never hides, she’s from another planet, entirely unique,” he said.Colombia move onto three points in Group H with Germany, who thrashed Morocco 6-0 on Monday. Germany and Colombia meet next. Spain, one of the favourites to topple holders the United States, headline today’s action in Australia and New Zealand. The Spaniards were easy 3-0 winners over Costa Rica in their opener and will be looking to rack the goals up once more against Zambia.The African side are the lowest-ranked team in the competition and were thrashed 5-0 by Japan in their opening match, but captain Barbra Banda said they were “up for the challenge” against La Roja. “We started with a loss but that doesn’t mean that we have to look down on ourselves,” she said.Also today, the 2011 champions Japan play Costa Rica in the same group. Canada clash with Ireland in the last game of the day.

The spectre of superstar striker Kylian Mbappe loomed over Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday as they played out a 0-0 draw with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr in Osaka. Mbappe was sensationally left out of the squad on the eve of PSG’s departure for their Asian tour, casting doubt on his future at the French champions.The club has received a world record bid of 300mn euros from Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal. Such a transfer could only be made with the agreement of Mbappe, who has never expressed an interest in moving to the fast-growing Saudi league. Among other clubs to have expressed an interest in the most potent forward in world football are Real Madrid, the source said.Japanese fans had flocked to stadiums to see Lionel Messi, Mbappe and Neymar strut their stuff in a series of friendlies for PSG last year, but with none of that trio on show this time, interest has waned. Messi has departed for Major League Soccer side Inter Miami and Neymar has been out with a knee injury since February and only just returned to full training.The impact of that change in circumstances was evident in the relatively modest crowd of 25,432 in Osaka, and they didn’t have much to cheer as PSG and Al Nassr played out a goalless 90 minutes. “Kylian Mbappe is a great player and he’s not here,” PSG defender Danilo Pereira said after the game. “That’s a decision of the club, I can’t comment.”The closest either side came to scoring was in just the second minute as Carlos Soler tried an ambitious free-kick from distance, but Al Nassr goalkeeper Nawaf Alaqidi was equal to the attempt. Ronaldo also drew cries from the spectators on a couple of occasions.First he was denied from six yards by Gianluigi Donnarumma, before an acrobatic overhead kick went wide of the target. Ultimately, Mbappe’s absence was again the major talking point though.There have been suggestions that he would not be selected for an entire year if he fails to find a solution with PSG.The 24-year-old has one year left on his contract with the club, who want him to leave now rather than for nothing next summer.PSG will next play Cerezo Osaka on Friday, before travelling to Tokyo to take on Inter Milan.