Moeen Ali should think of the possibilities his elevation up England’s batting order presents rather than the pressure that comes with the upgrade, according to five-time Ashes winner Ian Bell.
A shoulder injury to Ollie Pope initially led to Harry Brook batting at three in the third Ashes Test, but Moeen volunteered to assume the mantle in England’s successful chase of 251 at Headingley.
His contribution was just five off 15 balls, but it allowed Brook to settle back into his normal role in the middle order, where he underpinned England’s three-wicket victory with an assertive innings of 75.
The hosts have announced they will continue with Moeen at first drop, a scenario Bell is familiar with given he was catapulted from five to three in the middle of England’s triumphant 2015 Ashes series.
Bell suggested a freewheeling Moeen – who is just 23 away from 3,000 Test runs to go with 200 wickets, a twin landmark only 15 men have reached in Tests – should focus on the positives of his promotion.
The former England batter told the PA news agency: “I wouldn’t say it’s the perfect solution, but we’ve got selfless cricketers who are trying to do the best for the team.
“The temptation is to think of the pressure and that’s normal, but you look at it as an opportunity. It probably is a free hit. We know if Moeen gets in, he’s going to score at a rate.
“It will be a challenge, but it’s something that we know ability-wise Moeen has. It allows (Joe) Root to stay at four, Brook looks better at five and then (Ben) Stokes at six – those match-winners are still in those positions that can cause the most damage to Australia.”
Similarly to Moeen, Bell was up and down England’s order during a distinguished 118-Test career, although nine of his 22 centuries came at number five, a position which Brook now occupies.
Brook averaged an astonishing 81.8 coming into this summer and, even if that has since dipped, his knock last time out under pressure went a long way to cutting Australia’s lead to 2-1 with two to play.
The Yorkshireman is only 24 and less than a year into his international career, while Bell was only 23 and just a few months on from his England bow before being thrust into the cauldron of the 2005 Ashes.
Bell, who coached Brook when the pair were at Hobart Hurricanes in Australia’s Big Bash League 18 months ago, said: “You can’t teach that knowledge. You can get advice from people who have done it in the past, but until you’re out there and feel that for yourself, it’s very hard.
“Harry will be such a better cricketer and more understanding of Test cricket after this series. He’ll understand his game more than he ever has done at the end of an Ashes series and what he needs to do to be the best version of himself going forward.
“He’s an immense talent, but he does have a defence to go with the attacking options as well. At times, he should trust his defence as well because he’s technically very, very good. He’s a naturally attacking player and he’s going to be a fine, fine player for England.”
With England needing to win at Emirates Old Trafford and the Kia Oval to regain the urn, Bell, speaking in his role as a Betfair Ambassador, also backed Jonny Bairstow following a difficult series so far.
The Yorkshireman has struggled since retaining the gloves on his return from a badly-broken leg, missing a host of chances, with a lack of confidence behind the stumps seemingly seeping into his batting.
But Bell pointed to Bairstow’s track record of excelling when he feels under pressure, adding: “Jonny is someone when, if the game’s on the line or if there is a chase, we could see the best of him.
“We do need to see that and, if there’s two games to win which we have to be perfect to win this series, Jonny’s going to have to have a big hand in hopefully getting us to an Ashes victory.”
:: For more from Betfair Ambassador Ian Bell head to https://betting.betfair.com/cricket/
Marcus Rashford has signed a new five-year contract at Manchester United.
The 25-year-old forward came through the Old Trafford youth set-up and has gone on to score 123 goals in 359 first-team appearances.
He said: “I joined Manchester United as a seven-year-old boy with a dream. That same passion, pride and determination to succeed still drives me every time I have the honour of wearing the shirt.
“I’ve already had some amazing experiences at this incredible club, but there is still a lot more to achieve and I remain relentlessly determined to win more trophies in the years ahead.
“As a United fan all my life, I know the responsibility that comes with representing this badge and feel the highs and lows as much as anyone.
“I can assure you that I will give everything to help the team reach the level we are capable of and I can feel the same determination around the dressing room.
“I couldn’t be more excited for the future under this manager.”
The England international broke the 30-goal barrier for the first time in his United career last season under Erik ten Hag and his current deal was due to expire next summer.
The news comes on the same day that United agreed a deal to sign goalkeeper Andre Onana from Inter Milan, while defender Jonny Evans has rejoined the club on a short-term contract.
Manchester United football director John Murtough said of Rashford’s deal, which expires on June 30, 2028: “Ever since he joined our academy 18 years ago, Marcus has epitomised what it takes to succeed as a Manchester United player.
“He is a brilliant talent but also humble, dedicated and driven.
“As he enters his prime years, we know there is still so much more to come from him and we can see the hunger that Marcus feels to achieve the highest levels of success here at Manchester United.
“Working with Erik ten Hag and his coaches is the perfect environment for Marcus to continue to develop into one of the best attacking players in the world.”
Jonas Vingegaard seized control of the Tour de France with a huge victory in the stage 16 time trial.
The defending champion began the day just 10 seconds ahead of two-time winner Tadej Pogacar after two mountain stages over the weekend failed to find any meaningful difference between the two men who have won the previous three Tours.
But in the only race against the clock this year, Vingegaard blew away the entire field over the 22.4 kilometres between Passy and Combloux, putting 98 seconds into Pogacar to open up a significant lead with only two mountain stages remaining.
After much speculation over tactics, Pogacar chose to change bikes midway through the stage, getting on to his regular road bike for the final climb to the finish while Vingegaard stuck to his time trial machine.
Pogacar was already more than 30 seconds down on Vingegaard at that point, and the bike change brought no benefits as Vingegaard only continued to make up time. Given the way the Dane was riding, it surely did not matter what Pogacar was riding – there was no way for him to win this day.
Having started his effort two minutes behind Pogacar, Vingegaard could see his rival up the road by the time they neared the finish – knowing he now has him where he wants him with five days still to go.
Vingegaard’s Jumbo-Visma team-mate Wout van Aert was third on the stage with Simon Yates fifth and Adam Yates seventh.
That result for Adam Yates was enough to move him up to third overall, five seconds ahead of Carlos Rodriguez, although there was little sense of celebration around the UAE Team Emirates bus after Pogacar’s time losses.
It was only a second career time trial win for Vingegaard, and one with massively more significance than the one he took at the Gran Camino at the start of the season.
“I was feeling great today,” Vingegaard said. “I think it’s the best time trial I’ve ever done. I’m really proud of what I did today and really happy about the victory.
“I think today I even surprised myself with the time trial I did. I didn’t expect to do so well.”
Asked if the Tour was now over, Vingegaard added: “No. There’s still a lot of hard stages to come. We have to keep fighting the next days and we’re looking forward to it.”
Pogacar must now regroup, hoping that the Tour is not over by the time they crest the top of the Col de la Loze, the highest point of this year’s race, on Wednesday.
“There was nothing I could do more,” Pogacar said. “Maybe it was not my best day… we’ll see.”
Brighton have rejected a second bid from Chelsea for star midfielder Moises Caicedo.
The Blues’ latest offer for the Ecuador international is believed to be around £70million.
Caicedo requested to leave Albion in January amid interest from Arsenal but in March signed a new contract until 2027.
The 21-year-old, who last season helped the Seagulls qualify for Europe for the first time and reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup, remains of interest to a number of Premier League rivals.
Caicedo joined Brighton from Ecuadorian club Independiente del Valle for a reported £4.5m in February 2021 before being loaned to Belgian side Beerschot.
He made his top-flight debut in April 2022 and has played 53 times during his time at the Amex Stadium, scoring two goals.
Chelsea and Brighton are scheduled to meet on Saturday in Philadelphia in a six-team Premier League pre-season tournament.
New Blues manager Mauricio Pochettino is in the process of overhauling his squad following the club’s worst season in almost 30 years.
Forwards Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson have already arrived at Stamford Bridge this summer, while Mason Mount, Kai Havertz and Mateo Kovacic are among a host of departures.
Hot Fuss will head to the Acomb Stakes at York after breaking his maiden in style at Salisbury on Saturday.
Owned by Keith, David and Stephen Trowbridge and trained by Tom Dascombe, the son of Calyx made it third time lucky when scoring by five and a half lengths in the seven-furlong Byerley Stud British EBF Novice stakes under Liam Keniry.
Victory was compensation for a narrow defeat at 50-1 in the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot under Richard Kingscote, a loss that Dascombe largely blames on himself.
“I sort of slightly kicked myself,” he said. “Our horses were not running great when Ascot was on and I suggested to Richard to ride the horse and try to finish placed. We got beat a length and a quarter.
“I said to Liam the other day, ‘boot him out the gates and this will not get beat’. I wish I’d done the same at Ascot!”
The shrewd Upper Lambourn handler will now head to the Group Three contest on the Knavesmire on August 23. Last year’s renewal went the way of subsequent Qipco 2000 Guineas winner Chaldean.
“The plan was to wait for him until Salisbury, because if he’d won by July 13, he wouldn’t be qualified for the Acomb, but (winning on July 15) now he is,” Dascombe added. “He will go there. We think he is a proper horse. Honestly, his mind is so good. He has breezed, he has run three times and he doesn’t give a monkey’s.
“From day one, I think we knew he was a good horse, but when they come from the breeze-ups you don’t really want to rev them.
“We got beat in the maiden, but I still ran him in the Chesham as I knew he was a good horse. I didn’t have the confidence in myself, rather than confidence in the horse.”
Dascombe is picking up the pieces of his training career after leaving Michael Owen’s Manor House Stables in Cheshire following a 12-year stint, a move that came as a “complete shock” to him.
Fortunately, the future is brighter and he said: “I hope we’re getting there. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it has been bloody hard. We have got some nice horses, though.”
Misty Grey, like Dascombe, is on the comeback trail. The six-year-old ran some fine races in defeat in Group company last season and having his first run since being injured at Meydan in January, was beaten a length and a half in a Listed seven-furlong contest at Chester on Saturday.
“Misty Grey’s comeback run the other day was… honestly, I nearly cried,” admitted Dascombe.
“I love that horse. I can’t explain, I absolutely adore him. He had an injury in Dubai in the winter and basically I have been too soft on him, because I didn’t want to hurt him.
“He has come out of the race great and he’s a superstar. If everybody in life tried as hard as he does, there wouldn’t be any problems in the world. If I could let him live in my house I would.”
Barbara and Alec Richmond’s gelding will now head to Newbury on August 19 for a seven-furlong Group Two contest.
“I think we will probably give him a go in the Hungerford Stakes,” said Dascombe. “He wants a flat, galloping track. On his day, he is good enough to finish in the first three.
“It will suit him and I really do think it is horses for courses.”
Dascombe is already looking ahead to next season with two promising juveniles, Bigbertiebassett and Odonnell’s Orchard.
The trainer holds the former in high regard, although admits talk of running in the Superlative Stakes at Newmarket last Saturday, following an easy win in a seven-furlong Doncaster novice on his second start, was a little far-fetched.
“Bigbertiebassett is a very nice horse,” said Dascombe of the David Foy-owned colt. “He doesn’t even know he’s born. He is absolutely clueless about life.
“He is going to go for a seven-furlong Listed race at Ascot next weekend (Flexjet Pat Eddery Stakes). He is so simple, that’s the thing about him. It is like pushing a button and he’s off.
“I don’t think an Almanzor should be running over six furlongs by now, but he just finds life so easy. He is a bit like Hot Fuss. You put him in his bed and he eats, you take him up the gallop and he gallops. He’d never be your best mate, like Misty Grey, because he has got little character, apart from saying ‘let’s get on with it’.
“I was thinking about the Superlative. That was my initial reaction, but I was probably being a little bit stupid and I’m pleased we didn’t run him as I’m not sure we’d have beaten the winner (City Of Troy).
“He will go to Ascot and that just gives us another week. I just think I’m asking the horse to be doing things he shouldn’t be doing right now, but he is doing them.
“He is 100 per cent a horse for next year. We will see how he gets on at Ascot, then leave him for the autumn and see what he wants, which is probably a mile on soft ground.”
Odonnell’s Orchard was an unfancied 33-1 chance in a decent Newbury six-furlong novice earlier this month, where he finished fourth to Starlust.
However, Dascombe is expecting big things from the Caroline Ingram and partners-owned son of Invincible Army.
“He is really nice horse and he’s going for a Listed six-furlong race at Newbury on Friday (the IRE-Incentive – It Pays To Buy Irish Rose Bowl Stakes), he’s good.
“He’s proper and he’ll be all right. We’ll probably get beat, but I think he’s a nice horse and deserves the opportunity to run in a nice race, even though he is a maiden,” he added.
Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s big-hitters and emerging stars have been backed to inspire a new generation after a hugely successful showing at the Para Athletics World Championships.
Reigning Paralympic champion Hannah Cockroft took gold in the women’s T34 100m and T34 800m, while Aled Davies secured a fifth world title in the men’s F63 shot put and Sammi Kinghorn a third in the women’s T53 100m.
However, 19-year-old Scot Ben Sandilands also led a group of potential future stars onto the podium in Paris with victory in the men’s T20 1500m to demonstrate the effectiveness of GB’s National Lottery-funded para athletics strategy drawn up in response to a disappointing return at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing.
Paula Dunn, head coach for para athletics between 2012 and 2022, told the PA news agency: “We had a strategy in terms of not just looking in the short term at athletes, but building a sustainable programme, having a clear pathway of talent coming through, having talent identification and recruitment drives ahead of 2012, which was an amazing opportunity to create some role models and just increase that profile and awareness of the sport.
“We are just reaping the benefits of that long-term continued investment in the sport, which we’re really fortunate in this cycle amounts to around £9million of lottery support.
“That’s critical for our continued success. It’s nice when a strategy comes together and it starts delivering.”
In all, lottery support for para athletics has totalled £214million and the success that has helped to generate – Britain finished fourth in the medals table in Paris with 29, 10 of them gold – has made athletes such as Cockroft and sprinter Jonnie Peacock, one of the stars of the 2012 Paralympics in London, household names.
Asked how their profile has helped to attract new blood to the sport, Dunn said: “It’s critical. The children who turn on the TV this year – and definitely next year when the Paralympics are on – will see somebody who looks like them, and if you see somebody that looks like you, you’re more likely to go and have a go at that sport.
“For us, it’s critical to make sure we keep the profile high to keep that fresh blood coming into the sport.”
Success at the World Championships will only increase excitement levels ahead of next summer’s Paralympic Games, which are also taking place in Paris, although Dunn knows only too well the hard work ahead of those hoping to thrive on the global stage again.
She said: “We always deliver. Is it going to be hard? Absolutely. The Paralympics now is exceptionally competitive. We can see that there are very small margins now between success and failure.
“We’ve got a great high performance system, we’ve got funding, so we’ve got everything in place now to deliver. But these guys now will be coming back, have a short break and then again their eyes will all be on Paris 2024 to go there and deliver on the global stage once again.”
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The organisers of the Commonwealth Games say they will listen to any offer from the United Kingdom to step in as emergency hosts for the 2026 event after the Australian state of Victoria’s sudden withdrawal.
State premier Daniel Andrews announced Victoria was pulling out on Tuesday, citing rising costs.
Katie Sadleir, the chief executive of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), said her organisation was “open” to discussions with all members with a view to replacing Victoria as hosts – including the UK.
Before that, Sadleir said the CGF will work with its lawyers on agreeing a suitable compensation deal with Victoria following its withdrawal.
She told the PA news agency: “The UK are fantastic hosts and we would be very open to having a conversation with them about it, if that’s something they would be interested in doing.”
Birmingham stepped in as hosts of the 2022 Games after the CGF stripped South African city Durban of hosting rights back in 2017.
Asked if the British Government would encourage a UK bid for 2026, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman said: “We are getting slightly ahead of ourselves.”
The Downing Street spokesman had earlier said he hoped a “viable solution” could be found to hold the event in Australia.
Asked if Australia remained the CGF’s first preference, Sadleir said: “We’re open to all opportunities, but Commonwealth Games Australia are a partner with us in terms of the hosting contract that we’ve all been working to for quite some time.
“I will be meeting with (Craig Phillips, CGA’s chief executive) to talk about what other (Australian) cities and states are interested, so we will have that conversation with them. But at the same time, we must be open to having discussions with our wider members as well.”
Victoria’s withdrawal will inevitably reopen the debate about the Games’ future and the cost of staging it.
Andrews said the estimated costs to his state for the bid were now up to seven billion Australian dollars (£3.6billion).
Victoria were the first hosts who were able to take advantage of the CGF’s new ‘roadmap’, which was designed to make staging the event more cost-effective. Among the measures within the roadmap were a reduction in the number of compulsory sports from 16 to two, and the removal of the requirement for a bespoke athletes’ village.
Sadleir believes Victoria had the flexibility to stage the Games much more cheaply, but chose not to, opting to hold the event over five provincial hubs rather than centring it on Melbourne.
“The cost of the Games is in relation to what the host country wants to get out of it,” she said.
“This was an expensive, unique Games, but it was driven by what the Victorian Government wanted to do.”
Sadleir, who described the news of Victoria’s withdrawal as “devastating”, said the CGF had been given eight hours’ notice of the decision to pull out.
Sadleir said CGA chief executive Craig Phillips was “correct” in his statement earlier on Tuesday that Victoria had “wilfully ignored” recommendations that could have reduced costs, such as using existing facilities in Melbourne.
“At all times we questioned whether or not they had really thought through the dispersed model,” added Sadleir.
“They increased the number of hubs from what the original bid was. They added additional sports, they decided to invest in facilities outside of Melbourne, some of them which had limited legacy because of the pop-up nature of them. But those were decisions that they made.
“We did go back to them several times to say, ‘are you sure?’ and were assured.
“We were aware there was a budget submission, it was a paper that went to the (CGF) board in mid-April. So we were aware (of an increase in estimated costs), but we did not have those figures that are (now) in the public domain.
“We definitely did provide a variety of solutions to actually reduce the cost of the Games. They said it was their unique model and they wanted to invest in regional economic development. They did not want anything in Melbourne that was existing, they wanted to invest in the regions and at all times we were led to believe that they had the funding to do that.”
The British Government put the cost of staging the Birmingham Games last year at £778million, and an independent report published in January said the Games had already contributed £870.7m to the UK economy by that point.
Asked if she could assure athletes there would be a Games in 2026, Sadleir said: “What I can assure them is that I will be working very hard to make that happen.”
On the subject of compensation from Victoria, Sadleir said: “We entered into a contract with (Victoria) to deliver a Games. They are defaulting on that contract.
“There are a series of clauses that articulate the kind of cash flows that would have happened if the Games had gone on. We are sitting down to look at options to come to a resolution that we will be happy with.”
Matt Fitzpatrick described it as “interesting” and, perhaps keen to avoid making headlines, was unwilling to expand any further.
Tommy Fleetwood called it “very penal” and believes it could be pivotal to the outcome of the 151st Open Championship, while Jon Rahm’s verdict of “I see what they tried to do” was hardly effusive praise.
The subject in question was the new par-three 17th at Royal Liverpool – a hole appropriately named ‘Little Eye’ given its length and the scrutiny it continues to receive ahead of the year’s final major.
“I was chatting to one of the players who were there last week and they were saying somebody could make a really high number on that hole,” 2019 champion Shane Lowry told the PA news agency.
“I think short par threes are the best in the world as long as they’re not too tricky.”
Much will depend on the strength and direction of the wind, with the hole measuring 136 yards on the card but capable of playing even shorter.
“I see what they tried to do,” Rahm said. “The old par-three, the 15th, was the complete opposite. You had a short downhill hole, most likely downwind, with basically all the edges sloping towards the centre of the green.
“I thought it was a good hole. You could make a birdie, and if you miss the green, a bogey was lurking.
“This time they made a really difficult turtleshell par-three. If you hit a good shot, put it on the green, you have a clear look at birdie. If you miss the green, you have a clear look at bogey.
“It’s way more difficult than it was before. I get that you’re going for that on a championship Sunday. You have a one-shot lead, that hole can be pivotal.”
Tommy Fleetwood, who made his Open debut at Royal Liverpool in 2014, said: “You can be hitting anything from a seven iron to a lob wedge and honestly I’m not sure whether into the wind or downwind is easier.
“But it’s a very penal hole if you get it wrong. It will be really interesting to see how it plays and one thing’s for sure is that the Open won’t be over until you’re through with that hole.
“I would like the tee to be raised a bit so you can see the actual green where you’re trying to land it, but it’s a good hole. I think it’s better than what was there before.”
New Zealander, Devon Conway, hit 74 to help the Texas Super Kings get their second win in three games in Major League Cricket with a 17-run win over MI New York at Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas on Monday.
The Super Kings won the toss and posted 154-7 off their 20 overs.
Conway’s innings lasted 55 balls and included eight fours and a six. Conway’s countryman, Mitchell Santner, hit 27 in support. Trent Boult and Kagiso Rabada each took a pair of wickets for MINY.
MI New York’s chase then failed to get going after a slow first powerplay where they only scored 32 in the first six overs.
The innings sauntered along before, eventually, they were restricted to 137-8 after 20 overs.
Shayan Jahangir top scored with 41 while Tim David hit 21 and Nicholas Pooran made 19.
Daniel Sams was excellent with the ball for Texas, picking up 2-15 in his four overs.
The Super Kings are now on top of the table with four points from three games.
Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana has undergone reconstructive surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament.
The 22-year-old centre-back begins his rehabilitation at the Blues’ Cobham training ground while the squad travel to the United States on a pre-season trip.
Fofana, who joined the Londoners from Leicester in 2022 for £75million, featured just 15 times for Chelsea in the Premier League last season as he suffered a number of injury setbacks.
This latest problem comes two years after the Frenchman broke his leg in a pre-season friendly for Leicester against Villareal which saw him miss a large part of the 2021-22 campaign.
Thiago Silva, Trevoh Chalobah, Levi Colwill, Alfie Gilchrist and Bashir Humphreys are the remaining centre-back options at Mauricio Pochettino’s disposal in the US as he prepares for Thursday’s opening pre-season clash against Wrexham.
David Warner will be retained by Australia for the fourth Ashes Test at Emirates Old Trafford despite his struggles against Stuart Broad, although off-spinner Todd Murphy could miss out.
As Australia weigh up whether to go into a Test without a frontline spinner for the first time in 11 years, captain Pat Cummins announced Warner would keep his spot and open alongside Usman Khawaja.
Warner amassed just five runs at Headingley before being snared twice by Broad, whose 17 dismissals of the left-hander is the joint-third highest by a bowler against an individual batter in the Test format.
Broad could equal the record – held by Australia great Glenn McGrath, who claimed the wicket of former England captain Mike Atherton 19 times – if he does the double over Warner again in Manchester.
But Cummins argued Warner’s three 50-plus stands in this series have been invaluable to their 2-1 lead and is backing the 36-year-old, who is averaging 23.5 after six innings, to come good this week.
“Davey didn’t have his best game last week at Headingley but prior to that, I think he’s looked really good – he’s had three fifty-run partnerships which can be rare over here in England,” Cummins said.
“Steve Smith got a great hundred at Lord’s, a lot of that was off the back of a really important first session from the openers.
“We back Davey, absolutely. We know how tough it can be to open over here. He’s doing all the right things, he’s shown some great signs and I’m sure a big score is just around the corner.”
Cummins revealed Josh Hazlewood would replace fellow seamer Scott Boland, who has taken just two wickets in two matches at an eye-watering 115.5 average, while fit-again all-rounder Cameron Green seems set to replace Murphy after the rookie spinner bowled just 9.3 overs in the third Test at Headingley.
Green lengthens Australia’s batting alongside fellow all-rounder Mitch Marsh if Murphy drops out, having come in at Leeds for Nathan Lyon, one of Australia’s greatest spinners who played 100 Tests in a row before injuring his calf in the second Test at Lord’s.
Australia’s last Test without a recognised spinner was in January 2012 against India at Perth – a match they won by an innings – although Old Trafford has a reputation for offering help to slow bowlers.
“Nathan Lyon is the greatest off-spinner we’ve ever had so it’s not quite apples for apples (in comparing him to Murphy),” Cummins said.
“We are really excited by Todd, we think he’s fantastic. He’s got a big future. It was more conditions or the way I used him, as opposed to how he bowled.”
England’s victory last time out narrows the deficit to 2-1 in a gripping, seesaw series but Australia are still the box seat, knowing they only need to draw one of the final two Tests to retain the urn.
However, Cummins – who played in the drawn series in 2019 – insisted the clear aim of this trip was to claim a first Test series win in England since 2001.
Ahead of the penultimate match, where rain is forecast for the weekend, Cummins said: “The first preference is always to try to win.
“We drew the 2019 series and we’ve all come back pretty clear we want to win this one.
“We’re prepared for anything, really. We’ll see how it plays out. We’ve already seen a lot of different things from both teams this series. I’m sure this one will be another cracker with some random stuff thrown up.”
Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana is set to join Manchester United after a deal was struck with both player and club, the PA news agency understands.
The 27-year-old shot-stopper has been top of Erik ten Hag’s wish list this summer as United replace long-serving David De Gea.
United have now reached an agreement with Serie A side Inter to sign Onana for an initial 51m euros (£43.8m) with a potential further 4m euros (£3.4m) in add-ons.
Personal terms are also understood to have been agreed with the goalkeeper, who is set to sign a five-year deal with the option of a further season.
A medical is imminent but it remains to be seen whether the respective paperwork will be completed in time for Onana to be on Wednesday’s flight to the United States for their pre-season tour.
The Cameroon international will become United’s second signing of the summer after bringing in Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount earlier in the month for an initial £55m.
The goalkeeper should slot seamlessly into Ten Hag’s system thanks to his ability and confidence on the ball, which he used to great effect at Inter and prior to that under the Dutchman at Ajax.
A new goalkeeper had not initially been a key priority for the United boss this summer, but towards the end of the campaign it was decided to pursue a new number one.
Onana is now set to succeed De Gea after his recent departure on a free transfer, while speculation continues over the future of Dean Henderson and Tom Heaton.
Alflaila will make his belated return from injury at York on Saturday week in the Group Two Sky Bet York Stakes.
The Shadwell-owned colt won four times from six starts as a three-year-old last term before sustaining an injury ahead of a run in Bahrain in November.
Trainer Owen Burrows feels he has had plenty of time to recuperate and thinks an outing on the Knavesmire, where he won the Strensall Stakes last August, will bring him on.
Though not having raced since defeating Ottoman Fleet in the Group Three Darley Stakes at Newmarket in October, he is entered in the Group One Juddmonte International.
Connections are keen to see if he will cope with 10 furlongs for the first time in his career, in preparation for a possible run at the top level in the August 23 contest at York.
Burrows said: “He will run in the Group Two at York on Saturday week. He was injured in Bahrain a few days before he was due to run.
“He has had his rehab back at Shadwell and touch wood it has all gone well.
“We have had plenty of time to prepare him and there was the Listed race at Newbury on Saturday or this race, and we’d have had a penalty in the Listed race, so we thought we’d have a punt and see how he fared in the Group Two.
“He won the Strensall at York, so he is a track winner and it would be nice to get him back on the track.”
Hukum, who made a winning return following a long injury lay-off in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown, heads to Ascot for the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes on the same day.
However, Prix d’Ispahan winner Anmaat is set to take his place on the sidelines due to a foot problem that ruled him out of the Eclipse.
“Losing good horses (through injury) is what I think they call ‘character-building’,” quipped Burrows. “With Anmaat now likely sidelined for the rest of the season, I think I’ve done enough character-building for now.
“Hukum is in good form, though. It will be a big weekend for us, that’s for sure.”
Shadwell decided not to supplement Al Asifah into Saturday’s Juddmonte Irish Oaks at the Curragh, with no imminent plans.
The three-year-old daughter of Frankel, trained by John and Thady Gosden, was a runaway winner of a Goodwood Listed heat in June, before finishing a lacklustre sixth to Warm Heart in the Ribblesdale Stake at Royal Ascot 11 days later.
Angus Gold, racing manager to Shadwell, said: “We have left her alone since Ascot. We will just give her a little bit of time and will bring her back gently later in the season.”
Novak Djokovic will remain a force at the top of men's tennis despite the disruption to his dominance that has been caused by Carlos Alcaraz.
That is the view of former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli after the Serbian missed out on a fifth consecutive title, which would have been a record-equalling eighth overall, at the All England Club on Sunday.
Roared on by the Centre Court crowd, Alcaraz produced a dynamic performance in the final to earn a spirited five-set victory, storming back to win having lost the first set 6-1.
Despite only just turning 20, the Spaniard now has two grand slam titles to his name, having won the US Open last year.
And it is in New York where Djokovic will look to respond to only his second loss in nine Wimbledon finals.
Despite Djokovic's setback, Bartoli is confident 23-time grand slam winner is primed to win multiple further majors and one day reach 25, saying the veteran remains the man to beat.
"As the champion it is never nice to lose for sure and it will sting for a few days," Bartoli said to Stats Perform.
"I don't think he's going to come out of this match like 'yeah, it's fine I just lost it', as you don't win 23 grand slams without being a fierce competitor and without hating to lose.
"But there is the US Open coming up this year, so there is a lot on the line for him.
"He has absolutely no points to defend [in the US Open] and then he has the year-end championship [ATP Finals] that he won at the end of last year.
"On the other end Alcaraz has the US Open to defend so it's more than likely that Novak Djokovic will be able to regain that number one ranking spot at the end of the US summer swing.
"He's going to get himself ready for that. I'm not sure what kind of schedule he will play, whether he's going to play the two Masters events before or maybe just one and go to the US Open because he's 36 and you just can't have the same schedule as someone like Carlos Alcaraz has, that is obvious.
"But can he pass and go over Margaret Court [on 24 major titles]? Absolutely. He's going to be the favourite to win the US Open equally with Alcaraz and he will be the overall favourite to win the next Australian Open.
"So absolutely it is very much more than achievable for him [to pass Court] and obviously I think by the end of 2024 that's where he should stand — at least 25 Grand Slams and alone on top of the world."
Djokovic had not lost at Wimbledon since going down to Tomas Berdych in the 2017 quarter-finals and the final was his first loss on Centre Court for 10 years, since Andy Murray beat him in the famous 2013 final, the same year when Bartoli won on the women's side.
Bartoli added: "So for sure it's just going to sting for him when he looks back at those tapes and sees back those points that he missed – two backhands during the tie-break, the drop shot that he missed in the net at 3-2 for him in the breaker, sees the swing volley that he decided to actually take in the air – maybe just let it drop and see if the ball actually will stay in the court or not.
"It is just two or three crucial points here and there that made the whole result at the end of the match change. He had set point to go up two sets to love. I think if he covered there, it is completely different.
"He had a break point at the beginning of the fifth to go 2-0 up after winning the fourth and was carrying the whole momentum with him, so he was extremely close."
Bartoli thinks the rise of Alcaraz epitomises the new style of modern players, but thinks Djokovic's complete game means he is still well-placed to mix it with rising stars.
Alcaraz is the youngest player in the Open Era to win the singles title at both the US Open and Wimbledon.
But asked if the win for Alcaraz was a changing of the guard, she replied: "No, but I felt it was a new tennis.
"It was very much a sort of new complete tennis that we'll be able to witness from the new generation of players coming in. I include in that Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner as the same [style] as Alcaraz.
"The defence is there, the court coverage is there, the speed is there, coming to the net is there, playing the dropshot is there, play aggressive and defensive, and they can last for whatever time is required on the court. And in some sort of way in the middle, there is Daniil Medvedev and Stefan Tsitsipas too.
"That's what the new tennis on the men's side is looking for. Maybe for the next 10 years or so. And I think very much Novak was up to the task [against Alcaraz].
"So I don't think it was a change of the guard. I just felt it was a new tennis and because Novak has that type of tennis obviously he can sustain that level."
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