England all-rounder Moeen Ali has been fined on his Test return for applying an unauthorised drying spray to his bowling hand on day two of the Ashes curtain-raiser at Edgbaston.

Umpires had expressly prohibited players from using any agents to their hands without prior approval ahead of this highly-anticipated LV= Insurance series between England and Australia.

While the International Cricket Council accepted Moeen’s use of the spray was an attempt to reduce perspiration and not a more serious charge of trying to alter the condition of the ball, he was found to have displayed conduct that is “contrary to the spirit of the game”.

As well as being fined 25 per cent of match fee, Moeen has been hit with one demerit point after admitting a breach of article 2.2 of the ICC code of conduct for players and player support personnel.

An ICC statement said: “England player Moeen Ali has been fined 25 per cent of his match fee for breaching Level 1 of the ICC code of conduct during the first Test against Australia in Birmingham on Saturday.”

It was an unwanted birthday present for Moeen, who turned 36 on Sunday and is making his comeback to Test cricket after almost a two-year absence.

Modern Games will face 11 rivals as he bids for a sixth Group One win in Tuesday’s Queen Anne Stakes, the opening event of Royal Ascot 2023.

Charlie Appleby’s charge struck at the highest level in France, Canada and America last year and secured his first Group One on home soil when winning the Lockinge at Newbury last month.

He had the Richard Hannon-trained Chindit behind him that day and he reopposes along with the third Berkshire Shadow, fifth Mutasaabeq, sixth-placed Lusail and the seventh Light Infantry.

Modern Games’ main rival appears to be the John and Thady Gosden-trained Inspiral, winner of the Coronation Stakes at this meeting last year and making her seasonal bow here.

Angel Bleu, Cash, Pogo and Triple Time complete the field along with Appleby’s second runner Native Trail.

Chaldean and Paddington provide a mouth-watering clash in the St James’s Palace Stakes.

Winners of the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and the Irish equivalent for Andrew Balding and Aidan O’Brien respectively, they are the star names among a nine-strong field.

Isaac Shelby, who was narrowly beaten in the French Guineas, represents Brian Meehan with Charlie Hill’s Cicero’s Gift an interesting contender as he makes the leap to top-class company after winning each of his three career starts.

Hills also runs Galeron, with Charyn, Indestructible, Mostabshir and Royal Scotsman making up the field.

A high-class field of 19 goes to post in the King’s Stand Stakes, with Highfield Princess currently heading the market for John Quinn.

Australian raider Coolangatta, trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, is also a popular pick for the five-furlong affair, with her compatriot Cannonball another towards the head of the betting for Peter and Paul Snowden.

The Karl Burke-trained pair of Dramatised and Marshman are in the line up along with the likes of Manaccan, Twilight Calls and Twilight Gleaming.

George Boughey’s Asadna is one of 22 for the Coventry Stakes with Willie Mullins holding leading claims in both the 20-runner Ascot Stakes and the Copper Horse Stakes via Bring On The Night and Vauban, with the latter one of a maximum field of 16.

Frankie Dettori will ride Saga for the King and Queen in the Wolferton Stakes, with the Gosden-trained runner having come within a head of victory for the late Queen at last year’s meeting.

Wales are back in Euro 2024 qualifying action away to Turkey on Monday.

Rob Page’s side are bidding to recover from their shock home defeat to Armenia on Friday against the Group D leaders.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the main talking points surrounding the crunch game in Samsun.

Page must strike right balance

This time last year Wales boss Page was basking in the glow of guiding Wales to their first World Cup for 64 years. How times have changed.

Wales have won only once in 11 games and Page’s tactics have come under intense scrutiny.

Reverting to three at the back and playing two holding midfielders in front of them might provide Wales with the solidity they have so woefully lacked over the past 12 months.

Counter-attack best form of defence

There is no Kieffer Moore after the Bournemouth targetman was sent off against Armenia to earn a ban.

Moore’s absence might actually work in Wales’ favour in this instance should Page bolster his defence and pack the midfield.

That could give Wales a strong base to release the pace of Brennan Johnson and Daniel James on the break.

Should Danny ward off Wayne?

Danny Ward’s miserable season suffered further indignity as four goals flashed past him in Armenia’s stunning Cardiff success.

Ward’s struggle for form at relegated Leicester saw him lose his place there towards the end of the season and his confidence levels must be a real concern for Page.

Wayne Hennessey is the obvious replacement but the 108-times capped veteran – sent off on his last appearance at the World Cup in Qatar – has spent most of the season warming the bench at Nottingham Forest.

Revenge or repeat?

The two nations have met seven times with Wales winning four games to Turkey’s two and one draw.

Their last meeting came two years ago as Aaron Ramsey and Connor Roberts scored in a 2-0 Wales victory at the delayed 2020 European Championship, securing qualification for the knockout stage at Turkey’s expense.

So Turkey have that extra motivation of avenging that Baku defeat in front of what is sure to be a volatile crowd at the Samsun 19 Mayis Stadium.

Balance of power

This contest has the appearance of a defining fixture to make next summer’s European Championship finals in Germany.

Wales’ promising start with four points from two games, which included a bonus draw away to group favourites Croatia, was blown apart by the Armenia defeat.

Turkey are now on the front foot after grabbing a stoppage-time winner to beat Latvia 3-2 on Friday, and victory would take them five points clear of Wales in a potential race behind Croatia for the second qualifying spot.

Sunderland have announced the signing of striker Luis Hemir Silva Semedo on a five-year contract.

The 19-year-old arrives from Benfica for an undisclosed fee having featured for their B team and under-23 side over the last two seasons, scoring 28 goals in 61 appearances.

Following his arrival at the Stadium of Light, Hemir told the club website: “This is a big move for me and I am very excited to be here.

“Sunderland have a lot of young players playing an important part in the team and I think this will be really good for my personal development. I’m excited to meet my new team mates, see the stadium and experience the fans.”

Doug Watson is relishing his interim stint as Scotland head coach and has seen enough from the players so far to believe they can qualify for this year’s World Cup in India.

The South African, who also remains head coach of Auckland Aces at club level, took on the temporary role in charge of the Scots in April and will remain at the helm until the end of July.

Watson will lead the team at the World Cup qualifying event which gets under way in Zimbabwe on Sunday and then the 2024 T20 World Cup European qualifiers in Edinburgh next month.

“I’ve got this tournament and the next tournament and then we’ll reassess,” Watson told the PA news agency.

“I’ve been fortunate that Auckland have given me time off to come and do this role.

“It worked out perfectly in terms of timing because the New Zealand season finished at the end of April so that freed me up to spend three to four months out of New Zealand in this job.

“I played cricket in Scotland many years ago and it’s been great to be back. I’ve been really taken care of.

“It’s been a great experience so far, it’s been busy. The squad have been brilliant to work with.”

The Scots play their first match of the qualifiers against Ireland on Wednesday, while they are also in a five-team section with United Arab Emirates, Oman and Sri Lanka.

The top three teams go through to the Super Six stage where there will be two World Cup places up for grabs.

“Yes, definitely, without a shadow of a doubt they’ve got it in them to get to the World Cup,” said Watson.

“We know we’re going to be up against some outstanding teams and everyone’s got the same goal of wanting to be in the top two.

“But Scotland have done really well over the last two to four years. Finishing top of the World Cricket League shows they’re in a good space.

“Now it’s a case of taking everything they’ve learned over the past few years into the tournament. At this stage leading into a tournament of this magnitude I don’t have to drive or motivate the players.

“They’re all motivated themselves and they’re taking on leadership and preparation. We’re pretty clear on what we want to do but it’s about staying calm and present and making sure we don’t look too far ahead and that we just focus game by game.”

Eoin Morgan felt he was incapable of producing the record-breaking 148 from 71 balls that ushered England to a crushing 150-run victory over Afghanistan and to the top of the World Cup standings on this day in 2019.

The England captain pulverised a world record 17 one-day international sixes out of a team total of 25, another new benchmark in the format, while his 57-ball ton was the fourth quickest in the tournament’s 44-year history.

Rohit Sharma, Chris Gayle and AB De Villiers cleared the boundary rope 16 times in an innings, but Morgan’s feat was even more remarkable as it came only days after he limped off against the West Indies with a back spasm.

“Never have I ever thought I could play a knock like that. I’m delighted that I have,” Morgan said. “All the work over the last four years, over the course of my career, it all comes to the front now.

“The last four years I’ve probably played the best in my career. But that hasn’t involved the 50 or 60-ball hundred.”

Any lingering fears over Morgan’s back injury were subsequently allayed following a knock that relegated hefty contributions from Jonny Bairstow (90) and Joe Root (88) to footnotes in England’s 397 for six at Old Trafford.

Morgan was dropped on 28 in the deep by Dawlat Zadran off Rashid Khan, who came in for some heavy punishment from the Dubliner en route to miserable figures of 9-0-110-0.

Afghanistan were never likely to mount a serious challenge to the total as they crashed to a fifth successive defeat to remain rooted to the foot of the group-stage table. However, they managed to avoid being blown away and posted 247 for eight.

Morgan raced past Root in the 40th over, during which he became the eighth man to reach 200 ODI sixes. He converted 50 into 100 in just 21 deliveries, clearing the ropes three times in six Rashid Khan balls, and kept on swinging.

Morgan levelled the sixes record with back-to-back blows off Gulbadin, then brushed off Root’s dismissal by hitting a 17th hard over his fellow skipper’s head. He holed out next ball, finally falling short as he aimed over long-off.

England went on to be crowned world champions for the first time following a dramatic final against New Zealand at Lord’s that went to a Super Over and was eventually decided by boundary count.

The Cincinnati Reds can stake their claim as the hottest team in baseball after Jonathan India and Will Benson led them to a 10-3 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday.

It was the seventh straight win for the surprising Reds, their longest streak since June 2018 and the longest active run in the majors.

Cincinnati, which lost 100 games last season, moved one game over .500 for the first time since it was 3-2 in early April.  

India opened the scoring in the first inning with a two-run homer – his third in seven games -  off Brandon Bielak and Benson led off the fourth with a triple and scored on Curt Casali’s sacrifice bunt.

Benson greeted reliever Phil Maton with a two-run single in the fifth inning to make it 5-1.

That was more than enough offense for Hunter Greene, who allowed two runs and five hits in six innings. He won for the second time in four starts after opening the season without a victory in his first 10.

Tyler Stephenson singled home another run in the seventh and pinch-hitter Kevin Newman drove in two in Cincinnati’s four-run ninth.

Jose Altuve matched a career best with four hits, including a homer and two doubles. His 35th career four-hit game moved him past Hall of Famer Craig Biggio for the most in Astros history.

Streaking Giants pound rival Dodgers

J.D. Davis had a pinch-hit grand slam and LaMonte Wade Jr. added a three-run homer to lift the San Francisco Giants to their sixth consecutive win, a 15-0 drubbing of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Alex Wood and rookie Bobby Miller exchanged zeroes until the Giants broke through with four runs off Miller in the fifth inning on Brandon Crawford’s RBI single and Wade’s ninth home run of the season.

San Francisco extended its advantage to 9-0 an inning later. Crawford delivered another RBI single before Davis connected off reliever Alex Vesia with the bases loaded for his second grand slam this season and third of his career.

Davis closed the scoring with his fifth RBI in San Francisco’s three-run ninth.

Royals erase big deficit to snap 10-game losing streak

Samad Taylor delivered a walk-off single in his major league debut and the Kansas City Royals ended a 10-game skid by rallying for a 10-9 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

Faced with an 8-2 deficit in the seventh inning, the Royals scored three runs in the frame and tied it with three more in the eighth. Bobby Witt Jr. had a two-run double in the seventh and singled home another two in the eighth.

The Angels went back on top in the ninth on Mike Trout’s RBI single, but the Royals walked it off in the bottom half as Maikel Garcia singled home a run before scoring on Taylor’s single to deep centre.

Brandon Drury homered twice and Shohei Ohtani took over the major league lead with his 23rd home run, his eighth in his last 12 games.

Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark will take a share of the lead into the final round of the 123rd US Open, with Rory McIlroy just a shot behind at Los Angeles Country Club.

Chasing his first major title, halfway leader Fowler looked set to maintain his overnight advantage until three-putting the 18th, the resulting level-par 70 leaving him on 10 under par.

Playing partner Clark hitting a stunning approach to the last to set up a closing birdie and complete a hard-fought 69, with McIlroy also recording a 69 as he bids to claim a fifth major and first since the 2014 US PGA.

World number one Scottie Scheffler finished eagle, birdie to card a second consecutive 68 and lie three shots off the lead.

McIlroy held a share of the lead after two-putting the first for a birdie and then holing from 12 feet for another on the third, but that proved to be the longest putt the world number three holed all day.

“I feel pretty good,” McIlroy said. “The golf course definitely got a little trickier than the first couple of days.

“I felt like I played smart solid golf. It felt somewhat stress-free, if you can ever call golf at a US Open stress-free, but overall pretty pleased with how today went. I feel like I’m in a good spot going into tomorrow.”

Quote of the day

Defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick was one of a number of players to note the subdued atmosphere.

Shot of the day

Minutes after Rickie Fowler holed from 70 feet for birdie on the 13th, Scheffler outdid him with a stunning eagle from 196 yards on the 17th.

Round of the day

Tom Kim began the day 11 shots off the lead but ended it in the top 10 thanks to a 66 which included a record-equalling front nine of 29.

Statistic of the day

Bad news for anyone hoping to stage a final-round charge from more than four shots off the lead.

Easiest hole

The par-five eighth hole played to an average of 4.450, with three players making an eagle and 33 making birdie. There were just three bogeys.

Hardest hole

The fifth hole proved the hardest with just one player making a birdie and three making double bogeys, leading to a scoring average of 4.510.

Weather forecast

A cloudy start will give way to afternoon sun and highs in the mid 70s, with wind gusting up to 18mph in late afternoon.

Key tee times (all BST)

2157 Ryutaro Nagano, Xander Schauffele
2208 Dustin Johnson, Harris English
2219 Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy
2230 Rickie Fowler, Wyndham Clark

England’s bowlers need to rally on day three of the first Ashes Test after a chanceless century from Usman Khawaja and three wasted opportunities left them with a fragile lead of 82 at Edgbaston.

Having sprung a surprise declaration at 393 for eight on the first evening, England saw the tourists respond with 311 for five as Khawaja made an imperious 126 not out.

He carried his bat from first ball to last on day two, shepherding his side from 67 for three to a much sturdier position at stumps. While they look well set with Khawaja and Alex Carey (52no) at the crease, England are just two wickets from opening up the tail.

Yet they will be ruing three chances that went begging, Jonny Bairstow missing a stumping against Cameron Green and a catch from Carey, while Stuart Broad bowled Khawaja on 112 off a no-ball.

With a first-innings lead likely to go a long way on a pitch that is beginning to take spin, both sides will be desperate to own the morning session.

A step too far for Broad

Overstepping the bowling crease has become an increasingly costly habit for fast bowlers since the line has been routinely monitored by the third umpire. Australia captain Pat Cummins overstepped six times in the World Test Championship final against India earlier this month, missing out on two wickets as a result, and Broad failed to heed the warning. He overstepped six times in 16 overs, most painfully when he speared the second new ball through Khawaja’s defences only to see the wicket scrubbed off. Ben Stokes, who has also lost wickets for the same reason in the past, was also called six times. England need to tighten up their footwork.

What they said

Khawaja, joined at his post-match press conference by daughter Aisha, was pleased to answer the doubters who suggested he could not bring his form to English conditions. He had a previous best of 54 and an average of less than 20 in this country, but blew those statistics out of the water with his classy century.

Numbers game

By contrast Australia managed only to stop England scoring from two of their overs on day one. As if to exemplify the sharp contrast in styles, Australia’s batters blocked out three successive maidens to start the day and took 24 balls to open their account for the day.

England’s secret weapon

Broad dismissing David Warner early on day two for the 15th time in his career felt par for the course and there was a sense of expectancy as the old rivals faced off. But Harry Brook being brought into the attack in the 15th over came right out of leftfield. A very occasional medium pacer, he had only bowled eight overs in international cricket before Stokes threw him into the fray unexpectedly. The decision to introduce a 65pmh part-timer in the first session and with Steve Smith at the crease raised more than a few eyebrows. It only cost England a single and he was back for two more in the evening as Stokes tried everything he could to derail Australia.

Tweet of the Day

England’s Twitter harking back to the response Moeen Ali sent after Stokes’ Ashes SOS. It was a mixed bag for Moeen, who snared Travis Head and produced this beauty to see off Cameron Green but England’s off-spinning all-rounder leaked 124 runs in his 29 overs.

#BlueforBob

Actor Stephen Fry and former Australia fast bowler Jeff Thomson were on hand to lend their support as Edgbaston turned blue for Bob Willis, who died in December 2019 from prostate cancer. His wife Lauren Clark set up the Bob Willis Fund to spread awareness and raise money for prostate cancer research.

Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark will take a share of the lead into the final round of the 123rd US Open, with Rory McIlroy just a shot behind at Los Angeles Country Club.

Chasing his first major title, halfway leader Fowler looked set to maintain his overnight advantage until three-putting the 18th, the resulting level-par 70 leaving him on 10 under par.

Playing partner Clark hitting a stunning approach to the last to set up a closing birdie and complete a hard-fought 69, with McIlroy also recording a 69 as he bids to claim a fifth major and first since the 2014 US PGA.

World number one Scottie Scheffler finished eagle, birdie to card a second consecutive 68 and lie three shots off the lead.

McIlroy held a share of the lead after two-putting the first for a birdie and then holing from 12 feet for another on the third, but that proved to be the longest putt the world number three holed all day.

“I feel pretty good,” McIlroy said. “The golf course definitely got a little trickier than the first couple of days.

“I felt like I played smart solid golf. It felt somewhat stress-free, if you can ever call golf at a US Open stress-free, but overall pretty pleased with how today went. I feel like I’m in a good spot going into tomorrow.”

Asked about using his experience of previous major wins on Sunday, McIlroy added: “It’s been such a long time since I’ve done it and I’m going out there to try to execute a game plan.

“I feel like the last three days I’ve done that really well. Just need to do that for one more day.”

An otherwise dull day had finally been enlivened by Fowler holing from 70 feet for an unlikely birdie on the 13th, followed minutes later by Scheffler holing out from 196 yards for an eagle on the 17th.

Scheffler also birdied the last to move ominously into contention for a second major title, the former Masters champion continuing the form which has seen him win twice and finish no worse than 11th all season.

The only player since the rankings began in 1986 to win the US Open while world number one is Tiger Woods, who achieved the feat three times.

Scheffler, who has struggled with his putting recently, also birdied the 18th to complete a second consecutive 68 and close to within four of Fowler’s lead.

“I was standing on the 17th tee, having just made another bogey to be seven shots back, and just thinking I could steal a shot coming in,” Scheffler said.

“I hit a good drive, then the shot goes in and I birdie 18 and all of a sudden I’m only four back. It’s a huge momentum boost.

“We could not see the ball go in (on 17), but there was a nice crowd there on the grandstand behind the green.

“I saw where it landed and I thought it would funnel out on to the green and I’d have a look for birdie and then you could see everybody as the noise started to kind of rise, then they erupted, which is always nice when you’re standing back there in the fairway.”

Tom Kim provided a strong indication of what was to come as records continued to tumble in the 123rd US Open at Los Angeles Country Club.

Kim equalled the tournament record when he raced to the turn in just 29 shots on Saturday, the 20-year-old from South Korea making birdies on the first, third, fourth, sixth, eighth and ninth.

Another birdie on the 10th took Kim to seven under for the day and four off the lead, but the back nine continued to provide a stiffer test and Kim dropped three shots in the space of four holes before eventually signing for a 66.

One of Kim’s dropped shots came at the par-three 15th, which had become the shortest hole in modern US Open history at just 80 yards.

The previous shortest hole in the US Open was the famous seventh at Pebble Beach – 92 yards in the final round in 2010 – but anyone expecting a fourth hole-in-one of the week on the 15th could be disappointed.

Two-time major winner Thomas wrote on Twitter: “Fifteen is interesting…guys playing early have a chance to hold that section I think. But this afternoon (dominantly downwind), I don’t see a ball holding at it.

“Watch for many guys to one hop it over the back. I think the play is to hit a big cut spinner off that middle slope.

“With how fast the greens will play, it has a chance to get down within 5-10 feet. Will be a spicy one for sure!”

Thomas missed the cut on Friday after rounds of 73 and 81 left him 152nd in the 156-man field and admitted his performance was “humiliating and embarrassing”.

“I was playing the best I’ve played in a really long time this week, so (it’s a) funny game, man,” Thomas told the Golf Channel.

“It can leave you speechless, both good and bad, and right now it’s unfortunate. But once I’m able to reflect and figure out what I can learn and get better from, it’ll end up good. But it sucks right now.”

Thomas won his second US PGA Championship 13 months ago at Southern Hills, but has not tasted victory since and the former world number one has slipped to 16th in the rankings.

“I’ll figure it out,” he added. “I have another major left (this season).

“If I go win the British Open, nobody even remembers that I’ve missed the cut by a zillion here, so I’ve just got to find a way to get better and learn from this and if I can, I don’t have to look at this week as a total failure.”

Next month’s Open Championship will be staged at Royal Liverpool and Rory McIlroy revealed watching the highlights of his victory there in 2014 had influenced his approach this week.

“For whatever reason I went on to YouTube a few weeks ago and was looking back at Hoylake 2014 and I could not believe how many irons and three woods I was hitting off the tee and it set something off in my mind,” said McIlroy, who headed into the third round two shots behind leader Rickie Fowler.

“You know how to do this, you know how to play smart. You don’t have to take driver all the time – yes it’s a big weapon but I feel like I have more weapons in my arsenal than I did then so I may as well use them.”

Asked how much he wanted to win another major after a drought of almost nine years, McIlroy added: “I started thinking about winning this thing on Monday and no one wants me to win another major more than I do.

“The desire is obviously there. I’ve been trying and I’ve come close over the past nine years and I keep coming back.

“I feel like I’ve showed a lot of resilience in my career, whether I get rewarded or punched in the gut, I’ll always keep coming back.”

Coincidentally, Fowler was joint second behind McIlroy at Hoylake in a year in which he finished in the top five in all four majors, and was also third behind McIlroy in the following month’s US PGA.

England progressed to the quarter-finals of the World Cup of Darts with a comfortable 8-4 win against Latvia in Frankfurt.

The top-seed pairing of Michael Smith and Rob Cross are seeking to win a record fifth World Cup title for England and made light work of eliminating Madars Razma and Dmitriy Zhukov.

“We were trying too hard but every time I hit a bad shot, Rob stepped in and we worked as a team there,” the world number one Smith told Sky Sports.

“It wasn’t our greatest performance, but we needed a test and we know that if we play at our best we’ll win.”

England will face hosts Germany in the last eight after Gabriel Clemens and Martin Schindler beat Poland’s Krzysztof Ratajski and Krzysztof Kciuk 8-6 to a rapturous reception in Frankfurt.

Belgium also progressed with a brilliant sudden-death leg win over the Netherlands, whilst Wales beat Denmark 8-2 to ease through.

Earlier in the day, Scotland beat the Philippines 8-5 to book their quarter-final passage.

Australia, Sweden and France will complete the last-eight line-up.