Andy Murray has been restored to Great Britain’s Davis Cup team as they take on Australia, France and Switzerland in Manchester next month.

Murray, who was integral to Britain ending a 79-year wait for glory in the team competition as they triumphed in 2015, was left out of their 3-1 qualifying win on the Colombian clay in February.

British captain Leon Murray suggested the surface was not conducive for Murray, who had at the time played just three matches on clay since 2017, and the former world number one has returned to the fray.

He takes his place alongside Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans and Neal Skupski for the Finals Group Stage at Manchester’s AO Arena from September 12-17 as they attempt to qualify for November’s knockout stage.

Only two of the four nations will advance from Group B for the quarter-finals in Malaga.

“We can’t wait to play Davis Cup in Manchester in front of a huge home crowd,” Smith said.

“It’s been a long time since we played in the North West and I’m sure we are going to feel and hear a lot of energy from the fans.

“We have a great team with a lot of Davis Cup experience who will be ready to give it everything in a tough group with Australia, Switzerland and France.”

England midfielder Keira Walsh insists the Lionesses are not thinking about the Australian hearts they would break if they eliminate the World Cup co-hosts in Wednesday’s Sydney semi-final.

Australia reached the final four for the first time after beating France in a thrilling penalty shootout, while this will be England’s third crack at advancing to the final of the global showpiece – a feat they have yet to accomplish.

The fervour with which Australians have embraced their side has grown at a frenetic pace, culminating with thousands gathering in fan parks across the country to watch the quarter-final and millions more breaking viewing records on TV.

Walsh said: “Whatever game I play, I want to win. It doesn’t matter who you are playing against. For us, I wouldn’t say we are thinking about spoiling the party.

“I think it is just another game and a massive game at that. We are just fully focused on trying to reach a World Cup final, regardless of who we are playing. I think obviously with the support from Australia it is going to be a little bit different for them in that sense.

“I think we have seen that the (England) girls are ready to fight.

“Obviously, when the whistle ends it is a different story, but I think in the game the girls are very aware of what the game is going to be like, what the stadium is going to be like. I think, for us, we are more than ready for it.”

Sydney’s Stadium Australia, where England beat Colombia in the last eight, seats over 75,000 fans, the majority of whom are expected to support the hosts.

In that sense, the Lionesses’ 2-1 comeback victory over Colombia to reach this stage served as an excellent dress rehearsal, their fans another sea of raucous yellow who equally viewed England as public enemy number one.

Walsh, who in just over a year has secured both the Euro 2022 trophy with England and the Champions League title with Barcelona, said dampening the mood with a goal or two could help the Lionesses take control of the narrative.

She said: “(The crowd) was massive for us at the Euros, especially in the final. There are those moments where the opposition could score and it shifts momentum sometimes when you’re playing, it gives you an extra push when you know the crowd is behind you.

“But also when you can quieten the crowd it is a very nice feeling. I think for us trying to take the momentum out of the game is going to be important. There are positives and negatives for both. We have experienced both.”

Walsh missed England’s third group-stage encounter against China after sustaining a knee injury in the first half of their 1-0 victory over Denmark.

At the time it was feared the issue could be tournament-ending, like the anterior cruciate ligament injuries that prevented Euro 2022 captain Leah Williamson and Golden Boot winner Beth Mead from joining Sarina Wiegman’s World Cup squad.

It turned out not to be as serious as initially suspected, and the 26-year-old returned to play 120 minutes of England’s last-16 victory over Nigeria, which the Lionesses ultimately won 4-2 on penalties.

Williamson has now made the trip to Australia and was in the stands for the Lionesses’ Colombia victory.

“It’s a massive boost for the team,” Walsh added. “To see her supporting us on the opposite side of the world, it’s not an easy flight.

“I think it kind of shows what she feels about this team. The first time I saw her she was actually standing outside my hotel room waving.

“She didn’t want to distract us on game day, so she kind of just stood outside and waved from there.

“To get the win and celebrate with her afterwards, I mean I imagine it’s not easy for her to watch those games because she would want to be playing in them, so I think for us we really appreciate her support.

“I think it shows what a good character and what type of person she is that she’s able to do that for us.”

Live In The Dream is the latest sprinter set to line up in a top-tier running of the Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes later this month.

York’s Group One contest is shaping up to be a red-hot affair with the likes of defending champion Highfield Princess, King’s Stand winner Bradsell and a whole host of sprinting talent on course for the Knavesmire.

And Adam West’s charge looks well worth his place in the field judged on his efforts earlier in the campaign.

Having struck twice in handicaps early season, the four-year-old took the step up to Pattern level in his stride, placing in both the Palace House Stakes and the Temple Stakes at Haydock before being given a mid-season break by his handler.

He returned at Deauville earlier this month where he was only beaten a length when fourth in the Prix du Cercle, and West believes that outing in conditions which were far from ideal, will have blown away plenty of cobwebs ahead of his first outing in Group One company.

“I feel like the elements were against him a little bit and we had a rough journey over there ourselves,” explained West.

“The horses went OK and we had horrendous rain for the two-year-old we took over which made it really hard work and then we had really drying tacky ground with a strong headwind for Live In The Dream.

“We probably ran six furlongs rather than five and he was only beaten a length and had a good blow so it will see him right. But I do just feel we were a little hard done by.

“He’s come on really well, the French cuisine has obviously suited him and he enjoyed it. It was something different and the horse has never been abroad and it has really picked him up. I look forward to getting him out again because he looks a good 10 kilos better than what he went over there looking.”

Prior to that comeback run in France, West had been eyeing up a possible trip oversees with the Steve and Jolene De’Lemos-owned speedster.

However, there has now been a slight rethink and it is all systems go for York on August 26 where a bold showing could tee-up further big-race entries.

“We couldn’t quite pick up enough money to head to America, so we’ll head to the Nunthorpe now, the entry is in and we’ll take our chance there,” continued West.

“We’re not expecting to trouble the market principals, but if we can pick up a nice bit of place money it might be able to fund something next year.

“I’m not sure Dubai will be on the radar or anything like that, but it might be able to fund some bigger targets and hopefully he will be able to stick it out a bit better.

“We’re not admitting defeat for the international prospects, but we will probably just rein in targets and hunt pots on a bit of a smaller scale and then see what we can do and pick up some place money in some of the bigger ones.”

England scrum-half Jack Van Poortvliet will miss the World Cup to undergo surgery on an ankle injury sustained against Wales on Saturday.

The 22-year-old Leicester back was forced off in the first half of the 19-17 Twickenham win and has been replaced in Steve Borthwick’s 33-man World Cup squad by Northampton’s Alex Mitchell.

England head coach Steve Borthwick said: “It’s really bad luck for Jack and we send him our very best wishes for a swift and successful recovery.”

Mitchell joins Ben Youngs and Danny Care as Borthwick’s scrum-half options for the World Cup in France next month.

The 26-year-old was unfortunate to miss out on the original squad after making four impactful replacement appearances during the 2023 Six Nations Championship, injecting energy and tempo into England’s play.

Borthwick faces another issue at half-back as England wait for the outcome of the disciplinary hearing that will determine the length of Owen Farrell’s ban after his Twickenham red card.

Farrell’s shoulder-led challenge to the head of Taine Basham was upgraded from a yellow card to red by the ‘Bunker’ review system and he could now miss England’s World Cup opener against Argentina.

The England captain must now appear before a video disciplinary hearing that begins on Tuesday morning to find out the length of his suspension.

The mid-range sanction for a dangerous tackle is six games and – given he received a three-match ban for the same offence in January, on top of five matches in 2020 and two in 2016 – it is doubtful he will be treated leniently by the disciplinary process.

England complete their World Cup warm-up with games against Ireland and Fiji before launching their group campaign against Argentina in Marseille on September 9.

Farrell now seems likely to miss out against the toughest opponents in Pool D, while his participation against Japan, Chile and Samoa is also in question.

England continue their World Cup build-up against Ireland at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

A trip to Newmarket for the Club Godolphin Cesarewitch could be on the cards for Temporize following his victory at the Qatar Goodwood Festival.

A rare runner on the level for handler Syd Hosie, the four-year-old has made his mark on the level for the Sherborne-based handler since joining the yard from Charlie Johnston earlier in the season.

A respectable display at Newbury on debut was followed by a near-miss in a competitive heat at Ascot before finding the target on the Sussex Downs and having originally been bought to go hurdling, plans to tackle timber could now be on hold with further big-race Flat assignments under consideration.

They include the £200,000 Cesarewitch on October 14 and now rated 89, there is the possibility that Temporize could head straight to the Rowley Mile.

“I still have to make a firm plan with the owners, but I think they would like to run in the Cesarewitch,” said Hosie.

“There is a race at York, but I said to the owners if you run him and they put him up in the handicap you are taking a bigger weight to the race. So he might go to the trial in September time or go straight there.

“We bought him to go hurdling and thought we would run him a few times on the Flat because the owner wanted to go to Goodwood. I said if he runs any good at Ascot, we can go there and obviously he just got beat at Ascot. He did the business at Goodwood and then all the hurdling plans go out the window for a bit.

“When we got him he had finished second at Doncaster and he gave the winner so much weight and was still there fighting at the end of the race. That was one of the reasons we bought him.

“His three-year-old form is good as well and he goes on any ground which is nice. Hopefully he will still go jumping at some point in the autumn.”

David Gower believes the reaction of the Lord's Long Room to Australia during the Ashes was "ugly" and "out of order".

Alex Carey's controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow on day five of England's eventual second Test defeat at the start of July caused a furious reaction from the crowd at the usually reserved Lord's.

That preceded an altercation between Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) members and Australia's players at the lunch break in which Usman Khawaja and David Warner were confronted in the Long Room.

Three MCC members were suspended as a result, and while Gower embraces the rivalry between England and Australia, he also feels there is a line that was crossed in the recent series.

"The rivalry should be on the field," Gower told Stats Perform. "The rivalry should be contained on the field, where you give 100 per cent.

"Each and every man gives 100 per cent each and every day. You bowl your bouncers, hit fours, your sixes, you take people on, there's a bit of banter. That's fine. That's where it should be contained.

"Obviously, in an Ashes series for many years now we've seen both Down Under in Australia and in England now, the fans are very partisan.

"That incident at Lords was ugly, and I'm afraid to say that those members of the MCC in the pavilion at Lord's were horribly out of order."

Gower defended Carey's actions, saying: "For the record, I have no problem with what Alex Carey did.

"I just thought Jonny Bairstow was careless, made an assumption he shouldn't have made. And it could have easily been avoided if Jonny just looked behind him and put his bat down. Not out, carry on with the game. And then England actually might still have had a chance of winning that game."

Gower also believes fans should move on from the 2018 ball-tampering scandal for which Warner and then-captain Steve Smith received 12-month suspensions, with chanting referencing the incident audible during the 2023 series.

"This whole thing, I find it actually quite distasteful to be honest," Gower added.

"Yes, some years ago, they did use sandpaper. [But] they've done everything possible to get over it. They've tried ever so hard to be nice, while still not losing that competitive edge."

Celtic captain Callum McGregor was delighted to see the resilience of his new team-mates after they came through a difficult early test at Pittodrie.

Aberdeen put Celtic under pressure in the first half especially but the cinch Premiership champions came out 3-1 victors to make it two wins from two.

McGregor said: “It’s always a tough game, they’ll get the crowd involved while the pitch was sticky as well. It’s obviously something they’ve looked at, trying to slow the game down. And slow our quality.

“When you have a new season and a new start, five or six players have joined you, it starts to have a new group feeling. And at the start of every season you start with zero points.

“So to come here, it’s a massive win and it’s one you tick off.

“It builds resilience, it builds confidence and the football does get slicker. There were still some really good moments in that game and, make no mistake, we battled well.”

Polish centre-back Maik Nawrocki came through his first away game in Scottish football while fellow summer signing Odin Thiago Holm and Yang Hyun-jun made positive contributions off the bench, the latter setting up Matt O’Riley’s late goal.

Kyogo Furuhashi had earlier given Celtic a half-time lead after Dons striker Bojan Miovski had cancelled out Liel Abada’s early opener.

McGregor said: “I thought Rocki was outstanding in the game and then the other boys coming on, they were excellent as well.

“It’s always tough here, 20-25 minutes to go and you’ve got to come on and be part of the team, be part of the group and show your personality, show your mentality. And I thought it was excellent from the three of them.

“When you cross the line, you have to be together, especially in a Celtic team. Everyone is trying to beat you and you have to have that sort of siege mentality. To see that two games into the season is outstanding.

“But that is something that will progress and we will get better at as the season goes on.

“There is a lot of football to be played, there is a lot of tough away games to be played, that type of character and resilience and togetherness should hopefully stand us in good stead.”

Aston Villa and England defender Tyrone Mings is facing a long spell on the sidelines as he is set to undergo an operation on a “significant knee injury”.

Mings was carried off on a stretcher in some distress in the first half of Villa’s season-opening 5-1 defeat at Newcastle after a seemingly innocuous tangle of legs with striker Alexander Isak.

Villa have not put a timescale on Mings’ recovery but expect a “lengthy rehabilitation”, with his setback coming days after the club lost Emiliano Buendia to a knee ligament injury for up to eight months.

The club said in a statement on Monday: “Aston Villa can confirm that Tyrone Mings has sustained a significant knee injury.

“The England international was stretchered off from the field after damaging his knee during the first half of Villa’s match at Newcastle United on Saturday.

“The defender has undergone scans and will unfortunately require surgery ahead of a lengthy rehabilitation process.”

Newcastle posted on Twitter in response to Villa’s update: “Wishing you a speedy recovery,
@TyroneMings”.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe signed Mings for Bournemouth in 2015 only to lose the centre-back for 15 months when he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament on his Cherries debut.

Howe said at the weekend: “I have to say he faced that period out with incredible courage and resilience, and what he’s done since that moment, to go on and play for his country and be outstanding in the Premier League, is testament to that resilience.

“We certainly wish him well and I send him all my love.”

James Ward-Prowse’s move to West Ham gives him a fresh chance to match a Premier League record set by David Beckham.

The former Southampton captain has scored 17 goals directly from free-kicks in the competition, just one behind the competition’s highest tally set by former England skipper Beckham in his Manchester United days.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at Ward-Prowse’s dead-ball record.

World-class

Former Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has called the England midfielder “for sure one of the best in the world in this part of the game” and Ward-Prowse has the free-kick numbers to back up that assessment.

Since his first Premier League season, the only player to score more free-kick goals in Europe’s “big five” leagues is a certain Lionel Messi – albeit with a distant 35 – and Ward-Prowse has accelerated in recent seasons.

Beckham’s record Premier League tally also includes a single season high of five in 2000-01 – matched the following season by Newcastle’s Laurent Robert – and though Ward-Prowse has yet to match that mark he has twice finished within one.

He was not an immediate set-piece contributor, scoring two free-kicks in his first four Premier League seasons – both against West Brom, at home in January 2016 and at the Hawthorns in February 2018.

He scored two a week apart in March 2019, at Old Trafford and then at home to Tottenham, to signal the start of his emergence and then netted home and away against Watford in the 2019-20 season.

His first run at Beckham and Robert’s season record came in 2020-21, sparked by two free-kick goals in the same game away to Aston Villa on November 1. He scored similar goals against both Beckham and Robert’s former clubs, home to Manchester United later in November and at St James’ Park in February, but was unable to find another to match their record.

The following season brought another near miss as he scored at Crystal Palace in December, Wolves in January and Leeds and Brighton in April.

Fulham, Everton and Chelsea were on the receiving end of his trademark strikes last term and the Hammers have given him the chance to add the one he still needs to match Beckham.

On the road

The widespread perception in football may be that home teams are more likely to benefit from referees’ decisions but Ward-Prowse, like Beckham before him, has scored the majority of his free-kicks away from home.

Indeed, just four came at St Mary’s – only one more free-kick than Beckham scored at Southampton in his Premier League career, though two of his three came at their former home the Dell.

Beckham also scored two against each of Leicester, West Ham and Everton, while Ward-Prowse has made West Brom, Watford, Villa and Manchester United repeat victims.

Ward-Prowse has 49 Premier League goals in total from 343 appearances, also including 13 penalties, with the remaining 19 coming from open play.

Beckham’s overall Premier League record was 62 goals in 265 games, with just two spot-kicks along the way.

Beckham and Ward-Prowse are well clear of their nearest competition, with the third-placed total of 12 shared by Gianfranco Zola, Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The other players to reach double figures for Premier League free-kick goals are Robert and Sebastian Larsson, with 11 each, and Ian Harte and Morten Gamst Pedersen with 10.

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou insists Eric Dier remains “part of this team” despite his absence from Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Brentford.

Dier was one of several senior players left out of the Spurs squad along with Hugo Lloris, Djed Spence, Japhet Tanganga, Sergio Reguilon and Tanguy Ndombele.

Postecoglou has been honest about the need for Tottenham to offload players during the final weeks of the transfer window, but he suggested nothing should be read into Dier’s absence.

Reports on Sunday which linked Dier with a move to Saudi Arabia were later shut down and he trained at Hotspur Way earlier that day, but he may have to assess his playing options now he seems to be fifth choice at centre-back.

“Eric is part of this team. We left a few out,” Postecoglou said.

“We left some players on the bench that are very good players. We need a strong squad, it’s not about 11 players.

“Eric is in the same boat as all the other boys. He’s working hard in training and available for selection.

“My decisions then are what I think will give us the best chance of success for any given game and then we reassess the week after. Nothing really unusual there.”

Dier was a regular under Postecoglou’s predecessor Antonio Conte and made 42 appearances last season.

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The summer arrival of Micky van de Ven from Wolfsburg has pushed Dier down the pecking order and despite featuring in pre-season, Ben Davies and Davinson Sanchez appear to have also moved ahead of him.

Dier joined Spurs in 2014 but was snubbed for the captaincy roles with Son Heung-min named skipper and James Maddison and fellow centre-back Cristian Romero listed as vice-captains.

Romero was part of a new-look defence at Brentford with debuts handed to goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, Van de Ven and left-back Destiny Udogie.

Postecoglou added: “Obviously we had Micky, Destiny and Vic, three of our back five, making their debut for the clubs and anyone will tell you when it comes to the defensive side of the game, the more understanding you have, the better you are.

“We obviously took a bit of a gamble throwing them all in but I thought all three handled themselves really well. It is not an easy place to come, you get put under pressure with balls coming into the box and I thought they all handled themselves really well.

“Micky has only had three sessions with us so I could have waited to put him in there, but my feeling is he will be a very good footballer for us and the quicker we introduce him to Premier League football the better he will be.”

Sunday marked the start of the post-Harry Kane era for Tottenham, but his departure to Bayern Munich on Saturday night did not alter the plans of Brentford too much.

Bees boss Thomas Frank said: “No, that is the short answer. Of course he is a different type to Richarlison. He is the England number nine compared to the Brazilian number nine.

“That we know and the only tweak would have been that if Kane drops down deep, we would have needed to be aware of his fantastic passing skills and get closer to him.

“Richarlison is more about the runs but our game plan is our game plan with the things we believe in.”

Max Whitlock ended Great Britain’s 120-year wait for gymnastics gold and then proceeded to double his tally in the space of two extraordinary hours on this day at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Whitlock clinched gold on both the floor and his favoured pommel horse apparatus to become the first British athlete to win two individual Olympic titles on the same day.

If his victory in the pommel final, pushing team-mate Louis Smith into silver, was almost to be expected, it was his earlier performance on the floor which stunned those who believed he had only a slim chance of a podium place.

The then 23-year-old landed a superb score of 15.633 then waited as a result which even he had intimated might be out of the question slowly began to turn to reality as key rivals including Kenzo Shirai and Samuel Mikulak messed up.

Ultimately Whitlock, who refused to watch any of his rivals’ routines, edged Brazilian pair Diego Hypolito and Arthur Mariano into silver and bronze
positions respectively, an unexpected result which sparked wild celebrations among the home fans and earned the Hemel Hempstead star his slice of history.

Whitlock grinned as he watched the Union Flag being raised highest in an Olympic gymnastics venue for the first time, then somehow refocused to deliver a pommel routine which lived up to his status as favourite after winning the world title in Glasgow the previous year.

Whitlock, who already boasted a bronze medal from the men’s all-around competition a week before, said: “It was quite difficult – I couldn’t take in what
had happened on the floor. It hit me like a ton of bricks because I wasn’t watching any of the routines before or after me, and it was crazy and it made
history.

“But I knew I had another job to do – I had to head back in the training gym, refocus and start warming up for the pommel because I had one more routine to do and now I can proudly say I have finished the Olympics with a smile on my face.

“This has out-done our expectations. This was my first floor final in the Olympics and the fact it only comes around once every four years makes it even more special. It makes me feel complete, I think.”

Lucas Glover eclipsed Patrick Cantlay in a playoff to win the FedEx St Jude Championship and claim a second straight PGA Tour victory.

The American duo were forced into an extra hole in Memphis after each completing 72 holes on 15 under par.

Glover, 43, ultimately claimed victory with a par on the 18th hole playoff after Cantlay found water off the tee.

Speaking after his victory, which comes just a week after he took out Wyndham Championship, Glover said: “If you would have told me this three months ago, I’d tell you you’re crazy.

“But at the same time, if you asked me legitimately did I think I was capable, I’d say yes, even then. It’s just one of those sad ways athletes are wired.

“We always believe in ourselves no matter how bad it is.”

Glover was ranked 119th in the world prior to the Wyndham Championship, but now sits 30th.

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and England’s Tommy Fleetwood finished agonisingly close, but had to settle for equal-third on 14 under par.

Fleetwood was unable to sink a birdie chance on his last hole which would have propelled him into the playoff.