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.”
Dale Murphy's American-bred Runaway Algo rebounded from a dismal performance last time out to post a facile 14-1/4 length victory in a three-year-olds and upward Open Allowance event for the Thunderbird Trophy over seven furlongs (1,400m) at Caymanas Park on Saturday.
The performance, by all indications, demonstrated that the four-year-old chestnut colt will always be a force to reckon with going anywhere beyond six furlongs and, as such, his recent fourth-place finish attempting the five-furlong straight course for the first time on local soil, can be forgiven.
With last year's Mouttet Mile winner Excessive Force, who was expected to be the main challenger to Runaway Algo, scratched from the event, that made the Lanmark Farms-owned charges task that much easier, and he duly obliged in his usual gate-to-wire show.
Away cleanly under Raddesh Roman from the wide number six draw in the small field, Runaway Algo briskly assumed pole position with Duke (Reyan Lewis) briefly keeping his company, before the former gradually opened up and posted an opening quarter-mile in 24.1 seconds.
Though being tightly restrained by Roman, Runaway Algo breezed through a half-mile 1in 46.4, as Duke and Laban (Abigail Able) tried desperately to keep pace, particularly upon approaching the homestretch, but their efforts were futile.
With only a mere change of hold by Roman, Runaway Algo covered six furlongs in 1:10.2 and later opened up in the final furlong, still under a canter, to complete his third victory from five starts this season, in a decent 1:24.3.
Money Monster (Sadiki Blake), Sistren Treasure (Dane Dawkins) and Duke, took the next three placing.
Runaway Algo was one of three winners for Roman, who also won aboard I Am Interested in the fifth race for trainer Joseph Thomas and Antarctica in the sixth race for trainer Errol Waugh.
Jerome Innis rode two winners on the day in Badgyalriri for trainer Howard Jaghai in the fourth race and Sabina for trainer Owen Sharpe in the seventh race.
No trainer won more than one race.
Racing continues on Sunday with another nine-race card on offer, featuring the Mr Lover Lover Trophy. Post time is 12:15 pm.
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.
A defiant Stephen Kenny has vowed to press on with his Republic of Ireland mission despite seeing his hopes of Euro 2024 qualification torn to shreds in Greece.
Friday night’s defeat in Athens – coupled with a 1-0 reverse at the hands of World Cup finalists France in Dublin in their opening fixture – means the odds are even more heavily stacked against Ireland that they were when they were initially pitched into Group B battle with both Didier Deschamps’ men and the Netherlands.
For Kenny, who took over as manager in 2020 and targeted qualification in this campaign as his initial end goal, a return of just four wins in 23 competitive matches has refuelled the fires of his critics and anything less than a comprehensive victory over minnows Gibraltar on Monday evening would represent the final straw for many.
However, asked if he was concerned about his future, the 51-year-old replied: “I’m disappointed with the game. I hear what you’re saying – I’m disappointed with the game, I’m not concerned about myself at the moment.
“I have to get ready for Monday now and just get the squad ready for the game against Gibraltar, which is a game of course that we have to win. We have to make sure that we’re ready.”
It is not the first time during his reign that Kenny has felt the need to voice similar sentiments after being asked similar questions and that is a reflection of the success or otherwise of a project which has laudable aims, but is short on tangible results.
He has made it his aim to produce a team which plays enterprising, attacking football and handed that responsibility in part to players plucked from the under-21 ranks.
However at the OPAP Arena, 18-year-old striker Evan Ferguson, who has enjoyed a stellar season in the Premier League with Brighton, was starved of meaningful possession as Kenny’s midfield was overrun and his defence dismantled with Trabzonspor’s Tasos Bakasetas and Olympiakos midfielder Giorgos Masouras their principal tormentors.
A downbeat Kenny said: “We didn’t create enough chances, we didn’t and that was disappointing. We had efforts on goal, but we needed to create more than we did.
“But because we’d given them that goal after half-time, they could sit off a little bit and just protect it and hit us on the counter then for periods, so we made life difficult for ourselves.”
Opposite number Gus Poyet analysed Ireland closely as he prepared for the game, but admitted the rigours of international football can take their toll on even the best-laid plans.
Poyet said: “I understand the situation because when we were analysing the Republic of Ireland, we had the impression that you were really playing football with the ball on the floor, playing through the thirds, going wide, putting players in the box and I was happy because of the way that you played.
“And then there were other games where depending on the result, you become ‘the Republic of Ireland’, with all due respect. You depend on a corner, you depend on a long ball, you depend on a second and a third ball.
“But it’s tough boys, it’s tough. I remember many games with the national team where I was on the pitch thinking, ‘How are we going to win this’?”
He may not quite be back to optimum health just yet, but Jamaica's diving flag-bearer Yona Knight-Wisdom believes he is well enough to produce something special, in not one, but possibly three events, at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games later this month.
Though it won't be his first outing since recovering from surgery to repair a ruptured rectus femoris tendons in his left knee late last year, the 24th staging of the June 23 to July 8 Games in El Salvador, will be Knight-Wisdom's first major event of the season, and he is overly excited about the prospects.
"My recovery has been incredible. I’ve put in some serious hard work trying to ensure I’m as close to my best as possible in time for the summer, and I’d say I’m almost there. I’m excited for this CAC Games because I feel I have a point to prove to myself as I was disappointed with my last CAC performance in 2018," Knight-Wisdom told SportsMax.tv from his base in the United Kingdom.
Despite missing the mark at a World Aquatics event earlier this year, the British-born diver, whose mother is Barbadian and father Jamaican, was upbeat about that performance in his comeback, after a careful build up, which he said serves as added motivation, particularly from a mental perspective.
It would have been easy for Knight-Wisdom to throw in the towel on his dream of making a third-consecutive Olympic Games appearance when he initially picked up the injury, but his stubborn determination and unwavering desire to represent Jamaica as long as possible, wouldn't allow him to give in.
"It was a World Cup in Montreal, and I finished 13th, just missing out on the final by four points, but that was enough to qualify me for the super final. I was super surprised by that outcome because I beat some really good divers, granted they didn’t perform as well as they could’ve done," Knight-Wisdom, who is the first diver to represent Jamaica at the Commonwealth and Olympic Games, shared.
"But it was a really good motivational boost for me to keep on pushing through the challenges of rehab. It showed me my mental strength is immense and my approach to injury was that of a truly professional athlete, and I’m really proud of myself for that.... could’ve been easy to just give up, but I didn't," he noted.
With a number of events still to come this season, the 27-year-old, who represented Jamaica at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games in Rio and Tokyo, respectively, considers this CAC Games outing an opportunity to really gauge himself, as remains resolute in his pursuit to rewrite the history books.
In fact, it is clear for all to see that Knight-Wisdom, standing just over six feet tall, is well aware that the challenge of overcoming seemingly insurmountable hardships or failure is the foundation from which true victory begins.
"The last couple of months were beneficial, and I’ve even come a long way since those (World Aquatics) events. My quality is definitely still there, the only question mark is consistency as I’ve been progressing so rapidly every week, it feels a little different to the one before. So, I don’t know what to expect, but my knee is holding up and I still have a lot of confidence in myself," he declared.
After the CAC Games, Knight-Wisdom will look to the World Diving Championships in Japan as his first avenue to secure qualification for next year’s Olympic Games in Paris.
Should he fail to make the top 12 there, he would have another shot at qualify at the World Cup Super-Final in August, after which he will have the Pan American (PanAm) Games in October where he will seek to replicate or even surpass his historic 1-metre springboard silver medal-winning performance from Lima in 2019.
Having contested only the 1m and 3m springboard dives for most of his career, Knight-Wisdom welcomes the addition of Yohan Eskrick-Parkinson to Jamaica's diving programme, which now allows him to compete in synchro competitions.
"I’m hoping my synchro partner will also qualify so I can get to do three events there too. So, I’ve got three opportunities to fight for medals and I’d love to come away with three medals," Knight-Wisdom said.
"I’ve learned over the years that readiness in diving doesn’t really matter, I’ve had some great performances from subpar preparation and vice versa. I’ve put in the work so I can give my best with confidence, but I’m just happy that I can compete as my recovery could’ve been way more problematic," he ended.
Connor Roberts hopes he can help ignite more favourable memories for Wales in their key Euro 2024 qualifier against Turkey.
Monday’s clash in Samsun has gained added significance following Wales’ shock 4-2 home defeat against Armenia that left them third in Pool D, two points behind Turkey.
While the group still has a long way to run, Wales’ automatic qualification hopes will be dealt another setback if they suffer a second successive loss.
Wales delivered, though, against Turkey at Euro 2020, with Burnley right-back Roberts scoring in a 2-0 victory in Baku.
“To jog the memory of what I did at the Euros will be brilliant,” Roberts said.
“But that is in the past and I have to create more memories as an individual and as a team.
“It is the goal when everything is said and done that I will probably look back on and think I can’t believe I achieved that or did that.
“They (Turkey) might be out for revenge, but whether they are or not we have to go there and stick to what we are good at.
“It has been a long time since then. I don’t really remember games I lost in the past.”
Roberts is back on the international stage after an outstanding season with Burnley that saw them clinch the Championship title and secure a Premier League return.
And Roberts has hailed the influence of Burnley boss Vincent Kompany, who recently signed a new five-year contract with the Clarets.
“I can’t express how good Vincent and his staff are. To know they are going to be there going forwards is brilliant because you learn so much from them,” he said.
“I thought I knew quite a lot about football, about how to play and what to do. But this season working with them, now I know a lot more.
“When I watch games now, almost the messages he portrays come into your head. You know what to do in every situation, from build-up to attack to defending in different parts of the pitch.
“I feel like 99 per cent of the time when the ball is on the pitch or at a set-piece I know what I am supposed to be doing. You know what you should be doing in every moment of the game.
“I watch Manchester City, and we aren’t them, but I see massive similarities in the way we are asked to play.
“We might not be able to do it as good as they can, but you do see similarities. I think Vincent will go and have that Man City job one day.”
Jonny Evans said Northern Ireland’s 1-0 Euro 2024 qualifying defeat to Denmark was “hard to take” after he was adjudged to be offside when setting up Callum Marshall for what had appeared to be a stoppage-time equaliser.
The 1,700 travelling fans inside the Parken Stadium erupted when teenage debutant Marshall neatly directed Evans’ header inside the post following Jordan Thompson’s free-kick.
But when referee Daniel Stefanski signalled there would be a VAR check, a seemingly interminable five-minute wait followed as Tomasz Kwiatkowski took an age to review the footage before eventually ruling that Evans had been offside by the tightest of margins when Thompson struck the free-kick.
“I kind of felt I was coming back from an offside position but it wasn’t until we were back in our own half that I even considered it might be a thing,” Evans said.
“When they were checking for that long I thought they were going to something to try and disallow it. Those were the emotions going through my mind.
“I’ve been involved before where decisions take a long time but that’s definitely the longest. The longer it was going on I kind of felt it was like a dream really. It was strange. The referee tried to explain afterwards that they checked every single possible scenario.
“I don’t get many assists and I was gutted and I was obviously gutted for Callum. For him to be able to experience that feeling of scoring was great and I hope that stays with him and he can take motivation from it.”
The trip to Copenhagen represented the toughest fixture on paper for Northern Ireland in Group H, and they acquitted themselves well, defending doggedly for long periods and soaking up pressure from the hosts.
But a mistake from Ciaron Brown – about the only foot the Oxford defender put wrong – was punished by Jonas Wind at the start of the second half and that proved the difference in the match.
“It is hard to take,” Evans said. “Denmark are obviously buzzing. Had it gone our way we would have been the same. You can run all that through.
“In the last five or 10 minutes we tired but I thought we did well. We were brought on fresh legs to try and get something out of the game and we nearly did. When we got the free-kick I thought this is our chance…
“I thought we did what we had to do. We came in at half-time pretty pleased. We knew the first 10 minutes of the second half would be important and it was disappointing to concede a goal.
“I looked up at the clock and saw 47 minutes. We really needed to ride that out but they came out strong and quick and once they got their goal it wasn’t really until they changed their shape that we had a chance to get back in it.”
Max Verstappen put his Red Bull on pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix following Saturday’s rain-hit qualifying session in Montreal.
Verstappen has won five of the opening seven rounds and even a wet-dry-wet track in Montreal could not slow the Dutchman down.
Nico Hulkenberg took advantage of the sodden track to take second spot for Haas, 1.2 seconds behind Verstappen, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso third.
Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth, one spot ahead of George Russell in the other Mercedes, while Lando Norris claimed seventh for McLaren.
Verstappen has been in a class of one this year and the Red Bull man kept his composure in changeable conditions to take an impressive pole.
Verstappen was quickest out of the marks in Q3 before Oscar Piastri’s shunt on the exit of the second corner led to a red flag.
The session was delayed for eight minutes and – with the intensity of the rain increasing – no one would threaten Verstappen’s time.
Hamilton had briefly held third spot, but the seven-time world champion was usurped by Hulkenberg just as the red flag arrived for Piastri’s collision with the wall.
Sergio Perez’s string of poor races continued after he was eliminated in Q2 and starts Sunday’s round from 12th place.
Perez, who trails team-mate Verstappen by 53 points, started last in Monaco after he crashed out of qualifying and then was only 11th on the grid last time out in Spain.
Here, the Mexican again begins a race outside of the top 10 after he failed to get a clean lap together and faces losing even further ground to Verstappen.
On an afternoon of surprise results, Charles Leclerc was also knocked out in Q2. The Monegasque, who, too, performed badly in Barcelona – qualifying 19th and taking the chequered flag in 11th – was denied an early switch by Ferrari to dry rubber.
When the brief changeover to slicks arrived, Leclerc could not do enough to progress to Q3, yelling in frustration over the radio.
“The tyres are not ready,” he said. “Come on!”
Earlier, qualifying was red-flagged after a handful of minutes when Zhou Guanyu temporally broke down in his Alfa Romeo.
The Chinese driver managed to get going again, limping back to the pits, with the session restarted after a seven-minute suspension.
Zhou was able to continue in Q1, but he finished 20th and last.
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