Israr has the chance to strike in Pattern company for the first time at York on Saturday when he heads a field of seven for the Sky Bet Race To The Ebor Grand Cup Stakes.

John and Thady Gosden’s four-year-old got on the scoresheet twice last season, progressing expertly through the handicap ranks and picking up valuable prizes at both Newbury and Doncaster.

He then took a rise in grade in his stride when returning in the Group Three Al Rayyan Stakes at Newbury last month, forcing the now-retired Haskoy to pull out all the stops as he went down by a short head to a filly who was given single-figure quotes for the Ascot Gold Cup.

“Israr ran well first time out this year,” said Thady Gosden.

“He’s stepping up in trip which should suit him and they do a great job with the ground at York, so hopefully conditions won’t be too quick. He’s quite versatile, but like most he wouldn’t want it lightning fast.

“He’s improving and he took the step from handicap to stakes company well last time.”

William Haggas’ Roberto Escobarr won this two years ago and returns to the Knavesmire on the back of victory in the Henry II Stakes at Sandown, while Hughie Morrison’s Lonsdale Cup hero Quickthorn is another with course experience on his side.

Also engaged is the Archie Watson-trained Hambleton Racing stalwart Outbox who is out to snap a near two-year losing run on home soil at the track he almost scooped Group Three honours behind Hukum in 2021.

“His career-best effort is over course and distance,” said Cosmo Charlton, head of racing for the owners.

“He’ll enjoy the quick ground. We’re hopeful of a good run. Everything’s right for him – ground, trip and track.”

It could be a big afternoon for Hambleton, who are doubly represented in the supporting Oakmere Homes Supporting Macmillan Sprint Handicap with Kevin Ryan’s Washington Heights and another of Watson’s string, Garner, who goes handicapping following a pair of taking victories in maiden and novice company.

“Washington Heights has done brilliantly this season so far,” continued Charlton.

“He has run a cracker on each of his last two starts and we’re hoping for another big run. We think York suits him well. He has some solid course and distance form to his name. He ran well in the sales races last year and we’re hoping he has a good each-way chance in a strong race.

“Garner is more of an unknown quantity. His inexperience could be an issue in a very competitive race, but he’s in good form at home and he won easily at Lingfield in a novice, his first start for us. We’re hoping his mark is fair and that he can make an impact in a race of this nature.”

Max Verstappen has admitted it is beyond his childhood dreams to draw level with Ayrton Senna’s victory tally ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix.

Verstappen heads into Sunday’s race at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve just one victory shy of the great Brazilian’s haul of 41 after winning five of the opening seven rounds in his dominant Red Bull machine.

Verstappen was not even born when Senna was killed at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, but a victory here would take the 25-year-old into joint fifth in the pantheon of F1 winners.

“When I was a little kid, I would never have imagined being on that list,” said the two-time world champion.

“But you cannot compare it. People have different careers and some drivers get into a race-winning car sooner than others and nowadays we have more races than back in the day.

“I never look at the numbers, but it is an amazing achievement, that’s for sure.”

A sixth victory of a one-sided campaign would leave only Hamilton (103 wins), Michael Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51) ahead of Verstappen.

Hamilton reached 41 wins to draw level with his boyhood hero Senna at the Japanese Grand Prix in 2015 before going on to surpass Schumacher’s haul five years later and stand on his own as the driver to have won the most races in the history of the sport.

However, the seven-time world champion, who has not won a race since his contentious championship defeat to Verstappen at the 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi, admitted that his rival could “absolutely” eclipse his record.

But when asked if Hamilton’s record is on the horizon, Verstappen said: “It is very hard to beat.

“You need to be in the right car for a long time and we don’t know if we have that. I am just going with the flow and enjoying the moment.”

Verstappen has already established a 53-point lead over team-mate Sergio Perez on his seemingly unstoppable march towards a hat-trick of world titles.

The world champions are undefeated in the opening seven fixtures, winning 17 of the past 18 races, and could become the first team to win every round in a single season. A victory here on Sunday would also be the team’s 100th in F1.

“For the sport, I understand people get bored if one team is dominating,” added Verstappen.

“But we have seen it at Mercedes, we have seen it at Ferrari, and we have seen it at Red Bull in the past.

“For me, it provides me with even more motivation because I know I have a car that can win.

“If you look at how we are performing, yes we can win every race, but it is not realistic. As long as I win the championship, that’s the most important thing.”

Zak Crawley got England’s Ashes summer off to a vibrant start at Edgbaston, smashing the first ball of the series for four and posting a dashing half-century before falling to the final delivery of the opening morning.

The hosts won the toss and chose to bat, making good on their promises to play proactive cricket as they raced along to 124 for three at lunch in the first LV= Insurance Test.

Crawley, whose inconsistent form has drawn intense scrutiny over his place, repaid the selectors’ faith with an agenda-setting 61 of 73 balls, but when Scott Boland had him caught off the glove with the final act of the session it was a huge moment for the tourists.

Ben Duckett (12) and Ollie Pope (31) also fell, leaving Joe Root in charge of carrying the fight in the afternoon.

The first ball of the Ashes has acquired a mythology of its own over the years, with most of the memorable moments falling in Australia’s favour.

From Michael Slater slashing Phil DeFreitas for four in 1994, Steve Harmison serving up a massive wide in 2006 and Mitchell Starc smashing Rory Burns’ leg stump 18 months ago, they are etched into the story of the series.

But this time it was England who stamped their authority on proceedings from the off, Crawley crashing Australia captain Pat Cummins to the cover boundary in personification of England’s ‘Bazball’ philosophy.

A capacity crowd of 25,000 roared their approval and one of the most anticipated series in recent years was off and running in style.

Crawley welcomed Josh Hazlewood, recalled in place of Mitchell Starc, in similar fashion as he flicked four more through square-leg.

The jovial start was punctured in the fourth over when Duckett made an early exit, chopping Hazlewood past his own stumps then chasing the next delivery. Slanted away towards the cordon, it clipped the outside edge and settled in Alex Carey’s gloves.

To their credit, England refused to be rattled. Crawley and Pope ran eagerly, snapping up singles as Australia reverted quickly to defensive, deep fields.

Crawley was in his element, welcoming Nathan Lyon’s arrival after just 10 overs with a reverse sweep and a sweet drive down the ground.

When the metronomic Boland joined the attack there was more of the same, Crawley driving him on the up then cutting deftly behind square as the run-rate raced along.

Australia appeared to miss a trick when Crawley had 40, failing to appeal for an apparent caught behind that showed up on UltraEdge while going unnoticed on the field.

The second-wicket partnership eased to 70 as Australia remained oddly passive, but Lyon was on hand to make an important breakthrough.

Pope had breezed his way to 31 when he was hit in front of leg stump by a flatter delivery from the spinner, whose initial appeal was waved away then upheld by DRS.

Crawley’s 50 and the team hundred left England in a strong position as the interval loomed, only for Boland to muster some extra bounce and flick the batter’s glove in the closing over.

Alan King will send at least three runners to Royal Ascot next week, with big gun Trueshan ready to fire in the Gold Cup, should there be sufficient cut in the ground.

With the current spell of hot weather expected to break down over the next few days, the Barbury Castle handler is “hopeful” the three-time Ascot Long Distance Cup winner can bounce back from a seven-length Sagaro defeat by Coltrane, who heads next Thursday’s showpiece event over two and a half miles.

The dual Group One winner Trueshan will be hoping to make it third time lucky in the race after being declared a non-runner in the last two renewals on account of unsuitable ground.

“We will have to hope for a few thunderstorms,” said King. “He needs to get his toe in, as we all know. It is an open Gold Cup and we’ll keep an eye on the weather and see what happens.”

Tritonic will try two and a half miles for the first time on the Flat when he lines up in the Ascot Stakes.

Runner-up in the 10-furlong Golden Gates in 2020, he subsequently won a juvenile hurdle and a Grade Three handicap hurdle at the Berkshire track.

He has only been out of the frame in once in four runs at Ascot, when fourth, beaten just over seven lengths by Quickthorn, in the heavy-ground Duke of Edinburgh in 2021.

King said: “Three will run at the meeting for us anyway.

“Tritonic will run in the Ascot Stakes. Whether he wants that trip I don’t know, but we thought we’d go that route and learn. If he ran there, you’d have to try to train him for a Cesarewitch or something.”

There is plenty of confidence behind eight-year-old Raymond Tusk, who would also appreciate some easy ground when he lines up in the Copper Horse Handicap, the final race on Tuesday’s card.

King said: “He ran in it last year. He was only beaten four lengths, finishing seventh.

“The old boy is in really good form. Obviously, we’d like a drop of rain for him, but it was fast last year and I hope he will run a really nice race again.”

HMS President had a string of runner-up efforts in decent handicaps last year for Eve Johnson Houghton.

Now with King, the HP Racing colours were carried to success on his second start for King, when taking a valuable handicap at Newmarket, having finished runner-up in the Rosebery at Kempton on his stable debut and seasonal bow.

“He’s shown he has been pretty consistent last year and is trip versatile,” said King. “It was nice to see him get his head in front at Newmarket.

“We have a small team, but we’re looking forward to the meeting, as always.”

The Welsh Rugby Union was responsible for a “serious failure of governance” and missed opportunities to act on concerning behaviour within the organisation, a report has found.

A committee of Senedd members noted “systemic failures in the culture” of the WRU following allegations of racism, misogyny, sexism and homophobia.

The issues first came to light in a BBC documentary which aired at the beginning of the year, after which the WRU announced an external taskforce had been set up to investigate.

Concerns female rugby players in Wales may have faced “unfavourable treatment” had been highlighted to the WRU two years ago in a review of the women’s game, extracts of which were published on Friday as part of the Senedd report.

The WRU expects its independent review panel (taskforce) to report “before the end of summer” and welcomes the Senedd’s suggestion that an implementation plan should follow soon after.

“It is unacceptable that it took a BBC documentary for the Welsh Rugby Union to act decisively to tackle long-standing toxic behaviour within the organisation,” read the 33-page Senedd sport committee report.

“There is a clear body of evidence that points to opportunities that were missed by the WRU to act on concerning behaviour, or to acknowledge and tackle a pattern of this behaviour.

“This includes formal complaints; the WRU entering into several settlement agreements in relation to allegations of sexism, racism and homophobia over several years; the review into the women’s game; and the resignation of Amanda Blanc (chair of Wales’ Professional Rugby Board).

“Taken together, these point to systemic failures in the culture of the WRU.

“The fact that senior management did not identify and tackle the problem is a serious failure of governance.”

The Senedd committee expressed its belief that little would have changed at the WRU had individuals not spoken to the media.

Nigel Walker, who stepped in as acting chief executive of the governing body following the resignation of Steve Phillips in January, admitted the initial allegations “made very challenging reading”.

Walker confirmed most of the recommendations made by the 2021 review into the women’s game had already been implemented.

The WRU said it was “fully committed” to enacting all of the recommendations of the ongoing review.

“We have already accepted that we have much work to do to ensure that we address our past failures and we again express our sincere remorse for the missed opportunities and failures described and offer our sincere apologies to anyone affected,” read a WRU statement.

“We are fully committed to implementing all of the recommendations of the current independent review into the WRU.

“The committee are right to highlight that we should not wait until the taskforce completes its work before we make changes, specifically to ensure that our staff feel safe, supported and valued, and that we tackle incidents and behaviours in a robust and consistent matter.”

Interim CEO Walker published details from a letter he sent to the Senedd after appearing before it in February alongside WRU chair Ieuan Evans.

In the document, he warned changing culture “takes time” but insisted the WRU is “determined” to do so.

“Whilst this period has been extremely challenging for us, I hope you can appreciate that our intention is to accept and learn from the challenges we face, and to change the way that we work day to day,” Walker wrote.

“The (2021) review made very challenging reading for us and described a committed squad of high-performance athletes frustrated by the support they were receiving, with failures in strategic and operational management.

“The review report also made clear that we had not ensured that our female players felt fully welcomed, valued and an equal part of our game.

“Changing culture takes time, but we are determined to do it.”

Manuel Lanzini will leave West Ham when his contract expires at the end of June.

The Argentinian midfielder joined the Hammers from United Arab Emirates side Al Jazira in the summer of 2015 and has made 226 appearances, scoring 32 goals.

Lanzini’s most memorable moment was his long-range equaliser at Tottenham in 2020 as West Ham came from 3-0 down to snatch a 3-3 draw.

The 30-year-old has been linked with a return to Argentina and former club River Plate.

Manager David Moyes told the club website: “Manu is a fantastic professional, a really good lad, and whichever club he joins will have an excellent player on their hands.

“We are sorry to see him go, but he deserves the opportunity to play more regularly elsewhere, and we wish him well in his next adventure.”

Swiss cyclist Gino Mader has died at the age of 26 as the result of injuries suffered in a crash at the Tour de Suisse on Thursday, the Bahrain-Victorious team has announced.

Mader was involved in a high-speed crash on the descent of the Albula Pass late on stage six of the race along with American Magnus Sheffield, with both riders falling into a ravine.

Mader had been found “motionless in the water” according to a race statement, before being resuscitated by race doctors at the scene and airlifted to hospital in Chur.

However, Mader lost his fight for life on Friday morning.

“It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we have to announce the passing of Gino Mader,” a team statement said. “On Friday 16th June, following a very serious crash during stage 5 of the Tour de Suisse, Gino lost his battle to recover from the severe injuries he sustained.

“Our entire team is devastated by this tragic accident, and our thoughts and prayers are with Gino’s family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time.

“Following the high-speed incident which occurred on the final descent of Thursday’s stage, the 26-year-old was resuscitated at the scene by medical staff who also performed CPR, before being airlifted to hospital.

“Despite the best efforts of the phenomenal staff at Chur hospital, Gino couldn’t make it through this, his final and biggest challenge, and at 11:30am we said goodbye to one of the shining lights of our team.”

Sheffield, 21, suffered a concussion and soft tissue damage in the crash, and was kept in hospital overnight for observation, the Ineos Grenadiers said.

Mader, who won a stage of the Giro d’Italia in 2021 and came second overall at the Tour de Romandie last year, was a hugely popular rider in the peloton and news of his death led to an outpouring of tributes.

Geraint Thomas wrote on Twitter: “I can’t believe what I’m reading. Such a sad sad day. Thoughts with everyone who knew and loved Gino.”

Former world champion Alejandro Valverde wrote: “There are no words. Terrible news. My support and love to his colleagues in @BHRVictorious as well as family and friends.”

Bahrain-Victorious managing director Milan Erzen said the team wanted to race on in Mader’s honour.

“We are devastated by the loss of our exceptional cyclist, Gino Mader,” he said. “His talent, dedication, and enthusiasm were an inspiration to us all. Not only was he an extremely talented cyclist, but a great person off the bike.

“We extend our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones, and our thoughts are with them during this difficult time.

“Bahrain Victorious will race in his honour, keeping his memory on every road we race. We are determined to show the spirit and passion Gino displayed, and he will always remain an integral part of our team.”

Race organisers said a doctor was at the scene of the crash within two minutes of it happening. It occurred with 14 kilometres of the 211km stage from Fiesch to La Punt remaining.

After the incident there was immediately criticism of a route that ended with a fast technical descent off the mountain to the finish line.

Former professional Adam Hansen, now president of the cyclists’ union the CPA, wrote on Twitter on Thursday night that such finishes were a “concern for riders” and said he has been working on a presentation to put to governing body the UCI and race organisers to better ensure rider safety.

Archie Watson is gearing up to send his biggest team to Royal Ascot next week, with King’s Stand Stakes contender Bradsell expected to fly the flag for the Upper Lambourn yard.

Last year’s winner of the Coventry Stakes on only his second start, he has run twice this term since finishing fourth in the Group One Phoenix at the Curragh last August.

Both of those outings have seen him finish third, in the Commonwealth Cup Trial at Ascot and the Sandy Lane at Haydock.

Though each of his five career starts have come over six furlongs, Watson is rolling the dice and going back in trip with the son of Tasleet.

He said: “We supplemented him for the King’s Stand. I thought on both his runs this season he travelled very strongly and shaped like a five-furlong horse. He’s run two very solid races and has really sharpened up.

“That is the route we are going and it is very sporting of Sheikh Nasser to supplement him and I’ve been delighted with him at home. Hopefully, he will have a campaign over five furlongs for the rest of the season.”

In only his seventh full season with a licence, having previously been an assistant to William Haggas, Watson has built a formidable CV which includes Ascot victories in the Windsor Castle Stakes, British Champions Sprint and the Coventry.

Glen Shiel provided Watson with his first Group One winner in 2020, two years after Soldier’s Call had scored in the Windsor Castle. And he will send another top juvenile team to the Berkshire venue, with Army Ethos tackling the Coventry, carrying the same colours as Bradsell for Victorious Racing and Fawzi Nass.

An easy three-and-a-quarter-length winner on debut at Ayr, Watson said: “He is a very nice colt. Ayr was always the plan and he won his race nicely.

“I think a lot of him. Obviously it looks a very strong Coventry on paper with Aidan’s horse (River Tiber), but I’m sure he will run a very good race and then go on to be a proper six-furlong stakes horse this year.”

Action Point, the first winner for first-season sire Blue Point, will run in the Windsor Castle, having won on debut and then finished runner-up to Maximum Impact at Ascot.

Watson said: “He’s a very nice horse, who has come on a lot physically from his last run.

“Reveiller, who won at Salisbury a couple of weekends ago, will go to the Norfolk and Lightning Leo, who won a strong-looking seven-furlong race at Yarmouth, goes to the Chesham, all being well.

“Aaddeey will go to the Copper Horse. He has done nothing wrong and won nicely on his first start for us. He probably would prefer a bit of cut in the ground, but I’m sure it will be lovely racing ground there.

“We are very lucky to have 15 or so horses going there. None of them are going to be favourites. They are 12-1 to 20-1 shots at a minimum, but I’m very happy with them all and they all deserve to be there, so fingers crossed.”

Norway manager Stale Solbakken joked that if Jack Grealish could train for England then he has no cause to worry about Erling Haaland’s treble celebrations ahead of Saturday’s clash with Scotland.

Solbakken understood the need for Haaland to revel in his success with Manchester City after last weekend’s Champions League final.

Solbakken has taken it easy with Haaland this week, more concerned with ensuring the striker recharges, and believes a homecoming welcome will lift his star man during the Euro 2024 qualifier in Oslo.

City celebrated in Ibiza after their Istanbul success against Inter before continuing the party on a bus parade in Manchester on Monday with Grealish throwing himself wholeheartedly into the fun.

When asked what the Norwegian people made of the scenes ahead of a big international, Solbakken said: “I think everyone understands that and I also think it’s a good idea to do that.

“Because, no matter how good you are, if you say (Pep) Guardiola is the best manager in the world and he has managed to do this treble once in Spain, once time in England, even when he had the best players representing the biggest clubs with the biggest budgets, you could think this would happen more often. But it doesn’t because it’s so, so difficult.

“And I don’t think you can postpone a celebration like that. You can’t say ‘let’s meet up in the summer when these national games are over and we party’. It’s not the same because the excitement is a little bit out of your body and you have to do it then.

“When he came here, he didn’t look like he had gone the Grealish way. If Grealish managed to train for England the first time, he should also manage to do it for us.”

Only one of Haaland’s 53 goals this season has come on the international stage but the 22-year-old has not played for his country since September and Solbakken believes an excited home crowd will help him overcome his heavy schedule.

“The biggest gift in that is the love the crowd will give him because it’s a long time since he has played in Norway and he didn’t participate in the two internationals earlier this year,” the former Wolves and Copenhagen manager said.

“Obviously the Norwegian people have seen him on telly for a long time without seeing him live. I think he has had one game here in a year.

“So that will probably pump him up and give him the five to 10 per cent he probably lacks due to the programme he has been through and all the feelings and emotions he has been through as well.”

Haaland was missed in March as Norway took one point from their opening two Group A games against Spain and Georgia, while Scotland sealed maximum return.

On the game, Solbakken said: “It’s more crucial for us than Scotland of course but no matter what, before the group started, this would always have been a key game.

“But it’s more that Scotland have had a really great start. I think we played two really good games but what messed it up a little bit, even though we only got one point, is that Scotland beat Spain.

“That means it looks much better for us if we can beat you and everyone is beating each other. If we win, also Spain are in trouble, because it’s two teams who can catch them.”

Fifty-one years of Wembley hurt was extinguished for Salford in the most bittersweet way in 2020 when supporters were locked out of their side’s first Challenge Cup final appearance since 1969 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is sure to be an additional incentive for Paul Rowley’s buoyant side as they head into Saturday lunchtime’s quarter-final against Hull KR at Craven Park with arguably their best opportunity yet to re-converge on the sport’s most enduring showpiece.

For the second consecutive season, Rowley’s Red Devils have shattered expectations and head into their last-eight clash against their injury-plagued opponents on the back of seven wins out of eight and sitting just two points off the Super League summit.

“It’s a rare occurrence for Salford to get to any cup final, so to do it when there are crowd restrictions, it would have been easy to fall into that trap of thinking it’s always us, and we’re unlucky as a club maybe,” said Rowley.

“It would be fantastic for the fans to experience what they were robbed of last time. But we really try and just focus on our jobs. It’s important we just stick to the task and don’t get derailed or carried away, and you just hope we take the opportunities when they come to us.”

Salford’s unfortunate recent history in the Challenge Cup can also be traced back to 1998, their best chance to repeat their previous final appearance, when they were edged out in the dying seconds of their semi-final by underdogs and eventual winners Sheffield Eagles.

Painful reminders of the importance of not getting carried away are illustrated on the balance sheet, which show Salford operating one of the tightest budgets in Super League.

They recently launched a community share offer scheme in a bid to become the top-flight’s first wholly fan-owned club.

In that context on-field results have been remarkable, as Rowley’s men have built on last year’s run to the play-off semi-finals with an expressive style of rugby that has won plaudits and points in equal measure, and which included a 26-16 win over Rovers two weeks ago at Magic Weekend.

For Rowley, a Wembley appearance would be a timely reward for the successes his current squad are fashioning against the odds on an almost weekly basis, as well as a welcome profile boost in an increasingly tough financial climate.

“There are no silver spoons at this club,” added Rowley. “We don’t have a carpet rolled out and we go into a rusty old gym and a team room that has nothing posh about it.

“Keeping our feet on the ground is never a difficult proposition. But as one of the old school people, the Challenge Cup was the thing you dreamed about growing up.

“The history and heritage that goes with it is something quite remarkable, and it’s something we want to continue. This is the first of three opportunities to win a trophy and I’d like any sort of success for this group because I think it’s a special one.”

Reading have been charged by the EFL with multiple breaches of its financial regulations for repeatedly failing to pay their players in the 2022-23 season.

The charges relate to three separate occasions on which players’ wages were not paid on time and in full as the team were relegated from the Championship.

Owner Dai Yongge has also been charged with allowing the club to be in breach of the EFL’s financial rules.

Reading were docked six points in April for breaking profit and sustainability rules which ultimately led to them finishing in the bottom three and dropping into League One.

Manager Paul Ince was sacked later that month with the club on a winless run of eight games.

He was replaced by interim boss Noel Hunt who failed to win any of his five matches in charge.

An EFL statement read: “The charges relate to the club failing to meet their obligations to pay its players’ wages on time and in full on or around 31 October 2022, 30 November 2022 and 28 April 2023.

“Yongge Dai, the club’s owner, has also been charged with causing the club to be in breach of EFL regulations despite his commitment to fund the cash requirements of the club.

“The club and Mr Dai have until 4pm on Thursday 29 June 2023 to respond to the charges.”

Zak Crawley punched the first ball of the much-awaited Ashes through the covers for four but England’s progress was stymied within the first half hour by Ben Duckett’s dismissal at Edgbaston.

The opening exchange of this series has frequently gone Australia’s way, from Steve Harmison’s alarming wide in 2006 to Rory Burns being bowled round his legs by Mitchell Starc 18 months ago.

Australia’s decision to omit Starc – with Josh Hazlewood returning to the line-up – led to captain Pat Cummins taking the new ball and he served up a full and wide delivery that was clattered by Crawley.

An expectant crowd roared their approval as the ball raced away to the boundary, with Crawley and Duckett settling quickly to vindicate Ben Stokes’ decision to bat first under gloriously sunny skies.

The first hint of trouble came when Duckett (12) inside edged Hazlewood for his second four but his luck immediately ran out. Hazlewood continued to dangle the carrot, sticking to a fuller and wider line which this time drew a thin outside edge that was gratefully accepted by wicketkeeper Alex Carey.

Crawley, despite speculation about his place in the side after a lean run of form, and Ollie Pope continued to keep England ticking at more than four an over, prompting Cummins to turn to Nathan Lyon’s off-spin in the 10th over.

After Lyon’s opening foray, England were on 47 for one after Crawley (22 not out) clattered the off-spinner authoritatively just wide of mid-off for his third four.

QPR director of football Les Ferdinand has stepped down from the role.

Ferdinand, 56, spent eight years as a player at the club and returned to Loftus Road in 2014, initially as head of football operations.

QPR were relegated from the Premier League in 2015 and have spent the last eight years in the Championship, narrowly avoiding relegation last season.

Ferdinand told the club’s official website: “This has not been an easy decision. My life is football, I love football and I want to stay in football, but I do feel this is the right time for me to step down from my position here.

“Everyone knows how special Queens Park Rangers is to me and it has been a privilege to be back at the club.

“There have been challenging times and I have had to make some very difficult decisions but every decision I have made has been with the best interests of the club at heart.”

QPR appointed Gareth Ainsworth as head coach in February after sacking Neil Critchley, who lasted just 12 games in the role.

Critchley had replaced Michael Beale, who left Loftus Road in November to become Rangers manager having guided QPR to seventh in the table.

QPR chairman Amit Bhatia added: “In an industry where individuals with genuine authenticity and integrity appear to be scarce, Les’ sincerity and honesty have always set him apart, and have made him so special and so valued by the board.”