Christian Horner has hailed “untouchable” Max Verstappen as the best driver in the world after the Red Bull star overcame a chaotic rain-hit Dutch Grand Prix to equal Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine wins in a row.
Despite two separate downpours wreaking havoc at the beginning and conclusion of Sunday’s 72-lap race in Zandvoort, Verstappen delivered in front of 105,000 expectant fans to take the chequered flag ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, with Pierre Gasly completing the podium.
Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, slapped with a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit-lane, finished fourth while Lewis Hamilton – who bemoaned his Mercedes team’s poor strategy in the inclement conditions – came home in sixth place.
Verstappen, who has won 11 of the 13 rounds so far, will head to next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix in Monza 138 points clear in the drivers’ championship.
There remains an outside chance he could complete his hat-trick of titles at the Japanese Grand Prix on September 24 with half-a-dozen rounds still to run.
“Max is in a period of his career where he is just simply untouchable,” said Red Bull team principal Horner, who oversaw Vettel’s streak of nine straight wins a decade ago.
“I don’t think there is any driver on the grid that would be able to achieve what he is doing in that car.
“To win nine races in a row is insane, and it is something that none of us would have envisaged, and I never thought we would repeat it after we managed it with Sebastian. What we are witnessing is a driver that is generational.
“Max has been in incredible form for the past three years, and the most impressive thing for me is all the pressure that he is under here.
“With the expectation of 100,000 Dutch fans, a lot would have cracked under that pressure, but he kept his composure and delivered, as he has done so many times.”
Come wind, rain or shine, 25-year-old Verstappen is the man for all occasions. On pole, he found himself down in 13th place after seven drivers – including team-mate Perez – took advantage of a sudden first-lap downpour to move on to wet tyres.
But by lap 13, Verstappen – who at one stage was lapping his home track four seconds faster than Perez and two seconds quicker than anybody else – was back in the lead.
His record-equalling feat was placed in doubt when the rain returned with vengeance with a dozen laps to go, and Zhou Guanyu crashed out, and the race was stopped.
A 43-minute delay and six-lap dash to the chequered flag followed, but Verstappen denied Alonso any hope of taking his first win in a decade with an assured drive. He finished 3.7 sec clear of the Spaniard.
As Verstappen ensured Red Bull’s unbeaten run remained, Hamilton’s afternoon was scuppered by Mercedes’ dithering following the first-lap downpour.
Hamilton was not called in for wet tyres until the end of lap three with team-mate George Russell following in on the next lap. When the dust settled, Hamilton and Russell, who started third, were 16th and 18th respectively.
From there it was a damage-limitation exercise for both men, with Hamilton driving well to take sixth place.
Russell might have finished seventh but for a late duel with countryman Lando Norris leaving him with race-ending harm to his Mercedes. Norris crossed the line in seventh place.
Tony Docherty admitted he was delighted his players finally reaped the rewards all their hard work deserved as they picked up their first cinch Premiership win of the season.
Luke McCowan scored the only goal of the game for the Dark Blues in the second half against Hearts with a sublime lobbed finish at Kilmac Stadium.
The 25-year-old scored a similar goal in pre-season but this time it really counted, securing all three points.
Docherty said: “It doesn’t surprise me with Luke.
“He did it pre-season against Fleetwood Town from further out.
“Luke McCowan typifies the type of player I have in that changing room.
“I am really pleased for him but more pleased for the squad in terms of they got their rewards today for all the hard work they put in.
“I am absolutely delighted and it was no more than the players deserve as we put in a lot of hard work in the last couple of weeks on the training ground.
“We had a game plan and I thought the players carried that out to the letter. I thought we were worthy of our win.”
There was confusion before kick-off with McCowan originally named in the starting line-up with Josh Mulligan on the bench.
New team sheets were then released with the duo swapping positions but just before kick-off, McCowan was back in the team with Mulligan as a substitute.
However, Docherty played down the mix-up.
He added: “There was something happened before the game.
“You can put that down to human error. It was human error, that’s all I am saying.”
Hearts technical director Steven Naismith did not pull his punches in his assessment of his side’s performance.
“We weren’t good enough today. It’s as simple as that,” he said.
“I don’t think we deserved much out of the game. We are fortunate at half-time to be 0-0, we never really caused them many problems and they caused us more problems.
“That’s a reflection of the first half. We needed to make three changes which did make an impact.
“For 15 to 20 minutes we caused them loads of problems, but I felt we went away from what was getting us good situations. We went away from that and started making the wrong pass.
“Ultimately it’s a poor day, we don’t get anything from the game.
“As the game wore on I thought Dundee saw the game out well. They made passes at the right time, frustrated us.
“We were powder puff towards the end and that’s never going to get you anything.”
Dominica's Thea LaFond made her mark on history during the fiercely contested women's triple jump at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Despite finishing fifth, LaFond's performance was nothing short of remarkable, as she broke her own national record not once, but twice during the competition, with jumps of 14.71m and 14.90m. These marks would have secured her a medal in most world championships, highlighting the level of competition she faced.
The women's triple jump event was a showcase of unparalleled athleticism and grit, with Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela securing her fourth world title with a leap of 15.08m on her final jump. The competition was defined by its intensity, with Rojas narrowly making the final round of jumps after initially being tied for eighth. Ukraine's Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk clinched the silver medal with a season's best of 15.00m, while Cuba's Leyanis Perez-Hernandez secured the bronze with a jump of 14.96m.
Jamaica's Shanieka Ricketts, a two-time world championship silver medalist, claimed fourth place with a season's best of 14.93m, while Cuba's Liadagmis Povea's best effort of 14.87m placed her in sixth position in the closely contested contest.
Reflecting on her remarkable journey, LaFond expressed the historic significance of the event.
"So the competition was really, honestly like history making, to be honest. I mean, you're talking about probably the hardest women's triple term final in the history of the World Championships and it was it was a battle and I'm happy to be part of it and as happy as able to fight, but it was definitely a battle," she said.
LaFond acknowledged the work she had put in to refine her technique leading up to the event.
"Earlier this year we did talk about working on different parts of the phases and to the question of did it all come together at the right time, honestly, no. I mean that 1490 was not a perfect jump. It was far from it, which only tells me that there's more left in the tank and I'm excited to see what comes next," she told Sportsmax.TV.
While her performance would have secured a medal in most years, LaFond faced the challenge of competing in a highly competitive field. "To be honest, 14.90m would have won a medal any year and it's like it's definitely frustrating, you know, but it is quite an honor to be competing in the sport at the height of the sport, truly. But yeah, it's a tough reality."
LaFond candidly expressed her feelings about the thrilling finale of the competition, where Rojas clinched victory with her final jump.
"It was definitely, I don't even know if the word is deflating. It was just kind of annoying," she confessed. "She was definitely the most vulnerable she's ever looked in the competition, definitely in any major championships, but definitely not deflating. Annoying definitely, but there's nothing deflating over here."
Amidst the intense competition and emotions, LaFond highlighted the remarkable progression of the sport.
"Six women over 14.80m. That just means that our sport is getting insane and we're definitely pushing the limits to what people even thought the sport could be," she said.
"And to see so many women, so, so many minority women at that, I'm at the top of the sport. It's really a great feeling. And I really hope that you know, other, you know, little brown girls around the world are finding inspiration through what we do."
Steve Borthwick insists England will urgently address the defensive crisis that threatens to torpedo their Word Cup.
Fiji plundered three tries in a seismic 30-22 victory at Twickenham as England’s preparation for the tournament in France continue to unravel amid a run of five defeats in six games.
Most concerning of all is a defence overseen by Kevin Sinfield that has now been breached 30 times in Borthwick’s nine Tests in charge, each outing seeing an average of 26 points leaked.
Fiji were typically ruthless in attack but also met willing victims and with the World Cup opener against Argentina arriving in less than two weeks, England must resurrect a fundamental of their game.
Borthwick has stated that he is happy with his management team as scrutiny of Sinfield’s work grows, but the head coach is demanding an immediate improvement in the team’s work without the ball.
“I’m very clear that I was disappointed with the defence. We conceded too many tries and we missed too many tackles,” Borthwick said.
“Our focus is on ensuring we are much better than that against Argentina in two weeks’ time.
“The dropping off tackles has not been the case with what we’ve seen recently, but there were a lot against Fiji – more than 20 missed tackles. I think the total was 27.
“Now Fiji have exceptional power and speed, and that hurt us. But what we have to do is look at those tackles and what we could have done better.
“We didn’t want that result. We were clearly disappointed by the game and disappointed by aspects of that performance.
“Whilst there are areas of our performance which saw signs of growth, you can’t slip off that many tackles in a Test match.”
Captain Johnny Sexton admits he instantly regretted the heated exchange with referee Jaco Peyper which caused him to miss Ireland’s Rugby World Cup warm-up matches through suspension.
Fly-half Sexton was hit with a three-match ban for misconduct for his behaviour following Leinster’s Heineken Champions Cup final defeat to La Rochelle on May 20 in Dublin.
The 38-year-old, who did not play in that match due to injury and is set to retire after the upcoming tournament in France, says the incident was a “mistake in the heat of the moment”.
He was on Sunday afternoon confirmed in Andy Farrell’s squad for the World Cup and is likely to make his return in his country’s Pool B opener on September 9 against Romania in Bordeaux.
Asked if he had any regrets about the on-field altercation with South African official Peyper at the Aviva Stadium, he said: “Of course, yeah. I’ve held my hands up since day one.
“I made a mistake in the heat of the moment.
“I was obviously very emotional on the day not being part of what I had mapped out from the start of the year as playing my last game for Leinster in the Aviva, winning a European cup.
“It’s what I dreamt of and then obviously to miss that, there’s a lot of emotion that goes with it and in that split second I went on to console my team-mates, I made a remark and I regretted it instantly.
“You make mistakes, you say sorry and hold your hands up and that’s what I’ve done.”
Sexton was forced off by a groin injury while helping Ireland clinch the Six Nations Grand Slam against England in March and has not played competitively since.
He watched from the stands this month as his country defeated Italy, England and Samoa.
Without the suspension, the 29-10 success over Steve Borthwick’s side on August 19 would have been Sexton’s final Dublin appearance.
“It’s been incredibly frustrating to have to sit and watch, it’s obviously my own fault,” he continued.
“But that’s been life, I’ve just had to do what I could for the team and try and learn by watching the guys and contribute where I could.
“It was particularly tough last weekend in the Aviva. You live and learn and it’s time to move on now.”
Sexton, who has 113 Ireland caps, was appointed skipper following the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
The 2018 world player of the year feels “very privileged” to have the chance to lead his country into the forthcoming competition.
“(It means) a huge amount,” he said. “If someone told me four years ago I’d be back here captain, I would have taken it 100 per cent.
“There’s been a lot put into this team by the management over the last four years and to get their vote of confidence four years ago to do it with this as the end goal, it’s been huge.
“I’m very proud for myself, my family and just for the group that we have. It’s a very privileged position to be in with such a good group.”
Assistant boss Juanma Lillo admitted he did not enjoy standing in for Pep Guardiola after Manchester City’s hard-fought 2-1 win at Sheffield United.
Guardiola watched his side extend their 100 per cent start to go top of the Premier League from Barcelona, where he is recovering from back surgery.
City turned in a dominant display at a sold-out Bramall Lane, but went close to letting two points slip when Blades substitute Jayden Bogle fired an 85th-minute equaliser.
Bogle cancelled out Erling Haaland’s second-half header – the Norway striker had missed a penalty before the break – only for Rodri to rescue City by smashing home an 88th-minute winner.
When asked if he enjoyed taking charge in Guardiola’s absence, Lillo said: “Not at all. I much prefer being with Pep. Especially when it’s a question of health, I don’t enjoy this at all. We miss his presence now more than ever.
“I haven’t spoken to him after the match. During the match I spoke to him at some moments, but generally he was speaking to the other members of the technical staff. But he’s been totally present today.”
City dominated possession throughout and were rarely troubled by the Blades, who produced a resolute and disciplined defensive display.
Haaland steered his 37th-minute penalty on to a post after Blades skipper John Egan had handled, but made amends by heading his side in front in the 63rd minute.
“Generally I thought we played really well today,” said Lillo, who confirmed Phil Foden had started on the bench due to an upset stomach. “It was a lot closer to what we wanted.
“From the second half I thought we really found our rhythm and we were able to win the ball back a lot quicker.
“We were able to find the new spaces created from winning the ball back quicker and we could have scored more before the first goal went in.”
Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom feels his side, back in the top flight after a two-year absence, are also improving despite losing their first three matches.
Heckingbottom said: “I’m pleased with the performance. You need a perfect performance to beat them because that wasn’t a below-par City.
“We got punished for two things we should do better. The sickener for me is the nature of how Rodri has lashed it in.
“It just comes after Phil (Foden) has mis-controlled the ball and just drops into his path.
“It’s a kick in the teeth after all the good play they had had and they way we had dealt with it. We’ve lost a point, but we’ll focus on the performance I think.
“Game on game we’ve got better and we certainly believe we’re going to have enough.”
Novak Djokovic has had his fair share of rivalries over his career but says the latest, with Carlos Alcaraz, is bringing the very best out of him.
Djokovic begins his quest for a 24th grand slam title at the US Open on Monday having already eclipsed the totals of his illustrious peers, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
But the man likely to be standing in his way is Alcaraz, the defending champion who beat Djokovic in the Wimbledon final last month.
Djokovic got a measure of revenge when he outlasted the 20-year-old Spaniard in a near four-hour final in Cincinnati a week ago.
The duo may be at the opposite end of their careers but they have already built a rivalry which looks set to endure for as long as Djokovic, 36, continues to pick up a racket.
“He’s always pushing me to the limit,” said the Serbian. “I think I do to him pretty much the same thing. That’s why we produced a memorable final.
“It was one of the best, most exciting, and most difficult finals I was ever part of in best-of-three, no doubt, throughout my career.
“That’s why I fell on the ground after I won the match because it felt like winning a grand slam, to be honest. The amount of exchanges and rallies. It was physically so demanding and gruelling that I felt very exhausted for the next few days.
“Those are kind of the moments in matches that I still push myself on a daily basis, day in and day out, practice, sacrifice, commitment. At 36, I still have the drive.”
If Djokovic wins his first-round match, against Frenchman Alexandre Muller, he will overtake Alcaraz to become world number one again.
Alcaraz, the top seed, starts his campaign on Tuesday against Dominik Koepfer of Germany.
Iga Swiatek opens proceedings on Monday against Rebecca Peterson of Sweden as she bids to defend the title she won last year.
“On one hand you always want to kind of take experience from last year, find all these positive things that happened, take strength from that,” said the world number one from Poland.
“On the other hand you have to remember that it’s a totally different story. A lot can happen during like these 12 months.
“So I try to take everything step by step, not really go forward with my thoughts, think that I need to do something more because last year I won.”
Bojan Miovski denied St Mirren top spot in the cinch Premiership with a penalty equaliser for Aberdeen 10 minutes into stoppage-time in Paisley.
St Mirren looked to have sealed a thoroughly-deserved seventh consecutive victory after Greg Kiltie’s penalty and a goal from substitute Alex Greive turned the game on its head in the second half.
Jonny Hayes had put Aberdeen ahead in the 42nd minute totally against the run of play before the Dons had even mustered a shot at goal – the wing-back’s free-kick delivery from wide ended up in the net.
Aberdeen did not look a shadow of the side that fought back from two goals down in their Europa League play-off first leg against Swedish champions BK Hacken in Gothenburg on Thursday and only had one, off-target, effort at goal outside of their two goals.
But they somehow escaped Paisley with another 2-2 draw.
Just as the 7,492 crowd were preparing to celebrate, Alex Gogic was penalised for handball following a VAR review after charging down Leighton Clarkson’s shot on the edge of the box.
There was another VAR check after Miovski dispatched the penalty as Saints goalkeeper Zach Hemming claimed the North Macedonian striker had touched the ball twice after slipping while taking the spot-kick.
But the goal was given as St Mirren saw a seventh consecutive win slip away, forcing them to settle for second place behind Celtic on goal difference.
St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson handed a start to striker Toyosi Olusanya while Aberdeen made two changes following their draw in Sweden as Hayes and Angus MacDonald came in.
The hosts pinned the Dons back from the start, pressed them high up the park and created several chances from crosses.
Kiltie, Richard Taylor and Ryan Strain all forced good saves from headers and Keanu Baccus had a goal disallowed for offside after Strain’s shot had been blocked.
Strain’s cross just evaded two team-mates and Olusanya should have made more of Conor McMenamin’s delivery.
Aberdeen were rarely out of their own half until the few minutes immediately before their opener, which came after Taylor’s challenge from behind on Luis Lopes.
Hayes’ fee-kick went beyond everyone and nestled in the far corner with St Mirren goalkeeper Hemming motionless.
Robinson was soon booked after venting his anger over John Beaton’s free-kick award.
Aberdeen failed to build on their unlikely lead after half-time and St Mirren were quickly back on the attack.
McMenamin had an effort saved and Kiltie saw a goal ruled out for an earlier offside against Olusanya after Roos spilled a volley from Keanu Baccus. Olusanya soon raced clean through on goal but was denied by Roos.
St Mirren finally got their break when Beaton penalised MacDonald for handball after Strain’s cutback and Kiltie sent Roos the wrong way from the spot in the 59th minute.
Aberdeen brought on James McGarry and former St Mirren midfielder Jamie McGrath for their league debuts and Finland defender Richard Jensen for his first appearance for the club.
But it was the St Mirren substitutes that made a crucial impact in the 76th minute as Mikael Mandron played Greive through and the New Zealand international drilled home.
An equaliser looked unlikely until the late drama and Miovski celebrated again after the VAR check, missiles flying towards him after continuing them in front of the home support.
Unai Emery praised the versatility of Matty Cash after the Poland international’s first Aston Villa goals in over a year helped them to a 3-1 win at Burnley.
There was speculation Cash could be on his way out of Villa Park this summer, but the 26-year-old showed what an asset he can be with two goals in the opening 20 minutes of his 100th Villa appearance, twice threatening to make it a hat-trick.
Cash replaced Leon Bailey on the right wing in the only unenforced change to the Villa side that beat Hibernian 5-0 in the Europa Conference League play-off in midweek – Robin Olsen replaced the injured Emi Martinez in goal – and caught the eye with an energetic display.
“He’s versatile, he played before as a winger, he’s playing with us in a back four sometimes, sometimes lower, but we used him in pre-season playing higher, as a winger,” Emery said.
“He helped us a lot today defensively and offensively and then he used the moment to remember when he played more at Nottingham Forest as a winger. His two goals were a good example for us but we know he can be versatile.”
That versatility can be key for Villa at a time when injuries are limiting Emery’s options. The Spaniard named only eight players, two of them goalkeepers, on the bench, and admitted Villa could be active again before the transfer window closes.
“There are still four days to finish the transfer window and we have to be ready,” Emery said. “We have to be ready in case someone is leaving, in case we have a good opportunity to add another player with us.
“Always in my teams I was working and I am ready at the end if someone can come with us or someone can leave.”
Villa’s biggest move in the market so far has been the signing of Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen for a reported £51million.
The France forward combined with Cash to create Villa’s second of the afternoon before his 61st-minute strike, his second Villa goal, settled it after Lyle Foster got Burnley back into the match.
“His adaptation is going fast but he needs this adaptation each match for him to know better his team mates and then where in our structure is his best position,” Emery said. “He is a player who is versatile as well.
“It’s very important for him and for the team, his capacity to assist, to score goals.”
Defeat leaves Burnley without a point after their opening two Premier League matches, both home defeats after the 3-0 loss to Manchester City a fortnight ago.
“Learning comes at a price in the Premier League,” manager Vincent Kompany said. “I didn’t think we started the game badly, we had moments, we just didn’t manage to get a real grip on the game and there was always the threat of Aston Villa counters.
“In the second half we built momentum, the goal helped us for that definitely, and just at the peak of that momentum we conceded the goal and that was a little bit the story of the game.”
Kompany handed a debut to Hannes Delcroix, meaning six of the starting XI were new signings this summer. The manager admitted there will be a bedding-in period.
“It’s a conscious choice,” he said. “You look at the bottom of the league and you find every flavour – teams that are settled and have not changed and teams that have changed.
“For us, we want to move forward. I’ve seen enough in our team to know that we make a game out of games. Every game there is something for us, and if that continues I believe we’ll have enough results.”
Luke McCowan was the Dundee hero as his stunning goal secured the Dark Blues’ first cinch Premiership victory of the season against Hearts at Kilmac Stadium.
There was little between the teams in a goalless first half, but the Jam Tarts seemed to have taken a grip of the game after the break before McCowan popped up with his decisive finish.
The victory lifts Dundee up to sixth in the table, level on points with Hearts in fifth.
The opening stages of the contest were even with Dundee the first to threaten in the 14th minute when the ball fell to Zach Robinson, but the striker’s shot flew wide.
Shortly after, Hearts had a chance of their own from an Alex Lowry corner, but Frankie Kent sent his header over the crossbar.
Dark Blues midfielder Finlay Robertson managed to place a shot on target in the 28th minute, but his volley from the edge of the box flew straight at visiting goalkeeper Zander Clark who easily gathered.
Five minutes later, the hosts thought they had taken the lead when a Jordan McGhee shot was deflected in by Robinson, but following a VAR check, the effort was ruled out for offside.
Hearts forward Yutaro Oda then tumbled in the Dundee penalty area under a challenge from Owen Beck, but referee Alan Muir waved play on.
Scott Tiffoney threatened again when he cut in from the left, but his low cross-shot was comfortably saved by Clark as the sides headed down the tunnel at the break with the game still deadlocked.
The visitors made three changes at half-time with Liam Boyce, Nat Atkinson and Cammy Devlin coming on for Oda, Toby Sibbick and Odel Offiah.
And Boyce came close to making an immediate impact in the 47th minute when he hit a shot from a tight angle that was deflected wide for a corner.
Hearts’ tails were up with Lowry dinking a cross from the left towards Kenneth Vargas, but his header was cleared off the line by Beck.
Steven Naismith’s side came close again when Stephen Kingsley hit a superb 30-yard free-kick that looked destined to fly into the top corner, but home keeper Trevor Carson produced a stunning acrobatic save to tip the ball away for a corner.
However, the deadlock was finally broken in the 63rd minute. Hearts’ Aidan Denholm gave the ball away with McCowan pouncing to hit a sublime 30-yard lob over the head of the retreating Clark and into the back of the net.
McCowan almost turned provider in the 80th minute, hitting a cross from the right towards Robinson whose goal-bound header was tipped away to safety by Clark.
Dundee survived a late Hearts onslaught to hold on to all three points.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s injury suffered during the second leg of the 4x100m relay on Saturday is not considered serious and the iconic Jamaican sprinter is said to be in good spirits.
Fraser-Pryce sustained a hamstring injury early on the second leg of the sprint relay but still managed to hand the baton off to third-leg runner Sashalee Forbes that enabled the Jamaicans to complete the relay and win a silver medal.
She was taken to hospital in Budapest where she underwent scans on the injured leg.
Overnight, there was concern about the severity of the injury to Fraser-Pryce who went into competition with an injured right knee that caused her to be well below her best in the 100m in which she ran a season-best 10.77 for a bronze medal.
However, the news on Sunday was encouraging as according to team doctor Dr Warren Blake, who spoke with the Jamaican Observer, the injury was not as bad as initially feared and that Fraser-Pryce, notwithstanding the circumstances, was in good spirits. Dr Blake revealed that her disappointment was with the fact that Jamaica did not win the gold medal.
Danni Wyatt finished as leading runscorer in the Women’s Hundred as Southern Brave made it third time lucky with a 34-run win over Northern Superchargers to give Anya Shrubsole a fairytale send-off in the final at Lord’s.
Wyatt’s scintillating 59 from 38 balls meant she overhauled fellow England star Tammy Beaumont at the top of the standings with 295 runs in total.
Freya Kemp’s 31 and Georgia Adams’ 27 lent support as the Brave piled up 139 for six on a dry pitch, despite three for 21 for England seamer Kate Cross.
Jemimah Rodrigues, starved of strike for long periods, made 24 in the chase, but Kalea Moore returned three for 15 and Lauren Bell three for 21, while there were a trio of stumpings for Rhianna Southby as Superchargers were bowled out for 105.
It meant the Brave, bridesmaids in the first two finals, finally got their hands on the trophy, a fitting end to a glittering career for retiring skipper Shrubsole, who took the match-clinching wicket in England’s World Cup winning triumph against India at the home of cricket six years ago.
Much of the Brave’s success on the run to the final had been built on the triumvirate of Smriti Mandhana, Wyatt and Maia Bouchier, but after being put in, two were gone in the blink of an eye.
Mandhana dismissed the first ball of the match to the point boundary only to slice the next from Grace Ballinger to fly-slip, while Bouchier played too soon at one from Cross to leave the Brave eight for two.
However, Wyatt produced a gem of an innings as the England batter played shots all around the wicket, sweeping effectively and hitting inside out over the off-side in racing to 50 from 35 balls with nine fours. A glorious straight six followed as she and Adams added 84 in 63 balls.
A mix-up meant Cross’ underarm throw ended Wyatt’s knock prematurely and Adams, dropped earlier by Georgia Wareham, holed out to the same fielder for 27.
An extraordinary cameo from Kemp, including swinging the bat out of her hands, lifted the Brave above par before she and Chloe Tryon both fell in Cross’ excellent final set.
Marie Kelly was given out lbw to the first ball of the chase from Bell, only to be reprieved on review, but undeterred the England speedster bowled her off the pads with the second.
Phoebe Litchfield took up the chase with two dismissive early fours in a bid to overhaul Wyatt once more as leading runscorer.
She would though only get to 13 before swinging another Bell delivery to a catcher in the deep.
Rodrigues picked up five from a misdirected Tryon throw at the stumps, but only 28 came from the powerplay.
Wicketkeeper Southby then took centre-stage with two brilliant pieces of glovework to stump first Hollie Armitage and then England newbie Bess Heath, the latter having previously hit Bell over the ropes for six.
Shrubsole joined in the fun with a farewell wicket of Alice Davidson-Richards and once Rodrigues holed out in the increasingly desperate pursuit of boundaries, Brave were all but home.
Jack Darcy made all to uphold family honour and provide the Coles with their sixth success in the Grand Prix de Deauville.
Paul Cole first won the Group Two event with Ibn Bey in 1988 and took home the first prize five times as the sole licence holder at the family’s Whatcombe base.
But it is the first time since Oliver Cole has joined his father on the licence that they have tasted glory in the mile-and-a-half contest on the Normandy coast.
Second to Hamish in the Glorious Stakes at Goodwood two starts ago, it was a welcome return to form for Jack Darcy who raced too freely when last seen at Newbury.
And having snapped a nine-race winless run, he will enter Cole family folklore having added his name to the race’s roll of honour.
“He’s a very good horse,” said Oliver Cole.
“Arguably he was a bit too keen in the Geoffrey Freer and it didn’t really go for him. Today he was lovely and relaxed in front and got his own way and won well.
“I nearly didn’t run him because he’s had two quick runs in succession and this was a third, but he’s a very talented horse and he’s shown it today, it’s a good race to win.
“My father has won the race five times, and now we’ve won it six (in total). We love the race and I’m really proud of the horse.
“I remember all the good horses we’ve had win this, Snurge, Courteous and the others. It just means so much for us.”
Jack Darcy’s victory was the final leg of a fantastic treble for the British-trained raiders at Deauville on Sunday, and Mill Stream appears to have teed-up a shot at Group One competition having landed back-to-back course and distance sprints.
A winner of the Prix Moonlight Cloud earlier this month, Jane Chapple-Hyam’s son of Gleneagles took another step up the sprinting ladder by following up in impressive style in the Barriere Prix de Meautry.
Then fresh from a first Group One victory when winning the Prix Morny at the track last week, the father and son duo of Simon and Ed Crisford struck again when Poker Face claimed Barriere Prix Quincey honours.
England have confirmed that Jonny May has replaced Anthony Watson in their squad for the World Cup.
Watson has been ruled out of the tournament by a calf injury so May, who started Saturday’s defeat to Fiji, has filled the gap in the 33-man party to be submitted to World Rugby on Monday.
The only other name missing from the group originally named by Steve Borthwick on August 7 is Jack van Poortvliet whose ankle problem means he has been replaced by Alex Mitchell.
Elliot Daly and Kyle Sinckler are also present as they continue their recovery from respective knee and pectoral injuries.
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