Zak Crawley continued his excellent series with an unbeaten 50 on the third morning of the final Ashes Test to help England into a position of strength at the Kia Oval.

Crawley signalled his intentions from ball one on Saturday with another booming drive through cover and walked off at lunch on 71 not out with England on 130 for one, a lead of 118.

Ben Duckett had played his shots and hit seven boundaries on his way to 42 before Mitchell Starc claimed a semblance of revenge by snarling a faint edge, having seen his first two overs go for 22 runs.

It left England on 79 for one and Ben Stokes joined Crawley at the crease with Moeen Ali, the hosts’ emergency number three, consigned to the pavilion until 120 minutes of the innings had passed or the fall of the fifth wicket.

Stokes eased into his new role with largely a watching front while Crawley upped the ante down the other end, taking a liking to Todd Murphy to establish his place at the top of the run-scoring charts for this series on 478.

After Australia were all out for 295 from the last ball of day two, Crawley and Duckett walked out to glorious sunshine in south London with a 12-run deficit to wipe out.

England took six balls to move into a lead with Crawley beginning his final innings of the series in the same vein he started this Ashes at Edgbaston, crunching his first delivery through cover for four.

Starc was on the receiving end this time and his opening two overs went for 22 runs, more than the 21 Australia had ground out during an pedestrian first hour on Friday.

There was no chance of England adopting that type of approach with the culture clash between the two teams continuing as Duckett clipped and cut away for four with ease to put on a fifty stand with Crawley inside nine overs.

Baggy Green captain Pat Cummins had already brought himself on by this point but with plenty of men pushed back to the boundary rope, England’s openers now milked the singles on offer to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Soft hands from Crawley allowed him to run the ball down to third man to end a sequence of five overs without a boundary, but Australia did finally make the breakthrough after nearly 90 minutes of play on day three.

It was Starc who struck in the first over of his second spell when Duckett’s booming drive got the faintest of edges and despite umpire Kumar Dharmasena saying not out, Cummins’ review showed a spike on UltraEdge and the England opener departed for 42.

Stokes entered the fray at three, but it quickly turned into the Crawley show with three runs off a Cummins misfield at mid-off bringing up his half-century off 61 balls.

Better was to follow with Starc pulled away for another boundary before Murphy was swept for four from consecutive balls to bring up the 50 partnership for the second wicket with Crawley unbeaten on 71 at lunch.

Max Verstappen will start on pole position for Saturday’s sprint race after beating McLaren’s Oscar Piastri to top spot by just 0.011 seconds.

Verstappen qualified fastest here on Friday for Sunday’s Grand Prix, but he will line up in sixth after serving a grid penalty for a gearbox change.

But for the 15-lap dash in the Ardennes, the Red Bull driver begins from the front after edging out the impressive Piastri in wet-dry conditions at Spa-Francorchamps.

Carlos Sainz finished third, just 0.025sec adrift of Verstappen, with Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc fourth.

Lando Norris took fifth for McLaren, while Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, who appeared to trip over one another in the closing moments, only seventh and 10th respectively for Mercedes.

“It was difficult, but we stayed calm,” said Verstappen. “The gap to second was not as big as yesterday, but there was no need to risk it all.

“My second sector was a bit careful – turns eight and nine were very slippery so I left a bit of time on the table – but I am still on pole and that is what counts.

“Let’s see if it rains in the afternoon. I will try to have a clean start and have good vision and that is very important when it is wet.”

The start of qualifying was delayed following heavy rainfall in the area, but the sun suddenly broke through allowing the action to get under way 35 minutes later than advertised.

The final running took place on an almost dry track and the times tumbled as grip improved and the clock ticked down.

Rookie Piastri, 22, looked to have done enough to take the spoils when he crossed the line fastest, only for Verstappen to steal his thunder

“There wasn’t much left in that lap,” said Piastri over the radio. “Probably 11 milliseconds.”

Verstappen is on course to gallop to his third world championship in as many years and the Dutch driver will be expected to extend his 110-point lead over team-mate Sergio Perez later on Saturday, with the Mexican only eighth on the grid.

Eight points are awarded for the winner of the 15-lap dash, with a sliding scale down to to eighth place.

The result of Saturday’s sprint, which could take place in the wet with more rain forecast, has no bearing on Sunday’s 44-lap main event.

Lance Stroll’s gamble to switch from wet rubber to slicks with a couple minutes of Q2 remaining backfired as he crashed out.

The Canadian driver lost control of his Aston Martin through the left-hand ninth corner, skidding through the gravel and into the tyre barrier.

The front of Stroll’s machine was heavily damaged in the accident and the running was suspended.

His crash meant team-mate Fernando Alonso, who turned 42 on Saturday, did not post a time, leaving him a disappointing 15th on the grid.

Saturday’s race is due to get under way at 5:05pm local time (4:05pm BST).

England veteran Rachel Daly revealed she blocks out the frightening possibility of becoming a victim of the devastating injury crisis besetting women’s football and the World Cup.

Midfielder Keira Walsh was stretchered off with a suspected knee injury in the first half of the Lionesses’ 1-0 group-stage victory over Denmark on Friday, later appearing on crutches and sparking concern she might join England’s Beth Mead and Leah Williamson on a long list of players ruled out of the 2023 tournament with the same anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury that disproportionately affects women.

There was no update on Walsh’s condition as of Saturday night in Sydney, three days before the Lionesses play China in Adelaide with a target of escaping Group D in top spot.

Daly said: “I don’t think you can think about it, for me, those three letters scare the absolute you-know-what out of me. 

“Fingers, toes, everything crossed for Keira, but that’s football isn’t it, it’s tough, you have your highs and your lows and you just hope that everything is all right and she’ll be all right for the future. It’s a tough one but I hope she’s all right.

“I think losing anyone is tough but a player with the ability of Keira is a tough one to lose. She’s such an integral part of the way we play and it’s tough, but that’s why Sarina’s built a squad, we’ve got depth, and [Laura Coombs] came on and did really well. So it’s obviously disappointing and heart-breaking for Keira but hopefully it’s nothing too serious.”

England boss Sarina Wiegman did not make any changes to her starting XI during the Lionesses’ Euro 2022-winning campaign, but on Friday opted for two from England’s 1-0 tournament-opening win against Haiti.

Women’s Super League (WSL) Golden Boot winner Daly, who was named as a forward for this tournament, returned to left-back where she started every game of the European Championships, while Chelsea’s Lauren James got the nod on the left wing in place of Lauren Hemp.

It proved a prescient swap after Daly set up James’ first World Cup goal after six minutes against Denmark, that strike also ultimately enough to maintain England’s 100 per cent record and place them in prime position to finish top of Group D with a point against China.

Daly said: “I say it all the time but it’s an honour to put on this shirt whenever I can. I’ll play in any position. It’s not the one I’ve been playing in regularly for my club but it’s something that’s still familiar.

“I think I did all right, there’s tweaks I need to make on my game in that position but that’s OK, I learn from it, I’ll go and analyse it, I’ll fix it and move onto the next game. For me, it’s just getting onto the pitch, and doing what I can for the team.”

The 31-year-old Aston Villa striker also heaped praise on James, a decade her junior, hotly touted as the future of this England squad and backed by Blues boss Emma Hayes to be a vital force for the Lionesses in their quest for a maiden World Cup.

Daly said: “Yeah, LJ’s just a strength on her own, she’s phenomenal, and you saw what she can do, glimpses of what she can do. I can’t take any credit for anything she does, she’s just an unbelievable person and player.”

Allan Saint-Maximin has confirmed he is to leave Newcastle this summer.

The French winger has been heavily linked with a £30million move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli.

The 26-year-old has sat out much of the Magpies’ pre-season programme and has now posted a farewell message on his Instagram account.

In it he professes his love for the club and reflects on their journey from relegation strugglers to last season’s impressive fourth-placed Premier League finish.

He wrote: “I fell for Newcastle, I had great opportunities to leave during dark days, but that was too late I was already in love, I wanted, I needed, I had to stay for helping my team to save the club from Premier League relegation because it meant the world for me.

“Of course during those dark days some may have had their doubts, but I always believed in this club and look where we are today, it’s just so beautiful. I’m leaving Newcastle as it should always have been and that’s my greatest trophy because I was a part of it.”

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Saint-Maximin joined Newcastle from Nice in a £16million deal in 2019. He has made 124 appearances for the club and scored 13 goals.

A switch to Saudi Arabia would see him join a growing list of high-profile players to have moved to the Middle East country.

Roberto Firmino, Riyad Mahrez and Edouard Mendy have already signed for Al-Ahli, while Karim Benzema, Jordan Henderson and N’Golo Kante have also joined Pro League clubs this summer.

Republic of Ireland defender Louise Quinn is determined to exit the World Cup on a high.

The Irish cannot make the knockout stages after defeats to Australia and Canada but still have one group game remaining against Nigeria in Brisbane on Monday.

Yet the African side are well on course for the last 16 after their stunning triumph over hosts Australia last time out and Quinn recognises her team have their work cut out.

The 33-year-old told Sky Sports: “How they’re even ranked the fourth seed in the group I don’t know, because they are an excellent, excellent team.

“We knew that we wanted to be able to come into this game, in terms of progressing through the group, to really have something to play for but, for us, there’s still so much that we want to achieve and that we want to do.

“We want to still make the history of getting points, really mixing up this group for us. We’re still fully concentrated on that.

“But they’ve been excellent, they’ve proved it in their two games. We have our work cut out with them.

“But, at the same time, we’ve shown against the two top sides in this group as well, Australia and Canada, that they’re going to have to beware of us in a lot of ways.”

Nigeria go into the game as leaders of Group B, ahead of Canada on goals scored. Australia, who face Canada, are a point behind with the Irish still to register.

Ireland have no fresh fitness concerns and are hopeful Heather Payne will be able to return after missing the Canada game with a hamstring problem.

Six-time Paralympic champion Bethany Firth believes society needs to become more understanding of “hidden disabilities” after revealing her memory issue makes life similar to the plot of the film 50 First Dates.

Northern Irish swimmer Firth competes in the S14 classification for athletes with intellectual impairments and is unable to remember some of her many successes in the pool due to her condition.

The 27-year-old, who is preparing to defend her 100m backstroke, 200m freestyle and 200m individual medley titles at the Allianz Para Swimming World Championships in Manchester next week, overcame insecurities about her disability through involvement in sport.

Yet consistently recalling information remains an ongoing challenge for the multiple world-record holder, who likens it to the 2004 romantic comedy starring Adam Sandler in which Drew Barrymore’s character suffers short-term amnesia on a daily basis.

“Some days I can remember stuff, some days I can’t,” Firth told the PA news agency.

“It’s a bit like 50 First Dates – you don’t know what I am going to retain and what I’m not.

“My coach (Nelson Lindsay) finds it very hard because one day I can be knowing all of these drills and then he says to me the next day you’ve already done that, let’s do it again and I have no clue.

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“In every day life, I struggle a bit with trust because I will see pictures of myself doing something and it is me but I can’t remember or I have no connection to that.

“There are just lots of little things that add up that people don’t notice because everyone just sees you as this normal person that can do everything.

“Everyone has their own struggles and we need to be a lot more aware that maybe that person is taking a wee bit longer to pay because they’re not understanding how much they need to give. Or maybe that person needs just a bit more time to understand what that person’s just said.

“Hidden disabilities are so common nowadays. It’s a bit like mental health – you can’t see what’s going on in someone’s life and people are very good at hiding it.

“We need to be a bit more understanding that we don’t know what’s happening in someone’s life.”

Firth burst on to the scene aged 16 by winning 100m backstroke gold for Ireland at London 2012.

She added a further five Paralympic golds and three silvers to her collection across Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 after switching allegiance to Great Britain, in addition to last year claiming the Commonwealth 200m freestyle title for Northern Ireland.

Firth, from Seaforde, County Down, has learnt to deal with the demands of having a target on her back and is focused on times rather than medals ahead of competing at Manchester Aquatics Centre and moving on to Paris 2024.

“It’s always a mixed bag when you go into a competition because you’re always the one people want to beat, so there’s always a bit of pressure there,” she said.

“I haven’t PB’d since 2016. I’ve always had an injury. Last year I broke my foot, the year before that I had shoulder injuries.

“For me, it’s not always about the medals. It’s actually about my performance and I really want to push on with my own performance and not just stay at the same sort of level.

“At Paris I want to beat all my PBs. I am hoping this week will give me a really good step towards doing that.”

Manchester City defender Nathan Ake has extended his contract with the club to 2027, the European and Premier League champions have announced.

The Netherlands international has prolonged his previous deal by two years, committing himself to the Etihad Stadium outfit for a further four seasons.

Ake was an integral member of Pep Guardiola’s squad during City’s memorable treble-winning 2022-23 campaign, making 41 appearances in all competitions.

The 28-year-old said: “This is the best club in the world, I have no doubts about that. Being a Manchester City player makes me incredibly proud every single day.

“It’s a football club that expects excellence in every area, which makes for the perfect environment to improve. It drives me on and makes me better. I am at the stage of my career where I want to keep developing and I can definitely do that here.

“Pep is the best manager in football – a genius who has made me see the game differently – so to be able to work with him for longer is a real privilege. I am so grateful to him for everything he has done for me, both personally and professionally.”

The former Chelsea player joined City in a £41million deal from Bournemouth three years ago.

He initially had to wait for his opportunity but came of age last term, proving a reliable performer at both centre-back and left-back.

Director of football Txiki Begiristain said: “We have been delighted with Nathan’s development, so it’s great news for this football club that he is extending his time with us.

“There is no doubt he was a very important part of our treble success last season, but I believe he can be even better.”

Anthony Santander drilled a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Baltimore Orioles to a 1-0 win over the New York Yankees on Friday night, spoiling Aaron Judge’s return.

After Gerrit Cole and rookie Grayson Rodriguez hooked up in a classic pitcher’s duel, the scoreless game was turned over to the bullpens.

Orioles closer Felix Bautista struck out two in a perfect top of the ninth before Santander sent a 2-0 offering from Tommy Kahnle into the seats in right field with one out in the bottom half for his 18th home run.

The American League-leading Orioles avoided a third straight loss and maintained a 1 ½-game lead over second-place Tampa Bay in the East.

Judge was 0 for 1 with three walks in his first game back from a toe injury. The Yankees slugger had been sidelined since June 3.

Cole limited Baltimore to three hits over seven innings without a walk and five strikeouts.

Rodriguez was just as good, allowing three singles over 6 1/3 innings with two walks and four strikeouts in the best performance of his young career.

DJ LeMahieu had two hits for last-place New York, which lost its fifth consecutive road game.

Tauchman’s catch allows Cubs’ streak to continue

Mike Tauchman robbed pinch-hitter Alec Burleson of a potential winning home run to end the game and the Chicago Cubs topped the St. Louis Cardinals, 3-2 for their seventh straight win.

With a runner on third and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Burleson sent a deep drive to centre but Tauchman reached over the fence to take away a sure home run and prevent the Cardinals from winning.

Patrick Wisdom hit his team-leading 18th home run and Trey Mancini had a tiebreaking RBI single in the sixth inning for Chicago, which has its longest winning streak since also taking seven in a row last Sept. 25-Oct. 2.

Lars Nootbaar accounted for all of St. Louis’ offence with solo home runs in the first and third innings.

Casas provides spark for surging Red Sox

Triston Casas homered and had and RBI double to back Kutter Crawford as the Boston Red Sox won their fifth straight game, 3-2 over the San Francisco Giants.

Moved up to sixth in the order, Casas doubled home a run in the second inning and took Logan Webb deep in the fifth to give Boston a 2-0 lead.

Crawford allowed one run and three hits over 5 2/3 innings while walking one and striking out seven.

The Red Sox improved to 15-5 in July and are a season-best nine games over .500 (56-47).

Australia captain Sam Kerr confirmed she will be available for the Matildas’ final group stage encounter with Canada after missing their first two World Cup matches with a calf injury.

The Matildas’ chances of progressing from Group B hang in the balance after Thursday’s surprise 3-2 defeat to Nigeria in Brisbane, and only victory over the Olympic champions on Monday will see Tony Gustavsson’s side qualify for the last 16, barring a draw scenario that will still rely on the Republic of Ireland beating Nigeria.

Kerr, her country’s top goal-scorer of either gender, is not just Australia’s strongest weapon – she is more symbolically the poster-woman for this tournament both in her native country and, arguably, around the world.

The Chelsea striker would not confirm if the encouraging update would mean the home support would see her start in Melbourne, telling a press conference: “I feel good. The plan has always been the same, miss the first two games then reassess.

“I’m feeling good, I was out on the pitch today. As good as I can be.

“I would love to tell you guys everything – but you know being in sport a long time, that that’s a massive thing the opposition wants to know.

“And like Tony said yesterday it’s going to go down to the wire. I’m definitely going to be available, but how we decide to use that is not to be given to the opposition, I think is the main thing.

“Obviously the plan for me is to be involved and I’m excited. I’ve done everything I can, and no matter what happens I know that I’ve given everything just in the last 10 days, in the last four years, I’ve given everything to be here.”

Mary Fowler, Australia’s other most potent attacker, was also forced to sit out the Nigeria match with a concussion, but team-mate Ellie Carpenter confirmed the forward would also be available for Monday’s meeting.

Kerr, who has scored 63 goals across 121 caps for Australia, joked: “I have the biggest calves in the world, so I’m not sure why it decided to play up the day before the World Cup, but that’s sport for you, isn’t it?”

On a more serious note, the Football Writers’ Association women’s footballer of the year and FIFA 23 cover woman confessed she found it mentally challenging not to be involved in the opening matches, but was grateful her injury was not more serious.

On Friday night, England midfielder Keira Walsh was stretchered off the pitch with an apparent knee issue, with many wondering if she could be the latest female footballer to suffer an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

That injury, for which women are at a three-to-six times higher risk than men, has already deprived this World Cup of top talents like England’s Beth Mead and Leah Williamson, the Netherlands’ Vivianne Miedema, Canada’s Janine Beckie, the USA’s Catarina Macario and Christen Press, New Zealand’s Katie Rood and Zambia goalkeeper Hazel Nali.

The recent independent Women’s Football Review, led by retired Lioness Karen Carney, recommended the FA introduce a centrally-funded research unit with a dedicated research budget for issues affecting female footballers.

Kerr added: It was obviously disappointing, and then I had to kind of suck it up. I’m part of a team, I’m not part of an individual sport.

“It’s not about me, and that’s what I’ve done over the last however many days it’s been.

“I’ve had to put the team first, and I’ve been lucky enough over the past couple of years, I’ve always been on the pitch for this team, and I’ve always had team-mates that have not been on the pitch and supported me and got me over the line.

“That’s been my role the last 10 days and to be honest with you, it’s an honour to be here. I feel really lucky and privileged to be here.

“I look around women’s football at the moment and I’m lucky that it’s only a small injury compared to some other people. You look at Keira Walsh last night, so you have to look at the bright side on everything.

“It kind of sucks but there’s always someone worse off.”

England will hope to set a match-winning total when they begin their second innings on day three of the fifth Ashes Test.

Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett will walk out at the Kia Oval with Australia holding a narrow 12-run lead after the tourists were all out for 295 from the last ball on Friday night.

Australia had gone along at a pedestrian rate in the morning before wickets tumbled regularly, but Steve Smith’s 71 and late blows from Pat Cummins and Todd Murphy saw the tourists go beyond England’s 283.

Smith received a lifeline on 44 after substitute fielder George Ealham came agonisingly close to his own Gary Pratt moment and now all eyes are on England’s batters as they look to level the series.

View from the dressing roomSuperstitious Stu!

Australia crawled along at a snail’s pace during the opening hour of day two and, whether by coincidence or chance, it took Stuart Broad witchcraft to inspire a change in fortunes.

Labuschagne had scored nine runs from 81 deliveries before Broad decided to rearrange the bails ahead of the fifth ball of the 43rd over. Seconds later and Mark Wood found the edge where Joe Root took a stunner at first slip.

Broad’s agent of chaos act worked a treat and he has not ruled out a repeat when Australia are chasing. “It was a pretty successful result wasn’t it? So, I think if the game gets tight I might wander up again,” the England seamer smirked.

Honours up for grabs

After Wood’s breakthrough, Broad got on a roll after lunch with Khawaja and Travis Head out in quick succession to move the veteran on to 20 scalps for the series and bring up the 150-mark for Test wickets against Australia.

Broad has plenty of Aussies for company at the top of the wicket-takers column in this series and Mitchell Starc (19), Pat Cummins (17) and Josh Hazlewood (15) will get one last opportunity to bump up their numbers when they try to bowl England out for an attainable target on day three.

Remarkably, Chris Woakes is now up to 15 dismissals despite featuring in only five innings. Before he gets the chance to improve his figures, he may bat at three with Moeen Ali only able to come in after 120 minutes of England’s innings on Saturday or after the fall of their fifth wicket.

Jimmy jumping for joy!

James Anderson has endured a tough series, claiming only four wickets in three Tests before this outing, but he was able to bring the Kia Oval crowd to their feet with the crucial scalp of Mitch Marsh.

Marsh dragged onto leg stump in the opening over of Anderson’s first spell from the Pavilion End during a purple patch for the hosts on Friday afternoon.

It helped cement England’s grip on the contest at this point, with five wickets falling in the middle session and Australia walking off on 186 for seven.

‘You cannot do that’

On a day where plenty of fielders took centre stage, Ben Stokes saved the best until last.

During the final over on Friday, Cummins tried to launch Root into the stands and almost succeeded, but Stokes leapt to take the catch at long on before he threw the ball up in the air as he was about to stumble over the boundary rope.

England’s captain was then able to step back onto the turf and collect the catch at the second time of asking to bring Australia’s first innings to an end on 295 and set up an exciting third day.

Boy George is that the difference?

While England’s energy is now firmly on batting, you have to wonder what might have been had substitute fielder Ealham written his name into Ashes folklore with the dismissal of Smith.

Smith looked to complete a risky two in Australia’s 78th over, but Ealham sprinted in from the boundary rope and hurled in a hard, flat throw that forced the Aussie batter to dive to make his ground.

It provoked memories of Pratt’s memorably ran out Ricky Ponting during the 2005 Ashes, but TV umpire Nitin Menon eventually ruled Smith not out.

Replays showed Jonny Bairstow may have nudged one of the bails out of its groove before taking the ball and further clips highlighted how both ends of the bail may not have left their grooves before Smith made it home.

Smith was on 44 and the scoreboard briefly showed Australia on 195 for eight. He would subsequently make 71. How crucial may they prove?