Jonny Clayton came out on top of a thrilling Betfred World Matchplay semi-final against Luke Humphries.
The Welshman won 17-15 to set up a meeting with Nathan Aspinall in the final.
With very little to separate the two players on the Winter Gardens stage, it was Clayton’s higher checkout percentage that ultimately proved the difference.
The 48-year-old will now go in search of his first premier title since 2021, buoyed by a tough night in Blackpool.
Aspinall, who lost both the Grand Slam and Grand Prix finals last year, will now be aiming to go one better after powering past Joe Cullen.
A 17-9 win showed his superiority, with Cullen’s 148 checkout to break in the seventh leg proving to be a false dawn for the 34-year-old.
Instead, Aspinall pulled clear and never looked like slipping up as he progressed through to Sunday’s final.
The Texas Rangers will be without Corey Seager through at least the end of the month after placing the All-Star shortstop on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a sprained right thumb.
The team hopes it won't be a lengthy stint on the IL after an MRI revealed no structural damage.
“They said probably a week or so with just inflammation in general,” Seager said. “And then kind of pain tolerance from there. So I’m not overly worried about it.”
Seager sustained the injury in Friday's 11-5 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers when he jammed his hand in an awkward head-first slide to beat out a double in the eighth inning. X-rays after the game were negative.
Friday's loss snapped a six-game winning streak for the Rangers, who own a three-game lead over the second-place Houston Astros atop the AL West.
This is Seager's second trip to the IL this season after missing 31 games from mid-April to mid-May with a left hamstring strain.
Seager is hitting .350, which would be good enough to lead the American League in batting, but he doesn't have enough plate appearances to qualify because of his earlier trip to the IL.
Prior to exiting Friday's game, Seager hit his 15th homer of the season and team-leading 29th double - tied for third most in the majors.
Seager, who was selected to his fourth All-Star game earlier this year, is in the second season of a $325million, 10-year deal with the Rangers.
Aston Villa have completed the signing of France winger Moussa Diaby from Bayer Leverkusen.
While Villa have not disclosed the fee paid to secure the services of the 24-year-old, it has been widely reported that the club have broken their transfer record.
Diaby has 10 senior France caps but was not part of the squad that reached the World Cup final in Qatar last year.
Having come up through the ranks at hometown club Paris St Germain, Diaby moved to Leverkusen in 2019.
He scored 49 goals in 172 appearances for the Bundesliga side before completing his switch to Villa Park.
Diaby becomes Villa’s third major signing of the summer, following the arrivals of Youri Tielemans and Pau Torres, as head coach Unai Emery prepares for a first full season at the helm.
Villa completed the deal despite reported interest in Diaby from Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr, and he will now form a vital part of a squad that will enter the Europa Conference League having finished seventh in the Premier League last year.
American Brian Harman will take a commanding five-shot lead into the final round of the 151st Open Championship after holding the chasing pack firmly at bay at Royal Liverpool.
Masters champion Jon Rahm claimed he felt “invincible” as he surged through the field with a record-breaking 63, but that adjective could equally apply to Harman as he remained on course for a maiden major title at the age of 36.
As crowd favourites Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy frustratingly failed to fire, Harman recovered from a shaky start to compile a third round of 69 and 12-under-par total of 201.
Compatriot Cameron Young, the runner-up at St Andrews last year, is Harman’s nearest challenger following a 66, with Rahm – seeking the third leg of a career grand slam – another stroke behind.
Fleetwood was part of a five-way tie for fourth on five under which included Ryder Cup team-mate Viktor Hovland and former world number one Jason Day.
Rahm only made the cut with a shot to spare following rounds of 74 and 70, but took advantage of unexpectedly benign conditions to card eight birdies in a flawless 63, just one shot outside the lowest score in major championship history.
The world number three is the first player to shoot lower than 65 in an Open at Hoylake and had closed to within four shots of halfway leader Harman just two minutes before the left-hander got his round under way.
The gap was down to two when Harman dropped shots at the first and fourth, but he responded superbly with birdies on the fifth, ninth, 12th and 13th to maintain the five-shot advantage he held at halfway.
Only two players in history have lost a five-shot lead after 54 holes of the Open, Macdonald Smith in 1925 and Jean van de Velde at Carnoustie in 1999.
Rahm compared his 63 to an opening round of 65 at Augusta National in April which set him on course for a second major victory following the 2021 US Open.
“That is the best round I have played on a links course ever,” said Rahm, who followed a birdie on the fifth with four in succession from the ninth before picking up further shots on the 15th, 16th and 18th in a back nine of 30.
“Starting on 11 everything became downwind and it got easier.
“It is my lowest round on a links course and it’s in the Open Championship right? It’s the lowest round shot on this course. It feels really good but there is a lot of work to do.”
Rahm had cut a frustrated figure over the first two days, complaining about too many people being inside the ropes following his group with McIlroy and Justin Rose.
“To be fair, I look frustrated very often,” Rahm joked.
“I was playing good golf and I knew what I was capable of. I was frustrated because it was basically mistakes that I made. That was it. I gave up the shots at major championships that are very costly, and that’s mainly it.
“I knew my swing and my game felt better than the scores I was shooting. Today was the complete opposite, obviously.
“Today was one of those days where I felt invincible. I’ve been very comfortable from the tee, so it’s easier to stay aggressive.”
McIlroy, who triumphed at Hoylake in 2014, had made the ideal start with birdies on the first, third and fifth, but covered the remaining 13 holes in one over par to card a disappointing 69.
The world number two, who had cancelled his formal pre-tournament press conference for the second major in succession on Tuesday, declined to speak to waiting reporters and headed straight to the practice putting green.
McIlroy ended the day as he started it, nine behind Harman, while Fleetwood fell two shots further back following a 71 containing one birdie, one bogey and 16 pars.
England’s Alex Fitzpatrick equalled the previous lowest Open score at Hoylake with a superb 65 to climb into the top 10 on four under, two shots better off than older brother and 2022 US Open champion Matt, who returned a 67.
Marcus Trescothick praised Joe Root’s “golden arm” for moving England one step closer to victory in the fourth Test, but admitted their Ashes hopes are at the mercy of the Manchester weather.
England dominated the first three days at Emirates Old Trafford but saw their attempts to level the series 2-2 dented on Saturday, with 60 overs lost to rain.
Plenty more was predicted on day five, meaning time was likely to be tight as they make a final push for the line with Australia 61 behind on 214 for five.
England managed just one wicket in the solitary session on day four, with Root’s part-time spin prising out Marnus Labuschagne for 111 after the pace bowlers were withdrawn due to bad light.
It was a crucial moment, ending a century stand with Mitch Marsh (31no) and giving the hardy crowd something to celebrate after a day of disappointment.
“Joe’s a little bit of a golden arm, isn’t he? He just finds a way,” said Trescothick.
“He just has that ability to come in with a little spell now and again and just pick up one or two wickets. He has a good knack of doing that. He bowls the odd delivery that really surprises people.
“It’s a big, big player out of the way and it’s one less person that we have to knock over, which is important.”
With England chasing the game, there is no dodging the dire weather that threatens to rob a memorable series of a fitting decider at the Oval next week. And Australia have made it clear they will not entertain the idea of setting up a positive result on day five.
Labuschagne appeared baffled by the mere suggestion that his side could push for a lead and try to take all 10 wickets, with his eyes firmly on the prize of retaining the urn.
“No chance, zero,” he said of his side’s ambitions to win the match.
“I think we’re just going to let it pay out, get bowled out when we do. I don’t think we’re going to give England a sniff…that’s exactly what they’d like.”
Trescothick was part of the 2005 Ashes Test at the same ground which went all the way to the final ball of the game as Australia finished nine down to salvage a draw and would be happy to go the distance again.
“Of course we are, we’d wait till 12 o’clock tomorrow night if we could,” he said.
“But we can’t control what we turn up to. If we get a full day’s play I think we’d be very confident in what we can try and do and push for a result.
“We’re looking at everything, as you can imagine. Everyone’s got a different (weather app) on their phones, lots of different ones on computers knocking around and unfortunately, they’re all pretty much saying the same thing at the moment: rain.
“We’ll wait and see. Any opportunity that we can get out in the middle tomorrow we will be grabbing with both hands.”
Sunday’s meeting at the Curragh must survive a 7.30am precautionary inspection due to the threat of heavy rain.
Saturday’s meeting began in decent conditions but by the time of the Juddmonte Irish Oaks, subsequently won in dramatic style by Savethelastdance, heavy rain had begun to fall.
It continued until the conclusion of the card and as a result the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board officials thought it was best to call an inspection to be on the safe side.
Brendan Sheridan, IHRB clerk of the course said: “We have had persistent heavy rain since the Irish Oaks earlier today and having spoken with Met Éireann, they are a bit unsure about how much further rain will fall at the Curragh overnight and into tomorrow.
“They said we could get anything from 8mm up to 15mm or more, it is just a bit uncertain at the moment. However, the track is currently raceable but we will hold a precautionary inspection at 7.30am tomorrow morning.”
Lewis Hamilton said he held his breath for the 76.6 seconds it took him to capture his first pole position in 595 days for Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion held off Red Bull foe Max Verstappen by just three thousandths of a second as he danced his Mercedes to top spot in an exhilarating qualifying session at the Hungaroring.
Lando Norris finished third following another impressive afternoon for the rising McLaren star, one spot ahead of his team-mate Oscar Piastri. George Russell managed only 18th on a day to forget for the Mercedes man.
Hamilton’s one-lap triumph here – described as a work of art by his old rival Nico Rosberg – is his first since the penultimate fixture of the contentious 2021 season in Saudi Arabia, 33 races ago.
The following round in Abu Dhabi – where Hamilton was denied a record eighth world title by Michael Masi’s controversial refereeing – marked the last time he started a race from the front row. Verstappen began from pole on that contentious evening in the desert. On Sunday, it will be Hamilton’s turn.
Hamilton roared with delight over the team radio before holding his head in his hands and then saluting the raucous crowd as he stood on top of the front-right tyre of the Mercedes machine which carried him to his ninth pole in Hungary and 104th in all. A cursory handshake for Verstappen followed.
“I’ve lost my voice from shouting so much in the car,” said Hamilton, moments after stepping out of his cockpit.
In the official press conference reserved for the top-three drivers, Hamilton added: “I forgot what it feels like to sit in this spot. He (Verstappen) has been hogging it for a while.
“I don’t think I breathed for the whole lap, I held my breath. I was so out of breath at the end. It is an extraordinary feeling.
“I have not been here for such a long time. Even with the success I have had before, and this is my 104th pole, it feels like the first. It is hard to explain how special it feels.”
Hamilton trailed Verstappen by 0.126 sec prior to the concluding runs. But he usurped the Dutch driver, who failed to improve on his last lap, with his final throw of the dice. He was the last man to cross the line.
“I witnessed those special moments and the days he used to have, and today was one of those,” said Rosberg, who beat Hamilton to the 2016 title.
“That lap is like perfection, it is art. Only Lewis Hamilton can do that.”
Hamilton has won more times in Hungary than anybody else, and claimed his first victory in Mercedes colours at this venue a decade ago.
“Last year we were nowhere,” said Hamilton. “I have always had belief that if we apply ourselves the right way we would get there, and it was just a question of how long that would be?
“But we started this season with the twin sister or twin brother of the previous year’s car. It felt identical and that was worrying.
“When you lose that confidence you shed a lot of time. I had no confidence in the car. It was so nervous, and it felt like I was treading on eggshells.
“I started out this season with very little confidence, but bit-by-bit I got the thing on the right tracks, so the confidence has finally come back.
“We have been on this journey of undoing the wrong decisions we have taken and it has taken far longer than we hoped, but we are starting to see those benefits.”
Converting his 104th pole into his 104th victory will not be an easy task for Hamilton. Verstappen has won eight of the 10 rounds so far and his Red Bull team are unbeaten this season.
“We tend to have decent race pace,” concluded Hamilton. “Max’s race pace yesterday in practice was quite extraordinary. They were quicker than us.
“But if there is a way to hold position then maybe there is a fighting chance for us. I am as keen as I am to win tomorrow as I did for my first win in Montreal in 2007.”
England’s prospects of levelling the Ashes were just about alive after Joe Root claimed the only wicket of a rain-ruined fourth day at Emirates Old Trafford.
Just 30 overs were possible during a gloomy afternoon, with the morning and evening sessions wiped out by the weather, as Australia finished 61 runs behind on 214 for five.
With the forecast dreadful again for the fifth and final day, England badly needed to make inroads but hit a brick wall as Marnus Labuschagne converted his overnight 44 into a vital 111.
Labuschagne has had a lean series by his own high standards but stepped up for his side to nudge them closer to the draw that would guarantee the urn joins them on the flight back to Australia.
At 2-1 down England need to find a way through the showers to square the ledger and force a decider at the Oval next week.
Labuschagne shared a 103-run stand with Mitch Marsh as the duo threatened to shut the door completely.
Indeed, had he finished not out things would have been even more precarious, but Root made the most of an unexpected role with the ball to land an important blow.
England were only using their part-time spinner due to bad light, with the umpires deciding that the visibility had deteriorated too much for the seamers to operate, but his unpredictable style added a new threat to an attack that had fallen flat in tricky conditions.
England’s pace unit had already been neutralised by the damp outfield, which softened up the ball and wrecked their chances of getting it to swing.
With first-choice spinner Moeen Ali looking out-of-sorts as he struggled to find any rhythm, Root took it upon himself to press the issue.
He served up a variety of different deliveries, getting some to kick and holding others back to gain drift.
He almost had Labuschagne on 93 when he sent one down seam up and shaped it away, but a thick edge sailed hard and fast past Zak Crawley at slip.
Labuschagne landed blows of his own, launching Root for two sixes over wide long-on, and made his way to three figures for just the second time on foreign soil and the 11th overall.
There were just four overs left when Labuschagne stepped back in his crease and shaped to cut Root on a tight line around off stump.
Jonny Bairstow did well to hold the edge, parrying it up initially but gathering safely, with the batter’s unsuccessful call for DRS earning him an extra send-off from a crowd who had waited all day for something to celebrate.
He left Marsh to carry on the fight with 31 from 107 deliveries, a watchful knock that saw him shelve his natural attacking instincts.
Root mustered a half-chance against the all-rounder late on, but Harry Brook was unable to grab a fiercely tricky one-handed catch at short-leg.
With Cameron Green joining Marsh at the crease, Australia will feel they have enough to withstand whatever England can throw at them on day five and perhaps creep into a lead of their own.
England’s seamers had a tough time of it, with the quartet of James Anderson, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood and Stuart Broad labouring without luck before being withdrawn by the officials.
With no real demons in the pitch, precious little sign of low bounce and a ball that died a little every time it was stroked into the wet grass, it took Wood’s pace to conjure anything out of the ordinary.
He cranked it up to 93mph in a bid to take conditions out of the equation, but the closest he came to making it tell was a nasty blow to Labuschagne’s finger.
Michael Beale knows Rangers duo Kemar Roofe and Tom Lawrence will now be desperate for more game time after both returned to action after lengthy spells in a friendly against Hamburg at Ibrox.
First-half goals from attacker Fashion Sakala and captain James Tavernier, with a penalty, had the Light Blues comfortably ahead at the interval and before a slew of substitutions took place.
Amid the replacements, Nigeria forward Cyriel Dessers – signed from Cremonese – made his home debut with Roofe coming back to action after a hip injury had kept him out since February, with fellow attacker Lawrence making his first appearance since August 2022, after he had recovered from a knee problem.
Hamburg substitute Jean-Luc Dompe curled in a fantastic free-kick in the last minute to make it 2-1 but the Gers boss was left with only positive vibes.
“Tom has come back after 10 months out,” said Beale, who is “confident enough” of getting in Ecuador midfielder Jose Cifuentes – after an agreement was reached with Major League Soccer side Los Angeles – before the opening cinch Premiership game against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on August 5.
“He (Lawrence) has been training outstandingly but you can see he needs to pick up his fitness. Almost a year out is a long time.
“It was always going to be towards the end of August when he could really put his foot to the floor and be at the maximum of being back, back.
“He’s racing ahead. In training, when we’re doing the smaller, tighter stuff, he looks fantastic and shows his quality.
“We know that there’s a step from that to a real game but it’s wonderful to have him back, similar to Kemar, two players that we were robbed of last season.
“Kemar and Tom are not the easiest people to manage because they want to play games.
“As much as I want to push them along slowly, they’ll have an opinion on that as well.
“But I think we have a real strength in the forward positions. I wanted to end the Hamburg game with Sam (Lammers) in behind Cyriel and Kemar because it’s something I’m looking at.”
Beale was pleased with the cameo appearance of Dessers in the second half as he highlighted the attacking options he had on the pitch by the end of the game.
The former QPR boss said: “You could see with Cyriel and Kemar that they’re very similar. As a partnership, they could be very, very interesting.
“They’ve probably both done about five or six days of pre-season so you’re seeing them at 30 or 40 per cent fit.
“I think Dessers will be one of three or four players who can get us double figures in goals this season.
“If we’re a good team, we’ll share the goals out. But Cyriel has come in and he’s really fresh, energetic. We’re trying to get as many forwards as we can on the pitch.
“We ended the game today with Dessers, Roofe, Lammers, Lawrence and Cantwell so it’s very front foot.”
Beale previously admitted interest in Feyenoord’s Brazilian forward Danilo, with the Ibrox club reported to have offered £5million for the 24-year-old.
The Rangers boss said: “There’s nothing less or more on Danilo. There’s lots of speculation about bids being accepted or rejected – it’s somewhere in between.
“It’ll either come to fruition or it won’t. He’s a good player but we’re not the only team interested. And he’s not the only target we have either.
“Out of respect for Arne Slot and Feyenoord, the negotiations should stay quiet. Where it goes, we’ll wait and see.”
Tadej Pogacar outsprinted Jonas Vingegaard to victory on stage 20 of the Tour de France in Le Markstein, but it was the Dane who could begin celebrating the defence of his title ahead of Sunday’s procession into Paris.
Pogacar proved unable to challenge Vingegaard for yellow in the final week of this race as his hopes evaporated in the Alps, but he made a point on the final mountain test as he beat Vingegaard in a five-man sprint at the end of the 133km stage from Belfort.
Felix Gall snuck ahead of Vingegaard for second place on the day, while Simon Yates and Adam Yates came in fourth and fifth, results that seal third overall for Adam and move Simon up to fourth after an early crash left Carlos Rodriguez bloodied above his left eye.
Vingegaard will carry a lead of seven minutes and 29 seconds on to the Champs-Elysees on Sunday as he celebrates his second Tour crown at the age of 26.
“The second one is really amazing,” the Jumbo-Visma rider said. “Of course there’s the stage tomorrow into Paris and we have to be careful not to do anything stupid, but to take my second victory in the Tour de France I almost can’t believe it.”
The front five finished 33 seconds ahead of Warren Barguil and Thibaut Pinot, who dared to dream that the final mountain stage of his last Tour de France – raced on his home roads – could end in victory when he went clear from a breakaway with 30 kilometres left.
But Pinot was caught on the last climb as Pogacar, Vingegaard and Gall went away before being joined by the Yates twins, with Adam proving the lead-out for Pogacar in the sprint.
“Today I finally feel like myself again,” Pogacar said. “It was just really good from start to finish, to feel good again after many days suffering and to pull it off in the finish I’m just super, super happy.
“Adam did a super job. I was waiting for him to come back…I know him now well, he led me out really good and thanks to him it was a bit easier to prepare for the final, less nervous and I’m super happy the team did such a great job once again.”
Both Yates twins could celebrate their best overall result in the Tour, with Adam improving on his fourth place from 2016.
“For me personally third is the best result I’ve ever had in a Grand Tour so obviously I’m pretty happy,” the UAE Team Emirates rider said. “We’re a little bit disappointed as our goal was to get yellow, but in the end there was only one guy better than us.”
For the first two weeks it was one of the closest Tours in history, but in the space of two days Vingegaard’s 10-second advantage became seven-and-a-half minutes as Pogacar was beaten by the Alps.
There had been questions over the Slovenian’s form before the Tour given his lack of racing since he broke his wrist in April, but Vingegaard’s dominance goes beyond the struggles of others, as shown by the near 11-minute gap to Adam Yates in the overall standings.
He beat Pogacar by 98 seconds in Tuesday’s time trial, but just as notable was the near three minutes between him and team-mate Wout Van Aert in third place. The way Vingegaard rode then away from the other favourites on the Col de la Loze a day later was the mark of a champion.
“It’s been a crazy battle we had over these last three weeks,” Vingegaard added. “I think it’s been a really really nice ray to watch and also for us.
“I appreciate the battle I’ve had with Tadej. It’s been an amazing fight since Bilbao and hopefully we’ll do it again in the future.”
Jon Rahm felt he had played his best round of links golf after shooting up the Open leaderboard with a stunning 63 on Saturday.
The Spaniard leapt from two over par to six under at Royal Liverpool with a flawless third round featuring eight birdies.
It was the lowest recorded round in an Open at Hoylake and fired the Masters champion into contention for his third major title.
The 28-year-old said: “That’s the best round I’ve played on a links golf course ever.
“It is my lowest round on a links course and it is in the Open championship. It’s the lowest round shot on this course. It feels really good but there is a lot of work to do tomorrow.”
Rahm’s round ignited with a run of four successive birdies from the ninth. He then finished with three more in the final four holes.
After much speculation about difficult weather over the weekend, the conditions were actually quite benign for most of the time Rahm was out on the course.
He said: “It was starting on 11 when everything became downwind and it became a lot easier. The wind conditions are what made the course change a little bit.
“The job today was to come out and give myself the best opportunity I could. Whenever you get a birdie, just thinking about one more. That’s simply all you can do.”
Rahm’s scoring was in contrast to his first two days, when he often cut a frustrated figure as he carded rounds of 74 and 70.
He said: “To be fair, I look frustrated very often! No, I was playing good golf and I knew what I was capable of.
“I was frustrated because, basically, mistakes that I made. That was it. I gave up shots that at major championships are very costly.
“But I don’t need to change anything from today, nothing at all.”
Rahm’s 63 eclipsed the best Open round of countryman Seve Ballesteros – 64 at Turnberry in 1986 – but he knows whose record in the tournament he would rather have.
He said: “I’d rather win three times and never shoot 63!”
Novakai could be set for immediate return to Group One level after stamping her class on the Ric And Mary Hambro Aphrodite Fillies’ Stakes at Newmarket.
Second to Commissioning in last season’s Fillies’ Mile, Karl Burke’s inmate kicked off her three-year-old campaign with a runner-up finish to subsequent Oaks heroine Soul Sister in the Musidora at York.
Novakai disappointed in her Classic bid in the French Oaks, but was the 5-2 favourite to get back on track in Listed company on the July Course.
Ridden by Sam James, the Lope De Vega filly could be called the winner a long way from home as she moved powerfully to the front.
Cloudbreaker came from the rear to throw down her challenge, but Novakai was away and gone entering the final furlong and had just under five lengths in hand at the line.
“She has won that well and I’m very happy with her. She loved that step up in trip and I think we can go back up to Group class again now,” said Burke.
“Early on in the year Sheikh Obaid was keen for her to try a mile and a quarter and target the Prix de Diane.
“I’m not sure it was the distance why she ran so poorly but she wasn’t on song and it could have been down to the travelling. She is a little bit quirky, but her temperament is lovely.
“After that Sheikh Obaid gave me free rein with her so I decided to step her up in trip. She is out of a stout staying mare and she was always going to improve going up in trip and she has proved that today.”
The winner holds entries in the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood and the Yorkshire Oaks, but Burke will not rush into a decision.
He went on: “She is in the Yorkshire Oaks and whether that is too big of a jump I’m not sure but we will get her home and have a chat with Sheikh Obaid.
“I’m hoping I can persuade Sheikh Obaid to leave her in training next year as she will only improve and there are some nice staying races for fillies like her.”
Five-time Olympic champion Dame Laura Kenny has announced the birth of her second child.
Kenny and her husband Sir Jason, winner of a British record seven Olympic titles, welcomed son Montgomery on Thursday evening.
In a post on Instagram on Saturday showing Montgomery asleep alongside his brother Albie, Laura Kenny wrote: “Welcome to the world Montgomery George Kenny. Born 20/07/2023 Weighing 9,0lbs at 7.59pm.”
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The Kennys announced in January that they were expecting their second child.
Albie was born in 2017, but in November 2021 they suffered a miscarriage and then an ectopic pregnancy in January 2022.
Kenny became pregnant at the delayed Tokyo Olympics, where she won Madison gold alongside team-mate Katie Archibald, adding to the titles she had taken at London 2012 and Rio 2012.
Jason won the last of his Olympic golds in Tokyo in the keirin. The following January he retired from racing to become coach of the Great Britain men’s sprint team.
Joe Root kept England’s hopes of a series-levelling win alive in the fourth Ashes Test, dismissing centurion Marnus Labuschagne on a rain-affected fourth day.
The worst fears of a washout at Emirates Old Trafford were not realised, with persistent showers finally clearing in time to get play under way at 2.45pm, but a stand of 103 between Labuschagne and Mitchell Marsh threatened to shut the door on the hosts.
Labuschagne made a defiant 111 to nudge his side closer to a draw that would see Australia retain the urn but was finally removed when he nicked Root’s occasional off-spin to Jonny Bairstow, who gathered well at the second attempt.
That left the tourists 214 for five, 61 behind having ended day three 167 adrift.
Root was only bowling due to bad light, with the umpires deciding that conditions were too gloomy for the seamers to take part, but his unpredictable offerings provided the biggest threat and he was unlucky not to have Labuschagne caught at slip on 93.
England’s pace unit had already been neutralised by the damp outfield, which wrecked English hopes of getting the ball to move through the air and eventually led to a change after it went soft and lost shape.
Mitchell Marsh was not out on 31 at the tea break, having eaten up 107 deliveries for his side in a knock that forced him to curb most of his attacking instincts.
England began by rotating James Anderson, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood and Stuart Broad but the quartet were unable to find a way past Labuschagne and Marsh.
Wood cranked it up to 93mph in a bid to take the placid pitch out of the equation but the closest he came to breaking the partnership was a nasty blow to Labuschagne’s finger.
The number three has endured a modest series by his own high standards but came good at an important time for his team, registering his 11th Test ton and his second overseas.
He accelerated when the umpires insisted on England turning to spin, taking advantage of an out-of-sorts Moeen Ali, who could not get his length right, and plundering two sixes off Root.
But the former captain’s tendency to mix it up with a variety of different deliveries was causing problems. He sent one down with the seam up, drifting it through the air and taking Labuschagne’s edge as he closed in on three figures, but the extra pace on the ball saw it fly past Zak Crawley’s left ear and race away for four.
After getting his man on the cut, Root almost grabbed another when Marsh propped forward and offered a tough chance to Harry Brook at short leg. He thrust a hand out but could not cling on.
The rain began to come down again in the interval, leaving England praying that there is enough time in the game to force a result.
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