Andrew Flintoff will get his first chance to make a mark on The Hundred as his Northern Superchargers side kick off the tournament’s 2024 draft on Wednesday.
The former England captain and 2005 Ashes hero will act as head coach for the Headingley-based side this summer, marking a formal return to cricket following some ad-hoc mentoring work with the national side this winter.
Superchargers finished bottom of the men’s table last year under Flintoff’s predecessor James Foster, meaning they have first pick this year as the teams fill their squads in an event being hosted at the Shard, with Birmingham Phoenix starting the women’s draft.
There are 75 places to fill across the men’s and women’s competitions, including a total of 26 spots for overseas talent.
Flintoff’s Superchargers have one of their top-tier £125,000 contracts up for grabs, as well as three lower-priced deals on offer.
The biggest foreign names on the table include Australia’s David Warner, New Zealanders Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell, Nicholas Pooran of the West Indies and Pakistan pair Babar Azam and Naseem Shah.
England’s 2019 World Cup winner Jason Roy, released by Oval Invincibles this year, is also available but has narrowed his field of options by setting a high reserve price of £100,000.
Given his expected participation in the American Major League Cricket, which has a minor scheduling clash with the Hundred, the hard-hitting opener may find himself unsold.
Dawid Malan – a former T20 world number one batter and the competition’s top run-scorer two years ago – is on the shelf at £50,000 and England’s Test vice-captain Ollie Pope comes in at a minimum of £40,000 after departing Welsh Fire.
Tom Kohler-Cadmore, currently tuning up for the Indian Premier League with Rajasthan Royals, was a winner in 2022 with Trent Rockets but is also waiting to find out where he will be plying his trade this time around.
The wicketkeeper-batter, who is hoping to nudge his case for England honours after a busy winter on the franchise circuit, told the PA news agency: “I’m looking forward to seeing where I go. I’ve always loved playing in the Hundred and the standard compares to anywhere I’ve played in the world.
“I feel like I’ll be coming back a better player from my experiences and the Hundred is a great benchmark to elevate yourself. We’ve seen guys getting picked by England based on their performances and I want to push myself forward.
“It’s best versus best and we know there’ll be three ‘gun’ overseas players in every team, so if you’re performing, you’re likely to get noticed.
“In the past I’ve played alongside great spinners like Adil Rahsid, Ish Sodhi, Tabraiz Shamsi and with batters like Joe Root, Alex Hales and Dawid Malan. The levels in training are so high and I can’t wait to find out who I’ll be joining up with this time.”
Amy Jones and Lauren Filer, who are both with England in New Zealand, are looking for new homes after leaving Birmingham Phoenix and London Spirit respectively.
Star names from the all-conquering Australia Women’s side are sure to attract plenty of interest, with Meg Lanning, Beth Mooney, Ashleigh Gardner and Annabel Sutherland vying for attention alongside the likes of Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deandra Dottin, Chamari Athapaththu and Suzie Bates.
Representatives from last year’s winning teams, Southern Brave and Oval Invincibles, will be present at the Shard to make their picks, while others dial in remotely and make selections online during each 90-second window.
Having dominated the Cheltenham Festival, Willie Mullins has set his sights on the Boylesports Irish Grand National on April 1 – with unexposed novice Nick Rockett likely to be all the rage.
The champion trainer is seeking a third win overall in the richest jumps’ race run in Ireland and back-to-back victories after the unlikely success of I Am Maximus 12 months ago.
Nick Rockett has been allotted 10st 13lb in the weights by handicapper Sandy Shaw, with Gordon Elliott’s Galway Plate winner Ash Tree Meadow top of the pile.
Three Cheltenham Festival victors are towards the top in Corbetts Cross (11st 10lb), Inothewayurthinkin (11st 9lb) and Limerick Lace (11st 7lb), but having kept his powder dry, Mullins might just have the ideal candidate.
“Nick Rockett has performed well around Fairyhouse and I love horses for courses,” said Mullins.
“Paul (Townend) was very happy the last day he won around the course and we thought instead of going to Cheltenham that we should maybe aim for Fairyhouse. That’s what we have been doing and we are very happy with how he is.
“He jumps, has won over the track, is a novice coming up the ranks, has a nice weight and Paul is very happy to ride him. That is more than enough and he ticks all the right boxes, I think.
“We have to get him there in the right order and at the moment I am very happy with him.”
Regarding his other entries, Mullins said: “This race comes into play for Stattler now, if he’d run at Cheltenham (Cross Country Chase was abandoned) he would maybe have gone to Aintree, but he’s now in the running to run here.
“Monkfish was disappointing at Cheltenham so wouldn’t come here, Mr Incredible only ran the other day so it’s too close, the same with Adamantly Chosen. Embassy Gardens and James Du Berlais the same.
“Bronn was disappointing in Naas, but if I could get him back right he could go there. Minella Cocooner has run well there, has the credentials, stays all day and has a nice weight as well.
“Ontheropes is 36 (on the ballot) but I think he is more or less in and is our other likely runner.
“It took us a long time to win it. My father had won it four times so it was an itch that needed scratching and then winning it with Burrows Saint for Rich Ricci and with Ruby Walsh, that capped it.
“It gave me as much pleasure as winning any race.”
For Shaw, Mullins’ comments have him “shaking in his boots”.
“An awful lot handicap themselves and it is obviously the novices that we look to as they are the ones that have more improvement in them,” he said.
“The three Cheltenham winners are in but we can reassess them, the difference is that Willie’s Nick Rockett didn’t go – he has me shaking in my boots the way he’s talking!
“He’s been held back and it was certainly the right thing to do, I think. Novices are always hard to rate because you have to rate them on what they have done, not on what we think they might do so there is a chance Nick Rockett could be well handicapped.
“The only thing is he has only run seven times in his life. He’s unexposed as a result, but it will be a question of if he can handle the hurly burly of the race. Other than that he does look the one. He could have a few pounds up his sleeve, we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Jamaica’s Samuel Ricketts emerged champion at Cuba’s Torneo International competition when he defeated top seeded Yeison Alvarez two sets to one in Sunday's final in Havana.
After ousting the third seed Matthew Abela in the semis 21-17 21-3 in just 37 minutes on Saturday, the second seeded Ricketts outplayed Alvarez in the final 21-18 7-21 21-19 in the hour-long title decider.
In women’s play, Jamaican Tahlia Richardson advanced to the semis where she was narrowly beaten 12-21 23-21 27-25 by Nikte Sotomayor, the Guatemalan top seed who lost the final to Cuban Taymara Pupo.
Guyanese Priyanna Ramdhani reached the quarterfinals where she lost to Pupo.
Grant Hanley has withdrawn from the Scotland squad for the friendlies against Netherlands and Northern Ireland as Norwich strive to get the defender back to full fitness.
The 26-year-old has made nine appearances for the Canaries since returning on Boxing Day after eight months out with an Achilles injury.
However, Hanley has missed his club’s last two matches in the Championship after limping out of their defeat at Middlesbrough earlier this month.
It was confirmed by the Scottish Football Association on Tuesday morning that Hanley will not feature in Scotland’s upcoming friendly double-header, meaning he will not have played for the national team for more than a year by the time Steve Clarke selects his squad for the European Championships.
Norwich manager David Wagner said after Saturday’s win at Stoke that, after conversations with Hanley and the club’s fitness and medical staff, they had agreed to “pull him out of team training because he is not as explosive and as sharp as he was when he was on his best.”
“He is a very physical centre-half,” added Wagner. “If he is physically on his best then he is one of the best, or the best, in the division. We have to make sure, and he feels the same, to get him back to that level.
“So we now pull him out of team training and we give him a proper individual programme in the next couple of weeks, or how long it will take, to get back to that level.
“Obviously, we all together know it was a very serious injury and it takes time, even if we are happy that his Achilles is fine. But we have to get him back to the explosive, sharp Grant Hanley he was before his injury.”
It remains to be seen if Scotland will call up a replacement centre-back for Hanley, who won the last of his 48 caps in the home win over Spain a year ago.
Paul Gallacher revealed how Zander Clark and Craig Gordon are pushing each other to new heights as he backed the two Hearts goalkeepers to go to Euro 2024 with Scotland.
Clark and Gordon are both currently with Steve Clarke’s squad preparing for friendlies against Netherlands and Northern Ireland, alongside fellow goalkeepers Angus Gunn of Norwich and Motherwell’s Liam Kelly.
The Scotland boss has said that – barring injury – three of those four will go to the Euros, and Hearts goalkeeping coach Gallacher would be “immensely proud” if he is waving both of his main men off to Germany this summer.
“They’ve both worked ever so hard to get to where they are, both for different reasons,” the former Scotland goalkeeper told the PA news agency.
“It’s a privilege to work with the two of them and I truly hope they both go to the Euros.”
Gordon, 41, was the undisputed number one for both Scotland and Hearts prior to sustaining a career-threatening double leg break 15 months ago.
Clark took the gloves at Tynecastle after Gordon’s injury and has held on to them since the veteran returned to contention in December.
The 31-year-old former St Johnstone keeper has kept 14 clean sheets in 30 league matches this term and also won his first three Scotland caps in the first half of the season.
Gallacher has been impressed with how both men have dealt with their respective challenges over the past year and a bit.
“Craig’s back, he’s absolutely back,” said the goalie coach. “You see him make saves every day in training and you just go ‘yep, that’s him back’.
“He’s got himself into a fantastic condition, he’s back to where he was before the injury. He’s top-notch, he’s world class at times, he really is.
“Obviously he’s not getting any younger but he keeps on pushing, and I think that’s pushing Zander on as well. You can see the level Zander’s hit. From where he was to where he is now is night and day.
“He was a good goalkeeper when he first came to the club but he has kicked on under severe pressure.
“Not a lot of folk could cope with that pressure of coming in to replace Craig Gordon, a Hearts legend, but he’s stood up and done it, which is no easy feat. That cannot be underestimated.
“There has been pressure on both of them but they’ve dealt with it brilliantly.”
Gunn appears to have become Scotland’s first-choice keeper since Gordon’s injury, but Gallacher is adamant both Hearts goalies would be perfectly equipped mentally and physically to play against Group A opponents Germany, Hungary or Switzerland in June if required.
“I know from working closely with them how the two of them can handle occasions,” said Gallacher, who won eight Scotland caps between 2002 and 2004.
“Zander, the way he’s playing, could handle it no problem at all. And Craig, with the number of caps he’s got (74), could be pitched in no problem at all.
“I know it might come across as biased but I’d have no qualms at all about either of them being in that starting line-up.”
Gallacher laughed off any notion that their mutual determination to play for club and country might have had a detrimental effect on the relationship between Gordon and Clark, who has been restricted to just three Scottish Cup outings since his rival’s return.
“They’re brilliant, honestly, there is no animosity whatsoever,” he said. “They’re great guys, brilliant to be around.
“But when they’re on that pitch, they push each other. They’re all about trying to improve and striving to be the number one for this football club.
“We are truly blessed to have two guys of that calibre battling for the number one jersey at Hearts.”
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has warned against the prospect of Manchester United trying to land superstar signings like Jude Bellingham or Kylian Mbappe.
The Ineos chairman is taking control of footballing operations at United following his recent minority purchase and wants to turn them back into the force they once were.
However, he believes spending big on marquee signings is not the way to prosper.
Appearing as a guest on Geraint Thomas’ Cycling Club podcast, the 71-year-old was asked whether he would try and sign England star Bellingham.
He replied: “He is a great footballer. It’s not where our focus is, the solution isn’t spending a lot of money on a couple of great players.
“They have done that, if you look at the last 10 years, they have spent a lot of money on a couple of great players.
“The first thing we need to do is get the right people in the right boxes who are managing and organising the club.
“And make sure we get recruitment right, it is such a vital part of football today.”
Later in the podcast he was given a choice of signing Mbappe for United or cyclist Tadej Pogacar for his Ineos team and he said: “I would rather sign the next Mbappe rather than spend a fortune buying success.
“It’s not that clever buying Mbappe. Anyone could figure that one out. More challenging is to find the next Mbappe or next Bellingham or next Roy Keane.”
Radcliffe is working with his long-term right-hand man Dave Brailsford at United, with Omar Berrada incoming as chief executive.
And he said it would be a “longer road” to make United great again.
“The two people who are most focused on it would be Dave and myself, in terms of how we resolve it all,” he added.
“We’ve now got Omar Berrada of course, our new CEO from Manchester City, who is still on gardening leave at the moment, he’ll be a big part of it.
“But it’s Dave and myself really.
“You have to believe with Manchester Utd, if we get all the details right, all the right people in the right boxes, doing the right things in the right environment, that sporting elite environment that the results will drop out the bottom.
“Those things are not right at Manchester United today as we’ve said very clearly.
“It’s not a light switch, it’s a much longer road to travel because there’s so many aspects to it.”
D'Angelo Russell earned the plaudits of coach Darvin Ham after he tied Nick Van Exel's franchise record for 3s in a single season for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Russell went 6-for-10 from the 3-point line in a 136-105 demolition job of the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.
The 28-year-old finish with 27 points and 10 assists as the Lakers bounced back from successive defeats.
Russell has now shot 183 3-pointers this season, tying Van Exel's all-time single-season Lakers record, which was set in 1994-95. To get there, Russell had to surpass the late Kobe Bryant, who sunk 180 3s in the 2005-06 campaign.
It left Ham to laud the star guard, with the Lakers coach saying: "He has a green room. Not a green light [to shoot]. A green room.
"His prowess from the 3-point line, you know, it's really, really elite. And we need every bit of it."
Russell added: "It's really cool, honestly, just to know that, to get credit for it.
"It's just really cool. I said I don't want to underdo it, understate it, overdo it. I just feel like it's really cool to just be a part of something like that.
"I think I did something like that in Brooklyn, as well. Just to get credit for your game and what you work through and showcase it every night."
Indeed, Russell set the Nets' record for 3s in a season, with 234 in the 2018-19 campaign.
Russell's teammate Anthony Davis looks forward to a new franchise record being set when the Lakers face the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.
"He's able to get going and fill up the stat sheet with his scoring, and it's a big thing for him, big thing for us as a team," Davis said Russell.
"Obviously, there's been a lot going on around D-Lo, and just to be able to do that and us embrace him and he sees that, feels the love, that's good for him."
David Menuisier is keen to plunder more cross-Channel prize money with star three-year-old colts Sunway and Devil’s Point this spring.
The former signed off his juvenile campaign with a valuable Group One triumph in the Criterium International over a mile at Saint-Cloud.
Devil’s Point, meanwhile, warmed up for his Futurity second at Doncaster behind Ancient Wisdom by finishing a fair fourth in Group Three company at the same French track.
Both are entered in the Qipco 2000 Guineas and Menuisier insists he would not be scared of taking on City Of Troy at Newmarket, declaring: “He’s only made of flesh and bones like all the rest.”
However, the West Sussex-based handler is currently exploring other options in his native country.
Menuisier said: “Sunway could well start in the Prix Fontainebleau on April 14 at Longchamp, but he will also be entered in the La Force, which is over nine furlongs on April 7.
“That’s because a lot of the big guns are going to meet on the 14th in the Fontainebleau and I always like to think outside of the box.
“So, the La Force could be a good alternative, because I think the horse will stay really well and his main target in the first half of the season will be the Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby).
“It’s early days, but to me that’s his first big target, whether we run in the Poule (d’Essai des Poulains, French 2000 Guineas) before that, we could – I’m still open minded on which way we go.”
Devil’s Point was prominent throughout the Futurity before being outstayed by Ancient Wisdom at Doncaster on heavy going.
On his plans, Menuisier added: “Devil’s Point is likely to run in the Prix Djebel in France at Deauville on April 9, which is a Group Three over seven furlongs and should suit him really well.
“He’s entered in the 2000 Guineas, he’s entered in the Poule d’Essai des Poulains and he’s entered also in the German Guineas, but it will all depend on his first run and I’ll take it from there.
“We’ve been discussing it with the owners for the best part of six months and we are not completely convinced that he stays a mile very well.
“Even in the Futurity, he came to win his race and I thought then he wasn’t really seeing out the trip.
“So, that’s why I want to start over seven first of all and then after that there’s a chance that we might even drop in trip.”
Former World Series champion Chase Utley has promised a “fantastic experience” when Major League Baseball returns to London this summer.
The 2024 MLB season officially gets under way on Wednesday with a two-game series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres in Seoul before the regular season begins on March 28.
This summer, on the weekend of June 8-9, the latest MLB London series will take place when the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies go head-to-head in England’s capital.
London Stadium will host two matches between the sides in what will be the third time the sport has been taken to Britain after previous series in 2019 and last year.
Utley, who helped Philadelphia claim 2008 World Series success, said: “You’ll have the Phillies and Mets, two fantastic teams, two rivals in the same division.
“They’ve been rivals for around like 70 years and you’ll see some of the best players in the world.
“You’ll see fireworks, activities on the field in between innings, live music, you’ll have American-standard baseball food, which consists of hotdogs, nachos and burgers!
“Overall, it’s just a fantastic experience.”
Utley was in Brent Cross last week at The 108, a state-of-the-art dedicated indoor baseball facility, and put England white-ball captain Jos Buttler through his paces before he learned some of the key principles of cricket.
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The sporting crossover occurred due to cricket heading across the pond this summer when the T20 World Cup is hosted in America and West Indies during the same time of the latest MLB London series.
Former second baseman Utley retired in 2018 and splits his time between the United States and his new London home as part of his ambassador role for MLB Europe.
The 45-year-old feels cricket is slowly starting to break through in the USA, adding: “It’s probably as much as baseball penetrates here in the UK, so a bit, yes.
“Here, obviously football, from what I’ve seen in a short amount of time, is the sport that for sure everyone watches and then cricket is second place to that.
“In America, you have American Football and then you have basketball or you have baseball that are kind of bounced back and forth.
“It’s exciting to see that cricket is going to the United States to play because I’ve seen some amateurs playing in the park. You’re starting to see it more and more over the last few years that I was there.”
The next goal for Utley is to actually watch a cricket match live after brushing up his knowledge with Buttler last Wednesday when the meaning of ‘Bazball’ alongside the difference between Test and white-ball cricket was discussed.
“I’ve watched a fair share but I still haven’t seen it in person,” Utley said.
“At some point I need to see it in person. I’ve watched it on TV and it took me a little while, but I imagine it’s the same for watching baseball.
“It takes you a while to understand the nuances, the terminology and actually what is going on in the moment, but once you can wrap your head around it and make some sense, it’s very entertaining.”
New York Mets will play Philadelphia Phillies in the MLB World Tour: London Series 2024 on June 8-9 at London Stadium. Tickets are on sale now at ticketmaster.co.uk/MLB
Emma Raducanu has suffered another injury setback after withdrawing from the Miami Open ahead of her first-round match.
The 21-year-old, who was given a wild card, was set to play China’s Wang Xiyu on Tuesday but has been forced to pull out of the tournament due to a low back injury, the WTA has announced.
It is another blow for Raducanu in her attempts to establish herself as a consistent presence on the WTA Tour.
View this post on InstagramThe former US Open champion spent the second half of last year recovering from ankle and wrist surgery that saw her sidelined from May, the latest in a long line of injury problems since winning at Flushing Meadows in 2021.
She made her return at the start of this year and showed promising signs by making the third round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells before losing to Aryna Sabalenka.
Raducanu’s withdrawal in Miami casts doubt over her availability for Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup tie with France on April 12-13.
Emma Raducanu has suffered another injury setback after withdrawing from the Miami Open ahead of her first-round match.
The 21-year-old, who was given a wild card, was set to play China’s Wang Xiyu on Tuesday but has pulled out of the tournament amid reports of a lower back injury.
It is another blow for Raducanu in her attempts to establish herself as a consistent presence on the WTA Tour.
View this post on InstagramThe former US Open champion spent the second half of last year recovering from ankle and wrist surgery that saw her sidelined from May, the latest in a long line of injury problems since winning at Flushing Meadows in 2021.
She made her return at the start of this year and showed promising signs by making the third round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells before losing to Aryna Sabalenka.
Raducanu’s withdrawal in Miami casts doubt over her availability for Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup tie with France on April 12-13.
What the papers say
Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling will give Saudi Arabian clubs the cold shoulder this summer, the Evening Standard reports, with the 29-year-old England international – who was booed by Blues fans at the weekend – set on helping the Stamford Bridge club get their hands on silverware next season.
Borussia Dortmund would be keen to bring on-loan winger Jadon Sancho back to the club on a permanent basis, but only if Manchester United are willing to accept half the £73million they bought the England international for in 2021, the Mirror reports.
Chelsea striker Cole Palmer, 21, is to be rewarded with a new and improved contract after an impressive start to life at Stamford Bridge following his summer move from Manchester City, says Football Insider.
Social media round-upPlayers to watch
Joshua Kimmich: Bayern Munich are open to selling the Germany midfielder, however he is only interested in joining Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Real Madrid or Barcelona, writes Florian Plettenberg.
Eddie Nketiah: Wolves are in the hunt to sign the England striker, 24, who may leave Arsenal in the summer, reports Teamtalk.
Alex Ovechkin scored twice to reach the 20-goal mark for the 19th time in his career and help the resurgent Washington Capitals earn an important 5-2 victory over the Calgary Flames on Monday.
Ovechkin's 20th and 21st goals of the season, both of which came on power plays in the second period, sparked the Capitals' third straight win. Washington is now 10-4-1 since Feb. 17 and one point ahead of the slumping Detroit Red Wings in the race for the Eastern Conference's final wild-card spot.
Dylan Strome and Tom Wilson each contributed a goal and an assist to the victory, with Strome recording the lone goal of a first period in which Washington goaltender Charlie Lindgren made 12 of his 34 saves.
Ovechkin's goals came 3:18 apart in the second period and pushed the Capitals' lead to 3-0. The future Hall of Famer became the sixth player in NHL history with 19 seasons of 20 or more goals.
Kevin Rooney put Calgary on the board with 9:19 remaining in the second before Hendrix Lapierre restored Washington's three-goal advantage with 5:38 left in the period.
The Flames fought back by recording 13 third-period shots and pulled to within 4-2 when MacKenzie Weegar rocketed the puck past Lindgren 7:13 into the frame.
Lindgren stood tall the rest of the way, however, before Wilson put the game out of reach with an empty-net goal with 2:29 left.
Dustin Wolf stopped 28 of 32 shots for Calgary, which had a two-game winning streak halted.
Skinner's hat trick helps Sabres rout Kraken
Jeff Skinner recorded a hat trick and helped the Buffalo Sabres to a fast start which carried them to a 6-2 drubbing of the Seattle Kraken.
Skinner, Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch all had goals in the first 5:41 of the game to spark Buffalo's fourth win in its last five outings. The surge has moved the Sabres within four points of a play-off spot in the Eastern Conference.
Thompson and Tuch added assists during Buffalo's early barrage, which came after Jordan Eberle gave Seattle a quick 1–0 lead just 24 seconds into the contest.
Thompson tied the game a mere 25 seconds later, however, and Skinner and Tuch soon followed with goals as the Sabres scored on three of their first four shots to prompt the Kraken to pull goaltender Joey Daccord less than six minutes in.
Seattle got one goal back before the conclusion of the period when Matty Berniers converted a power play, but failed to solve Buffalo's Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen the rest of the way.
Luukkonen stopped 32 shots, including all 18 he faced in the third period.
After Owen Power's goal midway through the second period put Buffalo up 4-2, Skinner fired a shot past Seattle replacement netminder Philipp Grubauer just 42 seconds later.
Skinner completed his first hat trick of the season by beating Grubauer on a rush with 1:59 left to play.
Grubauer finished with 23 saves in Seattle's fifth consecutive loss (0-4-1).
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