England will be hoping for calmer conditions as they seek a match-winning lead in the first Ashes Test, having lost both openers during a hostile spell under lights at Edgbaston.
The home side lost two wickets for two runs during an short but intense 20-minute period on the third afternoon, with Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley unable to survive under dark, floodlit skies.
Rain arrived to spare England any further losses and they will resume on Monday just 35 ahead. Joe Root and Ollie Pope are the men at the crease, tasked with taking the game away from a touring side who will fancy their own chances of setting up a finish.
The forecast looks encouraging for day four, but the prospect of more unsettled weather on Tuesday means things may need to move quickly for either team to assume full control.
Robinson riles Australia
Ollie Robinson could be on the verge of replacing Stuart Broad as public enemy number one in Australia. Having whipped up the pre-series rhetoric by predicting England would give their rivals “a hiding”, he reacted to bowling out centurion Usman Khawaja with a blunt, expletive-heavy send off. He drew plenty of criticism for his outburst, not least on social media, but was unrepentant in his media rounds. He suggested he was merely adding to the “theatre” of the series. He went on to accuse the opposition of playing “defensive” cricket and having “three number elevens”. Expect things to get spicy when he takes the crease.
Mo’s woes
As far as birthdays go, Moeen Ali’s 36th was one to forget. The returning off-spinner started his morning by being fined 25 per cent of his match fee for using an unauthorised drying spray on his hands during the previous evening’s play, then shipped three sixes in a loose four-over spell.
More worryingly, Moeen appeared to be struggling with an open blister on his right index finger and there are some concerns over how he will pull up ahead of what should be a central role in the fourth innings. He has already bowled 33 overs, seven more than he managed in the entirety of the recent Indian Premier League season. With the pitch beginning to take turn, England will need plenty more out of him to justify their decision to cajole the all-rounder out of retirement.
Big number
Jonny Bairstow made a dashing run-a-ball 78 at a crucial time in the England innings, but that was also the exact number of runs his three missed chances behind the stumps cost his side in the field. A botched stumping of Cameron Green and two dropped catches off Alex Carey helped Australia get within seven of England’s total and invited familiar talk of Ben Foakes’ impeccable glove work. Bairstow is inked into this side for the long haul but he will be hungrier than ever to make a big contribution in the remainder of this game.
Head wins over the Hollies
Travis Head’s back-and-forth with the Edgbaston crowd continued on day three, with fans in the Eric Hollies Stand enjoying every chance they got to get under his skin as he fielded on the boundary rope in front of them. But when Australia emerged after a long rain break in the afternoon, Head charged ahead of the pack and sprinted over to take his position at deep square leg with uncharacteristic gusto. The gesture drew a warm cheer from his tormentors, who warmed to him.
On the first day of the Test, Head put a target of his back with some sloppy fielding efforts that saw him drop Harry Brook and then fumble a boundary soon after. Head played along when the crowd mockingly cheered him for a straightforward stop a few moments later and raised his hand in acknowledgement, drawing a further cheer from the crowd.
England’s fielding adjustments
The ultra-attacking fields set by Ben Stokes have become a key tenet of his captaincy over the past year. But even by his own standards, the pattern he set for Khawaja in the 112th over was audacious. He conjured an ‘umbrella’ field – a semi-circle of close catchers with three on each side of the wicket – in an attempt to unsettle a man with 141 runs to his name. Khawaja obliged immediately as Robinson delivered an accurate yorker, missing with an unusually wild stroke. The Australian took the bait, charged down the track and paid with his off stump.
The San Francisco Giants recorded their first sweep of a three-game series at Dodger Stadium in over a decade with Sunday's 7-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Logan Webb threw seven effective innings and LaMonte Wade Jr. and Luis Matos each had two RBIs as the surging Giants swept a three-game series from their storied rivals on the road for the first time since Aug. 20-22, 2012.
San Francisco has now won seven in a row overall and is 22-9 since May 15, the best record in the major leagues over that span. The Giants have also won nine straight on the road for the first time since April 23-May 15, 1966.
Webb won his second straight start by allowing two runs while scattering eight hits and two walks.
The slumping Dodgers left 11 on base and finished 2 of 13 with runners in scoring position in their fourth loss in five games. Tony Gonsolin struck out seven in 5 2/3 innings for Los Angeles but was tagged for seven runs.
Resurgent Reds finish sweep of Astros, extend win streak to eight
The upstart Cincinnati Reds continued an impressive run of their own with Sunday's 9-7, 10-inning win over the Houston Astros that completed a three-game series sweep of the defending World Series champions.
Cincinnati scored three times in the top of the 10th en route to its eighth consecutive victory, the team's longest winning streak since a 10-game surge in July 2012.
Jake Fraley led the Reds' offensively by going 2 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs. Spencer Steer added a two-run homer and Jonathan India had a solo shot for CIncinnati, which is now 13-2 on the road since May 26.
Alex Bregman and Yainer Diaz each went 3 for 5 with an RBI in the struggling Astros' ninth loss in 12 games.
Red Sox sweep doubleheader, series from rival Yankees
Brayan Bello struck out a career-high eight over seven outstanding innings to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 4-1 win over the New York Yankees that completed a doubleheader and series sweep of their longtime rivals.
In Sunday's opener, Connor Wong and Alex Verdugo had consecutive two-out RBI doubles during a three-run sixth inning that lifted Boston to a 6-2 victory. Verdugo added two hits and two runs scored in the nightcap, with one of those runs coming on a catchers' interference call in the fourth inning.
The Red Sox rolled to a 15-5 rout in Friday's series opener and have now taken five of six meetings from the Yankees this season. Boston went 6-13 against New York in 2022 and last swept a three-game series between the two AL East foes in June 2021.
Bello held the Yankees to one run on four hits while walking three, while Kenley Jansen fanned two in a scoreless ninth to record his 15th save.
Gleyber Torres accounted for all of New York's scoring in the opener with a two-run homer in the first inning. The Yankees have lost four in a row and are 4-8 since 2022 American League MVP Aaron Judge hurt his toe on June 3 and subsequently went on the injured list.
American Wyndham Clark won the 123rd US Open on Father’s Day, but his thoughts immediately turned to his late mother at Los Angeles Country Club.
Lise Clark introduced her son to the game of golf and was a massive influence on his career before her death from breast cancer in 2013.
Making just his seventh major start, Clark carded a closing round of 70 to finish 10 under par and a shot ahead of four-time major winner Rory McIlroy, with world number one Scottie Scheffler two strokes further back.
“I just feel like my mom was watching over me today,” an emotional Clark said at the presentation ceremony. “She can’t be here… miss you mom.
“She was so positive and such a motivator in what she did. She’d be crying tears of joy (now). She called me ‘winner’ when I was little.
“When she was sick and I was in college, she told me, ‘Hey, play big’. Play for something bigger than yourself. You have a platform to either witness or help or be a role model for so many people.
“I know she’d be proud of me. I feel like I have worked so hard and dreamed about this moment for long. So many times I’ve visualised being here in front of you guys winning this championship.”
McIlroy was left to rue making just a solitary birdie on the opening hole as his wait for a fifth major title and first since 2014 goes on.
“The golf course was playing really tricky and obviously the scores in the final few groups reflected that,” said McIlroy, who matched Clark’s closing 70.
“There was a couple of things that I probably would have done differently, but all in all, I played a solid round of golf.
“That one wedge shot on 14 (which plugged in the face of a bunker), missed birdie putt on eight – really apart from that, I did everything else the way I wanted to.
“It’s fine, fine margins at this level and at this tournament especially, but I fought to the very end. I obviously never give up.
“And I’m getting closer. The more I keep putting myself in these positions, sooner or later it’s going to happen for me. Just got to regroup and get focused for the Open at Hoylake in a few weeks’ time.”
American Wyndham Clark held his nerve to win his first major championship in the 123rd US Open as Rory McIlroy once again missed out on a fifth title.
Clark, a 120/1 outsider at the start of the week, carded a closing 70 at Los Angeles Country Club to finish 10 under par, a shot ahead of McIlroy.
McIlroy’s only birdie of his own 70 came on the opening hole and his sole bogey on the 14th helped give Clark the breathing space he needed to complete a hard-fought but deserved victory.
The world number 32 only won his first PGA Tour title last month and had missed the cut in his previous two US Opens, while his best finish in any major was a tie for 75th in the 2021 US PGA.
In contrast, McIlroy has now recorded 19 top-10 finishes since winning the last of his four majors in the 2014 US PGA – a month after claiming the Open at Royal Liverpool, footage of which had influenced his somewhat conservative approach this week.
Starting the final round a shot off the lead, McIlroy made the ideal start with a two-putt birdie on the first and Clark did likewise, only for the American to three-putt the second.
Clark hit a superb approach to the par-three fourth and converted the birdie putt from five feet, before picking up another shot on the short sixth.
McIlroy missed from four feet for birdie on the par-five eighth, seemingly opening the door for Clark to extend his lead in the group behind.
But Clark found a bad lie in the tall rough with his approach and needed two attempts to escape before getting up and down from the back of the green to drop just one shot.
Another shot looked likely to go when Clark missed the ninth green and was faced with an awkward shot from the bank of a bunker, but he cleverly played beyond the flag and utilised the contours of the green to draw the ball back to seven feet and save par.
A flop shot Phil Mickelson would have been proud of ensured Clark also saved par on the 11th and he increased his lead when McIlroy’s run of 12 pars ended with a bogey on the 14th.
McIlroy was perhaps fortunate to get a free drop when his approach became embedded in the face of a greenside bunker, but he was unable to get up and down for par.
Clark then struck a brilliant approach on to the green from 282 yards and two-putted for birdie from 20 feet to extend his lead to three.
That cushion was short-lived as Clark bogeyed the par-three 15th and then found sand off the tee on the next as McIlroy crucially holed from seven feet for par up ahead.
With no chance of reaching the green, Clark laid up into the fairway before hitting a superb third to seven feet, only to miss the par putt.
But with McIlroy unable to find a birdie to increase the pressure, Clark bravely parred the last two holes to seal the win.
World number one Scottie Scheffler finished two shots behind McIlroy in third, with Open champion Cameron Smith fourth and Tommy Fleetwood, Rickie Fowler and Min Woo Lee sharing fifth.
Fleetwood had earlier come agonisingly close to making major championship history after carding a stunning closing 63, the Ryder Cup star missing from five feet for birdie on the 18th.
That would have seen Fleetwood shoot the first 62 in the final round of a major, the record having been set by Branden Grace in the third round of the 2017 Open and equalled by Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele on Thursday.
It is the second time Fleetwood has carded a 63 in the final round of the US Open – he also missed a short putt for a 62 at Shinnecock Hills in 2018 and finished a shot behind Brooks Koepka.
“Missed a six-footer on the first (for birdie), missed a five-footer on the last, and then everything in between was really, really good,” Fleetwood said with a smile when asked to sum up his round.
“I just need to be higher up the leaderboard coming into Sunday and then have another day like today.”
Asked about being the only player to shoot two closing 63s in the US Open, Fleetwood added: “It’s a nice little piece of history, of course, it is.
“And you can be disappointed with what I didn’t get out of today, but I think having something like that and shooting multiple 63s in a major, anything you can put in the memory bank and know your game can stand up on a major golf course and shoot low scores is really nice to have.”
After missing out on the 2000 Guineas due to injury, Huntsman signalled his readiness to challenge for the St Leger next month, as he won the Mr Lover Lover Trophy, a Restricted Allowance II event for native-bred three-year-olds (non-winners of two) and imported three-year-olds and upward (maiden), in impressive fashion at Caymanas Park on Sunday.
Trained by Ian Parsard, Huntsman, who was out for the third time in his budding career, dismantled the field by some 16 lengths and completed the nine furlongs and 25 yards (1,820m) journey in a respectable 1:58.2. The splits were 27.3, 53.1, 1:17.2 and 1:43.2.
This was Huntsman's second win, with his next performance being a second-place finish behind 2000 Guineas winner and leading St Leger contender, Mojito. As such, the 10-furlong St Leger to be contested on July 1, promises a great confrontation between the two and there are still some late-developing three-year-olds likely to have an impact.
Though he welcomed the win as a good indicator that Huntsman is more comfortable over distances, Parsard said it is still a wait-and-see approach with Huntsman regarding the St Leger, as his main target is the blue riband Jamaica Derby over 12 furlongs.
"I didn't think he had a realistic chance against Mojito in the Guineas, I think Mojito is way ahead of the three-year-old crop quite frankly, and I think coming out of the (eight-furlong) shoot, we wouldn't have had much of a chance," he said I'm reference to Huntsman's absence from the opening Classic event.
"We have to be a little bit gingerly with this horse, he has some issues, but we decided to take our chances coming two turns, so we will see, at least he won here so we will keep going. He is making good steady progress, he didn't have a lot of competition so he was allowed to dictate the pace, but in the Classic races, he won't have that luxury so hopefully we will see if he can progress from here. If he comes out of this well, then we will shoot for the St Leger, but the main objective is the Derby," Parsard added.
Partnered with jockey Reyan Lewis, Huntsman left the gates well and was kept slightly outside Burlap (Dane Dawkins) in the clubhouse turn before gaining the ascendancy on the backstretch.
Despite being in a tight hold, Huntsman continued to widen the gap, especially after leaving the half-mile, and from there it became a mere formality as his rivals had no response to his devastating late kick.
Burlap was best of the rest in second position with From Sheer To Ben (Anthony Thomas) and Life Is Life, finishing third and fourth respectively.
Huntsman was one of two winners for Lewis on the nine-race card, as the leading rider also won aboard Inspire Force for trainer Philip Feanny in the seventh race.
Also with two winners on the day were former three-time champion jockey Anthony Thomas and current champion jockey Dane Dawkins.
Thomas piloted Aava Jaelyn in the sixth race for trainer Donovan Thompson and Mrs Lyndhurst for trainer Steven Todd in the eighth race, while Dawkins won aboard Casual Peach for trainer Barrington Bernard in the fourth race and Get A Pepsi for trainer Errol Burke in the last race.
Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald hit out at the USGA after amateur Gordon Sargent saw a putt at the US Open amazingly bounce out of the hole.
Sargent’s par attempt from two feet on the 18th hole in Sunday’s final round was struck perfectly into the centre of the cup, but leapt back out on to the green.
The 20-year-old was still guaranteed to finish as the leading amateur following a 69 which left him four over par, but Donald was not impressed with the tournament organisers.
“This is unacceptable! Does the @USGA go fix this mid round? This should never happen,” Donald wrote on Twitter.
The USGA said the bizarre situation had been caused by the hole being damaged by a player or caddie in the previous group of Ryan Gerard and Mackenzie Hughes.
“A member of the group ahead inadvertently adjusted the hole liner when removing the flagstick,” the USGA said. “Unfortunately, we were not informed of any damage. It has since been adjusted back into place.”
The Phoenix Suns and Washington Wizards are close to completing a blockbuster trade that will send three-time All-Star Bradley Beal to Phoenix and veteran guard Chris Paul to Washington, ESPN reported Sunday.
Washington will also acquire guard Landry Shamet and multiple second-round picks, and the deal is also expected to include a swap of draft picks.
Beal's agent, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed to ESPN that the teams have a framework for a trade in place and his client will waive his no-trade clause.
"This was an extremely complicated process with so many different hurdles to get through, and [Wizards owner] Ted Leonsis and [Wizards president] Michael Winger were unbelievable partners in making this happen," Bartelstein said.
After missing the playoffs in four of the past five seasons, Beal now joins a star-laden Suns squad that figures to be among the preseason favourites in the Western Conference. The move gives Phoenix three of the league's 10 players to average 23 or more points per game in each of the last five seasons in Beal, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
Beal had spent his entire 11-year career with the Wizards, who selected the former University of Florida star with the third overall pick of the 2012 draft, and had shown great loyalty to a franchise that has failed to get past the first round of the playoffs in six consecutive seasons. He re-signed with Washington on a five-year, $251 million max contract last summer.
But with Beal turning 30 later this month and the Wizards coming off a 12th-place finish in the Eastern Conference, the sharpshooter had become more open to a trade.
"From the day that Ted drafted Brad he has been by our side along with [former general managers] Ernie Grunfeld and Tommy Sheppard.," Bartelstein told ESPN. "They've always had Brad's back in every way, and now we have experienced the exact same thing with Ted and Michael Winger. We are extremely grateful."
Beal has averaged 23.2 points per game in each of the past two seasons but has been slowed by injuries in both, as he played in just 40 games in 2021-22 and 50 last season. He shot a career-high 50.6 per cent from the field in 2022-23, however, and is a career 37.2 per cent shooter from 3-point range who has averaged 22.1 points in 695 overall games.
It's unclear if the rebuilding Wizards intend to keep Paul. The 38-year-old's $30.8 million salary for 2023-24 is partially guaranteed, and ESPN reported it's possible the proposed trade could include a third team that would send Paul to a contender.
Shamet, a 38.8 per cent career 3-point shooter who has averaged 8.9 points per game over five NBA seasons, just completed the first season of a four-year, $42.5 million extension - though the final two years of that deal are non-guaranteed.
Spain held their nerve to win the UEFA Nations League final by beating Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a goalless 120 minutes in Rotterdam.
Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal converted the winning spot-kick after Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon had saved efforts from Croatia’s Lovro Majer and Bruno Petkovic.
Spain’s triumph saw them seal a fifth major trophy and become the second nation after France to have won the World Cup, European Championship and the Nations League.
Manchester City pair Rodri and Aymeric Laporte, who scored and missed for Spain respectively in the shoot-out, have won a fourth major trophy of the season.
Croatia, who beat the Netherlands 4-2 after extra time in their semi-final on Wednesday, had been hoping to win their first major tournament.
Spain did not have one shot on target in a poor first half of regulation time, while Laporte’s last-ditch tackle thwarted Andrej Kramaric, and Ivan Perisic’s header forced Simon into a diving save.
Spain went close in the 58th minute when Marco Asensio headed their best chance up to then just over from the over-lapping Jordi Alba’s cross.
Croatia responded through Mario Pasalic’s header, after another ball in from Perisic, before Spain stepped it up, with Fabian Ruiz’s chipped effort and Asensio’s shot on the turn both going close.
Spain went closest to breaking the deadlock in the 86th minute when Perisic blocked Ansu Fati’s shot on the goal-line following fellow substitute Mikel Merino’s cut-back.
Croatia substitute Majer was also denied by last-ditch defending as his shot after a counter-attack was blocked by Nacho in the first period of extra time.
Spain threw caution to the wind in the second period and finished the game on top.
Dani Olmo and Asensio had shots deflected for a corner and Rodri’s effort was blocked as the third Nations League final went to penalties, with Carvajal converting a nerveless winner.
Earlier on Sunday, Italy beat the Netherlands 3-2 in the third-place play-off in Enschede.
Roberto Mancini’s side, who sealed Nations League bronze for the second tournament running, made a flying start as Federico Dimarco and Davide Frattesi put them 2-0 up in 20 minutes.
Steven Bergwijn reduced the deficit for the Netherlands midway through the second half, but Federico Chiesa struck Italy’s third four minutes later.
Georginio Wijnaldum ensured a nervy finale with the Netherlands’ second goal in the 89th minute, but it was not enough to prevent a third defeat in four games under boss Ronald Koeman, in his second stint in charge.
Tommy Fleetwood came agonisingly close to making major championship history as the battle for the 123rd US Open looked set to be an unusually low-scoring affair.
Fleetwood began the final round 12 shots off the lead, but carded a stunning closing 63 at Los Angeles Country Club to surge through the field.
And it could have been even better for the Ryder Cup star as he missed from five feet for birdie on the 18th.
That would have seen Fleetwood shoot the first 62 in the final round of a major, the record having been set by Branden Grace in the third round of the 2017 Open and equalled by Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele on Thursday.
Fleetwood birdied the second, holed from six feet for eagle after driving the green on the short par-four sixth and birdied the eighth and ninth to reach the turn in 30.
The back nine has played far tougher than the front all week, but Fleetwood hit a brilliant tee shot on the 295-yard 11th to set up another birdie and then holed from 20 feet for eagle on the 14th.
A bogey on the 16th looked to have ended his chances of a 62 until he hit a superb approach to the last, only for the birdie chance to go begging.
It is the second time Fleetwood has carded a 63 in the final round of the US Open – he also missed a short putt for a 62 at Shinnecock Hills in 2018 and finished a shot behind Brooks Koepka.
Max Verstappen completed another crushing performance in Canada on Sunday to match Ayrton Senna’s tally of 41 victories – and then promised to keep the good times rolling.
A day after taking pole position in the wet, Verstappen reigned supreme in the dry at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to beat Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton and move into joint fifth in the pantheon of Formula One winners.
Even an early collision with a bird could not stop the flying Dutchman, with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner revealing that his star driver completed the majority of Sunday’s 70-lap race with part of the animal lodged in his brake duct.
Verstappen will not celebrate his 26th birthday until September, but his sixth victory from the opening eight fixtures of the year leaves only Hamilton (103), Michael Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51) ahead of him in the record books.
“When I was a little kid driving go karts, I was dreaming about being an F1 driver and I would never had imagined I would win 41 grands prix,” said Verstappen, who also notched up Red Bull’s 100th victory in the sport.
“To tie with Ayrton is incredible and I am proud of that but I hope it doesn’t stop here. I hope we keep on winning more races.
“It is also a great achievement for the team. We knew this was the first opportunity to win 100 races. I am happy that is done, but I hope we will win more than 100 so the new target is 200.”
Remarkably, Verstappen has won 15 of the last 19 races in F1, with Red Bull failing to taste victory on just one occasion in that streak.
Red Bull could yet become the first team to win every race in a single season. And with Verstappen at the wheel – rather than team-mate Sergio Perez who finished only sixth on another trying weekend for the Mexican – they have every chance.
Verstappen’s triumph – his fourth in succession – was all but sealed on the short dash to the opening chicane after he fended off a slow-starting Alonso.
Hamilton, who gazumped Alonso, set his sights on Verstappen’s Red Bull gearbox, but by the end of the opening lap, the seven-time world champion was eight tenths back – and when a virtual safety car was deployed on lap eight after Logan Sargeant broke down in his Williams, the gap was the best part of three seconds.
With Verstappen racing off into the distance, Alonso was the filling in a Mercedes’ sandwich. But that changed on lap 12 when George Russell slammed into the wall on the exit of Turn 9.
Russell’s front wing snapped in half, while his right-rear tyre dangled off his Mercedes. With debris littering the circuit, the safety car came out and the main players stopped for new tyres as Russell pulled in for repairs.
After changing all four tyres, Hamilton was released into Alonso’s path. Alonso said he had to slam on the anchors to avoid running into the back of the Mercedes man, and the flashpoint was duly noted by the stewards, and latterly investigated, but the British driver would escape without punishment.
The safety car came in five laps later and Verstappen executed a fine getaway to leave Hamilton trailing. Indeed, after the opening two turns, he was already one second up the road.
Rather than looking ahead, Hamilton’s attention was occupied by Alonso behind. And on lap 22, the Spaniard dived past Hamilton with a fine move at the final chicane.
Hamilton had a nibble back at Alonso as they raced to the opening corner, but the evergreen Spaniard held his nerve to keep the Mercedes man behind. Russell raced back from last to eighth before he was forced to park a Mercedes riddled with excessive brake wear with 15 laps remaining.
Verstappen took the chequered flag 9.5 sec clear of Alonso. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished fourth and fifth respectively for Ferrari. Alex Albon crossed the line a commendable seventh in his Williams.
Paddy McNair believes Northern Ireland still have it all to play for in Euro 2024 qualifying despite the disappointment of Friday’s defeat to Denmark as they turn attentions to taking on Kazakhstan.
Michael O’Neill said he was “not thinking about qualification” in the wake of a frustrating night, on which VAR ruled out a stoppage-time equaliser from debutant Callum Marshall, but with nations taking points off one another in Group H, McNair said everything was still open at this stage of the campaign.
Four teams, including Kazakhstan, are level on six points in the group, with Northern Ireland fifth on three after their opening victory over San Marino in March.
“Now we have a big game against Kazakhstan and if we can win that, the position is fine then, but it is a big game,” said McNair, who has been described as an injury doubt for Monday’s match with an Achilles problem.
“With Finland beating Slovenia it shows you how tight this group is going to be, probably until the end.
“We knew everyone was going to beat each other at points. Denmark were always going to be the favourites as the Pot 1 team, but I believe second is definitely up for grabs. I know other nations will feel exactly the same way, too.”
The VAR check that denied Marshall and Northern Ireland took a full five minutes before eventually ruling that Jonny Evans was offside before heading on Jordan Thompson’s free-kick.
The controversy overshadowed an encouraging performance from Northern Ireland that went unrewarded, with Denmark edging the contest after Jonas Wind punished a mistake from Ciaron Brown – who was otherwise excellent on the night.
“I thought we did really well,” McNair added. You come away to these places and you really have to dig in, which we did. We got ourselves to half-time and then to concede so soon after was frustrating.
“But we bounced back well from that and I thought we caused them problems. There are a lot of young lads in this team and I think the entire experience will have been good for them.”
Friday’s frustration can serve as its own motivation for Monday as Northern Ireland look to deliver a win in front of their home fans.
“I don’t think it will be difficult to lift everyone after Friday night,” McNair said. “The performance was good, obviously it was disappointing but there were a lot of positives to take from it. It’s not like we came away to Denmark and didn’t lay a glove on them and got beaten three or four.
“Their players and manager even said on the pitch afterwards what a tough game it was, so it’s frustrating but we go again.”
“Michael was very happy with the performance. We were all disappointed in the result and although we’ve lost the last two we aren’t in a bad place and we are really looking forward to Monday.
“Friday’s performance has given the young lads, and the rest of us, that confidence that we can go away from home and give the best teams a game and we always believe we can do that at home.”
Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton sealed a second World Cup of Darts trophy for Wales with a clinical performance in their 10-2 victory over Scotland’s Gary Anderson and Peter Wright in Frankfurt.
The 2020 champions had beaten Belgium in a nervy 8-7 thriller to reach the title decider against the Scots, who had eliminated German hosts Gabriel Clemens and Martin Schindler to set up the all-British final.
Price and Clayton quickly cruised to a 3-0 lead before Wright took out 93 to hold and secure the Scots’ first winning leg.
Victories in five successive legs for Price and Clayton, however, gave the Scottish duo a mountain to climb but they clawed back another leg win through Anderson’s 12-darter to make it 8-2.
That was the end of the celebrations for ‘The Flying Scotsman’ Anderson and PDC world number two ‘Snakebite’ Wright, however, as Wales soon found themselves one away thanks to Clayton equalling his match-highest 116 checkout in the 11th.
Price was off-target in the 12th, missing three darts at double 18 before Clayton stepped up to seal the result.
The Iceman Price credited his team-mate for the win, telling Sky Sports: “Honestly I think I struggled a little bit in that game. Jonny was the one to pick our trophy up. He won it for us tonight.
“He was fantastic at scoring, checking out. I was there in between but he was clinical. Fair play to Jonny. What a player, absolute gentleman as well.
“It’s a difficult sport against the best players in the world week-in and week-out and to win by that margin is a little bit flattering. We’re thrilled to win and Jonny carried me tonight, so happy days.”
The Scots were still in good spirits as Anderson lavished praise on his opponents, though joked he might not feel so festive come the end of the year.
He said: “The Welsh have got a cracking darts team. We tried, and we’re not getting any younger bit we’ll still try.
“You’ve got Gerwyn, what he’s done in darts over the last few years and you’ve got the Ferret (Clayton) – I ain’t sending him no Christmas card this year.”
The final was a much smoother affair for the 2023 champions than their semi-final, which saw them narrowly evade a Belgian comeback.
Dimitri van den Bergh and Kim Huybrechts had already ensured there would be a new winner in the revamped tournament after ousting defending champions Australia to reach the last eight.
Price and Clayton, who lost to the Aussies in last year’s final, looked to have put the contest in cruise control when they were two legs from advancing at 6-3 but the Belgians rallied to force a deciding leg.
Scotland, meanwhile, dashed Clemens and Schindler’s dreams of reaching a fairy-tale final in front of the home support after the Germans had shocked England’s top-seeded Rob Cross and Michael Smith to advance with an 8-3 victory in the quarter-final.
Clemens and Schindler won three successive legs to make it 7-2 and it ultimately proved too significant a deficit for Cross and Smith to overcome.
Lewis Hamilton said he was honoured to be fighting two world champions after finishing behind Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso at the Canadian Grand Prix.
In his newly revamped Mercedes machine, Hamilton claimed his second podium in succession, a fortnight after he finished runner-up to Verstappen at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya.
“It is quite an honour to be up there with two world champions,” said Hamilton. “I was really excited to be third, and just trying to be in that mix.
“We didn’t have the pace today. We knew this would not be our strongest circuit because we struggle in the low-speed corners, and that was where I was losing time to Fernando and Max.
“But we are chipping away and I do believe we will get there at some stage. Our pace was better today so we are going in the right direction.”
Hamilton scored just one top-three finish in the opening six rounds of the year but the seven-time world champion will now head to the next round in Austria on July 2 with the momentum of two strong showings in Barcelona and Montreal.
The 38-year-old started third, and was up to second at the opening corner after he breezed past a slow-starting Alonso.
Hamilton kept ahead of Alonso at the first round of pit stops, but he could do little to prevent the evergreen Spaniard from regaining second place on lap 22 of 70.
“Aston Martin took a step ahead of us this weekend with their upgrades but we are working on bringing more upgrades to move forward,” added Hamilton.
“It is great to have this consistency and to be up on the podium.”
For Verstappen, the Red Bull man completed an emphatic lights-to-flag victory to finish 9.5 seconds clear of Alonso and move 69 points clear at the summit of the world championship.
It marked the Dutch driver’s 41st win in Formula One – to draw him level with triple world champion Ayrton Senna – and a century for Red Bull.
“To win the 100th grand prix for the team is incredible,” he said. “It is amazing and I never expected to be on these kind of numbers for myself, too.”
Max Verstappen completed another crushing performance to win the Canadian Grand Prix and match Ayrton Senna’s tally of 41 victories.
The Dutchman led every lap at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to draw level with Senna and extend his championship lead.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso finished runner-up, with Lewis Hamilton third for Mercedes. Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell retired on lap 55 of 70 following an earlier prang with the wall.
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished fourth and fifth respectively for Ferrari, with Sergio Perez sixth. Alex Albon crossed the line a commendable seventh in his Williams.
Verstappen, who notched up Red Bull’s 100th win in Formula One, now leads Perez by 69 points on his unstoppable march to a hat-trick of titles.
A day after taking pole position in the wet, Verstappen reigned supreme in the dry to emulate Senna and move into joint fifth in the pantheon of F1 winners.
Verstappen was not even born when Senna won his 41st and final race at the 1993 season-ending Australian Grand Prix. Senna lost his life the following year in Imola following a fatal crash at the Tamburello curve, aged just 34.
Verstappen will not celebrate his 26th birthday until September, but his sixth victory from the opening eight fixtures of the year leaves only Hamilton (103 wins), Michael Schumacher (91), Sebastian Vettel (53) and Alain Prost (51) ahead of him in the record books.
Remarkably, Verstappen has won 15 of the last 19 races in F1, with Red Bull failing to taste victory on just one occasion in that streak.
Indeed, Red Bull could yet become the first team to win every race in a single season. And with Verstappen at the wheel, they have every chance.
Verstappen’s triumph was sealed on the short dash to the opening chicane. Alonso was slow away from his marks, and Hamilton leapfrogged the green Aston Martin machine to take second spot.
Hamilton set his sights on Verstappen’s Red Bull gearbox, but by the end of the opening lap, the seven-time world champion was eight tenths back – and when a virtual safety car was deployed on lap eight after Logan Sargeant broke down in his Williams, the gap was the best part of three seconds.
With Verstappen racing off into the distance, Alonso was the filling in a Mercedes’ sandwich. But that changed on lap 12 when Russell slammed into the wall on the exit of Turn 9.
Russell’s front wing snapped in half, while his right-rear tyre dangled off his Mercedes. With debris littering the circuit, the safety car came out and the main players stopped for new tyres as Russell pulled in for repairs.
After changing all four tyres, Hamilton was released into Alonso’s path. Alonso said he had to slam on the anchors to avoid running into the back of the Mercedes man, and the flashpoint was duly noted by the stewards, and latterly investigated, but the British driver would escape without punishment.
After five laps behind the safety car, Verstappen executed a fine getaway to leave Hamilton trailing. Indeed, after the opening two turns, he was already one second up the road.
Rather than looking ahead, Hamilton’s attention was occupied by Alonso behind. And on lap 22, the Spaniard dived past Hamilton with a fine move at the final chicane.
Hamilton had a nibble back at Alonso as they raced to the opening corner, but the evergreen Spaniard held his nerve to keep the Mercedes man behind.
A second round of pit stops followed and Hamilton set about reeling Alonso in. But Russell’s race came to an end while running in eighth with 15 laps remaining when he was told to park a Mercedes riddled with excessive brake wear.
Alonso was also struggling with a brake problem and Hamilton sensed blood. “Hamilton is 1.9 seconds behind,” Alonso was told with eight laps to run.
“Copy,” replied the 41-year-old. “Leave it to me.” Alonso was true to his word, holding off Hamilton’s advances.
Verstappen ran across the second chicane with a handful of laps to run.
“I nearly knocked myself out on that kerb,” said the Dutchman with a chuckle before taking the flag 9.5 seconds clear of Alonso with Hamilton 4.5 sec further back.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
