British number one Cameron Norrie continued his preparations for Wimbledon with victory over American Frances Tiafoe in the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic exhibition event at the Hurlingham Club.

Norrie, who reached the last eight at Queen’s, made a solid start in the overcast conditions on Tuesday afternoon as he took the opening game on serve with an ace and then forced an early break chance to move 3-1 ahead.

World number 10 Tiafoe, who won the Stuttgart title on grass earlier this month, held to reduce the deficit to 5-3, but Norrie closed out the first set in the next game with a backhand winner down the line.

The pair last met in the quarter-finals at Indian Wells in March, Tiafoe winning in straight sets.

Norrie, who had made the semi-finals of Wimbledon last year, showed little sign of being troubled by recent his knee issue as he moved freely around the court to hold in the second set at 1-1.

Tiafoe survived a break point in the next game, then converted one of his own in the sixth before holding to open up a 5-2 lead and served out to level the contest.

Under the exhibition regulations, a 10-point match tie-breaker decided the winner rather than playing a third set.

Norrie secured the first mini-break at 6-4 after Tiafoe hit a wide return and then converted a match point on serve following another unforced error from the American to complete a 6-3 3-6 10-6 win.

The British number one is set to play at Hurlingham again on Thursday, when he is scheduled to take on Norway’s Casper Ruud.

Ben Stokes has revealed how an “awkward” changing room encounter with a new convert to Test cricket helped reinforced England’s commitment to ‘Bazball’.

England’s policy of all-out attack saw them lose the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston in a nerve-racking finale, with some high-profile pundits suggesting more pragmatism might be required to overcome Australia in the coming weeks.

Stokes was never likely to abandon his principles this week at Lord’s, not after spending a year making the case for a style he feels can help save the Test format, and there are good reasons to suggest he is on to something.

As well as winning 11 of their last 14 games, England attracted record television viewing figures in the series opener despite the result.

But for Stokes, the realisation that his methods were cutting through came in unexpected circumstances during a family break at Durham’s Seaham Hall hotel.

“I had a conversation in the men’s changing room at a spa about the game, which was a bit awkward,” he said.

“He said ‘are you the cricketer or do you just look like him?’ And I was like, yeah, it is me. He just said, ‘I went down to the pub after work and I don’t even follow cricket, I was just going to go down for a quick few’. He ended up having a few more and said he was just transfixed on the game.

“So when you hear stuff like that it obviously makes you feel good about what we’re doing, that it’s bringing a new fanbase to the game and it’s reaching people that it might never have reached before. That’s what we’re about.

“We’re all about growing the game and just making it bigger than what it is right now, and I think we’ve managed to achieve that quite well.

“When you take the game away and you have these people coming up to you and saying just how eye-catching and great it is to watch, you understand that what we are doing is very, very good.

“We always want to win every game we play, but if we don’t come away with the win at the end then let’s move on to the next game and let’s keep going.”

With Jofra Archer and Olly Stone already sidelined, England’s hunger for express pace will once again go unfulfilled at the home of cricket.

Stokes wanted to bring in the rapid Mark Wood to add a new dimension to his attack but the 33-year-old, who last played red-ball cricket in December, was unable to guarantee he could deliver at 100 per cent over five days and is instead targeting the third Test at Headingley.

Josh Tongue, who took five wickets on Test debut against Ireland earlier this month, has been called up instead, with Moeen Ali dropping out in part due to concerns over the wound on his right index finger which hampered his effectiveness at Edgbaston.

Having already lost first-choice spinner Jack Leach to a stress fracture, England may be starting to think their hopes of regaining the urn are doomed by misfortune, but Stokes credits Zak Crawley’s delivery of an old Chinese proverb with removing any such worries.

Crawley may seem an unlikely figure to take on the Eric Cantona role of athlete-turned-philosopher, but the Kent opener recited a parable to his team-mates, telling the story of a farmer whose apparent bad luck ends up bringing positive outcomes.

Asked if he felt circumstances were conspiring against his plans for the series, Stokes said: “You could think like that, but Zak actually made an unbelievable speech yesterday in the huddle. It was around a Chinese farmer and luck.

“One thing happens and it might not mean it’s the end of the world. You don’t know why things happen, if it’s for a good reason or not, it’s just one of those things to deal with.”

For Tongue, he has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make his mark on the biggest stage in English cricket.

“I’ve dreamt as a young kid growing up about playing in an Ashes series, so to get the nod now is that dream come true,” he said.

“I knew the step up from county cricket to international cricket would be a big one, and playing here at Lord’s was a very special moment for myself having never played here before.

“To then get five wickets against Ireland on my debut was an incredible feeling and should give me confidence ahead of another chance against Australia.

“I’m just looking forward to getting going and trying to do what I can to help the team.

“I feel like I can add a bit more pace and bounce to the attack and hopefully I can get a few wickets for the team as well. Whatever Stokesy asks me to do for the team I’m here to do it as best I can.”

A lot can change in a year – just ask Josh Tongue, who has gone through the emotional gamut of thinking his playing career might be over to providing England’s X-factor in a Lord’s Ashes Test.

Earmarked for success from an early age, Tongue’s accuracy and an extra yard of pace from a high action always attracted nods of appreciation and it seemed only a matter of time before England came calling.

But two years ago, the onset of a shoulder injury put any international dreams on hold in what became a 15-month battle that left him wondering at his lowest ebb whether he was finished at the top level.

Tongue even consulted the Professional Cricketers’ Association about alternative career options given the severity of the problem, which left him unable to feel his entire right arm, much less grip the ball.

Regular bouts of numbness and pins and needles flummoxed a couple of shoulder specialists, with two operations unable to provide any relief, while a third might have involved the removal of a rib.

Tongue acknowledged last month he had a “very rare injury to have as a cricketer”, but, just as all hope seemed lost, a third consultant detected an impingement in his arm artery after an ultrasound.

Rather than go under the knife again, an unorthodox suggestion of a Botox injection to the neck was prescribed, which led to Tongue back bowling again within a couple of months.

The jabs are not a cure – he has already had a second dose to get through the summer – but the initial hit alleviated his thoracic outlet syndrome to the extent he could return to action in August 2022.

“It was a bad time, but I’m feeling good now and I’m just glad to be back on the park and enjoying my cricket,” he said.

Despite a handful of appearances last year, Tongue was drafted into the England Lions squad to face Sri Lanka and he seized his chance in Galle, collecting an eight-wicket match haul, including a first-innings five for 76, in an unofficial Test on a track renowned for being a graveyard for seam bowlers.

Tongue, who began a lifelong association with Worcestershire aged six when he turned out for their under-10s, then saw his stock skyrocket after he snared the exalted Sussex pair of Steve Smith and Cheteshwar Pujara in an LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two match last month at New Road.

Getting a leg-before verdict over Smith was the feather in Tongue’s cap, even if the suspicion was the ball might have been climbing too high. With no DRS available, an aggrieved Smith had to trudge off.

“I’m calling it a bail-trimmer, it looks nice on the scorecard,” a beaming Tongue said afterwards.

He continued to showcase his appetite for the big occasion after answering England’s SOS for the one-off Test against Ireland in the absence of injury concerns James Anderson and Ollie Robinson.

Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes were sufficiently impressed to throw the strapping 25-year-old in at the home of cricket for his international debut, where he touched 91mph and took a second-innings five-for.

While his more experienced colleagues were selected for the Ashes opener at Edgbaston, he seems set to provide the point of difference as England go into the second Test with an all-seam attack at Lord’s.

Preferred to Mark Wood – the Durham man is quicker but concerns remain about his readiness to play a Test for now – Tongue will be hoping his success against Smith in particular was no one-off.

But he would be forgiven if he took a brief moment at some point this week to reflect with some satisfaction on just how far he has come in such a short space of time.

Azure Blue is on course for the Darley July Cup at Newmarket, as long as the ground is suitable for Michael Dods’ new sprinting star.

The four-year-old is on a steep upward curve, winning four of her last five races, the most recent of which was in the Group Two 1895 Duke of York Stakes.

She beat Highfield Princess there, albeit in receipt of 5lb, and with John Quinn’s mare performing with extreme credit in both the King’s Stand and the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot, the form looks strong.

“Azure Blue is in the July Cup and that is the plan as long as the ground doesn’t firm up,” said Dods.

“She is in good form and obviously it will be a tough race, but the plan is to go to Newmarket with her. She seems to love it at both tracks at Newmarket (three wins on the Rowley Mile and one on the July course to date).

“She didn’t go to Ascot and part of the reason for that was that the entries closed too soon so we came up with the plan of going for the July Cup.

“Had she had a run before the entries closed at Ascot then we would have probably entered her, but then it went pretty quick so whether she would have run is questionable.

“I think at the moment the speediest horse we had was Mecca’s Angel, but at this stage of her career I would put her up there with the best of them like Mabs Cross and Mecca’s Angel.”

Commonwealth Cup one-two Shaquille and Little Big Bear, older horses such as Kinross and Art Power and the likes of Lezoo and Meditate, remain in the mix.

A total of 19 stood their ground, although the American-trained Big Invasion was subsequently scratched, leaving 18.

British number one Katie Boulter insists successive first-round defeats have not dented her confidence ahead of Wimbledon following an early exit at Eastbourne.

Boulter was flying high after claiming her maiden WTA tour title at Nottingham on June 18 and expressed ambitions of one day becoming the world’s top-ranked player in an interview published on Monday.

But on Tuesday she failed to take her chances and was second best in a 6-4 7-5 defeat to world number 30 Petra Martic in the Rothesay International.

The 26-year-old’s loss in two hours and five minutes at a blustery Devonshire Park followed last week’s premature departure from the Rothesay Classic in Birmingham to limit her preparations for SW19.

“It wasn’t bad tennis – I’m playing someone ranked 30 in the world, I’m having a go at her,” said Boulter, who was initially drawn to face world number 10 Barbora Krejcikova before the withdrawal of reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina led to a reshuffle.

“Of course it was tough conditions and we could have that at any tournament, you could have that at Wimbledon, and I have to be ready for it and try and play the best I can on the day.

“Ultimately her experience showed today and she played better in the biggest moments.

“I feel like I’m playing some really good tennis. I’ve practised unbelievably well every single day this week. I’ve played seven matches going into the grass, I’m very happy with where I’m at.

“I don’t think I’ve lost any confidence this last couple of weeks just because I lost to higher-ranked players. I really don’t feel that at all.”

Heather Watson suffered elimination shortly after Boulter following defeat to Italian Camila Giorgi.

Watson, one of two lucky losers to benefit from the withdrawals of reigning champion Petra Kvitova (fatigue) and Anastasia Potapova (right shoulder), lost 6-3 6-4.

“I was prepared because yesterday I heard Kvitova wasn’t going to play,” said Watson. “I was very happy that I had another opportunity, but she was too good today.”

In the men’s draw, Liam Broady won the battle of the Britons by beating fellow Wimbledon wildcard Jan Choinski in straight sets.

The British number five, ranked 147 in the world, 20 places above Choinski, eased through 6-3 6-4 after breaking serve at the first opportunity in each set.

German-born Choinski briefly threatened a comeback following a break of his own in the sixth game of the second, but Broady immediately hit back before capitalising on his third match point.

The 29-year-old from Stockport will face Mikael Ymer of Sweden in the next round after he defeated Dutch ninth seed Botic van de Zandschulp 3-6 6-4 6-2.

Elsewhere, last year’s runner-up Jelena Ostapenko set up a last-16 clash with Britain’s Harriet Dart.

The Birmingham champion defeated lucky loser Barbora Strycova, who had replaced the absent Kvitova, 6-4 6-3.

World number seven Coco Gauff will play Britain’s Jodie Burrage in round two after she cruised past fellow American Bernarda Pera 6-3 6-2.

Also on Tuesday, former Wimbledon and US Open finalist Ons Jabeur overcame Italy’s Jasmine Paolini 6-3 6-2, second seed Caroline Garcia beat American Madison Brengle 6-1 7-5 and Beatriz Haddad Maia battled back to triumph 3-6 6-3 7-6 (3) against Marie Bouzkova.

Frankie Dettori’s hopes of winning the one particular race missing from his CV before he retires appear to be over after he was handed an eight-day whip ban for his ride on Inspiral at Royal Ascot.

The Darley July Cup, at his home course of Newmarket, is the one domestic Group One to have eluded the 52-year-old, who will retire at the end of 2023.

He was hoping to have a final crack at it aboard Ralph Beckett’s dual Group One winner Kinross, but was found by the British Horseracing Authority’s Whip Review Committee to have used his whip seven times in the Queen Anne Stakes on John and Thady Gosden’s filly when second to Triple Time.

That is one over the allotted number of six on the Flat, which triggers a four-day ban – and as the race is a Group One that penalty is doubled.

With Dettori already due to be serving a nine-day ban due to run from July 4-12 inclusive for causing interference on Saga in the Wolferton Stakes – which he is appealing – his whip ban would begin after that suspension has been served, ruling him out of the July Cup on July 15. His dates of suspension for his whip ban are July 13-15 and 17-21.

Ross County forward Alex Samuel has signed a new two-year deal.

The 27-year-old has had an injury-hit two years with the Staggies after arriving from Wycombe but he headed his first goal for the club last month after returning from almost a year on the sidelines with a knee injury.

A club statement read: “He suffered an ACL injury which ruled him out for a large period of his time at the club but Alex returned from this and impressed in the second half of last season with his energetic performances coupled with his strength proving a real handful for defenders.”

England and Australia renew their battle for the Ashes on Wednesday with plenty on the line ahead of the second Test at Lord’s.

A two-wicket win for the tourists in Birmingham has put Pat Cummins’ side in the driving seat to retain the urn but the confidence of Ben Stokes’ men and their commitment to the aggressive ‘Bazball’ style remains undeterred.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the key talking points before the action gets under way at the home of cricket.

Australia braced for Tongue-lashing

Josh Tongue’s surprise inclusion in England’s XI continues his superb ascent since contemplating retirement from the game last year. Tongue impressed on his Test debut against Ireland at the start of June, but this will be a step up in opposition and occasion. While plenty had predicted England could go with an all-seam attack for the second Test, especially given Moeen Ali’s finger injury, Mark Wood had been expected to get the nod. Instead, Tongue will try to ruffle some Australian feathers with his pace and some short-pitched bowling.

Another day one declaration?

The knifes were out after England lost the thrilling series opener over the decision of captain Stokes to declare on the first day at Edgbaston with centurion Joe Root well set and England on 393 for eight. England’s vice-skipper Ollie Pope insisted there was method behind the so-called “madness” during his press conference on Monday and in truth, the bold choice – in keeping with the ‘Bazball’ style – ensured a result occurred on the final day. Could the same happen at Lord’s? You bet, with England wedded in their commitment to push the game on at every opportunity.

All eyes on Jonny

The instant post-mortem from Edgbaston also saw scrutiny heighten on Jonny Bairstow’s role behind the stumps. Bairstow, preferred at the start of this summer to Ben Foakes, endured a mixed display with a string of missed chances countered by his excellent 78 in the first innings. There was never any suggestion Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum would recall Foakes at Lord’s, but Bairstow will hope for a strong display with the gloves to quieten the doubters. The majority of the blots on his wicket-keeping copybook in Birmingham also happened in the first innings with the hosts hopeful that would have been down to rustiness.

Can Robinson’s ‘nude nuts’ deliver again

Ollie Robinson has copped plenty of flak since his headline-grabbing exploits in the first Test. An expletive-laden send-off to Usman Khawaja saw the Sussex seamer quickly become public enemy number one Down Under. Aussie greats Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke have dished out criticism – hilariously almost in order of their old batting positions – but the real theatre this week will be how Cummins’ current charges tackle the challenge of Robinson’s “nude nuts” that have claimed 71 wickets at an average of 21.15 in 17 Tests.

Will Aussie star duo fail again?

What made Australia’s series-opening victory all the more impressive was the minimal contribution by star batting duo Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, who made a combined total of 31 runs. Cummins sent a warning to England on Tuesday when he talked about how history suggests lightning will not strike twice when it comes to the reliable pair, with 41 Test centuries between them, potentially failing again at Lord’s. After Smith and Labuschagne tormented England in the last Ashes series here in 2019, the home of cricket is braced for more of the same.

Cheltenham have signed veteran defender Curtis Davies following his release by Derby.

It was announced in May that the 38-year-old would leave the Rams at the end of the 2022/23 season after six years at the club.

He moved to Pride Park in 2017 following Hull’s relegation from the Premier League, having played more than 170 times in the top flight for Aston Villa, West Brom and Birmingham as well as the Tigers.

He was part of the Hull side that narrowly lost the FA Cup final to Arsenal in 2014, scoring to put his side 2-0 up in the first half before they succumbed to a 3-2 extra-time defeat at Wembley.

Before that his two-and-a-half years at Birmingham saw him play alongside current Cheltenham boss Wade Elliott, with whom he will now team up in League One as they look to build on last season’s 16th-place finish.

“It feels good,” Davies told the club’s website. “It’s an exciting time for me, I never though I’d be able to get a new challenge like this at my age.

“I haven’t come here for a jolly-up. I haven’t come here to just wave goodbye to my career and down tools.

“I want to try and achieve something this year and I’ll be trying my very best to do that for Cheltenham Town.”

The Robins will embark on their third straight season in League One following promotion in 2021, with 15th- and 16th-place finishes in their last two campaigns representing the club’s highest ever placings in the English football pyramid.

Bluestocking showed enough in her performance at Royal Ascot last week to put herself in the picture for a tilt at the Juddmonte Irish Oaks later this month.

An impressive winner on her sole juvenile start at Salisbury, Ralph Beckett’s filly was being considered for the Betfred Oaks at Epsom prior to her narrow defeat by Warm Heart on her reappearance in a Listed contest at Newbury last month.

With the daughter of Camelot still showing signs of inexperience, the decision was made to bypass Epsom in favour of a tilt at the Ribblesdale Stakes – but while she again ran well in defeat, this time she was beaten almost four lengths into third place by the reopposing Warm Heart.

Barry Mahon, racing manager for owner-breeders Juddmonte, is of the opinion there should be more to come from Bluestocking and she could now head for the Curragh on July 22 in a bid for Classic glory.

“I was absolutely delighted with how Bluestocking ran,” he said.

“We saw how green she was in Newbury and Frankie (Dettori) said she was still a bit green the other day – he said it took her a bit of time to get used to the hustle and bustle of having horses around her.

“She then settled into a lovely rhythm and fell asleep under him. He tried to wake her up again coming round the bend and it just took her half a furlong too long to get into top gear. With a few horses coming back on top of her, she just couldn’t get competitive, but you’d love the way she hit the line.”

Considering future plans, Mahon added: “I think if she’s fit and well we’ll definitely consider the Irish Oaks. The fractions suggest they went very slowly at Ascot and I think a strongly-run mile and a half will be more her cup of tea.

“The Curragh would suit her and if we got a little bit of rain between now and then all the better.”

While Bluestocking and St James’s Palace Stakes runner-up Chaldean had to make do with minor honours, Juddmonte did get on the Royal Ascot winner’s board with Coppice in the Sandringham Stakes.

John and Thady Gosden’s filly was supplementing a comfortable victory at Newcastle, having previously failed to fire in the Nell Gwyn at Newmarket, and the success came as no surprise to Mahon.

He said: “It was a great performance. We started the year with high hopes – as Frankie alluded to after she won we thought she was a Guineas filly in the spring, but for obvious reasons she was just slow to come to hand.

“John and Thady went the patient route and it paid off. It was nice to get the winner on the board and she’s definitely an exciting filly for the remainder of the year.

“I don’t really know where she’ll go. The Falmouth would be a big step and if Laurel gets over her little setback in time that’s where she’ll go, all going well.

“For Coppice it would be nice to get black type with her, so we could look at a Listed race or a Group Three with her to get some black type in the bank.”

The Juddmonte team did suffer a couple of notable disappointments at the Royal meeting, with Arrest and Covey both performing below expectations.

Arrest was bidding to bouncing back from a Derby no-show in the King Edward VII Stakes, but finished fifth of sixth, while Covey was a well-beaten favourite in the Jersey.

“We were worried about the ground for Arrest, we took a chance and it didn’t pay off. We’ll freshen him up and bring him back for an autumn campaign when there’s a bit of juice in the ground,” Mahon added.

“I was a little disappointed with Covey, he ran a little too free, Frankie just said he ran with the choke out the whole way.

“I think he’s definitely a better horse than we saw the other day and what came out of it is that on a straight track he just tends to over-race a little bit.

“He can still be a nice horse, but maybe he needs to go around a bend.”

Paul Stirling’s century earned Ireland their solitary win in the Cricket World Cup qualifiers with a dominant 138-run victory against the United Arab Emirates.

The opener’s impressive knock of 162 was complemented by half-centuries from Andy Balbirnie and Harry Tector, with the UAE unable to find valuable partnerships to chase a victory target of 350.

It was a bittersweet ending for Ireland, whose hopes of reaching the final six had already been dashed by defeats in their three previous matches, meaning they finished second-bottom in Group B.

After being put in to bat, Ireland lost Andy McBrine for 24 after he was lbw to Sanchit Sharma, but Stirling and captain Balbirnie ran riot as the pair put on 184 for the second wicket.

Ali Naseer found the long-awaited breakthrough in the 39th over as Balbirnie was caught for 66 and Stirling scored another 29 runs before he was caught by Karthik Meiyappan off Sanchit Sharma.

Tector added 57 before Sanchit Sharma struck again in the penultimate over, Meiyappan with another catch, and Ireland finished on 349 for four thanks to a tidy partnership of 23 from Lorcan Tucker and George Dockrell at the death.

The UAE got off to a decent start until captain Muhammad Waseem was run out for 45 and wicketkeeper Aryansh Sharma followed shortly after.

Josh Little struck in quick succession to dismiss Vriitya Aravind and Ethan D’Souza before McBrine struck twice in the 21st over to get rid of Naseer and Aayan Afzal Khan.

Basil Hameed put on a valuable 70-run partnership with Sanchit Sharma, the pair taking their side from 109 for six to 179 without further loss, but Hameed was dismissed by Dockrell for 39.

Curtis Campher then picked up two wickets in an over, Sanchit Sharma falling for 44 and Junaid Siddique for six, before Dockrell took the final wicket to hand Ireland the victory with 11 overs to spare.