His close friend John Gosden put it best – Frankie Dettori has taken the blows and still come out on top.
The Newmarket trainer will be in his corner for the duration of the Italian’s long farewell season, as he has been throughout.
Bookmakers may have dodged a few body blows at Ascot, yet the lush green strip of Berkshire turf, the scene of his 1996 ‘Magnificent Seven’, has always been Dettori’s favourite area.
A Gold Cup and three further winners made it 81 career victories at Royal Ascot, the most prestigious of meetings.
Gosden knows exactly what the week meant to the 52-year-old.
He said: “It was a huge week for him. He was very, very keen to go out at the top, not to become suddenly this sad, unwanted figure.”
Epsom and Royal Ascot are the only Flat events that really matter to those with an idle interest in the sport. Victory in the Coronation Cup and the Oaks had given the Italian the spotlight he thrives upon.
Ascot Gold Cup glory aboard inexperienced partner Courage Mon Ami ticked the second box and will surely have been enough to secure him a BBC Sports Personality of the Year nomination at the very least.
Dettori’s career, the highs and lows, the ecstasy, showmanship and mood swings, is well documented.
What is not, is the important part he has played behind the scenes for Gosden and his son Thady, who will some day take over at Clarehaven.
“We have had a lot of fun together, from 1993-94 onwards, we’ve had a lot of fun,” said Gosden senior.
“When he arrived on my doorstep during the first year and he’d shaved his head, I thought he’d sent his cousin!
“Three years champion jockey, then the Godolphin job, then that ended. He was knocking around a bit.
“In 2008 he won a Breeders’ Cup Classic (with Raven’s Pass) for me – that is not easily forgotten, between the end of Godolphin and the beginning of our run.
“William (Buick) went to Godolphin and then we’ve had an absolute ball since then, from Golden Horn (winning the Derby) on through with Enable and all those fabulous horses.”
Gosden was there for him when things went sour at Godolphin, when he was handed a six-month suspension after a failed a drug test in France, when he was at his lowest.
“If you check the stats, he had a terrible year with 16 winners,” added the trainer, referring to his annus horribilis in 2013, after which he renewed his partnership. “He knows what it’s like to be shoved into the twilight zone.”
Every low point, the omnipresent Gosden was the father figure, sometimes stern, sometimes frustrated, always adoring, unwavering in the belief that Dettori’s ability could overcome any pitfalls.
They have had their ups and down, of course. Just 12 months ago, all was not well during a terrible Ascot, capped by Stradivarius’ defeat in the Gold Cup.
Arguably, he received a thinly-veiled kick up the backside from Gosden for his work ethic, though the trainer refutes that.
“After his lean spell, he just came to me and had nice horses to ride and we worked together as a team. He never ever needed that (kick up the backside). Every marriage has its ebbs and flows and last year was no different. It was quickly forgotten.”
The last two Royal meetings could arguably be a microcosm of Dettori’s career.
There is another six months of the final chapter to write, yet the Gold Cup – his ninth – could be the crowning moment, two days after picking up a nine-day careless riding ban aboard the King and Queen’s Saga in the Wolferton Stakes.
The story of this year’s renewal? To some, it will be this – has a Gold Cup winner ever been given a cooler or more stylish ride? Until a few strides before the final furlong, Dettori did not visibly move a muscle.
He kidded the free-going Courage Mon Ami round the final turn, saving ground, and while for a split second it looked as if the bird – Coltrane – had flown, the imperious Dettori waited, daringly switching left under two furlongs out.
Such was his ease of success in the end, it seemed as if the first time he took his hands off the reins was to thrust a right-hand skywards in a triumphant salute. That was not the case, of course. It took plenty of guile and muscle for the rider to redress the deficit.
If Gosden was surprised the four-year-old, with just three previous runs, had won, his emotions were the polar opposite for the ride, a gift honed on those oft-cold winter mornings on the gallops.
“You give him nice horses, have him come in the morning, discuss the horses, he is a fabulous judge as a work-rider. Not all jockeys are like that,” revealed Gosden.
“Great judge, Frankie. Gives you a very good idea of where you are going, where you are not going. He’s quick to feel that.
“It is one of his great assets is as a jockey in the morning. The afternoon is one thing, but the morning is fantastic. It is the intuition, feel and experience he has with horses. The feel, the instinctive feel – he has that.
“His father was champion jockey, his mother came from an amazing circus family, he was bred to be a phenomenal athlete. It’s great, it was just that time before he joined me again in 2015 when it wasn’t pleasant to witness.
“But now he’s through, we’ve had a wonderful run. We’ve had some great fun. He’s had a great Ascot and it’s great to go out and walk away carrying all the belts, not being on the bottom of the canvas.”
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says it still “hurts deeply” to have missed out on the Premier League title, but he is happy with the progress he has made after taking over a club that had lost its “soul”.
The Gunners led the Premier League title race for 248 days last season before they were eventually chased down by Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, who went on to win the treble, leaving the Gunners trophyless for a third straight season.
Arteta admits it still pains him that his side fell short but feels there were plenty of positives to take from last term, and from his tenure overall.
In an interview with Marca, the 41-year-old Spaniard said: “To this day, it still hurts me deeply, not having won the Premier (League) after spending 10 months fighting with City.
“But that’s the sport. That said, what has been achieved with such a young team is worthwhile. That is clear to me too.”
The Spaniard, who took over at the Emirates Stadium in December 2019, continued: “This started (over) three years ago. I was Pep’s assistant at City, we played against Arsenal and I saw that the soul of the club had been lost.
“It was not enjoyed, it was not felt. I knew that there was the option, shortly after, of being on the other bench and I knew that this club is so big that you had to connect the team with the fans. It has been hard to do, and now I feel happy.
“We have a clear identity, there is union and we are full of energy. That’s the biggest thing. From top to bottom, they all push in the same direction.”
Arteta responded to a question about reports linking him with a move to Paris St Germain, where he spent an 18-month loan spell during his playing career, by insisting he was “happy” and “grateful” to be with the north London club.
“I can only say that I am happy at Arsenal,” he said. “I feel loved, valued by our owners, Stan and Josh (Kroenke), and I have a lot to do here at this club. I am happy and tremendously grateful to be at Arsenal.”
The Gunners kick off their 2023-24 campaign against Nottingham Forest on August 12.
Equinox made a blistering return to action, coming with a scything run to land the Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin racecourse on Sunday.
The Japanese star was sent off a hot favourite on his first start since romping to a wide-margin success in the Dubai Sheema Classic in March.
That three-and-a-half-length victory over Westover at Meydan established the Tetsuya Kimura-trained Equinox as the top horse on the planet according to the Longines World Best Racehorse standings.
On his return, Christophe Lemaire was patient towards the rear of the 17-strong field in the 11-furlong Grade One contest and was still at the back of the pack turning for home, having suffered a wide trip.
Yet the son of Kitasan Black always travelled sweetly and cruised into the lead approaching the final furlong.
Though he had just a neck to spare from outsider Through Seven Seas, the official margin was no reflection of the dominant performance, with his French rider having to pose few questions of the colt.
“Though we were unable get a good position toward the front due to the fast pace at the beginning, the horse was relaxed in the rear and I wasn’t worried at all,” said Lemaire.
“As the inner track condition was not so good, we made bid from the outside early and turned wide to the straight, where he stretched really well.
“Hanshin’s inner course is tricky and (the) Takarazuka Kinen is a difficult race to win, even for champion horses, so I’m very happy that I was able to win the race with the number one horse in the World’s Best Racehorse Rankings. I realised again how strong he is. I hope to win more big races with him in the autumn.”
Equinox was completing his fourth successive top-class success, having previously taken the Tenno Sho and Arima Kinen last year before his Sheema Classic success.
Victory gives the four-year-old automatic entry to both the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley later this year, and the Breeders’ Cup Turf. It is unlikely that Equinox will be seen by British racegoers, however.
Nick Smith, Ascot’s director of racing and public affairs, poured cold water any thoughts of the possibility he could turn up the Berkshire track.
He said: “Sadly, the Japanese do not appear that interested in coming over. It is a shame, but we will still continue to strive to attract the best international runners to Ascot.”
Chicago Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman is confident Major League Baseball has the right ingredients to go global with more marquee international events like this weekend’s London Series against the St Louis Cardinals.
Stroman will start Sunday’s second contest of the two-game series at London Stadium, with the Cubs targeting a sweep of their bitter National League Central rivals after Justin Steele picked up a 9-1 win in Saturday’s opener.
The 32-year-old is one of the sport’s most dynamic and expressive personalities both on and off the mound, resulting in the alliterative moniker ‘the Stro Show’ for his starts – the last seven of which have ended in wins.
Stroman, who on Saturday was described by manager David Ross as “the MVP of our team” who “loves the spotlight”, had never visited the English capital before this trip and said it has opened his eyes to Major League Baseball’s international reach.
Asked if MLB could be embraced globally, Stroman told the PA news agency: “Absolutely I think we can. It’s just a matter of marketing our players and putting us on this stage so that the world can kind of see.
“Yeah, I would love to continue playing in all the cities around the world. I think it’s pretty special. I think you also realise how many fans we have worldwide, whereas when we stay in America you kind of lose sight of that.”
Stroman made his big-league debut in May 2014 for the Toronto Blue Jays, the only MLB franchise outside the United States.
An anterior cruciate ligament tear sustained in spring training the following year denied him a coveted hometown opening-day start at Yankee Stadium, with many assuming he would miss the entire season.
But Stroman saw an opportunity in the rehab stint, using it to do something he had long been determined to accomplish: finish his undergraduate degree in sociology at Duke university, sandwiching four to five hours of classes between training sessions.
That September Stroman made his avowed miracle comeback, returning just in time to help Toronto secure a first trip to the post-season in 22 years.
At 5ft 8in, ‘Stro’, whose personal motto is ‘height doesn’t measure heart’ stands below the MLB average of about 6ft and, from an early age was fuelled to disprove the coaches, peers and pundits who wrote him off because of his stature.
Stroman’s success combined with an eternally optimistic, heart-on-his-sleeve personality has endeared the pitcher to fans in Chicago since he signed a three-year deal worth a reported USD 71million in 2021.
Supporters want the Cubs to sign Stroman to an extension – a point they made abundantly clear at a rally in London by chanting his name at chairman Tom Ricketts.
Stroman is aware of his seven-game streak, but insisted he will not approach Sunday’s start differently, saying: “I just prepare really well and I go out there at the end of the day whatever happens happens, so I do all I can to prepare and then go out there and compete and have fun.”
Ross does not underestimate the potentially valuable impact his equally talented and entertaining Sunday starter could have as MLB tries to convert curious Britons into to bona-fide fans.
He said: “Come out and see the Stro Show. It’s going to be fun. He’s one of the best pitchers in the league. He’s carried us. He’s been our ace. He loves the moment.
“He’s going to be a star on the big stage, you’re definitely going to get that. He’s a guy that loves the spotlight and rises to the occasion when things matter.
“He’s been our MVP of our team, I would say. If the fans want entertainment, definitely show up. They’re going to get a good show.”
Joey Barton was stripped of the QPR captaincy on this day in 2012.
The midfielder was sent off during Manchester City’s dramatic final-day 3-2 win over QPR in May – which saw them win the title with Sergio Aguero’s last-gasp goal.
He was sent off by referee Mike Dean after elbowing Carlos Tevez and, as he left the pitch, Barton kicked Sergio Aguero before aiming a headbutt at Vincent Kompany.
He was fined six weeks’ wages, on top of a £75,000 fine from the Football Association and was given a 12-match ban from the FA.
Barton said: “My behaviour was wrong and I accept the punishment that has been imposed upon me as a result. I apologise to the manager, my team-mates and of course the QPR fans for my actions. I also apologise to the Manchester City players, staff and supporters.”
The current Bristol Rovers manager was loaned out to Marseille the following season but stayed at Loftus Road until 2015, making 99 appearances, before joining Burnley.
He also played for Rangers and returned to Burnley to finish his playing career in 2017.
In 2018, he was named Fleetwood manager before becoming Rovers boss in 2021.
Mike Trout, Brandon Drury and Matt Thaiss hit home runs on consecutive pitches to open a 13-run third inning and the Los Angeles Angels pounded out a franchise-record 28 hits in a 25-1 drubbing of the Colorado Rockies.
Hunter Renfroe and Mickey Moniak each went 5 for 5 with four RBIs and David Fletcher had four hits and five RBIs as part of the biggest scoring output in Angels history.
The Angels scored 24 runs in a win over the Toronto Blue Jays on August 25, 1979.
Every Angels' starter had at least two hits except major league home run leader Shohei Ohtani, who went 1 for 7.
After Trout, Drury and Thaiss went deep off starter Chase Anderson, the Angels went on to score 10 more runs in the inning on seven more hits, capped by Moniak’s two-run homer.
The Angels piled on eight more runs in the fourth inning to become the only major league team in the modern era (since 1900) to score 20 or more runs over a span of two innings.
Drury and Thaiss singled home runs and Renfroe had an RBI double before Moniak delivered a two-run double. Fletcher’s three-run homer made it 23-0.
The Rockies avoided the shutout on Brenton Doyle’s home run in the eighth inning.
Braves hold on to end Reds’ 12-game winning streak
Travis d’Arnaud homered for one of his four hits and the Atlanta Braves held on for a 7-6 victory, ending the Cincinnati Reds’ 12-game winning streak on Saturday.
Ozzie Albies, Matt Olson and Marcell Ozuna also went deep for the National League-best Braves, who rebounded from Friday’s loss to win for the ninth time in 10 games and improve to 16-4 in June.
The Reds’ 12-game streak tied for the longest in the franchise’s modern era and was one shy of matching the 1890 team’s 13-game run. The 1899 Reds won 14 straight.
Cincinnati also hit four home runs, the final two coming in the bottom of the ninth inning. Jake Fraley and Will Benson took Raisel Iglesias deep to make it a one-run game but the Atlanta closer regrouped and struck out Matt McLain and Jonathan India – both on changeups - to end it.
Cubs rout Cardinals in London
Ian Happ hit two home runs, Justin Steele struck out eight in six strong innings and the Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-1 to open the teams’ two-game set in London.
With a crowd of 54,662 filling London Stadium, the Cubs improved to 9-1 over their last 10 games and moved to within a game of .500 (37-38).
Happ hit solo home runs in the second and third innings, and Dansby Swanson hit a two-run shot in the ninth to provide insurance.
The combination of title-chasing jockey, Reyan Lewis and champion trainer, Jason DaCosta was once again the dominant force, as they accounted for the most wins on Saturday's 10-race card, including fleet-footed filly She's My Destiny in the Supreme Ventures Limited (SVL) 22nd Anniversary Trophy feature.
Lewis, who started the day on 50 wins, extended his lead atop the jockeys' standings with a dazzling four-timer that pushed him 16 wins ahead of closest pursuer Tevin Foster, three of those winners were saddled by DaCosta, who surpassed 200-career wins at Caymanas Park.
After DaCosta secured the milestone when Lewis piloted Tekapunt to five and a half-length victory over six-and-a-half furlong (1,300m) in the fifth event, the duo made it a quick two-in-two with three-year-old bay filly MPRS Links, who won by a head in a maiden condition race over seven furlongs (1,400m).
The natural hat-trick was completed in fine style by She’s My Destiny, who romped the three-year-olds and upwards Graded Stakes/Open Allowance contest over five-and-a-half furlongs (1,100m) by three and a quarter length.
She's My Destiny, a five-year-old chestnut mare made amends for a dismal fifth place behind stablemates I Am Fred, King Arthur, and Miniature Man in the Distinctly Irish Trophy on June 3, after being stretched out to nine furlongs and 25 yards (1,820m).
Though she was uncharacteristically slow out of the gates on this occasion, Lewis quickly got the filly into her running in the small six-horse field, and before long she was breathing down the neck of leader Yellowstone (Jordan Barrett).
However, it wasn't until the straightened in the homestretch that S&A Syndicate-owned She’s My Destiny hit top stride and easily swept by Yellowstone before pulling away for a comfortable win in the end. She stopped the clock in a decent 1:06.2, behind splits of 23.2 and 46.2 seconds.
King Arthur (Javaniel Patterson) and Miniature Man (Abigail Able), also from DaCosta's stables, were second and third respectively, with Yellowstone fading into fourth.
Lewis then added another to his tally when he booted home the Gregg Fennell-conditioned Ras Emanuel in the eighth event. Fennell, who was registering his second career win as a trainer, previously worked with DaCosta as his assistant.
Meanwhile, former champion jockey Anthony Thomas had a double, winning the last two events aboard Joyful for Patrick Lynch and Essential Quality for Oral Hayden. Lynch earlier won the first event with Traditional Lady ridden by Patterson.
Racing continues on Sunday with another 10-race card. First post is at 11:45 am.
Chicago Cubs pitcher Justin Steele heaped praise on the 54,662 supporters who packed London Stadium to see his side cruise to a 9-1 victory over bitter division rivals the St Louis Cardinals.
The Cubs’ bats handed starter Steele, who struck out eight and gave up one run across six innings, a comfortable lead and were up 7-0 after four innings on a humid evening that also saw outfielder Ian Happ hit two home runs.
Saturday’s attendance exceeded the capacity of most Major League Baseball stadia, and Steele delighted in how strongly the fans – or in some cases the baseball-curious wearing blue – got behind his team.
He said: “It’s something I’ll never forget. Truly special. It felt like everybody was on the mound there with me, really exciting energy. It was really cool to cap it off like that, punch out the side, it was really cool, and I just can’t say enough about the atmosphere.”
Steele’s comments will be music to the ears of MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, who on Friday said positive player experiences in series like these will be central to whether or not the league returns to places like London following their final scheduled contest on these shores in 2026.
That is the same year the MLB’s current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expires, with international series once again set to be one of the topics on the table with the players’ association.
The pace of this London Series opener was likely a relief to fans and organisers alike after the first-ever MLB game in London, 2019’s 17-13 slugfest between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, lasted a near record-breaking four hours and 42 minutes.
Outfield fences were pushed further back for this contest, which ended after a comparatively brief two hours and 40 minutes, capped off for the Cubs by shortstop Dansby Swanson’s two-run homer in the top of the ninth.
Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt made history in London by becoming the first player in MLB history to play in five different countries, and also ended the evening the lone Card to have picked up a run batted in (RBI) in England.
Cubs manager David Ross admitted there was uncertainty about how the effects of crossing the pond would affect his team, and was delighted by their efforts on unfamiliar turf.
He said: “I think some of the nerves are gone from the group, especially from my seat where you’re not sure how guys are going to feel with all the travel and everything.
“They go out there and the bats did what they did, I thought it was a really nice performance top to bottom from our line-up, they did a phenomenal job. Happer getting us started off with a homer just kind of lets everybody relax a little bit and still be great.”
Ross’ side remain in third place in the division, so they will be eagerly eyeing up a chance to sweep the division’s bottom-dwelling Cardinals when the series concludes on Sunday.
He is also looking forward to the unique experience of hearing ‘go Cubs go’ chanted in England for a second successive day.
“That sounded good,” he enthusiastically agreed. “That’s the first thing that stood out to me. It was nice and loud. I hope someday I’ll get to watch that on video somewhere tonight or tomorrow. Hopefully we’ll hear it again tomorrow.”
Aaron Judge’s return to the New York Yankees’ lineup may be further away than previously thought.
Just two days after the Yankees said the reigning American League MVP would be resuming baseball activities this weekend, Judge tempered expectations of an imminent return and said he is dealing with a torn ligament in his right great toe.
“I'm not giving you any timeline,” Judge said before Saturday’s game against the Texas Rangers. “There's no need. I've just got to get better and then I'll be out there.”
Judge told reporters Saturday that the uncommon nature of the injury makes it difficult to predict when he will be back on the field.
“I don’t think too many people have torn a ligament in their toe,” Judge said. “If it was a quad we’d have a better answer. If it’s an oblique or hamstring we got timelines for that. With how unique this injury is and it being my back foot which I push off of and run off of, it’s a tough spot.”
Judge injured his toe on June 3 while crashing into the outfield wall at Dodger Stadium after catching a fly ball.
The AL home run king worked out in a pool this week and had inquired about on-field work, leading to the club’s optimism.
“It’s something I mentioned to the training staff: I want to test it out a little bit,” Judge said. “Maybe play catch, maybe take some dry swings. I just kind of see where it’s at.
“I really wouldn’t say it’s me running on the field and or doing a lot of baseball activity. It’s more me being passive saying, `We’ve done a lot of stuff in here. We’re making some great progress. Let’s test with what I’m going to be actually doing on the field.'”
Judge slugged an American League-record 62 home runs in 2022, the first season of a nine-year, $360million contract. His 19 home runs this season were one short of the major league lead when he was injured.
Judge, a four-time All-Star, leads baseball with 235 home runs since his first full season in the majors in 2017.
New York is 16-26 over the last two seasons when Judge is on the injured list.
Jamaica has turned heads early of the 2023 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship, starting 2-0 in Pool C with a disciplined approach that has worn its opponents down.
Jamaica finished 13th in the 2018 Men’s Championship in Israel, and is one of the fastest growing teams in the game, with the U21 men’s team finishing in the top 10 in the junior championship in Limerick, Ireland in 2022.
This team had to earn its spot in San Diego through Pan-American Lacrosse Association Qualifying, but it passed that test with ease and has been assembling a squad designed to keep pace with many of the rising powers in men’s lacrosse.
Now, the pieces are starting to come together at the right time with a team featuring eight returners from 2018, six players from the U21 team, and a coaching staff helmed by Mark Wilson, who was an assistant in 2018 and in the PALA qualifier.
It showed in the opening game, a 5-3 slugfest against Germany, which finished ninth in 2018. Jamaica’s defense was physical and forced Germany into uncomfortable shots.
“A lot of it is trust,” said defender Tony Diallo, who plays collegiately in the United States in the NCAA Division I at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Jamaica’s defense is bolstered by Goran Murray, an All-American at the University of Maryland in 2014, Channing Thomas an NAIA All-American at Keiser University in 2019 and goalkeeper Nate McPeak, who played at Syracuse University.
The defense allowed just 14 shots against Germany and six shots on goal. In the next game against Switzerland, Jamaica saw its opponents commit 16 turnovers. Jamaica is tied for third among all teams so far in goals-against-average after the first three days of the tournament and is tied for second with 12 caused turnovers.
“We have a great goalie in the cage and a great defensive coach too. Everyone has each other’s back and we’re able to work together seamlessly.”
Offensively, Jamaica has been methodical and intentional about its pace, playing matchups and letting different players take over when necessary.
“We balance our fast pace and slowing the ball down when we need to,” said Diallo. “Making sure we’re set up, everyone is in order and attacking the cage. We’re also switching up the lines well; all of us work great together so the more we can switch up matchups, the better for us.”
In the first game, Isaac Newland scored four of the team’s five goals against a strong defensive team in Germany. In game two, Khairi Sears stepped up and poured in five goals. Both players have Division I experience – Newland at High Point University and Sears at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
The talent across the field has coalesced when it matters and Jamaica’s hard-nosed approach is attracting admiration from around the lacrosse community. The 2-0 start means Jamaica is on its way to an appearance in the playoffs if it can continue to impose its style on its opponents.
“I think our start speaks to the level we want to play at,” said Diallo. “Jamaica isn’t a country to mess around with and this is a hardworking team. We have a lot more to prove and we’re a very hungry group.”
Jamaica faces Poland on Saturday before a final pool match against New Zealand on Monday.
“Our chemistry is big for us, and we don’t get complacent,” concluded Diallo. “We’re 2-0 now but the first message is that we have more to do and the job’s not finished.”
James Anderson expects England to double down on their aggressive brand of cricket despite defeat in the opening Ashes Test earlier this week.
Debates over the wisdom of ‘Bazball’ returned in earnest after England lost a tense series opener by two wickets at Edgbaston, having declared in the first innings on 393 for eight.
But Anderson, 40, said England and captain Ben Stokes will only look to push things in one direction when the series resumes at Lord’s on Wednesday.
“I think we’ll go more positive, more aggressive, more entertaining,” the veteran paceman said. “We want to try and make sure people go home happy as they did each day at Edgbaston.
“Just because we’re 1-0 down I don’t think we’ll try anything different. I think we showed enough last week to show we can win the next four if we keep playing like that and iron a few things out. We’ll go exactly the same.”
Anderson was speaking as he swapped Bazball for baseball at the London Stadium on Saturday. As the Chicago Cubs and St Louis Cardinals faced off in the first of two regular-season games in Stratford this weekend, Anderson threw out the ceremonial first pitch alongside Australia rival Nathan Lyon.
Anderson’s daughter had spent their journey down from Manchester showing him videos of the 10 worst ceremonial pitches in history but he managed to get his over the plate.
Anderson admitted he had not practiced the pitch, but he believes cricket is learning a lot from the American past time – particularly when it comes to more aggressive hitting.
“I think you see the way cricket has developed, the way guys try to hit the ball, I think they take a lot from the guys here,” he said.
“I don’t know how much knowledge there is about cricket in America, I don’t think the baseball players are trying to block anything, but for me I’ve always watched the fielding and thought it was something we could do better.
“The speed they get to the ball, the speed they release the ball and the speed of the throw. I know it’s a different ball but I think it’s something we could learn from.”
The baseball gave both Anderson and Lyon a bit of mental relief after the stresses of Edgbaston, where the game remained in the balance until the very end.
Lyon said throwing the first pitch was the first time he had picked up a ball since leaving Birmingham as he tried to get away from what he called a “mental rollercoaster”.
But with a 1-0 lead in the series, the Australians are understandably in buoyant mood.
“It was an absolutely incredible Test win and to be able to play a part in that was extremely special,” the 35-year-old spinner said. “It is going to go down as one of the best Test matches I’ve played in.
“The mood has changed. There’s a lot of work we need to do. We feel like we can still get a lot better, and we need to get a lot better if we want to compete against England and the brand of cricket they’re playing.
“It’s business as usual for us. We can’t control what they’re doing. We’ll sit down as a team and identify areas where we can be better and where we believe we need to get better, so just focus on what we can do.
“There’s no point worrying about what everybody else is doing.”
Ian Happ hit two home runs as the Chicago Cubs cruised to a 9-1 win over rivals the St Louis Cardinals on Major League Baseball’s return to the London Stadium.
Happ twice tested out the dimensions of West Ham’s home ground, where a full-scale conversion for two games this weekend saw blowing bubbles and beer replaced by hot dogs and peanuts for the first time since 2019, and Dansby Swanson added a late two-run shot to underline the Cubs’ dominance.
The manner in which the Cubs powered their way to an early lead, up 7-0 after four innings, took the jeopardy out of the game but did not dampen the enthusiasm of 54,662 paying punters keen to see American’s pastime back on British shores.
Four years on from two sold-out contests between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, and three years behind schedule following the pandemic, the Cubs and Cardinals played out their fierce National League Central rivalry in east London.
But, given the Cardinals’ deficiencies this season, it quickly turned into one-way traffic.
Much has changed in baseball since 2019 with the introduction of the pitch clock designed to speed up play, and both teams got down to business much more efficiently than New York and Boston four years ago.
Back then, the opening inning of what turned into an epic 17-13 scoring fest, won by the Yankees, took two minutes short of an hour.
But this entire contest would be over in less than three as the Cubs continued the hot run of form which has made them relevant again in a poor division, this their ninth win in 10 as they improved to 37-38, the Cardinals slumping at 31-45 as the 162-game regular season approaches the midway point.
The scoring started at the top of the second inning as the Cubs wasted little time in getting to the Cardinals’ veteran starting pitcher Adam Wainwright.
Cubs outfielder Happ hit a solo home run straight over the centrefield wall, some 392 feet from the home plate, and they doubled their lead when third baseman Nick Madrigal’s single brought Cody Bellinger home.
It got worse for St Louis in the third. With two out and two strikes against Happ, Wainwright was one pitch away from getting out of the inning but Happ again went deep with a shot to right that landed in the Cardinals’ bullpen.
The Cubs made Wainwright pay as they extended the inning. Swanson and Bellinger hit singles before Christopher Morel’s line drive to centre field allowed Swanson to score and Bellinger came home on another line drive from catcher Yan Gomes.
Back-to-back doubles from Madrigal and Mike Tauchman at the top of the fourth saw the Cubs pad their lead even further and chased Wainwright from the game.
While Wainwright took an early shower, Cubs starter Justin Steele cruised through four innings without giving up a hit.
St Louis finally found a crack in the bottom of the sixth as Tommy Edman scored on a Paul Goldschmidt ground ball into right to give the Cardinals fans something to cheer, but it was too little, too late.
Parks and Recreation actor Nick Offerman was on hand to lead the crowd in a rendition of ‘Take Me Out To The Ball Game’ during the seventh-inning stretch before another famous Cubs fan, Bill Murray, took an ovation from fans.
Murray and the rest of the Cubs on hand would have more to celebrate in the top of the ninth when Swanson launched a two-run homer over the right-field wall to put an exclamation point on their win.
He may not fancy wearing the cycling gold-medal favourites tag, but Nicholas Paul's current vein of form certainly puts him in that position heading into the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in El Salvador.
Paul, who started his season with a series of unstoppable performances at the UCI Nation’s Cup in Milton Canada, as well as the ‘Speed Paradise’ and the Carnival of Speed events at the National Cycling Centre (NCC) in Balmain, Couva, all in April, followed that up with victory in the Men’s Elite Sprint at the International Cycling Union (UCI) Class One event in Germany recently.
The Trinidad and Tobago stalwart again placed his class on display at the PanAm Elite Track Cycling Championships in Argentina where he won the Sprints and Keirin, while clocking a new track record 9.349 seconds in the flying 200m.
Paul also joined forces with compatriots to place second in the Team Sprint and he rightly expressed delight at the accomplishments.
"Firstly, I would like to give God thanks because without him none of this would be possible. The Pan American Cycling champions in Argentina was a great experience, my races were well executed, and I am very happy with my performance," Paul told SportsMax.tv.
"It was also great to have my countrymen there with me and a great feeling to have won a team medal as well. Everyone on the team played their part, we performed accordingly and came out with a good result," he added.
While those performances represent a massive boost to his CAC Games charge and positions him to achieve other targets this year, the 24-year-old is by no means grandstanding against rivals in El Salvador.
"I am definitely pleased with another solid performance going into the CAC Games. It's all about trying to be consistent while working towards my ultimate goal which is Olympic Games qualification.
"But every event is different, and I am confident but not overconfident, so my plan presently is to just do my best for my country while taking things one competition at a time," he shared.
Though the mindset is always to improve on previous performances and that requires a holistic approach and a strategic vision of what he wants to achieve.
"Presently I don’t have any planned changes to my programme for CAC Games, however, I’m always focused on getting better at my craft every day, therefore changes can be made accordingly, but we will see how that goes as time goes by," Paul said.
England Under-21 manager Lee Carsley believes the versatility of his players gives him plenty of options to find ways of winning as he looks to secure their place in the knockout stages of the European Championships.
Victory over Israel on Sunday would take England into the quarter-finals, having won their opening game in the tournament for the first time since 2009, when they reached the final.
Carsley’s team selection in beating the Czech Republic saw him pick seven midfielders, with Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon playing as a striker.
The manager thinks that flexibility is advantageous.
“We’ve tried to come up with two or three ways of exploiting the opposition,” he told a press conference.
“We’ll try and find gaps and spaces. It surprises me that there is surprise (at his team selection). The players nowadays are multi-functional.
“I see that we’ve got a lot of players within this squad that can do different roles.
“Part of the squad selection was having that flexibility to play with a different kind of nine (striker).
“I see pretty much any of the forward players, whether they’re wide players or forwards, being able to do that nine.
“You get a different type of nine with Anthony than you would with Cole (Palmer) or Curtis (Jones) or Emile (Smith Rowe). We’ve got plenty of options.
“The way we’ve picked the squad, when we make a change it shouldn’t affect the team too much.”
Manchester City midfielder Tommy Doyle will miss the game against Israel, who drew 1-1 with defending champions Germany, after he sustained a minor knee problem in training while Norwich defender Max Aarons is ill.
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