Rehan Ahmed described his five-wicket haul as a "dream come true" after the teenage debutant put England on the brink of a historic Test series whitewash in Pakistan on Monday.
Ahmed claimed two wickets on day one of the tour's third and final Test, but that was nothing compared with what was to come as the 18-year-old spinner tore through Pakistan on day three.
His match figures of 7-137 are the best of any England debutant since Peter Such's 8-145 against Australia in 1993, and have put Pakistan on the brink of suffering their first home Test series whitewash.
Having previously described Saturday as the best day of his life, Ahmed told BBC Test Match Special that Monday's display had left him reconsidering that assessment.
"It's probably the best day of my life again! To get five on my debut is a dream come true. It's great," Ahmed said.
"I was thinking about the five-for. I'd be lying if I said I didn't. But at the same time, I was trying to forget it. The more you try and chase the wicket, it just won't happen."
The highlight of Ahmed's performance came when his delivery had Pakistan skipper Babar Azam caught by Ollie Pope, just as the hosts appeared to have steadied the ship following Jack Leach's early three-wicket haul.
"I've bowled better balls and got wickets so just to get Babar Azam out is a dream come true," Ahmed said. "He's a very good player. Pope has got good hands so it's good the ball went to him.
"I liked [Mohammad] Rizwan's wicket because I've been working on my leg spin for the last two years. To get one to spin on the other side was great."
Meanwhile, Pakistan batsman Azhar Ali saw his final Test innings end in disappointing fashion as he was bowled for a four-ball duck by Leach in his final outing before retirement.
Azhar struggled to hide his frustration when speaking to Sky Sports afterwards, saying: "You want to finish on a high and win your last game, you want to contribute. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be.
"It was a bit of a disappointment, so I have mixed feelings. I am thankful to the England and Pakistan team for giving me a send-off.
"I was more emotional in the first innings than the second. It was a nervy start in the first innings. I was quite calm in the second but I am a human being so there was some emotion.
"I played down the wrong line and Leachy got me out. He has bowled really well in this series. It was my time to say goodbye to international cricket."
Brighton and Hove Albion chief executive Paul Barber is confident his side can keep hold of Alexis Mac Allister, despite the midfielder being a man in demand after playing a big part in Argentina's World Cup triumph.
Mac Allister started six of Argentina's seven games in Qatar, including Sunday's penalty shoot-out victory against France at Lusail Stadium in a thrilling final that finished 3-3 after extra time.
The 23-year-old assisted Angel Di Maria's strike at the end of a superb team move that put Argentina two goals up in the first half, having also opened the scoring in his side's must-win final group game against Poland.
Mac Allister signed a new deal with Brighton in October, with the option for the club to extend it by a further year, and Barber does not expect the former Boca Juniors loanee to depart anytime soon.
"We were working on a new contract for Alexis in the build-up to the World Cup," Barber told talkSPORT. "We met Alexis' father [Carlos] several times. He himself played for Argentina with [Diego] Maradona no less, so there's a fantastic family history to playing for their country.
“As we've always said, when players do well, when their profile increases, there's always going to be interest in them. This will be no different; Alexis is no different. There was interest in him before the World Cup and I'm sure there will be more interest in him afterwards.
"All we can do in situations where you've got a great asset is to try and protect yourself as best as possible. We've done that with several of our players and staff over the last several years, and that's all you can do in these situations. We hope Alexis will continue to be playing for us for some time to come."
Mac Allister is due to fly back to Argentina with the rest of his team-mates to celebrate their first World Cup success in 36 years, something Barber says he has no issue with despite a packed fixture list coming up.
"We would be a very poor club [to deny him the chance to return to Argentina]," Barber told BBC Sport. "On the other hand, we've got games coming up thick and fast and one of the downsides of the Qatar World Cup is that we haven't yet even completed half a season.
"We've actually got a lot of work to do now and Alexis will be a big part of that. We're all looking forward to it very much."
Karim Benzema has retired from international football after sitting out France's run to the World Cup final due to injury.
The Real Madrid striker, who won the Ballon d'Or in October, announced the decision to end his career with Les Bleus on his 35th birthday.
He wrote on Twitter: "I made the efforts and the mistakes it took to be where I am today and I'm proud of it!
"I have written my story and ours is ending."
Benzema was ruled out of the Qatar 2022 finals on the eve of the tournament after suffering a thigh injury in a France training session.
Leading documentary director Asif Kapadia wants to bring a Lionel Messi movie to life.
Messi won the World Cup with Argentina on Sunday, with La Albiceleste triumphing 4-2 over France on penalties following a thrilling 3-3 draw at Lusail Stadium in Qatar.
The World Cup was the final trophy missing from Messi's vast collection, and now the 35-year-old has surely ended the debate as to who is the greatest player of his generation.
Messi scored seven goals and contributed three assists across his sensational campaign in Qatar, and there are sure to be no shortage of offers for his story to be taken to the silver screen.
But Kapadia perhaps has the edge, given his critically acclaimed previous documentaries - Senna, about the life and death of the Formula One driver Ayrton Senna, Amy (a film focusing on Amy Winehouse's rise to fame) and Diego Maradona.
The latter, released in 2019, told the story of Argentina's previous magical number 10, a player Messi has now matched in winning the World Cup, as Maradona did in 1986.
"Pardon me, but I feel I should put this out there," tweeted Kapadia on Monday.
"Dear #LionelMessi, I know you're probably busy and need a holiday, but If you're interested in having your epic story told at some point, I'm definitely interested & available!"
England closed in on an unprecedented whitewash in Pakistan as a five-for from debutant Rehan Ahmed decimated the hosts on day three of the third and final Test.
Having taken two wickets on day one at the National Stadium in Karachi, England's youngest Test debutant built on Jack Leach's three-wicket haul as the hosts crumbled.
After bowling Pakistan out for 216, England look certain to claim a convincing win after navigating the late dismissals of Zak Crawley and Ahmed to cut the deficit to 55 by stumps.
Leach's incredible spell at the end of the first session on Monday set the tone.
Having enjoyed a stroke of fortune when Shan Masood (24) was bowled reverse-sweeping, Leach followed up by dismissing Azhar Ali for a duck in his final Test innings before retirement and pinning Abdullah Shafique (26) leg before wicket.
Ahmed then came to the fore, claiming the crucial wickets of Babar Azam (54) and Saud Shakeel (53).
The 18-year-old's googly then accounted for Mohammad Rizwan just after he was dropped by Ollie Pope, before Joe Root and Mark Wood got in on the act.
However, the day belonged to Ahmed, who rounded off a terrific performance by drawing catches from Mohammad Wasim and Agha Salman as England were set 168 to win.
Ben Stokes' team wasted little time in reducing that target – Abrar Ahmed's late dismissals of Crawley (41) and Ahmed, who moved up the order to come in at three, surely not enough to provoke a turnaround.
Ahmed makes more history
Ahmed played a key role in teeing up what will surely be a success for England in Karachi, becoming the youngest bowler (aged 18 years and 128 days) to take a five-wicket-haul on debut in a men's Test match.
The last England spinner to record better match figures than Ahmed's 7-137 on debut was Peter Such, who managed 8-145 against Australia in 1993.
Ahmed might well have cemented his place in the Test squad heading into 2023.
Leach hits the summit
While Ahmed stole the headlines, Leach limited Pakistan by claiming three big dismissals in the space of two overs, becoming the leading wicket-taker in men's Tests this year in the process.
The wicket of Shafique was Leach's 46th of 2022, more than any other player in the format – South Africa's Kagiso Rabada is second with 45.
Rafael Nadal has made a swift appointment after long-time ally Francis Roig left his coaching team.
The record 22-time men's grand slam singles champion has brought in Argentinian Gustavo Marcaccio to work with lead coach Carlos Moya and Marc Lopez.
Nadal announced on Friday that Roig was departing, having worked with the Spaniard since 2005, to take on "a new project".
With the new ATP season just days away from beginning, Marcaccio has accepted the chance to step in, with the 45-year-old having held a position at Nadal's academy in Mallorca for the past 20 months.
Marcaccio had a mostly undistinguished playing career, reaching a high of 284th on the rankings, but he has strong coaching credentials, having worked with the likes of Juan Monaco, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Guido Pella.
Nadal wrote on Twitter: "Hello everyone. I want to inform you of the incorporation of Gustavo Marcaccio to the technical team.
"Gustavo has been working at the @rafanadalacademy since April 2021 and I understand that he is a good addition to the team. I am sure he will help us a lot to follow the path. Welcome!"
Nadal will return to Melbourne as the defending champion at the Australian Open in January, having won that and the French Open in 2022 to move ahead of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic on the men's all-time grand slam list.
Eddie Howe laughed off Alan Shearer's suggestion that Newcastle United should sign Argentina's World Cup star Enzo Fernandez.
Fernandez won the Young Player Award at Qatar 2022 following his excellent performances in midfield for La Albiceleste, who beat France on 4-2 on penalties in a thrilling final on Sunday.
Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick at Lusail Stadium on Sunday, but it was Lionel Messi and Argentina who came out on top in the shoot-out after a 3-3 draw.
Benfica's Fernandez was one of the breakout stars at the tournament, featuring in all seven of Argentina's games and starting five, having scored a stunning goal in a 2-0 win over Mexico in the group stage.
Newcastle great Shearer, a BBC Sport pundit during the World Cup, quipped he would love the cash-rich Magpies to make a move for the 21-year-old, saying: "Absolutely yes. See if he wants to play against Bournemouth on Tuesday."
Naturally, ahead of that EFL Cup tie, Howe was quizzed on whether he had heard Shearer's comments.
"Sorry, I didn't, I think I was on the other channel," Howe said with a smile. "That's a mistake on my part."
Asked if he would like to target Fernandez, Howe replied: "I'm aware of him and I know him. But I think the transfer fee might be quite lumpy."
Howe also noted it would be unlikely that any team buys a player based solely off their World Cup displays.
"From a recruitment perspective you never just analyse a World Cup and sign a player on the back of those performances," he said.
"There's a huge body of work that goes into signing a player, it’s never after four weeks. There's a period of work that goes into it. It's not to say we wouldn't use the World Cup as a recruitment tool."
Howe, who also dismissed the idea Newcastle would move for Messi in January should the 35-year-old be available, is also pleased that England manager Gareth Southgate has elected to stay on with the Three Lions following their World Cup exit.
Southgate will take charge of England heading into Euro 2024, with Howe having often been cited as a possible replacement.
"The only time it affects me is sat here [in front of the media]," Howe said.
"I'm pleased Gareth made his decision so I don't have to field questions on it.
"My focus has only ever been Newcastle and making sure that we return from this break in the best possible form we can. I'm enjoying the job and loving the challenge of managing this huge club."
After playing Bournemouth, Newcastle, who sit third in the Premier League, face Leicester City on Boxing Day in their first top-flight game after the World Cup break.
Steve Borthwick has been appointed England's new head coach on a five-year contract.
The former Red Rose captain leaves Leicester Tigers to take over from Eddie Jones, who was sacked earlier this month.
Borthwick previously served as a forwards coach alongside Jones when England reached the 2019 World Cup final.
The new man at the helm also worked with Jones during the Australian's time in charge of Japan, and he vacates his Leicester role after winning the Premiership title last season.
The 43-year-old brings rugby league great Kevin Sinfield with him from the Tigers as defence coach.
Former lock Borthwick played 57 Tests for England and was part of the squad that reached the 2007 World Cup final.
The 43-year-old's first match in charge will be England's Six Nations opener against Scotland on February 4, with Argentina their first Rugby World Cup opponents in Marseille on September 9.
Confirmation came in a statement from England Rugby, which read: "Former England captain and forwards coach Steve Borthwick has been announced as England men's head coach from today.
"Kevin Sinfield has also been appointed to the position of England men's defence coach, taking on the role this week."
Borthwick said: "I'm deeply honoured to be appointed England head coach, and I am very excited by the challenge.
"The English game is full of talent and I want to build a winning team which makes the most of our huge potential and inspires young people to fall in love with rugby union the way I did. I want the whole country to be proud of us and to enjoy watching us play.
"The hard work starts now and planning for the Guinness Six Nations and Rugby World Cup begins today. I will give it everything.”
Lionel Messi emerged from the shadow of his fellow Argentinian 'phenomenon' Diego Maradona by leading his country to World Cup glory, says 1994 runner-up Arrigo Sacchi.
Messi clinched the World Cup Golden Ball after producing a series of talismanic displays in Qatar, scoring seven goals and adding three assists during a dream campaign.
The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner scored twice in Sunday's thrilling final against France, also converting in the subsequent penalty shoot-out as he became the first Albiceleste captain to lift the trophy since Maradona in 1986.
Sacchi, whose great Milan side battled with Maradona's Napoli in the 1980s, refused to compare the two Argentina greats but was delighted to see Messi replicate his compatriot's success.
"When Messi raised the World Cup to the sky, his eyes were wet with tears," Sacchi, who led Italy to the 1994 final, wrote in La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"I thought of Leo's entire journey, of what he won with Barcelona, of his dribbling, of his goals, of his acrobatics, of the many Ballon d'Ors he placed on the bulletin board.
"Then, however, there was that sort of curse which he could not shrug off. Too often he was forced to play with the shadow of Maradona weighing on his shoulders.
"Too often they asked him what he could not give, and then he felt sad. He felt the responsibility to give happiness to an entire people and the fact of not succeeding in it pained him.
"Now all of Argentina is at his feet. I don't feel like saying whether or not he has reached Maradona's level.
"I don't agree with these comparisons between champions who belong to different eras of football.
"What I know is that Maradona was a phenomenon, and I knew him well, and I know that Messi is too, albeit in a different way."
Three men have been charged by Victoria Police following the violent pitch invasion that forced Saturday's Melbourne derby to be abandoned.
The A-League clash between Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City saw flares thrown by both sets of fans during the opening quarter of the contest at AAMI Park.
Trouble escalated when a flare appeared to hit a pitchside cameraman before exploding, with City goalkeeper Tom Glover throwing another flare back into the crowd.
Fans behind the goal stormed the pitch and Glover was hit in the face with a metal bucket, while referee Alex King was also struck, leading to the game being abandoned.
Football Australia chief James Johnson hit out at the "horrific" scenes and vowed to hand out the "harshest of punishments" to those involved.
Victoria Police confirmed on Monday that a 23-year-old has been arrested in relation to allegedly striking Glover with the sand-filled bucket.
The other two men are aged 18 and 19, with their charges relating to separate alleged assaults on Glover. The 19-year-old is also accused of assaulting a security guard.
All three men self-presented to police stations on Monday and have subsequently been bailed to appear at Melbourne Magistrates' Court on February 27.
"The charges come as detectives from the north west metro regional crime squad continue to investigate the entire incident as part of Operation Astute," said a police statement.
"More than 150 football fans ran on to the field during Saturday night's match after a significant number of flares were ignited and thrown through the crowd."
The charges come on the back of Glover, who was left with a cut to the side of his face and concussed, discussing the unsavoury scenes for the first time.
"I think it is very disappointing for Australian football in general," he told the Nine Network. "I'm okay. I can't train today because of protocols but I'll be back on the pitch tomorrow.
"The Socceroos (Australia men's national side) were on a high and we were kind of riding the wave of that. It was just a small minority which kind of ruins it.
Glover added that his "intentions were never to throw [the flare]" into the crowd, an incident that is being fully investigated by Football Australia and may lead to sanctions.
"The police are doing their thing. It's just getting back on the pitch and being ready for next week," he added. "Police will be chasing that up so it's kind of out of my control.
"Sanctions are out of my control. My main focus is helping Australian football go in the right direction and not giving it a bad light."
Didier Deschamps said a virus in the France squad impacted their woeful start to Sunday's World Cup final, though he stopped short of blaming it for Les Bleus' defeat.
France failed to become the first team to retain the World Cup since 1962 as Argentina triumphed in a penalty shoot-out following a remarkable 3-3 draw at Lusail Stadium.
Before Kylian Mbappe's hat-trick enabled France to force extra time and penalties, Deschamps' side made a slow start, becoming the first team to fail to attempt a shot in the first half of a World Cup final.
France had been without Adrien Rabiot and Dayot Upamecano due to illness in their semi-final win over Morocco four days earlier, and several other players reportedly experienced symptoms in the days preceding the final.
Asked about the spread of the virus after Sunday's defeat, Deschamps said it played a role in France's lethargic start.
"The whole squad has been facing a tricky situation for a while now, maybe that had a physical and psychological impact," Deschamps said.
"But I had no concerns about the players who started the match. They were 100 per cent fit, but we only had four days since the last match so perhaps there is some tiredness.
"That's not an excuse but we didn't show the same energy as previous matches and for the first hour we weren't in the match.
"In those first 70 minutes or so, we were playing a very aggressive and dynamic opponent and we weren't at the same level for a number of reasons.
"We managed to come back from the dead and made a magnificent comeback from a very difficult situation."
Deschamps made his frustration with France's first-half performance clear by becoming the first boss to make two substitutions before half-time in a World Cup match when he withdrew Olivier Giroud and Ousmane Dembele.
Despite Les Bleus' failure to clinch the trophy for a third time, Deschamps praised the players he introduced, Marcus Thuram and Randal Kolo Muani, for reviving the contest.
"I went through a lot of different emotions tonight," Deschamps said. "There are some regrets because we were so close to winning but it wasn't to be.
"There were a number of reasons why, we had a very strong opponent and we were lacking a bit of energy from some key players.
"We had some young inexperienced players who came on and brought some freshness and quality. They got us back in the match to keep the dream alive."
LeBron James says replacing the injured Anthony Davis will be a "collective group effort" for the Los Angeles Lakers as he recorded his own fourth straight 30-point game in Sunday's 119-117 win over the Washington Wizards.
The Lakers will reportedly be without All-Star Davis for a month after scans revealed a foot injury having limped out of Friday's win over the Denver Nuggets.
Davis, who has been plagued by injuries in recent seasons, had been enjoying an outstanding campaign, averaging 27.4 points and a career-high 12.1 rebounds per game.
All five of the Lakers' starters scored double figures on Sunday, with Lonnie Walker adding 21 points, while center Thomas Bryant contributed 16 points with 10 rebounds, including the game-winning dunk. Dennis Schroder and Austin Reaves each scored 12 points.
"Whoever is available to play, we have to make plays," James, who scored 33 points with seven rebounds and nine assists, told reporters.
"We're all NBA players and we have to go out and trust the game plan the coaches put out there. Tonight, we were able to do that for the majority of the game."
Davis only played 76 times across the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons due to injury, while James, now 37, regularly missed games last season too.
"It's going to be a collective group effort," James said about covering Davis' absence. "It's always been health with us, since we all joined forces.
"It's always about health. If we can stay healthy or close to and have guys on the floor available, we're going to give ourselves a chance to win because we're going to play hard, play the right way."
James came up with the game-winning play with a pass for Bryant's tie-breaking dunk with 7.1 seconds remaining, although the four-time MVP almost lost the ball in midcourt in the lead-up. Kyle Kuzma missed a three-pointer with 2.1 seconds left.
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham declined to confirm reports on Davis' timeline after the game.
"We'll probably have something out official tomorrow," Ham said. "He saw some doctors tonight, so we'll see."
Kevin Durant was so "in the zone" against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday that he lost count of his shooting numbers.
Durant scored 43 points as the Brooklyn Nets won 124-121 at Little Caesars Arena, including a career-best quarter as he put up 26 in the third.
It was an important period of the game for the Nets, who trailed 71-54 at half-time, and Durant admitted he had struggled to keep up with his own statistics as he helped turn things around.
"I usually know how many shot attempts [I have]," he said. "But when I forget, that's when I really know I'm super, super in the zone.
"I don't know for sure what my shot attempts or my points [were]. I felt like the ball was coming to my hands so fast so I couldn't even process it in my mind and I looked up, 'Damn, I got 39.' I didn't think I had that much. But it was good to get back in the game and give us some momentum and energy."
The Nets sit on 19-12 after winning six in a row, and coach Jacque Vaughn described it as an "efficient night" after Durant also moved to 16th in the NBA's all-time scorers' list, surpassing John Havlicek and Paul Pierce.
"When the water started running, it started pouring," Vaughn said. "The teams throw everything at [Durant], so that piece of it, I think it warrants that conversation.
"Just because at the end of the night, you look at the stat sheet and it's an extremely efficient night... You just see it in a variety of ways, which means his game is getting better still, which is pretty difficult to say but there's some truth behind it."
Kyrie Irving also impressed, scoring 38 as the pair recorded a combined total of 81 for Brooklyn, and he credited Durant with being able to get the best out of him.
"Numbers show," Irving said. "When we're out there it doesn't necessarily feel like that because he makes it look so easy or he gets it in a myriad of ways -- when he gets on stretches like this, you want to play well alongside of him, that's really how I feel. I want to play well alongside him."
Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley led the praise for quarterback Justin Herbert after he produced a late game-winning drive, culminating in Cameron Dicker's game-winning field goal in their 17-14 triumph over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
Ryan Tannehill had tied the game with a one-yard QB sneak with 48 seconds left before Herbert took control, driving the Chargers forward for 52 yards in six plays, with Dicker nailing the 43-yard field-goal attempt with four seconds left.
Herbert completed 28 of 42 passes for 313 yards, becoming the first player in NFL history with 4,000 pass yards in each of his first three seasons. It was Herbert's fifth game-winning drive this season.
"Your triggerman is the answer for your whole team," Staley told reporters.
"The other thing, if you take a look at the ball game from the sideline, just how into it he was with the defense… he barked at our guys and said, 'I got it. I got it, fellas. You just give us a chance, and we got it.' That's what you want from your triggerman, and that's why I'm proud of him.
"You find out about your quarterback in two-minute, and it was an amazing two-minute drill for him."
The result moves the Chargers into sixth spot in the AFC with an 8-6 record, capitalising on losses for the Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots and New York Jets.
The Chargers QB did not throw a touchdown for only the third time in his 46-game NFL career.
Stanley added: "He's not going to be happy with how we play today, and neither am I. That's the other reason why we love him, because he's not satisfied with how we play.
"He has a high standard for performance. You need your best player to play well at the end, and that's what he does."
Herbert, 24, said experience helped him through the game-winning drive, which was the 13th of his three-season career.
"I think it's just one of those things that experience is the best teacher and having gone through that and being able to rep it and knowing that you have the guys around you to make plays," Herbert said.
"Just experiences and knowing that we are going to call the right plays and we're going to get the ball moving."
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