Somerset will consider letting emerging England star Shoaib Bashir leave the club on loan this summer, with head coach Jason Kerr weighing up how best to manage the next step of the spinner’s career.

Bashir was fast-tracked into the Test squad in India after just six first-class matches and has quickly grown into his new surroundings, with 12 wickets in two mature outings for his country.

The 20-year-old has been identified as a player with significant long-term potential by the ECB, but with his path to first-team cricket at Taunton blocked by Jack Leach – currently recovering from knee surgery but still England’s first-choice slow bowler – his immediate future is less clear.

Test head coach Brendon McCullum said last week it would be “slightly mad” if Bashir and Lancashire’s Tom Hartley, who has Australia’s Nathan Lyon in his way at Old Trafford, were kept on the sidelines in the county season and Kerr appreciates the dilemma.

“It’s certainly not easy but I always try and put myself in the player’s shoes and what they want is to play cricket,” he told the PA news agency.

“Bash will be on cloud nine right now and riding that. He would have seen the world very differently at the start of the winter than he does now that he’s had international opportunities and done very well. So it’s important to have really honest, transparent conversations.

“We start the season on April 5th and I’d be surprised if too many teams are playing two specialist spinners so understand there will be some questions about it. There’s still a lot of water to go under the bridge, but what I’m not going to do is stand in the way of anyone’s opportunity.

“We will always do what is best for the player and we’ve done it time and time again. We’ve allowed people to go on loan and get some cricket because it can benefit them and us in the future, and we’ve said no to players because they’re next in line and we might need them.

“We will look at each case as it arises but, historically, we’ve been open to it.”

Bashir’s rapid rise effectively reprises the situation Somerset experienced when fellow off-spinner Dom Bess emerged. He and Leach began by working in tandem on turning pitches but, when Bess was elevated to the Test side, the pair eventually found themselves competing for one spot.

Leach held that berth, with Bess moving on to Yorkshire, and Kerr made it clear he retains full faith in a player who has given more than a decade of good service to Somerset.

“It’s important we see both of the guys bowling first but we also look at what Leachy has done for club and country over the years,” he said.

“We always want competition for places and we want it to be healthy. Nobody has the right to start but Jack has got a lot of experience and, from my side, that counts for a lot. Bash has so much time to grow and to become a world-class spinner who can bowl on all surfaces and know when to defend and attack. He’ll be coming back from India to very different conditions in the UK.

“We’re an incredibly ambitious club and we want to inspire players to represent England. We want to help them fulfil those aspirations and that doesn’t change whether it’s Shoaib or Jack.”

Joel Embiid is aiming to return to action before the end of the NBA season, as he targets making an appearance at the Paris Olympics.

Embiid, the reigning NBA MVP, underwent surgery on a knee injury in early February.

The Philadelphia 76ers star was averaging 35.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists prior to sustaining the injury in a loss to the Golden State Warriors at the end of January.

While there is no firm timeline on his return, Embiid is confident he will be back for the end of the campaign.

"That's the plan," Embiid said.

"Obviously everything has to go right, as far as getting healthy and being as close as I'm supposed to be. But yeah, that's the plan."

Embiid suggested playing at the Olympics influenced his decision to have surgery.

"I think when you look at what unfolded and what we saw, there was only one decision, and it was to go the route that I did," he added.

Embiid looked well in with a shot of retaining the MVP crown, though that now looks unlikely.

"That's why it was extremely disappointing," Embiid said. "I was on a roll and I felt like I wasn't even close to where I wanted to be, body-wise and basketball-wise, because I wasn't at my best, so I felt like there was still another level that I could go to. It was very disappointing. But I was having fun, playing, getting a lot of wins, dominating.

"The 70-point game was fun. I never would've thought that I could be in a position to score 70 in a basketball game and having the dominance that I was doing. It was fun, but it's not over. The mindset is 'come back if everything goes well, go from there.'

"My mindset is playing basketball, playing as much as I can.

"For two months, I was not at 100 per cent, I was not even close to it. And I just felt the need to give my all to the team and just wanting to win. Because I know I can, you know, I can add that to this basketball team.

"So there's nothing different I would've done. This was very depressing. But the way I also look at it is that's another way to work on myself, on my body, and just get as healthy as possible."

The San Antonio Spurs are not looking to change Victor Wembanyama, so says teammate Tre Jones.

Wembanyama recorded a stat line that had never been seen in an NBA game in the Spurs' 132-118 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.

The rookie sensation finished with 28 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, five blocked shots and five 3-pointers. He is the first player in NBA history with at least 10 boards, five assists, five blocks and five made 3s in a game.

And Jones says the Spurs are just letting Wembanyama do his own thing.

"I think just let him be him," Jones said. "We don't want to change that. Look where it's gotten him to this point."

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich added: "He obviously is not afraid to put himself out there.

"He will take shots and he is not afraid. He is not worried if he misses it or what the consequences are or anything like that. He likes those moments."

Wembanyama, meanwhile, channeled the words of the late, great Kobe Bryant.

"It's a lot [to do with] mentality," he said. "You know Kobe said to win a game, it mostly takes shots, big shots, because they don't call like any fouls.

"It's not as much the physical battle. Even though in defense it's 90 per cent effort, but offensively it's a lot of mental."

Wembanyama came out on top in the tussle of the rookies against Chet Holmgren, who finished with 23 points as the Thunder saw a six-game winning run come to an end.

"It's just another reminder that this is the NBA," Holmgren said.

"No team is in the NBA for no reason. No player is in the NBA for no reason. Any team can beat another on any given night regardless of record or anything. They came out confident. Part of that was them, part of that was us. We should be better [in] the next one. A lot of guys stepped up and hit big shots. Credit to them for coming ready to play."

James Anderson might find conditions more to his liking as he bids to join Test cricket’s 700 club when England regroup for their final assignment of the tour of India next week.

England expect Anderson to be available for the fifth Test in Dharamsala, starting on Thursday, despite a sore thigh which limited his involvement on the last day of their five-wicket defeat in Ranchi.

India’s unassailable 3-1 series advantage leaves only pride and World Test Championship points at stake, but one sub-plot centres on England’s record wicket-taker Anderson.

The evergreen 41-year-old has advanced his tally from 690 to 698 in three outings in India, offering England his customary control on slow, low turners that have largely neutralised his wicket-taking threat.

But his attempt to become the third individual, after Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan and the late Australian Shane Warne, and first fast bowler to reach 700 Test wickets could be aided in Dharamsala.

The HPCA Stadium in the foothills of the Himalayas is renowned as the best venue for seamers in India and is where the national team often goes to train in preparation for tours of England and Australia.

Temperatures in the area have struggled to get into double figures recently and, although the weather is forecast to improve next week, it is unlikely the mercury will get much above 15 degrees Celsius.

Local officials expect the crisp English-like conditions to play into Anderson’s hands, while a recall for express speedster Mark Wood is also on the cards, with the pitch expected to offer pace and bounce.

If Anderson’s quad injury turns out to be more serious, England could hand Gus Atkinson his Test debut, with Ollie Robinson poised to make way after his unflattering return to competitive action in Ranchi. Ben Stokes could supplement the pace bowlers after stepping up his workload in training recently.

There was plenty of carry and consistent movement seven years ago when the Dharamsala venue staged its only Test as India beat Australia, 18 of 30 wickets from bowlers falling to the spinners.

England are therefore likely to stick with Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir as their frontline spin options.

The ground was due to hold another India-Australia contest 12 months ago, but poor outfield conditions led to the Test being shifted to Indore, while the issue reared its head again at last year’s World Cup.

England’s players were cautious about diving in the outfield ahead of a group game against Bangladesh because of the uneven grass coverage and a sandy make-up, leading Jos Buttler to suggest the “integrity of the game” could be compromised.

However, a new drainage system has been installed in an effort to resolve the problem and officials are confident there will be no complaints this time from England, who are due to reassemble as a group on Monday.

Many of the squad are currently in Bangalore on a golfing trip, while Stokes, Wood, Bashir and Ben Foakes, plus the non-golfing members of the backroom staff, are in Chandigarh.

Eric Dier has triggered an option to make his move to Bayern Munich permanent this summer, the PA news agency understands.

Tottenham defender Dier joined Bayern in January on an initial loan deal until the end of the season for a fee in the region of 4million euros.

With Dier’s Spurs contract set to expire on June 30, an option to make his transfer to the Bundesliga champions permanent if he made a certain number of appearances was included in the deal.

Dier has played six times for Thomas Tuchel’s team, which includes four starts, and has now triggered a new 12-month contract to keep him at Bayern until the summer of 2025.

It will officially bring to an end Dier’s time at Tottenham, where he made 365 appearances during a nine-and-a-half-year spell with the Premier League club before he followed England team-mate Harry Kane to Munich.

Embattled Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is back in the Formula One paddock for qualifying ahead of Saturday’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

Horner’s future is again in the spotlight after hundreds of WhatsApp messages appearing to be written by him to a female colleague were leaked.

On Wednesday, Horner was cleared to continue as Red Bull team principal following an internal probe into “inappropriate behaviour” by the F1 team’s parent company Red Bull GmbH. He has always denied the claims.

But just 24 hours later, messages and a number of images apparently exchanged between Horner and the complainant were sent from an anonymous email account to 149 members of the F1 paddock – including FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and the grid’s nine other team principals, as well as members of the media – on the eve of this weekend’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

Horner said in a statement: “I will not comment on anonymous speculation, but to reiterate I have always denied the allegations.

“I respected the integrity of the independent investigation and fully cooperated with it every step of the way.

“It was a thorough and fair investigation conducted by an independent specialist barrister and it has concluded dismissing the complaint made.

“I remain fully focused on the start of the season.”

On Friday, Horner, 50, was seen speaking to a Formula One official at the front of Red Bull Racing’s hospitality suite.

F1 and its governing body, the FIA, are considering whether to get involved in the controversy that’s engulfed the sport.

It is understood that neither F1’s American owners Liberty Media, nor its regulator the FIA, has seen Red Bull GmbH’s report into Horner which is thought to stretch to 150 pages – and was said to be “confidential”.

Third practice begins at 3:30pm local time (12:30pm GMT), with qualifying for Saturday’s 57-lap race due to get under way at 7pm (4pm GMT).

What the papers say

The future of Luis Diaz at Liverpool is dependent on whether Mohamed Salah agrees a new deal. The Sun reports the club would listen to offers for the Colombia forward, 27, if Salah, 31, agrees a fresh deal.

Arsenal are looking to begin talks with Italy midfielder Jorginho, 32, over a new contract, reports the Evening Standard. He has been linked with a return to Serie A.

Conor Gallagher is continuing to catch the eye of Tottenham. The Daily Mail says the club are ready to move for the England midfielder, 24, in the summer.

Getafe are keen to talk with Manchester United about a deal for Mason Greenwood. The Times reports the Spanish club are interested in another loan deal or a permanent move for the forward, 22.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Trevoh Chalobah: The English defender, 24, is disappointed Chelsea are willing to sell him in the summer, according to Teamtalk.

Raoul Bellanova: Manchester United and Aston Villa have watch Torino’s Italian right-back, 23, reports Italian outfit Tuttosport.

Auston Matthews added to his NHL-leading goal total and the Toronto Maple Leafs added to Arizona's misery, pulling away for a 4-2 win on Thursday to deal the Coyotes a 14th straight loss.

Matthews scored at 13:12 of the second period for his 53rd goal of the season - 12 more than the Florida Panthers' Sam Reinhart for the most in the league.

Matthews entered having gone back-to-back games without lighting the lamp following a five-game stretch in which he scored 10 goals.

The Maple Leafs (34-17-8) went ahead 3-0 on Matthews' goal and got back in the win column after their seven-game winning streak ended with a 6-2 home loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, their first defeat since February 10.

The Coyotes (23-31-5), meanwhile, are 0-12-2 since January 22, when they beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2.

Arizona's losing streak is the longest in franchise history, and the longest by any team in a single season since the Buffalo Sabres dropped 18 in a row in 2020-21.

Matthew Knies opened the scoring for Toronto with his 11th goal of the season at 13:04 in the first period. 

Tyler Bertuzzi also scored for the Leafs, while William Nylander tallied an empty-netter for his 32nd goal of the season and added two assists.

Joseph Woll turned aside 30 shots in his return after missing 35 games with a high ankle sprain sustained on December 7.

His counterpart, Connor Ingram, stopped 22-of-25 shots, and fell to 0-6-2 with a 4.23 goals-against average in his last eight starts.

Alex Kerfoot and Logan Cooley each scored for Arizona, which has been outscored 64-33 during its losing streak.

Stankoven scores again as Stars move atop Central Division

Rookie Logan Stankoven scored in his third straight game as the Dallas Stars beat Winnipeg 4-1 on Thursday to move two points ahead of the Jets for first place in the Central Division.

The 21-year-old Stankoven didn't score in his NHL debut last Saturday, but has scored in each game since.

Stankoven's goal against the Jets capped a three-goal first period for the Stars (36-17-9).

Jason Robinson opened the scoring at 6:52 of the opening period with his 20th goal off an assist by Joe Pavelski, who 10 minutes later added his 21st goal of the season.

Roope Hintz ended the scoring with an empty-netter for his 24th of the season, while Jake Oettinger had 25 saves for his 100th win.

Connor Hellebuyck stopped 32-of-35 shots for the Jets (37-16-5), whose four-game winning streak was snapped.

Winnipeg's lone goal came from Vladislav Namestnikov on the power play at 13:24 of the second period.

Predators rout Wild 6-1 for seventh straight win

The Nashville Predators extended their season high winning streak to seven games with a 6-1 rout of the Minnesota Wild.

Roman Josi had a goal and two assists, and Yakov Trenin, Cole Smith, Filip Forsberg, Ryan O’Reilly and Ryan McDonagh also scored for the Predators, who are outscoring their opponents 32-12 during their winning streak.

Minnesota's Connor Dewar opened the scoring at 9:51 of the first period, but Trenin was able to tie it up just 49 seconds later, scoring off a backhanded pass from Josi.

Just eight seconds later, the Predators (34-25-2) pulled ahead on an unassisted goal by Smith.

Nashville took a 3-1 lead in the second period on Forsberg's team-leading 29th goal on the power play.

Juuse Saros finished with 33 saves for the Predators, who had lost seven of nine (2-6-1) prior to their current winning streak.

Filip Gustavsson stopped 25-of-31 shots for Minnesota (28-26-6), which has lost two straight after losing just two of its previous nine games (7-1-1).

One game after going without a point in the first half, Stephen Curry had nine points before the New York Knicks even scored.

Curry finished with 31 points and 11 rebounds and the Golden State Warriors rode a fast start for a 110-99 win at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.

The Warriors scored the game’s first 14 points, as the Knicks missed their first nine shots until Donte DiVincenzo converted a layup with 6:35 left in the opening quarter. By that time Curry already had nine points.

After failing to score in the first half in Tuesday's win over the Washington Wizards, Curry opened the scoring at MSG with a 27-foot 3-pointer 20 seconds after the opening tip. He finished 8-of-18 from 3-point range.

Jonathan Kuminga had 25 points and Klay Thompson had 16 points off the bench for the Warriors, who pushed their road winning streak to seven games. This is their longest road winning streak since reeling off 11 in a row in the 2018-19 season.

Overall, Golden State (31-27) has won 12 of 15 games following a 4-10 stretch.

New York (35-25), meanwhile, wrapped up a 4-8 February after going an NBA-best 14-2 in January.

Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 27 points and DiVincenzo added 16, though he missed 15 of his 21 shot attempts.

As a team, New York shot 36.8 per cent - its worst shooting performance since shooting a season-worst 34.8 per cent in a 117-100 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on November 20.

Wembanyama stuffs stat sheet as Spurs beat Thunder

Victor Wembanyama recorded a stat line that had never been seen in an NBA game in the San Antonio Spurs' 132-118 win over Oklahoma City, ending the Thunder's six-game winning streak.

The rookie sensation finished with 28 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, five blocked shots and five 3-pointers.

He is the first player in NBA history with at least 10 boards, five assists, five blocks and five made 3s in a game.

Wembanyama won the battle of first-year big men, coming up with a huge block of Chet Holmgren in the final minutes.

Although the Spurs (12-48) have the worst record in the Western Conference, they beat a Thunder team that was hoping to move into a tie with the Timberwolves atop the conference.

Oklahoma City (41-18) had won its last six games by an average of 20.2 points, but shot just 29.0 per cent from 3-point range (9 for 31).

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander paced the Thunder with 31 points, while Jalen Williams scored 26 and Holmgren added 23.

Devin Vassell had 28 points and nine assists for the Spurs, who were playing in San Antonio for the first time since February 3 following a 1-8 road swing.

Nuggets hold on to beat Heat in NBA Finals rematch

Meeting for the first time since Denver captured the franchise's first NBA title last June, the Nuggets held on for a 103-97 win over the Miami Heat.

The Nuggets looked like they were going to win easily, leading by 16 in the fourth quarter, but the Heat pulled within 99-97 on Jimmy Butler's floating bank shot with 11 seconds to play.

The Heat would get no closer, however, as Denver (41-19) improved to 5-0 since the All-Star break and moved within 1 1/2 games of the Timberwolves for the best record in the West.

Michael Porter Jr. had 30 points and 11 rebounds, while Nikola Jokic had 18 points, 11 boards and seven assists.

Denver overcame an injury to Jamal Murray, who sprained his right ankle when he landed on Aaron Gordon's leg just before half-time.

The Heat (33-26) arrived in Denver riding a five-game winning streak, in which they were averaging 113.0 points, but they had just 70 points through three quarters against the Nuggets.

Bam Adebayo led Miami with 22 points and eight rebounds, while Butler had 21 points and seven boards.

A century last-wicket stand, a top-order collapse and a comedy of errors run out conspired to put Australia in control of the first Test against New Zealand.

Having had the visitors in early trouble on the first day in Wellington, the hosts saw last-wicket pair Cameron Green and Josh Hazlewood frustrate them for much of the morning session.

They then saw their top order blown away and only some counterattacking lower down got them within 204 runs of their visitors.

Having reached his century off the penultimate ball of day one, Green added another 71 runs as he reached a Test-best 174 not out – last man Hazlewood weighing in with 22 as they took the overnight score from 279 for nine to 383.

Mitchell Starc was first to strike in the New Zealand inning as he bowled Tom Latham for five before the hosts lost talismanic batsman Kane Williamson without scoring.

Williamson, who scored seven centuries in his last seven Tests, and Will Young collided in the middle of a quick single and Marnus Labuschagne’s direct hit sent the former captain packing.

Rachin Ravindra followed for a duck as he cut Hazlewood to Nathan Lyon, Young and Daryl Mitchell also departing cheaply to leave New Zealand 29-5.

Glenn Phillips hit a counterattacking 71 off 70 balls alongside Tom Blundell (33) but only Matt Henry’s 42 offered much more resistance, Lyon collecting four for 34 as the hosts were dismissed for 179.

Australia opted against enforcing the follow on and lost Steve Smith without scoring off the third ball, bowled by Tim Southee.

Southee struck again as Labuschagne’s poor run continued, caught behind for two, but Usman Khawaja and Lyon saw Australia through to stumps at 13-2 – a lead of 217.

Trainer Gordon Elliott saw his career cast into doubt on this day in 2021 after a picture emerged of him sitting on a dead horse.

The distasteful image was shared on social media and quickly confirmed as genuine by Elliott, who apologised “profoundly for any offence this photo has caused”.

Elliott, who had guided Tiger Roll to successive Grand National wins in 2018 and 2019, was immediately subjected to a full investigation by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board. The British Horseracing Authority also moved to act, effectively banning him from racing horses in its jurisdiction until the conclusion of the IHRB probe.

The organisation issued a strongly worded statement on the matter, noting: “The BHA is appalled by the image that appeared this weekend. We expect all those in our sport to demonstrate respect for
horses, on the racecourse, in the training yard, on the gallops, and wherever they have horses in their care.

“People who work in our industry believe their values – of caring for and respecting our horses – have been deeply undermined by this behaviour. On their behalf, and on behalf of all horse lovers, we say loudly that British horseracing finds this totally unacceptable.”

Bookmakers Betfair ended Elliott’s role as an ambassador but he received the support of the horse’s owners – Gigginstown House Stud. Owner Michael O’Leary accepted Elliott was sorry for “a grievous but momentary lapse of judgement” and opted to continue working with him.

A hearing on March 5 led to a 12-month suspension, with half of the term suspended, and a fine of 15,000 euros. Elliott returned to the racecourse at Punchestown in September, telling reporters: “It’s great to be back racing and seeing faces that I haven’t seen in a long time.

“I have really missed coming racing over the last few months, so I’m looking forward to getting back into that routine again.”

Jack Draper cruised into the semi-finals of the Mexican Open in Acapulco as he beat Miomir Kecmanovic 6-2 6-2.

The British number three is ranked three places higher than his opponent at world number 50, but the gulf between them on court proved much greater.

Draper broke Kecmanovic in the third game of the opening set and repeated the feat for a 4-1 lead, serving out to take the opening set in 31 minutes.

The start of the opening set proved a tighter tussle, the first four games going with serve as Draper survived a break point to level at 2-2.

Draper took control from that moment, capitalising on his fourth break point to win the fifth set and adding a double break to move 5-2 ahead.

He served out to love in the final game, booking his place in the last four in 80 minutes.

Draper beat both Kecmanovic and American Tommy Paul, who he defeated in his opening match in Acapulco, en route to the final in Adelaide in January.

Rory McIlroy hit five birdies as he opened the Cognizant Classic in Florida with a four-under-par 67.

A bogey on the 17th was the only blemish on McIlroy’s card as he finished three strokes off the pace on a day of favourable conditions at PGA National.

American Chad Ramey and South Korea’s SH Kim shared the opening-day lead with seven-under-par 64s – one clear of a group which included England’s David Skinns.

“It was so benign,” said McIlroy. “You’re not going to get this course much easier.”

Skinns, the world number 278 and without a top-10 finish on the PGA Tour, had a putt on his last hole for a seventh birdie and a share of the lead.

Ireland’s Shane Lowry was alongside McIlroy on four-under-par, part of a large group which also includes Sweden’s Alex Noren and France’s Victor Perez – the best placed of the final two groups who were unable to complete the final hole due to darkness.

England’s Harry Hall and Ben Taylor, Scotland’s Martin Laird and Austrian Ryder Cup star Sepp Straka were among an even larger group on three-under-par, which included American Daniel Berger who has recently returned to the tour after a 19-month injury lay-off.

Among those a short further back were Robert MacIntyre, who was among those yet to finish, and Justin Rose, whose 69 was highlighted by a par on the 13th after his tee shot came to rest against a mesh out of bounds fence.