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• Saint Lucia, Haiti stay perfect in Groups B and C of League B

  Saint Lucia and Haiti consolidated their leads atop their respective Concacaf Nations League groups following contrasting wins in their League B encounters on Friday.

  Caniggia Elva’s late brace in the 76th and 90th propelled St Lucia to a 2-1 win over Saint Martin, who led for most of the contest courtesy of Axel Raga’s 30th-minute strike in their Group B clash at the Darren Sammy Ground.

  The win moved Saint Lucia to maximum nine points from three games. Curacao and Grenada, who played out a goalless stalemate in the other group contest, sit second and third on four points each, while Saint Martin is still yet to get on the board.

  Over in Group C, Haiti beat host Aruba 3-1 at Guillermo Prospero Trinidad Stadion.

  Tyron Perret Gentil fired Aruba in front in the sixth minute, but Haiti responded through Frantzdy Pierrot (31st), and a brace from Duckens Nazon, who scored from the penalty spot in the 38th, followed by a 61st-minute close range effort.

  The win saw Haiti move up to nine points from three games, three points ahead of Sint Maarten, who clipped Puerto Rico 3-2 in the other fixture.

  Chovanie Amatkarijo (44th, 85th) and Imar Kort (49th) got the job done for Sint Maarten, while Rodolfo Sulia (2nd) and Alec Diaz (90+5) got Puerto Rico’s goals.

  Puerto Rico remain on three points, with Aruba still pointless.

• Former Liverpool defender Matip confirms retirement

  Former Liverpool defender Joel Matip has confirmed his retirement from professional football. 

  Matip, who joined Liverpool on a free transfer in 2016, has been without a club since leaving Anfield at the end of last season and has since decided to call time on his 15-year career. 

  The 33-year-old started his career at Schalke, making 258 appearances for the Bundesliga outfit and helping them lift the DFB-Pokal and German Super Cup in 2011. 

  Matip was among the first signings made by Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, joining in the same window as Sadio Mane, Georginio Wijnaldum and Loris Karius. 

  He helped the Reds return to the Champions League in Klopp's first full campaign in charge, making 29 Premier League appearances and keeping nine clean sheets. 

  However, his spell with the Reds was marred by repetitive injuries, sustaining 16 different issues across his eight-year spell on Merseyside. 

  The former Cameroon international's final appearance for Liverpool came in a 4-3 win over Fulham in December 2023 after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in the same game. 

  Matip made 201 appearances for Liverpool in all competitions, scoring 11 goals and winning six major honours, which included the Reds' sixth Champions League triumph. 

   

• Brook has everything to become England's 'best ever', says Anderson

  Harry Brook has all the attributes needed to become England's best ever batter after his sensational knock against Pakistan, so says James Anderson. 

  Brook became the first England batter in 34 years to score a triple-century when his side thrashed Pakistan by an innings and 47 runs in their first Test of the three-match series. 

  In the same Test, Root scored 262, and in doing so he passed Alastair Cook's previous England best of 12,472 career runs, placing him fifth on the all-time list. 

  Brook's career-best knock of 317 took him to 1,875 runs in 19 Tests and 31 innings ahead of the second encounter in Multan that starts on Monday. 

  The 25-year-old has a chance to become the fastest Englishman to 2,000 Test runs, beating the 22 matches and 33 innings of Herbert Sutcliffe in 1928.

  And Anderson, who is England's all-time leading wicket taker in Test matches, showered praise on Brook, likening him to Kevin Pietersen. 

  "He's on the way to being in the top three that I've played with," Anderson said on his Tailenders podcast. 

  "It's Root, Pietersen and him. He's definitely got all the attributes to overtake them.

  "He's just got everything. Without trying to big him up too much because he's still really early in his Test career.

  "I do think that he's got the perfect amount of each of those two and that's what will make him the best that we've ever had."

  Pietersen scored 8,181 runs when his 104-Test career ended in 2014, 170 fewer than Brook has managed after 19 Tests as a comparison.

  England's stunning 823-7 declared was their highest total in Test cricket since 1938 as they took a 1-0 series lead against Pakistan on Friday.

  The 556 England conceded in Pakistan’s first innings was the highest total any team had overturned to then go on and earn an innings victory.

  Brook and Root shared a partnership of 454, England’s highest of all time for any wicket and the fourth-highest by any Test pair.

  "The thing that's really similar between Joe and Harry is that they love batting," said Anderson. "They literally couldn't care less what format it is. They just want to bat.

  "They want to have fun doing it. As much as Harry's the younger player and will be learning loads from Rooty, I still think Rooty learns from him as well.

  "Joe's one of those sorts of players that wants to keep developing and bettering himself, and he does watch other players and try to add bits to his game.

  "I'm sure he's doing that with Harry."