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• “The favourite is Thompson”-Boldon highlights Jamaican champion as man to beat in 100m in Paris

  Trinidadian four-time Olympic medallist Ato Boldon has named Jamaican sprinting sensation Kishane Thompson as his favourite to take 100m gold at the Olympic Games in Paris.

  Thompson, 23, is currently the world leader in the event after running a personal best 9.77 to win the 100m title at the JAAA/Puma National Senior Championships at the National Stadium in Kingston in June.

  The MVP Track Club-trained sprinter also produced times of 9.82 and 9.84 in the heats and semi-finals, respectively, at those national championships and, most recently, ran 9.91 shutting down to win at the Gyulai Istvan Memorial in Hungary on July 9.

  “Thompson is the favourite,” Boldon said in an interview with LetsRundotcom on YouTube on Friday.

  “I know Noah (Lyles) is the World champion. I think Noah made it a little bit more interesting by running that 9.81 into a headwind which kind of almost converts to a 9.77 but there’s no way you can look at the way in which Thompson ran that 9.77 and just go ‘Oh Noah will beat him.’ Noah has his hands full with that guy,” Boldon said.

  Blazing speed acknowledged, one thing that Thompson lacks that his other competitors don’t is experience competing at the highest level of the sport with this being his first time representing Jamaica at any level.

  If there is anything to prevent Thompson from delivering on the form that he’s shown so far this season, Boldon believes that would be this lack of experience on a stage like the Olympic Games compared to his peers.

  “There are things which I see people completely ignoring. Kishane Thompson has not been under the microscope of Olympic favourite. Rounds are a great equalizer. Noah has the medals that he does because of how well he runs rounds. Is Noah suddenly a lock for the silver? No but he does have his hands full,” he said.

  “There are others who are going to be in the 100m that are used to the pressure and pressure is a big thing. If he’s able to pull this off, you write books about stuff like that,” he added.

   Thompson's quest for Olympic glory will begin in the heats of the men's 100m beginning on Saturday' August 3.

   

• ECB chief insists no decision made on Mott future

  England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Richard Gould has denied reports a decision has already been made on Matthew Mott's future as white-ball coach.

  Mott's future has been called into question in the aftermath of England's failure to defend their T20 World Cup crown in the United States and West Indies, losing to India in the semi-finals.

  Mott also oversaw England's calamitous 50-over World Cup campaign last year, as they lost six of their nine matches in India and crashed out in the group stage.

  Reports earlier this week suggested the decision had already been made to dispense with Mott's services, with Eoin Morgan a contender to succeed him, though the former limited-overs captain has since said he has no interest in the role.

  Asked by BBC Test Match Special if Mott's future had already been decided, Gould said: "That's not true. That's certainly not true.

  "Matthew Mott is a really good guy and coach. He's got a great track record and it is the same with [captain] Jos [Buttler].

  "We are always assessing options - that is what happens in high-performance sport, you are always assessing your options.

  "You never want to be drawn into being given the dreaded vote of confidence or anything like that. Competitive sport always brings scrutiny and decisions.

  "We'll constantly want to assess our options but we'll always want to do the right thing by the sport, the team and individuals."

• West Indies grab three late wickets on day one as third Test against England in the balance

  England lost three wickets in a dramatic end to day one of the third Test against West Indies, leaving them in a precarious position after restricting the tourists for 282.

  Gus Atkinson finished with figures of 4-67, while Chris Woakes took 3-69 for England, as only a fine sixth-wicket stand from Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva saved West Indies from being bowled out for a much lower total. 

  But England, chasing a 3-0 series whitewash, let their dominant position slip when taking up the bat for the final 35 minutes, Zak Crawley (18), Ben Duckett (3) and Mark Wood (0) being dispatched as bowler Jayden Seales dropped them to 38-3.

  Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and chose to bat, leading his side to a solid start before a spell of three wickets in five overs before lunch put England on top.

  Atkinson accounted for Mikyle Louis (26) and Alick Athanaze (2) on either side of Wood sending stumps flying with a full delivery to dismiss Kirk McKenize for 12.

  Brathwaite's knock of 61 was brought to a halt shortly after the action resumed, the captain gloving Wood's leg-side ball to Jamie Smith as the tourists slid from 76-0 to 115-5 in 45 balls. 

  Holder (59) and Da Silva (49) then shared 108 to drag the Windies towards a respectable total, but things looked bleak for them when the latter feathered Woakes' ball through to Smith.

  Having gone 30 overs without a wicket, England needed just 14 more to polish off the tail, the highlight being a terrific diving catch from Joe Root to send Gudakesh Motie (8) packing.

  England were given just over half an hour with the bat to cap Friday's action, but any hopes of a serene finish were soon dashed.

  Holder made two terrific catches off Seales' bowling, the first from Crawley's thick outside edge and the second to dismiss Wood for a duck, either side of Alzarri Joseph's cracking delivery accounting for Duckett.

  That spell ensured what had been a good day for the hosts ended on a sour note, with the Windies sure to target quick wickets when the action resumes on Saturday.

  Data Debrief: Atkinson and Seales dominate 

  This series began with all the focus on James Anderson as England's greatest-ever bowler bowed out at Lord's, but Atkinson has taken centre-stage since making his Test debut in the opening match and now has 20 wickets through five innings.

  That is eight more than West Indies' Jayden Seales, the next-most prolific bowler in this series, has managed.

  Seales was determined to have an impact on day one, though, and his two wickets at the death have set the stage for a far more competitive match than those England won at Lord's and Trent Bridge.