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• Dwayne Bravo officially retires after storied career

  West Indies and T20 cricket legend Dwayne Bravo has officially announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, bringing an end to a storied 18-year career that spanned the globe. The 40-year-old, who turns 41 next month, made the announcement via an emotional post on Instagram, citing the toll that injuries have taken on his body.

  "My mind wants to keep going, but my body can no longer endure the pain, the breakdowns, and the strain," Bravo shared. "I can't put myself in a position where I might let down my teammates, my fans, or the teams I represent. So, with a heavy heart, I officially announce my retirement from the sport. Today, the Champion bids farewell."

  Bravo's final season in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) was cut short by a groin injury while playing for the Trinbago Knight Riders against the St. Lucia Kings in Tarouba. Despite the abrupt end to his CPL campaign, Bravo was given a guard of honour by his teammates during his final appearance for the Trinbago Knight Riders in Port of Spain against the Guyana Amazon Warriors on September 18, 2024.

  Bravo, who is the leading T20 wicket-taker in history with 631 wickets from 582 appearances, has been a trailblazer in the format. Known for his variations and impeccable death bowling, he helped revolutionize T20 cricket, setting a high standard for bowlers around the world. In his illustrious career, Bravo won titles across the globe, including in the IPL, PSL, and Big Bash League. He also played a pivotal role in the West Indies' two T20 World Cup triumphs in 2012 and 2016.

  Before the start of the 2024 CPL season, Bravo had announced that it would be his last. He had been scheduled to play in the third season of the UAE's ILT20, having been retained by MI Emirates, but decided to call time on his career after his latest injury.

  Bravo had already retired from international cricket in 2021 and stepped away from the IPL in 2022, transitioning into coaching roles with Chennai Super Kings and the Afghanistan men's national team.

  The Trinidadian leaves behind an unmatched legacy in the CPL, where he became the most decorated player in the tournament's history, winning five titles, including three with the Trinbago Knight Riders. Bravo captained the Knight Riders to back-to-back CPL titles in 2017 and 2018 before leading the St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots to their first championship in 2021.

  Despite his retirement from playing, Bravo’s influence on the game is expected to continue through his coaching roles and the mentorship he has provided to countless cricketers throughout his career.

  Known affectionately as "Champion," a nickname derived from his hit song of the same name, Dwayne Bravo leaves behind a T20 career that will be hard to match, not just in terms of statistics, but in the energy, flair, and joy he brought to the game.

  As Bravo said in his farewell message, "The Champion bids farewell," but his legacy will undoubtedly live on.

• Jamaican quarter-miler Ackeem Bloomfield retires at age 27

  Jamaican quarter-miler Ackeem Bloomfield has announced his retirement from track and field at the age of 27, Sportsmax.TV has confirmed.

   The two-time World Championship 4x400m relay silver medalist has reportedly informed the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association of his decision and has also requested to be removed from the Registered Testing Pool (RTP) with the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO). Marie Tavares, Executive Board Member of the JAAA confirmed Bloomfield’s retirement on Thursday, saying “He has. I got confirmation yesterday, either yesterday of the day before.”

  Tavares opined that it sounds as if Bloomfield, a former Kingston College star, will be concentrating on his academics but was otherwise uncertain about his motivations.

  Bloomfield, who holds the distinction of being the second-fastest Jamaican ever over 400m with a personal best of 43.94 seconds, first burst onto the scene as a promising young talent. He became the first Jamaican schoolboy to break the 45-second barrier, a feat that heralded a bright future in athletics. However, his career trajectory was hindered by a series of prolonged injuries and personal challenges, including the emotional toll of his mother's death in 2021.

  After a standout collegiate career at Auburn University, where he set his remarkable 400m time at the NCAA National Outdoor Championships in 2018, Bloomfield signed with Puma and joined the MVP International training group in Florida. His talent and potential were on full display at the 2019 World Athletics Championships, where he finished eighth in the 400m final with a time of 45.36 seconds.

  In 2021, seeking a fresh start and recovery from a debilitating hamstring injury, Bloomfield moved to train with Rana Reider’s Tumbleweed group, where he reunited with high school rival and Calabar star athlete Christopher Taylor. Bloomfield declared himself fully recovered and expressed optimism about his future in the sport. “It was a really bad injury to my right hamstring. I did an intensive rehab process after I got injured. Even though I shut down my season I was still doing rehab. So, I can say for the most part, right now I’m 100 percent healthy,” he said in an interview with On Point.

  Despite his determination, Bloomfield’s journey continued to be marked by transitions. In September 2022, he left Tumbleweed to train under former Jamaican Olympian Sanjay Ayre at Chase Athletics Track Club. However, he departed from Chase Athletics a year later, signaling the turbulence that characterized the latter part of his career.

  Bloomfield’s last known competitive performance was at the Tom Jones Invitational in April 2023, where he ran 45.52 seconds to finish sixth. This race marked the end of a career that, despite its ups and downs, offered glimpses of what could have been.

• Ronnie O’Sullivan dismisses talk of greatness ahead of World Championship opener

  Ronnie O’Sullivan shrugged off suggestions of greatness on the eve of his bid to eclipse Stephen Hendry and become the first player to win eight world snooker titles in the modern era.

  O’Sullivan is already routinely described as the best player to pick up a cue after a record-breaking career that includes eight Masters and eight UK titles within a total of 41 ranking tournament wins.

  But the 48-year-old, who starts his first round match against Welsh qualifier Jackson Page on Wednesday, has never been one to pore over the record books, and questions whether such plaudits are worth having at all.

  “I don’t regard myself as the greatest of all time,” said O’Sullivan. “Statistically I suppose I am, but I’m just happy to be playing.

  “I suppose as a kid I would have been desperate to be up with those guys but when you get there it’s a bit of an anti-climax – it’s not as great as you thought it would be.”

  O’Sullivan, who won his first world title in 2001, currently sits on seven alongside Hendry, with Davis and Ray Reardon one behind on six wins each.

  Yet while the title-winning eras of those fellow greats spanned less than a decade, O’Sullivan’s longevity, which shows all the signs of pushing on beyond a quarter of a century, makes the reign of the ‘Rocket’ indisputably unique.

  “I’ve had a different career to them,” added O’Sullivan. “They just did it over a 10-year period while I’ve sort of gone off track for five or six years, then got myself back together, then disappeared for another three years, then got myself back together again.

  “I was a bit all over the shop really, stuff going on off the table that can affect how you perform. Hendry and Davis had everything fitted around them to focus on snooker, but that’s how it worked out for me, so I’ve had to go on longer.”

  “I love playing, I enjoy it. I get to travel where I want, take time off when I want, be my own boss. It’s those little things, and you want to win because competitiveness has always been in me.

  Amid more top-level retirement talk, with Mark Selby the latest to question his future in the sport after his first round defeat to Joe O’Connor, O’Sullivan appears to be heading back to the Crucible intent on many more attempts to increase his legacy.

  He has linked up with a new coach and is clearly putting the effort in ahead of his opener against 22-year-old Page, who beat Barry Hawkins on his Crucible debut two years ago before suffering a heavy defeat to Mark Williams in round two.

  O’Sullivan added: “I love playing, I enjoy it. I get to travel where I want, take time off when I want, be my own boss. It’s those little things, and you want to win because competitiveness has always been in me.

  “I’m pretty cool with what I’ve done and I’d like to keep winning more. Whether that makes me the greatest or not, I don’t know. It really doesn’t matter.”