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• Legendary Formula One designer Newey to leave Red Bull amid Ferrari links

  Red Bull have confirmed chief technical officer Adrian Newey will leave the team in early 2025, with the legendary designer free to join a rival outfit ahead of the 2026 season.

  Newey informed Red Bull he wished to leave after a tumultuous period behind the scenes for the Formula One constructors' champions.

  At the start of the season, team principal Christian Horner was accused of engaging in inappropriate controlling behaviour towards a female member of staff, accusations he denied and was cleared of following an independent investigation. 

  The controversy surrounding Horner even led to suggestions three-time world champion Max Verstappen could leave the team, with Mercedes linked with a huge move for the Dutchman.

  On Wednesday, it was confirmed that Newey – who has been with Red Bull since 2006 and is widely regarded as the greatest designer in Formula One history – will leave the team.

  In a statement, Red Bull said Newey will "step back from design duties to focus on final development and delivery of Red Bull's first hypercar, the hugely anticipated RB17".

  Newey said: "Ever since I was a young boy, I wanted to be a designer of fast cars. My dream was to be an engineer in Formula One, and I've been lucky enough to make that dream a reality. 

  "For almost two decades it has been my great honour to have played a key role in Red Bull Racing's progress from upstart newcomer to multiple title-winning team. 

  "However, I feel now is an opportune moment to hand that baton over to others and to seek new challenges for myself."

  Newey has played a key role in all six of Red Bull's constructors' championships and is certain to attract interest from several teams. 

  Reports suggest the 65-year-old will not have to serve a period of gardening leave and will be able to join another team in the first quarter of 2025, allowing him to oversee development of a 2026 car.

  Though it is not thought that Newey has already agreed to join another team, Ferrari are seen as favourites for his signature as they bid to partner him with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

• Marsh named captain in Australia's T20 World Cup squad as Smith and Fraser-McGurk miss out

  Mitchell Marsh will captain Australia at next month's T20 World Cup, but Steve Smith and Jake Fraser-McGurk have been left out of the 15-man squad.

  Marsh, who has shared the duties on an interim basis since Aaron Finch's retirement, was named the Baggy Greens' permanent T20 skipper on Wednesday.

  Test captain Pat Cummins, fast bowler Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell have also been named in the squad, which features 11 of the players that were part of the team that won this tournament in 2021.

  However, there is no place for former skipper Smith following a difficult spell of form, while Fraser-McGurk is also absent despite his impressive form in the Indian Premier League.

  "This is an experienced squad with extensive World Cup experience that offers a variety of structures and covers the scenarios the panel believes will factor in the West Indies with the unique nature of the venues and our opponents," selection chief George Bailey said.

  "Steve Smith, Matt Short, Jason Behrendorff, Aaron Hardie, Spencer Johnson and Xavier Bartlett were all part of long conversations, along with several others, including Jake Fraser-McGurk who is yet to play T20 International cricket but continues to impress and is developing rapidly.

  "Being constrained to a squad of 15 for World Cups is always a challenge given the different scenarios and options we’d like to cover.  

  "Ultimately, the balance of the final 15 needs to provide the best chance of being successful in this campaign."

  "It's been an immense privilege to play for my country and now an even greater honour to lead the squad to a World Cup," Marsh added.

  "We have had some strong success in recent times, and I am hopeful that will continue in what looks like a wide-open tournament."

  Australia will begin their tournament against Oman on June 5, while they will also play England, Scotland and Namibia in Group B.

  Australia's provisional squad:

  Mitchell Marsh (captain), Ashton Agar, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa

• Windies to test T20 World Cup readiness against South Africa, Australia in Jamaica and T&T; final squad to be named this week

  With the ICC Men’s Twenty 20 World Cup now just about a month away, Darren Sammy and his West Indies team will up the tempo on preparations, before testing their readiness for the June 1-29 global showpiece, with a final warm-up match against Australia in Trinidad and Tobago.

  Sammy’s final squad, which is expected to be named sometime this week, will be one of nine teams to travel to the Trinidad and Tobago in May for eight warm-up matches, four of which will take place at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, while the other four is scheduled for the historic Queen’s Park Oval. The teams will arrive in twin island republic on May 21.

  The revelation came from Cricket West Indies’s (CWI) CEO Johnny Grave during the recently-concluded CARICOM conference on West Indies cricket themed ‘Reinvigorating West Indies Cricket’, in Port of Spain.

  Grave explained that the final West Indies squad will not convene in full until they travel to Jamaica at the end of May to engage South Africa in three warm-up contests. However, he pointed out that there will be a camp in Antigua prior, which will involve members of the final squad, who are not plying their trade in the Indian Premier League.

  From Jamaica, the Rovman Powell-captained squad will then travel to Trinidad and Tobago for the clash against 50-over World Cup winners Australia, ahead of the tournament to be hosted in the Caribbean and United States.

  West Indies, the 2012 and 2016 champions, are hunting a third T20 World Cup title.

   “We’re going to have a week-long preparation camp in Antigua from May 12, before heading to Jamaica. We’re then going to leave Jamaica and come here to Trinidad and Tobago for a week’s preparation, including playing at the historic Queen’s Park Oval on May 30, in an evening fixture against one of the tournament favourites Australia,” Grave shared.

  “That will probably be one of the only games in the warm-up schedule that will be ticketed, and we certainly hope that the fans here in Trinidad, and particularly those in Port of Spain, will come out and rally behind the West Indies in that warm-up match, which is the final game we’ll play before we head to Guyana for the opening game on June 2,” he added.

  West Indies, who are drawn in Group C alongside New Zealand, Afghanistan, Uganda and Papua New Guinea, will open against the latter at the Guyana National Stadium on June 2.

  Grave urged fans to come out and rally behind the West Indies outfit in their push to start the tournament on a high.

  “Making sure we have a huge party in Georgetown, and we get off to a winning start (will be crucial). We all know in these global tournaments, confidence and momentum are important and we can think of nothing better than starting with a victory in Guyana and ending it in Barbados on June 29 with a similar victory,” Grave said.