Michael Hussey believes ‘Bazball’ is “awesome” for Test cricket and says Australia were always concerned by England’s Ashes plan.
England fought back to square a thrilling series 2-2 after finding themselves 2-0 down against the world Test champions.
It would surely have been better had rain not halted England in the fourth Test at Old Trafford – the outcome vindicating the bold ‘Bazball’ policy that has attracted new fans into the longer format of the game.
“I think it has been awesome for the game,” said former Australia batter Hussey, known throughout the sport as ‘Mr Cricket’ because of his obsession for it.
“It’s created so much interest in Test cricket. You’re going to get that with an Ashes series anyway, but it’s created even more hype around it.
“It’s exciting to watch and that can only be good for the game.
“I was intrigued to see if England would have the courage to play that way because it’s not easy to smack high-quality bowlers out of the park on pitches doing a bit. But they did.”
Hussey scored 6,235 runs in 79 Test matches between 2005 and 2013 and played in three Ashes series.
The 48-year-old watched the start of the 2023 Ashes edition at home in Australia before heading to the UK to coach the Welsh Fire men’s team at The Hundred.
Hussey said: “Observing the Australian team, I think they were concerned about ‘Bazball’. The effect it was going to have and the extra pressure it was going to put on the bowling unit.
“But the Australians stuck to their guns and the way they wanted to play. Pat Cummins copped a bit of stick for his captaincy, but I thought he did well.
“Australia backed their way of playing and said: ‘If England want to play that way it’s fine, we can plan for that. We’re not going to change the way we play our best cricket’.
“They did that and Australians are absolutely delighted that we’ve retained the Ashes.”
Hussey had a clear insight into the England set-up when he was appointed as a batting consultant for the successful T20 World Cup campaign last year.
He insisted England’s approach to Test cricket would continue to develop under coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes and that it could be a far different Australia side they face in the 2025-26 Ashes Down Under.
Hussey said: “Knowing Brendon and also spending time with Ben at CSK (Chennai Super Kings) in the IPL (Indian Premier League), they are very invested in this way of playing, not just to win games but to bring Test cricket as an enjoyable product for everyone to watch.
“The Australian team over the next few years is also going to be fascinating to watch.
“David Warner and Usman Khawaja are coming to the back end of their career and who knows how long Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood will keep playing for?
“Nathan Lyon’s also injured at the moment and we are going to start getting a glimpse of what the next era for us looks like.”
Ospreys flanker Jac Morgan will captain Wales in Saturday’s opening World Cup warm-up clash against England at the Principality Stadium.
Wales head coach Warren Gatland has yet to announce his World Cup skipper, though, and says each of the preparation games against England home and away, plus South Africa in Cardiff, could have a different player at the helm.
Centre Max Llewellyn, plus props Corey Domachowski and Keiron Assiratti will make their Test debuts on Saturday.
And former England prop Henry Thomas, who qualifies for Wales through his father and has been able to switch countries under new World Rugby regulations, is among the replacements along with fellow uncapped forward Taine Plumtree.
Full-back Leigh Halfpenny, meanwhile, will win his 100th cap as Wales step up their World Cup preparations.
Paul O’Connell has no reservations about the possibility of Ross Byrne, Jack Crowley or Ciaran Frawley starting a World Cup match in place of influential Ireland captain Johnny Sexton.
Suspension has ruled fly-half Sexton out of his country’s warm-up matches against Italy, England and Samoa, leaving a trio of inexperienced understudies vying to stake their claim for the role.
Frawley remains uncapped at international level, while his Leinster team-mate Byrne and Munster man Crowley have just four Test starts between them.
Veteran Sexton will complete his three-match ban in time to feature in Ireland’s World Cup opener against Romania on September 9 but he is short of match fitness having not played since March due to injury.
Although forwards coach O’Connell acknowledges the stand-in options are Test rookies, he would back each of them to perform on the biggest stage if required.
“I’d be confident in all of them,” he said, ahead of Saturday’s Dublin clash with Italy.
“One of the strengths we have is that we’ve good clarity on how we’re trying to play the game and the players have to take ownership of that clarity quite a lot.
“You do figure out a guy that’s unsure very, very quickly. But all of our guys know how we want to play.
“They don’t have as much practice at it or as much experience as Johnny has of taking ownership of it but that’s why these few weeks will be great for them.
“We play differently to Munster and to Leinster and the guys that are there but there is a lot of similarities as well so it’s nothing massively new to them.
“They’ve all driven the ship for their provinces in big, big games and done really well. There’s a little bit of a tweak to how we do things and they’ve got to pick that up.”
Sexton’s last competitive action was four and a half months ago when he limped off with a groin issue during Ireland’s Grand Slam-clinching win over England.
The 38-year-old, who has 113 caps for his country, has been training fully with Andy Farrell’s 42-man preliminary squad this summer ahead of his last competition before retirement.
Ireland’s selection is due to be cut to a final 33 on August 28 and O’Connell has urged those who do miss out to not feel too disheartened.
“It’s not all or nothing,” said the 43-year-old, who represented Ireland at four World Cups between 2003 and 2015.
“You hope that by being in here, training with us, training with good players, that players are improving and they’re looking at their opportunity to get a chance, to try to get picked for the World Cup and, if they don’t, that they break in in the future.
“They all want to go to the World Cup for sure, but selection for the World Cup is not an all-or-nothing thing.
“I’m sure plenty of guys are going to be disappointed.
“They’ve their sights set on getting their chances and taking it but I think they’re all going to be better on the back of this pre-season.”
Injury-hit seamer Reece Topley says The Hundred is “end-stage rehab” in his quest to make England’s ICC World Cup squad following a torrid spell of misfortune.
The 29-year-old is set to make his comeback from a dislocated shoulder on Thursday when the Northern Superchargers host Birmingham Phoenix at Headingley.
His career has been ravaged by fitness setbacks, with the latest issue – sustained in April playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League – occurring in the aftermath of an ankle problem and a series of serious back issues.
Topley is eager to make up for lost time and admits the 100-ball franchise tournament is his “vessel” back to the top level as he eyes a spot on his country’s plane for the 50-over competition in India in the autumn.
“It has gone really well,” he said of his rehabilitation, speaking at the launch of KP Snacks’ community cricket pitches initiative which will fund 100 new pitches over the next three years.
“You can spend a lot of time soul searching and asking why but in the end you’ve just got to get on the front foot and deal with it and almost have a typical British attitude of stiff upper lip and crack on.
“I’m really excited to get back out there. Playing again fills me with so much excitement. Let’s hope it’s the start of a relatively successful end of the summer and winter, obviously with the World Cup on the horizon.
“The Hundred is almost like end-stage rehab to an extent.
“I want to do well for the Supercharges – we’ve got a great squad that want to go all the way in the comp – and I want to put in some performances that contribute to that.”
Topley sat out last year’s Hundred as his priority was the T20 World Cup.
However, he missed England’s triumphant campaign in Australia due to damaging ankle ligaments on a boundary rope.
Having just returned from that major disappointment, the left-armer was quickly back on the treatment table after a painful incident in his inaugural IPL match.
“I knew I was going home when I was sat in Bangalore with my humerus in front of my pec,” he said.
“I was just like, ‘how quickly can I get home to have surgery?’.
“The Hundred, last year I didn’t play in it, but this year it’s my vessel to get back into cricket and I can’t wait to play.
“I don’t think you change anything in terms of how you perceive the game (because of injuries).
“You have a big sense of gratification that you’re out there. You love the fact that you’re playing cricket, rather than you turn up and have the sense that it’s just another game. ”
England’s World Cup defence begins on October 5 against New Zealand in Ahmedabad.
View this post on Instagram
Topley, who claimed a record six-for against India at Lord’s last summer, hopes his return to international duty will come in four-match ODI series against the Kiwis and Ireland in September.
“We haven’t played a massive amount of 50-over cricket so those games will be quite pivotal in the lead up to the World Cup,” he said.
“I will look to hopefully play in those and get up to speed as soon as possible.”
:: KP Snacks are funding 100 new community cricket pitches over the next three years. To find out more visit: everyonein.co.uk/pitchfinder
Los Angeles Rams star receiver Cooper Kupp left practice early Tuesday with a hamstring injury, and the team is not sure how long he could be sidelined.
Kupp’s final play of the day came on a route that he ran into the end zone. He appeared to come up slightly lame after finishing the route and walked over to the training staff before leaving the field.
Rams coach Sean McVay didn’t have any updates on Kupp.
“Obviously we’re much better when he’s here, and we hope he’s going to be OK,” McVay said. “If he’s not, we’ll see what happens, but the practice had to go on.”
McVay saw the play where Kupp appeared to injure himself but had no other details.
“He looked like he came up a little bit in a red zone route, and then I just knew they told me he was out of practice,” he said. “I have no more information than that.”
Kupp, 30, has been one of the league’s best receivers, but his season was cut short last year after he suffered an ankle injury that forced him to miss the Rams’ final eight games. He still finished with 75 receptions for 812 yards and six touchdowns in nine games.
Kupp won the NFL’s triple crown of receiving in 2021, leading the league in catches (145), yards receiving (1,947) and touchdowns (16).
Players are preparing to return to Premier League action beginning on August 11, with champions Manchester City looking to follow up an historic campaign last time.
Pep Guardiola’s side are favourites to add another title to their honour roll after last season’s Treble, though rivals will be confident of at least closing the gap.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the talking points ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.
City to make history… again?
No English club have won four consecutive league titles, so Manchester City stand once again on the precipice of making history.
How the team respond to last season’s remarkable Treble – whether it will be the catalyst for domination domestically and in Europe or will hang over them like a cloud – is the main question ahead of Guardiola’s eighth season in charge, particularly after finishing the last campaign on such a high.
Manchester United added back-to-back titles after their Treble success in 1999, and with City seemingly not getting any weaker it will be hard to look past them matching their great rivals’ feat again.
Chelsea bidding to return to the elite
Chelsea finished last season in need of major surgery but early indications are that the club are using pre-season effectively, both on and off the pitch, to turn things around.
Transfer activity has looked promising with a bloated squad having been slimmed down, even if new head coach Mauricio Pochettino has emphasised the need for further cuts.
Recruitment has been more targeted to the team’s requirements than in previous windows, with Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku having impressed in attack on the tour of the United States, while player fitness has also improved.
A return to the Champions League next season after a dismal 12th-place finish last term will likely be viewed as the minimum requirement.
Added time to add up
A significant increase in time added on at the end of either half split opinion when it was introduced at last year’s World Cup, but the change is set to apply to Premier League games this season.
The stated aim from FIFA is to eradicate time-wasting and increase the proportion of a match that the ball is in play.
Luton looking to home comforts
Luton were one of the 22 original signatories to the document that founded the Premier League, but after being relegated in 1992 it has taken the Hatters 33 years to finally take their place back in England’s top flight.
Apart from the novelty of the club’s 10,356-capacity Kenilworth Road becoming the smallest ever Premier League ground – with its famous away entrance that involves effectively cutting through somebody’s back garden – there will be the question of how cut out Rob Edwards’ side are for competing in the world’s richest league.
There has been little transfer activity to reinforce Edwards’ promotion heroes so far, with Aston Villa’s Marvelous Nakamba the only player in with significant Premier League experience. The cramped, inhospitable conditions of their home ground could prove their greatest asset if they are to beat the drop.
The spectre of Saudi Arabia
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has said he is not concerned about the growing financial power of Saudi Arabia and its success so far in luring world stars, but the conversation about the Pro League’s emergence as an attractive home to players still in their prime is unlikely to die down soon.
The question of co-ownership and its potential to undermine Financial Fair Play will continue to be asked, as it was when Allan Saint-Maximin moved from Newcastle to Al Ahli – two clubs owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund – for £23million.
Masters may be moved to revise his outlook should the exodus of stars to the Gulf state continue.
The Premier League transfer window has once again seen eye-watering amounts of money spent by clubs looking to improve their squads ahead of the new season.
With plenty of players settling into new surroundings, there will be intrigue as to who can make the quickest impact.
Here, the PA news agency picks five new signings to watch heading into the 2023/24 campaign.
Declan Rice – ArsenalView this post on Instagram
Arsenal had to spend a club-record £105million to land England midfielder Rice from London rivals West Ham.
The Gunners smashed their biggest-ever spend by over £32million as manager Mikel Arteta hopes Rice can prove a missing part of the jigsaw, with the aim to take Arsenal from runners-up to Premier League champions this season.
Rice, 24, left West Ham having lifted the Europa Conference League trophy in his final game as captain and – having established himself as a key player at the London Stadium – it will be interesting to see if he can continue to impress at the very top level.
Moussa Diaby – Aston Villa
Unai Emery turned Villa’s season around when he was appointed as Steven Gerrard’s replacement October.
Villa went from relegation candidates to European qualification under the Spaniard, who has now started to shape his squad for the fresh challenges.
Diaby will be a pivotal part of that process after the France winger signed from Bayer Leverkusen for a reported club-record fee of £51.9million – such intent to get their man means the 24-year-old will be under immediate pressure to deliver as Emery looks to build on his first year in charge.
Dominik Szoboszlai – Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp looked to overhaul his midfield after a disappointing season by Liverpool’s – and his own – high standards last season.
James Milner, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jordan Henderson and Fabinho have all departed and Hungary international Szoboszlai is the big-money addition from RB Leipzig who will be expected to fill some of the void.
The 22-year-old cost a reported £60million and hit 20 goals in 91 games at Leipzig, including getting on the scoresheet in the 2023 DFB Pokal final victory.
Andre Onana – Manchester UnitedView this post on Instagram
Erik ten Hag’s Old Trafford rebuild has continued this summer as the Dutchman aims to improve on a third-place finish and the Carabao Cup trophy collected in his first season.
The signing of goalkeeper Onana from Inter Milan is the most striking change as he replaces David De Gea – who left at the expiration of his contract – as United’s first-choice, reuniting with his old Ajax boss.
His ability to play out from the back is what Ten Hag is looking to add to his defence but, if his pre-season games are anything to go by, there could be gains and pains as he settles in.
Sandro Tonali – Newcastle
After sealing Champions League football for the first time in 20 years, many would have expected the deep pockets of the Saudi PIF see Eddie Howe splash the cash on plenty of new arrivals.
Instead, he has been selective with recruits and the £55million arrival of Italy international Tonali is the most eye-catching.
The 23-year-old defensive midfielder won the Serie A title with AC Milan in 2022 and he also has 14 senior caps in a competitive position, with Howe Declan Rice, Moussa Diaby and Andre Onana hoping he can improve the steel in his own side.
The new Premier League season gets under way on August 11.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the statistics of interest.
3 – Manchester City have won three consecutive titles, matching Manchester United’s record, and five of the last six.
89 – points tally for City last season, five ahead of runners-up Arsenal.
36 – Erling Haaland’s Golden Boot-winning goal tally last season was a Premier League record.
13 – record number of Premier League titles won by Manchester United, still six clear of their city rivals.
5 – titles for City manager Pep Guardiola, second to only Sir Alex Ferguson who was in charge for all 13 of United’s wins.
7 – teams to have won the title, a list completed by Chelsea (five times), Arsenal (three), Blackburn, Leicester and Liverpool (one each).
6 – ever-present Premier League clubs, since the competition’s rebranding in 1992 – Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, United and Tottenham.
51 – promoted Luton will be the 51st different club to play Premier League football.
4 – last season was only the fourth time all three promoted clubs – Bournemouth, Fulham and Nottingham Forest – avoided relegation. Wolves also became the fourth team to survive having been bottom of the table on Christmas Day.
100 – City’s record points tally from 2017-18. They also scored a record 106 goals that season.
11 – Derby’s record low points tally in 2007-08.
9-0 – the biggest win in Premier League history, with Liverpool achieving the fourth such result last season against Bournemouth.
619 – Premier League appearances for Brighton’s new signing James Milner, 33 behind the record held by Gareth Barry.
32 – this is the 32nd Premier League season since the competition’s rebranding.
6 – this will be the sixth time a stand-alone Friday night fixture has opened the season.
Sir Chris Hoy won a fifth Olympic gold after Great Britain’s men’s team sprint squad triumphed on a night of high drama at the London Velodrome on this day in 2012.
After Victoria Pendleton and Jess Varnish were relegated from the team sprint for a takeover infringement and Britain’s men’s team pursuit quartet set a world record, Hoy, Philip Hindes and Jason Kenny progressed to the final of the three-man, three-lap team sprint in a world record of 42.747 seconds.
The British trio clocked another world record in a stunning finale, finishing in 42.600secs.
In a repeat of the final four years previously in Beijing, France’s Gregory Bauge, Michael D’Almeida and Kevin Sireau had to settle for silver, finishing in 43.013.
Hoy, 36, told BBC One: “It is quite overwhelming. We knew it was possible, this hasn’t come out of the blue. We knew that if we put together our best possible race on the day that it was possible but it’s easier said than done.
“We had the full support of the team behind us and we nailed it.
“That last ride I dug deeper than I have ever dug before. I didn’t want to let the boys down, they have been riding so well today.
“You can’t overstate what it means to us in front of our home crowd.”
Hindes said: “It’s unbelievable, I still can’t believe I am an Olympic champion, it’s a dream come true.”
Kenny added: “I can’t believe how quick we went today.
“Phil went off so quick, we were just swinging over the back of him, trying to keep up.”
Five days later Hoy won gold in the Keirin to overtake Sir Steve Redgrave and become the most successful British Olympian.
Houston Astros left-hander Framber Valdez became the third pitcher this season to throw a no-hitter, shutting down the Cleveland Guardians in a 2-0 win on Tuesday.
Valdez gave up just one baserunner on a walk in the fifth inning, but still faced the minimum thanks to a double play. He struck out seven and threw 65 of his 93 pitches for strikes.
It was the 16th no-hitter in Astros’ history and the first in the regular season by one pitcher since Justin Verlander against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sept. 1, 2019.
Valdez’ historic outing – the first no-hitter by an Astros lefty- came hours after Houston re-acquired Verlander from the New York Mets.
Valdez joined Domingo German of the New York Yankees, who threw a perfect game at Oakland on June 28, and three pitchers from the Detroit Tigers, who combined for a no-hitter against Toronto on July 8.
Kyle Tucker provided all the offence with a two-run single in the third inning to help the Astros remain one-half game behind the AL West-leading Texas Rangers.
Cleveland has lost four of five while scoring just 10 runs.
Swanson powers Cubs to rout of Reds
Dansby Swanson homered twice and drove in five runs and the Chicago Cubs went deep seven times in a 20-9 drubbing of the Cincinnati Reds.
Mike Tauchman homered and had four RBIs and Jeimer Candelario had four hits in his first game with Chicago since he was re-acquired in a trade with the Washington Nationals on Monday. He made his major league debut with the Cubs in 2016.
Nico Hoener, Miguel Amaya, Cody Bellinger and Patrick Wisdom all homered for Chicago, which tied a modern franchise record with seven home runs, last accomplished on May 17, 1977, against San Diego.
Reds starter Ben Lively was tagged for 13 runs and 13 hits over four innings.
Rays’ Eflin first in AL to 12 wins
Zach Eflin pitched three-hit ball over six scoreless innings to become the American League’s first 12-game winner as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees, 5-2.
Eflin struck out five and did not walk a batter to join Philadelphia’s Taijuan Walker as the only 12-game winners in the majors.
Randy Arozarena hit a two-run homer and Yandy Diaz also went deep as the Rays won their third straight to stay 1 ½ games behind East-leading Baltimore.
The last-place Yankees have lost 14 of 21 and were nearly shut out until Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu had RBI singles in the ninth.
Justin Verlander helped the Houston Astros capture a pair of World Series titles, and the club is hoping he can lead them to another championship.
Verlander was traded to the Astros from the New York Mets in a blockbuster deal hours before MLB’s deadline on Tuesday.
The Mets received two minor league outfielders - 22-year-old Drew Gilbert, Houston’s No. 1-ranked prospect, and 20-year-old Ryan Clifford, who was the Astros’ No. 4 prospect.
Verlander signed a two-year, $86.7million contract with the Mets last December, shortly after earning his second World Series title with Houston and third Cy Young Award.
The 40-year-old has been pitching well lately, going 4-1 with a 1.69 ERA in six July starts, but the Mets have been a major disappointment and are tearing down the most expensive roster in major league history.
Fellow three-time Cy Young Award-winner Max Scherzer, who signed a three-year, $130million deal after the 2021 season, was traded to the Texas Rangers on Sunday.
Hours after that deal was officially announced, Verlander became the 49th pitcher in MLB history to 250 victories.
Of those wins, 61 came while pitching for the Astros – tied with Jim Deshaies for the 15th most in club history.
Verlander was first acquired by Houston during the 2017 season from the Detroit Tigers and helped the Astros to the franchise’s first World Series title later that fall.
During his time with Houston, Verlander made 102 starts and posted a 2.26 ERA – the lowest in franchise history among the 46 players with a minimum of 500 innings pitched for the club.
The Astros have won five of the last six AL West crowns and have reached the AL championship series in each of the last four seasons, but enter August one-half game behind the first-place Texas Rangers.
Blue Jays acquire DeJong after Bichette injures knee
The Toronto Blue Jays moved quickly in finding a replacement for Bo Bichette in the event the All-Star shortstop would’ve been sidelined for a while, trading for the St. Louis Cardinals’ Paul DeJong.
Bichette, the AL leader in batting average (.321) and hits (144), exited Monday’s 4-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles with a right knee injury.
The extent of Bichette’s injury was uncertain early Tuesday, but after trading for DeJong, it was reported that an MRI on the knee revealed no significant structural damage, and he’s considered day to day.
DeJong was considered the top shortstop on the trade market.
An All-Star in 2019, the 29-year-old is batting .233 with 13 home runs, 11 doubles and 32 RBIs in 81 games.
He is also one of the better fielders at his position, registering a .990 fielding percentage – second only to the Minnesota Twins’ Carlos Correa for the best among all qualifying shortstops.
To complete the trade, the Cardinals are getting 24-year-old pitching prospect Matt Svanson from the Blue Jays.
Phillies get All-Star Lorenzen from Tigers
The Philadelphia Phillies have bolstered their rotation, acquiring right-hander Michael Lorenzen from the Detroit Tigers for 20-year-old infielder Hao-Yu Lee.
Lorenzen, who will become a free agent after this season, was named to his first All-Star team this year, going 5-7 with a 3.58 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 18 starts. He has struck out 83 and walked 27 over 105 2/3 innings.
The 31-year-old began his career as a starter for the Cincinnati Reds in 2015 before spending the next six seasons working out of their bullpen.
He signed with the Los Angeles Angels prior to last season and moved back into the starting rotation, going 8-6 with a 4.24 ERA in 18 outings.
He now joins a Phillies team that reached last year’s World Series and is in possession of the NL’s second wild card.
Marlins bolster lineup with sluggers Burger, Bell
The Miami Marlins added two key bats to their lineup at the deadline, acquiring infielder Jake Burger from the Chicago White Sox and first baseman Josh Bell from the Cleveland Guardians.
The Marlins (57-51) find themselves in rare playoff contention but are hoping to improve their 27th-ranked offence that scores 4.09 runs per game.
Burger, 27, is tied for eighth in MLB with 25 home runs this season but is batting just .214 in 88 games. Of Burger’s 63 hits this season, 41 have gone for extra bases.
Bell, who will turn 31 later this month, was a 2019 All-Star but will be playing on his fifth team since 2020.
In the deals, the Marlins sent pitching prospect Jake Eder to Chicago, while Cleveland added infield prospect Khalil Watson. The Guardians also acquired Jean Segura in the deal but are expected to release the veteran infielder.
AL East-leading Orioles add RHP Flaherty
Enjoying their best season in a decade, the Baltimore Orioles fortified their rotation by acquiring right-hander Jack Flaherty from the St. Louis Cardinals for three prospects.
Leading the AL East with a 65-41 record and with a stacked farm system, the Orioles had the chance to be among the most aggressive teams at the deadline but held on to all eight of their prospects ranked by MLB Pipeline in baseball’s top 100.
Flaherty struggled earlier this season but was 3-1 with a 3.03 ERA in five July starts.
Flaherty put together his best season in 2019, when he was 11-8 with a 2.75 ERA and threw nearly 200 innings.
Injuries have derailed Flaherty’s previous three seasons, but he has made 20 starts this year with a 4.43 ERA and 7-6 record.
Padres are buyers; adding Hill, Choi in trade with Pirates
The San Diego Padres are five games out of a playoff spot but are making moves to get back to the postseason.
The Padres acquired veteran left-hander Rich Hill and first baseman Ji Man Choi from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
This will be the 13th major league team for the 43-year-old Hill, who is 7-10 with a 4.76 ERA in 22 starts in his 19th MLB season.
Choi, 32, is batting .268 with four home runs and nine RBIs in 14 games since coming off the injured list after missing more than two months due to a left Achilles strain.
San Diego, which reached last season’s NL championship series but must pass five teams in the NL wild-card race, sent Pittsburgh three prospects - headlined by lefty Jackson Wolf.
What was expected to be a match-race between God of Love and Yellowstone, proved their undoing, as both went too fast, too early and it paved the way for the late-running Perfect Brew to snare the 19th running of the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC) Trophy race at Caymanas Park on Tuesday.
Piloted by reigning champion jockey Dane Dawkins, the Richard Azan-conditioned Perfect Brew closed from well off the pace in the small six-horse field to grab his more fancied rivals close to the wire and in a length and quarter win in the three-year-olds and upward Open Allowance contest over five-and-a-half furlongs (1,100m).
Dawkins, who was enjoying decent form on the day with two winners leading up to the feature event, rode the four-year-old Bern Identity-Moonlight Brew progeny with a great deal of confidence from the off.
Perfect Brew left post position five well and was expectedly urged by Dawkins in an effort to get into stride early, as God of Love (Anthony Allen) and Yellowstone (Tevin Foster) opened up a two or more lengths gap on the field, with Lure of Lucy (Phillip Parchment), being their closest pursuer at that point.
Despite being vigorously ridden by Dawkins, Perfect Brew continued to labour and was in fact, nowhere in sight when God of Love and Yellowstone left the half-mile (800m) and headed towards the homestretch.
By the time the fleet-footed frontrunners straightened, God of Love easily repelled Yellowstone's challenge and looked all over the winner inside the final furlong, but little did they know that Perfect Brew under Dawkins’s left-hand stick, had begun to roll and was rapidly closing the gap with each stride.
Before long, Dawkins and the Azan trainee had them measured and he inevitably swept by on the outside to complete victory in a flat 1:08.0. The splits were 23.0 and 46.2 seconds.
God of Love, stayed on for second, with Yellowstone third and Lure of Lucy, fourth.
While it was Perfect Brew’s second win from seven starts this season, it was Dawkins’s third on the day and 47th of the season, as he moved within 16 of leader Reyan Lewis, who was absent from the programme.
Dawkins earlier won aboard Rejected Raja in the third race for trainer Robert Pearson and also produced a late burst aboard Michael Marlowe’s Blue Persuasion in the fifth race.
Racing continues on Saturday with the running of the Jamaica Oaks Classic race, while the Blueriband Jamaica Derby event will be contested on Monday’s Independence Day card.
Coeur D’or swooped late to claim a head verdict in the featured Colm Quinn BMW Mile Handicap on day two of the Galway Festival.
Trained by Dermot Weld and ridden by Chris Hayes, Coeur D’or was a winner on his penultimate run at Leopardstown, but he was allowed to go off a 14-1 shot in the handicap highlight.
The 18-runner contest proved typically competitive and it looked as though Dunum was going to take the win two furlongs out, only for No More Porter to battle his way to the front inside the distance.
However, Hayes had launched Coeur D’or down the outside and he grabbed the lead in the shadow of the post to take the prize in a photo, with Dunum a further three-quarters of a length back in third.
Weld said: “He is a very consistent horse, this was the plan and he delivered. He had been running very consistently all year and is a brave horse.
“I was worried about the ground as he is very effective on a slightly quicker surface. A mile is his trip but he was a very immature horse in his early days and took a long time to come to hand but patience paid dividends.
“He has two great owners in Stephen O’Connor and Mark Phelan and I’m delighted for them.”
Sharjah returned to the scene of one of his finest hours to make a seamless transition to fences in the Latin Quarter Beginners Chase.
Winner of the Galway Hurdle in 2018, he has gone on to become a multiple Grade One scorer, triumphing in the Matheson Hurdle at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting on four occasions.
He has also been second in two Champion Hurdles so had a clear class edge over his rivals, but he was making his debut over fences at the age of 10.
Always handy under Paul Townend, reunited with him for the first time since the 2021 Champion Hurdle, Sharjah jumped soundly throughout and came clear under no pressure to win by 11 lengths as the 1-4 favourite.
Mullins said: “He was very smooth and jumped like he did at home. Every time I schooled him, he always looked very capable and confident over fences and showed that today. If he wasn’t good, we wouldn’t have gone chasing with him, but he was so natural at home and did today what he has done at home.
“In today’s race he was meeting a lot less competition compared to what he had been meeting over hurdles for the past four or five years – none of those horses had ever run in a Grade One hurdle – and he enjoyed it.
“I imagine he’ll stay to winners’ races now and he would get nice ground for the Drinmore.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn revealed Conor Benn is itching to “rip someone’s head off” ahead of a possible return to the ring next month after his suspension for two doping violations was lifted.
Benn’s career was thrown into turmoil last October after he twice tested positive for the banned drug clomifene in the lead-up to a bout against Chris Eubank Jr that was subsequently shelved in fight week.
While he has repeatedly stressed his innocence, Benn faced a potential two-year ban after being formally charged by UK Anti-Doping in April, but the Briton claimed last week he has now been cleared.
UKAD confirmed the provisional suspension had been lifted but included the clause that there was a 21-day window in which it could appeal the decision made by the independent National Anti-Doping Panel.
Hearn admitted the situation has taken a toll on Benn, who according to the Matchroom Boxing chief is ready to take his frustrations out on his next opponent having not fought since April last year.
Hearn said: “I would like him to box in September. He wants to go straight into a big fight but he’s been out the ring for 16 months. (Benn fighting in) September and December will be great but we’ll see.
“He’s ready to rip someone’s head off. When you talk about how low he’s been, there’s some people who are like ‘he deserves it, who cares?’ But what he’s been through would break most men.”
Hearn wants Benn to fight again under the auspices of the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC), having relinquished his licence and criticised the governing body’s handling of the matter.
Such a manoeuvre would be halted if the BBBofC decides to appeal the outcome of UKAD’s ruling on Benn, which the body that licenses fighters in Britain said on Monday it was “considering”.
Hearn said: “He has an international licence to box but I would like him to box in the UK. If they (BBBofC) appealed, that would slow down the process. A lot of people will be trying to convince them to (appeal).
“I don’t expect them to, but if they do, we’re here and ready – we’ve done it every day for a year. What’s another month or so? Hopefully we can all move forward.
“Everything that has been asked for Conor Benn, he’s done. I just hope that’s respected. At what point do you say ‘it’s been a year and a half since he’s boxed, how are we going to move forward?’.”
Benn’s positive tests were carried out by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association for the WBC, which cleared the boxer of any wrongdoing in February, pointing to an “elevated consumption of eggs” for the findings.
Hearn said: “You don’t just get cleared, especially not twice as well. One is through the people that controlled the test which is the WBC and VADA – cleared of any wrongdoing which were their words.
“A lot of people were unhappy that he didn’t go through the UKAD and the British Boxing Board of Control route. He did that and UKAD has cleared his suspension and cleared him to box.”
Hearn was speaking to promote Leigh Wood defending his WBA featherweight title against British rival Josh Warrington at Sheffield’s Utilita Arena Sheffield on October 7.
Warrington lost his IBF title in a majority points loss to Luis Alberto Lopez last December in his second defeat in his last four contests – but Hearn is convinced the Leeds fighter remains a danger.
Hearn added: “He looks fresh, he’s motivated and he’s as fit as a fiddle. I’m not saying he’s a favourite in the fight but I don’t think there’s anything in it. It’s a real 50-50 fight.”
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