Liam Dawson has stopped “wasting energy” thinking about an England recall, insisting he paid no attention to speculation about being parachuted into the Ashes.

When spinner Jack Leach was ruled out of the series due to injury last month, Dawson was tipped by many as one of the replacement candidates given he is also a slow left-armer and more useful with the bat.

England instead persuaded Moeen Ali to to end his Test retirement at Edgbaston but when a blistered finger ruled him out at Lord’s, it was teenage leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed who was drafted into the squad.

Dawson, who played the last of his three Tests in July 2017, responded by taking 12 wickets after scoring a century in Hampshire’s LV= County Championship innings win over Middlesex last month.

However, the 33-year-old was adamant a remarkable performance was not a retaliation to the England selectors following his snub, having decided long ago to channel his energies into what he can control.

He told the PA news agency: “I didn’t even think about it. Test cricket has not been on my mind for a number of years. I’ve never expected to play for a long time and it’s not something that I worry about.

“Playing for England isn’t the be-all and end-all for me any more, it’s not healthy to worry about that, I did that way too much earlier in my career and that certainly affected performances.

“It’s just wasting energy. Now it’s about enjoying my cricket and if you do that, you hopefully do well and if that leads to playing for England then great but if not then I’ll enjoy playing for Hampshire.”

Dawson will be bidding to make history with Hampshire in the Vitality Blast at Edgbaston this weekend, where they can become the first team to retain their title and claim a record fourth crown.

Dawson, alongside James Vince and Chris Wood, have been mainstays in Hampshire’s success, especially in the shortest format where on Saturday they will be competing in their 10th Finals Day in 14 editions.

Vince has been central to their success this year, topping the tournament run-charts with eight 50-plus scores in 15 matches, averaging 65.7 with a sparkling strike-rate of 154.95.

Dawson said: “The older Vincey’s getting, the better he’s getting. He’s so consistent not only in T20s but in all formats.

“Any time he’s at the crease, it relaxes the changing room and the opposition knows he’s the big wicket to get. As long as he’s out there it gives the changing room huge confidence.

“But as a group we don’t want to put extra pressure on him and him feeling like he has to get the runs. We know that we can’t just rely on him to always get the runs, it’s down to everyone else as well.”

All four teams from the South Group won their quarter-finals at the expense of their northern rivals to get to Birmingham, where Hampshire will play Essex before Somerset take on Surrey.

The winners are then scheduled to meet on Saturday evening – although the forecast rain means there are concerns about spilling over into a reserve day for just the second time in the event’s history.

Hampshire did the double over Essex in the group stages but Dawson was adamant that will have no bearing on this weekend.

He added: “The two games in the group stages are completely irrelevant. It means absolutely nothing.”

Basketball star Russell Westbrook has revealed he is a part of the consortium led by 49ers Enterprises which is poised to take full ownership of Leeds.

Los Angeles Clippers point guard Westbrook, who won the NBA’s most valuable player award in 2017, has followed American golfers Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas in becoming a minor stakeholder in Leeds.

Westbrook, according to Forbes the 14th highest-paid athlete in the world, said he had invested in the Yorkshire club at a sports and entertainment summit held by Sportico.

The 34-year-old said: “I was lucky enough to have conversations with some of the partners in this deal, who already have ownership, the 49ers.

“So I was lucky enough to talk through that with friends, talking with my business partner as well about different things and having conversations, figuring out if this was the right deal and how we could make it different.”

Westbrook, who signed with the Clippers from the Los Angeles Lakers in February, is a nine-time NBA All-Star.

Three-time major winner Spieth has confirmed he and Thomas had become minority stakeholders in Leeds earlier this week, but fellow golfer Rickie Fowler pulled out of a deal when the club were relegated from the Premier League in May.

Leeds’ joint-owners 49ers Enterprises, the financial arm of NFL franchise San Francisco 49ers, have bought former chairman Andrea Radrizzani’s majority 56 per cent shareholding.

The English Football League is currently carrying out its owners and directors test before it sanctions the 49ers’ full takeover.

Republic of Ireland midfielder Denise O’Sullivan is less than a week away from making her World Cup debut in front of more than 80,000 people – but confesses it was perhaps the fanfare-filled Knocknaheeny farewell in front of far fewer that will ultimately prove the more intimidating atmosphere.

O’Sullivan’s name will go down in history as one of the 23 women who were chosen to represent the Girls in Green at their maiden World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, where they will take on the Matildas in their July 20th tournament opener at Sydney’s sold-out Stadium Australia.

When the North Carolina Courage captain steps onto the pitch in front of that cauldron of Aussie support she will particularly feel the absence of a few familiar faces in the crowd.

Though her family was unable to make the trip, they did their best to compensate with a spectacular home send-off in front of the hundreds who descended on her mum’s house and decorated the neighbourhood to wish her luck.

O’Sullivan said: “I was mortified, but it was class to be fair. A few weeks before that I got permission from (manager) Vera (Pauw) just to go home to see the family because unfortunately, they weren’t coming over here to the World Cup.

“The minute I told them that, they were organising something and I knew it! But I didn’t know they were organising to that extent, to be quite honest – band and everything.

“Rappers, bands, oh my goodness. It was mad. My family have always been a great support and you can see what football does. It just brought the whole community and everyone together that night to support me. It was a great send off.”

O’Sullivan, 29, was speaking at Brisbane’s Meakin Park a few days before the Republic’s final friendly against Colombia.

Group B encounters with Olympic champions Canada and Nigeria follow the opener against FIFA world no 10 Australia, with the top two from each group advancing to the last-16 knockout round.

The long journey is now behind Vera Pauw’s squad, who have been adjusting to the nine-hour time difference through a strict training regimen of shifting start times. On Wednesday, they hosted an open session and invited local Irish fans to watch the team in action.

Those kids in the crowd sporting tiny green kit – whether in Queensland or Cork – are what motivate O’Sullivan to keep going.

She said: “In that field where I was that night with my family and everyone, that’s where I grew up playing football. That’s where I played street football with my brothers and all the boys. That night, I was there signing autographs for kids sitting in that same field, so just to look forward and look how far I’ve come and what I’m doing now.

“Look, I have a platform to inspire people and I think that’s what this team is doing. I want to leave this green shirt in the best condition I can for when I’m about to retire – not anytime soon [laughs], but that’s definitely what it’s all about. It’s about inspiring the next generation.”

O’Sullivan was just a young girl herself when father John brought her to a bar early in the morning to watch the Republic face Germany in the 2002 World Cup, when Robbie Keane scored his historic equaliser in the second minute of stoppage time.

In 2016, O’Sullivan, who was preparing to move to America to play for Houston Dash, lost her beloved dad just five weeks after he was diagnosed with cancer. Her World Cup debut is the realisation of a long-held dream shared by them both.

She added: “He was the biggest supporter for me in my journey to get to where I am. Obviously, to have him here would be a dream but I know he’s looking down. He’s proud anyway. He pushed me along the way to get to where I am today.”

The Women’s World Cup gets under way next Thursday in Australia and New Zealand.

Here, the PA news agency looks ahead to the tournament in numbers.

4 – the United States hold the record for Women’s World Cup titles, winning four of the eight previous tournaments including the last two back-to-back. Four is also the number of different nations to have been crowned champions, with Germany winning twice and Norway and Japan once each.

17 – Brazil’s Marta will go into her sixth World Cup as the competition’s all-time leading scorer with 17 goals.

10 – the record goal tally in a single edition, by American Michelle Akers in the inaugural 1991 competition. That included five in a match, against Chinese Taipei, a record matched by compatriot Alex Morgan against Thailand in 2019.

13-0 – the USA’s World Cup-record winning margin in that game against Thailand.

30 – Kristine Lilly played more World Cup finals matches than any other player, 30 for the USA between 1991 and 2007.

190 – Christine Sinclair’s career goal tally for Canada is a record for a male or female player. There are 21 squads at this World Cup whose cumulative total is less than Sinclair’s own.

16 – age of the youngest ever player at a Women’s World Cup. Nigeria’s Ifeanyi Chiejine was 16 years and 34 days old when she played against North Korea at the 1999 tournament – South Korea’s Casey Phair will break that record if she appears in either of her country’s first two matches this summer, against Colombia or Morocco.

32 – teams in this year’s competition, up from 24 in 2019 and 16 as recently as 2011.

8 – nations making their debut, as was the case when the tournament expanded from 16 to 24 teams. Haiti, Morocco, Panama, the Philippines, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, Vietnam and Zambia are the newcomers this time around.

2 – it is the first Women’s World Cup with two co-hosts, Australia and New Zealand.

15 – previous World Cup matches for New Zealand, without recording a win.

Australia’s Cameron Smith will defend his title when the 151st Open Championship takes place at Royal Liverpool Golf Club from July 20-23.

Smith is bidding to become the first player to retain the Claret Jug since Padraig Harrington (2007-08) as the Open returns to Hoylake, nine years after Rory McIlroy’s wire-to-wire victory.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the main contenders for the year’s final major championship.

Rory McIlroy

McIlroy enjoyed a purple patch of form the last time Hoylake staged the Open in 2014, holding off Sergio Garcia to claim a wire-to-wire victory and then winning his next two starts for good measure. The last of those, the US PGA Championship at Valhalla, remains his most recent major title and he was unable to convert a share of the 54-hole lead at St Andrews last year. McIlroy also finished second in the US Open, muttering “St Andrews all over again” to his manager after a closing round containing a solitary birdie at the opening hole.

Scottie Scheffler

Scheffler has been consistency personified in 2023, winning twice and finishing no worse than 12th in any event. A share of 10th in his title defence in the Masters is also his worst result in a major, the world number one finishing second in the US PGA and third in the US Open. Leads the PGA Tour in numerous statistical categories off the tee and into the green, but ranks a lowly 131st in putting and is contesting just his third Open at Hoylake.

Cameron Smith

Smith had already won twice in 2022, including the prestigious Players Championship, before securing his first major title thanks to a brilliant final round of 64 in the 150th Open at St Andrews. The Australian joined LIV Golf the following month but despite being unable to earn ranking points on the Saudi-funded breakaway, remains in the world’s top 10 thanks to finishing ninth in the US PGA and fourth in the US Open. Won his second LIV event in Hertfordshire 10 days before the start of the Open.

Rickie Fowler

Fowler was joint second behind McIlroy in 2014, a year in which he finished in the top five in all four majors, and won on a links course in 2015 when the Scottish Open was stage at Gullane. Suffered a loss of form in recent years but equalled the lowest round in major history last month with an opening 62 in the US Open at Los Angeles Country and ended a four-year winless drought on the PGA Tour two weeks later.

Tommy Fleetwood

Fleetwood came agonisingly close to winning his maiden PGA Tour title in last month’s Canadian Open, with home favourite Nick Taylor holing from 72 feet for an eagle on the fourth play-off hole. A week later the Ryder Cup star carded a final round of 63 in the US Open for the second time, earning him a tie for fifth. Runner-up to Shane Lowry in the 2019 Open and fourth last year, albeit having never been in contention at St Andrews. The Southport native will have plenty of support at nearby Hoylake.

Republic of Ireland defender Louise Quinn has described what lies ahead as the fulfilment of a “life-long ambition” as the team prepare to make their major tournament debut at this summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

History was secured for the Girls in Green last October when Vera Pauw’s side beat Scotland 1-0 in the qualifying play-offs, and their World Cup finals bow comes with a clash against Australia in Sydney next Thursday.

Quinn has made 105 appearances for the team, the 100th having come a month after the Scotland match in the next game – and the first back in 2008.

The 33-year-old Birmingham centre-half told the PA news agency: “Individually we know this has been that kind of life-long ambition.

“You watched the men in the World Cup and just being a fan and seeing how happy it made the country at the time…I was literally kind of growing up with it.

“I suppose you don’t think it’s a possibility, but at the same time you also see these guys running around playing for their country and the joy I remember it was bringing my family at the time, the town – you’re kind of like, ‘that’s cool and I play football, so why not, who knows’?

“I probably didn’t even know really what a World Cup was at that stage, but you’re like ‘that’s cool and I want to do that’, and then it just starts to gradually build.”

With the dream finally becoming reality – and Quinn and her team-mates in the women’s side now set to be watched on by youngsters back at home as they perform on the biggest stage – she added: “We looked up to the men’s team and really wanted it.

“It just lets people dream, lets people see it’s possible.

“That sort of pressure of young kids (watching), that’s an absolute privilege to have that pressure, to inspire, to grow the game, to get people wanting to play football, be involved in it, because it is the love of my life – my partner won’t be happy with me saying that!”

As well as playing the co-hosts, who are ranked 10th in the word, in a sold-out contest at the 80,000-plus capacity Stadium Australia, 22nd-ranked Ireland will also face Canada – the seventh-ranked Olympic champions – and Nigeria in Group B.

Quinn said: “We have a squad filled with massive experience, of winning leagues, FA Cups, playing in Champions League semi-finals. All of these things we have to take on board and help each other out along the way.

“I think for us, we obviously have that goal of getting through the group, but first and foremost we just have to not let the occasion get to us and take it in for what it is.

“Sport is sport. Sometimes another team is better then you have to kind of accept that, but I feel if we don’t just take it on for what it is or let the occasion get to us, there might be some disappointment in that.

“I think if we can just relish it, take on those good nerves that get the adrenaline going and as we’ve done for a lot of the campaign, keeping clean sheets, not letting teams through and then we have the ability to score all over the pitch as well…we know when we’re 100 per cent, we’re a very, very tough team to beat.”

When asked about the considerable Irish expat community in Australia and support the team will get at the World Cup, Quinn said with a smile that Irish fans would “definitely give it a good go” at trying to drown out their counterparts in the first match, and added: “There’s definitely going to be a wave of green in patches all over the stadium.

“My sister lives in Australia as well…and she’ll be getting everyone on board as much as she can. I have so many friends from uni and from everywhere that are over there.

“We’re very well known for being some of the best fans in the world and I know it’s going to be the exact same on the other side of the world in Australia.”

Royal Liverpool will host the Open Championship for the 13th time in its history from July 20-23.

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are the most recent winners at Hoylake, but the course also boasts a rich history of staging the game’s oldest major.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the most memorable moments at the venue.

1907 – Arnaud Massy becomes first overseas winner

Qualifying was introduced for the first time, with players split into two sections and each contesting 36 holes in one day. Massy led the qualifiers from day one and benefited from a day off before the Championship got under way. Rounds of 76 and 81 on Thursday gave the Frenchman a one-shot lead and after falling behind JH Taylor due to a 78 on Friday morning, Massy carded a closing 77 to win by two and become the first overseas winner. He later named his daughter Margot Hoylake Massy.

1930 – Bobby Jones remains on course for historic feat

Jones had already won the Open in 1926 and 1927, but his 1930 victory at Hoylake was part of an unmatched clean sweep of the era’s biggest four championships. After winning the Amateur Championship at St Andrews at the end of May, Jones lifted the Claret Jug for a third time three weeks later as a closing 75 proved enough for a two-shot victory. He returned home to win the US Open in July and the US Amateur in September, completing what became known as the ‘Impregnable Quadrilateral’, before retiring from competitive golf at the age of 28.

1956 – Peter Thomson completes hat-trick

After finishing sixth on his debut at Royal Portrush in 1951, Thomson went on to produce an incredible run of results in the Open and lifted the Claret Jug a total of five times. Despite winning the title in 1954 and 1955, the Australian still had to come through qualifying at Hoylake and Wallasey, but led after 36 and 54 holes and won by three shots from Belgium’s Flory van Donck to become the only player to win a hat-trick of titles in the modern era.

2006 – Tiger Woods bounces back

Woods had missed the cut in a major for the first time as a professional in June’s US Open at Winged Foot, which came after an unprecedented nine-week lay-off following the death of his father Earl. However, the defending champion was in imperious form at a bone-dry Hoylake, hitting driver just once and finding only three bunkers all week as he held off the challenge of Chris DiMarco to win by two shots before breaking down in tears in the arms of caddie Steve Williams.

2014 – Rory McIlroy claims third major title

McIlroy led from start to finish as he completed the third leg of a career grand slam, although he had to hold off a spirited challenge from Ryder Cup team-mate Sergio Garcia in the final round. The two-shot victory made McIlroy the first European player to win three different majors since the Masters was founded in 1934, while it also made his father Gerry and three of his friends £50,000 each after they bet £100 on the 15-year-old at 500-1 a decade ago to lift the Claret Jug before his 26th birthday.

Royal Liverpool member Matthew Jordan admits there will be no excuses when he tees it up in his second major on the home course he has played for 20 years.

The 27-year-old, who grew up in nearby West Kirby and lives in Hoylake, followed in his father and grandfather’s footsteps by becoming a member at the club while he was still at primary school.

Jordan has played the Wirral links in every conceivable weather and course condition and, while the most significant change for the Open is the switch of routing which means players tee off at what is the members’ 17th hole, he knows he has to take advantage of that knowledge after coming through final qualifying for the second successive year.

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“I would be amazed if there is something I don’t know. I’ve experienced it in all kinds of conditions so I guess there is no kind of excuse now.

“I know pretty much every pin position, I’ve seen it soft, I’ve seen it hard, I’ve seen it with rough up and down.

“I’ll probably play it exactly how I know how to play it but in terms of practice it is going to be a bit strange.”

Royal Liverpool is hosting its third Open in 18 years – after a hiatus of 39 years – and after weeks of primarily dry weather it seems likely conditions will be similar to 2006 when baked hard, fast-running fairways saw Tiger Woods use his driver just once in winning his third Claret Jug.

A major change to the course for this edition has seen the creation of a new 17th hole overlooking the Dee Estuary, a 140-yard par-three with an exposed green surrounded by bunkers which usually plays into the prevailing wind, which has become something of a talking point.

As a member, Jordan remained admirably diplomatic on the subject.

“I think it depends on individual opinion. Me personally, it will depend on conditions and how windy it is, how firm it is as well, as that will make a massive difference into how easy or difficult it will play,” he said.

“My reservations about it are if it will be a good hole for the Open, which will require it being into the wind and not soft and straightforward.

“I’ll have to ask the other pros what they think.”

The phrase ‘bigger and better’ has become a bit of a cliche, but it is still perhaps the most authentic way of describing the ninth edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup at a moment of reckoning in women’s football.

Australia and New Zealand are co-hosting the 2023 edition, which for the first time will feature 32 nations, 20 more than the inaugural 12-team tournament held in China in 1991.

Eight teams – the Republic of Ireland, Vietnam, Zambia, Haiti, Morocco, Panama, the Philippines and Portugal – are making their debuts in a World Cup organisers are hoping will attract a record two billion viewers.

The overall performance-based fund for the finals has skyrocketed to 110 million US dollars (£84.2m), more than three times what was on offer at the 2019 World Cup in France, with the players sharing more than 44 per cent of that between them.

Previously, there was no requirement for national associations to distribute a minimum amount of World Cup prize money to participating players.

Also, for the first time, FIFA will be directly paying all athletes for their participation in the tournament, with amounts increasing the deeper teams get, ranging from USD 30,000 (£22,964) per player for the group stage to USD 270,000 (£206,678) allotted to each champion.

It is a significant sum at a time when the average salary in the women’s game worldwide is USD 14,000 (£11,000), according to last year’s FIFA benchmarking report, although the improved pot still remains well short of the USD 440m (£337m) distributed after the 2022 men’s World Cup in Qatar.

FIFA has outlined ambitions for parity by the respective 2026 and 2027 tournaments.

The increased fund did not emerge out of thin air. A group of 150 players from 25 national teams, including England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland, wrote to FIFA in October last year calling for equal conditions and for a guarantee that at least 30 per cent of prize money would be allocated to players.

Indeed, this World Cup arrives during what feels like the dawn of a paradigm shift in the women’s game. For much of its existence, players have often felt obligated to express gratitude for anything they were given, from meagre mentions in the media to ill-fitting equipment not designed for women’s unique needs.

They are beginning to demand more. In February, Olympic champions Canada played the SheBelieves Cup under protest as part of an ongoing dispute with their national federation over pay and working conditions, while other nations, including England, wore purple wristbands in a show of collective solidarity and desire for progress.

That same month, France captain Wendie Renard and two team-mates announced they were pausing their international careers over “conditions” in camp, part of a so-called ‘revolt’ that led to the sacking of head coach Corinne Diacre just four months before the World Cup. Renard and others have since returned to the French fold after former Saudi Arabia men’s boss Herve Renard took over the team.

Players from numerous other countries, including Spain and Jamaica – and even Nigeria’s head coach – have taken action or called out their federations over issues such as pay, resources and personnel, while the Lionesses’ open letter to the then-Conservative leadership candidates following their Euro 2022 triumph led to the announcement of a £600m Government package to improve the PE provision in schools and grant girls equal access to school sports.

There have also been calls from all corners of the globe for more funding and research into women’s health.

The World Cup will be deprived of top talents like England’s Beth Mead and Leah Williamson, the Netherlands’ Vivianne Miedema, Canada’s Janine Beckie, the USA’s Catarina Macario and Christen Press, New Zealand’s Katie Rood and Zambia goalkeeper Hazel Nali, all of whom are on an exhaustive list of players whose dreams of representing their countries were dashed by anterior cruciate ligament injuries, for which women are at a three-to-six times higher risk than men.

As England’s Lucy Bronze told Sky Sports during an open training session in Queensland: “It’s a shame that women in sport in general have to (fight for change), but I think it’s a role that many athletes, many women, take on in society and in sport.”

Nevertheless, they will persist long after the trophy is lifted in Sydney.

The ninth FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off with New Zealand taking on Norway on July 20 followed by the Republic of Ireland’s tournament debut against Australia, the Kiwis’ co-hosts, at Sydney’s sold-out Stadium Australia later on the opening day.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the talking points.

Who will watch?

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Organisers are targeting a record two billion viewers for the 2023 edition, a figure that would double the audience who watched the 2019 World Cup in France. They believe the unique geographic position of the host countries has paved the way for strategic match scheduling that will allow fans, no matter where they live, to catch their side in action.

Yet one of the big issues ahead of the tournament was the lack of confirmed broadcast deals in a number of major markets – including the UK, Spain, France, Italy and Germany – just months out from the opening match, with FIFA president Gianni Infantino on several occasions accusing bidding broadcasters of lowballing offers and even threatening that his organisation could be “forced not to broadcast” the tournament if they did not step up.

Some in women’s football hit back, arguing the timings still would still prove challenging in engaging non-diehard audiences. England’s three group-stage kick-offs all begin between 9:30am and 12pm in the UK, with ITV and the BBC splitting broadcast duties across the tournament.

England’s injury woes

The Lionesses’ Euro 2022 triumph placed them squarely in conversations predicting World Cup favourites. Sarina Wiegman’s squad and unchanged starting XI benefited from generally excellent health throughout that unbeaten run, but this time the England manager is not so fortunate.

Beth Mead, who won the Golden Boot last summer, is still recovering from the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture she sustained in November, while her Arsenal team-mate and England captain Leah Williamson was ruled out when she suffered the same injury in April.

And while defenders Lucy Bronze and acting skipper Millie Bright have both recovered from their own respective issues in time to board the plane, Chelsea midfielder Fran Kirby announced she would not be joining them after doctors determined she would require knee surgery, leading to questions about how Wiegman will cope without three of her top talents alongside the absence of the retired Ellen White and Jill Scott.

Denying the ‘three-peat’

For anyone not sporting the stars and stripes, it feels the world has grown weary of American dominance and would welcome a new world champion with open arms, particularly after USA’s back-to-back victories in 2019 and 2015 and competition-leading four titles since claiming the inaugural trophy in 1991.

While USA remain the bookmakers’ favourites to lift the trophy, more than half of head coach Vlatko Andonovski’s 23-player roster will be competing in their first World Cup, with just nine returnees from their victory four years ago – potentially opening the door for other hopefuls including England, Germany, France and Spain to deny the United States a “three-peat”.

The great armband debate

The rainbow ‘One Love’ armband ban was a hot topic during the 2022 men’s World Cup in Qatar and sparked questions about what would be permitted in Australia and New Zealand, particularly as the women’s game has historically featured many out members of the LGBTQ+ community, including a record number bound for the World Cup.

While the One Love armband itself will not feature, FIFA announced late last month that they had reached an agreement to give players a selection of approved options highlighting issues from gender equality to indigenous people, peace and ending hunger, while another celebrates the sport of football itself. None, however, explicitly advocates for LGBTQ+ inclusion.

Antipodean legacy

Australia’s World Cup opener will take place with Test four of the Ashes already under way. The National Rugby League (NRL) season is also in full swing as is Aussie Rules’ AFL, so there is plenty on to entertain sports fans in a country where other games dominate the headlines.

Still, the 2023 Australian Sports Commission’s official AusPlay revealed football was once again the country’s most popular sport to play.

So while World Cup posters featuring Australia and Chelsea striker Sam Kerr seem ubiquitous Down Under and local governments are pointing to figures in the tens of millions for their visitor economies, the true test of this tournament lies in how much headway the sport can make in the two host countries – and what women’s football will look like here a generation down the line.

The world’s finest in women’s football have descended upon Australia and New Zealand for the ninth edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Here, the PA news agency picks out five players who could shine at the global showpiece.

Lauren James (England)

The 21-year-old forward has both England fans and pundits alike buzzing after a stellar season with Chelsea, where she scored seven goals and provided two assists in 26 matches played across the Women’s Super League and Champions League.

While the World Cup will be James’ first major international tournament, she has plenty of experience in high-stakes situations with Emma Hayes’ WSL and FA Cup-winning Blues.

The one-time PFA Young Player of the Year nominee is aggressive and opportunistic with the ball while also displaying what often feels like effortless control, and says she is keen to carve out an identity separate to that of her older brother, Chelsea and England defender Reece James. This opportunity could well accelerate that mission.

Trinity Rodman (USA)

Rodman can no doubt relate to James – she is also a 21-year-old forward who is often mentioned in the same breath as her own famous relative, ex-NBA player dad Dennis Rodman.

But the 2021 National Women’s Soccer League Rookie of the Year and 2022 Ballon D’Or nominee has more than earned her solo spotlight since she became, at age 18, the youngest player drafted into the NWSL. And last February she extended her stay at Washington Spirit with what was widely reported to be a league record-breaking USD1.1 million, four-year deal.

Rodman seems to be in fine form ahead of the USA’s tournament opener against Vietnam after bagging a second-half brace in the Americans’ 2-0 win over Wales in a friendly earlier this month.

Khadija Shaw (Jamaica)

‘Bunny’ Shaw will be a familiar face to many from her time with the WSL’s Manchester City, particularly after a 2022/23 season in which she finished second only to England and Aston Villa forward Rachel Daly for the most goals scored in the English top flight.

The 26-year-old Reggae Girlz captain, who recently extended her stay at City until 2026, concluded her second season with 31 goals in 30 games and in the process became the highest-scoring women’s player across a single campaign in the club’s history.

Shaw is the first Caribbean player to win the CONCACAF Women’s Player of the Year award, and Jamaica will rely on the skipper’s leadership when they embark on just their second World Cup finals in a difficult Group F that includes heavy-hitters Brazil and France alongside Panama.

Sam Kerr (Australia)

Prolific striker Sam Kerr is precisely the sort of player you want on your side in those dig-deep, do-or-die situations when the pressure is at its most intense.

Fortunately for tournament co-hosts Australia, the 29-year-old back-flipping forward is one of their very own and could well be the weapon that ultimately deals the tournament-ending blow to two of World Cup debutants Republic of Ireland, Olympic champions Canada and Nigeria to send the Matildas into the knockout stage.

Chelsea boss Hayes has heaped praise on the ‘FIFA 23’ cover woman for her steely focus until the final whistle, often paying off in result-deciding goals like the one that won the Blues this year’s FA Cup. Kerr also scored in England’s only loss under head coach Sarina Wiegman, a 2-0 upset for the Lionesses against Australia in their April friendly.

Lena Oberdorf (Germany)

Germany’s young midfield star will be looking for retribution after narrowly missing out Euro 2022 glory last summer, when her side lost 2-1 to England in their dramatic Wembley final, although she did walk away with Young Player of the Tournament honours.

Though also just 21, the Wolfsburg talent will be making her second World Cup appearance, having made her debut in the 2019 French edition aged 17, where she sat school exams during the tournament.

Known for taking initiative, winning back possession and her well-timed challenges, Oberdorf will be a key cog in a strong German side’s title hopes as one of the tournament favourites kick off their campaign with group H matches against Morocco, Colombia and South Korea.

Eight years and 11 months. 3,266 days. 78,384 hours.

Whichever way you look at it, by the time the 151st Open Championship gets underway the length of time since Rory McIlroy’s last major victory is truly remarkable.

Since McIlroy followed his Open triumph at Royal Liverpool in 2014 by winning the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and US PGA Championship in his next two starts, 34 majors have been staged and the 34-year-old Northern Irishman has won none of them.

Brooks Koepka has racked up all five of his victories in that spell, Jordan Spieth three, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa and Dustin Johnson two each, while 18 different players have tasted victory once, including a 50-year-old Phil Mickelson and an injury-ravaged Tiger Woods.

McIlroy has had to settle for commendable consistency, recording 19 top-10s and finishing no worse than eighth in all four majors in 2022, yet genuine chances to win on the back nine on Sunday have been relatively scarce.

In the 2018 Masters – the only major he has not won – McIlroy began the day three behind leader Patrick Reed but had a short eagle putt on the par-five second to draw level with the American. He missed, bogeyed the third to Reed’s birdie and that was effectively that.

At the 2022 US PGA, McIlroy roared into contention with four straight birdies early in the final round and was one shot off the eventual score required for a play-off, only to fade to eighth.

It was a different story two months later as McIlroy shared the lead with Viktor Hovland heading into the final round of the Open at St Andrews, four shots clear of Cameron Smith and Cameron Young.

Two ahead at the turn, McIlroy made his second birdie of the day on the 10th but was overhauled by a surging Smith, the Australian making five birdies in a row to start the back nine and another on the last to complete a stunning 64.

Last month’s US Open offered McIlroy another great chance to end his drought as he moved into a share of the lead with a birdie on the first hole of the final round at Los Angeles Country Club.

However, that proved to be his only one of a frustrating day and it was no surprise that he was overheard muttering “St Andrews all over again” to his manager after a level-par 70 which left him one shot behind winner Wyndham Clark.

Of course “Hoylake all over again” would be a very welcome sense of deja vu for McIlroy following his 2014 triumph, when he led from start to finish and held off a charging Sergio Garcia on the final day to lift the Claret Jug.

It made McIlroy the first European player to win three different majors since the Masters was founded in 1934 and gave him the third leg of a career grand slam completed by just five players in the history of the game.

When another major title followed a month later it was almost inconceivable that McIlroy would be stuck on the same tally nine years later, but there are precedents for ending even lengthier droughts.

Julius Boros and Hale Irwin both won the US Open 11 years apart, while Ben Crenshaw’s Masters victories in 1984 and 1995 came in just six days shy of that mark.

Tiger Woods memorably won the 2019 Masters almost 11 years on from his 2008 US Open win, with Lee Trevino and Ernie Els also cracking the 10-year barrier.

A keen student of the game, chances are McIlroy will be well aware of such facts. Whether he can do anything about adding his name to the list remains to be seen.

Ella Toone says her superb goal helping England triumph in the Euro 2022 final is “still a pinch-me moment” – and the kind of feeling she wants more of as she heads into her first World Cup nearly a year on.

Substitute Toone opened the scoring in the Wembley showdown against Germany with a wonderful lofted effort en route to the 2-1 victory that gave the Lionesses their first ever major trophy.

The 23-year-old Manchester United midfielder told the PA news agency: “It’s still a pinch-me moment – I still sometimes don’t think it’s sunk in.

“But the best feeling I’ve had in football, and one that I want to make sure I have over and over again.

“I’ve had that feeling of what winning is like and I definitely want to make sure that throughout my career I make sure I win more trophies.”

Toone is now preparing for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand that gets under way next Thursday, with Sarina Wiegman’s team opening their campaign two days later by facing Haiti in Brisbane.

Having come off the bench in each match during the Euros – most often for Fran Kirby, who has been ruled out of the World Cup by a knee injury – Toone has started 10 of 12 England fixtures since, and been a key member of a United outfit that achieved club-best finishes as runners-up in the Women’s Super League and FA Cup.

On her potential role at this tournament, Toone said: “I’m not putting too much pressure on myself and I’ll make sure whatever role Sarina asks of me I give 100 per cent, whether that’s starting or coming off the bench, I’ll make sure I’m ready for that.

“I think since the Euros I’ve just wanted to keep improving as a player and keep working hard.

“I know I have a lot of stuff that I need to keep working hard on, but I’m definitely ready to get out onto the world stage. It’s something I’ve dreamed of as a little girl, so I need to make sure I enjoy every minute of it.”

Somebody Toone has had alongside her for the highs of the past year at international and club level, and many experiences prior to that, is Alessia Russo, the player she describes as her “best friend”.

Striker Russo, another effective England substitute last summer that has been a regular starter since, is no longer Toone’s United team-mate, having left to join Arsenal earlier this month.

Regarding Russo’s departure from United, Toone said: “I think for both of us our focus is on the World Cup and stepping out there together, hopefully playing there together.

“It is what it is. It’s football and people move on. No matter what, I know we will be friends for life. Whatever Alessia does I want her to do the best in.”

The pair have known each other for some time, with Toone saying: “We started our journeys off aged 14 at England camps, we went through all the age groups together, and then we stepped out at the Euros together and won that.

“We lived together for a bit, it was more in Covid times. We couldn’t get rid of each other!

“It makes it 100 per cent better – not many people can say they’ve achieved some of the best things in life with their best friends.

“So it’s definitely been nice to share all those special memories together, and to see where we were and where we’re at now and what we’ve achieved is amazing.”

After starting their bid for World Cup glory with the Haiti match, England – also without skipper Leah Williamson and Beth Mead at the tournament due to ACL injuries – will face Denmark and then China in Group D.

“I think for us it’s going out there, inspiring the next generation and making the nation proud,” Toone said.

“We know we have a big target on our backs after the summer but we thrive off that pressure and we’ll just make sure we go out there, enjoy ourselves and believe in ourselves and see what happens.”