Michael Smith made it a hat-trick of Premier League wins on the spin after beating Gerwyn Price in the final in Sheffield.

The world champion followed up victories in Leeds and Manchester to join Michael van Gerwen in winning three successive nights in this year’s tournament.

Smith, who took a fourth victory overall, triumphed 6-3 against Price to keep his hopes of finishing in top spot alive going into next week’s final regular night in Aberdeen.

The eighth leg in the final was key as Price missed seven darts to take out eight points, with Smith stealing in to take it against the throw and then claiming victory with a clinical 12-dart leg.

Smith, who beat van Gerwen in the quarter-final before breezing past Jonny Clayton in the last four, will finish top of the table if he wins the night and Price does not get to the final.

The Welshman had beaten Nathan Aspinall and Chris Dobey in the previous rounds and will still be favourite to finish at the summit, which would see him take on fourth place in the play-offs at the O2 in a fortnight.

“Three in a row, it took me 15 weeks to win one night last year and now I’ve won four,” Smith said. “I am still in with a chance of finishing top.

“Me and Gez spoke about it backstage before the match, if it’s me and him in the final next week he finishes top. Hopefully I can be top.

“I know you get nothing out of finishing top but it is the prestige. I have qualifed last week and I could have just laid down and let anyone beat me. But I still need to go to the O2 playing well and winning.”

Clayton is now in pole position to seal that last spot after his run to the semi-final in Sheffield.

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‘The Ferret’ is in a straight shoot-out with Aspinall for the final spot, with the pair going head-to-head in the quarter-final next week in Aberdeen.

Victory will assure the Welshman another appearance at the O2 while even if Aspinall wins the quarter-final he also has to win the semi-final.

“It’s massive,” Clayton said. “All the pressure is on Nathan next week. He has to win, the ball is in my court because if I win I am through. I am going to try and relax and play my game.

“I was shaking like hell up there. It’s two points that are going to be massive.”

James Anderson starred as Lancashire got off to a strong start against Somerset on a rain-affected first day of their LV= Insurance County Championship Division One clash at Emirates Old Trafford.

Anderson, playing his fourth consecutive four-day game for the Red Rose and his final match before the sole Test against Ireland, gave notice of his readiness for England duty with a brilliant eight-over opening spell during which he bowled five maidens, was hit for five runs and claimed the wickets of Steven Davies and Tom Abell.

Although Somerset had recovered from 12 for three to 109 for four by the time torrential rain ended play for the day, it was Anderson’s spell that will have England supporters hoping for brighter days with the Ashes beginning in just over a month.

Chris Rushworth continued his stunning start to his Warwickshire career with another four wickets as Essex’s batting imploded on a rain-affected opening day at Edgbaston.

Former Durham seamer Rushworth went into this game, his fifth for Warwickshire, with 22 wickets at 15.27 apiece and enhanced those figures further with four for 28 as Essex folded to 126 all out.

Rushworth delivered a triple-wicket maiden in the last over before tea to reduce Essex from a relatively healthy 76 for two to 76 for five. Olly Hannon-Dalby followed up in the final session with four for 21, taking him past 450 wickets in all formats.

Warwickshire then encountered turbulence of their own as they reached 17 for two at the close of a day which provided abundant drama and entertainment despite play not starting until 3pm due to rain.

James Fuller took five for 21 as Hampshire dominated the first day of their match with Kent at Canterbury.

Kyle Abbott also starred for the visitors, claiming three for 23, as they skittled Kent for just 95 before reaching 89 without loss at stumps.

Dan Worrall’s five-wicket haul helped Surrey claim the honours on day one of their match with local rivals Middlesex after the visitors collapsed to 209 all out.

A 152-run second wicket stand between Sam Robson and Pieter Malan, who both hit half-centuries, put the visitors in a position of control but they lost nine wickets for 43 runs after lunch. The hosts reached 21 without loss in reply.

Ricardo Vasconcelos and Saif Zaib shared a 50 partnership as hosts Northamptonshire reached 86 for two against Nottinghamshire before rain ended proceedings early.

In Division Two, Durham’s Matthew Potts continued his impressive campaign by taking four wickets to help bowl out Yorkshire for 254 at Chester-le-Street.

Captain Shan Masood, making his Yorkshire debut, Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow failed to capitalise on starts, with Potts (four for 49) thriving. The hosts reached 42 for two in reply.

Michael Neser further stated his case for Australian selection this summer with a hugely impressive four-wicket haul for Glamorgan against visitors Worcestershire.

Neser, in partnership with Timm van der Gugten, ripped through the Worcestershire top order before James Harris claimed four wickets of his own as the visitors were bowled out for 109.

The Glamorgan top order also found batting challenging on a day where it swung and seamed throughout, moving to 177 for six with captain David Lloyd (48) leading the effort.

There was no action on day one of the second game of Australia batter Steve Smith’s three-match stint at Sussex. A wet outfield at Leicestershire did not help his preparations for his country’s World Test Championship final against India at the Oval on June 7 and the Ashes versus England, starting on June 16.

Rain meant the opening day of Derbyshire’s clash with visiting Gloucestershire was also washed out.

Players who competed in LIV Golf tournaments without permission have been fined up to £100,000 for each breach of the DP World Tour’s regulations.

Suspensions of up to eight events have also been handed out in the wake of an arbitration hearing which ruled that players had committed “serious breaches” of the DP World Tour’s code of behaviour.

In April, the Tour won its legal battle against 12 players who had appealed against being fined £100,000 and suspended from the Scottish Open for playing LIV Golf’s inaugural event in June 2022 without permission.

Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Richard Bland subsequently resigned their membership of the DP World Tour, with all but Garcia having paid the £100,000 fine.

On Thursday, the DP World Tour announced details of further sanctions imposed for playing in the remainder of LIV events in 2022 and those contested before the arbitration panel’s verdict was reached.

It is understood that the largest fine falls short of the seven-figure sums which had been reported.

A statement from the DP World Tour read: “In total, 26 players were today informed individually of the sanctions applicable to them based on the specific conflicting tournaments they each played in, as a DP World Tour member, without being granted a release.

“These sanctions include fines and, where appropriate, tournament suspensions.

“The sanctions imposed were determined on a case-by-case basis, acknowledging differences between the events in terms of the impact on the DP World Tour’s broadcast partners, sponsors and stakeholders.

“Where fines were issued to players they ranged from £12,500 to £100,000 for each individual breach of the Conflicting Tournament Regulation.

“The total cumulative suspension imposed on any single player for breaches in the period June 22, 2022, to April 2, 2023 is a maximum of eight DP World Tour tournaments, comprising a combination of one or two-week suspensions.

“The suspensions imposed relate to regular season DP World Tour events (i.e. excluding Major Championships) and will run consecutively, effective from the Porsche European Open from June 1-4, 2023 – the first tournament chronologically on the DP World Tour schedule whose entry list remains open as of today.

“Players who have resigned their membership will not be eligible for reinstatement unless and until they pay their fines and their suspensions will apply from then onwards.

“Further sanctions for breaches of the Conflicting Tournament Regulation in events which occurred subsequent to April 2, 2023, will be considered in due course.”

Nottinghamshire have announced Ashes hopeful Olly Stone is set for a spell on the sidelines with a hamstring problem.

The England paceman, who has had a luckless run with injuries, was forced off the field after pulling up when bowling during the LV= Insurance County Championship match against Lancashire.

Despite being in obvious discomfort, Stone hobbled to the crease at Trent Bridge on Sunday as last man and kept out the last four legal deliveries of the Division One match to help his side salvage a draw.

On Thursday, Nottinghamshire released a short statement which did not give any further details of the extent of the issue, but said Stone would not be in contention for the opening Vitality Blast fixture against Derbyshire on May 26.

“Olly Stone will miss the start of the Vitality Blast following a scan of his injured hamstring,” a statement on the county’s Twitter page read.

“We, and England, will be working with Olly to get him returning to cricket in a timely manner without compromising his recovery ahead of a busy summer.”

Stone made the last of his three Test appearances in June 2021, but had made a return to some international action after recovering from a fourth stress fracture in his back and a broken finger.

The 29-year-old played in four ODIs and a T20 last winter, and was then an unused squad member during England’s Test tour of New Zealand in February.

Depending on his recovery schedule, Stones could now face a battle to be fit ahead of the first Ashes Test, which starts at Edgbaston on June 16.

Nottinghamshire have announced Ashes hopeful Olly Stone is set for a spell on the sidelines with a hamstring problem.

The England paceman, who has had a luckless run with injuries, was forced off the field after pulling up when bowling during the LV= Insurance County Championship match against Lancashire.

Despite being in obvious discomfort, Stone hobbled to the crease at Trent Bridge on Sunday as last man and kept out the last four legal deliveries of the Division One match to help his side salvage a draw.

On Thursday, Nottinghamshire released a short statement which did not give any further details of the extent of the issue, but said Stone would not be in contention for the opening Vitality Blast fixture against Derbyshire on May 26.

“Olly Stone will miss the start of the Vitality Blast following a scan of his injured hamstring,” a statement on the county’s Twitter page read.

“We, and England, will be working with Olly to get him returning to cricket in a timely manner without compromising his recovery ahead of a busy summer.”

Stone made the last of his three Test appearances in June 2021, but had made a return to some international action after recovering from a fourth stress fracture in his back and a broken finger.

The 29-year-old played in four ODIs and a T20 last winter, and was then an unused squad member during England’s Test tour of New Zealand in February.

Depending on his recovery schedule, Stones could now face a battle to be fit ahead of the first Ashes Test, which starts at Edgbaston on June 16.

Chris Ashton has been cleared for Leicester’s Gallagher Premiership play-off semi-final against Sale after his red card was reduced to a yellow following a disciplinary hearing.

The 36-year-old former England wing was sent off for a high tackle on Harlequins’ Cadan Murley during Leicester’s 20-17 defeat on the final day of the regular league season.

Ashton, the Premiership’s record try-scorer, is set to retire at the end of the campaign, but if the suspension had been upheld, his hopes of featuring in a potential Premiership final at Twickenham on May 27 would have been over.

An independent disciplinary panel heard the appeal, which lasted five hours during which numerous angles of the tackle were shown, many having been not available to the referee and the match officials at the game. Ashton and Murley also gave evidence.

Panel chair Gareth Graham said: “Mr Ashton accepted committing an act of foul play that would have merited a yellow card.

“Having seen and heard all the evidence, including that of Mr Murley, who gave a clear account as to the point of contact and the level of force involved in the tackle, the panel agreed with the submission that this was a yellow card offence.”

The panel also considered what the degree of danger was in the tackle, concluding there was indirect contact to the head and that any force to the head or neck was low.

Graham added in a statement: “Consequently, the panel concluded that there was not a high degree of danger and that the correct starting point under the Head Contact Process was a yellow card.

“Therefore, the panel found the charge not proven. Mr Ashton is thereby able to play with immediate effect.”

Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from May 11.

Bradford remembered.

Newcastle weighed in on the ‘does Jason Tindall love the camera’ debate.

Dominic Matteo had some great news.

Rio was impressed.

League One safety and a new arrival in the same day for Paul Digby.

Bastian Schweinsteiger took a trip down memory lane.

Thibaut Courtois celebrated his birthday.

The Rocket’s book was out.

KP was on the bubbles.

Cricket rivalry was put to one side by Surrey and Middlesex on Thursday to honour the life of “incredible” Florence Dunn, the daughter of Matt Dunn who died in March.

Surrey bowler Dunn led a team of runners from Lord’s to the Kia Oval on day one of the LV= Insurance County Championship fixture to raise funds for charity Dravet Syndrome UK.

Dunn’s daughter Florence was diagnosed with the rare and severe form of epilepsy, when she was 11 months old and died earlier this year at the age of two.

Former England Lions seamer Dunn and wife Jessica have decided to run 5k every day of May to raise funds and awareness of Dravet Syndrome UK, following the lead of Regional Pride of Britain winner Tamara Ward who started the ‘every day in May for Dravet’ challenge.

The Division One fixture between the London rivals has been dedicated to the charity with both teams warming up in special T-shirts showing a picture of Florence while commemorative caps have been signed by each member of the Surrey and Middlesex starting line-up.

These will now be auctioned off and Dunn alongside his team of runners received applause from the Kia Oval crowd when they walked onto the pitch before play resumed at 3pm having completed the 5k run from Lord’s ahead of lunch being taken.

Dunn had a long embrace with Surrey captain Rory Burns and hugged Middlesex’s Toby Roland-Jones with his current focus on fundraising and raising awareness of a serious form of epilepsy that affects one in 15,000 people in the UK.

“The awareness side is probably the biggest for us,” Dunn told Surrey’s YouTube channel.

“Because it is such a rare condition, really no one knew anything and even with epilepsy in general, it is such an unknown field,” Dunn reflected.

“Myself before our journey with Florence, I knew really very little. For me it is to shine a spotlight on the daily struggles and challenges people with Dravet Syndrome and epilepsy face.

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“It is one of those quite isolating illness and one of those illness you won’t see on day to day life because the risk for people who have epilepsy, it is too great to risk in day to day activities.”

Life for the Dunn family was turned upside down following Florence’s diagnosis and a large chunk of the second year of her life was spent in hospital following life-threatening seizures, although new rescue medication had a transformative effect.

The medication meant soon after Florence’s second birthday, she could be treated instantly at home after a seizure and therefore recovered from them sufficiently quicker having previously endured seizures that lasted up to two hours during regularly trips to Milton Keynes hospital.

Dunn added: “At two we finally got rescue medication we could safely use at home and that transformed our lives for eight months.

“It meant we could give it to her straight away as soon as she started seizing at home and we were terminating the seizure within a minute or two. It was huge for her and her recovery time.

“It meant between illness or periods of her being run down, we were able to get out and do all the things every child should be doing. For that eight months it really gave us a life of enjoyment and we saw a change in her.”

The danger with Dravet Syndrome and other forms of epilepsy is the risk of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), which happened to Florence on March 11.

It left the Dunn family heartbroken but after watching Florence repeatedly defy doctors expectations by walking and talking, they draw inspiration from her strength.

“As a character she was pretty incredible. She was a character who loved life,” Dunn reflected.

“That showed throughout her whole time and even during hospital stays, she would wake up and be straight at the door of the ward and think, ‘I am better now, let’s go home and let’s get on with life.’

“It has really given strength to me and my wife for what we’re doing now because all the barriers she had throughout her whole life, she never once let it define her and for me to have that strength now is huge.”

The Kansas City Chiefs will begin defence of their Super Bowl title by hosting the upstart Detroit Lions as the NFL announced a few more select games on its 2023 regular-season schedule Thursday morning.

The league also revealed when and where Aaron Rodgers will make his highly anticipated debut with the New York Jets, who will host the AFC East-rival Buffalo Bills on Monday, Sept. 11 in a nationally televised primetime game on ESPN.

Detroit will visit Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 7 to officially start the NFL's 2023 campaign, with the game to be broadcast on NBC beginning at 8:20 p.m. ET.

The Chiefs will also be playing at home on Christmas Day with a matchup against their longtime AFC West foes, the Las Vegas Raiders. The NFL announced on Wednesday that the reigning champions will host the Cincinnati Bengals on New Year's Eve in a rematch of last season's conference championship game, which Kansas City won 23-20 on a late field goal.

Also announced is a clash between two of the NFC's marquee teams in Week 5, when the San Francisco 49ers will host the Dallas Cowboys in prime time on Oct. 8 as part of NBC's "Sunday Night Football" package.

The entire 2023 schedule for all 32 teams will be revealed Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. The NFL announced dates and times for eight games, including five International Series matchups that will take place in either London or Germany, on Wednesday.

The Los Angeles Lakers expect to have Anthony Davis on the court as they again attempt to close out the Golden State Warriors in Game 6 of their Western Conference semi-final series on Friday.

After exiting Wednesday’s 121-106 loss with a head injury, Davis apparently is not in the concussion protocol, according to reports, and should be ready to play.

The league’s concussion protocol prohibits a player diagnosed with a concussion from playing in a game that same day or the next calendar day.

An official injury report will be released later Thursday.

Davis’ availability appeared murky after he was inadvertently hit in the head and was reportedly feeling woozy and required a wheelchair to go to the locker room.

Immediate tests after the game were encouraging, however, according to Lakers coach Darvin Ham.

“He seems to be doing really good already,” Ham told reporters after the game.

Davis was injured with 7:43 to go in the fourth quarter when Kevon Looney’s elbow hit him in the head as the two were converging under the basket on D’Angelo Russell’s driving layup.

The 6-foot-10 superstar stayed in the game until the Lakers’ next possession before taking a seat on the bench.

Prior to leaving, Davis was in the midst of another solid game, totalling 23 points on 10-of-18 shooting to go with nine rebounds and three assists. However, he did fail to block a shot for a second straight game after blocking 11 shots in the first three games of the series.

Leading 101-88 when Davis exited, the Warriors remained in control the rest of the way to keep their season alive and cut the Lakers’ advantage in this best-of-seven series to 3-2.

The series now shifts back to Los Angeles, where the Lakers are 5-0 this postseason.

Ollie Lawrence hopes to one day return to a rebuilt Worcester after dedicating his Gallagher Premiership player of the season award to his former Warriors team-mates.

Lawrence’s blockbusting form following his October move to Bath led to an England recall before helping his new club climb the table and qualify for the Heineken Champions Cup on the final day of the regular campaign.

The 23-year-old centre returned from an end-of-season social in Lisbon to be recognised at Premiership Rugby’s annual dinner in central London after a panel of experts judged him to be the league’s best player of 2022-23.

But having spent several days with Bath in Portugal, it was his former colleagues at Worcester who occupied his thoughts as he reflected on his award.

The Warriors went into administration in September due to unpaid debts, triggering their relegation from the Premiership, and their new owners have been blocked from relaunching the club in the Championship, ushering in an uncertain future.

Not all squad members have been able to secure contracts elsewhere, but Lawrence has gone on to make waves at the Recreation Ground.

“Without the Worcester players I wouldn’t have won the award and I wouldn’t be at Bath, so I want to thank them. This is on behalf of those boys as well,” Lawrence said.

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“A huge thanks goes to Bath for managing to get me on board as quickly as they did. And also for the Worcester boys, it’s a big thing for me to represent them. Hopefully one day I can play with them again and play again in front of those fans.

“In general, this year I’ve had to pinch myself sometimes to remember where I’ve come from.

“That desperation knowing that I could have not had a job – some of my best mates still don’t now – makes this pretty special. It’s been pretty surreal. I feel incredibly fortunate.

“But I’ll keep two feet on the ground and just enjoy myself and hopefully go again next season.”

The bonds between the players whose worlds came crashing down eight months ago remain strong and a group of them are heading to Barcelona for a stag do this weakened.

Once that is done, Lawrence’s aim is to ensure he is in the best possible shape for England’s World Cup training camp after Steve Borthwick issued strict instructions on their conditioning.

“Steve has said to the players to make sure you’re fit going into these camps instead of using the camps to get fit,” he said.

“My focus over the next five weeks is to get as fit as possible, train as much as I can and try to get a week abroad somewhere.”

The UK’s Overseas Territories should be given representation in the House of Commons, ministers have heard.

The 14 British Overseas Territories (BOTs), including the Falklands Islands, Bermuda, and Gibraltar, are self-governing, but the UK is responsible for their defence and foreign policy.

A cross-party group of MPs suggested there were strong arguments for giving the territories a “voice” in Parliament on matters that involve them.

Conservative former Cabinet minister Karen Bradley told MPs: “Where in our procedures have we got the ability to give a voice to our friends, our family, in the overseas territories and the crown dependencies?”

Intervening, Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Brighton, Kemptown) said: “My view, as I’ve expressed, is that we should have MPs here, with voting rights.

“But other areas do it differently as well.

“At least in the US, for example, they are without voting rights but full participation rights.

“We must find a solution along those lines, otherwise we are all negligent.

“Because the best people to make their voice heard, is themselves.”

Tory former minister David Jones said: “I think there is a strong argument for saying that in the case of at least some of the territories integration should be pursued, and that those territories should send a member to this Parliament.”

But the Tory chairwoman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Alicia Kearns urged caution about the proposals.

She said: “I do think it’s important that we reiterate that is only if that is the wishes of overseas territories, because I would make the point that when the Foreign Affairs Committee spoke to them, many said they would not want to see that.”

Ms Kearns had earlier stressed Government policy in relation to the BOTs must recognise the “unique circumstances of each territory” and make sure “they feel heard, valued and supported”.

She added: “British Overseas Territories span Europe, the Caribbean, the Pacific and the Atlantic.

“They vary in size, population, culture, climate, food, traditions, challenges and opportunities.

“The British global family is diverse and requires policy that recognises this diversity.

“I hope the Government will adopt an ethos that recognises the unique circumstances of each territory and makes sure they feel heard, valued and supported.”

Foreign Office minister David Rutley said the Government was doing more to ensure the BOTs were better represented.

He told MPs the Prime Minister had agreed the Foreign Office should “lead on a new cross-Government strategy for the overseas territories”.

Mr Rutley also suggested “relevant” Government departments would soon select ministers to be responsible for issues in the BOTs, adding: “Lord Goldsmith as minister for the overseas territories will convene a regular meeting of these minsters as a ministerial group to ensure that the UK meets its constitutional responsibilities.”

The minister went on: “Others have suggested that there should be MPs or some form of representation in this House.

“We so far have not had any formal representations from any territory on this matter.”

MPs debated the future of the BOTs as representatives from the territories visited Parliament.

As part of the visit, Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle unveiled two stained glass windows celebrating the BOTs and crown dependencies at the entrance of Speaker’s House in the Palace of Westminster on Tuesday.