Darren Clarke became the oldest Open champion since 1967 on this day in 2011.

The 42-year-old Northern Irishman shot an even-par 70 on the final day to hold off the challenge of American duo Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson and win by three strokes at Royal St George’s, Sandwich.

It was an emotional victory as Clarke had lost his wife Heather to breast cancer five years earlier, with their two sons watching on at home across the Irish Sea.

“I’ve been writing this speech for 20 years now and it’s been a long bumpy road,” said Clarke, who had held the lead since the second day at the Kent course.

“This means a lot to me and my family and as you may know there is someone up there looking down on me as well.”

It was the third win for a Northern Irishman at a major in the space of 13 months after Graeme McDowell’s 2010 US Open success and Rory McIlroy’s victory at the 2011 edition at Congression Country Club, Maryland, a month earlier.

Clarke became the oldest Open champion since Roberto De Vicenzo’s triumph in 1967 at the age of 44.

The curtain has closed on Wimbledon for another year but it produced another outstanding fortnight of action.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at five stars who shone brightest.

Chris Eubanks

The American was a British headline writer’s dream given the likeness of his name to the famous boxer, but it was his tennis that delivered the knockout blows.

The 27-year-old arrived in SW19 with just two grand slam match wins to his name but left a superstar after a brilliant run to the quarter-finals.

He had been working as a pundit on the Tennis Channel, but his groundstrokes did the talking as his 321 winners set a new tournament record.

Big things could be about to happen after enjoying a new lease of life and he is sure to be a star attraction at the forthcoming US Open.

Mirra Andreeva

Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva proved her run to the third round of the French Open was no fluke after she went one better at Wimbledon.

The 16-year-old, who revealed she finds British hero Andy Murray “beautiful”, got to the fourth round and was a set up before eventually losing to Madison Keys.

A fine for two racket violations shows she still has some work to do on the mental side of things, but there is no doubting that her game is already there as her point-building and defence shone through.

This was a big step for a player who is undoubtedly going to become a big star in years to come.

Elina Svitolina

There has not been a more heartwarming story than Elina Svitolina’s run to the semi-finals.

The Ukrainian is playing just her second grand slam back after giving birth in October and she put on an inspired show as she beat Venus Williams, Elise Mertens, Sofia Kenin, Victoria Azarenka and Iga Swiatek on her way to the last four, where she was eventually beaten by champion Marketa Vondrousova.

The 28-year-old was not only playing with freedom following the birth of her daughter but also fighting for a much higher cause, knowing her compatriots back in war torn Ukraine were supporting her.

Marketa Vondrousova

Vondrousova created history when she became the first unseeded player to win the women’s title at Wimbledon after her 6-4 6-4 victory over Ons Jabeur.

The Czech’s victory marks an impressive comeback after injury stalled her career having made the French Open final as a 19-year-old and she was only at Wimbledon last year to support her best friend in qualifying while wearing a cast following wrist surgery.

But now her name is on the honours board and she has a place in history, becoming just the third Czech woman to lift the title following Martina Navratilova and Petra Kvitova.

Carlos Alcaraz

The 20-year-old was not supposed to be able to play so well on grass, having played just 11 matches on the surface before this tournament.

However, Alcaraz has proved that he has everything needed to prosper after a fine run that concluded with him ending Novak Djokovic’s 45-match unbeaten run on Centre Court and winning the title.

He is the first man in 21 years not called Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Andy Murray to win at Wimbledon and few can bet against him having a career similar to those four greats.

It is ominous for the rest of the world as, once Djokovic finally departs from the scene, Alcaraz is now surely going to dominate on all surfaces for years to come.

Defender Heather Payne says it is back to business as usual for the Republic of Ireland after a dramatic Friday night that saw their behind-closed-doors friendly with Colombia aborted and midfielder Denise O’Sullivan taken to hospital with a suspected shin injury.

The World Cup warm-up in Brisbane was abandoned after 20 minutes due to what the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) would later explain in a statement was as a result of it becoming “overly physical”.

Initial scans revealed O’Sullivan had not sustained any fractures, with an update expected during Monday afternoon’s training session – just three sleeps away from the Girls in Green’s World Cup debut against Australia on Thursday night.

While they will be hoping for more encouraging news about their team-mate, Payne insisted the team have otherwise put the tumultuous events behind them, saying: “It’s a new week as well, and I think everyone is just… our main focus here is the World Cup and we’re all really focused on that game on Thursday.

“It’s Monday now, it’s a new week, the game is just a few days away. Honestly, we’re all good. We had a recovery day and a day off and it was nice. We’ve been together for so long now, it’s nearly five weeks, so it’s nice to get out and about and do your own thing. But yeah, I think everyone is just focused on the upcoming game.”

Players enjoyed a rest day on Sunday, with some heading to the beach and others meeting koalas at a sanctuary nearby their Brisbane base.

The Republic have been handed the intimidating task of opening their maiden World Cup in front of more than 80,000 fans at Sydney’s Stadium Australia, where the majority will be cheering for co-hosts the Matildas, 12 places above Payne’s number 22 side in FIFA’s global rankings.

It does not get any easier for the only Group B nation to never have featured in the global showpiece, with Olympic champions Canada – the Republic’s highest-ranked group rivals in seventh – in Perth to follow, then a first-ever meeting with Nigeria in Brisbane to conclude the group stage.

In May, 23-year-old Ballinasloe native Payne graduated from the University of Florida, where she played for the Division One Seminoles. She stayed in the States for a month, both to train and close that particular chapter of her career, before joining up with her Republic team-mates.

She said: “I was able to enjoy my last time there and take it all in, but since I’ve been home we’ve had camp and then I was able to just kind of fully switch over to this mode.

“I think over the past couple of weeks I’ve kind of been focusing on both (the World Cup and next steps) a bit, but now that I’ve gotten here my full focus is on the World Cup. This is a huge, huge tournament and our first, so I just want to be fully focused on that.”

At some point soon, Payne will inevitably appear in one of those pen-in-hand promotional photos, wearing the colours of whichever club she chooses to call her next home.

For now, however, green is the only shade that matters.

Payne added: “Wearing that shirt means everything. I think now more than ever, I think since we see the Irish support and we see that the whole country is behind us, I think it’s meaning quite a lot now more than ever.

“It’s absolutely brilliant. I think when we’re out there on Thursday in front of 80,000 people and then knowing everyone at home is also watching, I think we’re all going to be super proud.”

England’s Nathan Kimsey has fallen just short of a maiden PGA Tour title after losing in a playoff to Vincent Norrman at the Barbasol Championship in Kentucky.

Kimsey, the 30-year-old European tour player, made his PGA Tour debut in this co-sanctioned event.

He was faultless on the last day of the tournament up until the playoff hole, hitting six birdies and an eagle to put pressure on Norrman, who bogeyed the last.

He shot 62 and finished on 22 under par to force the playoff with Norrman, from Sweden, at Keene Trace.

Unfortunately for Kimsey, he bogeyed the playoff hole, and Norrman parred to secure his first PGA Tour title.

After the day’s play, Kimsey said he was pleased with his performance overall.

He said: “I feel like I barely missed a shot all day.

“Holed a few nice putts and just kind of did a really good job of executing kind of the whole back nine and keep pushing really.

“Yeah, like I can’t complain with anything I did today.”

Kimsey would have been the first player to win on his PGA Tour debut since 1988.

French golfer Adrien Saddier and American Trevor Cone finished tied in third place on 21 under par.

England’s Daniel Brown finished a further three shots back.

Kyle Bradish threw 7 1/3 scoreless innings and the Baltimore Orioles withstood a furious late rally from the Miami Marlins to hold on for a 5-4 victory on Sunday and extend their winning streak to eight games.

Bradish scattered three hits and a walk while striking out eight before exiting with a 5-0 lead a Baltimore bullpen barely held with All-Stars Felix Bautista and Yennier Cano both unavailable.

The Marlins quickly put two on against Eduard Bazardo in the ninth and cut the deficit to 5-2 on Jean Segura's two-run double with one out. Segura later came home on Jon Berti's two-out single off Danny Coulombe, and Dane Myers followed with a double to suddenly pull Miami within a run.

Coulombe regrouped to strike out MLB batting leader Luis Arraez with the tying run at second, however, and earn his first major league save in 233 career appearances.

Arraez, who entered the day with a .386 average, went 0 for 5.

Adley Rutschman's RBI double and Anthony Santander's two-run homer staked the Orioles to a 3-0 lead after one inning, and Baltimore scored twice more in the fourth for what turned out to be needed insurance.

After sweeping the three-game series, the surging Orioles are now just one game behind first-place Tampa Bay in the American League East after the Rays lost 8-4 to the Kansas City Royals on Sunday. 

Mets score in 10th to end Dodgers' six-game winning streak

Luis Guillorme drove in the deciding run with a pinch-hit double in the 10th inning as the New York Mets ended the Los Angeles' Dodgers six-game winning streak with a 2-1 victory.

After David Robertson held the Dodgers scoreless in the top of the 10th, Guillorme greeted Nick Robertson with a sharp ground ball down the right-field line that plated automatic runner Brett Baty and halted the Mets' four-game losing streak. 

The Dodgers managed just one hit off New York's Max Scherzer through the first seven innings, but put the first two runners on against reliever Trevor Gott in the eighth before Mookie Betts' RBI single tied the game at 1-1.

Scherzer walked three and struck out six in a sharp bounce-back outing for the three-time Cy Young Award winner, who was tagged for nine runs in 11 innings in his previous two starts.

Dodgers starter Bobby Miller allowed one run and three hits in 4 1/3 innings while recording five strikeouts.

Brewers complete sweep of Reds to pad NL Central lead

Andruw Monasterio delivered a tie-breaking RBI single in the eighth inning as the Milwaukee Brewers rallied for a 4-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds to complete a sweep of the three-game series between the National League Central's top two teams.

Milwaukee's fourth straight win overall extended its lead over second-place Cincinnati to two games in the division.

The Brewers trailed 3-2 entering the eighth when Willy Adames drew a leadoff walk off reliever Lucas Sims and former Red Jesse Winker followed with a single. Owen Miller then brought Adames home with a sacrifice fly before Monasterio later plated pinch-runner Tyrone Taylor with a single off All-Star closer Alexis Diaz for a 4-3 Milwaukee lead.

Hoby Milner protected the one-run lead in the bottom of the eighth before Devin Williams retired the Reds in order in the ninth to notch his 22nd save of the season and third of the series.

Monasterio finished 2 for 4 and Christian Yelich had three hits, including a solo home run, and two RBIs for Milwaukee.

The slumping Reds have now lost four straight and had been shut out in the first three of those defeats. Joey Votto's RBI double in the second ended Cincinnati's streak of 28 straight innings without a run, and Jake Fraley put the Reds up 3-1 with a two-run homer in the third.

Reigning champion Michael van Gerwen suffered a shock first-round exit at the Betfred World Matchplay in Blackpool, losing 10-7 to Brendan Dolan.

Three-time winner Van Gerwen could not have made a worst start to his title defence as world number 27 Dolan won the first three legs on his way to a 4-1 lead at the break.

Van Gerwen dug deep to level the scores at 5-5, aided by a 137-finish, but Dolan reasserted control to forge 9-6 ahead and although the world number three pulled it back to 9-7, the Northern Irishman was not to be denied.

World number one Michael Smith cruised through to the second round, but was far from his best as he beat Steve Beaton 10-2.

Smith hit the bull for a huge 161-finish on his way to a 4-1 lead and opened up an 8-2 advantage with the help of two more 100-plus checkouts before comfortably seeing the match out.

Luke Humphries produced another impressive display at the Winter Gardens as he stormed into the second round with a 10-2 win over Portugal’s Jose de Sousa.

World number six Humphries, who produced a 114-finish to open up an 8-1 lead, averaged 101.78 over the 12 legs.

Nathan Aspinall progressed into the second round with a 10-7 win over Poland’s former semi-finalist Krzysztof Ratajski, which included a 151-finish which had taken him into a 7-4 lead.

In Sunday’s afternoon session, world number eight Danny Noppert scraped through 10-8 after a late fightback from Germany’s Martin Schindler, and Dirk van Duijvenbode survived two match darts to beat Kim Huybrechts 12-10 after a thrilling tie-break.

Australia’s Damon Heta overcame Josh Rock 10-5 and Chris Dobey clinched his first World Matchplay win with a hard-fought 10-8 success against former champion James Wade.

Johnny Sexton will be free to captain Ireland at the Rugby World Cup in France after being handed a three-match ban for misconduct.

The 38-year-old Leinster fly-half will miss the warm-up fixtures against Italy, England and Samoa after admitting a European Professional Club Rugby misconduct charge levelled in the wake of the province’s Heineken Champions Cup final defeat by La Rochelle on May 20.

Sexton, who was not playing in the game, went on to the pitch at the Aviva Stadium after the match – Leinster lost 27-26 – and became involved in what appeared to be a heated exchange with South African referee Jaco Peyper and other match officials.

A statement issued on behalf of the independent disciplinary commission, which met last week, said: “With the consent of the parties, the independent disciplinary committee (comprising Christopher Quinlan KC, chair, (World Rugby independent judicial panel chair), Adam Casselden SC (former chair SANZAAR judicial committee) and Marcello D’Orey (former international rugby player) announced its decision and full written reasons today in respect of the misconduct case brought against Johnny Sexton and Leinster Rugby.

“Johnny Sexton admitted misconduct. The disciplinary committee found his behaviour confrontational and aggressive towards and disrespectful of the match officials.

“It included his pointing his finger at them and shouting at them something to this effect: ‘It’s a disgrace you guys can’t get the big decisions right,’ probably accompanied by expletives, ‘most likely the f-word’.

“His conduct was obviously unsportsmanlike and brought the sport of rugby union into disrepute.”

Sexton has been suspended with immediate effect and will miss the games against Italy on August 5, England a fortnight later and Samoa on August 26.

However, he will be available for Ireland’s opening World Cup fixture against Romania in Bordeaux on September 9.

Leinster have also been handed a suspended £7,500 fine for failing to exercise reasonable control over their player, and both, as well as EPCR, have until 4pm on Wednesday to appeal against the independent disciplinary committee decision.

The statement continued: “The disciplinary committee upheld the misconduct complaint against Leinster Rugby.

“Having regard to the limited extent to which it was at fault and relevant mitigation, the disciplinary committee concluded that the appropriate penalty was a fine in the sum of £7,500, suspended until the end of the 2023/24 EPCR season.

“If Leinster commits another act of Misconduct before the end of the 2023/24 EPCR season it must pay that sum in full.”

Sexton, who led his country, ranked number one in the world, to a Six Nations grand slam in March, has signalled his intention to retire after this autumn’s tournament.

Marketa Vondrousova cited being dumped by sponsor Nike as a driving factor behind her surprise Wimbledon victory.

The Czech emerged as one of the most unlikely champions at the All England Club and the first unseeded women’s winner with a 6-4 6-4 victory against favourite Ons Jabeur.

Vondrousova’s success was all the more surprising given her lack of pedigree on grass and a long injury absence last year following wrist surgery, and her failure to build on her run to the 2019 French Open final meant her clothing contract with Nike was not renewed.

“The contract ended last year and I didn’t play for six months,” she said.

“I was a bit sad when it finished but I was like, ‘We’re going to try to find something else, just show them I’m going to be good, I’m going to play good and we’ll see what happens now’. But I also feel like maybe that’s a good thing that drove me here.”

Vondrousova’s victory continued the extraordinary success story that is Czech women’s tennis.

She joins Petra Kvitova and Barbora Krejcikova as active grand slam champions while she will make her top-10 debut on Monday as one of seven Czech women in the top 35.

Vondrousova remembers watching her fellow left-hander Kvitova winning back in 2011 as a 12-year-old, saying: “I think I was probably on the couch eating some candy.

“Petra is also from a small club, from a small city, and she is a huge inspiration.

“I watched her win here and she is great person and girls from Czech are very supportive, we have a great relationship. Just to see they could do it, then you believe you can do it also.

“We practise in different clubs, we are not even together, so maybe there is something about Czechs.”

Vondrousova grew up in the small town of Sokolov, with her grandfather driving her to Prague for training every week before she moved to the capital by herself at 15 to develop her tennis.

“It’s a two-hour drive so we went for maybe Wednesday and Thursday and then went back home and I went to school. It’s an amazing journey,” she said.

One of Vondrousova’s first acts after she lifted the Venus Rosewater Dish was to call her mother and her grandparents back home.

She said of her grandfather: “He is my biggest fan. To see them so happy, I’m really grateful for it because there is so much hard work and he was really the most important person in my tennis career when I was young.”

Vondrousova’s best run at Wimbledon prior to this year had been in 2021 when she lost to Emma Raducanu in the second round.

Her game, though, built on touch, slice and angles rather than power, is a good fit for grass, making this victory slightly less unexpected than at first glance.

She credits an early coach and her slightness of stature for the way her game has developed, saying: “I had one coach in my home town who taught me how to slice and everything.

“I just feel like I was always the smallest one and I just didn’t have that much power, so I had to do something else to win. You can use it really well and you have many options, so that’s a great thing to have.”

While her parents were not in London, Vondrousova was able to celebrate with her younger sister and husband, who passed over cat-sitting duties to fly over for the final.

The couple were planning to celebrate their first wedding anniversary on Sunday with a special date at the Champions Dinner.

Carlos Alcaraz celebrated a generational shift in tennis after dethroning Novak Djokovic in one of the great Wimbledon finals.

The young Spaniard looked to be on his way to victory when he recovered from a nervous start to take a two-sets-to-one lead only for Djokovic to show once again his remarkable powers of resilience.

It was he who appeared in the ascendancy at the start of the fifth set but back came 20-year-old Alcaraz to claim a 1-6 7-6 (6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 victory after four hours and 42 minutes, finally landing a meaningful blow for the young guns against the man 16 years his senior.

Alcaraz was not even born when Lleyton Hewitt in 2002 became the last man apart from Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray or Djokovic to win the title here, and he is the youngest men’s champion since Boris Becker in 1986.

Alcaraz won his maiden slam title at the US Open last summer but, having beaten Casper Ruud on that occasion with Djokovic barred from entering the country, there is no question this is a far bigger, and potentially seismic, moment in the men’s game.

“I did it for myself, not for the tennis generation,” said Alcaraz. “(But) beating Novak at his best, in this stage, making history, being the guy to beat him after 10 years unbeaten on that court, is amazing for me.

“It’s something that I will never forget. It’s great for the new generation, as well, I think, to see me beating him and making them think that they are capable to do it as well.

“It’s the happiest moment of my life. I think it’s not going to change for a long time. Beating Novak, winning the Wimbledon championship, is something that I dream about since I started playing tennis.”

The defeat prevented Djokovic tying Federer with an eighth Wimbledon title, while it also ended his chances of winning the calendar Grand Slam this year and possibly forever, although he will surely have more opportunities to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 slam crowns.

This was the hottest ticket in town. Along with the Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince George and Princess Charlotte and King Felipe VI of Spain, Hollywood stars Brad Pitt, Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig were attendance while, among the tennis ranks, sat in the stands with new men’s doubles champion Neal Skupski, was Murray.

The Scot was the last man to beat Djokovic on this court, 10 years and 46 matches ago, in that unforgettable final.

The excitement that fizzed around the arena threatened to evaporate as Djokovic pounced on Alcaraz, winning the first five games then the opening set in only 34 minutes.

Djokovic had two main regrets after the match, the biggest one being that he was not able to extend his record of consecutive slam tie-breaks won to 16.

He led 3-0 and had a set point at 6-5 only to net two routine backhands and then see an Alcaraz return fly past him.

In their first slam meeting in the semi-finals of the French Open last month, Alcaraz had been stricken by cramp after a similar first two sets, but here he looked far the better physically as he swept to the third set, breaking Djokovic for a second time in a 26-minute game comprising 13 deuces and seven break points.

But Djokovic is the master at rousing himself when he appears down and out and so it proved again.

The four-time defending champion had the momentum going into the decider but netted a high volley on break point at 1-0 and then hurled his racket against the net post in anger, smashing the frame, after Alcaraz broke in the next game.

Djokovic did all he could to apply pressure as the young Spaniard, who has extended his lead as world number one, stepped up to serve it out but Alcaraz showed what a truly special talent he is by pulling off a precision lob and a reflex volley before slumping to the grass when his opponent finally netted.

“Probably before this match I thought that I wasn’t ready to beat Djokovic in five sets, an epic match like this,” said Alcaraz. “I stayed good physically and good mentally about five hours against a legend.”

On learning from what happened in Paris, he added: “I am a totally different player than French Open. I grew up a lot since that moment. I learned a lot from that moment.”

Djokovic handled the defeat with impressive grace but broke down in tears when he saw his eight-year-old son Stefan applauding from the stands.

He admitted Alcaraz’s remarkably quick progression on grass had taken him by surprise and thought back to the close finals where he has come out on the other side.

“I’ve won some epic finals that I was very close to losing,” he said. “Maybe this is kind of a fair-and-square deal, I guess, to lose a match like this for me here. Even though it hurts.

“Credit to Carlos. Amazing poise in the important moments. For someone of his age to handle the nerves like this, be playing attacking tennis, and to close out the match the way he did. I thought I returned very well that last game, but he was just coming up with some amazing, amazing shots.

“Some regrets. I had my chances. I think I could have closed out that second-set tie-breaker better. But credit to him for fighting and showing some incredible defensive skills, passing shots that got him the break in the fifth. He was a deserved winner today.”

Alcaraz has a long way to go if he is to have anything like the careers that Djokovic and his long-time rivals Federer and Nadal have put together.

But the Serbian could not be more impressed with the 20-year-old as an all-round package, saying: “I think people have been talking in the past 12 months or so about his game consisting of certain elements from Roger, Rafa and myself.

“I would agree with that. I think he’s got basically the best of all three worlds. He’s got this Spanish bull mentality of competitiveness and fighting spirit and incredible defence.

“I haven’t played a player like him ever, to be honest. Roger and Rafa have their own strengths and weaknesses. Carlos is a very complete player. Amazing adapting capabilities that I think are a key for longevity and for a successful career on all surfaces.”

Alcaraz, still wearing his lucky bucket hat, burst into a wide grin when told what Djokovic had said.

“It’s crazy that Novak said that, honestly,” he said. “I don’t know. Probably he’s right. But I don’t want to think about it. I’m going to think that I’m full Carlos Alcaraz.”

Carlos Alcaraz dethroned Novak Djokovic on Centre Court as the curtain closed on Wimbledon with a men’s final for the ages.

There was more British joy as Henry Searle won the boys’ singles crown but there was disappointment for Alfie Hewett as he again missed out on the wheelchair singles crown.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at day 14 of the Championships.

Alcaraz ends Djokovic reign

Carlos Alcaraz will go down in history as the man who finally beat Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon.

The Serbian had not lost since 2017 and his invincibility stretched back even further on Centre Court, with Andy Murray the last man to inflict defeat on him there way back in 2013.

But Alcaraz proved he is the real deal and ended Djokovic’s reign in a men’s singles final that will go down as one of the greatest.

There were twists and turns, drama, frustration and most of all some epic tennis in a near five-hour battle that Alcaraz won 1-6 7-6 (6) 6-1 3-6 6-4.

He claimed his first SW19 crown and second grand slam title overall and it will be fascinating to see how much of a seminal moment this victory is.

Tweet of the dayQuote of the dayPicture of the dayHewett’s heartache

Alfie Hewett’s wait for grand slam perfection goes on after he lost the wheelchair singles final.

The Briton has won at the Australian Open, the French Open and US Open but his home slam at Wimbledon continues to evade him after a second successive final loss.

Number one seed Tokito Oda, who is just 17, denied him glory on Court One with a 6-4 6-2 victory as he won back-to-back grand slams following his recent success at the French Open.

Hewett was visibly devastated at the end and Oda could be an obstacle for some time, having become the youngest champion at Wimbledon since Martina Hingis.

Searle ends British drought

Henry Searle became the first British boys’ singles champion at Wimbledon since 1962.

The 17-year-old from Wolverhampton beat fifth seed Yaroslav Demin 6-4 6-4 on Court One to emulate Stanley Matthews, son of the famous footballer, who triumphed 61 years ago.

He is Britain’s first junior champion since Laura Robson won the girls’ event in 2008 and ensured more home success at this year’s tournament after Neal Skupski won the men’s doubles on Saturday.

It will be a life-changing experience for Searle but he looks like he has the temperament and the ability to succeed in the men’s game after a brilliant campaign where he did not drop a set, highlighted by him sending down a 134mph serve during the final.

Stat of the day

The Tennessee Titans have upgraded their passing attack by signing free agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins on Sunday.

Hopkins agreed to a two-year, $26million contract with the Titans, with an additional $6million available in incentives, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media.

The 31-year-old Hopkins becomes the No. 1 receiver for quarterback Ryan Tannehill and a Titans team that is inexperienced at wide out.

Treylon Burks had 33 receptions as a rookie in 2022, and is Tennessee's top returning receiver after the departures of Robert Woods and Austin Hooper.

Tennessee relies on a heavy ground attack behind Derrick Henry, ranking 30th in the NFL in net passing yards last season, averaging 171.4 per game.

Hopkins had 64 catches for 717 yards and three touchdowns for the Arizona Cardinals in nine games in 2022 after missing the season's first six contests while serving a suspension for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy.

He was released by the Cardinals on May 26 after the team failed to work out a trade for the three-time All-Pro receiver.

Arizona was unable to find a trade partner to take on Hopkins' $22.6million salary cap, leaving the rebuilding Cardinals no other choice but to release the 10-year veteran.

Hopkins spent three seasons with the Cardinals after being acquired via trade from the Houston Texans in March 2020.

He had a stellar debut season with Arizona, being voted to his fifth Pro Bowl after tying his personal best with 115 catches totalling 1,407 yards.

In 145 career games, Hopkins has 853 career catches for 11,298 yards and 71 touchdowns.

Hopkins joins a Titans team that finished 7-9 last season after back-to-back AFC South titles.

Captain Heather Knight urged England to bounce back to draw the “best ever series” after Australia retained the Women’s Ashes with victory by three runs in the second ODI at the Ageas Bowl.

Nat Sciver-Brunt hit an unbeaten 111 in Hampshire but it was not enough to guide England to victory in pursuit of 283 with the hosts finishing on 279 for seven after a thrilling sixth encounter of the multi-format series.

After trailing 6-0 following defeats in the one-off Test and opening T20, England had stormed back to win three matches in a row and keep alive their faint chances of winning back the Ashes for the first time since 2014.

Only victory in the final two ODIs would be enough for Knight’s team, but the tourists proved too strong with Ellyse Perry’s 91 and a game-changing knock of 37 not out from Georgia Wareham, with 26 runs coming off the final over bowled by Lauren Bell, helping Australia make 282 for seven.

Sciver-Brunt was able to produce more heroics against Australia, after she hit 148 not out in last year’s World Cup final, but with 15 runs needed from the last six deliveries, Jess Jonassen held her nerve and England will aim to level the series at 8-8 in Tuesday’s final ODI in Taunton.

“God it was an unbelievable game again wasn’t it? It has got to be the best series there has ever been in the history of the women’s game,” Knight reflected.

“Two sides going toe-to-toe, fighting it out and every game has been pretty close. Yeah, obviously disappointment but real pride as well over the fact we got so close.

“The way Nat played was unbelievable. To nearly marshal the tail in that chase was brilliant, but probably left a little bit too much to do.

“Overall, we’ve put in another thriller of a performance, but the Ashes are gone which is disappointing.”

Before Sciver-Brunt’s third ODI century against Australia, the big momentum-swinger occurred in the final over of the tourists’ innings.

With Australia on a below-par 256 for seven after 49 overs, England would have fancied their chances but Wareham proceeded to hit seamer Bell for three maximums, two over midwicket, and another brace of fours.

The 26-run over went a long way to deciding the latest nail-bitter in the series, but Knight backed her young bowler to learn from the experience.

“No, not for me (the most decisive moment). Lauren has been outstanding at the death for us all series, but she is a young bowler, she will make mistakes and have days like that sometimes where it doesn’t quite go right,” Knight added.

“I think she will learn a lot from that experience.

“There is a one-day series victory on the line and it would be a really good achievement to win the T20 series and ODI series to draw the series 8-8.

“We have to rally around people, it is obviously quite a quick turnaround and there will be some emotion in that dressing room.

“But we head to Taunton tonight, down to the Holiday Inn and we have a day to regroup and go again. I think if we can end the series on a high, we can have huge pride in how we’ve played throughout the series.”

Knight had got England over the line in Wednesday’s opening ODI match in Bristol and admitted it was “horrific” to have no control in this chase.

Reflecting on Sciver-Brunt’s innings, Knight added: “It was kind of written in the stars for her to do it today.

“Unfortunately just a little bit too much but great character by her to get us even anywhere close.

“It was another unbelievably entertaining game of cricket and unfortunately we’ve been on the wrong side of this one.”

Australia spinner Alana King, who claimed three for 44, was delighted to retain the Ashes but insisted they want to win the series 10-6.

She said: “We have retained it, which is awesome but as we have said all along, we have come to win it so we have one more game to win the Ashes.”