England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, who hasn’t played Test cricket for over a year, took a step back on the way to international recognition with a wicket for Lancashire on the opening day of this year’s English County Championship on Wednesday.
In a First Division match against Surrey at The Oval, pace bowler Flintoff, who underwent a fourth operation on his left ankle in the close season, removed home opener Scott Newman. When bad light ended the day’s play Flintoff, whose performance was watched by England national selector Geoff Miller, had taken one for 24 from 10.3 overs.
However neither Flintoff nor the rest of the Lancashire attack could dismiss Mark Ramprakash. The former England batsman started the day needing just three more centuries to get to a 100 hundreds in first-class cricket and he wasted little time reaching No. 98 by scoring an unbeaten 102, reaching three figures in 164 balls with 17 fours. At stumps Surrey were 242 for two with captain Mark Butcher, another ex-England batsman, 80 not out.
Elsewhere in the First Division, New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond marked his Hampshire debut with seven wickets as champions Sussex were bowled out for 332 at the Rose Bowl.
Bond, who won’t be able to take part in New Zealand’s Test tour of England starting next month after playing in the rebel Indian Cricket League, showed his compatriots what they’d be missing with seven for 66 in 19.1 overs.
But former Zimbabwe batsman Murray Goodwin made 121 and Matt Prior, recently dropped as England’s wicket-keeper, 62. Hampshire, now minus Shane Warne, closed on four for one.
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
In-form teenager Mirra Andreeva on Thursday crashed out of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, after going down in straight sets to fellow Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova in the last 16. World No. 7 Andreeva, who already has two titles under her belt this season, lost 6-3, 6-2 against the 22nd-ranked Alexandrova in just over an hour. The 17-year-old Andreeva had defeated her elder sister Erika in the previous round on Wednesday, but Alexandrova quickly took control as she claimed her fourth win over a top-10 player this season. The 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva in February became the youngest winner of a WTA
RSS