GOLD COAST, Australia — Washington Sundar took three wickets in five deliveries as India beat Australia by 48 runs in the fourth Twenty20 on Thursday.
India spinners claimed six wickets in all to usher an Australia collapse from 91-4 in 11.3 overs to 119 all out in 18.2 overs in pursuit of 168.
Australia lost its last seven wickets for 28 runs across 41 deliveries and out for its second lowest T20 total on home soil after 111 versus New Zealand in Sydney in 2022.
India has an unbeatable 2-1 lead in the series which ends on Saturday in Brisbane.
Sundar took 3-3 from 1.2 overs, left-arm spinner Axar Patel grabbed 2-20 in four overs, and Varun Chakravarthy picked 1-26.
Patel’s wickets and cameo of 21 not out off 11 balls, which helped to push India’s past 150, earned him the player of the match award.
“I got a chance to bat at No. 7 and it helped me understand the wicket,” Patel said. “The ball was not coming on and there was unexpected bounce. I tried bowling wicket to wicket. If I have an impact for my team it’s the best game for me.”
Shubman Gill scored 46 off 39 balls as India put up 167-8 after being sent in.
Wrist spinner Adam Zampa took 3-45 in four overs.
Chasing 168, Australia made a decent start between skipper Mitchell Marsh, who top-scored with 30 off 24 balls, and Matthew Short, opening in place of Travis Head.
Short scored 25 off 19 balls with two fours and two sixes.
But Patel trapped Short lbw and bowled Josh Inglis on 12. Then Shivam Dube dismissed Marsh in the 10th over and Tim David on 14 two overs later at 91-4.
Australia tried hard to stay in the contest but the spinners took over.
Chakravarthy bowled Glenn Maxwell for a sixth time then Sundar trapped Marcus Stoinis lbw and dismissed Xavier Bartlett next ball. Nathan Ellis survived the hat trick ball in the 17th over.
Earlier, Gill and Abhishek Sharma gave India a flying start with 56 off 40 balls for the first wicket.
Sharma’s 21-ball 28 included three fours and a six.
Dube was sent up the order and added 22 off 18. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav chipped in 20 off 10. Gill stitched vital partnerships with both of them.
After Gill and Yadav departed, India was 125-4 in 15.1 overs and the middle order couldn’t hit hard, especially against Zampa. Nathan Ellis supported him with 3-21.
Alyssa Healy has been ruled out of Australia’s World Cup clash against England, with the in-form opener suffering a calf injury a little over a week out from the finals.
Officials have confirmed Healy suffered a minor strain while training on Saturday, with the captain now fighting to be fit for Australia’s final-round game against South Africa.
Tahlia McGrath will captain the Australian team in Healy’s absence, while Beth Mooney will take the gloves. Georgia Voll is expected to come into the XI.
Healy’s injury could not have come at a more frustrating time for the 34-year-old.
She missed the semi-final of last year’s Twenty20 World Cup with a foot injury, before Australia were ultimately knocked out by South Africa.
Foot and knee issues then ruined her summer, including Australia’s clean sweep of England in the Ashes.
Healy had returned to form in the past fortnight, backing up a match-winning 142 against India with an unbeaten 113 against Bangladesh last week.
Wednesday night’s clash with England marks a battle of the only two unbeaten teams of the tournament, with the winner set to claim top spot ahead of the finals.
Healy had said in the lead up to the World Cup her time away from the game had her feeling reinvigorated for both the World Cup and summer ahead.
“She’s pretty used to playing very strong cricket in World Cups,” Ellyse Perry told AAP last week.
“The form she is in and the way she is giving to the group across the board, it seems like she is certainly invigorated.”
Australia will now desperately hope to have Healy back on deck for next week’s semi-finals, where there is every chance they could face hosts India.
Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry speaks exclusively to Sky Sports to discuss 2027 free agency
Golden State Warriors superstar Steph Curry has opened up on his plans for free agency in 2027 after admitting situations change “really fast” in the NBA.
The prospect of Curry, a two-time league MVP and 11-time All-Star, playing for any franchise other than The Dubs is a strange one.
After being drafted with the seventh overall pick in 2009, Curry has gone on to revolutionise the game of basketball, helping himself to four championships, one finals MVP and the NBA record for most three-pointers made with 4,058 to add to his overall tally of 25,386 points.
All while wearing No 30 for the Warriors.
4 x NBA champion
2 x NBA MVP
2022 NBA Finals MVP
11 x NBA All-Star
2 x NBA All-Star MVP
11 x All-NBA Team selection
2024 NBA Clutch Player of the Year
2 x NBA Three-Point Content champion
Most three-pointers made in NBA history
Curry signed a one-year extension with the team in 2024, worth a reported £47.5m ($62.6m) and ending growing speculation around his future in the process, keeping him in San Francisco until 2027.
Two years from now, when that deal expires, the greatest shooter of all time will be 39.
After averaging just under 25 points, six assists, and over four rebounds in his 16th season, as well as longevity being more prominent than ever in the league, it is clear to see that his time in the NBA is far from over.
But could the next chapter in his illustrious career lie away from Chase Center? Do not rule it out.
“What I have learned about this league is that things change really fast,” Curry told Sky Sports while discussing Underrated Golf, a programme set up by the point guard to break down barriers to entry and increase diversity in the game of golf.
Underrated Golf is an initiative led by Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry to create a pathway into the sport for young athletes from underrepresented communities.
The programme aims to break down barriers in the game of golf to give prospects a level playing field, in a bid to create a more inclusive and accessible environment for young golfers.
“What you might feel like in two years from now could be totally different. I try to stay in the moment as much as possible; it’s not the glitziest answer but it allows me to enjoy what is happening now.
“I do want to play for only one team, let’s keep that pretty clear. Being at the Warriors has been unbelievable and I feel blessed to have only played for one franchise and to have accomplished what we have.
“So if I could have the best of both worlds and continue to be championship relevant over the next couple of years, that would be great but this league is wild. You kind of just stay in the moment.”
Despite a decision on his future looming as we approach 2027, Curry’s full focus remains on securing more success with the team he holds so dear to his heart in the upcoming 2025/26 season.
The arrival of six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler in February has shown early signs of promise after the Warriors reached the Western Conference semi-finals last time out, only to be denied the opportunity to show their title-winning credentials following a Grade 1 hamstring strain for Curry in game one against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
A 4-1 defeat in the series would follow but heading into 2025/26, the roster has been bolstered by a new two-year deal for Jonathan Kuminga, as well as the arrival of 2024 NBA champion Al Horford,to run alongside long-term teammate Draymond Green in the frontcourt.
Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler (left) Stephen Curry (centre) and forward Draymond Green (right)
With Curry now back to full fitness and fresh depth surrounding him, the intentions from the Warriors have been clear from pre-season.
The Dubs are 3-1 in games Curry has featured in, beating the Los Angeles Lakers and the Portland Trail Blazers twice, with attention now turning to the season opener against the Lakers on October 21, live on Sky Sports.
When asked what aspects of the game still motivate a player who has already achieved so much in the sport as we approach a new 82-game season, Curry added: “I talk about championships, and that drive – it allows every part of the journey to matter.
“Even in the off-season, how you prepare for the year, come in and try and build chemistry with your teammates and how you get through the emotional rollercoaster of an 82-game season.
“All of that is built into being at your peak come playoff time in April.
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry during the pre-season game against the Los Angeles Clippers
“Individual accolades take care of themselves. When you win, everybody is rewarded. As long as I’m taking care of championship motivation, everything else takes care of itself. Whether you win or not, you just lay it all out there.
“We have a brand new team again. We’ll all try and stay healthy and try and get to the finish line. That’s our goal.”
The Warriors have won seven championships in total across their 78-year history, with Curry leading them to more than half of that total.
If the franchise is to add an eighth banner to the rafters in 2026, their point guard will be the man to lead them there.
His powers at the highest level are showing no signs are waning, with the 37-year-old looking to replicate the successes of the likes of LeBron James and Kevin Durant by “redefining” what it is to be playing at a high level towards the latter stages of their respective careers.
“I feel like I’ve got some good basketball ahead of me. I’m trying to redefine what it is to be playing at a high level at this age,” said Curry when the question of his timeline leading the roster was posed.
“I still love the work that goes into it and playing the game; hopefully, that will carry me. I don’t want to put any limits on it.”
Watch the Golden State Warriors against the Los Angeles Lakers live on Sky Sports + on October 21, tip-off 3am UK time.
A Bay Area woman has made it onto the USA national team to represent her country in the first World Cup of cricket in India.
She’s played sports all her life, but she hasn’t always been on a level playing field until now.
Asanda Pavlacka is a multi-sport athlete with a background in martial arts, running, swimming and gymnastics. While she has overcome many hurdles, her biggest challenge came about 28 years ago when she lost her sight.
“I had a degenerative eye condition when I was born, so I was able to see up through my teens,” Pavlacka said. “Then diminished a little by little. Then I ended up having nothing.”
Losing her vision hasn’t stopped Pavlacka from playing sports.
“That’s how I live my life,” she said. “I don’t let too many things stop me and if they do, I figure it out and find a different way.”
That’s what she did when a fellow blind athlete approached her about playing cricket.
“For blind cricket, we’re actually kneeling down to the ground and using the full length of the bat,” Pavlacka said.
After several training camps across the country, Pavlacka was selected to represent Team USA in India.
“In November, we’re going to the first-ever blind World Cup for cricket,” she said.
Pavlacka said that playing cricket is the easy part. The challenges have come off the pitch, from getting their visas to making sure expenses are covered while they are away. She started an online fundraiser to help her and four other teammates.
“There’s five of us on the team that’s kind of flying solo in a sense,” she said. “We don’t have a lot of at-home support.”
Pavlacka said that while the goal is to bring home the gold, it’s a big win to be invited to play a sport on the world stage. If anything, she hopes to use this as a learning experience to improve her skills and go back next year a better player.
“Knowing that I’m not the awesomest awesome person doing something like that is a little ego blow,” she said. “I mean, it’s all about sticking with it and getting better every day and not comparing yourself. Comparing yourself to me.”
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka at the Women’s Cricket World Cup was called off because of persistent rain Tuesday after Nilakshika de Silva had posted the fastest half-century of tournament to lead Sri Lanka to a strong 258-6.
Heavy rain during the interval prevented the New Zealand innings from getting underway, and the washout means both teams will get a point each.
Sri Lanka opted to bat after winning the toss and captain Chamari Athapaththu partnered with Vishmi Gunaratne for a 101-run opening stand.
Athapaththu made 53, her 20th ODI half-century, before being caught by Maddy Green off Rosemary Mair. She hit seven boundaries. Gunaratne was out for 42, leaving Sri Lanka 125-2.
A 58-run partnership off 74 deliveries between Hasini Perera (44) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (26) steadied the innings.
De Silva then reached her fourth one-day half-century off 26 deliveries and was unbeaten on 55, including a six and seven boundaries.
New Zealand captain Sophie Devine took 3-54 while Bree Illing took 2-39.
VISAKHAPATNAM, India — VISAKHAPATNAM, India (AP) — Alyssa Healy scored 142 as Australia beat India by three wickets in the highest successful run chase in women’s one-day international cricket.
Defending champion Australia won with an over to spare under lights in dewy conditions Sunday and moved atop the standings at the Women’s Cricket World Cup with wins over New Zealand, Pakistan and now India.
Australia finished on 331-7 with Ellyse Perry (47 not out) hitting the winning six off the last ball of the 49th over, in reply to India’s 330 in 48.5 overs.
Healy’s 107-ball innings included 21 fours and three sixes. It was a sixth ODI hundred for the Australia skipper, her second against India and third at World Cups.
Earlier, Smriti Mandhana’s 80 runs off 66 balls provided a great start for India after Australia won the toss and opted to bowl.
Mandhana hit nine fours and three sixes. She put on 155 runs for the first wicket with Pratika Rawal, who scored 75 off 96 at the ACA-VDCA Stadium. But India lost its last six wickets for 36 runs, and its dismissal with seven balls left proved costly.
Seven-time champion Australia is unbeaten in 12 Cricket World Cup games stretching back to 2022. It next plays Bangladesh on Thursday, at the same Visakhapatnam venue.
India has a week off before it plays four-time champion England in Indore.
Healy was player of the match.
“I’m really proud of the group today,” Healy said. “We have been preaching about our batting depth and this chase proves it. Full credit to our bowlers for pulling it back – we could have been chasing 360.”
South Africa plays Bangladesh on Monday, also in Visakhapatnam.
Mandhana led India’s top-order revival as she and Rawal provided its best start of the tournament in the first-ever 150-plus opening stand against Australia in women’s ODIs.
Mandhana also crossed 1,000 calendar ODI runs – a first in women’s cricket. She scored 50 off 46 balls, also reaching 5,000 career runs in the quickest time (112 innings) and becoming the second Indian – and fifth overall – women’s cricketer to achieve this feat.
Left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux proved expensive (3-75) but she broke through with Mandhana’s wicket. She also dismissed Harleen Deol, who scored 38 off 42 balls.
Medium pacer Annabel Sutherland took 5-40 – her first five-wicket haul. She had Rawal caught in the 31st over, before triggering the lower-order collapse.
Skipper Kaur scored 22 off 17 balls, while Jemimah Rodrigues scored 33 off 21.
Richa Ghosh provided the final flourish, with 32 off 22 but Sutherland’s late burst of wickets meant India crashed from 294-5 to 330 all out.
Healy and Phoebe Litchfield responded with an 85-run opening stand.
Litchfield scored a 39-ball 40 as Australia took advantage of a dewy outfield. Healy struck a barrage of boundaries – she hit eight fours and a six in 50 off 35 balls.
Left-arm spinner Shree Charani dismissed Litchfield, but Perry combined with Healy for 69 off 76 balls for the second wicket. Perry walked off with a hamstring issue, but returned later to guide the chase.
Two quick wickets fell but Healy ploughed on – she reached 100 off 84 balls and shared a stand of 95 off 70 balls with Ashleigh Gardner (45).
Healy was out in the 39th over and Amanjot Kaur struck twice late to cause some concern for Australia, but Perry and Kim Garth were there at the end for a stunning victory.
India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal walks off the field after losing his wicket on the second day of the second cricket test match between India and West Indies at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Oct.11, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
It’s easy to forget just how young Phoebe Litchfield still is.
Having only turned 22 in April this year, the punchy, breathtakingly talented top order batter has been the future of Australian cricket since before the Covid pandemic.
In mid-2019, prior to even making her state debut, the then 16-year-old Litchfield was a sensation in Australian cricketing circles after footage of her batting in the NSW nets went viral on social media.
Six months later, she played a match winning knock for the Governor General’s XI against India, and only days after that, was lining up alongside Ricky Ponting, Alex Blackwell and Brian Lara for the Bushfire Cricket Bash.
The hype surrounding Litchfield was reaching the kind of fever pitch reserved for only the most exciting of cricketing prodigies.
However, a pandemic interrupted two years plus the continued dominance of a stacked Australian batting line-up meant Litchfield had to wait until late 2022 for her international debut.
Since then, her still obviously generational talent has threatened and simmered, but it has also sputtered at times, with glorious centuries against India and Ireland being tempered by quiet Ashes and T20 World Cup campaigns.
Litchfield is yet to fully announce herself on the international stage. (Getty Images: Pankaj Nangia)
Now, on the eve of her first ODI World Cup, Litchfield finds herself flirting with career-best form, having just topped the run-scoring charts in England’s showpiece domestic short-form tournament, the Hundred.
With the baby-faced, pre-pandemic Litchfield now confined to the realms of sporting prodigies past, and with many of her world beating batting teammates well into the twilight of their careers, Australia’s cricketing future has never been better placed to become its present.
Australia chasing history after an up and down 12 months
There are few feats that have eluded the modern Australian women’s cricket team, but winning consecutive ODI World Cups is one of them. Not since 1988 has a nation gone back-to-back in the tournament, with the green and gold claiming every second instalment since then.
That’s a hoodoo that the 2022 winner will be looking to shake in the tournament to be played in India and Sri Lanka over the next month.
Australia defeated England in the final of the 2022 ODI World Cup. (Getty: Hannah Peters)
Australia will begin its campaign as favourite, but perhaps without quite the same aura of invincibility it brought to the tournament three years ago, after a meek exit in last year’s T20 World Cup.
Despite winning all four of their group matches, it was a tournament to forget for many of the Australians, including Litchfield. Batting in the middle order and starved of significant strike, she was only able to manage a top score of 18 from five knocks.
For this modern Australian team, the semifinal loss to South Africa was an unacceptable failure, but one that was avenged in the most comprehensive of fashions with an Ashes whitewash at the start of this year.
Against an England side that wilted horribly, all-rounder Ash Gardner and leg-spinner Alana King both had coming of age series for Australia, while Annabel Sutherland continued to shine as Ellyse Perry’s heir apparent.
Australia completed the first ever multi-format Women’s Ashes whitewash earlier this year. (Getty Images via Speed Media/Icon Sportswire: Santanu Banik)
However, Litchfield was once again underwhelming. She failed to reach 50 in seven attempts in the multi format series, with her highest white ball score being a stodgy and at times excruciating 50 ball 29 in the second ODI.
In a series so lopsided, that lean run was of little consequence. But in the upcoming World Cup, which has been touted to be the “the strongest ever” by captain Alyssa Healy, Australia may well require more from Litchfield.
Litchfield finds her best form in enemy territory
So, Litchfield’s excellent recently completed English summer serves as a timely reminder of the player she still promises to become.
Not only was she the Hundred’s player of the tournament and highest scorer, but she compiled her 292 runs at a strike-rate of 157.83 — the third best of any batter in the tournament.
However, translating form across formats and oceans is never a sure thing.
The spin friendly decks of India and Sri Lanka will provide an entirely different challenge to the one she rose to in England, while the 50 over game is worlds away from the Frankenstein’s monster of a format she played there.
ODI cricket has a unique, increasingly archaic rhythm, and Litchfield has at times struggled to play her shots to it, oscillating between awkwardly repressing her attacking instincts and living by them too fiercely.
But her form in Australia’s World Cup warm-up matches has been promising.
She hit 88 against India and then 71 against England, with both knocks hinting at a more balanced and composed Litchfield.
Litchfield was brilliant against India in September. (Getty Images: Ravi Kumar/Hindustan Times)
She scored at more than a run a ball in both games and, against England, did so while most of her teammates tried and failed to keep pace.
Speaking after the match against India, Litchfield said she was very aware of the importance of acclimatising to the 50 over format.
“My brain was probably going a bit quicker than it needed to,” Litchfield said.
“50 over cricket is a long game…so I’ve just got to find the balance.”
This World Cup is a transitional tournament for Australia.
White the current team has already successfully evolved from the wildly successful side of the 2010s and early 2020s, its spine and identity remains tied to it.
All time greats Healy and Perry, now 35 and 34 respectively, are both unlikely to feature at another ODI World Cup.
Having played international cricket since the early 2010s, they are some of the final vestiges of the Australian team of 10 years ago, and do not only offer the current side runs and quality, but mythos and aura as well.
Australia’s generation next has all the ability to build a similar legacy — Sutherland and Gardner are already world beaters, while the likes of King and Georgia Voll are clearly special talents.
But it is the true international arrival of Litchfield that would, above all else, signal that the future of Australian cricket has really arrived.
ABC Sport will broadcast live radio coverage of every match of the ICC ODI Women’s World Cup. Australia starts its campaign tonight against New Zealand at 7:30pm (AEST).
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Arshdeep Singh became the first India bowler to take 100 Twenty20 wickets as Asia Cup newcomer Oman was beaten by 21 runs on Friday.
Fast bowler Arshdeep’s only wicket was picked up in the last over to restrict Oman, playing India for the first time in any format of cricket, at 167-4.
India made 188-8 after experimenting with its batting order ahead of its first Super 4 game against Pakistan on Sunday. Captain Suryakumar Yadav demoted himself to No. 11.
Sanju Samson led with 56 runs off 45 balls and Abhishek Sharma was typically flamboyant with 38 off 15.
India and Sri Lanka were unbeaten in the group stage with three wins each. Pakistan and Bangladesh were the others to qualify for the Super 4 stage.
In the absence of rested fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and new world No. 1-ranked T20 bowler Varun Chakravarthy, the India bowlers struggled to dismiss Oman.
Suryakumar tried eight bowlers but only Hardik Pandya (1-26) and Arshdeep bowled out their full quota of four overs.
Amir Kaleem top-scored for Oman with 64 with support from Hammad Mirza (51) and captain Jitender Singh (32).
Abhishek, dropped on 21, gave India brisk start with two sixes and five boundaries.
Samson was slow to begin with and brought up his half-century in the death overs before holing out at deep midwicket. India scored only 21 off the final three overs that featured just one boundary.
Fast bowler Faisal Shah (2-23) led Oman. Jiten Ramanandi and Aamir Kaleem also picked up two wickets each.
Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson is in good form going into the World Athletics Championships
The world’s best athletes will take to the track and field this weekend when the World Athletics Championships get under way in Tokyo from September 13-21.
Many of the stars who shone at Paris 2024 will be there, including Britain’s 800m Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson and USA’s 100m Olympic champion Noah Lyles.
One of the major talking points away from the sport has been the introduction of a mandatory SRY or sex test for athletes who intend to compete in female categories.
All athletes in female category take new ‘sex test’
World Athletics, led by their President Seb Coe, have taken an unambiguous stance for several years when it comes to talking about and defining new rules around the sensitive issues of the protection of female categories, transgender and DSD (Difference of Sexual Development).
They became the first global sporting federation to announce they would introduce a mandatory, once-in-a-lifetime gene test, known as an SRY Test earlier this year.
The test identifies the Y chromosome which causes male characteristics to develop. If an athlete returns a negative result, they are eligible to compete in female categories at world ranking events, including these World Championships.
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World Athletics President Lord Coe says the governing body will do ‘whatever is necessary’ to protect the female category in the sport after it approved the introduction of cheek swabbing to determine if an athlete is biologically female
World Athletics President Lord Coe says the governing body will do ‘whatever is necessary’ to protect the female category in the sport after it approved the introduction of cheek swabbing to determine if an athlete is biologically female
Coe told Sky Sports he expected every athlete required to take an SRY Test will have done so by the time track and field events get under way in Tokyo, including all French athletes.
In France, the process has been complicated by French law where the SRY gene test is illegal in France due to a 1994 law banning DNA testing for non-medical, non-judicial purposes to protect family integrity, so French athletes have had to undertake the SRY test by travelling outside of France.
Coe confirmed that while it is World Athletics’ stated aim to have all athletes tested by the start of the World Championships next month, the results do not have to be known due to the tight time frame.
For athletes whose national federation hasn’t been able to offer an SRY test yet, World Athletics will step in and offer the test at holding camps in Japan used by athletes prior to competing in Tokyo.
“By and large, the process has gone pretty smoothly, but it’s not been without its challenges,” Coe said. “The vast majority have been pretty straightforward and we’ve (World Athletics) made a contribution of about US$100 per test.”
How important are championships for Coe?
Very.
He has transformed the athletics governing body since his election in Beijing in 2015 from the tarnished old IAAF to the new World Athletics.
He’s serving his third and final term as president and while no doubt still pondering his defeat in March’s International Olympic Committee (IOC) presidency election to Kirsty Coventry, his first love has always been track and field, and during his term as president he has tackled controversial issues like banning Russia and bringing in updated rules on gender eligibility.
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Lord Coe accepts defeat to Kirsty Coventry in the IOC Presidential vote and says he welcomes the fact it’s a former Olympic athlete who will take up the role
Lord Coe accepts defeat to Kirsty Coventry in the IOC Presidential vote and says he welcomes the fact it’s a former Olympic athlete who will take up the role
While those issues can be divisive, the progress of time has shown that many, if not most, sporting federations have followed athletics’ lead by watching and then following.
It’s interesting to note that the new IOC President, whom he lost out to, is preparing the IOC to greater understand and perhaps even lead on gender eligibility and protections for female sports stars.
He also wants athletics firmly in the position of the world’s second most popular sport behind football by showing off packed out stadia in Tokyo.
The World Championships take place in the 70,000 capacity Olympic Stadium where during the 2020 Olympics not one fan was able to watch the sport on offer due to a strict Covid-19 lockdown in Japan.
Many of the sessions during the nine days of competition are sell-outs and, according to Coe, no session will have fewer than 50,000 people in attendance.
Tokyo heat, humidity and typhoons
World Athletics deliberately scheduled the start of their marquee championships later than they would normally. Two years ago in Budapest, for example, the schedule ran during August.
High temperatures and humidity can be exceedingly high in Japan during the months of July and August, as many athletes who competed at the Tokyo Olympics four years ago will testify to.
The 2025 World Athletics Championships will be held at the National Stadium in Tokyo from September 13-21
However, heat mitigation measures will again be in place as Japan has experienced temperatures 2.36 Degrees Celsius above average between June and August, with local temperatures in Tokyo this week reaching 33 Degrees Celsius.
World Athletics president Seb Coe is of the belief that climate change is not temporary and is here to stay; at these championships, decisions on whether competition will go ahead will not be in the hands of local organisers, but World Athletics.
Information on drinks, ice baths and cooling techniques has been shared widely with athletes and their federations, while plenty of provision will be in place for spectators.
Tokyo and Japan, in general, is prone to typhoons at this time of year, indeed many British and Northern Irish athletes were confined to their hotel at their training camp for a few days due to a typhoon. If such a weather system hits Tokyo during the championships, it will again be a decision for World Athletics to make as to whether to postpone or cancel events.
Where could GB medals come from?
Great Britain and Northern Ireland haven’t been set a medal target, but a top-eight finish in the medal table is the challenge, with an expectation of several of their world-leading track stars to medal and all relay squads to medal.
So who are the stars? The women’s 800m final has been scheduled for the last session of the last day of the championships, as it’s been viewed as being a hot ticket in town. Two Brits could well end up on the podium, both friends and training partners coached by husband and wife duo Jenny Meadows and Trevor Painter – Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson and Georgia Hunter-Bell.
Hodgkinson was one of the stars of Paris last year, streaking home to become Olympic champion and, although she has suffered hamstring injuries this year, she has come back to racing in time and is running ferociously quickly.
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Keely Hodgkinson says she is in a good place after receiving her MBE and is fully focused on the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo
Keely Hodgkinson says she is in a good place after receiving her MBE and is fully focused on the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo
While perhaps not quite the right time for a tilt at the 800m world record, if Hodgkinson feels it, she’ll go for it.
Elsewhere, medals could come in men’s middle distance, with 1500m runner Josh Kerr defending his world title he won in 2023.
His battles with Norway’s Jacob Ingebrigtsen have already become legendary, with the two not the best of pals. At the Paris Olympics, one of the two should have taken the gold medal, but their attention on one another allowed the USA’s Cole Hocker to shock them both and cross the line first.
George Mills, son of Danny – the former Leeds, Manchester City and England defender – is a serious contender for medals in the men’s 5000m. This season he’s beaten Sir Mo Farah’s long-standing British 5000m record and ran the second fastest 1500m by a Brit, so the 26-year-old is well warmed up.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson is always a threat at major championships, and at Tokyo she will defend the heptathlon world title she won two years ago. She was also crowned world champion in 2019, and took Olympic silver in Paris.
Dina Asher-Smith will make her seventh appearance at a World Championship and, while the competition is fierce in both the 100m and 200m, she is running quickly this season.
“I’m just really happy,” she told Sky Sports. “I think the other week in Zurich is testament to what kind of shape I’m in because, honestly, I knew that I’ve been in good shape for a very long time and I know that I’ve been putting together some great races in the past few months, but to run a 10.90!
!I was picking it out because I know I could have had faster in me that day, but still obviously I’m very happy.”
Could Dina Asher-Smith medal at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo?
Also very quick is Daryll Neita, who finished fourth in the women’s Olympic 100m final in Paris, narrowly missing out on a medal. She did, however, take home an Olympic Silver medal from the 4x100m women’s relay and in Tokyo it is expected that Great Britain and Northern Ireland medal in all five relay disciplines.
Individually, in the men’s sprint events (100m and 200m), Zharnel Hughes should at the very least make finals, as the qualified pilot has run sub-10 seconds in the 100m and sub-20 seconds in the 200m. With age, Hughes seems to get faster, as he broke both British 100m and 200m records in 2023, the same year he took his first ever global medal, a bronze at the last World Athletics Championships.
“Obviously the experience has been taking me into finals and stuff like that,” he said. “I’ve always been one to be reckoned with when it comes to the championships. I’ve always been able to position myself into the finals at every major championship.
“Unfortunately, last year it didn’t get to happen due to injury, but I’m feeling confident and I’m looking forward to getting myself on that podium for sure. I’ll be giving it my very best, I’m filled with determination and I’m quite confident in my ability that I can always catch you at the very end.
“I’m trusting myself and trusting my speed. The work that I’ve put in leading up to this championship has been tremendous. It’s going to be great.”
While the British team is medal heavy on expectation from the track, also keep an eye on pole-vaulter Molly Caudery. She won the 2024 World Indoor title and won the Diamond League meeting in Doha in May.
The Cornishwoman is a huge talent was expected to challenge for the gold at the Olympics last year, but had a shocker and failed to even qualify for the final. The 25-year-old is determined to learn the mental lesson from a year ago.
LEEDS, England — South Africa won the toss and chose to bowl first against England at Headingley on Tuesday in the first of three one-day internationals between the teams.
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma made his decision after seeing a dry wicket and noting that teams have fared well chasing in Leeds.
Playing on his home ground, England captain Harry Brook said he would have bowled first, too, if given the option.
England gave a debut to 22-year-old fast bowler Sonny Baker, who starred in the recent edition of the domestic Hundred competition. Fellow pacer Jofra Archer will be playing his first ODI since the Champions Trophy in March.
South Africa is without its own fast-bowling star, Kagiso Rabada, because of an ankle injury while Heinrich Klaasen is missing from the batting lineup after retiring from international cricket this summer.
The second ODI is at Lord’s on Thursday and the third takes place in Southampton on Sunday.
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Teams:
England: Jamie Smith, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook (captain), Jos Buttler, Jacob Bethell, Will Jacks, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Sonny Baker.
South Africa: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickleton, Temba Bavuma, Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Wiaan Mulder, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi.
Cricket’s 2,553th test match won’t be forgotten in a hurry. England has set records and reached plenty of milestones in compiling an extraordinary 823-7 declared against Pakistan in Multan.
MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — England is on the verge of a famous cricket victory after Harry Brook smashed the second-fastest triple century in test history, Joe Root scored a career-best 262 and the tourists declared their first innings at an enormous 823-7 against Pakistan in the first test on Thursday.
Pakistan, which scored 556 in its first innings, collapsed second time round to reach stumps on Day 4 at 152-6, needing another 115 runs to avoid an innings defeat.
It was the fourth time a test team scored more than 800 runs — and the first time this century — as Yorkshire pair Brook and Root showed plenty of resilience and stamina to rewrite the record books in the heat of Multan.
“It was an unreal wicket to bat on and I’ll probably roll it (the wicket) open and take it with me,” Brook said after his marathon seven-hour innings of 317 runs off 322 balls that featured 29 fours and three sixes.
Brook raised his triple hundred off 310 balls, which was the second-fastest in test history after Virender Sehwag of India achieved the feat in 268 balls against South Africa in 2008.
“Me and Rooty both were just trying to cash in on what was a good pitch,” Brook said. “We were both struggling with the heat for a while, (but) it makes you feel so comfortable when you watch him at the other end, he makes the game look so easy.”
Brook was one of England’s key batters during its 3-0 sweep in Pakistan two years ago when he scored centuries at Rawalpindi, Multan and Karachi.
Brook shared England’s highest-ever partnership of 454 runs with Root for the fourth wicket, taking the team from 249-3 to 703-4 in a marathon stand.
Root was the first of the pair to be out — leg before wicket on the back foot to Salman Agha — and Brook top-edged a sweep and was caught at fine leg to give Saim Ayub one of his two wickets.
Brook became England’s sixth test triple century-maker and first since Graham Gooch’s 333 against India in 1990 as Pakistan’s bowlers toiled for 150 overs before Ollie Pope declared the innings half an hour before tea.
Pakistan then crumbled with its top-order stumbling against the pace of Gus Atkinson (2-28) and Brydon Carse (2-39) after Chris Woakes had uprooted the off stump of Abdullah Shafique on the first ball of the innings.
England could have pressed for victory inside four days, but Shoaib Bashir dropped an easy chance from Aamer Jamal at deep backward square leg off Carse’s short delivery. One of Pakistan’s three first innings centurions, Agha was fighting a grim battle, unbeaten on 41, with Jamal not out on 27.
It was a tough day for the hosts after Brook and Root had destroyed the home team bowling with six bowlers conceding over 100 runs for only the second time in test history on a flat wicket. Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed was hospitalized for fever and didn’t play on Day 4 but he had already cost 0-174.
Ayub (2-101), Naseem Shah (2-157), Agha (1-118), Jamal (1-126), and Shaheen Shah Afridi (1-120) were ruthlessly treated.
Root continued his sublime form and raised his career-best score a day after surpassing Alastair Cook’s record of most runs for England in test matches.
Both batters scored freely as they toyed with pace and spin with ease on a benign wicket.
“We got bashed up a little bit today, there’s no doubt about that,” said Pakistan assistant coach Tim Nielsen.
What do India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the other teams need to do in order to seal a spot? Al Jazeera breaks it down.
The race for the semifinals at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is heating up as all 10 participant nations enter the second half of their group-stage matches and look to climb up the points table.
After their huge win over Sri Lanka on Wednesday, India leapt up from fourth to second spot in Group A and removed the Asian champions from the reckoning.
Sri Lanka are already out of semifinal contention; their final group game against New Zealand on Saturday is inconsequential.
In Group B, debutants Scotland also made an early exit after losing all three games. On Sunday, they will attempt to finish the tournament on a high with an upset of their much higher-ranked British rivals, England.
Which teams, then, can still qualify for the semifinals and what do they need to do in order to get there?
Here’s Al Jazeera’s breakdown of the permutations:
Which teams can qualify for the Women’s T20 World Cup semifinals?
Group A:
Australia
India
New Zealand
Pakistan
Group B:
England
South Africa
West Indies
Bangladesh
Two falcons 🦅 Two camels 🐫 10 captains 😎 ONE trophy 🏆
Beat both Pakistan and India in their remaining two group games to finish on top of the table with eight points.
In case of a loss against Pakistan, Australia would need to beat India and hope New Zealand beat Pakistan and Sri Lanka beat New Zealand. This would result in six points for Australia and India, and four each for New Zealand and Pakistan.
If Australia beat Pakistan but lose to India, they would want New Zealand to lose against both Pakistan and Sri Lanka, resulting in six points for Australia and India and four each for Pakistan and New Zealand.
Should they lose both games, Australia will find themselves in a tricky situation – but their high net run rate may still save them. They will hope for two losses for New Zealand against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Australia will still need their net run rate to be higher than Pakistan’s in order to secure the second qualifying spot from Group A.
How can India qualify for the semifinals?
A win over Australia in their final group game and one loss each for New Zealand and Pakistan will ensure India’s qualification on points.
If India lose to Australia, they would require Australia to record a huge win over Pakistan – in order to eliminate Fatima Sana’s team on net run rate – and New Zealand to lose at least one of their games. Group A would then have Australia on top and India in second spot on net run rate.
Should India lose to Australia but New Zealand win both their matches, the Australasian teams will qualify for the semis with at least six points each – and Harmanpreet Kaur’s team will be eliminated.
If India lose to Australia but New Zealand lose to Pakistan, Australia will qualify as table toppers and leave the other three teams to fight it out on net run rate.
Two wins in their last two matches against Sri Lanka and Pakistan will seal the deal for the White Ferns with six points.
Failing to win both games will lead to New Zealand’s removal on two points.
If New Zealand win one of their two games, they will hope their geographical neighbour Australia will hand big defeats to both India and Pakistan and help them finish second on a higher net run rate.
How can Pakistan qualify for the semifinals?
In ideal circumstances, Pakistan need to pull off miraculous wins over both New Zealand and Australia and rely on India to defeat Australia. This improbable scenario would send India and Pakistan into the semifinals with six points each.
In a slightly more realistic situation, if Pakistan beat New Zealand but lose to Australia, they would need Australia to beat India with a huge margin and Sri Lanka to beat New Zealand in a similar manner. This would result in four points for both Pakistan and India and the team with the higher net run rate will qualify.
If Pakistan lose both their games, they will end yet another World Cup campaign at the group stage. Pakistan have never qualified for the semifinals of a World Cup [File: Giuseppe Cacace/AFP]
How can England qualify for the semifinals?
England need two wins in their two games to finish on eight points and qualify as table toppers.
One win and one loss will see them finish on six points and enter a net run rate battle against South Africa, West Indies and Bangladesh.
Should England lose to both Scotland and West Indies, they can still qualify if their net run rate is higher than the other three teams.
How can South Africa qualify for the semifinals?
South Africa need to beat Bangladesh comprehensively in order to maintain their top position with both points and net run rate.
Should South Africa lose, they will need the West Indies to lose both their games. In this scenario, their healthy net run rate after the first three games could still see the Proteas women enter the semifinals in the second spot ahead of both the West Indies and Bangladesh.
How can the West Indies qualify for the semifinals?
The West Indies need two wins in their last two matches and hope that South Africa lose to Bangladesh or England lose both of their games.
If the West Indies win one game and England win both of theirs, the 2016 champions will hope that South Africa lose to Bangladesh by a big margin. Hayley Matthews’s team will then qualify ahead of South Africa on net run rate.
Two losses will result in a group-stage exit for West Indies.
The hosts, who won their first-ever T20 World Cup match in the tournament opener on October 3, will pull off a near-miracle if they beat both 2016 champions West Indies and 2023 runners-up South Africa and end up on six points. It will be enough to see them through to the knockouts.
In the other instance, Bangladesh will hope they can beat at least one of West Indies or South Africa with a big margin and enter the battle for net run rate.
Losing both of their games will send Nigar Sultana’s team crashing out of the tournament.
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Two brothers played key roles in Ireland’s first-ever Twenty20 cricket victory against South Africa on Sunday with a 10-run win in the second and final match of the series.
Ross Adair (100) hit his first international century in 57 balls before being dismissed the next delivery. Mark Adair then took 4-31 in four overs as Ireland drew the series 1-1.
Ireland posted 195-6 on Sunday after South Africa won the toss and chose to field on neutral ground in Abu Dhabi. The Irish held South Africa to 185-9 in reply.
Ireland captain Paul Stirling and Ross Adair gave their team a strong start with an opening stand of 137 before Stirling was dismissed at the end of the 13th over. Adair’s innings included nine sixes but his team slowed down after his dismissal in the 17th over.
Reeza Hendricks and Matthew Breetzke both scored 51 in South Africa’s chase. Opener Ryan Rickelton smashed four sixes in a 22-ball 36.
Mark Adair set up the victory for Ireland with three wickets in the 19th over. He bowled Wiaan Mulder and Breetzke in the first three deliveries, and claimed Nqabayomzi Peter at the end of the over.
Graham Hume conceded seven runs and also took a wicket in the final over before Ireland celebrated an upset win.
The two teams start a series of three one-dayers in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
