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Substitute Gabriel Martinelli scored deep in injury time as Brazil beat a stubborn Japan 2-1 on Monday to roll into the World Cup last 16.Arsenal winger Martinelli struck in the 95th minute in Houston to
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* Draper and Raducanu both withdraw injured* Departures leave draw without top British attractions* First day of play sees a string of home defeats* British number one Norrie beaten by qualifier Zheng Cameron Norrie joined a string of beaten Brits heading for the exit on the opening day of Wimbledon on Monday while popular hopes Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu were gone without lifting a racket or hitting a ball.Norrie, the 26th seed and British number one, was dumped out 7-6(7) 2-6 7-6(2) 3-6 6-7(4-10) by American qualifier Michael Zheng, who had five match points in the final tiebreak and needed only one.He was the sixth home player to lose at the first hurdle on the opening day, with the possibility of several more to come and now-retired Grand Slam winner Andy Murray no longer a saviour in waiting.Former world number four Draper had earlier announced his no-show due to an arm injury while fans queuing at the gates knew already that Raducanu would not be appearing after she posted an explanatory message on social media on Sunday.'ABSOLUTE WORST' TO MISS WIMBLEDON"Devastated to share that I have had to withdraw from my first round match due to a recurrence of my arm injury," said Draper, 24."There have been a lot of painful moments in the last 12 months but this one is definitely the absolute worst as there is no greater honour for a British player than playing at Wimbledon."Draper, who had been due to play big-serving American world number seven Taylor Fritz in his first round match on Tuesday, was replaced in the draw by Serbian lucky loser Dusan Lajovic.The Briton had told reporters on Sunday that the number of injuries in men's tennis was a concern and tournaments would suffer if something was not done about it.Former U.S. Open champion Raducanu, 23, announced her withdrawal on Sunday as a result of a stress fracture in her lower right leg.The British women's number one had been scheduled to face Croatia's Antonia Ruzic on Court One, a slot that went instead to compatriot Harriet Dart vs Latvian Jelena Ostapenko.As the afternoon sun warmed the manicured grass of southwest London, the familiar exodus of British talent was well under way as a string of home hopes - some pluckier than others - came and went.Dart was among them - putting up a brave fight over 2-1/2 hours before going down 6-3 3-6 6-4 to the 2017 French Open champion who served more double faults than aces in the first set and was no crowd favourite.SCOWLS FROM OSTAPENKO"I'm probably not the one who you wanted to win but anyway thank you, it was a really nice atmosphere," said Ostapenko, whose scowls and grimaces during the match were replaced with smiles of relief after having to work for every point."Sorry if I was a little bit emotional but I feel like first rounds are always tough, especially when you play someone who is from here," she added."When I play somebody local or just somebody that the crowd is supporting I feel like I'm angry inside ... I mean, this is a very good crowd for her but I feel like to prove that you guys should support me in the next match."Other early British casualties were 17-year-old Mika Stojsavljevic, who lost 6-2 6-1 to Swiss 11th seed and 2025 semi-finalist Belinda Bencic, and Max Basing who went out 6-3 6-0 6-0 to Japanese fellow qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki.Wildcard Felix Gill also departed 6-3 6-3 7-5 to 19-year-old Spanish debutant Rafa Jodar, the 23rd seed, while wildcard Alicia Dudeney lost 6-3 6-3 to American Alycia Parks on Court Four. Related Story
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What happens next? That is the awkward question facing English cricket after Ben Stokes announced his retirement from international duty in the middle of a Test match.Stokes explained on Sunday that he felt 'burnt out' after four years as England's Test captain following an extraordinary day of drama in the third match of the series against New Zealand at Trent Bridge.Replacing him in the England set-up, both as captain or as a match-winning all-rounder, is going to be all but impossible.The announcement of the impending end of Stokes' England career came as the 35-year-old was involved in a marathon bowling spell, with the series on the line.It was the start of a scarcely credible sequence of events.The crowd in Nottingham gave Stokes a standing ovation before the skipper took a wicket with his next delivery -- a stark example of his ability to impact a game by sheer force of will as well as skill. MITCHELL'S GUTSY CENTURYDespite his heroics, the visitors were able to set England a stiff victory target of 373 after Daryl Mitchell's gutsy century.Stokes later promoted himself to open England's innings even though he is normally a middle-order batsman. He blazed his way to a tempestuous 30 off 20 balls, including two sixes, before he holed out -- showing little of the calculated risk-taking that underpinned some of his greatest innings.Stokes, who walked off to more applause, had played his last on-field role in an international career spanning 15 years.At stumps England had slumped to 103-4, facing defeat and a 2-1 series loss on Monday. The timing of the captain's announcement and his decision to promote himself to the top of the order, left him open to accusations of self-indulgence.'DRAINING'But if the all-rounder has had enough, perhaps it is no surprise. England suffered a chastening 4-1 Ashes loss in Australia in a series that ended in January and Stokes needed major facial surgery after being hit by a ball the following month.Then came a written warning following a disciplinary incident at a London nightclub after England's win in the first Test against New Zealand, which led to his omission from the second match of the series.'I'll never begrudge any moment where I've walked this team out,' Stokes told Sky Sports after stumps. 'It's simply the greatest honour you could ever put on your shoulders as a player.'But he added: 'As good as it is, there are bits where it does get to you, it does drain you, it does affect you in a negative way.' 'POTENTIALLY BURNT MYSELF OUT'Reflecting on England's victory in the first Test at Lord's, he said: 'I put so much time and effort into it I maybe, potentially burnt myself out.'Everyone I spoke to about the day it (retirement) happens, they just say it kicks you straight in the face. And I thought a few weeks ago that it did.'As I was putting my pads on (on Saturday) getting ready to go out there, that was the last nail in the coffin.'Stokes, whose international career was interrupted by a nightclub incident in 2017 that ended with his acquittal on a charge of affray, intends to play on with his county side Durham. 'AFFECTION TOWARDS CRICKET''Being back at Durham, I found not a reconnection but a new lease of life in my affection towards cricket,' he explained. 'And then I just couldn't get that same feeling back here this week (at Trent Bridge), as much as I was trying.'England looked a badly imbalanced team in the second Test at the Oval, with his predecessor as England captain Joe Root leading the side to a heavy defeat.Harry Brook is the official vice-captain but was left in the ranks after his altercation with a nightclub bouncer in New Zealand ahead of the Ashes -- an incident that led to the imposition of the curfew Stokes breached in London.Brook on Sunday tried to follow his skipper's lead with the attacking Bazball batting that has been a hallmark of England's style since Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum teamed up in 2022.He flayed his first ball for six and holed out off his ninth, prompting former England skipper Michael Atherton to write in The Times: 'He is not the Test captain in waiting.'But then, who is?
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* US women's team set to miss home Olympics due to poor rankings * Regional tournament to pick which island country represents West Indies in global qualifier * Australia vie with New Zealand for Oceania spot in men's T20 Reigning world champions India, Britain, South Africa and hosts United States are set to feature in the men's Twenty20 competition when cricket returns to the Olympics at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles following a qualification pathway approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). One team each from Asia, Europe, Africa, and Oceania will be picked based on the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings at a cut-off date on December 31, 2026, according to a decision approved by the executive board of the IOC.Australia and New Zealand will vie for the one spot from Oceania, while the US will carry the flag for the Americas provided it does not slip out of top 15 in the ICC rankings. The sixth team will come from a global qualifier featuring the next eight highest-ranked teams, who have not yet qualified. The mix will include West Indies - a composite ICC member representing multiple Caribbean nations but not recognised as National Olympic Committee by the IOC. "If the West Indies is ranked among the eight highest-ranked teams not yet qualified, the ICC shall organise a West Indies Nations Regional Tournament to determine which NOC will represent the region at the final global Olympic qualification tournament," the IOC said in a statement on Monday. They will then join seven other teams - the highest-ranked sides not already qualified - in a global qualifier with the winner completing the six-team competition at Los Angeles. England's ranking has been used to select Britain.The women's competition will also feature six teams. Australia, Britain, South Africa and India have secured spots by virtue of being the four best-performing continental teams in the ongoing World Cup. Neither the US nor any team from the Americas features in the ICC's top 15. After the Champions Trophy next year, the unused host country's place will be awarded to the highest-ranked T20 team outside the four who have already qualified.As in the men's pathway, the Caribbean winner will enter an eight-team global qualifier, with the winner claiming the final spot for LA 2028. Related Story
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Outgoing Ireland head coach Heinrich Malan. Ireland head coach Heinrich Malan will step down from his role, the country's cricket board said on Monday, shortly after the Irish whitewashed India 2-0 in a Twenty20 series.The South African, appointed in 2022, oversaw a period in which Ireland qualified for three consecutive T20 World Cups, secured their first three Test match victories, and claimed their first-ever series win against India. Few gave Ireland a chance in the two-match series, but they humbled India twice in three days, spoiling Shreyas Iyer's debut series as India's 20-overs captain. It was India's first T20 series defeat since 2023.The 45-year-old's current contract extends into early 2027, but Cricket Ireland said in a statement, "he (Malan) believes the timing is right in the cycle to step back following the just-concluded successful T20 series versus India."Malan will be replaced by Gary Wilson, who represented Ireland 292 times as a player between 2005 and 2020. Wilson joined Ireland's coaching setup as assistant coach in 2022, and becomes the first Irish-born head coach in over 30 years, following John Wills in the early 1990s."It has been an absolute privilege to work with these players, staff and the wider Irish cricket community," Malan said in a statement. "On the field, we can look back with great pride," he added, pointing to a T20 World Cup victory against England, Ireland's first-ever Test victory against Afghanistan and a first home Test win vs Zimbabwe among the highlights. Malan will work alongside Wilson over the coming month to ensure a smooth transition as Ireland prepare for a one-day international series against Afghanistan in August.Cricket Ireland also said that the transition will allow Wilson to use the upcoming ODI series as part of the preparations towards the World Cup qualifiers early in 2027. Related Story
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Andrew Strauss said he was 'dumbfounded' by the timing of Ben Stokes's exit from international cricket as he paid tribute to a 'genuine great' of the English game.Stokes's decision to call time on his celebrated England career at the end of the ongoing third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge was made public on the fourth day of the series decider.The England captain, in the middle of a lengthy bowling stint, promptly took a wicket with his first ball afterwards.Stokes, normally a middle-order batsman, then opened the innings but holed out as England lost several wickets in a manic pursuit of a stiff target of 373, with the hosts 103-4 at stumps and on the brink of a first series defeat at home in three or more Tests since 2012.Strauss was England captain on that occasion, with the 49-year-old former opener ending his own career, in which he led his Test side to number one in the world rankings, on a low note as they were beaten by South Africa.While he paid tribute to everything Stokes has achieved during his glittering career, Strauss feels the 35-year-old all rounder should not have revealed his plans during the third Test against the Black Caps with the series up for grabs at 1-1.'Like many people I was dumbfounded yesterday (Sunday) when the whispers started coming out that Ben Stokes was about to announce his retirement,'Strauss wrote on his LinkedIn page.SHOCKING AND INEVITABLE'It was both shocking and perhaps inevitable at the same time.'This is a guy that has given everything to the England shirt but also has worn his emotions on his sleeve throughout that journey. The truth is that the job just burns you out, especially if you take on as much responsibility as Ben did in the role.'He will rightly go down as one of England's genuine greats. This is a guy who revelled in the big moments. A genuine superstar.'Strauss, however, added: 'I hesitate to say this but I'm not convinced that the whole thing was orchestrated the right way yesterday -- it seems like a huge distraction to a team that was battling to avoid a series defeat and the cricket in the last session very much had an 'end of term' feel to it.'Everyone has the right to bow out on their own terms, and no-one has earned that more than Ben, but announcing before or after the game seems like a more sensible approach. When you are in the middle of a match, the only thing that matters is the performance of the team.'It is a small gripe in the greater scheme of things. English cricket will be far worse (and less interesting!) without Ben involved. Opposition teams will be breathing a sigh of relief and there will be a huge vacuum in the England team that will be impossible to fill.'
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England's Ben Stokes waves to the crowd during the post match presentation ceremony after the third and final Test at Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, Nottingham, Britain, on June 29, 2026. (Reuters) Ben Stokes backed Harry Brook to succeed him as England's Test captain after bowing out of international cricket, saying the gifted batsman had his "100 percent support".Stokes dramatically announced he would be retiring from England duty on Sunday's fourth afternoon of the third Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, saying he was "burnt out" after four years as skipper.The 35-year-old all-rounder, normally a middle-order batsman, then opened the innings as England tried to attack a stiff run chase of 373.But he was out before Sunday's close, with Stokes reduced to a spectator on his last day of England duty in Nottingham on Monday as New Zealand won by a thumping 160 runs to seal a 2-1 victory in a three-match series.Brook is already the captain of England's white-ball teams and is set to skipper the side in the first T20 against India at Chester-le-Street on Wednesday.The gifted 27-year-old batsman is also the official vice-captain of the Test team.But when Stokes was omitted from the second Test against New Zealand for breaking a midnight team curfew, it was former skipper Joe Root who took temporary charge of the team.Brook was denied the role after he was involved in an altercation with a nightclub bouncer in Wellington, New Zealand, ahead of England's woeful 2025/26 4-1 Ashes series loss in Australia -- an incident that led to the imposition of the curfew.'NATURAL PROGRESSION'Stokes, speaking to reporters at Trent Bridge after Monday's stumps, said: "There's a reason he (Brook) was asked to be vice-captain of this team. I know with all the controversy over the last couple of weeks, decisions were made. They were decisions I was not part of making."You are asked to be vice-captain for a reason, and I was vice-captain under Joe for a long time. It's the natural progression, if the captain is not there you step up."There is absolutely no reason why Harry shouldn't be asked to do that."Stokes said there was no way of knowing for sure if captaincy would boost or hinder Brook, who has an impressive batting average of over 53 in 38 Tests.But with England's three-Test series at home to Pakistan starting in August, Stokes had no doubts about the identity of the new red-ball skipper."If I was to be asked who I think should do it, I would be throwing my 100 percent support behind Harry Brook," he said. LESS ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT MCCULLUM, KEYStokes, however, was less enthusiastic about England head coach Brendon McCullum and managing director Rob Key, the other two architects of a 'Bazball' era seemingly now at end.Monday's reverse was England's seventh defeat in their last nine Tests and also sealed a rare series loss on home soil.Stokes, asked if McCullum and Key were still the men to take England forward, replied: "What me, Brendon and Rob have managed to do over four-and-a half-years, I'm not going to lie, it's been an interesting ride."We've had incredible highs and some pretty low lows as well. It's always worked and connected pretty well in terms of what we've wanted to achieve. It doesn't always work out the way you want it to work out."While Stokes intends to play on for county side Durham but he denied suggestions he could yet face arch-rivals Australia during next year's Ashes in England."I'm done," he said. "I've had a few questions asking whether I'll be able to sit on my sofa watching next year. I know it's the Ashes but I'll probably be watching it in a hospitality box somewhere." Related Story
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Italy’s Jannik Sinner celebrates beating Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic during their first round match on the first day of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London,
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Manchester City have appointed former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca as manager from next season, the Premier League club announced on Monday, handing him the immense task of replicating the success of departing coach Pep Guardiola.The
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USA swimming star Gretchen Walsh has set a new world record for the women’s 50m freestyle. Gretchen Walsh broke the women's 50m freestyle world record on Sunday at the Sette Colli International Trophy in Rome, lowering a mark that had already been beaten this month.The 23-year-old clocked 23.55 seconds, breaking the previous record of 23.59 set by fellow American Kate Douglass earlier this month at a US Pro Swim Series event in Indianapolis.In May, Walsh bettered her own 100m butterfly world record for the third time in a year, posting 54.33 seconds in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.With the 50m freestyle mark, Walsh has now broken a world record 21 times.She also got two relay gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics and won her first individual long-course world title in July last year at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, where she took gold in the women's 100m butterfly."I would feel a lot of regret if I left the time like this on the table and never was able to go (at) it again, so I say the more the merrier," Walsh told swimming news outlet SwimSwam after breaking her newest record."I'm going to keep trying to break world records in everything because that's what it takes to be at the level that I'm at."Walsh is viewed as a top contender for the U.S. heading into the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, with multiple world records and a world championship already to her name."Maybe some eyes will be on me more so than ever now and I'm ready for the challenge to handle that pressure especially at a home Olympics, so I'm here, bring it on!" she added. Related Story
