Mike Hesson Photo: Photosport
Latest - Fomer Black Caps coach Mike Hesson remains on the shortlist for the India head coaching job with an announcement due at the end of the week.
The Press Trust of India says Hesson is on a shortlist of six along with the incumbent, Ravi Shastri, as well as Tom Moody, Phil Simmons, Lalchand Rajput and Robin Singh.
The report says the BCCI could make an announcement by Friday.
Hesson left his New Zealand job last year and has just stepped down from his position with IPL team the Kings XI Punjab.
Female referee out to prove they're as competent as men
Stephanie Frappart said she will prove female officials are as competent as their male counterparts when she becomes the first woman to referee a major UEFA competition final in the Super Cup between Liverpool and Chelsea tomorrow.
Frappart will be assisted by her French compatriot Manuela Nicolosi and Ireland's Michelle O'Neill.
The trio have worked together at bigger matches, they were in charge of this year's Women's World Cup final in France, but there is no doubt they will be under intense focus in Istanbul.
Asked if she was afraid of being "double criticised" for any mistakes made, Frappart said it was time for female referees to show they are as good as the men.
The Super Cup is an annual match played between the winners of the Champions League and the Europa League.
-Reuters
Australia drop Pattinson
Australia dropped fast bowler James Pattinson from a 12-man squad for the second Ashes cricket test against England starting at Lord's tonight, with Josh Hazlewood coming in as likely replacement.
Australia's James Pattinson appeals for the wicket of New Zealand's Martin Guptill at Hagley Oval Photo: Photosport
Fellow quick Mitchell Starc, the left armer who was also overlooked for the first test won by Australia at Edgbaston, also made the squad but could end up carrying the drinks once the playing line up is named at the toss.
Spearhead Pat Cummins and Peter Siddle, who made up the pace trio with Pattinson in the 251-run opening victory, retained their places.
Captain Tim Paine told reporters Pattinson was left out as part of long-term planning, with the choice between Hazlewood and Starc.
The third Ashes Test at Yorkshire's Headingley ground in Leeds comes as a quick turnaround from Lord's, with play starting on 22 August.
-Reuters
Tiger is back
Tiger Woods says he is ready to play golf again this week after the former world number one withdrew from last week's Northern Trust due to back pain.
Woods has arrived at Medinah, Illinois, venue for this week's BMW Championship, and said he would play in the second event of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
"I feel good," Woods told Golfweek. "I Feel a lot better than I felt last week. Felt good this morning so I thought I'd give it a go."
The 15-times major champion has an early morning tee time for Wednesday's pro-am and an early afternoon start in the first round on Thursday.
Lying 38th in the FedEx Cup standings, Woods will need a strong showing this week since only the top 30 advance to next week's Tour Championship in Atlanta.
-Reuters
Cricket back in Commonwealth Games
Cricket is set to return to the Commonwealth Games after a 24-year absence with organisers confirming that the programme for Birmingham 2022 would include a women's Twenty20 tournament.
White Ferns captain Amy Satterthwaite has plenty to ponder with her side having lost their last seven T20 games. Photo: Photosport
The T20 event is one of three new events added to the next edition of the Games, alongside Beach Volleyball and Para Table Tennis, but there was no room on the schedule for shooting.
Eight teams will take part in the game's shortest format, which will be held at Edgbaston, boosting the total number of medal events for women at Birmingham 2022 to 135 - two more than men in a first for a major multi-sport event.
Cricket's last appearance at the Games was at Kuala Lumpur in 1998, when a South African team featuring Jacques Kallis won the men's 50-over competition.
The next edition of the women's Cricket World Cup will be held in New Zealand in 2021 and the country's captain Amy Satterthwaite described the inclusion of the sport in the Birmingham programme as "a huge boost".
The 2022 Games will take place from 27 July to 7 August and involve 4,500 athletes competing across 19 sports.
Go here for more on this story.
-Reuters
Showjumpers qualify for Olympics
New Zealand showjumpers have qualified a team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games after a hard-fought victory at a qualifying event in The Netherlands.
The only clear rounds inside the time allowed over the two rounds came from Kiwi riders Tom Tarver aboard Popeye and Samantha McIntosh on the very dependable Check In 2.
McIntosh said she was rapt with the team's result in heading home riders from the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, the Republic of Korea and the Philippines.
New Zealand had to finish in the top two placings to secure the Tokyo berth.
Ah Mau joins 200 club
Front rower Leeson Ah Mau becomes the NRL's newest 200-game player when he lines up in the Warriors' 22nd-round contest against the Sydney Roosters at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday.
Leeson Ah Mau at a Kiwis training run in Denver. Photo: Photosport
Ah Mau's career milestone coincides with the first time the Vodafone Warriors have played at the famed SCG.
The 29-year-old Mangere East junior, one of only two players to appear in each of the club's 20 matches this season, has been named to start again in a 17-man squad which is the same as the one used in last Friday night's impressive 24-16 win over the fifth-placed Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.
Head coach Stephen Kearney has included stand-off Kodi Nikorima on the extended bench, the Kiwi halfback coming back into the frame from an ankle injury he suffered in the 19-18 win over the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.
Nikorima missed the loss to Parramatta and then re-injured his ankle early in the match against Canberra which ruled him out last week.
The Warriors lie 11th on the ladder on 19 points, two behind eighth-placed Brisbane and three behind seventh-placed Penrith.
Bledisloe Cup Test a sellout
The All Blacks Bledisloe Cup decider against Australia in Auckland is officially sold out.
A capacity crowd of 48,511 will fill Auckland's Eden Park for Saturday night's Test featuring both the All Blacks and Black Ferns in a double-header event against their Australian counterparts.
The All Blacks are coming off a 47-26 loss to Australia as they look to retain the Bledisloe Cup, while the Black Ferns will be looking to back up their 47-10 win over Australia at 5pm.
Gauff gets wildcard
American teenager Cori Gauff and former champion Samantha Stosur were among players to be given wildcards into the main draw of the US Open starting later this month.
Gauff, 15, stunned players and fans alike when she made her debut in the main draw of a Grand Slam at this year's Wimbledon, reaching the fourth round where she was beaten by eventual champion Simona Halep.
Gauff, the youngest finalist in the girls' singles event at the U.S. Open in 2017 aged 13, is one of five teenagers given wildcards at Flushing Meadows.
Americans Caty McNally, Whitney Osuigwe and Katie Volynets (all 17) and France's 16-year-old Diane Parry, who became the youngest player this decade to win a main-draw match in the French Open in May, also received them.
Australia's Stosur, U. Open champion in 2011, will be making her 15th appearance in the main draw. The 35-year-old, who last reached a Grand Slam singles semi-final in 2016 at Roland Garros, was also a doubles champion in New York in 2005.
-Reuters
City fined for breaching transfer rules
English Premier League football champions Manchester City have been fined $588,000 by FIFA for breaches of rules regarding the transfer of Under-18 players, football's world governing body said in a statement.
However, City were not handed a transfer ban for the infringement.
Premier League rivals Chelsea were given a one-year transfer ban and fined $953,000 in February in relation to 29 cases where regulations relating to the international transfer and registration of Under-18 players were breached.
City are facing other investigations from FIFA and UEFA regarding financial fair play.
FIFA said its Disciplinary Committee took into account the fact that City had "accepted its responsibility".
-Reuters
Moeen takes a break
England's Moeen Ali is taking a break from cricket to "recharge his batteries" after he was dropped from the Ashes squad ahead of the second test against Australia, Worcestershire coach Alex Gidman said.
Ali was dropped after a poor performance in the opening test in Edgbaston where he picked up only three wickets in two innings (1-42 and 2-130) and did not score more than four runs.
Left arm spinner Jack Leach has been named in the squad in his place for the test at Lord's.
Ali, who was part of England's triumphant squad that won the 50-over World Cup on home soil last month, has played 60 test matches since making his debut in 2014 with 181 wickets to his name.
-Reuters
