Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - Black Caps all-rounder Michael Bracewell is in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19.

The Wellingtonian tested positive the morning after the second Test against England in Nottingham after waking up with symptons.

He will require five days of isolation before rejoining the group ahead of the final Test at Headingley in Leeds starting next Thursday.

Team physio Vijay Vallabh and strength and conditioning coach Chris Donaldson also tested positive.

No replacement player is being sort at this stage.

Captain Kane Williamson has rejoined the squad after serving his own five day period of isolation having tested positive on the eve of the second test.

Yesterday bowler Kyle Jamieson and wicketkeeper Cameron Fletcher were ruled out of the rest of the tour through injury.

Meanwhile England have been fined 40 percent of their match fee and docked two ICC World Test Championship points for maintaining a slow over rate in their win over New Zealand in the second test at Trent Bridge.

SVG to race Rally NZ

Two-times Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen will compete in Rally New Zealand in September.

The 33-year-old has tried his hand successfully at a range of motorsports, including winning the Battle of Jack's Ridge rally sprint last year, and finishing top-five in his class at his first attempt at the famed Le Mans 24 Hour Race at the weekend.

Rally New Zealand is on the WRC calender this year and will be run around Auckland between September 30th and October 2nd.

Van Gisbergen will be co-driven by former Australian champion Glen Weston and is expected to drive a Race Torque-run Škoda Fabia R5 in the WRC2 class.

He says it was his childhood memories of Rally New Zealand that has led to his involvement.

"I've been around it a long time and going to all the rallies when I was young watching Rally New Zealand. It has always been a dream to do it but I've never really had the chance.

Van Gisbergen competed in the opening round of the Australian Rally Championship earlier this year in Canberra which rekindled his interest, and he plans to bring his car to New Zealand in advance of Rally New Zealand, potentially to drive in Rally Hawkes Bay.

No Warriors women in 2023

The women's NRL competition will expand to ten teams in 2023, but it won't include the Warriors.

Canberra, Cronulla, North Queensland and Wests Tigers are set to enter the NRLW Premiership next year.

The NRLW was due to expand to eight teams next year but the ARL Commission has decided to fast-track the competition with an additional four sides.

The 2022 season will remain with six clubs - Brisbane Broncos, Gold Coast Titans, Newcastle Knights, Parramatta Eels, St George Illawarra Dragons and Sydney Roosters - kicking off in August.

The Warriors withdrew from the competition in 2021.

NRL CEO Andrew Abdo explained the Warriors' recent challenges relocating to Australia was a factor in their NRLW side not returning in 2023.

"We're on the brink of getting the Warriors back home which they're very excited about and for them it's about rebuilding and consolidating their position back in New Zealand and then thinking about re-entering the NRLW soon after.

"The Warriors are important for our men's and women's competitions and it's important for us to have that natural pathway in New Zealand.

"Those athletes based in New Zealand who want to relocate will certainly be supported by the NRL and clubs."

Root back on top, Mitchell continues to rise

England's Joe Root has returned to the top of the men's batting Test cricket rankings after his fourth century of 2022.

Root, 31, has overtaken Australia's Marnus Labuschagne following his impressive 176 in England's victory over New Zealand in the second Test in Nottingham.

It followed 115 not out in the first Test and scores of 109 and 153 in the first and second Tests of the tour of West Indies earlier this year.

Root became the second England batsman to score 10,000 Test runs after scoring a fine century on day four of the first Test against New Zealand at Lord's.

He is only the 14th player in world cricket to have achieved the feat, with former captain Sir Alastair Cook the only other England player to do so.

Meanwhile Daryl Mitchell's dramatic rise up the rankings continues after his second century of the series.

Mitchell has risen another 33 spots to now be 17.

Kane Williamson stays at number five, while Kyle Jamieson is the top ranked New Zealand test bowler at number seven.

Fury might fight again

WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury says he's willing to return to the ring for a potential unification bout against Anthony Joshua or Oleksandr Usyk but organisers would have to dig deep to tempt him out of "retirement".

Fury knocked out fellow Briton Dillian Whyte in April to retain his title before telling fans he would be sticking to his promise to his wife to retire.

However, the 33-year-old said he had been in talks with his promoter Frank Warren about a potential return and that they were "going to make something big, big happen".

Usyk beat Joshua in September last year to seize the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts and the rematch is likely to take place in August, with British media reporting that Fury was waiting in the wings for the winner.

Fury, who is known as the 'Gypsy King', described Usyk as a "middleweight" but said he expected him to beat Joshua again.

"When this middleweight knocks out this bodybuilder again, there's only going to be one man to sort this absolute circus out, isn't there?" Fury said.

"What I would say to the people who want this fight to happen, you better have a big cheque book, because to bring the big 'GK' out of retirement... it's going to cost."

-Reuters

Charges laid over Yorkshire racisim claims

Yorkshire County Cricket Club and a number of individuals have been charged following an investigation into racism claims made by former player Azeem Rafiq, the England and Wales Cricket Board announced, without naming the people in question.

Rafiq, a former England under-19 captain of Pakistani descent, last year alleged that he had been a victim of institutional racism at the club.

The scandal shook English cricket to its core and led to numerous changes in coaching and administrative personnel at Yorkshire.

"In matters of this nature, our normal practice is not to identify individuals charged at this stage. This decision is taken on a case-by-case basis," the governing body said.

An independent panel of the Cricket Discipline Commission, the body that handles disciplinary matters in the English domestic game, will hear the cases in due course.

Rafiq, who testified before a British parliamentary committee in November, welcomed the ECB announcement and said he was hoping for a speedy conclusion to the investigation.

"This has been another gruelling but unfortunately necessary process... I hope this all means that no young player ever goes through such pain and alienation again," the 31-year-old said in a statement.

In April, Yorkshire chairman Kamlesh Patel said that the club had learnt its lessons and hoped to be a "beacon of hope" for diversity in English cricket.

-Reuters

Smith tweaks his driver

Australia's Cameron Smith is hoping a tweak to his driver will bring more accuracy off the tee and help his bid for a maiden major title at the U.S. Open this week.

Though boasting a stellar short game and iron play, world number six Smith has struggled to hit fairways this season, with his driving accuracy percentage outside the top 150 on the U.S. Tour.

Smith, who finished outside the top 40 at the recent Canadian Open, said he had taken a half-inch off the shaft and adjusted the head weight of his Titleist driver, and was happy with the results on the practice range.

After claiming the biggest win of his career earlier this year at the Players Championship, Smith finished joint third at the Masters and tied for 13th at the PGA Championship.

He may need his driver firing to make a major breakthrough at the Country Club at Brookline, Massachusetts, which has thin fairways and thick rough.

New Zealand's Ryan Fox and Danny Lee are both in the field this week, while organisers have also allowed those players on the LIV tour to compete.

-Reuters