LONDON: England great James Anderson will join the team’s backroom staff as a fast-bowling mentor when he retires from Test cricket following next week’s series opener against the West Indies at Lord’s.
The 41-year-old is the first seamer and only third bowler to have taken 700 Test wickets after spinners Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan.
Anderson, however, has decided to end his Test career after England made it clear they wanted to move on ahead of the 2025/26 Ashes.
But England managing director Rob Key told reporters on Monday: “After the Lord’s Test, Jimmy will continue in our set-up, and he’ll help a bit more as a mentor.”
Key added: “He has got so much to offer English cricket. We don’t want to see that go.
“When we asked him, he was keen. He is going to have a lot of options. English cricket would be very lucky if he chooses to stay in the game.”
Anderson is currently playing for Lancashire against Nottinghamshire in the County Championship at Southport, but his first-class future remains uncertain.
“What he does with Lancashire will probably work out after the Lord’s Test,” said Key.
England have included three uncapped players in their squad for the first two matches of a three-Test series against the West Indies, with Jamie Smith selected to keep wicket ahead of both Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes.
The 23-year-old Smith averages over 50 in the County Championship this season and celebrated his Test call-up by making exactly 100 for Surrey against Essex on Sunday.
He usually plays as a specialist batsman for Surrey with Foakes keeping wicket for the reigning county champions.
“Sometimes you’re selecting people for what they’re going to be as well, and where you think they can progress to,” said Key.
“It’s very much the start for Jamie Smith. We feel he’s going to be a fantastic international cricketer.”
Key, asked how Smith would cope with the demands of keeping wicket for 90 overs a day in a Test match when he is not a regular behind the stumps, said he had consulted several former England wicketkeepers in Chris Read, James Foster and Alec Stewart — Smith’s boss at Surrey.
“Some of the guys have been the best keepers in the country... We use them a lot really and we trust a lot of their opinions,” Key explained.
Key added Bairstow, 34, “needs to get back to what he was a couple of years ago,” when the Yorkshireman hit six Test centuries in 2022.
Bairstow, however, has struggled lately after nearly a year out of the game following a horrifying leg break in a freak accident on a golf course.
“Generally his form, in all formats, has just been going slightly in the wrong direction,” said 45-year-old former England batsman Key.
“It’s an arduous task being a keeper and you want someone who can back up series after series. We weren’t convinced that Jonny would be able to do that, especially at the stage of his career that he’s at.”
Key was speaking for the first time since defending champions England’s defeat by India in the semifinals of the T20 World Cup.
England won just one of their four matches against fellow Test sides during a tournament in the Caribbean and the United States following a woeful defense of their 50-over World Cup title in India last year.
Those reverses have called into question the positions of England white-ball captain Jos Buttler and coach Matthew Mott.
But Key said he would take his time regarding their future ahead of England’s next white-ball series against Australia in September.
“I’m not going to rush anything on that,” he said.
“At times I thought we showed how good we were and at times we were inconsistent. We’ll let the dust settle on the World Cup and then move forward from there.”
James Anderson set to mentor England’s quicks after Test exit
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James Anderson set to mentor England’s quicks after Test exit
- The 41-year-old is the first seamer and only third bowler to have taken 700 Test wickets
- English great set to retire from Test cricket following next week’s series opener against the West Indies
PSL X: Peshawar Zalmi lock horns with Quetta Gladiators at Lahore’s Qaddafi Stadium
- Zalmi have lost three of their four matches this season and secured their only win over Multan Sultans
- Gladiators, on the other hand, draw confidence from their solid 80-run win over Zalmi in PSL X opener
LAHORE: Peshawar Zalmi won the toss and chose to bowl first against Quetta Gladiators in the 17th match of the Pakistan Super League 10th edition (PSL X) at Qaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Sunday.
Zalmi have lost three of their four matches this season and secured their only win over Multan Sultans. All eyes have been on Zalmi skipper Babar Azam, who has been consistently performing in PSL X, in Sunday’s encounter against Gladiators.
Zalmi said it was “time to shine” in a post on Instagram as their skipper said they were going in with a clear approach.
“Our approach is clear — smart cricket, sharp mindset, and full fight,” Azam said after winning the toss. “Every moment, every move, with one goal in mind.”
Gladiators, on the other hand, draw confidence from their solid 80-run win over Zalmi in the PSL X opener, which gives them a psychological edge in Sunday’s encounter.
However, the Saud Shakeel-led side has failed to maintain consistency since their win against Zalmi and secured a narrow victory against Karachi Kings by defending a modest total of 142.
Fans anticipated a tough battle between Gladiators’ superior bowling line-up and Zalmi’s hard-hitting batsmen.
SQUADS
Peshawar Zalmi: Babar Azam (c), Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Mohammad Haris, George Linde, Mohammad Ali, Hussain Talat, Nahid Rana, Abdul Samad, Arif Yaqoob, Mehran Mumtaz, Sufiyan Muqeem, Najibullah Zadran, Ali Raza, Maaz Sadaqat, Mitchell Owen, Ahmed Daniyal, Alzarri Joseph, Ihsanullah
Quetta Gladiators: Saud Shakeel (c) Finn Allen, Faheem Ashraf, Mark Chapman, Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Amir, Rilee Rossouw, Akeal Hossein, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Khawaja Nafay, Usman Tariq, Haseebullah Khan, Khurram Shahzad, Kyle Jamieson, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Zeeshan, Danish Aziz, Kusal Mendis and Sean Abbott
Bumrah claims 4-22 as Mumbai register five straight IPL wins
- It was Mumbai’s 150th victory in the Indian Premier League, the first time for any team in the league
MUMBAI: Pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah returned figures of 4-22 to lead IPL heavyweights Mumbai Indians to their fifth successive win with a 54-run hammering of Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday.
Five-time champions Mumbai posted 215-7 after South Africa’s Ryan Rickleton, a left-hand wicketkeeper-batsman, hit 58 and Suryakumar Yadav hammered 54 at the Wankhede Stadium.
All the bowlers contributed, including England’s Will Jacks who took two wickets in one over, as Mumbai bowled out Lucknow for 161, pushing them up to second in the 10-team table in the T20 tournament.
It was Mumbai’s 150th victory in the Indian Premier League, the first time for any team in the league.
Bumrah stood out after he dismissed Aiden Markram to go past former quick Lasith Malinga’s record of 170 IPL wickets to become Mumbai’s leading bowler.
Bumrah, who has returned from a back injury that made him miss India’s Champions Trophy title win in Dubai last month, now has 174 wickets.
Lucknow opener Mitchell Marsh and Nicholas Pooran hit back with a flurry of boundaries in their breezy partnership of 42.
Jacks got Pooran out for 27 with his off-spin and struck two balls later to send back Lucknow skipper Rishabh Pant, caught out for four while the left-hander attempted a reverse sweep.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Pant, who was brought by Lucknow at an all-time auction record of $3.21 million in November, has flopped with the bat, scoring just 110 runs in nine innings.
New Zealand left-arm quick Trent Boult took down Australia’s Marsh for 34 and later got Ayush Badoni out on 35 to derail the chase and returned figures of 3-20.
Wickets kept tumbling and Bumrah returned to take three in one including impact player David Miller out for 24 to shut out Lucknow.
The batters set up victory after the left-handed Rickleton began quickly with a rush of boundaries despite losing his opening partner and former captain Rohit who fell to returning speedster Mayank Yadav’s slower ball for 12.
Rickleton countered the spin threat to hit back in a 55-run second-wicket stand with Jacks, who hit 29, but finally fell to leg-spinner Digvesh Rathi.
Jacks hit a few boundaries before being bowled by Prince Yadav but Suryakumar kept up the attack with his audacious hitting including a kneel-down hook for six over fine-leg.
The Lucknow bowlers struck regularly and Mayank bowled skipper Hardik Pandya for five.
India’s T20 captain Suryakumar, who is the season’s leading batter with 427 runs, raised his fifty with a six but pace bowler Avesh Khan dismissed him next ball.
Naman Dhir, who hit an unbeaten 25 off 11 balls, and South African all-rounder Corbin Bosch, who smashed a 10-ball 20 on his IPL debut, helped finish with a flourish in their quickfire stand of 28.
Assefa sets women’s only record to win London Marathon women’s race after late breakaway
- Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia secured her first London Marathon title after pulling away from Joyciline Jepkosgei near the end
- Assefa finished second both in London and at the Paris Olympics last year but adds this title to two Berlin Marathon wins
LONDON: Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia took advantage of the warm weather to pull away late for her first London Marathon title on Sunday, setting a record time for a women’s-only race in the process.
Assefa made up for second-place finishes in London and the Paris Olympics last year by pulling away from Joyciline Jepkosgei near the end to finish in 2 hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds. It was the fastest ever time in a women’s-only marathon — but 25 seconds slower than the course record set by Paula Radcliffe in 2003 when it was a mixed race.
Peres Jepchirchir had set the previous women’s only record of 2:16:16 when she won in London last year ahead of Assefa. Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya set the overall women’s world record of 2:09:56 at last year’s Chicago Marathon.
The weather in London was a lot warmer this year than in 2024 — with temperaturse nearing 18 C (64F) by the time the elite runners were finishing — which Assefa said was to her advantage.
“Last year I did have some problems with the cold, my hamstring tightened up toward the end of the race,” Assefa said through an interpreter. “This year the weather suited me really well.”
Assefa adds this win to two previous Berlin Marathon titles.
She was beaten in a sprint at the Paris Olympics by Sifan Hassan last year. This time she made sure there would be no sprint finish as she left Jepkosgei behind with a few kilometers left and ran alone along the Thames and through central London to the finish in front of Buckingham Palace.
Jepkosgei, the 2021 London winner, was almost three minutes back after tiring near the end.
“It was a little bit humid,” Jepkosgei said. “My body was not responding well. And I said, let’s preserve my energy to arrive safely at the finish line.”
Hassan fell behind about halway through the race and finished third, 3:10 behind.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s race for his biggest career victory after making a solo breakaway with about 10 kilometers left.
Barcelona beat Real Madrid in extra time to win Copa del Rey final
- Barcelona will carry this momentum into Wednesday’s start of their Champions League semifinal series against Inter Milan
- Barcelona have beaten Madrid in all three of the clasicos this season
- King Felipe VI awarded the trophy to Barcelona, after the monarch flew back to Spain following his attendance at the funeral of Pope Francis in the Vatican
SEVILLE, Spain: Barcelona beat Real Madrid 3-2 in extra time to claim a record-extending 32nd Copa del Rey title on Saturday and launch their bid for a treble.
Pedri Gonzalez scored from long range to give Barcelona the lead in the 28th minute at La Cartuja Stadium.
Kylian Mbappe came off the bench at halftime and scored from a free kick for Real Madrid in the 70th. Midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni gave Madrid the lead with a header in the 77th.
But Ferran Torres leveled in the 84th and forced extra time.
Jules Kounde then pounced on a pass by Brahim Diaz and slotted a shot into the low corner of Thibaut Courtois’ net for the 116th-minute winner.
Barcelona will carry this momentum into Wednesday’s start of their Champions League semifinal series against Inter Milan. They also lead La Liga by four points over Madrid.
Barcelona have beaten Madrid in all three of the clasicos this season. They routed Madrid 5-2 in the Spanish Super Cup final in January after winning 4-0 at Madrid in the local league in October.
“This was such a physically demanding game, but we showed that we are a great team that never gives up,” said Torres, who filled in perfectly for the injured Robert Lewandowski.
Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger was shown a red card by the referee in the final minute of extra time.
The loss to their fierce rival was another blow to Madrid after they were knocked out of the Champions League quarterfinals by Arsenal.
This could have been their last title decider with Carlo Ancelotti in charge. The Italian coach said he will decide his future this summer amid speculation he is bound to take over Brazil.
King Felipe VI awarded the trophy to Barcelona, after the monarch flew back to Spain following his attendance at the funeral of Pope Francis in the Vatican.
Barcelona dominate first half
One of the biggest rivalries in global soccer was again a tale of two halves — until Torres scored the late equalizer against the flow of play to renew Barcelona’s prospects.
Barcelona dominated the first half as it kept the action in Madrid’s half thanks to its ball control and pressure defense that was quick to recover the ball.
The only semblance of a Madrid attack came when Jude Bellingham was able to spin away from his marker and beat Barcelona’s pressure defense.
But a Bellingham pass intercepted by Pau Cubarsí cued Barcelona’s opener. Pedri lobbed forward for Yamal, breaking down the flank. The 17-year-old phenom — sporting a new dyed-blonde hairdo — threaded a pass back to the top of the box, where Pedri arrived to blast it home.
Raphinha went close to adding a second goal with some help by Rudiger when the Brazilian’s corker kick grazed the defender and hit the far post.
Mbappe sparks Madrid fightback
Mbappe started the game on the bench after injuring his ankle last week. But Ancelotti sent his striker on at halftime to replace Rodrygo. Luka Modric and playmaker Arda Guler soon followed.
The changes helped Madrid click, and the game became a back-and-forth contest with both teams creating scoring chances after Barcelona’s control was shattered.
Wojciech Szczesny had to protect Barcelona’s lead with three saves to deny Vinícius Junior and Mbappe. The goalkeeper could do nothing, however, to stop Mbappe after he earned a foul and fired a free kick low and just inside the post.
Tchouameni rose up to head in a corner kick that Guler curled into to the edge of the six-yard box.
Barcelona finish it off
Torres brought Barcelona back when Yamal put a long ball behind the defense and Courtois mistimed his run out to intercept it, leaving Torres with an open net.
Raphinha thought he had a penalty in the final minute of injury time after contact with Raul Asencio. But the referee, who the day before the final denounced a campaign to discredit him by Real Madrid’s official club television, waived off his initial decision after consulting video.
With several players clearly exhausted in extra time the game appeared destined to finish in a penalty shootout. But that was when Koundé became the hero for the Catalan club.
South Korea’s Ryu and Japan’s Saigo share LPGA Chevron lead
- Ryu fired a 4-under par 68 and Saigo shot 69 to leave each on nine-under 207 after 54 holes at Carlton Woods in the year’s first major women’s tournament
- Both co-leaders are chasing their first major title
HOUSTON: South Korea’s Haeran Ryu and Japan’s Mao Saigo, both aided by long birdies, shared the lead after Saturday’s third round of the LPGA Chevron Championship.
Ryu fired a 4-under par 68 and Saigo shot 69 to leave each on 9-under 207 after 54 holes at Carlton Woods in the year’s first major women’s tournament.
“Another good day,” Ryu said. “I was just trying for the good spots, for the easy putts, and I wanted to try to make some birdies. That was good for me.”
American Lindy Duncan was third on 208 with American Sarah Schmelzel and China’s Liu Yan on 209.
After a bogey at the third hole and a birdie at the par-5 fourth, Ryu reeled off four birdies to close the front nine, the last a spectacular chip-in from well off the front of the green.
“I just think, wow, it’s amazing,” said Ryu, who parred her way through the back nine.
Saigo, however, was not to be outdone. She made a birdie at the par-three third, took a bogey at the fifth, answered with birdies at the sixth and par-five eighth and then holed out from the fringe at the par-five 13th to reach nine-under.
“The course condition was pretty hard. It was pretty difficult to make birdies so I kind of struggled,” Saigo said. “Two of them were chip-in birdies from outside, so I was pretty lucky.”
Both co-leaders are chasing their first major title.
“I think that’s a good pressure for me,” Ryu said. “I don’t have a major trophy in my home, so that’s a goal for my life and in golf.”
Saigo added, “I just need to focus on my golf game (and) try to control my mental control and hopefully I’ll win.”
Ryu led by a stroke entering last year’s final round but shot 74 and finished fifth.
“Last year the final round for me was not good,” Ryu said. “But I learned to be more calm and more comfortable and more slow. This year I wish to be more enjoying the course.”
Liu shared the lead at 9-under until a stumble at the par-three 17th, where she found a bunker, then chipped into sloped rough just above the bunker on the way to a double bogey.
Winds tested players in the late afternoon.
“The front nine was so good for me,” she said. “The back nine was such a challenge for me because the wind started to be stronger and the pins were so tough.”
“Definitely tested my patience out there,” Schmelzel said. “I’m sure there will be more of that tomorrow.”
