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Olympic champion cyclist Emma Finucane insists she has “nothing to prove” at the Commonwealth Games despite her ambitions of winning an elusive gold in Scotland.

Finucane, 23, collected two bronze medals in Birmingham four years ago but has since won 16 medals at the Olympics, World and European Championships.

The Welsh star says she is targeting “the top step” on the podium in Glasgow.

“I haven’t actually stood on the top step at the Commonwealth Games,” Finucane told BBC Sport Wales.

“That’s something I’d love to achieve this time round.

“I feel like I’m a different person four years on and I can’t wait to show what I can do on the track.”

The Carmarthenshire native credits the Birmingham 2022 Games as the “springboard” to where she is today.

“I would not be where I am today without the Commonwealth Games,” she said.

“The first time I was pretty young, pretty naive to the sport of sprint cycling.

“It was a very overwhelming experience, whereas this time round I feel like I’m more of an established rider.”

She added: “I was 19 [in Birmingham] and the year after I won my first world title, which was crazy for me.

“I think it gave me the confidence I needed as an athlete to develop in my career, and get to where I am so quickly.

“We became Olympic champions two years ago, and I actually don’t even know how that happened.”

Before the super-heavyweight bout Abdul told the BBC he wanted to become the new ‘King of Scotland’ – in reference to Amin declaring himself that name in 1976.

After taking power in a coup in 1971, Amin ran a brutal regime during which an estimated half a million people were killed. He was also known as the Butcher of Uganda.

Abdul, who never met his grandfather, was chasing Uganda’s first Commonwealth boxing medal since Auckland in 1990 – something which would have been guaranteed had he beaten Thomas.

Instead, he was given warnings in the previous two rounds and was trailing on all of the judges’ scorecards.

“All I can say about this is the decision is not right, I am not happy,” he said.

“He elbowed me. He caught me with the elbow.

“It [the head movement] was not intentional. I was trying to come back.

“How can I headbutt someone? I would not.

“He was the person they wanted to win. He was the winner before.

“I knew if I did not get knockout I could not win the fight.”

BBC Sport has contacted Commonwealth Games organisers and World Boxing for a response to Abdul’s comments.

Thomas, who is now guaranteed at least a bronze medal, said it was “not the way” he wanted to win.

“I can’t change what happened today but I can control how I box on Friday,” he said.

Amin, himself a boxer, harboured a fascination with Scotland after serving in the King’s African Rifles in his 20s.

At the height of the regime, he was fond of wearing a kilt and playing the bagpipes – and even declared himself “King of Scotland” in 1976.

Some years later, those predilections even spawned an Oscar-winning film, The Last King of Scotland, starring Forest Whitaker and James McAvoy.

In a previous interview, Abdul said he was “inspired” by Amin, although it was not entirely clear whether he was talking about his boxing feats or not.

Speaking to the BBC, he refused to answer when asked if he was proud to be the dictator’s grandson, but he did address the question of how he feels when he is linked to someone with such a sinister reputation.

After a relatively quiet day, the first medal was claimed by the men’s 3×3 basketball team just before 17:00 BST.

A couple of hours later, three more followed in the space of five minutes.

The women’s wheelchair 3×3 basketball team took silver; Evans added her second gold – and third medal – of the Games in the 200m breaststroke; then Woods claimed gold in the women’s T54 1500m.

Shaw then joined in with bronze in the women’s S9 100m freestyle before MacInnes was edged into second place in the women’s 200m butterfly to take her second individual silver of the meet.

Around the same time, MacKenzie was leaping to long jump bronze, before the haul was completed in the pool when Evans and MacInnes teamed up with Katie Shanahan and Evie Davis to take silver in the women’s 4x100m medley.

Three more further medals are guaranteed in boxing – with fighters in semi-final action on Friday – while further prospects remain in athletics, bowls, cycling, judo and weightlifting.

When you take a guided tour of the nearly completed Harvard-Westlake River Park Sports Complex in Studio City, you lose count how many times you’re saying, “Wow.”

From the underground parking lot to the 8,200-square-foot weight room, from the two gymnasiums to the 52-meter pool, from the eight tennis courts to the two all-weather turf playing fields, from the yoga room with a million-dollar view to the 11 locker rooms with projector screens, the $200-million project is certainly living up to expectations.

There’s also a cafeteria, a smoothie machine, 117 toilets, wrestling room, fencing room, training room, community rooms, more than 150 security cameras, an underground water basin and facial recognition technology from the parking lot to enter the coaches’ area. In the main gym foyer, there’s an area for people to watch live streams of games while purchasing food.

With two gyms and two sports fields, the school would be capable of holding basketball or soccer tournaments. The P.A. system in the main gym is state of the art.

Not only will students who attend the upper school on Coldwater Canyon enjoy the facility but so should fans and visiting teams with all the amenities such as large visiting locker rooms. The only question is when an official opening will take place.

Construction is nearing completion, but it’s unclear when teams will start practicing and playing there because the facility still needs to go through inspections and receive a Certificate of Occupancy from the city. The school is targeting early 2027 for activity to begin at the site.

The basketball teams are unlikely to use the main gym this coming season unless they are allowed to practice there.

Construction began in April of 2024. The project replaces the beloved Weddington Golf & Tennis Center and took several years of obtaining permits, having community meetings and receiving city approval to overcome a vocal group within the community objecting to losing the Weddington center.

There are still 14-foot-high covered fences hiding the progress off Whitsett Avenue, but those will be coming down soon to give community members a peak what’s been going on.

Head of athletics Terry Barnum and communications director Ari Engelberg have been providing updates to school administrators. The school added two new sports this year, flag football and girls lacrosse, in anticipation of the new field space.

The first year it opens is expected to be trial and error on how to best use the facilities, figuring out traffic patterns and welcoming the public to grounds that can be used during the school day, from the tennis courts to a privately run cafe to a walking path next to the L.A. River.

Kate O’Connor has won Northern Ireland’s first gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in the heptathlon at Scotstoun Stadium.

O’Connor, a World indoor and outdoor silver medal, finished top of the standings with 6569points and is the first new heptathlon champion at the Games in eight years.

England’s Jade O’Dowda claimed silver while Australia’s Tori West won the battle for bronze.

It is O’Connor’s first senior outdoor gold and her first gold at her third Games after she finished eighth in 2018 and claimed silver in 2022.

The 25-year-old becomes NI’s 12th medal winner in Glasgow, claiming the country’s first gold at the Games in athletics since 1986.

O’Connor was favourite heading into the event after the late withdrawal of England’s Katrina Johnson-Thompson, who beat her to gold in 2022 and she certainly lived up to the billing.

The Newry-born athlete led after the first two events on Tuesday. She ran the 100m hurdles in 13.54 seconds and produced a season’s best 1.82m in the high jump.

In a rain-soaked evening session, she dipped in the shot put, throwing just 12.85 in difficult conditions.

While she said she was “gutted” with that performance, she rallied and she bounced back well to run the 200m in a season’s best time of 24.14, which was just 0.07 off her personal best as she strolled to victory in her heat.

She earned 3731 points across the four events to top the standings heading into Wednesday’s second day of the competition and, with a 49-point advantage over O’Dowda, looked to be in pole position for gold.

O’Connor further increased that lead on Wednesday morning as she recorded a leap of 1.82m in the long jump and a season’s best 52.85m in the javelin to move 258 points ahead.

In the 800m, she finished first as she ran 2:10.45 to take home NI’s first multi-class gold medal since Dame Mary Peters won the pentathlon in 1974.

NI team-mate Anna McCauley finished eighth in the standings despite being second-fastest in the 800m behind O’Connor.

O’Connor will receive her gold medal on Thursday evening at 18:30 BST.

Sir Garfield Sobers was called the “greatest all-round cricketer the world has ever known” by former team-mate Sir Clive Lloyd at the legendary West Indies player’s state funeral in Barbados.

Lloyd described all-rounder Sobers, who died aged 89 on 17 July, as “a man who lived in the hearts and minds of Caribbean people and who became a source of inspiration to millions throughout the world”.

An entertaining left-handed batter and bowler of seam and spin, Sobers played 93 Tests between 1954 and 1974, scoring 8,032 runs and taking 235 wickets.

The funeral was staged at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, the principle ground in Barbados and home to a pavilion named after Sobers.

Lloyd and fellow West Indies legends Brian Lara and Desmond Haynes were among those who spoke at the state service of thanksgiving, which was also attended by Barbados president Jeffrey Bostic, prime minister Mia Mottley and Barbadian music superstar Rihanna.

West Indies Test captain Roston Chase, who comes from Barbados, vice-captain Jomel Warrican and the current side’s Barbadian players were also in attendance, having completed a Test victory over Pakistan on Monday, winning by 90 runs inside four days in Trinidad.

“Sir Garfield Sobers was not merely the outstanding cricketer of his generation,” Lloyd added. “He brought to the beautiful game a rare combination of brilliance, imagination, courage and joy.”

Sobers’ coffin was draped in the flag of Barbados and set off from the Parliament Buildings in Bridgetown on a gun carriage for a formal procession through the nation’s capital.

On arrival at the stadium, the carriage passed through a guard of honour of raised cricket bats.

“This is not a sad moment,” Lara said of his mentor. “This is a moment for us to celebrate and I hope you feel the same. Today we celebrate the remarkable life of the greatest all-round cricketer.

“We celebrate a man who gave so much to his family, to Barbados, to the West Indies and all of us who had the privilege of knowing him.”

Sobers scored 365 not out against Pakistan in 1958 – an effort which stood as the record Test score for 36 years.

He was also named one of Wisden’s five cricketers of the 20th century.

During his stint at Nottinghamshire in 1968, Sobers became the first player to hit a six off all six balls in an over in a first-class match.

Mottley described Sobers as “a man who if he had not achieved any of those great feats on the cricket field would have been immortalised by his community as a good man and a great man”.

Reverend Canon Guy Hewitt read out a message from King Charles during the service.

“History is distinguished with sporting champions whose records have rightly commanded respect across generations,” the message read. “There have been far fewer however whose name along brings a smile to people’s faces across Barbados, the Caribbean and the Commonwealth.

“Sir Garfield Sobers belongs very firmly in the latter category. I send my deepest sympathies to Sir Garry’s family as they come to terms with this great loss.”

Sobers’ body lay in state at the Barbados parliament on Monday and at the Kensington Oval on Tuesday, with national dignitaries and members of the public able to pay their respects.

He will be laid to rest at Coral Ridge Memorial Gardens in the south of Barbados.

Another failed summer. Another broken promise.

The most underachieving team on the Los Angeles sports landscape is embarrassingly stumbling through another season.

The Sparks stink. Again.

They’re not making the playoffs. Again.

There’s no reason to watch them even though there’s more than a month left on their schedule. Again.

For the sixth consecutive season, one of the WNBA’s legacy franchises has come apart at the seams, tattering the franchise’s three-championship history with a sordid record that mandates a clear response.

Trade your best player.

Trade Kelsey Plum.

The trade deadline is Sunday so do it quickly, and do it boldly, sending her to the sort of playoff contender who would find her worthy of young talent and draft picks.

Trade KP and do it now.

Yes, her 25-point scoring average would rank second in the league if she had not missed half the games with injuries.

Truly, she is arguably the team’s biggest attraction with the sort of Hollywood flash that overshadows even Nneka Ogwumike.

Indeed, the hard-nosed ballplayer elicits more screams and sells more tickets than any other Sparks player.

Trade her anyway. Swallow hard and make it happen. Out of a million reasons, here are just three.

First, her contract expires at the end of the season and she reportedly does not want to spend her prime years on a losing team. Can you blame her? Trade her before you lose her for nothing.

Nneka Ogwumike shoots over Chloe Bibby of the Chicago Sky during a game this month.

(Geoff Stellfox / Getty Images)

Second, at age 31, she is the team’s most valuable asset, and would command a high price among contenders looking for a shooter with a championship pedigree.

Third, this would be a powerful first move in a season-ending tank job.

You read that right. The Sparks should tank. They should tank hard. Tank, tank, tank. They should do anything it takes to have the best chance at nabbing the first pick in the 2027 draft and a chance to take USC phenom JuJu Watkins. The pursuit of Watkins, who will need to be convinced to give up her final year of college eligibility, should be the organization’s most important priority.

Anything for JuJu, and that includes trading Plum. While they’re at it, could they also please dump the massively disappointing Ariel Atkins and Erica Wheeler? Those two busts were part of the Sparks’ ill-conceived attempt last offseason to build a veteran team that could immediately compete.

It didn’t work, and now the Sparks have only four players who should be welcomed back next year — Cameron Brink, Rae Burrell, Dearica Hamby and Ogwumike.

Without Plum, Brink can have more space to work inside. Without Plum, Burrell can score 25 points a game. It’s a tank, but it’s not necessarily an ugly tank.

The front office should also be cleansed. Former general manager Raegan Pebley is already gone, meaning coach Lynne Roberts is next, probably fired the day after the season ends.

Cameron Brink is pressured by Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull during a game in May.

(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)

Their replacements might be anonymous shadow dwellers, but that’s OK. The Sparks need to not hire college wonders — no Cori Close — and enlist some good old-fashioned WNBA veteran thinkers and evaluators and leaders.

The Sparks basically need to start from scratch, and it starts with a major move sometime in the next five days.

Trade KP.

Please?

“We pushed in a lot of chips this year, and we had good reason to do that, but the reality is it hasn’t gone as we’d hoped or expected,” said Farhan Zaidi, special advisor to Sparks’ owner Mark Walter. “Now we have to be open for anything. Everything has to be on the table for us. We have to take a long-term perspective rather than focusing on the rest of the season.”

In other words, the trade light is lit!

Zaidi wouldn’t comment on specific players or club personnel, only to note that the Sparks cannot grow as constituted.

“We have to be realistic where we are,” he said. “We don’t want to be that team stuck in the middle.”

In other words, keeping Plum might give them a few more wins, but to what end? They contend for the final playoff berth only to fall short? And if they make it, how long would they last against a powerhouse like Minnesota? For a big-market, win-now team like the Sparks, mediocrity is a death knell.

Zaidi trusts that Sparks fans will understand, and I agree.

Their growing fan base is as smart as they are passionate. They understand that to break this losing spell, the Sparks will have to break with franchise tradition and basically give up on this season to build hope for the next.

My daughter and fellow season-ticket holder MC was quick to react when I told her I was going to advocate trading Plum.

The Sparks should trade Kelsey Plum before she walks away as a free agent.

(Aryanna Frank / Getty Images)

“Write it,” she said. “I want hope.”

Zaidi thinks other fans will agree.

“We have very smart fans, I don’t want to patronize them as to where we are,” he said. ”Our dedicated fans will understand if we have to take a step back to get to that championship level. I can step back if I feel like we’re building something.”

Zaidi noted, “I think it can happen quickly.”

He’s right. In a league in which a team like Golden State can contend for a title in only its second season, in a space where both of this year’s expansion teams — Toronto and Portland — can have better records than the Sparks, rebuilding doesn’t take much.

If the Sparks get some young talent and draft picks for Plum, then sign a top free agent by using the construction of their new practice facility as a selling point… who knows?

The Sparks need to do whatever it takes to become the Sparks again.

Hello, hope.

Goodbye, KP.

Dodgers fall to the Mariners

From Joaquin Ruiz: Dominic Canzone’s go-ahead home run in the eighth spoiled a Tuesday night of leaderboard climbing for Max Muncy and Shohei Ohtani as the Mariners beat the Dodgers 7-6 in the first game at Dodger Stadium since before the All-Star break on July 12.

With one out, Julio Rodríguez on first and the score tied at five, Canzone got all of Alex Vesia’s 82-mph slider, sending it 414 feet to center to help lift Seattle to its first win over the Dodgers in five years and first in Los Angeles since June 28, 2009.

“I mean it’s a pitch that’s had different results,” Vesia said. “Obviously it’s not the best pitch. I would have liked to have it more outside or more down. Kind of just flush it and on to the next one. Clearly need to be better in that situation. I felt like my stuff was good after that.”

Added manager Dave Roberts: “Alex made a really bad pitch, [an] 0-1 slider that was middle-middle, and they were hitting the ball out of the ballpark. So, that’s kind of the tale of the run prevention tonight.”

The Dodgers (67-40), with some much-needed help from dubious Mariners fielding, did have Ohtani on third and Muncy on second as the tying and game-winning runs in the ninth. But Seattle reliever Andrés Muñoz survived, putting an end to the thrilling opener of this three-game series.

Seattle won the offensive slugfest with 10 hits and five home runs to the home team’s 13 hits and two homers.

Continue reading here

Shaikin: The Dodgers’ three-peat chance may never come again. Trade accordingly

Dusty Baker’s peers expect him to become the first Black manager in the Hall of Fame

Dodgers box score

MLB standings

Angels fall to the Astros

Yordan Alvarez homered and hit a go-ahead RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Houston Astros to a 3-2 win over the Angels on Tuesday night.

Christian Walker added a solo homer while Houston relievers Enyel De Los Santos, Bryan Abreu, Steven Okert and Josh Hader combined for four hitless innings. Okert (4-1) threw a scoreless eighth to earn the win and Hader threw a four-pitch ninth for his 14th save.

The Astros won for the seventh time in eight games to remain two games behind Texas in the American League West. The last-place Angels have lost 17 of 22 games.

Continue reading here

Angels box score

MLB standings

Sparks lose to Liberty

From Steve Galluzzo: On a night when a franchise legend had her jersey raised to the rafters, the Sparks played with inspiration and determination but were unable to snap their losing streak, falling to the New York Liberty 113-109 on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena.

The Sparks (10-17) have lost six straight.

Down 11 with 3:30 left, the Sparks pulled to within 112-109 on Nneka Ogwumike’s three-pointer with 15 seconds left, but Breanna Stewart sank the second of two free throws with 13.9 seconds left to ice it for New York (16-12).

Despite the absence of leading scorer Kelsey Plum, who is averaging 23.9 points a game but has been sidelined with a lower leg injury since the teams’ prior meeting June 25, the Sparks had a balanced attack with six players in double figures.

Rae Burrell led the charge with 24 points, Ogwumike added 21 points and nine assists, Erica Wheeler had 17 points and nine assists, Ariel Atkins had 16, Dearica Hamby had 12 and Cameron Brink had 11 for the Sparks, who squandered a chance to inch a half game in front of Portland for fifth place in the WNBA’s Western Conference. The Fire (11-17) lost to Las Vegas earlier Tuesday.

“I’m proud of my team — we were active and connected,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “We scored 30 points off of 18 turnovers, we made more field goals than them and we had 35 assists, which is a franchise record. We just didn’t get rewarded with a win.”

Continue reading here

Sparks box score

WNBA standings

Lincoln Riley says USC are ready for next level

From Ryan Kartje: The stage was set this past summer, and Lincoln Riley was a ball of nerves.

The USC coach should’ve been used to weathering pressure by that point. After all, his previous four seasons spent coaching the Trojans had been nothing short of a powder keg, filled with ups and downs, as well as a constant undercurrent of tension and uncertainty. But in this particular case, success was out of Riley’s control. He wasn’t even near a football field.

Rather, he was sitting in the audience of a local dance recital, waiting on his two young daughters, Sloan and Stella, who were each making their solo dancing debut with their company.

“This was the first year, stepping out on their own, no one else to rely on,” Riley said. “But they told me, ‘Dad, we’ve got it.’”

Entering his fifth and most pivotal season yet at USC, their father can relate to that sentiment. While the spotlight burns brighter than ever and the collective college football world is spinning 2026 as a make-or-break moment for Riley, the coach had never sounded so confident that his Trojans had turned a corner than he did Tuesday.

“I’ve felt the pressure to win every single year here,” Riley said during Big Ten media days. “What does feel different is that I think our opportunity to do that is greater than what it has been. It just flat out is. The things you need to win, we have more of than we had in the first four years.”

Continue reading here

This day in sports history

1751 — The first International World Title Prize Fight takes place in Harlston, England. The champion, Jack Slack of England, beats the challenger, M. Petit of France, in 25 minutes.

1934 — Paul Runyan beats Craig Wood on the 38th hole to win the PGA Championship at Park Country Club in Williamsville, N.Y.

1956 — Cathy Cornelius wins a playoff over Barbara McIntyre to win the U.S. Women’s Open.

1957 — At the Polo Grounds in New York, Floyd Patterson TKOs Tommy Jackson at 1:52 of the 10th round to retain the heavyweight title.

1960 — The first American Football League preseason game is played in Buffalo, N.Y. The Boston Patriots, led by quarterback Butch Songin, beat the Bills 28-7 before 16,474 fans at War Memorial Stadium.

1979 — Amy Alcott shoots a 7-under 285 to beat Nancy Lopez in the Peter Jackson Classic, later named The du Maurier Classic. The du Maurier is one of the LPGA Tour’s major championships from 1979-2000.

1986 — The U.S. Football League wins and loses in its lawsuit against the NFL. The jury finds the NFL violated antitrust laws, as the USFL claimed, but awards the USFL only $1 in damages.

1989 — Cuba’s Javier Sotomayor becomes the first person to high jump 8 feet, breaking his world record at the Caribbean Championship in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He surpasses his mark of 7-11½.

1990 — Beth Daniel shoots a 66 to overcome a 5-shot deficit and win the LPGA Championship — her first major title in 12 years on the tour. Daniel beats Rosie Jones by one stroke and pockets $150,000, the largest in LPGA Tour history.

1992 — The U.S. 400-meter freestyle relay team wins the gold medal, with Matt Biondi and Tom Jager becoming the first U.S. male swimmers to win golds in three Olympics.

1996 — Michael Johnson sweeps to victory in an Olympic 400-meter record 43.49 seconds, while Carl Lewis leaps into history in Atlanta. Lewis’ long jump of 27 feet, 10¾ inches earns him his ninth gold medal, equaling the American mark held by swimmer Mark Spitz.

2001 — Copa América Final, Estadio El Campín, Bogotá: Defender Iván Córdoba scores winner as home team Columbia edge Mexico, 1-0.

2008 — Disgraced ex-NBA official Tim Donaghy admits he brought shame on his profession as a federal judge sentenced him to 15 months behind bars for a gambling scandal.

2012 — Kimberly Rhode wins the Olympic gold medal in women’s skeet shooting, becoming the first American to take an individual-sport medal in five consecutive Olympics.

2012 — Dana Vollmer of the U.S. sets a world record to win the 100-meter butterfly at the London Olympics. Vollmer hits the wall in 55.98 seconds to shave 0.08 off the mark set by Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden at the 2009 world championships in Rome.

2015 — Russia’s Natalya Ishchenko wins a record 18th career synchronized swimming gold medal at the world championships at Kazan, Russia.

2021 — Sunisa Lee wins the women’s all-around gymnastics gold medal in Tokyo.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1908 — Rube Waddell struck out 16, sending the St. Louis Browns past the Philadelphia A’s 5-4.

1911 — Joe Wood of the Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Browns with a 5-0 no-hitter in the first game of a doubleheader. Wood fanned 12 and allowed three baserunners on two walks and a hit batsman.

1915 — Honus Wagner, 41, became the oldest player to hit a grand slam as Pittsburgh beat Brooklyn 8-2. The grand slam was an inside-the-park homer. Wagner remained the record holder until 1985, when Tony Perez hit one the day before his 43rd birthday.

1928 — The Cleveland Indians scored eight runs in the first inning and nine more in the second and went on to beat the New York Yankees 24-6 at Dunn Field. Johnny Hodapp singled twice in the second and sixth innings.

1936 — The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 22-7 in the first game of a doubleheader, then lost the second game 5-4.

1955 — Smoky Burgess of the Cincinnati Reds hit three home runs and drove in nine runs in a 16-5 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates at Crosley Field.

1968 — George Culver of the Cincinnati Reds pitched a 6-1 no-hitter against the Phillies in the second game of a doubleheader at Philadelphia.

1983 — Steve Garvey of the San Diego Padres ended his NL record of 1,207 consecutive games played. The streak ended when he dislocated his thumb in a collision with Atlanta pitcher Pascual Perez while trying to score.

2000 — Eddie Taubensee hit a tying homer with two out in the ninth and homered again in the 11th to lead Cincinnati to a 4-3 win over Montreal.

2001 — Craig Monroe homered in his first major league at-bat, and the Texas Rangers beat Tampa Bay 2-0.

2003 — Boston’s Bill Mueller became the first player in major league history to hit grand slams from both sides of the plate in a game and connected for three homers in a 14-7 win at Texas.

2006 — Tomas Perez tied a major league record with four doubles, going 5-for-5 and leading the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to a 19-6 rout of the New York Yankees.

2010 — Anibal Sanchez pitched a one-hitter, leading the Florida Marlins past the San Francisco Giants 5-0. Sanchez retired his first 13 batters and matched a career high with eight strikeouts.

2018 — The Hall of Fame inducts one of the largest classes in its history. Honored are Vladimir Guerrero, Trevor Hoffman, Chipper Jones, Jack Morris, Jim Thome and Alan Trammell.

2022 — Aaron Judge hits two more homers in leading the Yankees to an 11-5 win over the Royals. He now has 41 on the season, tying the American League record for most before the end of July held by Hall of Famers Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx and Ken Griffey Jr. Judge will set a new record with another homer tomorrow.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Shohei Ohtani has not pitched in a game for the Dodgers since July 3, though he admitted after Tuesday’s game that there’s more going on than just a sore left knee.

“My biceps is not 100%,” said Ohtani through interpreter Will Ireton while speaking with the media for the first time since before the All-Star break. “Just [a] similar issue with the knee. Do we consider pushing this? It is still July. So, I think the conversation would be a little different if we’re in August or September.”

Ohtani, who has remained in the lineup at designated hitter, has stalled in his throwing program after the team scratched a bullpen session tentatively scheduled for last Saturday that was to come on the heels of a roughly 30-pitch side session he threw last Wednesday in Philadelphia.

Ohtani received an orthovisc injection in his knee on July 12 and he skipped All-Star Game obligations in Philadelphia to allow for rest and recovery. But it remains unclear when Ohtani will return to the mound, and though manager Dave Roberts remains optimistic about him pitching again this season, concerns about building back up start to factor in.

“We are getting closer to that,” Roberts said. “You know, he’s a starting pitcher, and then, when you start missing three, four, five weeks of that build-up, then you’ve got to kind of start up again.”

Ohtani, who led off Tuesday’s 7-6 loss to the Seattle Mariners with a home run, clarified the origins of his knee problem and shared an estimate of where it’s at strength-wise.

“The discomfort was caused initially by the pitching,” Ohtani said. “So, it’s something I have to work around. In terms of running, I’m not exactly at 100% capacity. When I know it’s not, then it’s always a little harder to be aggressive on the basepaths.”

Ohtani and Roberts both said that the Dodgers haven’t reached a point of considering shutting down Ohtani from pitching.

“Everything that I’ve heard, that’s not the option,” Roberts said. “I guess anything’s possible, but for me, it’s highly unlikely.”

Added Ohtani: “The knee is where it is in terms of, for it to heal is the most important priority. I don’t think the team has really come to a place exactly where, do I pitch through it or not. That’s still really up in the air.”

In other injury-related updates, Kiké Hernández was activated Tuesday after being out since May 26 with a grade 3 oblique strain. Alex Freeland was optioned to triple-A Oklahoma City in a corresponding move.

“All you can do is take it one day at a time,” said Hernández, who did not play Tuesday. “And the best way that you can take things one day at a time is focusing on what you can do today to get better. And that’s what I did … literally going one day at a time and trying to be the best rehabber I could … the best teammate that I could. … It’s been a really long time. … So, I feel pretty good, and happy to see what I can do out on the field.”

Hernández had already made his season debut late — on May 25 — because of his recovery from offseason elbow surgery. Now, the 34-year-old utilityman is grateful to be back and eager to build on his four-for-four start over two games.

“A lot of nervousness,” Hernández said about playing again, mentioning that he had a panic attack when first learning of his worse-than-expected diagnosis. “I feel pretty good. … I feel like everything is in a pretty good spot right now. Trying to keep my 1.000 batting average going and be the best hitter in the league.

“[I’m] just happy to be back with the boys.”

Edwin Díaz will be the next to return.

The right-handed closer is scheduled to be activated Wednesday — fittingly, when 40,000 fans will receive an Díaz bobblehead — after missing three months because of right elbow surgery.

“He’s checked all his boxes,” Roberts said. “So getting him back in the mix is going to be fun for all of us as well.”

Meanwhile, Will Smith is starting baseball activities “pain-free” after sitting on the injured list since June 5 with a neck injury, Roberts added, and Tyler Glasnow will throw a live session Wednesday after being out since May with a back problem.

After 4 million tickets sold and maybe a million more headaches, the Olympic ticket booth opens again this week.

LA28 sold a record number of tickets during its first drop in April, signaling unprecedented interest in the Olympics as they return to Southern California for the first time since 1984. High prices, service fees and unavailable seats frustrated fans but did not deter them. In fact, interest in the Games has only grown since April’s first drop.

LA28 announced Wednesday that more than 12 million people from more than 200 countries have registered for tickets, a dramatic increase from the 5 million registrants the organizing committee boasted in late February before the first ticket drop.

Sports from the traditional standbys (artistic gymnastics) to the newest additions (flag football, lacrosse and squash) all sold through their first-drop availability. The second drop that begins Wednesday offers “refreshed inventory across all Olympic sports,” LA28 said.

Here’s what to know about the next ticketing phase:

The checklist to launch an independent minor league baseball team is long and daunting. Can you find a place to play? How do you find enough players, and make enough money to pay them? How can you persuade a community to support a home team?

Here’s a new one: If minor league baseball is all about affordability, how do you compete against a nearby major league team that might undercut you on pricing?

This astounding dilemma is brought to you by the Angels, and their combination of a consistent focus on affordability and a consistently bad team.

Zach Neto is the best player the Angels have drafted and developed since Mike Trout — that is, in the past 17 years — and the team is considering whether to trade Neto ahead of next week’s trade deadline. That might make the team better in the long run, but almost certainly not next year.

And, next year, the Angels will have competition for the Orange County baseball dollar, a few exits down Interstate 5. On Tuesday, the Irvine City Council approved a five-year agreement under which a yet-to-be-named minor league team would play at the sparkling ballpark within the city’s Great Park, starting next May.

“We might not, on certain days, be the cheapest ticket in town,” said Paul Freedman, co-founder of Innovation Baseball Partners, the company for which the Irvine team is the fourth in its portfolio of minor league teams, all based in California and all competing in the Pioneer League, where players are limited to no more than two years of professional experience.

No ticket prices have been announced for the Irvine team. Jamie Rosenberg, another IBP co-founder, told the Irvine City Council that the IBP team in Long Beach charges roughly $10 to $15 for general admission, with a $2 special every Tuesday.

“The idea is to make this an accessible, affordable entertainment option for the community,” Rosenberg said.

Angels pitcher Reid Detmers throws from the mound against the Houston Astros in front of a sparse crowd Tuesday at Angel Stadium.

(Scott Strazzante / Associated Press)

On Tuesday, three hours after Rosenberg spoke, the Angels played the Houston Astros at Angel Stadium. On StubHub, you could buy a ticket for $2.

“I think Angel fans would hope the team gets better and maybe those prices would go up,” Freedman said, “but what we’re confident in is that we’re going to have a value experience.”

On Tuesday and every other day at Angel Stadium, the Angels proudly display a sign advertising a collection of what the team calls its “family value merchandise.” A T-shirt or a cap can be yours for $9.99, and a souvenir baseball with the team logo sells for $7.99.

“We really focus on a family of four,” Freedman said. “Can a family of four afford a night out?”

The Angels offer a family package — four tickets, four hot dogs, and four drinks — for $44.

You may remember what Angels owner Arte Moreno said in spring training: “The number one thing fans want is affordability.”

That infuriated Angels fans, of course, since their team has baseball’s longest playoff drought — 12 years, counting this one. Freedman says the fans of his teams want affordability too, but he cautioned against stretching the comparison too far.

For one, Trout plays in Anaheim. You can see a future Hall of Famer there all summer, and stars from around the league, and you can see the Yankees and Red Sox and Dodgers every year.

“We’re not ever going to replace the majesty of going to see the Dodgers with Shohei [Ohtani] playing,” Freedman said, “but we can create an environment that’s more fun.”

For two, whatever $2 tickets you might find in Anaheim put you in the vicinity of the top of a foul pole. All the tickets in Irvine put you right behind home plate, because there are barely 1,000 seats.

And, for fun, Freedman and his partners are planning to become the first American team to integrate elements of the Asian fan experience into the game presentation.

“We want to be doing things you haven’t seen in an American baseball game before,” he said, “and we want to put a fair price on that, one that is reasonable and allows us to operate our business.”

The traditional minor league team operates far from the shadow of a major league team. The Pioneer League, for instance, has teams in the California towns of Modesto and Marysville, and in Idaho Falls and Missoula, Mont.

The Irvine launch will be different and challenging — and, yes, fun. But success depends on paying customers, and nothing attracts customers like a trial offer.

And it just so happens that major league owners could still be locking out players by the time the Irvine team opens play next May.

“It would be terrible for the game,” Freedman said.

“As a baseball fan, it would break my heart. But it could be good for business.”

Yet 12 weeks later, Rogers was back in the pool doing rehab. And by summer 2024 she was in Paris winning Paralympic gold. But perhaps the most remarkable thing of all is that she is quicker now than she was pre-accident.

“I never in a million years thought that I could be faster,” Rogers, who is unable to straighten her right arm, tells BBC Sport. “Yes, it looks a bit different and there is definitely an impairment there. But I’ve worked harder, I’m fitter, I’m stronger.

“My message is just ‘don’t let anyone tell you what you can and can’t do’. We’re all different. We’ve all got our own stuff. But I think anything is totally doable if you put your mind to it.”

Not many Para-athletes have done what Rogers has.

It was last year that she resolved to put her “big girl pants on” and act upon a notion she’d had for a while to test where she was in the 200m fly. And the first time she did swim it, she realised she was only just a fraction shy of her pre-accident best.

With that, her mind was made up. She spoke to the selectors and it was agreed that, as long as three other athletes did not post faster times, she could compete at the Commonwealths. They didn’t, and Rogers was in.

“I found out a couple of weeks ago and I’ve been so, so excited ever since,” said the Edinburgh University student before the heats.

“There’s no pressure. I think it’s such a privilege to have the opportunity to stand up there and and to show other people with impairments that, no matter what you are told, and no matter what gets thrown at you, like there’s a way through it.

“We quite often get told we can’t. And this is my way of proving that we can.”

Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Danny Welbeck while Jordan Henderson is set to cancel his Brentford contract to enable a move to Stamford Bridge.

Henderson, 36, is under contract until 2027. Welbeck, 35, has agreed a two-year deal and been given permission by Brighton to conduct a medical at Stamford Bridge.

A fee for the striker has also been agreed but remains undisclosed as Chelsea tie up the deal for him to join pre-season in Hong Kong after Chelsea‘s final match in Australia against Tottenham on Saturday evening.

Welbeck will become the oldest signing under the Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital ownership, until Henderson’s likely arrival with the west Londoners.

It is part of new manager Xabi Alonso’s drive to add experience to Chelsea‘s squad, which has been the youngest in the Premier League for the past two seasons.

Their focus on youth has been viewed as a factor in their inability to challenge consistently for major honours.

Towards the end of last season’s disappointing campaign, when they finished 10th and won nothing, Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali said their recruitment model needed a “tweak”.

Since then, Chelsea have made an offer to reunite Sunderland midfielder Granit Xhaka, 34, with Alonso – they won the Bundesliga title together at Bayer Leverkusen in 2024.

They have also signed 26-year-old centre-back Maxence Lacroix from Crystal Palace on a six-year contract, pending an official announcement, while talks continue over Henderson.

Morgan Rogers, who signed for a club-record £117m from Aston Villa earlier this month, is relatively experienced, despite having just turned 24.

The club have also signed 21-year-old full-back Marco Palestra from Atalanta.

Welbeck, formerly of Manchester United and Arsenal, has hit 90 goals in 400 top-flight appearances – and is the leading Premier League scorer at Brighton, who he joined on a free transfer from Watford in 2021.

His arrival would leave Chelsea with six senior strikers on their books, with others available for loan or sale.

Among those who could leave on either a permanent deal or loan are Nicolas Jackson, Liam Delap and Marc Guiu.

The Blues have also brought in Dutch striker Emmanuel Emegha from sister club Strasbourg this summer and he could remain part of the squad.

Henderson, meanwhile, would add further experience and seniority to the squad, having been selected by Thomas Tuchel as part of England’s leadership group at this summer’s World Cup.

It was during the celebrations following England’s last-16 victory over Mexico that Henderson fractured his arm and wrist after landing awkwardly while jumping over an advertising hoarding.

Henderson joined Brentford last summer after spells abroad with Dutch side Ajax and Saudi club Al Ettifaq. That followed a hugely successful spell at Liverpool, where he won six major honours, including the Champions League and Premier League.

He joins a midfield that includes Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Dario Essugo, Romeo Lavia and Valentin Barco – who is expected to join from Strasbourg – pending an official announcement.

Having led Europe to a comfortable win at Rome’s Marco Simone Golf Club in 2023, captain Donald stayed in post to guide them to a stunning victory on US soil at Bethpage Black, in New York, in 2025.

At Adare Manor, he could become the first captain to win three in a row and will be only the fourth captain to lead at three straight Ryder Cups after Ben Hogan, Sam Snead and Bernard Gallacher.

He says Harrington will form a key part of his backroom staff in his quest to make history.

“I’ve been around Padraig in many Ryder Cup team rooms, as a player, as a vice captain to his captaincy, and he’s been a vice captain before as well,” Donald said. “So he brings a wealth of experience.

“I do love the fact that there’s a connection. He understands the Irish crowds and all that goes with having a Ryder Cup in Ireland. I think it’s going to be very special for him.

“He’s loved in Ireland with what he’s achieved in the game, and that will only bring more energy to our team.”

It will be the first time the competition has been held in Ireland since 2006, when Harrington was in the European team that won 18½-9½ at the K Club, County Kildare.

“You wouldn’t want to miss out with it being in Ireland, so I’m very pleased,” Harrington added. “I think it will be a spectacular occasion and one of the great sporting events to be played in the country. The whole of Ireland will be behind it, watching it, enjoying it and living it.

“The fans are going to be fantastic, and I think the atmosphere will be second to none.”

In total, Harrington played in 25 matches across six Ryder Cups, winning 10½ points for Team Europe, while he also boasts 44 tournament victories across a glittering career.

He still plays on the DP World Tour and in major championships, most recently at The Open.

Since turning 50 in 2021, he has starred on the Champions Tour, including winning a record-equalling three US Senior Open titles.

Dominic Canzone’s go-ahead home run in the eighth spoiled a Tuesday night of leaderboard climbing for Max Muncy and Shohei Ohtani as the Mariners beat the Dodgers 7-6 in the first game at Dodger Stadium since before the All-Star break on July 12.

With one out, Julio Rodríguez on first and the score tied at five, Canzone got all of Alex Vesia’s 82-mph slider, sending it 414 feet to center to help lift Seattle to its first win over the Dodgers in five years and first in Los Angeles since June 28, 2009.

“I mean it’s a pitch that’s had different results,” Vesia said. “Obviously it’s not the best pitch. I would have liked to have it more outside or more down. Kind of just flush it and on to the next one. Clearly need to be better in that situation. I felt like my stuff was good after that.”

Added manager Dave Roberts: “Alex made a really bad pitch, [an] 0-1 slider that was middle-middle, and they were hitting the ball out of the ballpark. So, that’s kind of the tale of the run prevention tonight.”

The Dodgers (67-40), with some much-needed help from dubious Mariners fielding, did have Ohtani on third and Muncy on second as the tying and game-winning runs in the ninth. But Seattle reliever Andrés Muñoz survived, putting an end to the thrilling opener of this three-game series.

Seattle won the offensive slugfest with 10 hits and five home runs to the home team’s 13 hits and two homers.

Canzone led the Mariners with two homers — his first, a solo shot, went 433 feet to center in the sixth — while Rodríguez, Cal Raleigh and Rob Refsnyder all hit one apiece.

Mariners right-handed starter Luis Castillo struggled and surrendered five runs, 11 hits and a pair of homers through five innings. But Dodgers lefty Justin Wrobleski, coming off six innings of one-run ball in last Tuesday’s win in Philadelphia, wasn’t his best either. He surrendered five runs and four homers through six innings.

“They obviously had a good approach against me,” Wrobleski said. “We didn’t do the greatest job of kind of adjusting to their game plan. And yeah, they got me. That’s part of the game. … It’s definitely not a thing that I want to have happen again, but again, it’s a learning experience.”

“Going back and looking at it, I still threw the ball pretty well,” Wrobleski added. “I mean, I know that sounds crazy considering the number and the line … but at the end of the day … I didn’t do a great job of adjusting.”

Muncy and Ohtani, though, still had nights to remember.

Ohtani kick-started the scoring with his 10th leadoff homer of the season, which was also the 34th of his nine-year MLB career and 28th with the Dodgers. The 432-footer to center tied the two-way superstar with Davey Lopes for the second-most leadoff homers in franchise history. Mookie Betts is first on the list with 32.

“Tonight, he looked like himself,” Roberts said of Ohtani, who remains off the mound. “I do think that the road trip was exhausting for everyone. I do think that with the day off, he came in fresh and looked more like himself.”

Muncy, meanwhile, launched a home run 430 feet to right in the fifth to tie Eric Karros for the most homers in Dodger Stadium history with 130. Muncy, who has spent the past nine years with L.A. after spending his first two seasons in Oakland, could be standing alone by the end of the Dodgers’ current six-game homestand.

Injury updates

Kiké Hernández was activated Tuesday after being out since May 26 with a grade 3 oblique strain. Alex Freeland was optioned to triple-A Oklahoma City in a corresponding move.

“All you can do is take it one day at a time,” Hernández said. “And the best way that you can take things one day at a time is focusing on what you can do today to get better. And that’s what I did … literally going one day at a time and trying to be the best rehabber I could … the best teammate that I could. … It’s been a really long time. … So, I feel pretty good, and happy to see what I can do out on the field.”

Hernández had already made his season debut late — on May 25 — because of his recovery from offseason elbow surgery. Now, the 34-year-old utilityman is grateful to be back and eager to build on his four-for-four start over two games.

“A lot of nervousness,” Hernández said about playing again, mentioning that he had a panic attack when first learning of his worse-than-expected diagnosis. “I feel pretty good. … I feel like everything is in a pretty good spot right now. Trying to keep my 1.000 batting average going and be the best hitter in the league.

“[I’m] just happy to be back with the boys.”

Edwin Díaz will be the next to return.

The right-handed closer is scheduled to be activated Wednesday — fittingly, when 40,000 fans will receive an Díaz bobblehead — after missing three months because of right elbow surgery.

“He’s checked all his boxes,” Roberts said. “So getting him back in the mix is going to be fun for all of us as well.”

Meanwhile, Will Smith is starting baseball activities “pain-free” after sitting on the injured list since June 5 with a neck injury, Roberts added, and Tyler Glasnow will throw a live session Wednesday after being out since May with a back problem.

Ohtani’s status as a pitcher, however, remains murky. Roberts mentioned an undesirable ramp-up period being in play for Ohtani, as it has been over a month since he last pitched due to irritation in his left knee.

Ohtani himself clarified the origins of his knee problem and shared an estimate of where it’s at strength-wise.

“The discomfort was caused initially by the pitching,” Ohtani said. “So, it’s something I have to work around. In terms of running, I’m not exactly at 100% capacity. When I know it’s not, then it’s always a little harder to be aggressive on the basepath.”

Ohtani and Roberts both said that the Dodgers haven’t reached a point of considering shutting down No. 17 as a pitcher — but never say never.

“Everything that I’ve heard, that’s not the option,” Roberts said. “I guess anything’s possible, but for me, it’s highly unlikely.”

Added Ohtani: “The knee is where it is in terms of, for it to heal is the most important priority. I don’t think the team has really come to a place exactly where, do I pitch through it or not. That’s still really up in the air.”

But that’s not all. Ohtani shared that his biceps is bothering him, too.

“My biceps not 100%,” Ohtani added. “Just [a] similar issue with the knee. Do we consider pushing this? It is still July. So, I think the conversation would be a little different if we’re in August or September.”

“We are getting closer to that,” Roberts said. “You know, he’s a starting pitcher, and then, when you start missing three, four, five weeks of that build-up, then you’ve got to kind of start up again.”

Spain defender Marc Cucurella has kept his promise to get a tattoo of World Cup-winning coach Luis de la Fuente.

Cucurella helped Spain win the World Cup this month as they beat Argentina 1-0 in the final.

Cucurella, who joined Real Madrid from Chelsea for £52m in June, revealed the tattoo – a portrait of De la Fuente holding the World Cup in front of a number 26 – on social media., external

“Promise kept,” Cucurella wrote alongside pictures and video of him having the tattoo done.

After the final De la Fuente said he expected Cucurella to stick to his word.

“I’ve already told them, ‘did you make a mistake?” he joked in his post-match news conference. “They did, but they’ll enjoy it.

“I’m not so terribly ugly that they will need to put it somewhere nobody can see it. But it makes me laugh and I am proud they keep their promises.”

Cucurella carried his wife’s pyjama top with him as a lucky charm during the World Cup, and recently said he has his trademark long, curly hair so his child can easily keep track of him during matches.

After an eventful couple of months, Yan Diomande, one of football’s top young prospects, is about to get his wish of joining a European powerhouse.

The 19-year-old is signing with Real Madrid in what can only be described as a record-setting transfer.

The Spanish giants will pay more than £100m for Diomande – making him a new record sale for RB Leipzig and he is expected to also become a new record signing for Real Madrid.

Simultaneously, Diomande becomes the most expensive African player in history.

His rise to stardom has also occurred seemingly in record time as less than 18 months ago he was almost completely unknown.

Only scouts and insiders were aware of a skinny winger who had previously played for Florida-based DME Academy, more renowned for its basketball programme.

Diomande had trials with Chelsea, Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Rangers and Olympiacos but remained unsigned until he was picked up by La Liga side Leganes.

Within only a few months and 10 games in the Spanish top flight he increased his market value considerably, eventually signing with Leipzig for 20m euros.

The Red Bull-funded club believed they had acquired a diamond. And they were right. Almost from the get-go, Diomande looked like one of the most exciting players in the Bundesliga, scoring 13 goals and providing 10 assists across competitions in his first full season in Europe.

Initially, Leipzig intended to keep him for another year, hoping his market value would increase even further, but the demand was simply too high.

Liverpool, Paris St-Germain and finally Real Madrid showed so much interest in the winger, who also played for his home country of Ivory Coast at the World Cup, that the Bundesliga side had to give way and agree to a deal.

A lot can be said about the steadily increasing prices on an overheated transfer market where even prospects can demand fees in the nine digits, but Diomande is special. A hyper athletic and very creative winger, it is not far-fetched to consider him among the best dribblers in Europe already.

Obviously, there is still a degree of rawness to his game, but he made a leap forward in the past 12 months and there’s no reason he couldn’t develop further at the tender age of 19.

His passing skills are also somewhat underrated because he is the embodiment of a dribble-first winger. Diomande connected very well with right-back Ridle Baku at Leipzig and may look even stronger with the support of the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Marc Cucurella.

Diomande is able to play on both wings. A right-footer, he was mostly employed on the left side by Leganes but found a home on the right at Leipzig. At the World Cup, he played in both positions for Ivory Coast.

Yordan Alvarez homered and hit a go-ahead RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Houston Astros to a 3-2 win over the Angels on Tuesday night.

Christian Walker added a solo homer while Houston relievers Enyel De Los Santos, Bryan Abreu, Steven Okert and Josh Hader combined for four hitless innings. Okert (4-1) threw a scoreless eighth to earn the win and Hader threw a four-pitch ninth for his 14th save.

The Astros won for the seventh time in eight games to remain two games behind Texas in the American League West. The last-place Angels have lost 17 of 22 games.

Nick Allen started the winning rally with a pinch-hit double off Angels left-hander Mitch Farris (0-2). Christian Vázquez flared a one-out single to shallow right, advancing Allen to third. After Jeremy Peña struck out, Alvarez lined a single to right-center.

Angels left-hander Reid Detmers gave up two runs and four hits in five innings, striking out nine and walking none. Astros right-hander Peter Lambert gave up two runs and seven hits in five innings, striking out six and walking one.

Alvarez drove a first-pitch fastball from Detmers 427 feet to right for his major league-leading 35th homer in the first.

The Angels tied it in the third on Vaughn Grissom’s RBI single to left.

Walker’s 21st homer, a 411-foot shot to left, gave Houston a 2-1 lead in the fourth. But the Angels tied it 2-2 in the fifth when Mike Trout singled and scored from first on Jorge Soler’s double down the left-field line.

Grissom singled to put runners on first and third, but Lambert struck out Wade Meckler to end the inning.

First Test, Tarouba (day four of five)

West Indies 311 (Hope 92; Ali 4-50) & 181 (Joseph 38; Abbas 5-22)

Pakistan 282 (Masood 109; Greaves 5-27) & 120 (Azam 58*; Seales 5-20)

West Indies won by 90 runs; lead series 1-0

Scorecard

Jayden Seales claimed 5-20 as the West Indies pace attack ruthlessly crushed Pakistan to clinch a 90-run victory just after tea on day four of the first Test.

Set 211 for victory, Pakistan were reduced to 71-9 in their second innings on a deteriorating pitch and had looked on course to be bowled out for their lowest total in Tests against the hosts.

However, a battling 10th-wicket partnership between Babar Azam and Muhammad Abbas worth 49 runs took the match into the evening session.

The Pakistan skipper made an unbeaten 58, before Seales secured the success at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad when he had Abbas trapped lbw for 23.

West Indies skipper Roston Chase dedicated the victory to the late Sir Garfield Sobers, who died recently and would have turned 90 on the day they wrapped up victory.

“We wanted to make him proud and had a chat about it before the match. I hope he is smiling down on us,” said Chase.

“I also want to thank the Trinidad crowd for coming out and supporting us. It was not a big crowd but it gave us enough energy and support to go out there and perform.”

Having resumed on 126-7, West Indies managed to add 55 runs for their last three wickets in the morning session.

Shamar Joseph top-scored for the hosts with 38 off 27 balls, including four sixes, while Kemar Roach made a dogged 18 off 63 balls.

Abbas was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers as he claimed 5-22.

Their chase started to unravel before lunch when Seales removed Imam-ul-Haq, Azan Awais and Salman Agha.

Justin Greaves, who had taken five wickets for no runs on day three during an incredible spell of five wicket maidens, bowled Mohammad Rizwan before he trapped Aamer Jamal lbw as West Indies tightened their grip.

Shan Masood batted with a fractured finger and briefly delayed the inevitable before he spooned a catch to backward point as Pakistan’s resistance faded.

Babar was defiant in his knock, but ultimately ran out of partners as his side slumped to their eighth consecutive defeat in Tests away from home.

He said: “We played good cricket in the last few days but today we were not up to the mark as a batting unit.

“There was uneven bounce in the pitch but we should have looked to build partnerships. The basics stay the same, you have to survive the new ball and look to score when it gets a bit old.”

Pakistan will attempt to level the two-match series in the second Test in Port of Spain, which begins on 2 August.

The Hundred men’s competition, Headingley

Manchester Super Giants 181-3 (100 balls): Buttler 63* (33), Klaasen 53 (27); Ellis 2-32

Sunrisers Leeds 186-2 (88 balls): Marsh 63 (26), Crawley 56* (34), Brook 42* (17)

Sunrisers Leeds won by eight wickets

Scorecard. Table

Mitch Marsh was at his destructive best as he bludgeoned 63 to help Sunrisers Leeds end Manchester Super Giants’ unbeaten start to The Hundred with an eight-wicket win at Headingley.

The experienced Australia opener crashed six fours and five sixes during a fearless 26-ball knock which provided the impetus for the Sunrisers to chase down 182 for victory.

Marsh was bowled by a yorker from Sonny Baker with the score on 118 but the momentum from his tone-setting innings was continued by England duo Zak Crawley and Harry Brook.

Sunrisers skipper Crawley blitzed an unbeaten 56 off 34 balls to notch only his second half-century of the summer, having lost his Test place earlier this year.

Crawley’s average in The Hundred (34.50) so far this summer has been superior to what he has managed in the T20 Blast (23.54) and in first-class cricket (20.54).

The 28-year-old felt “in the zone” and was able to play with “a lot of freedom” as he helped his side pull off the highest successful run chase at Headingley in The Hundred.

“I’ve spent too much of my career trying to prove to people how I can play. I’m buzzing that I’ve scored some runs, that’s what I get joy out of,” Crawley told BBC Test Match Special.

“I’m just thankful I can do that, I’m not too worried about who liked it and who didn’t – I know I did and that’s what I want to do.”

Brook chipped in with 42 not out from 17 balls as he also kickstarted his tournament with an innings bristling with clean ball striking.

The England limited-overs skipper had only managed scores of three and eight in his first two innings but mainly dealt in sixes against the Super Giants.

Brook’s six boundaries all cleared the ropes, including the winning runs off Noor Ahmad with 12 balls to spare.

Earlier, England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler continued his impressive start to this year’s tournament with an unbeaten 63 off 33 balls which provided the bedrock of the Super Giants’ 181-3.

Buttler had made a masterful 90 in the Super Giants’ emphatic win over Birmingham Phoenix last weekend and followed it up with his second half-century.

Heinrich Klaasen had chipped with 53 off 27 balls while Aussie seamer Nathan Ellis bagged 2-30 to finish the pick of the Sunrisers’ bowlers.

The Sunrisers have won two of their opening matches in The Hundred and join the Super Giants, who stay top on net run-rate, Welsh Fire and MI London on eight points.