dominate

Smith moves to 223 career catches, a record for fielders, as Australia bowl out South Africa for 284 in reply to 390.

Steve Smith has broken the Test record for the most career catches by a fielder as Australia have played themselves into a strong position on the third day of the first Test against hosts South Africa.

Smith held four catches on Sunday, taking his total to 223, as South Africa were bowled out for 284 in reply to Australia’s first innings of 390 at Kingsmead Stadium in Durban.

Nic Maddinson (17 not out) and Travis Head (10 not out) added 33 runs off just 5.4 overs to stretch Australia’s overall lead to 139 before bad light ended play for the third day in a row.

Maddinson, who laboured to a 33-ball duck in the first innings, hit two fours off Marco Jansen in the first over of the second innings and added a six off Wiaan Mulder before play was called off.

Australia’s bowlers applied relentless pressure on an easy-paced pitch and a succession of South African batsmen contributed to their own dismissals by playing poor shots.

Six Protea batters reached 30, but David Bedingham’s 49 was the top score.

Australian captain Pat Cummins took three for 54, and Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon claimed two wickets each as Australia’s long-serving bowling quartet combined with customary efficiency.

Smith special in the slips

Smith started the day on 219 catches, one behind Joe Root of England.

He equalled the record when he caught Temba Bavuma. Smith, playing in his 126th Test, broke the record when he lunged to his left from second slip to hold a sharp edge from Bedingham off Cummins.

Smith was in the action again with a spectacular catch to dismiss Verreynne, again anticipating well at slip as the South African wicketkeeper made good contact with a reverse sweep that Smith held in an outstretched right hand.

His fourth catch was from an edge to slip by last man Anrich Nortje off the bowling of Beau Webster.

Smith’s career haul of 223 catches exceeds the total of all but 11 specialist wicketkeepers.

Finance officials from around the world will gather in Bangkok this week under the shadow of a widening war in the Middle East, the biggest-ever energy supply shock and rising interest rates that together pose daunting risks to already-sluggish global economic growth.

The US-Israel war on Iran, now in its eighth month, and its inflationary impact are slated to dominate the agenda and sideline conversations during the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, held outside Washington for the first time in three years.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told Reuters News Agency that 18,000 people were registered to attend the meetings, 4,000 more than the last off-site meetings held in Morocco in October 2023.

Notably absent will be United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who dispatched two senior officials in his stead while he handles some “domestic engagements”, a US official said. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Kevin Warsh will attend and is slated to participate in a public event with Georgieva on October 16.

Several other finance ministers were also staying home due to domestic budget and election duties, but most central bankers would attend, Georgieva said.

Bessent’s decision to skip the high-profile gathering and a meeting of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies, which the US leads this year, may frustrate counterparts amid rising tensions over the Iran war, Ukraine’s battle against Russia’s invasion, and the US move to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court.

Fossil energy reserve release

The Group of Seven (G7) countries have agreed to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil from emergency reserves under pressure from US President Donald Trump, who is keen to see lower petrol prices before November elections that could see his Republican Party lose control of Congress.

Trump on Friday announced a deal with Russia that would provide even more diesel to global markets and a temporary waiver of US sanctions designed to deprive Moscow of revenues for its ‌‌war on Ukraine. The move drew swift criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

More than one billion barrels of oil have been released, mainly from onshore commercial inventories, since the start of the war on February 28. But industry executives say the amount of oil in storage that is accessible to the global market is running low, making the market more fragile and fuelling pressure on prices.

The IMF has signalled little change in its forecast for three percent global growth in 2026, and may edge its forecast for next year slightly higher. But some countries will see downgrades, including Ukraine, now in its fifth year of war against Russia’s invasion, and Gulf countries hit by Iranian strikes and sharply reduced energy exports.

IMF research released on Tuesday showed that sharp spikes in food and energy prices are an increasingly common source of crises that drive inflation expectations higher for longer, worsen poverty and threaten economic stability.

One headache for policymakers is the growing public debt burden that is sapping growth and adding inflationary pressures. The IMF says public debt is at the highest level since World War II and will exceed 100 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) before 2030.

Advanced economies, led by the US, have the highest debt-to-GDP ratios, but emerging markets and low-income countries are particularly vulnerable, given a perfect storm of challenges: capital outflows in search of higher US rates, weather extremes triggered by the El Nino climate phenomenon, and a lack of investment in artificial intelligence (AI), which has mitigated negative supply shocks in the US and other rich countries.

Developing countries are particularly vulnerable given high public debt levels that will have to be renegotiated at higher interest rates. Together, they face $400bn in debt payments to external creditors in 2026, and interest payments already exceed 10 percent of revenue on average.

Many lower-income countries are worried about new IMF recommendations for loan programmes that call for fewer but deeper reforms as a condition for approving lending, a change that many fear will lead to painful austerity measures.

This season is the WSL’s biggest ever, literally, with the league expanding from 12 to 14 teams and three coming up from WSL 2.

But does bigger mean stronger?

Crystal Palace look the most comfortable of the promoted sides, boasting six points from five games and they moved to eighth in the WSL table by drawing at Aston Villa on Sunday.

But things are more difficult for the other promoted sides, Birmingham and Charlton, who prop up the table.

Despite some promising patches, WSL 2 champions Birmingham have just two points and one of those came against Crystal Palace.

At least France forward Oceane Hurtre looks suited to this level, sitting as joint top scorer in the WSL with five goals from five games.

Hurtre scored against Everton in defeat on Sunday but defender Neve Herron summed things up by saying Blues were “second to everything” after the game.

Meanwhile, it looks bleak for Charlton, bottom of the table with zero points, 15 goals against and only two goals scored.

After their 5-1 loss to Brighton on Sunday, goalkeeper and captain Sophie Whitehouse said: “It just wasn’t good enough.

“It’s a tough league. The jump up is so big. You can’t make any mistakes.”