Archive June 1, 2025

With the score at 150-6, the former England captain’s side hit the final ball for a single as Lancashire won by four wickets.

In another North Group match, Northants Steelbacks won by five wickets over Leicestershire Foxes, and Worcestershire won by 60 runs over Yorkshire at New Road.

As Anderson was given the ball for the first over of the match, all eyes were on the leading pace wicket-taker of Test cricket at the Riverside.

In the opening burst of 2-15 from three overs, Tom Aspinwall dropped Colin Ackermann at mid-wicket after Graham Clark was caught in mid-off, Alex Lees at mid-on, and he then delivered just three runs.

Anderson, who received the knighthood in April, caught Ben Raine at fine leg and returned for the 11th over of the innings to pick up Ackermann’s wicket, which included 16 dot balls.

The Durham team added 40 runs not out of 25 balls before picking up a few early wickets at the start of Lancashire’s chase.

In the 12th over, the visitors struggled to get to 80-4, but Josh Bohannon scored a well-judged 31 and Michael Jones scored 55 off 39 balls, including a six through a car park.

The Foxes lost their final T20 match against Derbyshire in 2022, but Logan van Beek’s 42 allowed them to bat out the entire 20 overs for 122 all out.

In their 14th over of reply, Northants were 75-4, but Ravi Bopara’s unbeaten 46 in 40 balls gave them a five wicket lead with four balls to spare.

Worcestershire Rapids’ captain D’Oliveira, who was dropped early in his innings by Dom Bess, hit four sixes in his 79 against Yorkshire to make his highest T20 debut at New Road.

Before holing out against Australian Will Sutherland in their 201-5, D’Oliveira combined for a 117-run effort with Adam Hose, who contributed 54 off 37.

By contrast, Jacob Duffy (2-30) gave Yorkshire captain Dawid Malan a second ball for a duck and Adam Finch (2-19) ran out James Wharton by kicking the ball onto the stumps.

Stevie Eskinazi and Kane Williamson’s opening stand of 45, which was followed by Hayden Kerr’s direct hit at the bowler’s end, saw the home side fall to 25.

After a disappointing Middlesex total of 124-9, an unbroken stand of 64 between Asa Tribe (40 not out) and Daniel Douthwaite (31) delivered the win, which was the best score.

There was a little bit there, so I was pretty happy with that, Crane said, “but it is a bit of a mystery when you come from an outback in terms of knowing what you are going to get.”

Will Smeed led Somerset to an eight-wicket victory over Essex at Chelmsford inarguably the game’s opener, hitting a six and 11 fours in his 81 not out of 54 balls.

Dean Elgar (50) and Matt Critchley (54) each took a fourth-wicket stand of 83 for the home side after coming together after Thomas Rew’s brilliant one-handed boundary catch had removed Paul Walter. However, from 119-3, they lost seven wickets for 29 runs to reach 148.

From the penultimate ball of the 16th over, Somerset were on the verge of winning thanks to a 96-run partnership between Smeed and Tom Lammonby (36).

Holders’ second defeat came against Sussex Sharks at Hove, letting them suffer a loss.

Tom Alsop (58 off 35 balls) and James Coles (43 off 27) combined for 105 wickets as Sussex were bowled out for 173. Top wicket-taker in the 2024 Blast was David Payne, who took three of the three victims.

Thursday, June 3rd,

Glamorgan vs. Surrey in Cardiff (start time: 30 BST)

Friday, June 4th,

Old Trafford: Leicestershire Foxes vs. Lancashire Lightning (18:30 BST)

French Open 2025

Location: Roland Garros, May 25 – June

After winning four sets against American Ben Shelton, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz overcame a “in the mind” battle to advance to the French Open quarter-finals.

The 22-year-old Spaniard won the match 7-6 (10-8) 6-3 4-6 6-4 against Court Philippe Chatrier, which was his best effort of the tournament so far.

A thumping forehand down the line earned Alcaraz his 100th clay-court victory on the ATP Tour after three hours and 19 minutes of top-notch action.

He said, “To be honest, I fought against myself in the mind today.” I made an effort to be calm, and I occasionally became angry.

I was angry with myself because I was saying bad things. I’m glad I avoided that thought.

“I tried to stay calm and to keep going.”

Alcaraz had to face the big-hitting Shelton on Sunday despite saying he “didn’t enjoy” his battling win over Damir Dzumhur in the third round.

After the favorite’s only unconverted break point, the first set ended in a tie-break, but Shelton was the one to start to win.

Alcaraz was forced to avoid three set points as the pair played out a number of stunning points that saw both players at the net.

The four-time Grand Slam champion took the tie-break, but the second set brought pressure on him immediately.

In the opening game, Shelton earned six break points, but Alcaraz, who turned it on late in the set to claim the crucial break, repeatedly denied her.

Shelton, a 22-year-old Atlanta native, saved a break point for a big hold of 4-4 after the pair exchanged breaks early in the third set.

In the following game, he scored two set points thanks to a strong net chord, and he increased the pressure on his Spanish foe with the second.

Alcaraz quickly regained control, however, and took the lead early in the set for a 2-1 lead. Shelton was unable to return this time despite the pair’s continued eye-catching shots.

Alcaraz continued, “Every time we face off, I said we brought the level to the top.”

We entertained the audience,” he said. He has a lot of power. He is capable of making shots.

We played excellent tennis, in my opinion. We stayed in the stands the entire match thanks to Drops, coming in to the net, and taking big shots.

“It’s great for me to have Ben around, and it’s great to see how active he is in tennis and people are.” I enjoy watching him play.

French 15th-seeded American Frances Tiafoe defeated German Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).

Simon Yates may have been forgiven for detesting the Giro d’Italia, but he does enjoy it.

This Grand Tour has repeatedly punished Yates differently than it has done in a sport that is associated with suffering.

The British rider failed to win in his first contest in 2018, falling only to Rome in the process.

Over the course of the following four years, his attempts suffered from illness, injury, and indifferent form.

After two years, he was a contender for this edition, but he is not widely regarded as one of the pre-race favorites.

Perhaps his heart became fonder as a result of his absence. The Englishman’s resolve to conquer this gorgeous but brutal race steelier.

Yates’ audacious attack on stage 20 resulted in his taking the leader’s jersey for the first time since that 2018 collapse after quietly maintaining his composure.

He won his second Grand Tour title in Rome on Sunday, surpassing the 2018 Vuelta a Espana, and crossed the finish line in pink.

Yates’ tears began to pour down after he finished his Sestriere interview on Saturday and continued to pour down throughout his post-performances.

When the typically reserved 32-year-old finally spoke, “I’ve really invested a lot of my career and my life into targeting this race, and there’s been a lot of setbacks.”

Understatement: Setbacks.

An underwhelming eighth of the year 2019. Forced to withdraw after contracting Covid-19 in 2020.

A difficult fortnight in 2021 before a strong final week to finish third. Sustaining a knee injury in a crash early on in 2022 that ultimately forced him to abandon.

That first year still cut the deepest though.

In 2018, he held the leader’s jersey for 13 days, won three stages, but on stage 19 fell from first to 18th overall as compatriot Chris Froome pulled off a staggering comeback on his way to his first and only Giro title. Yates ended up finishing 21st.

How fitting it was on the same climb Yates crumbled on seven years ago – the Colle delle Finestre – that he saw his window and rode away from rivals Isaac del Toro and Richard Carapaz to glory.

Afterwards, Yates revealed he had privately been targeting the climb since the route was announced, wanting to “close that chapter” from 2018, despite not having ridden it since.

Even then, Yates thought it would be for a stage win, rather than for the pink jersey.

He did not draw attention to his aim and Yates ‘ return to the Finestre was not the dominant narrative before stage 20. The focus was on a showdown between leader Del Toro and second-placed Carapaz.

Having resisted the allure of Team Sky when he turned professional in 2014, Bury-born Yates and twin brother Adam joined Australian outfit Orica–GreenEdge.

Adam left at the end of 2020, but Simon remained with the team, now called Jayco–AlUla, until the end of last season, taking a pay cut to join Visma-Lease a Bike.

Visma’s experience of winning Grand Tours has proved vital for Yates. The Dutch team have won four Vueltas, two Tours de France and now two Giros since 2019.

Putting generational talent Wout van Aert up the road to help Yates bury his rivals on the final climb on Saturday was masterful.

It had not all been heartbreak for Yates at the Giro. He won six individual stages from 2018 to 2022, often in swashbuckling style.

This year was different. He quietly went about his business before striking at the ideal moment.

Yates did not place higher than third on any stage and did not enter the top 10 overall until stage seven.

He is the first Giro winner since Alberto Contador in 2015 not to also win a stage.

Yates moved up to second on stage 14 and, though he slipped back to third on stage 17, his measured approach appeared to be paying off, with 2019 chamion Carapaz left to do most of the attacking.

Then came stage 19. Yates lost more time and was visibly annoyed at the finish, saying his team had not raced to the agreed plan.

He went into the penultimate stage one minute 21 seconds down on Del Toro.

That sense of ‘ not again ‘ that engulfed Rory McIlroy’s final round at this year’s Masters was palpable. It seemed Yates ‘ chance had gone.

Even Adam was against him, riding in support of UAE Team Emirates-XRG team-mate Del Toro.

But Yates showed maturity by apologising to his team before the start on Saturday, admitting he was just disappointed at his own performance, before channelling that frustration as Visma’s plan worked perfectly.

Dropping to third probably helped him in the end, with Del Toro and Carapaz marking each other somewhat bafflingly as Yates went clear.

Like McIlroy, Yates sobbed before the smile arrived when he knew he had finally won the title he wanted most.

He had a broad grin in Rome, but was also perceptive about what he has achieved.

“A lot of people can resonate with the story, losing the race a long time ago now, in 2018”, he said before the final stage. “The way I’ve managed to take it, I really think it’s touched a lot of people”.

He is set to ride this year’s Tour in support of team-mate Jonas Vingegaard, who is bidding for a third title, with Yates possibly able to target stage wins too.

Perhaps this victory will free him up to win more Grand Tours. Perhaps it won’t.

There will be a lot of talk of redemption but Yates had not shamed himself in failing to win the Giro before. Misfortune and stronger competitors had defeated him.

How poetic this year gave him the chance to complete the circle of his Giro story.

As Yates said: “Life comes around, it gives and it takes”.

This is not redemption but release.

Relief.