Archive August 27, 2025

Trent Bridge, The Hundred Men’s Competition

Birmingham Phoenix 111-9 (100 balls): Mousley 26 (25), Ahmed 3-15

Trent Rockets 113-7 (99 balls): Ahmed 37 (23), Bethell 2-22

Three wickets later, Rockets won.

Rehan Ahmed continued his excellent form in Trent Rockets’ three-wicket victory over Birmingham Phoenix at Trent Bridge, and Joe Root demanded patience from him and Rehan Ahmed.

As Phoenix were 111-9 on a slow pitch, leg-spinner Ahmed took an impeccable 3-15 to end the chase, which was broken by 37 balls from 23 balls at number three.

The only Rockets batter to break the boundary was him, who had previously hit five fours and one six, and he combined with Root, who had a 25-run run-a-ball, for 64 for the second wicket.

Ahmed’s wickets also increased his ranking to 10 in this year’s Hundred, and he has a 6.76 economy, which is second best among bowlers who have played more than four games, behind Jofra Archer.

England pitcher Root told Sky Sports, “To see how he has taken to this tournament, given the responsibility to bat at number three, he has thrived.”

He “has the whole package,” he claims. He has a range of hits that go everywhere. He will become more conversant with when and how to proceed.

Ahmed made his Test debut against Pakistan in 2022, becoming the youngest player to play for England. However, he hasn’t featured this year despite having played 20 more times in the same format.

In the Hundred, he has scored five centuries and taken 23 wickets for Leicestershire in Division Two, which has prompted him to make an appearance in the Ashes this winter.

In September, England’s white-ball squads will play one-day international and T20 matches against South Africa and Ireland.

He “added Root,” which is “a huge talent. He has the right attitude and works so hard.

He is 21 years old and will occasionally make mistakes.

He has excellent hands on the field and a lot of bat and ball range. He is improving as well in red-ball cricket.

Ahmed’s Rockets already had a shot at winning the Saturday elimination game, but Phoenix only managed to pull off a crushing defeat to finish second.

In his first game, Jacob Bethell caught reverse sweeping to backward point for a three-ball duck before Ahmed had Will Smeed bowled with a googly via an inside edge for 23 before the score came to a halt.

He made a third-wicket return with Benny Howell’s slog-sweeping to deep midwicket for three before Dan Mousley hit his sixth-wicket solo.

After Ahmed amazed with his bat, Rockets made a quick recovery by launching a 4-11 collapse.

England’s Bethell was left with six runs to defend from the final five balls when Ben Cox swept the final ball for four to win.

At 15:00 BST, the group stages of the women’s competition feature unbeaten Southern Brave taking on struggling Welsh Fire.

At 18:30 BST, the men’s game follows.

US Open 2025

Dates: August 24 through September 7 in Flushing Meadows, New York

Novak Djokovic battled back from a set down to defeat Zachary Svajda, a qualifier for the US Open, in the third round. He later acknowledged that he “did not feel that great” about his tennis.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion won 6-3, 6-3, and 6-1 in the end, but the 24-time champion initially appeared restrained in the opening period.

The Serb would break the previous record for the most Grand Slam singles titles with a 25th major trophy.

Roger Federer’s total, which he added, is one more than Roger Federer’s, who has already set a new record in New York by reaching the third round of a major.

Djokovic, 38, said, “I didn’t feel that great.

Djokovic hadn’t played since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon semi-finals in the first round of the tournament in early July.

Djokovic said, “I hope the more I improve my game the further I advance in the tournament.”

For me, body-wise, it’s obviously a little different in the last couple of years.

I have to deal with wear and tear more frequently than I ever did, and also a lot of recovery work to ensure that I can perform at the highest level.

Djokovic appeared out-of-sorts in the bright sunshine when he was playing in the morning session at Arthur Ashe Stadium, which was an unfamiliar time for a player who had previously planned to headline the tournament’s coveted night session.

The seventh seed appeared worn out in his first-round contest and appeared to be struggling with issues that came with home hope Svajda.

The world number 145, who posted a video of his excitement against Djokovic, immediately went viral before the match, but he never showed signs of emotion, holding his nerve to edge the first set.

However, Djokovic responded right away as he frequently does, winning 11 of his final 12 games with cramp.

After the Swiss qualifier defeated USA’s 30th seed Brandon Nakashima in a marathon that lasted 40 minutes, fourth seed Fritz will now face Jerome Kym, who is the highest-ranked American in the men’s singles draw.

Casper Ruud, the second-highest men’s seed, lost to Belgium’s Raphael Collignon in five sets, moving up to the second-highest men’s seed.

World No. 107 Collignon defeated the 2022 US Open runner-up 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 in his first Grand Slam main draw.

Norwegian Ruud, who also lost in the second round of the Australian and French Open and missed Wimbledon with a knee injury, has had a miserable year of Grand Slam results.

Collignon now faces 20th seed Jiri Lehecka, who defeated Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 in a straight sets.

In the end, Tomas Machac, the 21st seed, defeated Joao Fonseca, a rising Brazilian player, 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 6-3.

Fonseca, 19, had a set point in the opener, but Machac held his own against the odds.