Category Sports News

Ben Stokes and Mark Wood will be “raring to go” in time for the Ashes, according to England pace bowler Brydon Carse.

Talismanic England skipper Stokes missed the final Test against India in July because of a shoulder injury, while express paceman Wood has not played a Test since August 2024 as a result of elbow and knee problems.

Both are looking to be fit for the first Test in Perth on 21 November, a series opener that Australia captain Pat Cummins has said he is “less likely than likely” to feature in because of a back injury.

Carse, a Durham team-mate of Stokes and Wood, said: “Ben and Woody are going well.

“I’ve been down to Loughborough in the past couple of weeks, had a couple of nights with them. Ben is looking near enough 100% fit and so is Mark. I’ve been bowling with them.

“It’s exciting to see where they have got to after their setbacks during the summer. They will be raring to go come Australia time.”

Pace bowling and the durability of the respective attacks could be a decisive factor in the outcome of a five-Test Ashes series crammed into the space of seven weeks.

With Aussie spearhead Cummins a huge doubt for Perth and possibly beyond, the home side will rely on Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland, all in their mid-30s. Beyond that, their other seamers are inexperienced or untried at Test level.

The group of fast bowlers named by England is set to be their fastest and most hostile to tour Australia in more than 50 years, albeit with some fitness doubts among them.

By the time of the first Test, Wood will not have played any competitive cricket since February. Despite that lack of action, the 35-year-old – probably the fastest bowler in the world – often claims he is at his best when fresh.

All-rounder Stokes, 34, is vital to England’s Ashes hopes, but has a history of pushing himself to breaking point. He has not completed any of England’s past four Test series and in the home summer against India his large bowling workload resulted in the shoulder injury.

Stokes and Wood are also the only pace bowlers in the England squad to have played in a Test down under before, but Carse believes the touring seamers will not suffer for their lack of time in Australian conditions.

“You can look at it two ways,” said Carse, speaking at the Toyota Professional Cricketers’ Association awards.

“Stokesy and Woody have played in Ashes series down in Australia, so they have the experience to fall back on.

Carse made his Test debut a year ago in Pakistan and has since become a key member of the England attack, taking 36 wickets in nine matches. He has had injury problems of his own, suffering from cuts to his feet, but came through the home summer unscathed by making holes in the bowling boot of his left foot.

“It’s been good,” he said. “To get through four Tests and two one-day series, I couldn’t have asked for much better.”

Meanwhile, England batter Jacob Bethell said he has been told “nothing” about what his role in Australia might be.

Bethell is thought to be competing with Ollie Pope for the number three position in the England batting order, particularly after Pope was replaced as vice-captain by Harry Brook.

The 21-year-old has the advantage of playing international cricket before the Ashes begins. Bethell is part of the England squad for the three T20s in New Zealand, beginning on Saturday, and the three one-day internationals that follow. Pope is not part of the white-ball set-up.

“I’ll be playing cricket, but whether that has any impact on what actually happens going into that Ashes series, I don’t know,” said Bethell.

Usman Nurmagomedov chuckles when asked what his cousin Khabib said to him after his hard-fought win over Paul Hughes this month.

Nurmagomedov retained his PFL lightweight world title against the Irishman in Dubai, but Khabib, who was in his corner, could be heard screaming at the Russian during some contentious moments in the fight.

Nurmagomedov says he is back in the gym despite enjoying only one week of rest after the fight – on Khabib’s orders.

“At first he was so happy and congratulated me,” Usman tells BBC Sport.

“But then he said ‘You have to be starting training. Because we don’t have time for stopping and chilling. We’re here to work’.

“I said ‘OK, brother. Give me one week’. He said ‘OK, one week’.”

Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib turned to coaching after retiring undefeated in 2020 with 29 wins from 29 fights.

Nurmagomedov’s victory was his second over Hughes after a narrow win in January, but the judges’ scorecards did not reflect a close battle – they scored it 50-45, 49-46 and 48-47.

“My opinion: I won every round; I took him down in every round. I threw my jab very well. And if he only did a couple of shots, I did more than him,” said Nurmagomedov.

“In my opinion there was no 50-45. It was like 48-46 or 48-47.

Hughes, 28, said after the fight that he “did not do enough” to win.

Nurmagomedov says the rivalry with Hughes has made him a better fighter.

Nurmagomedov trained in the mountains in his native Dagestan before the fight, saying he would envision fighting Hughes every night before sleeping and every morning after waking up.

Nurmagomedov sees Hughes as a future champion – if Nurmagomedov leaves the PFL – and says he has the skills to be successful in the UFC.

“I honestly see Hughes in UFC because a guy with those skills… he’s a very mentally strong guy and didn’t give up in this fight,” said Nurmagomedov.

Nurmagomedov is targeting a return to action inside three months.

Following the victory, he called out Britain’s Alfie Davis, who won the PFL lightweight tournament.

Davis was a huge underdog going into the tournament, but defeated Gadzhi Rabadanov on points to claim the title and £369,000 in prize money.

Davis posted his delight at the potential title fight on social media, but Nurmagomedov was not convinced by his emotions.

“I saw he was so happy to hear his name, but I know sometimes behind your smile you try to protect your reaction,” said Nurmagomedov.

World Cup 2026 qualifying: Latvia v England

Venue: Daugava Stadium, Riga Date: Tuesday, 14 October Time: 19:45 BST

England striker Ollie Watkins will miss the World Cup qualifier in Latvia on Tuesday because of injury.

The 29-year-old was replaced at half-time of the Three Lions’ 3-0 win against Wales on Thursday.

Watkins scored his side’s second goal at Wembley but collided with the post late in the first half after missing a chance.

England boss Thomas Tuchel said afterwards that the Aston Villa forward was “OK” but the striker has returned to Villa and will miss the trip to Riga.

The Three Lions would qualify for next summer’s World Cup with two matches to spare by beating Latvia.

Captain Harry Kane missed the Wales match, but Tuchel said before the game he was “convinced” the Bayern Munich striker would be available in Riga.

The 32-year-old trained alongside his England team-mates at Tottenham’s training ground on Monday.

Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon moved to a central position in the second half in Watkins’ absence at Wembley and could do the same in Riga.

Marcus Rashford is another option. The Manchester United forward is on loan at Barcelona and prefers to play from the left – but has often been deployed from a central position during his career.

He has 18 goals for England – the most after Kane in the current squad.

Watkins made his England debut in 2021 and has scored six goals in 20 appearances.

The forward has struggled at club level this term, netting just once in 10 games.

Mark Williams leads Shaun Murphy 7-1 in the Xi’an Grand Prix final and is three frames away from becoming the oldest winner of a ranking event.

Aged 50 years and 206 days, Williams could eclipse the record held by fellow Welshman Ray Reardon, who was 50 years and 14 days old when he won the Professional Players Tournament in 1982.

Williams is appearing in his 44th ranking final and a 27th ranking title would put him one behind fifth-placed Steve Davis (28) in the all-time list.

Ronnie O’Sullivan holds the record with 41 ranking event wins.

Should Williams complete victory, he would become the first player to win a tour event in his teens, 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s.

Reigning Masters champion Murphy, 43, is aiming for back-to-back tournament victories after winning last month’s British Open in Cheltenham.

Williams seized control by winning the first four frames without reply and made a superb 127 break in the last frame of the opening session to go with his six earlier half-centuries.

Breaks of 75 and 73 put him 2-0 ahead and he then pinched the next two frames with contributions of 56 and 68 after Murphy had held significant leads in both.

Murphy stopped the rot with a 69 break in the fifth, but Williams – who will move back into the world’s top four if he wins the title – responded with a run of three consecutive frames to close out the session.

Former Scotland captain Stuart Hogg has said he ended his playing career in order to save his marriage but the decision was the “biggest mistake” of his life.

The 33-year-old, who pleaded guilty to a single charge of domestic abuse of his ex-wife Gillian last November, retired at the age of 31 in 2023.

The three-time British and Irish Lions tourist made the announcement two months before the start of the Rugby World Cup, citing wear and tear on his body.

He reversed that decision last summer and was granted bail to allow him to travel to France to play for Montpellier after he had breached a court order to avoid contact with his ex-wife.

Hogg, who won 100 caps for Scotland and is one of the greatest players the country has produced, said he was “up to his eyeballs in anti-depressants” prior to his retirement at the end of a four-year spell at Exeter Chiefs.

“I gave up on my rugby career to try to save my marriage. At the time, I didn’t know who I was,” the former Glasgow Warriors full-back told The Rugby Paper.

“I didn’t know what was going on in life, whether I was making people happy or sad. I used alcohol to escape. I was purely existing.

“I’m in a better place mentally than I’ve been in years. I used to think being selfish was strength.

Hogg, who joined Exeter from Glasgow in 2019, was spared jail time when sentenced in Selkirk Sheriff Court in January and was instead ordered to complete a community payback order with one year of supervision.

The Hawick-born player, who recently stated he had “reset” at a rehabilitation clinic after his initial arrest, said that taking part in a charity event was the catalyst to him coming out of retirement.

“The Doddie Aid cycle ride from Scotland to Rome changed everything,” he added in the interview with The Rugby Paper.

“For the first time since retiring, I felt part of a team again. I came back and told my dad ‘I’ve made the biggest mistake of my life’.

“I missed the camaraderie, the laughs, the buzz. I needed that back.

“The players and coaches [at Montpellier] value me, maybe because I finally value myself.

Former Scotland captain Stuart Hogg has said he ended his playing career in order to save his marriage but the decision was the “biggest mistake” of his life.

The 33-year-old, who pleaded guilty to a single charge of domestic abuse of his ex-wife Gillian last November, retired at the age of 31 in 2023.

The three-time British and Irish Lions tourist made the announcement two months before the start of the Rugby World Cup, citing wear and tear on his body.

He reversed that decision last summer and was granted bail to allow him to travel to France to play for Montpellier after he had breached a court order to avoid contact with his ex-wife.

Hogg, who won 100 caps for Scotland and is one of the greatest players the country has produced, said he was “up to his eyeballs in anti-depressants” prior to his retirement at the end of a four-year spell at Exeter Chiefs.

“I gave up on my rugby career to try to save my marriage. At the time, I didn’t know who I was,” the former Glasgow Warriors full-back told The Rugby Paper.

“I didn’t know what was going on in life, whether I was making people happy or sad. I used alcohol to escape. I was purely existing.

“I’m in a better place mentally than I’ve been in years. I used to think being selfish was strength.

Hogg admitted shouting and swearing and acting in an abusive manner towards his ex-wife when he appeared in court last year.

The full-back, who joined Exeter from Glasgow in 2019, was spared jail time when sentenced in Selkirk Sheriff Court in January and was instead ordered to complete a community payback order with one year of supervision.

In March, a sheriff has noted Hogg’s “complete compliance” with the order and said no further review of it would take place.

He had previously been given a five-year non-harassment order and fined £600 when he breached his bail conditions.

The Hawick-born player, who recently stated he had “reset” at a rehabilitation clinic after his initial arrest, said that taking part in a charity event was the catalyst to him coming out of retirement.

“The Doddie Aid cycle ride from Scotland to Rome changed everything,” he added in the interview with The Rugby Paper.

“For the first time since retiring, I felt part of a team again. I came back and told my dad ‘I’ve made the biggest mistake of my life’.

“I missed the camaraderie, the laughs, the buzz. I needed that back.

“The players and coaches [at Montpellier] value me, maybe because I finally value myself.