Imperious Invincibles crush Originals

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

  • 49 Comments

The Hundred men’s competition, The Oval

Manchester Originals 128 all out (100 balls): Salt 41 (32); Rashid 3-19

Oval Invincibles 129-1 (57 balls): Jacks 61 (26), Muyeye 59* (28)

Invincibles won by nine wickets

Will Jacks and Tawanda Muyeye shared a blistering 114-run stand as defending champions Oval Invincibles inflicted a nine-wicket thrashing on Manchester Originals in The Hundred.

Having skittled the visitors for 128 at The Kia Oval, Invincibles bludgeoned their way to victory from 57 balls – the joint second-fastest win in the men’s competition in terms of deliveries remaining – to maintain their perfect start to the tournament.

Muyeye finished unbeaten on 59 from 28 balls, while Jacks fell for 61 from 26 with just 15 required for victory.

Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan was the pick of the Invincibles bowlers, taking 3-19, while fast bowler Saqib Mahmood also impressed with 2-26.

After being put in to bat, Originals were in trouble early, with opener Matty Hurst and England star Jos Buttler both dismissed without scoring.

Captain Phil Salt smashed three sixes in his 41 from 32 balls and put on 50 with New Zealand’s Mark Chapman to give the away side hope before both fell to the irresistible Rashid.

The wickets kept tumbling and matters only got worse for the Originals with the ball as Jacks and Muyeye went to work.

Jacks was responsible for 21 of the 25 runs taken from Jimmy Anderson’s first 10 balls but the England legend was not alone in going the distance.

Every bowler was under threat as Jacks made the early running, hitting 10 fours and two sixes in total, before Muyeye joined the party and briefly overtook his opening partner.

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

What is happening on Sunday?

It’s another four-game day on Sunday with double-headers in Southampton and Nottingham.

It starts at the Ageas Bowl with Southern Brave against Birmingham Phoenix (11:00/14:30 BST) before Trent Rockets face Northern Superchargers (14:30/ 18:00 BST) at Trent Bridge.

Related topics

  • Franchise Cricket
  • The Hundred
  • Cricket

A swaggering entrance and praise from LeBron – Sanders makes Browns bow

Reuters
  • 5 Comments

NBA legend LeBron James said that Shedeur Sanders was “looking good out there” as he made an impressive debut for the Cleveland Browns.

Sanders threw two touchdown passes in the Browns’ pre-season opener, his first game since enduring the most dramatic draft slide in NFL history.

The 23-year-old quarterback was the initial favourite to be the first overall pick in this year’s draft but slid to the fifth round, where he was taken 144th overall by Cleveland.

Sanders has been thrown into a four-way fight to be the Browns’ starting quarterback this season and with rivals Kenny Pickett and Dillon Gabriel carrying minor hamstring issues, he was named as starter for Friday’s game at the Carolina Panthers.

The Browns won 30-10, with Sanders completing 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards and making four carries for 19 rushing yards.

Cleveland were leading 21-7 when Sanders was replaced late in the third quarter.

“That young [prince emoji] looking good out there,” said James. “Keep going up. Head down on the grind and head high to the most high.”

Entourage, jewellery, swagger – welcome to the Shedeur show

Shedeur Sanders arrives for the Cleveland Browns' pre-season game with the Carolina Panthers in 2025Getty Images

After each NFL team passed on Sanders multiple teams during the draft, Friday’s game could barely have gone any better for the rookie.

Cleveland actually drafted another quarterback before Sanders – Gabriel in the third round – so he is currently fourth on the Browns’ depth chart, behind veteran Joe Flacco, new signing Pickett and fellow rookie Gabriel.

The amount of media attention Sanders has had during the off-season is unprecedented for a fifth-round draft pick and a fourth-string quarterback.

He had a bigger profile than any previous draft prospect. His father and college coach is two-time Super Bowl winner Deion Sanders and Shedeur earned about $6.5m (£4.9m) through NIL deals in college.

During the pre-draft process he was branded arrogant and entitled, but before his first NFL game Sanders showed he will continue to be himself.

He arrived at the stadium in Charlotte with an entourage, playing his own music and wearing a diamond chain featuring his own ‘legendary’ brand.

Sanders was wearing a different chain as he came on to the field to warm up and after throwing his first touchdown pass at the start of the second quarter, he performed his signature watch celebration from college.

Soon after, one of his sponsors Nike released an advertisement featuring the celebration and the words “only a matter of time”.

James was one of many to praise his performance on social media, and Sanders said afterwards: “That’s love. I’m playing for a lot of people and a lot of beliefs.”

Carolina went into a 7-0 lead during the first quarter as Sanders was “just getting comfortable”.

“I got pockets of finding my rhythm, and I’ve got to get into that quicker, regardless of anything,” he added. “But overall, I felt like me out there.”

Sanders is not guaranteed a spot on the Browns’ active roster, never mind the starter’s job, and he says he is focused on “just doing what I gotta do”.

“Everything else is not in my hands, so I don’t worry about it,” he said. “Why put energy in something that you can’t control?”

Related topics

  • American Football

UK police arrest at least 200 people at Palestine Action protest in London

Police in London say they have arrested at least 200 people at a protest in support of the group Palestine Action, which was classified as a “terror organisation” by the British government last month.

The Metropolitan Police said on Saturday that 200 demonstrators had been arrested at Parliament Square “for showing support for a proscribed organisation”.

“It will take time, but we will arrest anyone expressing support for Palestine Action,” the police force said in an earlier post on X.

The arrests are the latest at a series of protests denouncing the government’s ban on Palestine Action, a move critics say infringes on freedom of speech and the right to protest, as well as aims to stifle demonstrations against Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip.

Under the Terrorism Act 2000, membership in or support for the group is now a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

Reporting from Parliament Square on Saturday, Al Jazeera’s Sonia Gallego said the threat of arrest or punishment “hasn’t deterred any supporters” of Palestine Action from expressing their backing for the group.

“Something as simple as wearing a t-shirt saying, ‘I support Palestine Action’, or even having that written on a sheet of paper” could lead to an arrest, Gallego said.

Police officers detain protesters during a rally organised by Defend Our Juries, challenging the British government’s proscription of ‘Palestine Action’ [Jaimi Joy/Reuters]

In advance of Saturday’s protest, more than 200 people had been detained in a wave of demonstrations across the United Kingdom denouncing the ban since it came into force in July.

More than 350 academics from around the world signed onto an open letter this week applauding a “growing campaign of collective defiance” against the decision by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to proscribe Palestine Action.

The signatories “deplore the repressive consequences that this ban has already had, and are especially concerned about the likely impact of Cooper’s ban on universities across the UK and beyond”, the letter read.

Israeli historian and University of Exeter professor Ilan Pappe, Goldsmiths professor Eyal Weizman, and political thinkers Michael Hardt and Jaqueline Rose were among those who signed the letter.

Meanwhile, a separate march organised by the Palestine Coalition group was also held in London on Saturday.

The Metropolitan Police said one person had been arrested at that march from Russell Square to Whitehall for displaying a banner in support of Palestine Action.

Amnesty International UK has condemned the arrest of peaceful protesters solely for holding signs, saying such action constitutes “a violation of the UK’s international obligations to protect the rights of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly”.

Palestine Action has increasingly targeted Israel-linked companies in the UK, often spraying red paint, blocking entrances or damaging equipment.

The group accuses the UK’s government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in Gaza, where Israel’s bombardment and blockade have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians since October 2023.

The British government issued the ban after Palestine Action broke into a military airbase in June and damaged two Airbus Voyager aircraft, used for air-to-air refuelling.

Manaal Siddiqui, a spokesperson for Palestine Action, told Al Jazeera that the aircraft “can be used to refuel and have been used to refuel Israeli fighter jets”.

Ireland beaten by Dutch in EuroHockey opener

EuroHockey

Ireland lost their opening game of the EuroHockey Championships 2-0 to reigning Olympic, world and European champions the Netherlands in Monchengladbach.

Goals from Joosje Burg and Yibbi Jansen were enough for the Dutch as temperatures in north-western Germany edged towards 30C on a brutally hot day.

Ireland coach Gareth Grundie will take plenty of positives from a strong defensive performance that bodes well for the rest of the tournament.

“I think that’s probably the closest we’ve come to them in competition in a long time,” Grundie told BBC Sport NI after the defeat.

The only goal in the first half came with a little luck after nine minutes against the run of play when Ireland were settling in the game.

Ireland goalkeeper Lizzie Murphy made an outstanding save, only to see the ball ricochet off the chest of Sarah McAuley and into the path of Burg who had a simple tap-in.

Roisin Upton and Hannah McLoughlin brilliantly marshalled the Ireland defence as they frustrated the Dutch in the second quarter as the heat began to take its toll on both sides.

A harsh penalty corner call on Upton was punished by the Netherlands in the third quarter when Jansen‘s shot beat Murphy.

Ireland were not deterred, however, and came close through Katie Mullan after great work from Mikayla Power.

Mullan was denied by Dutch keeper Josine Kosing, who was on hand again to save from McLoughlin‘s shot at a penalty corner as Ireland pushed forward and refused to sit back.

“The idea was always to make sure that we were really disciplined,” Grundie added.

“They’re an outstanding side, so the longer that we could stay in the game we knew we might get an opportunity, and if one had gone in then we might have been able to push towards the end.

Related topics

  • Hockey
  • Northern Ireland Sport
  • Olympic Games

Syria backs out of Paris talks with Kurdish-led fighters: State TV

Syria’s new government will not take part in planned meetings with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Paris, Syria’s state news agency has reported, as tensions mount between the two sides.

SANA’s report on Saturday cast doubt over an integration deal signed this year by the armed group and Syria’s interim government, which took over after the overthrow of longtime President Bashar al-Assad in December.

Quoting an unnamed government source, the news agency said the government wants future negotiations to be held in the Syrian capital, Damascus, “as it is the legitimate and national address for dialogue among Syrians”.

The SDF was the main force allied with the United States in Syria during fighting that defeated ISIL (ISIS) in 2019. In March, the SDF signed a deal with the new government to join Syria’s state institutions.

The deal aims to stitch back together a country fractured by 14 years of war, paving the way for Kurdish-led forces that hold a quarter of Syria and regional Kurdish governing bodies to integrate with Damascus.

However, the agreement did not specify how the SDF will be merged with Syria’s armed forces. The group has previously said its forces must join as a bloc while the government wants them to join as individuals.

Saturday’s report comes a day after the Kurdish administration held a conference involving several Syrian minority communities, the first such event since al-Assad’s removal from power.

The conference’s final statement called for “a democratic constitution that … establishes a decentralised state” and guarantees the participation of all components of Syrian society.

Damascus has previously rejected calls for decentralisation.

In its report on Saturday, SANA said the government “stresses that the SDF conference dealt a blow to the ongoing negotiation efforts” towards implementing the March agreement.

“Accordingly, the government will not participate in any meetings scheduled in Paris, nor will it sit at the negotiating table with any side seeking to revive the era of the deposed regime under any name or cover,” the report said.

Participants in the Kurdish-organised conference also criticised the government over sectarian clashes in Syria’s southern province of Suwayda and the coastal region.

“The current constitutional declaration does not meet the aspirations of the Syrian people. … It should be reviewed to ensure a wider participatory process and a fair representation in the transitional period,” the conference’s final statement read.

The dispute is the latest in a recent conflict between the Syrian administration and the SDF after clashes between the group and government forces this month.

The SDF on Saturday accused government-backed factions of attacking areas in northeastern Syria more than 22 times.