Oscar Piastri admits Max Verstappen’s re-emergence in F1 title race is ‘bit of a surprise’

Oscar Piastri has admitted that the late charge into a tense, three-way Formula One title fight by the defending champion, Max Verstappen, has taken him by surprise, a position echoed by the Dutchman.The Australian also confirmed that he and his McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, go into this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix with a “clean slate”, free to race one another as the pair battle with Verstappen.Norris trails Piastri by just 14 points with five meetings remaining but Verstappen, who was 104 points off after the Dutch Grand Prix in August, has won three of the last four races and is now only 40 points off the lead. After his comprehensive victory at the last round in Austin, Verstappen acknowledged that he was well and truly back in the contest.Piastri, who has not finished in front of Verstappen for the past four rounds and managed no higher than third in that run, said the Dutchman’s resurgence had not been expected

India beat New Zealand to secure last Women’s Cricket World Cup semi-final spot – as it happened

India beat New Zealand by 53 runs (DLS method) to end their run of three consecutive defeats and secure a spot in the semi-finals.Put in to bat at Navi Mumbai, the hosts hit their highest ever World Cup score of 340 for three from 49 overs thanks to 122 from Pratika Rawal and 109 from Smriti Mandhana.The pair shared an opening stand of 212 in 33.2 overs before Jemimah Rodrigues added late acceleration with an unbeaten 76 off 55 balls.In reply New Zealand made 271 for eight from 44 overs with Brooke Halliday hitting 81 and Isabella Gaze finishing on 65 not out

NBA player and head coach among 30 arrested in illegal US gambling investigation

The NBA, one of the world’s most prominent sports leagues, found itself associated with illegal gambling again on Thursday after two prominent stars were arrested in a sweeping federal investigation. Chauncey Billups, a Hall of Fame player who is now coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, was arrested in connection with a poker operation linked to the mafia, while Miami Heat star Terry Rozier is accused of taking part in a scheme to manipulate games.“Today, we are here in New York to announce a historic arrest across a wide sweeping criminal enterprise,” the FBI director, Kash Patel, said at a news conference on Thursday unveiling the charges. “This is an illegal gambling operation and sports rigging operation that spanned the course of years.”Federal prosecutors unsealed two indictments on Thursday, and announced that they had arrested “over 30 individuals” across multiple states as part of a federal investigation into “sports rigging” and illegal gambling operations that authorities say involved the Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese crime families

Women’s marathon world record-holder Chepngetich handed three-year doping ban

The women’s marathon world record-holder, Ruth Chepngetich, has been banned for three years after the Athletics Integrity Unit rejected her claim that her failed drugs test came from taking her housemaid’s medication after feeling hot and having a rapid resting heartbeat.The Kenyan stunned the world when she ran 2hr 9min 56sec at the Chicago marathon in 2024, a time that shattered the previous best by almost two minutes. However her performance was immediately questioned by many in the athletics world who felt it was too good to be true.But while the 31-year-old will not be able to race again until 2028, she will be allowed to keep her world record because her positive drugs test came after her run in Chicago. That will leave a sour taste in the mouth for many people

Caluori’s aerial prowess adds intrigue to battle in the sky at Franklin’s Gardens

Brian Clough famously said that if God had intended football to be played in the sky, he’d have put grass up there. Tactical trends in rugby are moving in the opposite direction though, and with Noah Caluori set to make his second Prem start, Northampton’s high-stakes meeting with Saracens on Friday night promises to be a battle in the skies.Phil Dowson’s table-topping Saints, champions in 2023-24, are the only unbeaten team remaining after three wins and a draw. Second-placed Saracens are two points back, having scored a league-leading 168 points to Northampton’s second-best 138. Nine players involved in England’s training camp this week will start at Franklin’s Gardens

Just redo it: inside Nike’s plans to put the swoosh back into its sales

The entrance to Nike’s swish global headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon is paved with rough cobbles, designed to remind employees to watch their step when they go forward.Last summer, though, not even the world’s biggest sports brand could stop itself from taking an almighty tumble.Over the course of one July day in 2024, Nike’s share price plummeted by $28bn – the worst single-day performance in the company’s history – after it revealed that second-quarter sales were down 10%.There were headlines proclaiming that Nike was in crisis. That it had lost its cool, become either too woke, too safe, too conservative or too cumbersome, depending on their political stripe and reading of the situation