Sale Sharks defy the deluge to extend Exeter’s winless Premiership run

This may not be a performance or a victory which will take up too much time on Sale Sharks’ end-of-season highlights reel but in the grand scheme of their season, it is a night which could rank as one of the more important for Alex Sanderson and his men.It is no secret that the Sharks’ home form has been the bedrock to their success under Sanderson in recent years and that remarkable run in the north continued again here. This was their 25th win in 27 Premiership home games and it breathes fresh life into their pursuit of the playoffs.Sale stuttered in the early weeks of the season but as the campaign has settled into a groove, so too have the Sharks. There is work to be done on the road, preferably in time for their trip to Bristol after Christmas given how the Bears dismantled Leicester on Saturday

American BMX star Hannah Roberts wins fifth straight freestyle world title

American Hannah Roberts roared back from her Paris Olympic heartbreak on Saturday by claiming her fifth consecutive BMX freestyle world title at the UCI Urban Cycling World Championships in Abu Dhabi.Roberts, 22, set the bar with a 95.70-point first run, a score no competitor could beat. Her second run scored 94.58, a mark that would have been high enough to win the event

Bristol raise the bar in Premiership with record victory at Leicester

First, a simple stat: Bristol notched a 10th consecutive away win in the Premiership. A record for the league. Impressive. Second, another: they scored the most points any team have ever registered against Leicester at Welford Road, as much as any have ever scored against the Tigers anywhere in the Premiership. Impressive again, and this time beginning to hint at what went on here

Merry Crambo again for Fergal O’Brien after Long Walk repeat at Ascot

Ascot has largely managed to buck the trend of falling attendances at Britain’s biggest tracks and its popularity clearly extends to some of its four-legged regulars too. Crambo, last year’s winner of the Grade One Long Walk Hurdle, failed to run to anything like the same level in two subsequent starts at Cheltenham and Aintree in the spring, but on his return here on Saturday Fergal O’Brien’s gelding rediscovered his winning form as he grimly held off the late challenge of Hiddenvalley Lake.Crambo and Johnny Burke had a head to spare at the line – a slight improvement on last year’s short-head success – and O’Brien, whose horses have been struggling to find their best form in recent weeks, was briefly in tears in the winner’s enclosure as Crambo’s success was confirmed.“The horses haven’t been quite right but the winning of this race was not running at Newbury,” O’Brien said of last month’s Long Distance Hurdle. “I knew we could get him better and I knew he likes the track here

New Zealand lose to Australia: second women’s one-day international – as it happened

Thank you for joining me this afternoon, and Martin earlier in the day. We’ll see you back here bright and early on Monday for more, but in the meantime here is the report from Australia’s victory.It was a comprehensive victory set up by Annabel Sutherland’s stunning 105 from just 81 balls – her second ODI ton in succession. Four other Australians reached 25 or more but none pressed on to a major contribution.Australia were tidy with the ball without being spectacular

Michael van Gerwen promises ‘more to come’ after fast start at PDC worlds

Michael van Gerwen began his bid for a fourth PDC world title with a comfortable 3-0 victory against England’s James Hurrell.Van Gerwen, champion in 2014, 2017 and 2019, has struggled for form of late and not won a major televised tournament this year. But the Dutchman eased past Hurrell, who beat Jim Long on his world championship debut on Tuesday, in winning each set 3-1.“I think I played OK, of course like everyone knows it’s been a tough year for me,” Van Gerwen, the No 3 seed, told Sky Sports after his second-round victory. “To stand up here and do the thing you want to do always takes a lot of energy