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Baltimore CNN — Javier Báez came to Detroit as a two-time All-Star, a Gold Glove winner, the spark plug known as “El Mago” who helped the Chicago Cubs shake off a century of futility to win a championship in 2016. In late 2021, all his work paid off: The Detroit Tigers gave him a six-year, $140 million contract to make him the cornerstone star who would at last turn their rebuilding project into playoff success. Instead, the mega-signing looked like a bust. Over two-and-a-half difficult, injury-plagued seasons, Báez played so poorly he became a baseball meme. His frequent swings at…
BBL DRAFT Shaheen has never played in the Big Bash before. © Getty Pakistan fast bowlers Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf were first two picks of the BBL 2025 draft. Brisbane Heat added the left-arm quick from Pakistan to their pace battery that already consists of Spencer Johnson, Xavier Bartlett and Michael Neser. This will be Afridi’s first season in the BBL. Rauf meanwhile, caused a bit of a jostle as he was Adelaide Strikers’ first choice, but Melbourne Stars wielded their power to retain and brought back the pacer who has picked 36 wickets in 22 games for them…
JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL The Big Bash League (BBL) 2025–26 draft featured a strong Pakistani presence as seven players from Pakistan were picked across multiple rounds by different franchises, with three of them securing platinum-category selections in the opening round. The draft began with Brisbane Heat selecting left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi as their first pick, adding firepower to their bowling lineup. Melbourne Stars retained Haris Rauf through their retention option after he was initially picked by Adelaide Strikers. Meanwhile, Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan’s ODI captain, was drafted by Melbourne Renegades—this marks his debut appearance in the BBL. Later rounds saw…
CNN — When Stephanie Case entered a 100-kilometer (around 62 miles) ultrarunning race through the Welsh mountains, winning was far from her mind. Six months postpartum and still breastfeeding her infant daughter Pepper, Case’s only real aim was to finish the Ultra-Trail Snowdonia by UTMB in North Wales’ Eryri National Park and make sure her daughter was fed, having received special permission from race organizers to stop at an additional point to do so. In fact, it wasn’t until the end of the grueling race that Case – whose three-year hiatus from running meant that she set off in the…
The Sixers made a bold call at the selection table with the top pick in the WBBL|11 draft, as they look to address their finals drought Overlooking Sophie Ecclestone with pick No.1 in the WBBL draft was a “tough call”, general manager Rachael Haynes says, but one the club ultimately feels could be the key to returning to the top end of the table. Many pundits had expected the Sixers to once again draft the world’s best spinner in Thursday’s draft – and continued to think so as Haynes started to say ‘Soph-’ into her microphone – but instead it…
BANGLADESH TOUR OF SRI LANKA, 2025 Milan Rathnayake bowled a superb spell at the end of Day 2 © Getty Sri Lankan pace bowler Milan Priyanath Rathnayake was confident that the hosts could amass a lead in their first innings in the first Test at Galle despite having their backs against the wall as Bangladesh posted 484 for 9 at the end of Day 2. Bangladesh were riding high on the back of centuries from Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim and a valuable 90 from Litton Das further added to their fortunes. At one stage, the tourists were cruising…
Continuity was the key word mentioned throughout the BBL draft as teams erred on the side of caution and backed in familiar faces on Thursday afternoon. Aside from the seven pre-selected players who had to be taken with one of each team’s picks, eight of the remaining 17 selections were players who had previously represented their club. It means fans only have nine new international players to look forward to watching but thankfully the quality of those BBL freshmen is elite, beginning with the draft’s number one selection, Shaheen Shah Afridi.The Brisbane Heat didn’t hesitate to select the Pakistan spearhead…
COUNTY NEWS Varma will be available for Hampshire men’s next four fixtures in the County Championship. © AFP Hampshire County Cricket Club has confirmed signing Tilak Varma for the county for the red-ball games. The young Indian batter will be available for Hampshire men’s next four fixtures in the County Championship, starting with the away clash against Essex. Varma has featured 29 times for India, 25 of which have been in T20Is where he has scored 749 runs with two centuries – which came in successive innings against South Africa in November 2024 – and three fifties, which includes a…
JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL The Big Bash League (BBL) 2025–26 draft got off to an exciting start on Tuesday, with three Pakistani stars securing spots in the platinum category during the first round. Brisbane Heat kicked things off by selecting Pakistan’s star pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi as their first pick. Melbourne Stars followed by using their retention pick to retain Haris Rauf, who was initially selected by Adelaide Strikers. Later in the round, Pakistan ODI captain Mohammad Rizwan was picked by Melbourne Renegades, marking his first appearance in the BBL. Shaheen and Rizwan will be playing in the BBL for…
CNN — Alex Zverev continued his Wimbledon preparations with a dominant 6-2, 6-1 win over the US’ Marcos Giron to reach the second round in Halle, despite his attention being temporarily diverted to help an injured fan in the stands. Play was halted in the first set with Zverev leading 5-2, 15-30 after a crash was heard inside the arena, with video footage showing that a piece of an advertising hoarding had fallen and struck a female spectator sitting in the tier below. The world No. 3 quickly went over and handed an ice pack to the fan, who held…