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County cricket talking points: Surrey champions again as Somerset hearts are broken

Rory Burns’ team makes it three in a row and Sussex will play in division one next season

By Gary Naylor for the 99.94 Cricket Blog

So we’re halfway to the quiz question we’ve all been waiting for – what connects Kennington and Kansas City? All we need now is for Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce to emulate Rory Burns and Ben Foakes and deliver their Super Bowl three-peat to match Surrey’s in the County Championship. With Taylor Swift apparently indisposed on Friday, there’s still a chance for somebody to witness both hat-tricks in person.

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Lancashire chief fears players’ agents threaten County Championship’s future

  • Daniel Gidney says agents ‘don’t care’ about county game
  • Long-serving executive wants higher salaries for players

Lancashire’s chief executive has said agents are the main threat to the future of the County Championship. Daniel Gidney, one of county cricket’s longest-serving chief executives, criticised agents for not caring about the championship and instead turning players’ heads to the ever-burgeoning number of franchise tournaments.

“We need to have more of an open conversation,” Gidney said as he watched Lancashire turn the tables on Somerset at Old Trafford to improve their survival chances and give Surrey the title. “Coaches get blamed, administrators get blamed, but if you want to blame anybody, blame agents … I think the game as a whole needs to come together to find a way to support the championship.

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Argentina stun South Africa to keep Rugby Championship hopes alive

  • Argentina shock South Africa in 29-28 win
  • Pumas aiming for unlikely first Rugby Championship title

Flyhalf Tomas Albornoz kicked a penalty 11 minutes from the end to hand Argentina a thrilling 29-28 victory over South Africa and keep their hopes of winning the Rugby Championship alive in a blisteringly hot Santiago del Estero on Saturday.

The world champion Springboks, who had the chance to win the game with a late penalty from flyhalf Manie Libbok that was missed, lead the table with 19 points from second-placed Argentina on 14 points ahead of a final meeting between the sides in Nelspruit next Saturday where the title will be decided.

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Wigan close in on history as Super League reaches thrilling climax

Warriors are two wins away from becoming first side to win a major quadruple but unpredictable season could continue

After 27 engrossing rounds, it all came down to Frantic Friday: the night Super League’s playoff picture would be thrillingly resolved. That was how it played out too, with the lineup set after Leigh’s dramatic victory over St Helens.

But to water it all down into one night would be doing a disservice to a season full of twists and turns. For months, the suspicion was many of the big narratives would go to the wire. Now, the top six are fixed and the business end of the season begins with plenty to ponder.

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Surrey seal title as Somerset fold against Lancashire: county cricket day four – as it happened

Surrey sealed their third title in a row as Somerset’s forlorn chase against Lancashire lasted barely 30 minutes

Just popping down to speak to Somerset, as Lancashire bellow loudly in their dressing room. Elsewhere, Glamorgan are nine down, and Worcestershire seven, as the penultimate round zips towards a conclusion.

What a match! A century and 4-36 in Somerset’s crucial second innings.

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Surrey celebrate third straight County Championship title after Somerset loss

  • Title confirmed by Somerset’s Friday loss to Lancashire
  • First side since Yorkshire in 1966-8 to win three in a row

Surrey had to wait just 43 balls on Friday morning before they were crowned the 2024 County Champions, as Somerset, their only possible challengers, slipped away like a soggy sandcastle at Old Trafford.

The Surrey squad, watching in the dressing room at the Oval, hugged and punched the air. Maybe it lacked the piquancy of winning the title on the pitch, but who was going to turn their nose up at a third Championship in a row, the first time any club have done that since Yorkshire under Brian Close in 1966, 67 and 68? Rory Burns, who has played in every one of Surrey’s 13 championship games, alongside Dom Sibley and Jordan Clark, and who passed 1,000 runs for the season against Durham this week, wins his fourth pennant as captain.

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Jordan Chiles appeals to Swiss supreme court over stripping of Olympic bronze

  • Romanian athlete was awarded bronze over Chiles
  • IOC ordered American to return Olympic medal

Jordan Chiles is asking Switzerland’s supreme court to overturn a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport that stripped the gymnast of a bronze medal in the floor exercise at the 2024 Olympics.

Chiles, with the support of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and USA Gymnastics, filed the appeal on Monday.

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County cricket talking points: a glorious week for the West Country

Somerset give themselves a chance in the championship and there was a poignant victory for Gloucestershire

By Gary Naylor for the 99.94 Cricket Blog

Tell 20,000 nailbiters streaming the denouement on YouTube that county cricket is outdated. Tell the grandparents, explaining to their grandkids why they have tears in their eyes, that county cricket doesn’t matter. Tell a 36-Test veteran and a wide-eyed teenager that county cricket doesn’t matter.

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‘The point of no return’: no capital gains for Broncos as exit looms

‘So much progress but we are going to lose it all,’ says coach Mike Eccles as the London club feel IMG’s cold shoulder

The sun is setting on the Super League season as next month’s Grand Final approaches and, while all 12 teams wind down for the winter, one club is facing a potentially serious situation.

With IMG’s controversial gradings system going live next month to replace conventional promotion and relegation from 2025, only the 12 highest-scoring clubs in a variety of on and off-field metrics will qualify for Super League status.

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