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Noah Kent qualified for this year’s Tournament by finishing runner-up at the US Amateur. One of five amateurs in this year’s field – along with US Amateur champion Jose Luis Ballester, NCAA individual title winner Hiroshi Tai, US Mid-Am champ Evan Beck and Latin American Amateur winner Justin Hastings – he’s made back-to-back birdies at 3 and 4, and like Davis Riley before him, can now always say he once led the Masters. A fast start for Wolverhampton’s Aaron Rai on debut, too, with birdies at 2 and 3. Rai has yet to make a serious impression on any of the majors, but he broke his PGA Tour duck last year at the Wyndham, formerly the Greater Greensboro Open, so knows what it takes to enter the winners circle. Sandy Lyle’s first victory in the USA was at the Greater Greensboro, incidentally, for anyone interested in extremely tenuous omens.

-2: Z Johnson (5), Kirk (5), Kent -a- (4), Rai (3)

• Europa League updates from 8pm BST kick-off
• Follow Lyon v Manchester United with Rob Smyth
• Live scoreboard | Read Football Daily | Mail Simon

4 mins: A pretty wild first few minutes, but Spurs have sensibly slowed the pace down with a long spell of not-very-adventurous possession.

2 mins: Chelsea have already wrapped up a handy away win in the first leg of their Conference League quarter-final. Here’s a report:

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It sounds like a number of Man Utd supporters are struggling to make it to the ground in time for kick-off. I’m sure we’ll hear more about that after the game.

Lyon will be missing their young wingers Ernest Nuamah and Malick Fofana when they host Manchester United on Thursday, which is a huge blow given their penchant for attacking down the flanks. The good news for Paulo Fonseca is that he will be able to call upon Rayan Cherki and Thiago Almada to carry out the attacking duties either side of Corentin Tolisso, with Georges Mikautadze leading the line.

The 26-year-old discusses his epic triple century and the ‘wow’ moment of making Somerset history last weekend

Not content with plundering a club-record 371 for Somerset to start the season, Tom Banton followed it up a couple of days later by nailing his first albatross on the golf course. Given the way England operate these days, taming the 7th hole at Minehead may have impressed Brendon McCullum more. It is Masters week, after all.

Either way, Banton is on the rise, his cross-format form glowing and culminating in that epic at home to Worcestershire. Having never before faced 200 balls in a first-class match, the 26-year-old stitched together 403 at the crease, slotting 56 fours and two sixes, and marching past Graeme Smith (311), Jimmy Cook (313no), Viv Richards (322) and Justin Langer (315 and 342) to sit top of the leaderboard at Taunton.

Tyrique George scored his first ­Chelsea goal as Enzo Maresca’s side eased past Legia Warsaw to take a commanding lead into the second leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final.

Next week’s return at Stamford Bridge should be little more than a formality and it would take an almighty collapse for Chelsea not to reach the last four from here, after three second-half goals helped purge the memory of another uninspiring first period.

• Post-mortem says immune system badly compromised
• Conclusion explains why health suddenly deteriorated

A post-mortem examination of Celebre d’Allen, who died on Monday evening having collapsed on the run-in during the Grand National at Aintree on Saturday, found that while his “exercise-associated episode� did not lead directly to the 13-year-old’s death, the gelding’s immune system had been severely compromised, probably by over-exertion in the race, and he died as the result of a severe bacterial respiratory infection that had not been present in blood tests taken on Saturday morning.

The post-mortem, which was carried out at Rossdales, the leading veterinary practice in Newmarket, concluded that Celebre d’Allen contracted pleuropneumonia after Saturday’s race, while “the subsequent onset of sepsis or endotoxaemia [the release of harmful substances into the bloodstream from bacteria was] likely to have been a key factor in the cause of death�.

• Spaniard beats British No 1 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-4
• Serve abandons Draper, who records 10 double faults

Jack Draper crashed out at the last-16 stage of the Monte-Carlo Masters with a 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-4 defeat by Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Draper, who dispatched Marcos Giron in a comfortable 6-1, 6-1 victory on Tuesday, struggled with his serve, producing 10 double faults.

“Today I didn’t feel at my best or at my best mentally with my strategy,� Davidovich Fokina said on court after the win, in which he made 57 unforced errors to his opponent’s 46. “It was a rollercoaster with my mind, I didn’t know how to control the emotions and I didn’t respect myself or my team. I am so sorry with how I did today and I am happy with the win and I will be ready for tomorrow.

• Striker argues PSG owe him unpaid wages and bonuses
• His lawyers have asked Paris court to start proceedings

Kylian Mbappé’s legal team are going on the attack with multiple lawsuits to try to resolve the legal dispute between the World Cup winner andhis former club Paris Saint-Germain.

The France striker argues PSG owe him €55m (£47.5m) in unpaid wages and bonuses, and his lawyers say they have asked the Paris court to start proceedings. Thomas Clay, one of the forward’s legal experts, said Mbappé had been authorised to make a precautionary seizure of the money, which was frozen from PSG’s bank accounts on Thursday. A legal hearing is scheduled for 26 May, he said.

• Reid has had disagreements with Mohammed Ben Sulayem
• ‘Motorsport deserves leadership that is accountable’

The FIA has been rocked by another executive resignation with a very senior figure joining the chorus of dissatisfaction directed at how Formula One’s governing body is run and the organisation’s president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

On Thursday, the FIA’s deputy president for sport, Robert Reid, announced his resignation citing what he called “a fundamental breakdown in governance standards� and “critical decisions being made without due process�.

• 17-year-old runs 9.99s with illegal tailwind in both heat and final
• Sprint sensation to run 200m on Sunday in Perth

Gout Gout has become the third Australian to run 100m in less than 10 seconds, and he did it twice within two hours on a dramatic day at the national athletic championships in Perth.

But neither of the teenager’s two times of 9.99s – one in the heat and one in the final – will be formally recorded due to illegal tailwinds.

After a frenetic international window, here’s what we have learned about England and the 15 other contenders

The latest international window, with several high-profile games in the Nations League, provided goals, encouraging debuts, injuries and some shocks. Here, we run the rule over the 16 teams set to play in the European Championship in Switzerland in July.

• Perry will play at least six games in new tournament
• Signing is coup for English domestic women’s cricket

Hampshire have signed the Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry, in a major coup for the restructure of the English women’s domestic game.

Perry, the all-time leading run-scorer and wicket-taker in the Women’s Ashes, has been at the forefront of eight Australia World Cup wins – two in ODIs and six in Twenty20 – and was named the International Cricket Council’s women’s player of the decade in 2020.

Anne Keothavong is without Emma Raducanu but has plenty of talent on hand in effort to reach finals in China

Five months on from the heartbreak of Málaga, where they came so close to battling for the Billie Jean King Cup trophy before succumbing to Slovakia in a brutal semi-final, Great Britain will begin their pursuit of their sport’s flagship team competition as they face Germany on Friday and the Netherlands on Saturday in The Hague for a spot in the finals.

They will attempt to do so without Emma Raducanu, a key figure in the team’s recent success. Last year, she led them to the finals in Málaga with two-high quality victories against France on clay. She ended 2024 with five wins and no defeats in the competition.

• Investors get concessions on overseas TV and sponsors
• ECB hopes £520m deals will be signed by end of April

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is close to reaching an agreement with the new Hundred investors that will enable the governing body to retain control of selling domestic television rights while receiving the full £520m offered for the eight franchises.

The eight-week exclusivity period agreed after January’s Hundred auction was extended last month but, following further negotiations, all parties are now confident a redrafted participation agreement will be signed by the end of this month.

• LA28 will feature 28 more medal events than Paris 2024
• Female athletes will outnumber men for the first time
• Mixed-gender events added in artistic gymnastics, golf

Sprint-distance swimming races and mixed-gender events in artistic gymnastics and golf are among the additions to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, after the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) approval of a record 351 medal events on Wednesday.

The LA28 schedule includes the Olympic debuts of the 50m backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly for both men and women, and a mixed 4x100m relay on the track.

• Rory McIlroy enjoys ‘very cool’ moment in Par Three
• Nico Echavarria wins family-friendly tournament

Rory McIlroy’s four-year-old daughter, Poppy, sank a monster putt in the Par Three Tournament to delight the Augusta crowd on the eve of the 89th Masters.

The Northern Irishman helped his daughter make the long birdie putt on the final hole in the family-friendly pre-Masters event, describing the moment as “very cool�.

• Ineos blames delays on talks with Ainslie’s Athena team
• Sir Jim Ratcliffe laments ‘very difficult decision’

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos Britannia team has withdrawn its intention to compete in the 38th America’s Cup.

The team, which lost 7-2 against Emirates Team New Zealand in the 37th edition last year, has announced it has “reluctantly withdrawn its challenge�, claiming a six-month delay in reaching an agreement with Sir Ben Ainslie’s Athena Racing Ltd had “undermined its ability to prepare� for the event.

• Test captain has not played ODI since 2023 World Cup
• Brook: ‘We’d be stupid to turn a blind eye to him’

Ben Stokes remains under consideration for an England white-ball return with Harry Brook, the new limited‑overs captain, saying it would “be stupid to turn a blind eye to him�.

Stokes, the England Test captain, was in the running for the one-day international captaincy but concerns over his workload prompted a double promotion for Brook. The 2023 World Cup was the last time Stokes featured in an England white-ball team, his recent focus tied to the long form while dealing with various injuries.

• The 47-year-old is charged with abuse of a boy and a girl
• Dott defeated Peter Ebdon to win the 2006 world title

The former world snooker champion Graeme Dott has been accused of sexually abusing children. The 47-year-old is facing charges of sexual abuse against a boy and a girl.

Court papers allege he abused the girl in Glasgow between 1993 and 1996.

The quarter-finals got going with some sparkling highlights. We hand out honours and dishonours from the latest round of action

Arsenal

Having honed his craft during hours spent travelling with the GWS Giants, it hasn’t been unusual for the forward to be up at 3am playing an online game

Jesse Hogan admits that, yes, people are surprised when they find out he plays chess. “My characteristics in the past haven’t really mirrored someone that would enjoy chess as much as I do,� he says.

One of the AFL’s most imposing forwards, the 30-year-old has become a key piece for a Greater Western Sydney side in contention for the 2025 premiership. After inconsistent stints at Melbourne and Fremantle – in a period where he developed a reputation as an unfulfilled talent – he has honed his craft and fitness in recent years in Sydney, producing a late-career, Coleman medal-winning peak that few saw coming.

Lyon’s manager reflects on his nine-month domestic ban for confronting a referee and his Europa League hopes against Manchester United

“This kind of motivation can make miracles,� says Paulo Fonseca as he describes the glint in his Lyon players’ eyes before the visit of Manchester United. It is a clash of two giants who have lost their way – although something, at least, is stirring in France’s second city. They have won eight of their 11 games since Fonseca’s arrival less than two and a half months ago and that tells only part of a story with little precedent.

The Europa League quarter‑final first leg on Thursday will be a rare opportunity for Fonseca to do what he enjoys best: manage his team from the technical area, cajoling and tweaking from the sidelines. Early in March he was given a nine-month ban from domestic games for aggressively confronting the referee Benoît Millot towards the end of a win against Brest. He is barred from the dugout and from communicating with his bench until 30 November, but will be allowed access to the dressing rooms and tunnel area from 15 September. Recent Ligue 1 matches have been taken in from the press box. Uefa-run fixtures offer relief and he is still getting his head around a suspension with a duration which could have jeopardised his career.

The Knicks coach has long been accused of overworking his starters – a rep that resurfaced when Mikal Bridges spoke out. But a closer look at the data complicates that narrative

Tom Thibodeau just became the fourth-winningest coach in New York Knicks history, passing Pat Riley on Saturday as his team notched their 49th win of the season. But as has often been the case with Thibodeau’s coaching milestones, the moment wasn’t met with pure celebration. Instead, familiar questions around a controversial overtone of his NBA coaching career loomed – namely, Thibs Minutes Syndrome.

Thibodeau has long carried a reputation for running his starters into the ground, a narrative built on his unwavering reliance on his first unit and reluctance to tap into his bench. This year, Knicks starters lead the NBA in total minutes played by more than 500 minutes. And the concern isn’t new: last year, as New York’s best chance to make the NBA finals in decades unraveled amid a cascade of injuries, criticism of Thibodeau’s substitution patterns resurfaced with a vengeance.

In this corner of Georgia you notice Donald Trump mostly by his conspicuous absence from the conversation

Augusta National must be the only known corner of the western world where you can’t buy a Coca-Cola. The company has its worldwide headquarters a couple of hours’ drive down the I-20 in Atlanta, its chief executives seem to receive a standing invitation to join the membership, and the club’s co-founders Clifford Roberts and Bobby Jones made their money running a chain of bottling plants. But still, there’s no Coke. Or Sprite, or Powerade, let alone, God forbid in this part of the world, any Pepsi if that happens to be your preference. Instead, the concession stands around the grounds pump “Lemon-Lime�, “Sports Drink�, and good old generic “Cola�.

There’s no Bud, Coors, or Miller Lite either, only “Domestic�; no Heineken or Corona, only “Imported�. Outside of what is written on the players’ own kit, there’s only one brand allowed at Augusta National, and it’s the club’s own map and flag logo.

Rory McIlroy's four-year-old daughter Poppy has stolen the show at the Masters Par Three Tournament in Augusta, Georgia, sinking an incredible putt alongside her father. The remarkable shot sparked heartwarming celebrations from McIlroy and his family, as well as playing partner Shane Lowry. The traditional Masters curtain-raiser gives golfers the chance to play on the famous course with their families.

• McIlroy’s Augusta quest more about psychology as Scheffler lies in wait

• McIlroy says accepting ‘heartbreak’ at Augusta can aid Masters pursuit

There was a cheeky free-kick in the third tier of Swedish football when Jönköpings Södra's Linus Lyck caught the goalkeeper and defensive wall unawares with a nonchalant curler into the bottom corner to give his side a 1-0 lead against Lunds BK. It was reminiscent of a goal scored against Chelsea by Liverpool's Fábio Aurélio in 2009

Great Weston: National League footballer scores from inside his own area – video

Weston-super-Mare’s Luke Coulson scored from his own penalty area against Hornchurch in the National League South. With the hosts 3-2 down in stoppage time, goalkeeper Mason Terry went up for a late corner - but the ball instead dropped to Coulson, who kicked it from the penalty spot all the way upfield, where it bounced and rolled into an empty net.

George Foreman, the legendary heavyweight boxer, has died at the age of 76, his family has announced in an Instagram post on his account. Foreman, best remembered for his bout with Muhammad Ali, had a significant impact on boxing as a sport, but also as a figure in US pop culture and as a businessman. In 1977, he became an ordained minister

• George Foreman, boxing champion and entrepreneur, dies aged 76

• George Foreman: from outsider to one of America’s most popular sportsmen

• George Foreman – a life in pictures

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Whether it’s Ed Sheeran at Ipswich, Michael McIntyre at Spurs or Hugh Grant and the Osman brothers at Fulham, celebrity fans always need to be on their very best behaviour, given the almost psychopathic obsession TV directors have with cutting away to them as the action on the pitch unfolds. Last night it was the turn of Prince William to find himself under constant surveillance in his VIP seat in nominative determinism’s Parc des Princes, where he and his son, George, were forced to abandon any plans they might have had to pick their noses, flick Vs at Paris Saint-Germain players or offer home fans out for a scrap on the concourse, for fear of being caught on camera and enjoying a surge in public popularity that no end of gladhanding elderly war veterans or official visits to former colonies could ever provide.

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Alyssa Thompson emerged as an attacking force while questions remain in midfield and at goalkeeper as Emma Hayes builds her team

The United States women’s national team were very much in the mode of trying out new stuff during friendlies over the last international window. A mostly first choice team looked sharp in a 2-0 victory over Brazil during the first match between the teams, but an extremely young, rotated squad showed their inexperience in a 2-1 defeat on Tuesday.

Head coach Emma Hayes has some tough decisions ahead of her to figure out difficult situations in midfield and goal. But in the forward line, Hayes mostly learned that she has a new star she can rely on.

Our cartoonist delivers an exclusive look at the remote Australian territory’s bid video and the penguin behind it

Striker on his unusual path to England, his first sight of snow and how friends back home now wear Notts shirts

Football appears to be a small world but moving from the Gambia to Estonia still seems a little unconventional. It was a route the Notts County striker Alassana Jatta took when he left his homeland as a 20-year-old, desperate to make it in Europe as a professional. The journey from Sukuta to the banks of the Trent has been convoluted, complicated by absconding triallists, contract withdrawals and the weather.

Jatta’s CV is eclectic, featuring spells with Real de Banjul in his homeland, Paide Linnameeskond in Estonia and the Danish club Viborg. Currently he is second in the League Two scoring charts with 17 goals, spearheading the Magpies’ promotion push. They sit sixth, four points off automatic promotion, and face a trip to Salford on Friday.

There is another game to be played but on this evidence Barcelona will do so just for the fun of it, and there may be no one having as much fun as they are right now. Their captain, Raphinha, refused to admit as much, flashing a knowing smiling as he said so, but a second Champions League semi-final in a decade is virtually secure already after all three of their fantastic forward line scored en route to a 4-0 victory against Borussia Dortmund at Montjuic. The last was taken by a 17-year-old who may already be considered the best player on the continent. And if he is not, perhaps it’s because a teammate is.

After all, while Lamine Yamal completed a near-perfect Barcelona performance with a gorgeous 14th goal of the season, Pedri continues to glide across a different plane and Robert Lewandowski, 20 years Lamine’s senior, scored his 39th and 40th. At 37, the Pole is the Champions League’s second top-scorer; the man above him is Raphinha, who also scored here as Barcelona reached 144 goals this season and almost certainly the next round, and perhaps beyond. They will take some stopping, that’s for sure.

PSG’s winger makes up his own moments – and he scored a beauty to set Luis Enrique’s side on course for victory

It took three minutes of the second half for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, perhaps the most watchable footballer in Europe right now, to confirm the way this game was going.

Unai Emery had sent on Axel Disasi for Matty Cash at the break, with the score 1-1 and PSG hugely dominant on every metric. Cash was effectively doomed in this game from the moment he was booked pulling Kvaratskhelia back, just trying to stop the pain on Aston Villa’s right side, and already facing a case of terminal neck-crick from staring down at those shuffling feet. That was Cash’s fourth foul with just 17 minutes gone. Tick tock.

• Tristan Blackmon scored late to eliminate Pumas
• Whitecaps will face Lionel Messi, Miami in next round

Tristan Blackmon scored a stoppage-time equalizer to help Vancouver Whitecaps earn a 2-2 draw with Pumas on Wednesday and book a spot in the Concacaf Champions Cup semi-finals against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.

Sebastian Berhalter put Vancouver ahead in the 33rd minute but the Mexican club responded with goals from Guillermo Martínez in the 37th and Ignacio Pussetto in the 88th to take a 2-1 lead. Blackmon sealed the semi-final spot three minutes into stoppage time as the Whitecaps advanced on away goals.

• Progress made in talks over deal for Egyptian forward
• Van Dijk also likely to remain at Anfield past this season

Liverpool are increasingly confident Mohamed Salah will sign a contract extension beyond this summer after progress in talks over recent weeks. It is a significant boost with the captain, Virgil van Dijk, also likely to extend his stay beyond June. The Dutchman said this week that progress had been made with regard to securing his future at Anfield.

The pair have been instrumental for Liverpool this season, with the club closing in on a record-equalling 20th top-flight title. They have been ever-present in the Premier League under Arne Slot. Salah has scored 27 goals in 31 appearances while Van Dijk has helped Liverpool concede only 30 to put them top, 11 points clear of Arsenal, with seven games to play.

• Coventry-born forward scores in stoppage time
• Bottom club Plymouth well beaten by Swansea

Coventry moved into the Championship playoff places after a dramatic 1-0 victory over visitors Portsmouth.

The game seemed destined for a frustrating stalemate from the hosts’ perspective, but substitute Jamie Paterson had other ideas. The 33-year-old attacker struck a high-class winner, volleying home in the fourth minute of added time as Coventry went above Middlesbrough and into sixth spot.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Philippe Auclair and Archie Rhind-Tutt as to talk over the Champions League action

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On the podcast today: PSG get a vital goal in injury time to give them a healthy lead over Aston Villa. There were four brilliant goals in the game but the best of the bunch came from Désiré Doué, whose long-range effort left Emi Martínez planted to the floor.

Plus: surnames that begin with the same letter, Gil Scott-Heron’s dad and Bradford Park Avenue’s unwanted record

• Mail us with your questions and answers

“Ipswich. Leicester and Southampton have a combined total of 47 points. Are they on course to be the worst bottom three in Premier League history?� asks Will Hollis.

In a 24-season period from 1999 to 2023, there were no cases of all three promoted clubs being relegated from the Premier League. Now it is probably going to happen for the second successive season. In 2023-24, Luton, Burnley and Sheffield United gained 66 points between them, easily the lowest combined total of the Premier League era.

Our cartoonist on legacy fans being taken for granted and YouTube ballers taking the game in a new direction

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Four English clubs conceded 215 points on a calamitous weekend with French clubs poised to improve further

And then there was one. Good luck to English club rugby’s sole survivor Northampton, who still have a winnable home Champions Cup quarter-final against Castres this Saturday, but otherwise the flag of St George hangs limply at half‑mast. To suggest the Premiership’s contenders had an underwhelming weekend is like saying global share prices have taken a slight dip.

If you’re squeamish about needle-sharp disappointment, look away now. Between them Saracens, Harlequins, Leicester and Sale conceded 215 points in their last-16 ties. While Sarries and Sale had their first-half moments in Toulon and Toulouse respectively, would you care to guess the aggregate second-half score over those four defeats? The uncomfortable answer was, ahem, 144-21.

Hampshire and Nottinghamshire stole a march on champions Surrey in a fine first round of matches

By the 99.94 Cricket Blog

Walking through the warm, not even watery, sunshine of St John’s Wood with only the still leafless trees to betray the date, I suspected there would be runs in the first round of the County Championship – and so it proved.

Tan leads 1.5-0.5 in the first-to-6.5 series following Ju’s costly endgame blunder in game two

Tan Zhongyi, the 33-year-old challenger, took a shock 1.5-0.5 lead in game two of the 12-game Women’s World Championship match in Shanghai on Friday morning when Ju Wenjun, 34, the champion since 2018, resigned on move 62 after a costly endgame blunder due to move 40 time pressure.

Ju’s difficulties could be traced back to the opening, when she took 10 minutes for each of moves 10-12 and was behind on the clock from then on. Their rook endgame should still have been an easy draw, but on move 31 Ju went wrong with the hasty 31…c5? (Kf8! is equal) and she then missed her last chance with 40…Ke8? (40…b4! keeping the rook active was needed). Tan responded with 41 Ke4! activating her king and showed good technique in converting her extra pawn.

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Thursday marked the 54th celebration of St Totteringham’s Day, that date on the Premier League calendar when it becomes mathematically impossible for Spurs to overtake bitter rivals Arsenal in the table. It was the third time in history this moveable feast was celebrated on 3 April, although given the ridiculous length of time it took VAR officials to re-referee various incidents during Chelsea v Tottenham at Stamford Bridge, Arsenal fans could have been forgiven for thinking they’d have to wait until the early hours of the morning to celebrate what is likely to be their only triumph of note this season.

These will be my final months as a Manchester City player. Nothing about this is easy to write, but as football players, we all know this day eventually comes. That day is here. Football led me to all of you – and to this city. Chasing my dream, not knowing this period would change my life. This City. This club. These people … gave me EVERYTHING. I had no choice but to give EVERYTHING back! And guess what – we won everything. Whether we like it or not, it’s time to say goodbye� – Kevin De Bruyne is heading for the Etihad exit door after a glittering decade in east Manchester in which he won EVERYTHING, just in case you weren’t already sure.

Re: US tailgating. May I be one of however many to point out that if you were to steam your wurst (yesterday’s Football Daily letters) you would in fact be consuming a Brühwurst (such as a Frankfurter or Wiener). A BMW pickup would likely be engineered to prepare Weißwurst, a concoction beloved by supporters of Bayern Münich. A Bratwurst is only for frying or grilling, and of course gained further international notoriety in last year’s brat summer� – Ian Graham.

Re: yesterday’s last line (full email edition. Can I be the first of 1,057 readers to point out that the likelihood of getting Sad Ken more than once in a sweepstake is low due to him being shot after the 3.30 at Chepstow? He finished last despite being tipped by Tight Mouth Larry� – Jacob Shell (and no others).

Familiar faces such as Kemar Roach will feature, as will the two Camerons in Bristol – Bancroft and Green

Those of us lucky enough to watch county cricket in the 1980s, with a packet of Salt’n’Shake in one hand and an autograph book in the other, could tick off Viv Richards at Somerset, Malcolm Marshall at Hampshire, Michael Holding at Derbyshire (imagine!) and Courtney Walsh at Gloucestershire in only a couple of games. And that was just for starters.

The growth of franchise cricket means that players at the peak of their powers will rarely now sign on the dotted line to spend their entire summer in northern climes perfecting their red-ball skills. But the appeal remains, like a sudden blast of Madonna’s Into the Groove from a passing car as you wait for the lights to change. The 2025 County Championship overseas roster is an intriguing one. Choose your games carefully and you have a chance to watch some of the world’s best do battle against each other and the indignities of the British weather.

Britain’s No 1 starts the clay-court season in buoyant mood after Indian Wells and is now looking to win majors

There is an odd paradox at play when it comes to sport at elite level. Aspiring professionals spend most of their youth dreaming of making it, only to get there and then wonder if they truly belong. Even Roger Federer doubted himself for many years.

It has taken Jack Draper a long time to truly believe he deserves to be considered as one of the world’s best players. Tipped from a young age as a future star, he had obvious talent as a junior but, as with Andy Murray, his body has taken a while to catch up, with a number of injuries interrupting his momentum.

Fifty years on from becoming the first black golfer to tee up at the Masters, the sport must pause to recognise a pioneer

For Carl Jackson, the path was one well trodden. Caddie shed to 1st tee; he had done it hundreds of times over 14 years as a bag man at the Masters. Jackson’s connection to Augusta National stretched even beyond his major debut of 1961. He was a caddie at the venue from the age of 14, breaching employment law even as existed in 1950s Georgia but savvy enough to make a mark. Jackson was quickly accepted.

This time, Jackson had no cause to give advice over a choice of club. He had no competitor anxiety to calm. Thursday 10 April 1975. Fore please, now driving: Lee Elder. Jackson made sure he formed part of the gallery. A Masters colour split – caddies black, players white – was about to end.

The Russian has broken a record some believed would never be passed. But, like the man whose mark he bettered, he has received scrutiny away from the rink

“He’s definitely a very, very, very good player,� the Washington Capitals’ director of amateur scouting, Ross Mahoney, told reporters on the night of the NHL entry draft in June 2004. He was talking about Alex Ovechkin, who the team picked first overall that night. “How good will he be?� Mahoney asked. “Time will tell.� Now, nearly 21 years later, time has had its say. On Sunday afternoon in a game against the New York Islanders, Ovechkin scored his 895th goal, passing Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL scoring record, a tally that had stood since 29 March 1999 and that few believed would ever be broken.

Had things been slightly different in 2004, we might have been having this conversation a year ago. The NHL season after Ovechkin’s draft – the 2004-05 campaign – never happened, replaced instead by a long dispute between the league and the players’ union. Ovechkin bided his time in Russia, where he played 37 games with Dynamo Moscow. Finally, in autumn of 2005, he stepped on to NHL ice for Washington and, as Mahoney – and everyone else – expected by that time, he proved immediately to be a very good player. Ovechkin scored two goals in his first game, the first of an eventual 52 on the season (alongside 54 assists).

Amid club’s scoring struggles we run through the centre-forwards, from Rooney to Zirkzee, since Alex Ferguson’s exit

Centre-forward only statistics: Games 63 Goals 26 Assists 14 Mins 5,196