1 Sep 2019

Today's sports news: what you need to know

7:30 pm on 1 September 2019

Latest - Alex Maloney and Molly Meech achieved more than a race win and a silver medal at the World Cup Series regatta in Enoshima, they also enjoyed "redemption" after narrowly missing out on the medals the previous week.

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Photo: Supplied

The Olympic 49erFX silver medallists went into the top-10 shootout in fourth, with silver the best realistic outcome, and the race panned out almost perfectly. They got off to a terrific start and moved into the lead on the second beat before cruising to a comfortable win in the 12-18 knot conditions.

It was the perfect tonic after the pair felt they let a medal slip away when they finished fourth at last week's Olympic test event at the same venue.

"It was really cool to execute the medal race," Meech said. "It was a little bit of redemption for us after the test event and it was nice to finish the week on a good note. With only five races [before the medal race] it was a really short regatta so it was nice to sneak into the medals today.

"Whenever you're on the podium here at Enoshima, it's a good reflection on how you are sailing. We have a bit more to learn about the Olympic venue but we've got one more year and a lot of time to come up here."

Four other New Zealand boats will compete in their respective medal races today but are all out of contention of finishing on the podium.

Bumrah rips through West Indies batting line-up

A hat-trick from pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah has put India in command of the second cricket test against the West Indies in Jamaica.

He had left-hander Darren Bravo caught at second slip for four, before trapping both Shamarh Brooks and Roston Chase lbw for golden ducks at Sabina Park in Kingston.

It's just the third test hat-trick by an India bowler, following Harbhajan Singh against Australia in Calcutta in 2001 and Irfan Pathan against Pakistan in Karachi in 2006.

Bumrah also dismissed both West Indies openers and captain Jason Holder to boast figures of six for 16 from 9.1 overs.

The hosts are reeling at 87 for seven in reply to India's 416.

- Reuters

Ireland bounce back

Ireland, inspired by two-try Jacob Stockdale and first-five Jack Carty, bounced back to ruin Warren Gatland's Cardiff farewell with a 22-17 Rugby World Cup warm-up win over Wales.

Wales Head Coach Warren Gatland.

Photo: PHOTOSPORT

Gatland, stepping down after the tournament in Japan following 12 years as Wales coach, fielded a reserve side against an equally experimental Irish line-up in his last home game in charge.

But he left the Principality Stadium wondering what could have been as Ireland's fringe players, with Carty to the fore, gelled immediately while Wales struggled for fluency before staging a late fightback.

The result ended Wales' 11-game winning home run and also saw them lose their short-lived status as the world's top-ranked side - that accolade will be reclaimed by New Zealand next week when the rankings are published.

Gatland will name his 31-man World Cup squad tonight before Wales and Ireland complete their preparations by meeting again in Dublin next weekend.

- Reuters

Another draw in provincial rugby

Waikato and Auckland have played out an entertaining 20-all draw in their national provincial rugby match in Hamilton.

Auckland reserve Leni Apisai dejected at full time after a 20 all draw in the Mitre 10 Cup rugby match - Waikato v Auckland played at FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand on Saturday 31 August 2019.

Copyright photo: © Bruce Lim / www.photosport.nz

Photo: Photosport Ltd 2019

It's Auckland's second draw of the new season, and they remain second on the premiership table with Waikato third, ahead of Wellington on points differential.

Hawke's Bay thumped Northland 43-28 in Whangarei to grab the lead on the championship table after four games.

In Sunday's games, Tasman extended their unbeaten run to four matches with a 28-18 win over Taranaki in New Plymouth, after leading 18-6 at halftime. They now lead the premiership competition by five points from Auckland.

In another crossover match, Bay of Plenty beat premiership side North Harbour 27-19 in Auckland and now sit second in the championship, ahead of third-placed Taranaki.

Tragic accident in Formula Two

French racing driver Anthoine Hubert died following a high-speed crash during a Formula Two race at the Belgian Grand Prix.

The 22-year-old was hit by Ecuadorian-American driver Juan Manuel Correa after he had already gone off into the barriers at the Spa-Francorchamps track's fast Raidillon corner.

The governing FIA said in a statement that Hubert died at 1835 local time and it had begun an investigation into the incident.

Correa, who was also injured in the crash, was in a stable condition and was receiving treatment at the CHU Liege hospital.

- Reuters

Venus upset at the US Open

Kiwi tennis player Michael Venus has suffered a shock second round defeat in the men's doubles at the US Open in New York.

Michael Venus

Michael Venus Photo: Photosport

Venus and his playing partner Raven Klaasen of South Africa, the third seeds, have been beaten 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 by the Norwegian-Serbian combination of Casper Ruud and Miomir Kecmanovic.

Venus and Klaasen had been one of the form teams during the North American hardcourt season and this defeat is a setback in their bid to qualify for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London in November.

Venus's tournament isn't over though. He and Taiwan's Hao-Ching Chan - top seeds in the mixed doubles - are through to the third round after dismissing US player Desirae Krawczyk and Briton Joe Salisbury 6-4 6-3.

Manchester City romp to another big win

The gap between Manchester's top English Premier League football teams appeared as wide as ever as Sergio Aguero scored twice in City's 4-0 demolition of Brighton & Hove Albion while United were frustrated 1-1 at 10-man Southampton.

After four games, City have already registered twice as many goals and points as United.

Manchester City's second on the table, two points behind Liverpool, who've beaten Burnley 3-0.

Leicester City's up to third after a 3-1 win over Bournemouth, with Crystal Palace beating Aston Villa 1-0 to sit fourth.

In other results, Chelsea's been held to a 2-2 draw by Sheffield United, West Ham United's beaten Norwich City 2-0 and Newcastle has drawn 1-1 with Watford.

- Reuters

Kiwis off the pace at mountain bike worlds

Switzerland's Nino Schurter has won a record-breaking eighth world title in cross-country mountain-biking.

The reigning Olympic champion has finished 20 seconds clear of fellow countryman Mathias Flueckiger in this year's world championship race in Canada.

Kiwi rider Anton Cooper has finished 20th, almost four minutes behind the Swiss.

The other New Zealander in the field, Ben Oliver, has finished a lap down in 66th place.

One-sided results to start Basketball World Cup

The Basketball World Cup heavyweights opened their campaigns on the right track as Serbia romped to a 105-59 win over Angola, Italy mauled the Philippines 108-62 and 2006 champions Spain strolled to a 101-62 defeat of Tunisia.

Russia were forced to dig deep for an 82-77 victory against Nigeria as they erased an eight-point fourth quarter deficit and Puerto Rico produced a strong final period to edge Iran 83-81 after trailing by 18 points at halftime.

Holders the United States start their quest for a third successive and sixth overall title against the Czech Republic on Sunday with a second-string roster after 17 of their household NBA names pulled out of the 32-nation tournament in China.

- Reuters

New leader in the Tour of Spain

Frenchman Nicolas Edet has become the new overall leader in the Vuelta a Espana as German rider Nikias Arndt sprinted to victory on stage eight in the province of Barcelona.

Team Sunweb's Arndt finished out front among the 20 breakaway riders in the hilly ride through Catalonia from Valls to Igualada, holding his nerve in the slippery conditions to claim his second Grand Tour stage win, his first since the 2016 Giro d'Italia.

Edet came 11th in the stage to snatch the red jersey from Miguel Angel Lopez and take an overall lead of two minutes and 21 seconds over Belgian Dylan Teuns, while Lopez is three minutes and one second down in third.

With a gruelling mountain stage comingin Andorra, the previous days' general classification leaders' group containing Lopez and Primoz Roglic opted to save their energy and came in nine minutes 24 seconds behind Arndt.

- Reuters

Leclerc on pole in Belgium

Charles Leclerc has seized pole position for the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix ahead of teammate Sebastian Vettel, who completed a front row lockout for Ferrari.

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc.

Photo: PHOTOSPORT

The Monegasque, who has topped every session but one this weekend, lit up the timing screens with a lap of one minute and 42.519 seconds.

He was the only driver to go quicker than the one minute 43 second mark.

Vettel, hoping to end his victory drought that goes back to last year's Belgian race, was hindered by traffic on his fastest lap and ended up 0.748 seconds adrift.

He was very nearly beaten by Lewis Hamilton who took third.

The Briton, who leads the overall standings by 62 points from team mate Valtteri Bottas, had crashed in the final practice session.

His Mercedes mechanics worked a miracle to repair his car in time for qualifying.

- Reuters

Raiders spoil Gallen party in NRL thriller

A 89th-minute Aidan Sezer field goal has given Canberra a dramatic 15-14 NRL victory over Cronulla to spoil Paul Gallen's home farewell.

Aidan Sezer

Aidan Sezer Photo: Photosport

The Sharks were leading 12-0 when Raiders fullback Charnze Nikoll-Klokstad began the comeback in the 49th minute.

Ten minutes later, scores were locked at 12-12 when Nick Cotric crossed one play after an 80-metre kick return by skipper Jarrod Croker.

It set up a frantic final quarter, which included Sezer and Chad Townsend trading two clutch field goals each to send Sunday afternoon's game into extra time.

Neither side was able to get a look in the opening period of golden point, but the Raiders managed to force a repeat set on resumption.

And Sezer stepped up to the plate for the third time, showing serious composure in picking up a loose pass on the bounce before slotting the 25-metre shot.

The Sydney Roosters juggernaut has continued to roll towards September after Trent Robinson's men secured a top-two NRL finish with a 22-6 win over a gutsy Penrith.

The result almost certainly killed off the Panthers' finals hopes as the reigning premiers extended their winning streak to seven in a row at the SCG.

With a round remaining, the Roosters have also locked down home advantage in week one of the finals series after Melbourne clinched the minor premiership by beating Manly 36-6 at Brookvale Oval.

The Knights earlier thumped the bottom of the table Gold Coast Titans 38-4 in Newcastle.

- AAP