In the One-Day Cup in Canterbury on Wednesday, India’s leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal gave the Northamptonshire Steelbacks an outstanding start. He took five wickets in as many games to assist his club win by nine wickets against the former County team, Kent Spitfires. The 34-year-old’s Northants signing was made public one hour before his debut.
Chahal destroyed Kent’s batting order while playing for India in the T20 World Cup. He took five wickets for fourteen in his ten overs and bowled them out for 82 in 35.1 overs. Among his victims were Nathan Gilchrist 6, Beyers Swanepoel one, Jaydn Denly 22, and Ekansh Singh 10. For the first time this year, the Northants won in the tournament final. After losing their previous six games, they finished eighth in the nine-team Group A table. And now they’re not eligible to qualify for the quarterfinals.
Up to September 2024, there will be an ODI competition called the Royal London One-Day Cup. The format specifies that there are two groups, each with nine teams. A direct qualification to the semi-finals will be granted to the teams that top each group. The quarterfinals, which begin on August 16, will pit the teams that finished second and third in each group against one another.
In the semi-final round, the quarter-final winners will take against the top seeds on the table. Currently suffering in Group A at ninth place is the Northamptonshire Steelbacks team. They won for the first time against Kent in their seven-game season. They had lost their previous six games without a victory. This first-ever win was all because of Chahal’s wizardry. In addition to his One-Day Cup match, the top bowler will participate in the team’s final five County Championship Division Two games.
In 35.1 overs, Kent was finally bowled out for a pitiful 82 runs. The Northants, in reply, easily overcame the goal. They reached 86 in 14 overs at the cost of just one wicket. After losing their first six games of the season, they finally emerged victorious. Despite their victory, the Northants did not advance to the quarterfinals, placing eighth out of nine teams in the Group A table.
The star bowler is expected to play in the team’s next five County Championship Division Two games in addition to the One-Day Cup encounter. In addition to Chahal, two more well-known Indian cricketers competing in the competition are Prithvi Shaw and Ajinkya Rahane. Prithvi is his teammate in Northamptonshire, and Rahane plays for Leicestershire. Although Chahal was a member of the Indian team that won the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2024, the 34-year-old was never allowed to start in any of the matches.
In the match against Kent, the 34-year-old turned out to be Northamptonshire’s pivotal player. Justin Broad and Luke Procter, two more bowlers, provided excellent support for Chahal as the trio bowled Kent for only 82 runs in 35.1 overs. The hitters for Northampton, James Seales and Prithvi Shaw, walked out to bat in response. Prithvi was removed from the game after scoring 17 runs in 20 balls. But George Barlett struck quickly for 31 runs to enable Northamptonshire to win easily by nine wickets.
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The Michigan State Spartans have landed 22 commitments in the 2026 recruiting class thus far. If you compare them to other classes, on average, one could see that they are ahead of par. One of the commits that they have landed is Tyren Wortham, who could be argued as one of the better wide receivers in the class when you look at his explosiveness and talent. He flipped to the Spartans from UCF following a successful visit to East Lansing. Georgia and many others were hopeful to land the prospect, while UCF held hope of keeping its diamond out of the hands of other teams. Wortham was just one elite-level wide receiver prospect that Michigan State landed. One of the players the Spartans landed before the commitment of Wortham is in-state wide receiver Samson Gash, the son of former NFL fullback Sam Gash. Samson Gash was targeted by many different coaches in his recruitment, including a late offer he received from the University of Alabama. While that is a trophy offer that anyone would hold high, the Spartans did enough to gain his commitment. While the Spartans have landed a large majority of their targets at the positions they want, it hasn't all been sunshine and rainbows. On Thursday, Michigan State missed out on its top target in the class. The prospect committed to a different school after pushing back his commitment from earlier in the month to the final day of July. That player was Salesi Moa, an elite prospect who recently was bumped up to a five-star 247Sports Composite rating and has solidified his name among the best. He announced his commitment to Tennessee. Moa is ranked the No. 1 class of 2026 prospect in Utah, the No. 2 ATH in his class and the No. 31 overall recruit in his class, per 247Sports Composite. Moa will likely be a two-way player at the next level, with his main position likely to be wide receiver. The prospect is the younger brother of Michigan State transfer Aisea Moa, a redshirt junior linebacker from BYU. Stay up to date on all your Michigan State recruiting and football news when you follow the official Spartan Nation page on Facebook, Spartan Nation, WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE, and feel free to share your thoughts when you join our community group, Go Green Go White, as well WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE. Be sure to also like and share our content when you follow us on X @MSUSpartansOnSI.
Tyreek Hill was just trying to be a good teammate, but his Miami Dolphins colleague didn't care for the message. On Friday, Hill gave a meaty performance during his media availability, broaching subjects from his mastery of the offense this year to saying he agreed with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa that he needed to be a better leader on the Dolphins for the upcoming season. Then he took a shot at running back De'Von Achane. He suggested the Dolphins keep the 5-foot-9, 191-pound back off the field in third-and-short situations. "Take (Achane) out on 3rd-down," Hills told reporters, via the Dolphins. "What? That's my honest opinion. If it's third-and-short, he's not a power back. I've been telling him that in the locker room... I love De'Von, but If I'm being honest, that's why you got Jaylen Wright, that's why you got Ollie Gordon." Achane responded to Hill giving his opinion to the media. "That's how you feel," Achane wrote with a laughing emoji. Achane rushed for 907 yards and six touchdowns on 203 carries last season. That's an average of 4.5 yards per rush. The Dolphins' backfield as a whole struggled in the run game last season, averaging a pedestrian 105.6 rushing yards per contest. Achane certainly didn't thrive on third-and-short, but Hill's comments feel unnecessary. Last season, Hill caught 81 passes for 959 yards and six touchdowns — his worst production since 2019, when he missed four games due to injury. Is Hill ready to admit that he's washed? Miami's offense was bad, and it didn't help that Tagovailoa missed time due to a concussion. Defenses took advantage of the Dolphins' limited and discombobulated offense last season. Miami's training-camp news conferences are becoming a concern. Hopefully for the team, Achane won't take the slight from Hill too personally.
The Milwaukee Brewers may not have added a big bat ahead of the 2025 Major League Baseball trade deadline, but it sounds like it wasn't from a lack of trying, at the very least. As the trade deadline approached, rumors swirled about various sluggers. The two that popped up the most when it came to the Brewers were Ryan O'Hearn, formerly of the Baltimore Orioles. Former Arizona Diamondbacks star Eugenio Suárez also was mentioned. Suárez was traded to the Seattle Mariners and O'Hearn was dealt to the San Diego Padres. Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on Friday that the Brewers at least showed interest in O'Hearn on Friday, although they were unable to get a deal done. "Brewers were involved on O’Hearn today, sources said. But that counts for little, leaving them still without any additions other than Danny Jansen with 90 minutes to go," Hogg reported on Friday. O'Hearn would've been a solid pickup because of the fact that he has launched 13 homers and has driven in 43 runs this season. While this is the case, Milwaukee missed out. Positionally, there would've been some question marks, but that doesn't matter any longer. Now, the deadline is behind us and there's no need to think about or worry about what could'be been. This is a contender as is. It would've been nice to land someone like O'Hearn, but Milwaukee still has a 64-44 despite the offensive questions.
Vikings safety Theo Jackson has been ready for the opportunity that's now in front of him for a while. Poached off of the Titans' practice squad as a rookie in 2022 after Lewis Cine got hurt, Jackson has impressed behind the scenes over the last three years in Minnesota. He shined on the scout team and was deserving of playing time, but he was blocked by Harrison Smith, Camryn Bynum, and Josh Metellus at his position. Over just 222 total defensive snaps, Jackson managed to record a couple interceptions (one in each of the last two seasons). Most of his work came on special teams. But this year, before Camryn Bynum departed in free agency, the Vikings bet on Jackson by signing him to a two-year extension for low-end starter money. Like they did with Josh Metellus two years ago, they locked in a player who they think is about to become a big-time contributor on their defense. All Jackson has done this offseason is validate that decision. He's been one of the standouts of training camp, making plays just about every day. On Wednesday, he snagged an interception off of Sam Howell to end the practice. "I always called Jonathan Greenard 'The Closer,' but when (Jackson) made that play to end practice the other day, people were coming up to me saying that Theo actually already had that nickname," Kevin O'Connell said. On Friday, Jackson secured two more picks. First, he athletically contorted his body to catch a J.J. McCarthy pass that had deflected off of Jordan Addison's hands. Later, he read and jumped in front of a route to intercept Howell for the second straight practice. "When you're doing things the right way, the ball finds you," Jackson said afterwards. "Really since we acquired him, he's always kind of been an ascending player," O'Connell said earlier on Friday. "But at times, with how deep that safety room was and has been, just without opportunity. But when coaches have identified having Theo in the game in some of those three or four-safety grouping defenses over the past couple years, we've had some real positive things happen. Any time he's around the football, in the deep part of the field or getting a vision or a key to break on something underneath, he's gonna make the play." Jackson is set to step into a major defensive role in 2025. He'll be on the field alongside Smith and Metellus whenever Brian Flores has three safeties in the game. That may not be an every-snap look like it was the last couple seasons, but it'll be quite common. And for as much as the Vikings liked Bynum, they feel like Jackson's ball skills and tackling ability will help him step into that role without the defense missing a beat. The daily McCarthy update The theme of J.J. McCarthy's training camp has been ups and downs. There were more ups early on and more downs this week, particularly during Tuesday's practice. But even if there was still some inconsistency, Friday may have been McCarthy's best day since he put on a show last Saturday. The practice started out nicely for the Vikings' No. 1 quarterback. His first throw, in a drill with three receivers going against three defensive backs, was a dime to T.J. Hockenson that the veteran tight end couldn't pull in. McCarthy's next throw was a perfectly-placed deep ball to Thayer Thomas. Later in that period, he rifled a ball with zip to Hockenson for a completion. 11-on-11 action didn't start as smoothly for McCarthy, who threw a ball behind Jalen Nailor and then threw the deflected pick to Jackson (which seemed to largely be Addison's fault). But he then found Hockenson again and connected with Addison for a big gain down the right sideline against the first-team defense, which has largely dominated so far in camp. One thing we've seen from McCarthy is the ability to bounce back and shake off bad reps. He missed a couple throws in the next period, then connected with Addison for another chunk gain. In a red zone period, McCarthy made an impressive throw on the move to find Lucky Jackson in the back of the end zone. To end practice, the Vikings did a situational period where the offense trailed 27-21 and had 1:15 (and one timeout) to go down and score a touchdown. McCarthy did well in that setting. He scrambled on the first play and then dinked and dunked his way down the field with short completions, taking what was available. He very nearly won the drill for the offense when he delivered a beautiful throw for a would-be touchdown that Nailor was unable to bring in (though there was a defensive penalty on the play). It ended with a sack and a completion inbounds that ran out the clock, which may have been on the receiver for not getting out of bounds. All in all, it was a solid day that McCarthy will look to build on. Other notes The Vikings' backup quarterback situation is worth keeping an eye on. Sam Howell usually takes all of the reps with the second-team offense, but he's had an underwhelming camp, including an interception in each of the last four practices (five total in camp). After his pick by Jackson on Friday, Howell seemed to lose that role briefly. QB3 Brett Rypien got more reps with the second-team offense than we've seen in any previous practice. Howell was back out there with that group in the situation drill at the end of practice, and was unable to lead much of a drive. I wonder if we could see more and more opportunities for Rypien and/or rookie Max Brosmer — or if the Vikings' QB2 for the regular season isn't currently on the roster. One of the more eye-catching plays of the day came on a short pass from McCarthy to Jordan Mason in the red zone. It looked like an easy completion until Dallas Turner popped Mason and jarred the ball out for a PBU. Turner continues to show up every day and impress (as does Mason, to be fair). It's only been a little over a week, but third-round rookie Tai Felton is another player having an underwhelming camp. On Friday, he slipped on an end-around, couldn't come down with a pass from Howell in the red zone, and then had some weird ball tracking on a deep ball from Howell on the final play of the day. It was a 4th and 15 desperation heave, but it actually looked like Felton had a chance to make a play if he had kept running under it instead of spinning his body too early. Of course, there's still all kinds of time for the rookie to find his groove. More Vikings coverage
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