Daily Mail - 29.08.2019

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Daily Mail, Thursday, August 29, 2019

SPORT IN BRIEf

ATHLETICS

TEEN SPRINT STAR

fAIlS dRug TEST

JAMAICA’S 17-year-old sprinter Briana

Williams, tipped for medals at the World

Championships next month and the 2020

Olympics, has failed a drug test.

Williams (below) a double world junior

champion, tested positive for

Hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic,

following her national

championships in June,

where she ran 100m in

10.94sec to qualify for the

Doha World

Championships. She has

spoken of her aim of

winning Olympic gold as

early as Tokyo 2020.

Her coach, Ato Boldon, who

won 100m Olympic silver in 2000 and tested

positive for a banned stimulant in 2001 but was

cleared, has blamed ‘contaminated tablets’. It

is understood that Williams’ defence rests on

her taking medication for a cold.

RUGBY UNION

By CHRIS fOY

Rugby Correspondent

VALTTERI BOTTAS will partner Lewis Hamilton

at Mercedes again next season, a decision

that will be confirmed before this weekend’s

Belgian Grand Prix.

The Finn, 30, has retained the seat ahead of

Mercedes’ reserve driver

Esteban Ocon and Williams’

British rookie George

Russell.

It will take Bottas’

career with the Silver

Arrows into a fourth

year.

‘The decision has been

made,’ a source close to

the team confirmed to

Sportsmail, with team principal Toto Wolff

basing his choice on the dynamic among his

drivers, with Bottas (above) the ideal,

low-maintenance foil to Hamilton.

FORMULA ONE

LAURA LAMBERT JONATHAN McEVOY

BOTTAS GETS NOD TO

STAY WITH MERCEDES

Mako faces

race to be

fit for the

World Cup

M

AKO VUNIPOLA

faces an anxious

race to regain full

fitness in time for

the start of the

World Cup and England have

been warned that Jack Nowell

might not be ready to take

part in the tournament.

As Eddie Jones and his squad flew

out to Italy yesterday for another

‘heat camp’ in Treviso, they were

forced to leave the older Vunipola

brother behind for treatment on a

torn hamstring. He suffered the set-

back 17 minutes into his Test come-

back, as a replacement against Ire-

land at Twickenham last Saturday.

For now, the official prognosis

remains upbeat. The RFU released a

statement which described the Lions

prop’s injury as a ‘small tear of scar

tissue which will require approxi-

mately 10 days of rehabilitation’.

England fly to Tokyo 10 days from

now, on September 8. Jones will need

to see proof that Mako is on course

for a full recovery in good time to be

ready for the opening fixture against

Tonga in Sapporo on September 22.

The concern is that Saracens’

world-class loosehead has incurred

damage in the precise area where he

required surgery after his season

ended in painful fashion during the

Champions Cup Final in mid-May.

If he travels to Japan as planned,

he will be going into the World Cup

with just 17 minutes of action to his

name in four months. Taking him,

therefore, will be a gamble, but at his

best he is a supreme asset so Jones

may decide he is worth the risk.

At this stage, the head coach will

be relieved that, in choosing five

props in his tournament squad of 31,

he defied convention by selecting

three on the loosehead side and just

two tightheads. While England have

called up Ben Moon of Exeter to join

them in Treviso, they have Joe Marler

and Ellis Genge at their disposal.

Meanwhile, Nowell’s predicament is

now a matter of grave concern.

Exeter’s electric runner — an option

on the wing, at full back or even in

midfield — has not played since injur-

ing his ankle in the Premiership Final

in May. He was hoping to be fit for

England’s last World Cup warm-up

against Italy in Newcastle on Septem-

ber 6, but the outlook appears bleak.

‘I think he’s going to be touch and

go for involvement in the World

Cup,’ Exeter’s director of rugby Rob

Baxter told the BBC yesterday.

His condition is adding to the strain

on England’s back-three resources.

Chris Ashton withdrew from the

training squad for personal reasons

and Jones selected Bath’s uncapped

former Sevens player, Ruaridh

McConnochie, in his 31-man squad

but niggles have ruled him out of a

Test debut so far this month.

At present, England have four fit

players to cover these three positions

— Elliot Daly, Jonny May, Anthony

Watson and Joe Cokanasiga. Daly

and Cokanasiga have started all three

of the warm-up matches so far.

Ideally, Jones would wish to rotate

his personnel in this area, but he may

be denied that luxury.

Bad timing: a forlorn Mako REUTERS

÷BASEBALL

MLB — Chicago White Sox 1 Minnesota

Twins 3, Colorado Rockies 6 Boston

Red Sox 10, Detroit Tigers 1 Cleveland

Indians 10, Houston Astros 15 Tampa

Bay Rays 1, Kansas City Royals 1

Oakland Athletics 2, LA Angels 5 Texas

Rangers 2, Miami Marlins 5 Cincinnati

Reds 8, Milwaukee Brewers 3 St

Louis Cardinals 6, New York Mets 2

Chicago Cubs 5, Philadelphia Phillies

4 Pittsburgh Pirates 5, San Diego

Padres 0 Los Angeles Dodgers

9, San Francisco Giants 2 Arizona

Diamondbacks 3, Seattle Mariners

0 New York Yankees 7, Toronto Blue

Jays 3 Atlanta Braves 1, Washington

Nationals 0 Baltimore Orioles 2.

÷CRICKET

HOLDERS Worcestershire are

through to the quarter-finals of the

Vitality Blast after the wash-out of

their North Group encounter with

Nottinghamshire at New Road. The

single point acquired enabled them

to join Nottinghamshire, Lancashire

and Derbyshire in the last eight.

T20 BLAST - NORTH GROUP — New

Road, Worcestershire v Nottingham-

shire. Match abandoned without a ball

bowled. (1pt each).

P W L T NR Pts RR

(Q) Lancashire .. 13 7 2 0 4 18 0.77

(Q) Notts ............ 13 6 3 0 4 16 0.67

(Q) Derbyshire .. 14 7 5 0 2 16 0.02

(Q) Worcs ........... 13 6 4 0 3 15 0.28

Birmingham ...... 13 4 6 1 2 11 -0.42

Leicestershire... 13 4 6 0 3 11 -0.47

Northants .......... 12 3 5 0 4 10 -0.21

Durham .............. 13 4 7 0 2 10 -0.28

Yorkshire ........... 12 2 5 1 4 9 -0.20

÷CYCLING

LA VUELTA (Spain) — Stage 5: (L’Eliana

to Alto de Javalembre, 170.7km):

1 A Madrazo Ruiz (Sp) Burgos-BH

4hrs 58mins 31secs, 2 J Bol (Hol)

Burgos-BH at 10s, 3 J Herrada (Sp)

Cofidis Solutions Credits at 22s, 14 N

Roche (Ire) Team Sunweb at 2m 17s.

Overall: 1 M A Lopez (Col) Astana Pro

Team 18hrs 55mins 21secs, 2 P Roglic

(Slo) Team Jumbo-Visma at 14s, 3 N

Quintana (Col) Movistar Team at 23s,

5 N Roche (Ire) Team Sunweb at 57s.

÷US OPEN TENNIS

FLUSHING MEADOWS, NEW YORK —

Selected Men’s 1st rnd: P Andujar (Sp)

bt (30) K Edmund (GB) 3-6 7-6 (7-1) 7-5

5-7 6-2; (2) R Nadal (Sp) bt J Millman

(A) 6-3 6-2 6-2. 2nd rnd: (3) R Federer

(Swi) bt D Dzumhur (Bih) 3-6 6-2 6-3

6-4; (7) K Nishikori (Jpn) bt B Klahn

(US) 6-2 4-6 6-3 7-5. Women’s 2nd

rnd: (3) Karolina Pliskova (Cz) bt M

Bolkvadze (Geo) 6-1 6-4; (5) E Svitolina

(Ukr) bt V Williams (US) 6-4 6-4.

÷TODAY’S ACTION

CRICKET — Tour Match — day 1 of

3: Derbyshire v Australia (Derby,

11.00am). t20 Blast - North Group:

Yorkshire v Northants (Emerald

Headingley, 6.30pm). South Group:

Hampshire v Middlesex (The Ageas

Bowl, 6.30pm). Kent v Gloucs

(Canterbury, 7pm). Surrey v Essex

(The Kia Oval, 6.30pm).

GOLF — LPGA Tour Cambia Portland

Classic (Oregon).

RUGBY LEAGUE — Betfred Super

League (7.45): Salford v Warrington.