Olivia Bell picks up Scotland’s first wicket with a brilliant diving catch to remove South Africa captain Laura Woldvaart in their Women’s T20 World Cup match in Dubai.

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Uncapped duo Curtis Jones and Tino Livramento have been added to the senior England squad for this week’s Nations League matches.

Liverpool midfielder Jones earned his first call-up in May as part of Gareth Southgate’s provisional 33-man squad for Euro 2024, but did not make the final cut.

The 23-year-old was part of the Young Lions side that won the 2023 European Under-21 Championship under current England interim boss Lee Carsley.

Newcastle full-back Livramento was part of Carsley’s senior squad for last month’s games against Republic of Ireland and Finland but did not feature.

Captain Harry Kane again trained away from the rest of the squad at St George’s Park on Wednesday but is expected to be fit.

Manchester City midfielder Jack Grealish also missed training as a precaution with a minor knock.

The Three Lions host Greece at Wembley on Thursday before playing Finland in Helsinki on Sunday.

BACK in 2009, Nikolai Valuev went eye-ball to eye-ball with David Haye in the ring.

Or maybe, it was Haye’s eyeballs to Valuev’s chest.

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The British boxer’s then foe stood at 7ft tall and weighed a gargantuan 316 pounds.

It was no wonder the fight was billed as David Vs Goliath, with Haye the victor after 12 gruelling rounds by majority decision.

But since hanging up his gloves in 2009, the Russian boxer known as the ‘Beast from the East’ surprisingly became a politician.

The tallest and heaviest boxing champion in history rose to become a member of parliament for the United Russia party, and is now a henchman for Vladimir Putin’s dictatorial regime.

Chillingly, Valuev recently revealed he was upset Great Britain still existed – saying there would be less problems in the world if it didn’t.

“If you imagine that in any of the past six centuries, the British Isles suddenly sank into the ocean, then for the rest of the world, indeed, there would be fewer problems for a certain time,” he said.

He added, in warning, if Britain no longer existed “others will take the place that becomes vacant.”

Valuev’s life has been nothing short of interesting, if not controversial.

Boxing

From 1993 to 2009, Valuev’s life was dedicated to the ring.

And he was a fighter with some pedigree too.

In 2005, he took on American John Ruiz for the WBA heavyweight title in Berlin, Germany.

It was a historic moment for the ‘Russian Giant’ who would earn a 12-round majority decision.

He would become the tallest and heaviest boxer of all time.

However, he would lose the belt in 2007 to Uzbekistani fighter Ruslan Chagaev by majority decision.

Redemption would come again in 2008, when Valuev would regain the belt after defeating Ruiz for a second time.

British boxing fans will remember Valuev best for his fight with David Haye in 2009.

The Brit managed to outmove and outbox the huge frame of Valuev, winning by majority decision after 12 hard-fought rounds.

Haye later revealed he suffered a broken hand in the fight – comparing hitting Valuev’s head to striking a wall.

Three days later, the Russian retired from the sport. He underwent a series of operations in 2010, with his doctor saying he treating Valuev for “serious bone and joint problems”.

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In 2013, he refused to return to the world of boxing citing medical reasons.

A new chapter in politics

But, by this time, Valuev had already found a new calling.

He got involved in politics – using his fame and standing to aide his country.

In December 2011, the sports star became a member of the State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, through the United Russia Party.

Controversies soon followed.

In 2012, Valuev supported the law in Russian Parliament banning adoption of Russian orphans by citizens of the US.

The same year, following the IOC’s decision to suspend Russia from participating in the Olympics under its flag because of the Russian-state-sponsored doping scandal, Valuev came out firing.

He said that Russia should go to the Olympics and “tear everyone apart to spite these bastards who want to kill our sport.”

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Joining the fight

In 2022, Valuev revealed he had been summoned to fight for Vladimir Putin’s Russian army in Ukraine.

“In my opinion, everyone has received a summons, I also received a summons,” Valuev told Russian outlet Izvestia.

“Will I go? Of course, I will go to the enlistment office now.  

“My colleagues [fellow MPs] are good, they were registered for military service in the State Duma and received summons here, but I have to go home.

“I received the summons right before my trip to Donbas, and I was not at home. Next week I will definitely go and report to the enlistment office.”

However, weeks later he was rushed to hospital after complaining about a leg injury.

Russian magazine Life revealed the dash to a Moscow medical centre, claiming he received treatment overnight.

However, a source played down the severity of the injury.

A spokesman for Valuev revealed: “No one broke his legs.”

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Valery Kunzekov, a second spokesman for the sportsman, told Life: “Nikolai Sergeevich jumps, dances. Yesterday he was in the State Duma until late.

“No one broke his legs, and no one put him in the hospital. He is alive and well, smiling and walking on two legs. Now he is at home.”

Putin’s ally

In 2023, Valuev was seen clapping in the crowd, as Putin claimed Russia is engaged in a “real war” with the West during his Victory Day speech in Moscow’s Red Square.

During the 10-minute speech, Putin told the crowd: “Soldiers and seamen, and officers, generals, admirals, fighters and commanders, to all participants of the special military operation, I congratulate you on Victory Day.

“It is the celebration to honour our fathers and grandfathers who fought for their motherland and through their sacrifice they saved the world from Nazism.”

Putin, who has often referred to the invasion of the Ukraine as a repeat of WWII, revealed that a “special military operation” was needed to free Donbas of the chains of ‘Nazi’ rulers in Kyiv and the West.

“Today civilisation is once again at a decisive turning point,” Putin said.

“A real war has been unleashed against our Motherland.”

He added: “Today we have a real war waged against us but we will be defending ourself from terrorism, we will defend the citizens of Donbas.”

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The IBF have called for a final eliminator between Martin Bakole and Agit Kabayel to determine who will be the next mandatory challenger for heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois.

The 27-year-old Briton was upgraded to full IBF world champion during the summer after Oleksandr Usyk opted to vacate the title.

Dubois then successfully defended the belt in a thrilling encounter with 34-year-old Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium last month.

The pair are expected to fight again but should Bakole and Kabayel meet before then, the IBF may need to grant Dubois an exception to side step his mandatory challenger.

Kabayel and Bakole still need to negotiate when their bout will be and a mandatory challenger will not officially be called until after they fight.

Bakole, 31, is originally from Cameroon but trains in Scotland. The only loss on his record is to American Michael Hunter in 2018 and he has since won 10 fights in a row.

In that time he has secured massive upset victories over Olympic silver medallist Tony Yoka and American prospect Jared Anderson.

Kabayel, 32, is undefeated in 25 fights with 17 knockouts.

The German is on a run of four stoppages in a row.

After his win over Joshua, Dubois intends to take the rest of 2024 off after four fights since August 2023.

ENGLAND clash with Greece in Thursday’s Nations League showdown at Wembley Stadium.

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GMP are one of several organisations who regularly communicate with WSL clubs to ensure security at matches.

However, it is ultimately the clubs’ decision on whether they want to allow players to continue to sign autographs after matches.

Manchester City manager Gareth Taylor says it is “a difficult decision” for clubs to come to as they want to maintain the authenticity of the women’s game.

City have several high-profile players in their squad including England internationals Alex Greenwood and Lauren Hemp, as well as Netherlands striker Vivianne Miedema and Japanese star Yui Hasegawa.

But having witnessed first-hand the growing crowds and pressure on players to make time for fans, Taylor supports City’s controlled signing sessions.

“We try to do it now in a more guided way. We have a specific amount of players. We do an alleyway, where it’s more controlled,” said Taylor.

“Sometimes after games, you [would] ask security guards and they would say ‘this is bonkers, we’re going to have an accident one day’. So you see it from both sides.”

Elsewhere, Tottenham are continuing to review the situation at their home ground Brisbane Road, while Arsenal are playing more games at the Emirates Stadium.

Spurs boss Robert Vilahamn said clubs “always need to check security for players” but insisted they have a “really good bond with fans” and they want to keep that.

There are mixed views among players.

England goalkeeper Mary Earps was one of the first to highlight the difficulty in keeping fans happy after receiving criticism for not signing an autograph in 2023.

Chelsea defender Lucy Bronze, who has played at Barcelona, Lyon and Manchester City in recent years, said the measures have been taken to keep the fans safe, as well as players.

“Not every stadium is ready for this volume of fans. The fans are used to having that reaction with players, which we love as well, but at the end of the day you can’t speak to every fan,” said Bronze.

“We still have those interactions. Although I might not be signing [autographs] I still get to see them and that’s what I enjoy.

“Signing a piece of paper is nice, I get that, but I know when I was a fan I went to watch [ex-England international] Rachel Yankey and thought, ‘Whoa, this is amazing’.

“I didn’t need the picture and signature to go with that.”