And, with that, my 33-plus years as the BBC’s cricket correspondent come to an end.
There have been two aspects to my job. One is presenting Test Match Special, the other is being responsible for news coverage.
There’s been a little bit of confusion. I am not leaving TMS and will carry on as normal with that programme. It’s the news I’m handing over and it’s definitely the right time to do so.
The game has changed. It is so much more about franchise leagues. I like T20 cricket, but find it hard to get excited about leagues that are simply the same players shuffled into a different shirt from the one they were playing in two weeks prior.
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TMS means the world to me. I feel like the bridge between a bygone age of Brian Johnston and Fred Trueman, to a new era involving the likes of Steven Finn and Alex Hartley.
Looking back, it was just a bunch of middle-aged white blokes, or even a bunch of late-aged white blokes. Now the modern TMS team is nothing like that. I’m very proud of what we have achieved.
As correspondent, the biggest story I covered was South Africa’s readmission to world sport, with cricket leading the way. I got to interview Nelson Mandela. People say sport and politics shouldn’t mix, but sometimes they do. When it works, it can be such a force for good.
Allen Stanford was a huge story, as was the fallout from the Kevin Pietersen row. The KP saga felt so divisive, at a time when social media was really starting to take hold.
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My favourite moment, without a doubt, was the end of England’s victorious 2010-11 Ashes campaign in Australia.
We had won down under for the first and only time in my life working for the BBC. There was a spare pass in the commentary box and I was able to slip it around the neck of my wife, Emma, and take her on to the pitch with me.
She was there as I was talking to the England players, drinking in the celebrations and seeing the delight of the travelling fans in the crowd.
Mine has been a very selfish job, yet in that moment I was able to show Emma just why I do it. It was the absolute best.
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Jonathan Agnew was speaking to BBC chief cricket writer Stephan Shemilt.
Britain’s Duncan Scott has won the men’s 200m freestyle on the final day at the World Cup event in South Korea.
His time of one minute 40.29 seconds in Icheon was just 0.04 seconds slower than the Scot’s own British record.
Lithuania’s Danas Rapsys came home second in 1:42.00, and the USA’s Kieran Smith finished third with a time of 1:42.36.
Elsewhere, Britain’s Mark Szaranek finished fifth in the men’s 400m individual medley.
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France’s Leon Marchand came first, Japan’s Daiya Seto claimed second and Italy’s Alberto Razzetti finished third.
The final day of the competition was not the only time Scott made the podium.
On day two of the three-day event, Scott came second in the 200m individual men’s medley.
France’s Marchand won that event and Japan’s Seto came third.
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And on day one Scott claimed another second-place finish in the men’s 400m freestyle. China’s Pan Zhanle won the race and the USA’s Smith finished third.
ABU DHABI – UFC 308 takes place Saturday at Etihad Arena, and you can watch a live video stream of the post-event news conference here on MMA Junkie.
Expected to take part in the press conference are the winners of the top main card bouts, including the featherweight championship fight of Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway and co-main event of Robert Whittaker vs. Khamzat Chimaev.
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UFC CEO Dana White is also expects to answer questions from reporters and recap the event.
You can watch the press conference in the video above, which will go live upon the conclusion of the headlining bout.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.
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Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
The FIA is to revise the wording of its controversial racing guidelines after a meeting with the Formula 1 drivers in Mexico in the wake of Max Verstappen’s tactics against Lando Norris at Austin.
The governing body is understood to have accepted that changes to the guidelines were required to close a loophole Verstappen has been exploiting regarding strong defending when under attack from another car, with other instances of questionable tactics also being targeted.
Motorsport.com understands it will present its suggested revisions back to the drivers for approval at another meeting with them in Qatar next month and because these are guidelines they can be used by the stewards immediately rather than requiring sign-off by other FIA bodies.
There could be a potential issue in that Grand Prix Drivers’ Association signs off on F1’s racing guidelines and the drivers are not united on the incidents that occurred last weekend.
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Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas said on Thursday in Mexico that “some drivers are pushing the limits of the regulations more and almost like kind of taking the piss out of it”.
The usual post-FP2 drivers’ meeting for the Mexico event ran for an unusually long time, as, Motorsport.com understands, the FIA briefing and explanation of Norris’s penalty for overtaking Verstappen off the track late in their Austin battle was followed by a GPDA meeting.
The stewards of the Mexico meeting attended along with the team sporting managers as usual, along with the sporting representative of Formula One Management.
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38, battles with Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Motorsport Images
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During the meeting, the drivers outlined their positions on what Verstappen has been doing, with some siding strongly with Norris’s point of view – expressed post-race in Austin and again on the Mexico media day that he was “no longer the attacking car, [Verstappen] was” – while others felt Verstappen’s tactics were hard but fair within the rules as they are currently written.
However, although getting complete driver unanimity is always going to be a tough ask, Motorsport.com understands there is enough support at this stage for the guidelines changes to be accepted before the end of the current campaign and following the Qatar meeting.
In a statement provided to media, the FIA said of the meeting, “there was a general commitment to continue to update the driving standards guidelines”.
“Bearing in mind the drivers requested the drivers’ racing guidelines and agreed to their introduction along with the GPDA,” the statement added, “each time they are updated it is consultation with the drivers.
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“It is generally accepted that they should continue to evolve, not because of isolated incidents such as Austin, but driven by the desire to bring consistency to determinations and decisions from the stewards.”
The last significant evolution of the guidelines – first introduced at the drivers’ request in 2022 – is understood to have occurred after the 2023 Singapore GP and in the Mexico meeting while there were specific disagreements the overall tone of the meeting was collaborative.
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Ibo Aslan preached patience heading into his fight at UFC 308 but sometimes strategy goes out the window and it results in a stunning 51-second standing knockout.
The Turkish powerhouse wasted no time coming after undefeated prospect Raffael Cerqueira as soon as the fight got started. Aslan connected with a huge left hook early in the opening round and replays showed Cerqueira’s eyes just rolling back in his head as he shifted into survival mode against the cage.
Aslan continued to unload rapid-fire punches with Cerqueira doing very little to defend himself outside of covering up and hoping he didn’t get flattened on the canvas. As the barrage continued, Cerqueira just kept eating punches and referee Marc Goddard had no choice but to stop the fight.
The 51-second finish moved Aslan to 2-0 in his UFC career with a pair of knockouts already on his resume.
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“After this left hook, I watch him in the eyes,” Aslan said about his knockout win. “This is just the beginning of the end. I just crashed. I have Turkish power in my hands. If I touch somebody, he’s already done.”
Since arriving from The Contender Series, Aslan appeared to be a name to watch but he’s looked very impressive in his short time spent in the octagon thus far.
He’s now riding a five-fight win streak overall and his UFC debut already allowed him to avenge the only loss of his career when he put away Anton Turkalj back in March.
“I am coming for all of you,” Aslan shouted when he was asked who he wanted next.
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