A “hybrid model” for hosting the Champions Trophy will not be accepted by Pakistan, according to its Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi.

Pakistan is due to stage a first global tournament since 1996, an eight-team 50-over competition in February and March next year.

However, political tensions between Pakistan and India mean the two countries have not played each other outside major tournaments in 11 years and India have not visited Pakistan since 2008.

As a result, there is speculation India could play their matches in a country other than Pakistan, possibly the United Arab Emirates.

“Sports should stay above politics and cricket should not be sacrificed at the altar of politics,” said PCB chair Naqvi.

The situation has not been publicly addressed by the International Cricket Council, which is yet to officially publish fixtures for the event. The tournament is slated to begin on 19 February, 100 days from Monday.

Confusion over the schedule is making it difficult for teams, supporters and media to make plans for the event.

The tournament is made up of two groups of four, with the top two advancing to the semi-finals. If India’s matches are played outside of Pakistan, it leads to the prospect of the semis or final potentially needing two grounds more than 1,000 miles apart, with the eventual venue not known until India’s progress is determined.

Race manipulation isn’t a new concept in NASCAR or racing in general. Stock car racing had SpinGate with Clint Bowyer in 2013, Formula 1 had CrashGate with Nelson Piquet Jr. in 2008, and IndyCar had its recent P2P scandal involving Team Penske. But as Penske’s own Joey Logano pointed out during Championship 4 Media Day, the way a sanctioning body reacts to such moments will be critical for keeping the sport intact.

“Well, it’s everything, right?” said Logano when asked about the maintaining the sport’s integrity. “I mean, you see plenty of documentaries on how sports and people have kind of done things in the wrong way, how it can destroy a sport. NASCAR is backed up against the wall to where they had to do something, right? They have to do something to control us. It’s everybody, right?

“Whatever the rule is, whether it’s this 100% rule or it’s putting the cars together, if the rules aren’t enforced, the sport will fall apart. It’s important to keep that.”

The 100% rule was implemented following Michael Waltrip Racing’s attempt to influence the 2013 playoff race, a very gray-area rule that essentially says all competitors must race at 100% of their ability with the goal of achieving their best possible finishing position in an event. 

The growing influence of manufacturers 

But while race manipulation has been a hot topic this week, so has the role of the manufacturers and how tightly aligned teams representing the same OEM now are. Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon weren’t Hendrick Motorsports drivers and neither team even runs Hendrick engines. Despite that, they put their own race aside to safeguard the No. 24 of William Byron. 

Earlier this week, Denny Hamlin said that the manufacturers have “way too much say in the outcomes of these races,” but Logano looked more at the current car and its role in all of this.

Joey Logano, Team Penske, Shell Pennzoil Ford Mustang, Harrison Burton, Wood Brothers Racing, MotorcraftQuick Lane Ford Mustang

Photo by: Matthew T. Thacker / NKP / Motorsport Images

“Yeah, I mean, in some ways it’s grown and in some ways not,” explained Logano when asked about manufacturer influence. “But I think the Next Gen car itself has kind of made the manufacturer matter a lot more because there’s only certain things that we can control, right? The car is the car. The body becomes important. That’s one thing that the OEM can control. The engine. There’s your other one, right? Those are two big speeding ops.

“The teams, they have the ability to tune and make a car better than others. There’s times where we’ve seen it, right, what happened earlier this year, the Fords were off, all of them. You tell me all the teams were off? No. The OEM matters. We’ve been able to turn that around all together, which is great.”

Are the penalties enough?

The penalties issued by NASCAR this week did not factor in the car makes, focusing on the three teams accused of race manipulation. However, said penalties were substantial, totaling $600,00 in fines, nine suspensions, and the loss of 50 driver/owner points between each organization. But was it enough?

“I don’t know,” admitted Logano. “I know that NASCAR had to do something just because if you let that go, it will just keep becoming more extreme every time. They put their foot down. Is it enough? Well, we’ll see this week. If they do it again, then you know the penalty wasn’t big enough.”

Trackhouse attempted to appeal the penalties this week, but lost. Both RCR and 23XI withdrew their own appeals. Now onto Phoenix where each manufacturer has at least one car in the Championship 4 fight. With all four title combatants entering the finale on equal ground, there will surely be temptation to meddle again if the opportunity arises. For the sake of the sport and for the reasons already stated by Logano, hopefully they do not.

Anatoly Malykhin might have a fight booked against Oumar “Reug Reug” Kane on Friday at ONE 169 but he hasn’t forgotten about pursuing an eventual showdown with ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou.

It’s a fight he’s been chasing ever since Ngannou signed with the PFL, which opened up the possibility for a cross-promotion matchup between arguably the two best heavyweights outside of the UFC. Actually, Ngannou could make a compelling case that he’s still the real lineal heavyweight champion considering he left the UFC in free agency while still holding the title.

Following a two-fight stint in boxing, Ngannou finally returned to MMA in October when he dispatched Renan Ferreira inside the first round to extend his overall win streak to seven in a row. Malykhin was keeping a close eye on Ngannou’s first fight back in MMA since 2022 but truth be told, he wasn’t exactly blown away by what he witnessed that night.

“Of course I watched the fight and actually I didn’t see anything special,” Malykhin told MMA Fighting about Ngannou’s win. “Nothing too impressive in that fight. He did not surprise me with anything.

“So I do think that 2025 could be the year for us to face each other. I’m ready. I’m ready to face him. He made a statement that he was the [best] fighter on the planet. I don’t think so. He cannot and he shouldn’t be saying that until he faces me.”

After initially calling out Ngannou earlier this year, ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong didn’t scoff at the idea of working with the PFL to make Malykhin’s dreams come true, although he didn’t expect a very compelling fight if it happens.

“Francis has one-punch KO power, great striking, but he doesn’t have a ground game,” Sityodtong told MMA Fighting in June. “I mean, genuinely [he has] blue belt level jiu-jitsu and no wrestling. Anatoly would take him down in a heartbeat. I don’t think it would be competitive, just to be very blunt.”

Malykhin won’t argue with Sityodtong’s assessment but that doesn’t make the fight any less intriguing thanks to Ngannou’s established name and resume.

“100 percent, I agree with Chatri,” Malykhin said. “I watched his fight and he doesn’t have decent wrestling. He doesn’t have good cardio. He cannot feel the distance properly. He has a very strong punch. That is very true. But my overall skill set is much better than his.”

Before he can seriously pursue the Ngannou fight, Malykhin first has to get through the hulking Senegalese wrestler standing in his way on Friday.

The 32-year-old heavyweight best known by his nickname “Reug Reug” comes into the title bout off three straight wins including a unanimous decision over multi-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu grappling champion Marcus Buchecha.

While this is a heavyweight championship fight, Malykhin doesn’t see his upcoming opponent as a massive threat, especially when it comes to his overall MMA arsenal.

“My opinion is [he’s still very raw] and I also think he’s a fitness model type of fighter,” Malykhin said. “All he does, he trains in the gym, he trains for girls, he looks good, but it doesn’t give him the teeniest, tiniest chance to defeat elite sportsmen, elite fighters like me. Name me one name of a good fighter, a decent fighter that he beat? No.

“The only thing that he did was fall from some invisible punch, as far as I’m concerned. That’s all I can see. Somewhere I just punched the air and ‘Reug Reug’ just fell down.”

Obviously, Malykhin is more than confident that he’s going to retain his title in impressive fashion and he hopes to use “Reug Reug” as a way to send a message to Ngannou.

“I’m going to finish the best wrestler who is coming from Africa,” Malykhin said. “In 2025, I’m ready to finish the best puncher from Africa.”

ONE of the Premier League’s first managers has returned to the dug-out after a near-20 year absence to take over Hartlepool United aged 76.

Lennie Lawrence was Middlesbrough boss when the Prem kicked off way back in the 1992-93 campaign after previously managing Charlton.

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He later had spells at Bradford, Luton, Grimsby and was in charge of over 1,000 matches but the last came at Cardiff before his sacking in 2005.

Lawrence had previously worked on the board and then as assistant before becoming caretaker when Darren Sarll was sacked last month.

Pools, who head to leaders York City on Saturday and who sit 15th, have now confirmed that the veteran will remain as manager until the summer.

Lawrence will have ex-Woking boss Anthony Limbrick as head coach and Gavin Skelton as first-team coach.

Upon taking charge, he said: “It’s been a very thorough and professional process that the board has conducted, and it’s a decision we’re very excited about.

“A lot went into it and one of the priorities was a long-term plan, and the idea is to offer my experience where possible to develop the rest of the team.”

Upon the announcement, a Hartlepool board spokesperson said: “We are really pleased to confirm our new management team following an extensive review and process.

“Lennie has an incredible track record in management as well as with his mentorship roles of coaches and managers.

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“He’s also proven on multiple caretaker occasions at Hartlepool United his ability and desire to step up and hold the manager position, which has been evident in his recent results and a reformed style of play.

“As Board we were keen to see the trajectory and senior stewardship under Lennie continue, and with Anthony and Gavin we have also secured two outstanding pro licence technical coaches who are highly regarded within the game.

“We believe their complementary attributes and desire to step up in due course will fit well with Lennie, to give the Club both the best opportunity in the immediate short term this season whilst also planning longer term.

“Additionally we are looking longer term with the likes of Nicky Featherstone and supporting his development beyond playing career, and the full complement of first team support staff including medical, strength & conditioning, scouting and analysis will also remain at the management teams’ disposal.”

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