17/08/2025

theSun on Sunday AUG 17, 2025

SPORTS 11

Bethell takes lead Talented 21-year-old to become England’s youngest cricket captain against Ireland

Simpson dies at 89 FORMER Australian cricket captain and coach Bob Simpson has died aged 89, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese praising the all-rounder for his “extraordinary service” to the sport. Cricket Australia confirmed his death in Sydney in a statement yesterday. Simpson played 62 Test matches, captaining Australia in 39, at an average of 46.81. He grew up in Sydney and first toured with Australia in 1957, becoming one of the best all-round cricketers to play for the country. It took until his 30th Test for Simpson to break his first century – achieving 311 runs at Old Trafford in 1964. He retired after the 1967 series, but made a comeback a decade later, aged 41, during the World Series Cricket era. Albanese said that Simpson’s “extraordinary service to Australian cricket spanned generations”. “As a player, captain and then era-defining coach, he set the highest of standards for himself and the champions he led,” the prime minister wrote on social media. “He will be long remembered by the game he loved.” Cricket Australia chair Mike Baird said Simpson was a “mainstay of a very strong Australian team in the 1960s, and he became a leader across the game as Australian and New South Wales captain and as a coach”. Simpson became Australia’s first fulltime coach in the 1980s, leading the team’s re emergence and overseeing several top players, including Shane Warne. – AFP

JACOB BETHELL is set to become England’s youngest international men’s cricket captain after the 21-year-old was named on Friday as skipper for next month’s T20 international series in Ireland. The talented Warwickshire all rounder is regarded as one of the rising stars of the English game, even though he has still to score his first professional century in any format. Bethell, however, has still

where, having replaced injured red ball captain Ben Stokes, he managed scores of just six and five, while not taking a wicket with his left-arm spin. But former England captain Michael Vaughan said team management had made a “diabolical” decision to call-up Bethell for such a key match on the back of so little first-class cricket this season. Bethell has been given the chance to lead England after team chiefs decided regular white-ball captain Harry Brook should take a break following the ODI and T20 series against South Africa. The all-format quartet of Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith, Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse have also been rested from the Ireland series as they take a breather ahead of the upcoming shopwiece Ashes campaign. Fast bowlers Mark Wood and Gus Atkinson are not in any of the three squads as they prepare for the tour of Australia, with the first Test in Perth starting on Nov 21, but uncapped fast bowler Sonny Baker has been included. Wood had knee surgery in March and missed the whole of the Test series against India. – AFP

years and 144 days old when he led England in a Test against South Africa at Cape Town in 1888/89. Bethell has featured in just four Test matches but has become a white-ball

regular with 13 Twenty20 appearances and 12 one-day internationals to his credit since making his T20 bow in September last year. “Jacob Bethell has impressed with his leadership qualities ever

since he has been with the England squads and the series against Ireland will provide him with the opportunity to further develop those skills on the international stage,” said England selector Luke Wright. Bethell’s most recent international appearance was in the fifth and deciding Test against India at the Oval this month

been appointed to lead England in a three match T20 series against Ireland in Dublin from Sept 17 to 21, which will serve as part of

the team’s preparations for next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. He is now in line to become England’s youngest men’s captain in an international match, breaking the record of Monty Bowden, who was 23

Jacob Bethell. – AFPPIC

MacIntyre stays atop BMW C’ship

Jobs

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Maverick McNealy and Michael Kim on 134. MacIntyre, runner-up to JJ

ROBERT MACINTYRE fired a bogey-free six-under par 64 to seize a five-stroke lead over top ranked Scottie Scheffler after yesterday’s second round of the US PGA Tour BMW Championship. The 29-year-old Scotsman, who fired a PGA career-low 62 on Friday as he closed with six straight birdies, birdied six in all for

Robert MacIntyre. – AFPPIC

Spaun at June’s US Open, managed his lowest opening 36 hole score to par in a PGA event, three strokes better than last year at Myrtle Beach. “I’ve been working hard,” MacIntyre said. “I’ve been putting really well for a long time now. It was just finding the confidence in the tee to green game and I feel like I’ve done that.” MacIntyre, who began the day with a three-stroke lead over England’s Tommy Fleetwood with top-ranked Scottie Scheffler another stroke adrift, started strong again. He sank a birdie putt

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round two to stand on 14-under 126 after 36 holes at Caves Valley in suburban Baltimore. “Great two days’ work,”

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MacIntyre said. “If you leave yourself in the right positions you can

be aggressive with the putts… I feel like my iron play has been top drawer this week and just continue to do that.” Scheffler, the season points leader, was next on 131 after a 65 in his PGA-best 13th bogey-free round of the season. “It was nice to have a clean card today, no bogeys,” Scheffler said. “Did some good things out there. Five shots back going into the weekend is not too bad with the way Bob is playing right now. Did a good job to keep within shouting distance of him.” Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg birdied three of the last five holes to shoot 64 and stand second on 132, one stroke ahead of Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama with England’s Tommy Fleetwood and Americans

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from just inside five feet at the first hole and rolled in a 17-footer for birdie at the par five fourth. “The way I’ve been rolling it, it’s not a surprise,” MacIntyre said of his strong start. MacIntyre, whose two PGA wins came last year at the Canadian and Scottish Opens, is projected to jump from 20th to third on the season points list, with only the top 30 advancing from the BMW, the second FedEx Cup playoff event, to next week’s Tour Championship in Atlanta. –AFP

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