Carey shared 140-run partnership with Marsh as Australia won the second Test by three wickets in a tense finish.
Alex Carey scored an unbeaten 98 and shared a 140-run partnership with Mitch Marsh to drive Australia to a three-wicket win in the second Test and a 2-0 sweep of the series over New Zealand in Christchurch.
The contest played out on a relatively mild fourth-day pitch on Monday and both sides had moments when they took control. But it was Marsh’s innings of 80 and Carey’s steady hand which guided Australia to victory.
Wicketkeeper Carey then teamed up with captain Pat Cummins as Australia chased down their 279-run victory target before tea on day four.
“It was pretty tense,” said Cummins, who scored 32 not out and hit the winning runs with a four to the point boundary.
“I think the story of this series was in key moments, someone stood up and made themselves a match-winner so yeah, [we] keep finding ways to win. It’s a pretty awesome squad.”
New Zealand, chasing a first home Test win over their neighbours in 31 years, had put the tourists on the back foot with four wickets in the last 90 minutes of play on day three.
After rain delayed the start of day four for an hour, skipper Tim Southee struck with the eighth delivery to dismiss Travis Head for 18 and reduce the tourists to 80-5.
In retrospect, however, Rachin Ravindra fumbling a straightforward catch that would have sent back Marsh for 28 off the previous delivery was perhaps the more significant moment.
“I think whenever you’ve finished a close game you always look back on a number of things,” said Southee, who with fellow stalwart Kane Williamson was playing his 100th Test.
“This morning was always going to be a crucial period with the ball still reasonably new, and we were able to beat the bat a few times but they were able to weather that storm.”
The defeat left the Black Caps with just one Test win in 24 attempts against their closest rivals this century, while Australia will now move above them into second place in the World Test Championships standings behind India.
Carey was denied his second Test century but cared little as he and his captain steered their side to their target 281-7 and a sixth win in seven Tests over the Australasian summer.
“I was happy with that,” Carey said. “I didn’t want to be on strike again. It was a great series and this match ebbed and flowed. We had our backs against the wall this morning, they came out and put us under the pump so it’s nice to chase those runs down.”
Carey, who also took 10 catches over New Zealand’s two innings to match Adam Gilchrist’s Australian record, said Australia “stayed resilient” despite the early pressure.
“Everyone’s had their moments and it’s a really special team we’re playing in.”
New Zealand seamer Matt Henry was named Player of the Series for his 17 wickets over the two matches, the first of which finished with Australian victors by 172 runs in Wellington.
The Dutchman made it nine wins in as many races as he cruised to a comfortable victory at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix from pole position as Red Bull continued their dominant start to the Formula One season with a second one-two in as many races.
Mexican Sergio Perez was runner-up on Saturday under the Jeddah Corniche floodlights, last year’s winner taking the chequered flag 13.643 seconds behind his triple world champion teammate.
It was the first time Verstappen, winner of a record 19 of 22 races last year, has won the first two races of a season.
Charles Leclerc finished third for Ferrari, taking a bonus point for the fastest lap and earning his first podium of the season.
The victory was a ninth in a row for Verstappen, dating back to Japan last September, and the 56th of the 26-year-old Dutch driver’s career.
It was also his 100th career podium while Red Bull’s 115th win lifted them ahead of Williams in fourth place on the all-time list.
“Overall, a fantastic weekend for the whole team and myself. I felt really good with the car and it was the same in the race,” Verstappen said.
The United Kingdom’s Oliver Bearman, making his F1 race debut as Ferrari’s youngest-ever rookie at 18 years and 305 days old after Spaniard Carlos Sainz was sidelined by appendicitis, finished seventh and was voted Driver of the Day.
“Today he’s been incredible,” said Leclerc of his temporary teammate. “It’s hugely impressive and I’m sure he’s extremely proud. Everybody has noticed how talented he is and I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before he’s in F1.”
Oscar Piastri finished fourth for McLaren ahead of Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, George Russell of Mercedes and Bearman, with two more Britons, Lando Norris and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, taking eighth and ninth for McLaren and Mercedes, with Nico Hulkenberg taking the final point for Haas.
Verstappen, Leclerc and Alonso in action with drivers at the start of the race [Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters]
‘One of the more physical races’
After his ninth consecutive victory, Verstappen said it was “one of the more physical races, a tough one”.
The safety car was deployed on lap seven after Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll hit the wall and then crashed into the barriers at turn 22.
The Canadian walked away unhurt as all but four drivers, including Norris and Hamilton, dived into the pits.
Norris, who was later cleared of a suspected jumped start off the grid, led when the new Aston Martin Vantage safety car returned to the pits on lap nine but Verstappen was back in front by lap 13 and pulling away.
Perez was handed a five-second penalty for an unsafe release from his first pitstop and Haas’s Kevin Magnussen collected a 10-second penalty for causing a collision with Williams’ Alex Albon.
The Dane was later handed another 10-second penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage but his main role was to create a sufficient gap behind Hulkenberg for the German to be able to pit and still finish with a precious point.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was told to pit and park on the opening lap due to a suspected gearbox issue, becoming the first retirement of the season after all 20 cars finished the opener in Bahrain a week earlier.
India win the fifth and final Test in three days to take the series against England 3-1 as Bazball is questioned again.
India maintained their aura of invincibility at home after completing a 4-1 series triumph against England on Saturday.
The ease of their final win may well subject the visitors’ much-hyped “Bazball” approach to renewed scrutiny.
Rohit Sharma and his men clinched the series in the fourth Test in Ranchi but did not take their foot off the pedal in Dharamshala, where they routed England inside three days.
The win, which consolidates two-time finalists India’s position at the top of the World Test Championship standings, will have a special place in the memory of Ravichandran Ashwin.
The India off-spinner claimed five second-innings wickets to hasten England’s collapse in his 100th test match.
England seamer James Anderson, meanwhile, became the first pace bowler to claim 700 test wickets, partially lifting the gloom that had settled on England’s travelling “Barmy Army” fans.
This was India’s 17th consecutive Test series win at home, where they have not lost a series since Alastair Cook’s England bested them in 2012.
And they achieved it without batting stalwart Virat Kohli, who missed the series for personal reasons, and front-line seamer Mohammed Shami who was injured.
Batter KL Rahul missed the last four Tests with injury, as well, but India’s formidable bench strength meant their absence was not really felt.
Of the five Indian players who made their test debut in the series, stumper Dhruv Jurel, seamer Akash Deep and batters Sarfaraz Khan and Devdutt Padikkal impressed immediately.
“I just always really believe that there’s an incredible amount of talent in India and a lot of young people, young players coming through,” India head coach Rahul Dravid said.
“And it was a great opportunity for them to step up and show how good they are, and we saw that right throughout the series.”
Defeat in Dharamshala.
Congratulations to @BCCI on their series victory 👏
Under Stokes and head coach Brendon “Baz” McCullum, England have espoused a flamboyant, even if risk-fraught, brand of cricket built around fearless batting.
The same approach that largely worked back home appeared somewhat one-dimensional and even reckless.
Opener Ben Duckett’s dismissal on Saturday illustrated the limitation of that approach.
Having conceded a first-innings lead of 259, England were already far behind and would have benefitted from cautious, safety-first batting to avoid an innings defeat.
Instead, whether due to a lack of trust in his own defence or an urge to impose himself early, Duckett charged forward against Ashwin only to miss the ball and lose his off-stump.
The opener was so far down the track, he would have been stumped if he had not been bowled.
By contrast, Joe Root, who struck 84 in England’s meagre second-innings 195, showed how touring batters can temper their aggression to master spin in India.
Stokes stood by his side’s overall approach, however, and was of the view that a good offence was the best defence against the wily home spinners.
“When India get on top, especially with the ball, they get a lot of men around the bat and with the quality of their [spin] bowlers … you’ve got to find ways of getting rid of those close fielders,” the all-rounder explained.
“You’ve just got to be positive enough to take that risk, accept that it may lead to your downfall. But when the intent is there and you have a clear reason as to why you are playing that shot, you can hold your hands up and accept it.”
Motorcyling’s premier competition returns to action this weekend as Qatar turns host for the season-opening MotoGP race on Sunday.
The Lusail International Circuit will host an 11-lap sprint race on Saturday and the main 22-lap race on Sunday, with Francesco Bagnaia favourite to clinch his third successive title in the competition’s 75th year.
Bagnaia and his Ducati Lenovo outfit will be the team to beat once again in a season that features 21 rounds, finishing in Valencia, Spain on November 17.
This year’s race will mark Qatar’s 21st MotoGP event as it joined the Grand Prix calendar in 2004.
Here are three major offseason talking points ahead of the all-important Round 1 at Lusail International Circuit:
1. Can Yamaha return to winning ways in 2024?
Winless in 2023, Monster Energy Yamaha have worked hard in the offseason to narrow the gap with the dominant Ducati machinery.
This season could be a make-or-break year for the famous Yamaha brand with the team assembling two of the most gifted riders to supercharge their 2024 campaign: Fabio Quartararo and Yamaha newcomer Alex Rins.
Quartararo, who became France’s first-ever premier-class world champion in 2021, endured a brutal 2023 season, finishing the campaign winless. It was the first time Yamaha failed to win a single Grand Prix since 2003.
Rins’s season was derailed by injury – but not before the Spaniard pulled off an on-track miracle for his underpowered LCR Honda team bike, securing the Japanese manufacturers’ only 2023 victory at the US MotoGP in Texas.
Monster Energy Yamaha were the last team to beat Ducati for a MotoGP world championship during Quatararo’s iconic 2021 title run.
In 2024 pre-season testing in Qatar and Malaysia, there have been positive signs for Yamaha – but so far they still lack the raw, one-lap pace of the Ducati.
During the Qatar Grand Prix, Quartararo and Rins will likely rely on Yamaha’s nimbler handling and braking advantages around the Lusail circuit to challenge the more powerful Ducati bikes. Yamaha is the most successful manufacturer at the Qatar Grand Prix, with 10 MotoGP victories.
Monster Energy Yamaha last won the Qatar MotoGP in 2021.
Fabio Quartararo (left) and Alex Rins at the 2024 Monster Energy Yamaha M1 bike launch at Gerno di Lesmo, Italy on February 3, 2024 [Courtesy of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Team]
2. Can anyone stop the MotoGP world champion?
Just as he did last year, world champion Francesco Bagnaia heads into a new MotoGP season as the clear title favourite on the back of his 2022 and 2023 world riders’ championships.
Two weeks ago, Bagnaia’s GP24 Ducati was the class of the field in Qatar pre-season testing with the Italian smashing the one-lap record at Lusail.
Now 27, Bagnaia is entering the prime of his career on a spectacular Ducati machine – a frightening proposition for his fellow competitors heading into the 2024 season.
But he won’t have the riders’ championship all his own way.
His Lenovo Ducati teammate, Enea Bastianini, put an injury-ridden 2023 season behind him to record the second-fastest time in Qatar pre-season testing and is primed for a breakout season.
The 2023 MotoGP runner-up Jorge Martin is also riding the same technical specification Ducati as Bagnaia at the satellite Pramac Racing team. Last season, the Spaniard relentlessly battled Bagnaia right through to a final race title showdown in one of the closest MotoGP rider championships ever.
If last season was any guide, then the 2024 MotoGP campaign might turn out to be one of the most competitive title fights in recent history with several highly-talented riders entering the championship mix.
2023 MotoGP World Champion rider Francesco Bagnaia of the Ducati Lenovo Team celebrates after the Valencia Motorcycle Grand Prix, the last race of the season, at the Ricardo Tormo circuit near Valencia, Spain [File: Alberto Saiz/AP]
3. Will Marc Marquez’s bold team switch win him a seventh World MotoGP title in 2024?
He’s the man everyone is talking about ahead of the Qatar MotoGP season opener.
In a sensational move, six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez left huge dollars on the table at the Repsol Honda factory team – the only outfit he had ever rode for in the premier class – to ride with his brother Alex at Gresini Ducati.
Marquez struggled in 2023 – crashing his Honda frequently, failing to record a single race victory and finishing a career-low 14th position in the riders’ championship.
The legendary Spaniard last won the MotoGP riders’ title in 2019 – but since then, it’s all been downhill for Marquez with multiple serious injuries and an underperforming Honda bike resulting in just six, top-three finishes in the past four seasons.
Now 31, and with a clear realisation that the Ducati – any Ducati – is the dominant race machine, Marquez was simply running out of time with Honda to mount a 7th MotoGP title charge.
Marquez showed glimpses of talent in pre-season testing on the Gresini Ducati – but some critics believe he is struggling to master the vastly different technical set-up of the new Italian bike.
Others speculate that the manically competitive Marquez was “foxing” in the pre-season and contend that the Spanish superstar will immediately challenge for race victories.
Exactly how Marquez performs in Qatar on March 9-10 will hold early clues as to his chances of pulling off a surprise world riders’ championship title in 2024.
Gresini Racing’s Spanish rider Marc Marquez steers his bike on the second day of the MotoGP pre-season testing at the Lusail International Circuit in Lusail [Karim Jaafar/AFP]
Who: Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou What: Heavyweight boxing fight (10 rounds) When: Friday, March 8, 2024 at 23:00 GMT Where: Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Francis Ngannou believes his strong showing in his pro boxing debut against Tyson Fury has given him confidence ahead of his bout against British heavyweight Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia.
The former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou will fight Joshua at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena on Friday.
Ngannou made his debut in October, losing via split decision to WBC world champion Fury in a non-title bout.
The Cameroonian-French fighter almost delivered an upset when he dropped Fury to the canvas with a left hook in that fight.
“I feel confident enough, based on my training, the hard work that I put in,” Ngannou said in his pre-fight press conference on Wednesday.
“It (fight against Fury) was a good experience and it definitely guided me better to have proper training.
“Every space I have open, I am going to hit … I am not going to leave any stone unturned and any opportunity unexplored.”
Much of the pre-fight narrative is presuming a win for Joshua that would put him in line to fight Fury, provided Fury – the WBC champion – beats Oleksandr Usyk – the WBA, IBF and WBO champion – in their rearranged May 18 bout that will crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 2000.
Ngannou is ready to make more headlines in his fast-track bid to become a boxing champion so soon after dominating the UFC scene.
“I’ve exposed myself – the guy who is coming next time [Joshua] knows what to deal with,” Ngannou said after arriving in Riyadh.
“I’ve lost that element of surprise. So how can I surprise him again? What can I pull from my sleeve once again?”
Ngannou, who has a 17-3 mixed martial arts record with 12 victories by knockout, will once again be the underdog when he faces two-time world heavyweight champion Joshua, but the Briton said he would not make the mistake of underestimating his less-experienced opponent.
“He’s been boxing. His first dream was to be a boxer, which people forget. He was part of the Cameroonian team,” Joshua told reporters.
“I know what I am up against, I look at all of these small details. I spar, I do my film study, all that type of stuff.”
يومان فقط تفصلنا عن النزالات التاريخية العالمية في #KnockoutChaos 🥊🔥
Only two days separate us from the global historic fights in #KnockoutChaos 🥊🔥
— موسم الرياض | Riyadh Season (@RiyadhSeason) March 6, 2024
A rags to riches story
Ngannou once toiled in a sand mine, scavenged for food to avoid starvation and slept rough in a car park, so facing former two-time world heavyweight champion Joshua is just another stop on his rags to riches journey.
“I’ve had a lot of experience in life,” the softly-spoken Cameroon-born fighter said with characteristic understatement.
“I’ve built my fighting spirit as high as anyone else.”
Ngannou has crammed a lot into his 37 years.
The child of a single mother, he had to walk six miles to school and from the age of 10 he shovelled sand from open quarries, his meagre income helping to buy food and books.
“It was work meant for adults, but we didn’t have any options,” said Ngannou of his back-breaking labours which paid less than $2 a day.
“I didn’t like my life, I felt like I missed my childhood.”
In 2012, at the age of 26 and fired by dreams of becoming a professional boxer, Ngannou, now boasting a towering physique carved from his brutal work in the sand pits, made a break for Europe and a better life.
Crammed with others into the back of a pick-up truck, he crossed the unforgiving Sahara, travelled through Nigeria, Niger and Algeria before reaching Morocco.
Then, after half a dozen failed attempts, he finally made it over the Mediterranean to Spain where he was promptly jailed for two months for making an illegal crossing.
He took a train to Paris and lived in a car park before local boxing coach Didier Carmont found him a place to live and a gym in which to train.
Despite an early fascination with Mike Tyson, Ngannou graduated towards Mixed Martial Arts and in 2021 became the UFC world heavyweight champion.
Many scoffed when he opted to make his boxing debut against world champion Tyson Fury in the so-called “Battle of the Baddest” in October last year.
The doubters were silenced, however, when Ngannou sent Fury to the canvas in the third round before losing only on a controversial split decision.
However, Ngannou’s reputation and bank balance soared. He was paid $10m for his night’s work, a windfall which has helped the once shoeless Cameroonian buy a luxurious home in Las Vegas.
‘I can knock Joshua out’
On Friday, Ngannou will return to Riyadh to face 34-year-old Joshua whose career could take a big blow if he loses.
“Of course I can knock Joshua out,” said Ngannou. “I believe if I land on anyone, I will knock them out. The question is how to land. That’s the hardest thing.”
Joshua, a former unified WBO, WBA and IBF heavyweight champion, comes into the fight on the back of three successive wins.
Before that, however, he lost back-to-back fights with Oleksandr Usyk who will fight Fury for the undisputed heavyweight title in Saudi in May.
“This Friday it’s going to go down, so I can’t wait for the opportunity to show my skills and combat this person who thinks he can knock me out,” Joshua said of Ngannou.
“I believe I can knock him out. Definitely. I would love to knock him out and make a statement.
“He has to be ready for the shots which are coming his way because I’m a man who will be standing in front of him, bringing him a lot of hell.”
Two South Asian nations are set to resume their heated cricket rivalry with a Twenty20 three-match series as they eye the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024.
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka – not India and Pakistan – will play the first match T20 series in Sylhet, Bangladesh on Monday, less than three months ahead of cricket’s showpiece event of the year.
Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said on Sunday that he wants his team to use the series to perfect the format ahead of the World Cup in June.
The series marks the start of Sri Lanka’s month-long tour of Bangladesh, which also includes three one-day internationals and two Tests.
Shanto said it was critical to “play as a team”, noting that they bagged big wins last year when “everyone contributed”.
Bangladesh defeated world champions England 3-0 at home in 2023, and also won series against the Republic of Ireland and Afghanistan, before drawing a three-match series 1-1 against New Zealand.
Shanto said he wanted to keep the momentum going into the World Cup, hosted this year by the United States and the West Indies.
“Last year, we did well in T20s,” he told reporters.
“It is very important that we play eight or 11 matches before going to the World Cup.
“If we take these matches… and decide how we want to play in the World Cup, then it will be easy to plan.”
The World Cup is a key focus of Sri Lanka, too.
Sri Lanka coach Chris Silverwood said he was expecting a “very competitive series between two good sides”.
“Obviously, we’re now in the build-up to what is an important competition in the World Cup,” he said.
“What we have to do … is concentrate on what’s in front of us and remember what we’re aiming for.”
The teams have developed a hotly-contested rivalry over the past few years, and every time they meet, there is no shortage of provocative words on the field and placards in the stands.
Venomous on-field celebrations – which started with the “Nagin dance” in 2018 – are almost a permanent fixture as well.
The last time both teams met was in the 50-over World Cup, when Bangladesh won by three wickets, but not without controversial scenes on the ground.
Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan appealed for a “timed out” dismissal, which was upheld by the on-field umpire.
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are both in Group D for the World Cup, along with South Africa, Nepal and the Netherlands.
The second and third T20 matches will be held on March 6 and 9, both also at Sylhet.
Sri Lanka, who arrived in Bangladesh on Thursday, will also play three one-day internationals and two Tests during the month-long tour.
Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews, third right, talks to umpires after he was declared timed out during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in New Delhi, India on November 6, 2023 [File: Manish Swarup/AP]
Head-to-head record
Bangladesh have never defeated Sri Lanka in a Twenty20 series. Both teams have met on 13 occasions and Sri Lanka hold the upper hand with nine wins compared to Bangladesh’s three.
Team news: Bangladesh
Bangladesh have recalled wicketkeeper-batsman Jaker Ali, replacing injured uncapped spinner Aliss Al Islam.
Off-spinner Aliss sustained a finger injury while playing for Comilla Victorians in the recently finished Bangladesh Premier League.
Sri Lanka’s captain Wanindu Hasaranga will miss the first two matches due to a disciplinary suspension. Meanwhile, Kusal Perera is suffering from a respiratory infection and will be replaced by Niroshan Dickwella.
Kusal Janith Perera, who was included in the T20I squad, will not take part in the series as he is suffering from a respiratory infection. Perera did not join the team, which left for Bangladesh yesterday. The Cricket Selection Committee has named Niroshan Dickwella… pic.twitter.com/kXUBzxmv6N
Driver Max Verstappen’s father, Jos, claims Red Bull is ‘in danger of being torn apart’ if Horner stays on as team principal.
Christian Horner’s leadership has been cast into fresh doubt after racing driver Max Verstappen’s father, Jos, claimed Red Bull is “in danger of being torn apart” if the under-fire team principal remains in his role.
A defiant Horner said on Saturday night that he is “absolutely confident” he will stay on as Red Bull boss for the remainder of the Formula One season after overseeing Verstappen lead a one-two finish from teammate Sergio Perez at the opening round in Bahrain.
However, Jos Verstappen, Max’s father and a retired racing driver, claimed “there is tension” in the Red Bull team in comments he made to the Daily Mail newspaper after the race.
“The team is in danger of being torn apart. It can’t go on the way it is. It will explode. He is playing the victim, when he is the one causing the problems,” he said.
During an extraordinary week in Bahrain, Horner was exonerated by Red Bull Racing parent’s company, Red Bull GmbH, following an internal probe into allegations of “inappropriate behaviour”.
But hundreds of WhatsApp messages, appearing to be exchanged between Horner and the complainant, were then leaked to the F1 world.
Jos, the 51-year-old father of Red Bull’s three-time world champion, has denied reports that he is trying orchestrate Horner’s ouster
“That wouldn’t make sense,” he said. “Why would I do that when Max is doing so well here?”
Horner strode hand in hand with wife Geri Halliwell in the paddock one hour and 45 minutes before Saturday’s race.
Red Bull’s majority shareholder, Thai billionaire Chalerm Yoovidhya, also joined the duo on the team’s terrace in a public show of support for Horner.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, flanked by Chalerm Yoovidhya and his wife Daranee Yoovidhya, chat after the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix race in Sakhir, Bahrain [Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters]
Speaking after the chequered flag had fallen, Horner was asked if he is confident he will stay on as Red Bull team principal for the rest of the season. He replied: “Absolutely.”
He continued: “I have the support of an incredible family, an incredible wife, an incredible team and everybody within that team.
“And my focus is on going racing, winning races, and doing the best I can.
“It was a day about starting the season in the best possible way. My focus is on this team, my family, my wife and racing.”
Horner was also quizzed about the leaked Google file that was sent from an anonymous email account to 149 members of the F1 paddock – including FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali and the grid’s nine other team principals, as well as members of the media.
Horner said: “I am not going to comment on anonymous speculative messages from an unknown source. I am not going to comment on what motives whatever person may have for doing this.
“Obviously, it has not been pleasant with some of the unwanted attention, but the focus is very much on the cars and my focus has been on what is happening on track and the result today demonstrates where the focus is.
“There was a full, lengthy internal process that was completed by an independent KC and the grievance that was raised was dismissed. End of. Move on.”
Horner is set to be back in the spotlight in just four days, when the cars hit the track in practice for the next round in Saudi Arabia.
The LA Lakers forward reached the milestone in his 21st season in the NBA, but termed it ‘bittersweet’ as it came in a loss against Denver Nuggets.
LeBron James has become the first NBA player to reach 40,000 career points, scoring on a driving layup in LA Lakers’ home game against the Denver Nuggets.
James became the NBA’s all-time scoring leader more than a year ago when he passed former Lakers star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in a home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on February 7, 2022. Abdul-Jabbar had 38,387 points over 20 seasons.
James entered Saturday’s game with a career average of 27.1 points per game over 1,474 contests in 21 NBA seasons.
Needing nine points to reach his latest milestone, the Akron, Ohio, native had five points on 2-of-3 shooting in the first quarter.
James cut to the basket for a layup to open the second quarter then reached the 40,000 mark when he drove past the Nuggets’ Michael Porter Jr with a spin then made a left-handed layup with 10:39 remaining in the second quarter.
He called the historic effort “bittersweet” as it came in a losing cause. James finished with 26 points, but the Lakers lost to the Nuggets 124-114.
“Being the first player to do something, it’s pretty cool in this league ‘cause you just know the history, you know the grace that has come through the league,” James said after the game.
“But the main thing is always the main thing and that’s the win. And I hated that had to happen in a defeat, especially versus a team that plays extremely well.
“We played some good basketball but wasn’t able to close it out, so bittersweet, but I enjoyed every moment though, while on the floor.”
James is a four-time NBA champion and four-time NBA Most Valuable Player as well as the league’s oldest active player, now in his 21st campaign.
The 39-year-old has been on a scoring surge of late, with an average of 30.8 points over his previous four games. James entered the game averaging 25.3 points per game this season with 7.1 rebounds and 7.9 assists.
He scored the first points of his career as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers on October 29, 2003, against the Sacramento Kings. He reached 10,000 points in February 2008 and hit 20,000 points in January 2013. James made his 30,000th point in January 2018.
“Just happy for him. It was a hell of an accomplishment,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “Wish we could have got the win to cap it off. But my hat’s off to him. Amazing, amazing run that continues to this day.”
The crowd gave James a standing ovation during a timeout and the ball James used for the milestone hoop was removed from the game.
On October 7, Palestinian footballer Mahmoud Wadi was recovering from an injury in Egypt when Israel launched its war on Gaza, following the Hamas attacks on southern Israel.
The 29-year-old, from Khan Younis in southern Gaza, has spent the past five months desperately seeking news about the safety of his friends and family in the besieged enclave while travelling with the Palestinian national team.
He has lived through three Israeli military assaults on Gaza – in 2008, 2012 and 2014 – and says he remembers spending every night wondering if he would make it to dawn.
Wadi, who now lives in Cairo and plays for Arab Contractors in the Egyptian Premier League, was part of Palestine’s squad for the AFC Asian Cup 2023 in Qatar, where the team recorded a historic second-round finish.
The al-Fidayi (as the Palestinian team is known to its fans) received passionate support from the crowds of people from various countries, religions and age groups, who turned up in their tens of thousands to support the Palestinian team before their round-of-16 elimination by hosts and eventual champions Qatar.
In a conversation with Al Jazeera, Wadi opens up about the struggles of putting on his best performance on the field while the war rages at home.
Al Jazeera: Growing up in Gaza, what did football mean to you?
Wadi: Football is the only escape from war and the Israeli occupation. Young people and children turn to football as it offers distraction from the circumstances. Football makes them feel good. In Gaza, we love football. But the wars waged against us over the years, the harsh economic conditions and the siege that has completely closed Gaza and its people, preventing children from achieving their [footballing] dreams.
The Israeli occupation always places barriers and obstacles that prevent us from achieving that and, unfortunately, people leave Palestine. We are forced to look for options elsewhere.
Al Jazeera:Why did you leave Gaza and how difficult was that decision?
Wadi: To leave your country, your homeland, your family and your friends for a better future is not easy. It brings a constant feeling of alienation and loneliness. But we make sacrifices for our ambitions. We are people who love life, people who want to live like others and follow our dreams. The difficulty lies in the fact that you are leaving behind the people you love.
Now, I live abroad and my family is in Gaza exposed to the killing, destruction and displacement. I left Gaza, my family and friends to play football, but I live in fear and anxiety.
We do not leave Palestine because it is not a beautiful country. We love our land madly, but we have to search for a better life.
Al Jazeera: What are the struggles of being an international footballer for Palestine?
Wadi: In light of the Israeli occupation and its obstacles, it is not easy to be a footballer. It has a massive impact because you cannot gather players for football camps in Palestine.
Players from Gaza cannot enter the occupied West Bank, and vice versa. There are players outside Palestine who cannot enter, and so on. Despite the difficult circumstances, the Palestine national team gathers abroad from various places. We have players from the occupied West Bank, Gaza Strip, Palestine 48, from various Palestinian refugee camps in the occupied territories, and from the diaspora.
No team in the world can go through such conditions and participate in a prestigious regional championship [like we have]. This in itself is considered a great Palestinian achievement and source of pride.
We have always harboured dreams and ambitions but the occupation tries to crush our spirit. We rose from under the rubble of three wars in order to reach where we are now, and we hope to carry on this path. We derive our strength from our people’s courage and steadfastness.
Mahmoud Wadi, centre, trains with the Palestinian football team during the AFC Asian Cup 2023 in Doha, Qatar [Sorin Furcoi/Al Jazeera]
Al Jazeera: How difficult is it for you to communicate with friends and family back home?
Wadi: It is very difficult, especially when communication is cut off in Gaza. I have never left my phone since the start of the war. Be it in Egypt, while travelling with the team, or during our training sessions.
One morning, my brother disappeared. No one in my family knew anything due to a communication blackout. I felt very anxious during those 10 hours until I heard from him.
This is our situation: A constant feeling of anxiety and unimaginable conditions. It’s indescribable not knowing where your loved ones are, feeling helpless and unable to do anything. All you can do is pray. Every second of our lives is a test.
Al Jazeera: How do you feel after speaking to your family and friends in Gaza?
Wadi: They try to describe a small part of the reality they live through every day but it’s very difficult for them to convey their feelings. Words cannot describe the reality of the war. Our conversations are focused on the harsh and bitter conditions they face. But just like everyone else in Gaza, they remain brave.
Al Jazeera: What was it like to meet your family after two months?
Wadi: I met my mother, brothers, and their families in Egypt after more than 80 days of war. I had an image in my mind about the ugliness of the war, but when I looked at their weak faces, eyes, frail bodies, and white hair, it was far worse than anything I could imagine.
I have lived through three wars. It was scary spending nights waiting for bombs to drop and for the roof to crush me – but this war is not the same.
Al Jazeera: What is the last memory of Gaza in your mind?
Wadi: I remember the people, their affection, and their bonds of love. It feels great.
My last memory of Gaza was its sea, streets, buildings, and the electricity schedule – on for eight hours and off for the next eight.
Despite everything, Gaza was developing every day. Clean streets, beautiful facilities, restaurants, chalets on the sea – that’s the image of Gaza imprinted in my memory.
It deserved preservation of its sweetness and beauty. Despite the war, death and destruction, it is still beautiful and it will be more beautiful.
Just as we built it before, we will build it a second time, a third time and so on.
Al Jazeera: If you were able to go back to Gaza now, what would you do?
Wadi: I want to return to Gaza after the war ends and offer my condolences to the family of my best friend Hamed, who was martyred in this war. I want to see my brothers and their children, my friends, and I want to see Gaza and what happened to it after all this destruction.
I want to share with people a bit of their sorrow and memories of the war. I want to be a part of their suffering.
Al Jazeera: How did you feel when you saw the horrific video of Yarmouk Stadium being destroyed by Israeli forces?
Wadi: Yarmouk Stadium is not the only destroyed facility. There are thousands of mosques, churches, offices, hospitals, universities, and schools. Not even a tree or a stone has been spared.
I scored many goals in Yarmouk Stadium as hundreds of fans cheered. The image of the tank circling the stadium remains fresh in my memory. There are no words to describe its ugliness. But no matter how horrific these scenes are, they aren’t as horrific as the death of children and the images of them being blown into pieces that we see every day.
I can’t forget them for a single moment. They live within me.
Palestinian spectators watch the first leg of the Palestine Cup final football match between Gaza Strip’s Shejaia and Hebron’s Al-Ahly at Yarmouk Stadium in Gaza City, August 6, 2015 [File: Suhaib Salem/Reuters]
Al Jazeera: When you step on the football pitch, are you able to take your mind off the war in Gaza?
Wadi: The war affects my family, my friends, and my people.
My cousin was martyred. My best friend was martyred. My childhood memories were destroyed. The occupation has destroyed all lives in Gaza.
Even if someone survives this war, they won’t be able to live a normal life. There are no job opportunities, no education, no offices or markets in Gaza. They killed all life there. We cannot forget the suffering, but it can motivate us.
The ferocity can be seen in the [Palestinian] team on the pitch. It reflects the character of the Palestinian people. As players, we motivate ourselves to make people happy, even if it is for a single moment.
We derive our strength from the suffering and steadfastness of our people.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Who: Manchester City vs Manchester United What: Premier League football When: Sunday, March 3, 2024, 15:30 GMT Where: Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says the Premier League champions are ready for rivals Manchester United to try to “close the gap” ahead of Sunday’s derby match at the Etihad Stadium.
City are just one point behind league leaders Liverpool, who travel to Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
United are eight points off Aston Villa in fourth spot, the fourth Champions League qualification spot.
New minority owner at Old Trafford, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, laid out his plans to return the 20-time English champions to the summit when he completed his acquisition of 27 percent of the club’s shares this month, including re-establishing the pecking order in the city.
Ahead of Sunday’s match, Guardiola admits the recent change at United is likely to change matters.
“Sir Jim and others know the diagnosis of the club. If Sir Jim said they need two or three years to be there, who am I to say the opposite?” the manager said.
Guardiola says he knows this era of dominance on the blue side of Manchester will end eventually, but he’s determined it won’t be anytime soon.
“In the ’80s it was Liverpool, the ’90s, it was United – now we are this many years, winning seven Premier League titles in the last 11, 12 years,” he said.
“It has happened, but in 50 or 60 years, there has never in one country been a club that dominates and controls everything, so we can try to extend for as many years as possible what we are trying to do.”
United’s Premier battle for a Champions League spot
Although not feasting at the top table, United have their own battles to fight and Champions League qualification is top of their agenda. A home defeat by Fulham last weekend ended a seven-game unbeaten run, but United manager Erik ten Hag remains in defiant mood.
“We are also on a good run. The spirit is very good,” he said.
“We have done it before against City, also against Liverpool. We will prepare well. The players are looking forward to it. I can smell it. I’m excited.”
“We need a great day,” ten Hag admitted. “We like the challenge and we are looking forward to the challenge with them. We know we have to give everything and show a team performance if we want to get the result. But if you do it, it is possible.”
🗓️ 3 Mar: Man Utd 🗓️ 6 Mar: Champions League round of 16 🗓️ 10 Mar: Liverpool 🗓️ 16 Mar: FA Cup quarter-final 🗓️ 31 Mar: Arsenal 🗓️ 3 Apr: Aston Villa
Following the United game, City face a tough run of games facing their title rivals Liverpool and Arsenal in the league, along with their Champions League last 16-second leg with Copenhagen on Wednesday.
“I prefer that than the opposite,” Guardiola said on the challenge he faces in all competitions. “Key players, we have 20 key players. We have had key players out injured and still done well.
“So nice to play the fixtures. They are the best. A chance to get to the quarterfinals of the Champions League, then Anfield, a chance against Newcastle United [in the FA Cup] – we work to arrive here to live these moments.”
Form guide
Manchester City’s season has picked up pace since their Club World Cup triumph in December. Pep Guardiola’s side have won 14 of their last 15 games and are undefeated in their last 18 games.
United had been on a seven-game undefeated run until Fulham’s surprise win at Old Trafford in the Premier League last weekend. Erik ten Hag’s side returned to winning way in the FA Cup in midweek by overcoming Nottingham Forest 1-0.
Head-to-head
The Manchester rivals first faced each other in the old Division Two in England in November 1894. United won 5-2 at City before sealing the double over their neighbours with a 4-1 win in the return fixture in January 1985.
There have been 190 meetings in total with United winning 77 to City’s 60.
Team news
Manchester City are without Jack Grealish, who injured his groin in the FA Cup at Luton on Tuesday.
Defender Josko Gvardiol is close to a return from an ankle injury but the derby is likely to be too soon.
Manchester City predicted lineup: Ederson; Kyle Walker, Josh Stones, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake; Rodri; Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, Julian Alvarez, Jeremy Doku; Erling Haaland
Manchester United’s main absentees are defender Luke Shaw and striker Rasmus Hojlund. Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are also all absent from the back line.
Manchester United predicted lineup: Andre Onana; Diogo Dalot, Raphael Varane, Jonny Evans, Victor Lindelof; Kobbie Mainoo, Casemiro; Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes, Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford
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