Sports
Mitchell Starc surpasses Wasim Akram to become most prolific left-arm quick in Test history
BRISBANE: Australia’s Mitchell Starc on Thursday broke Pakistan legend Wasim Akram’s long-standing record to become the most prolific left-arm quick in Test history during the ongoing Ashes Test against England at the Brisbane Cricket Ground.
Starc, who claimed the crucial wickets of Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Harry Brook in the day-night clash, has now become the highest-wicket taker among left-arm pacers in Test cricket.
Akram previously held the record with 414 wickets in 104 Tests, while Starc surpassed him with 415 wickets in just 102 matches.
| Player | Team | Matches | Wickets |
| Mitchell Starc | Australia | 102 | 415* |
| Wasim Akram | Pakistan | 104 | 414 |
| Chaminda Vaas | Sri Lanka | 111 | 355 |
| Trent Boult | New Zealand | 78 | 317 |
| Mitchell Johnson | Australia | 73 | 313 |
Starc produced a sensational opening spell, dismissing Duckett and Pope for ducks, putting England under early pressure and setting the tone for the day.
His remarkable performance helped him achieve more milestones in the format.
England won the toss and elected to bat, while the hosts fielded an all-pace attack, resting veteran spinner Nathan Lyon for only the second time at home since 2012, with Pat Cummins unavailable.
Starc struck on the final ball of his first over, sending Ben Duckett back for a golden duck with a full outswinger that edged to Marnus Labuschagne at slip.
In his next over, he dismissed Ollie Pope, who chopped the delivery onto his stumps for another duck.
With Duckett’s wicket, Starc now has 84 wickets in day-night Tests — the most by any bowler globally — 41 ahead of teammate Pat Cummins, who is second with 43 wickets.
The left-arm pacer also became the first bowler in history to take more than 20 wickets against a single team (England) in pink-ball Tests.
When this news was filed, England were 181-4 in 41 overs. Opening batter Zak Crawley led the innings with 76 runs off 93 balls, including 11 fours.
After Duckett and Pope were dismissed early, Joe Root and Harry Brook steadied the innings with a crucial partnership, with Root unbeaten on 61 off 99 deliveries and Brook contributing 24 runs.
Brook was later dismissed for 31 off 33 balls, with captain Ben Stokes and Joe Root currently at the crease.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday Washington had no objections to Iranian players participating in the 2026 Fifa World Cup but he added the players will not be allowed to bring with them people with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“Nothing from the US has told them they can’t come,” Rubio told reporters.
President Donald Trump also said his administration “would not want to affect the athletes” in comments he made at the White House.
The 2026 soccer World Cup is set to begin on June 11 across the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Paolo Zampolli, a Trump envoy who has no official connection with the World Cup, had earlier suggested that Italy should replace Iran at the tournament.
“The problem with Iran would be not their athletes. It would be some of the other people they would want to bring with them, some of whom have ties to the IRGC. We may not be able to let them in but not the athletes themselves,” Rubio said.
“They can’t bring a bunch of IRGC terrorists into our country and pretend that they are journalists and athletic trainers,” Rubio added. Washington has designated the IRGC as a “foreign terrorist organisation.”
Currently there is no suggestion Iran will withdraw or be banned from the tournament that Italy missed out on.
After the start of the Iran war, Iran requested that Fifa move the team’s three group matches from the US to Mexico, which was rejected.
The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states with US bases. US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions. A fragile ceasefire in the Iran war began over two weeks ago.
VILLARREAL:
Villarreal moved closer to securing third place in La Liga with a 1-1 draw at Real Oviedo on Thursday, while another defeat left Sevilla teetering on the brink of the relegation zone.
Nicolas Pepe’s first-half penalty looked to have been enough to send Villarreal seven points clear of Atletico Madrid, but Ilyas Chaira’s strike midway through the second period ensured the spoils were shared.
Despite the result, Villarreal moved to 62 points and boast a five-point cushion over fourth-placed Atletico, who are on a four-match losing streak in the league.
Real Oviedo, who were looking to make it three wins from three, remain bottom of La Liga, six points away from safety.
Former Arsenal winger Pepe won and converted a penalty on 13 minutes to put the visitors in front.
But Oviedo levelled in the 69th minute as Ilyas’ heavily-deflected effort left goalkeeper Arnau Tenas with no chance.
Ayoze Perez came within inches of winning it for Villarreal inside the final 10 minutes but his effort came off the bar and bounced to safety from the goal-line.
Earlier, seven-time Europa League and UEFA Cup winners Sevilla sank further into the relegation battle as they went down 2-0 at Levante.
Ivan Romero netted in the 38th minute to put the 19th-placed hosts in front, before adding a second late on to secure all three points for Levante.
Sevilla languish in 17th place, one point above Alaves in the final relegation spot.
Victory for Levante gave them hope of escaping the drop zone as they climbed to 32 points — two behind the Andalusians and safety.
Rayo Vallecano put some distance between themselves and the relegation dogfight courtesy of a 1-0 win at home to Espanyol.
Sergio Camello’s 87th-minute winner took Rayo to 38 points and 11th place, one spot ahead of the Catalans on goal difference.
On Friday, Real Madrid will look to close the gap, provisionally, to Liga leaders Barcelona when they visit Real Betis.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s charges sit nine points behind their arch-rivals and know a victory early in the weekend’s round of matches will amp up the pressure on Barcelona 24 hours after the news that star Blaugrana attacker Lamine Yamal will miss the rest of the season with a hamstring injury.
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Cameras showed former New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch in the team’s draft room Thursday night during the first round.
At one point, Tisch was seen standing near Giants head coach John Harbaugh. Despite no longer holding a majority stake in the NFL franchise, Tisch remains the Giants’ chairman of the board.
ESPN obtained an NFL memo last month detailing plans by Steve Tisch and his siblings to transfer their stake in the Giants to trusts for their children.
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New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch warms up before the NFL game between the Washington Redskins and New York Giants at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Oct. 28, 2018. (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire)
“Prior transfers to these Trusts were completed pursuant to 2023 and 2024 Finance Committee approvals,” the memo stated. “The Sellers now propose to transfer their entire remaining interests, totaling 23.1% of the Club, to the Trusts. … Following the transactions, the Sellers will no longer own any interest in the Club.”
It was not clear if the transfer requests were in any way related to Tisch’s name appearing in the Epstein files released by the U.S. Justice Department in January. Tisch’s name came up more than 400 times in the files. Tisch at the time said he knew Epstein but denied visiting Epstein’s island.
As for draft night, the Giants made what some viewed as an unconventional pick at No. 10, selecting offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa.
Francis Mauigoa of Miami celebrates after being selected as the tenth overall pick by the New York Giants during the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pa., on April 23, 2026. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
Before that, the Giants added another piece to their pass rush, selecting hybrid edge/off-ball linebacker Arvell Reese at No. 5.
Reese earned All-American honors at Ohio State and finished his first season as a full-time starter with 6.5 sacks.
Arvell Reese of Ohio State celebrates after being selected as the fifth overall pick by the New York Giants during the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pa., on April 23, 2026. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
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Reese is set to join a pass rush that includes Brian Burns, Abdul Carter and, likely, Kayvon Thibodeaux.
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