World Cup

Australia’s relationship with Twenty20 international cricket has always been strained. When Ricky Ponting captained the first ever match in 2005, with players in fancy dress wearing contrived nicknames on their shirts, even smoking an unbeaten 98 couldn’t stop him looking like an unimpressed cat unable to bring up a hairball.

The new dates avoid a clash with the 2022 FIFA World Cup and ensure that the BBC is able to broadcast all 61 matches of the men's, women's and wheelchair tournaments, as had been agreed before the RLWC2021 was postponed.

England will host Samoa in the World Cup opener, as had been scheduled but the dates for the tournament have been moved one week earlier than in 2021 to maximise attendance and viewership.

In an emotional and electric atmosphere at Lord's, both sides scored 241 in their 50 overs and were level on 15 when they batted for an extra over apiece.

It meant England were crowned world champions by virtue of having scored more boundary fours and sixes - 26 to New Zealand's 17 - in the entire match.

That it even got to that stage was astonishing in itself and came as a result of a barely believable conclusion at the home of cricket - the first tie in a World Cup final.

The 34-year-old opened the scoring from the penalty spot as USA defeated Netherlands 2-0 in Lyon on Sunday to claim back-to-back global titles.

She finished level on six goals with team-mate Alex Morgan and England forward Ellen White but edged the Golden Boot by virtue of a better minutes-per-goal ratio.

It marked Rapinoe's first Golden Boot in her third World Cup appearance and she could not describe the feeling after the match.

"I don't know how to feel right now, it's ridiculous," she said.

They will compete in a five nation tournament against fellow East Asia Pacific nations with the winner earning a place in the U19 50 over World Cup early next year.

Going into the event as favourites, after making eight of the last nine under age World Cups they will play four games in the round robin event against Japan, Samoa, Vanuatu and Fiji.

Their opening game will be on Sunday where they take on Fiji at the Japan Cricket Association headquarters in Sano, three hours out of Tokyo.

Host nation England are the ICC's number one team as they approach the upcoming tournament, looking to claim the trophy for the very first time.

But Stokes warned that unlike in longer series' where defeats can be rectified, England cannot afford any slip ups.

"All the nations come together over a certain period and whichever team performs best over that time gets to lift the trophy," he told Omnisport, speaking courtesy of Red Bull. "You want to be that team.

A disciplinary committee found Chris Satu breached both the Oceania Football Confederation Disciplinary Code and regulations when he turned out for Solomon Islands at the OFC Under 16 Championships in Honiara last year.

The teenager was found to have been born prior to 1 January 2002 and has been suspended for six matches.

The Solomon Islands Football Federation has been fined and the team forfeited all five matches in which Satu participated in during the tournament.

Southgate has taken a relatively inexperienced group of players to Russia compared to previous tournaments, with Joe Hart and Jack Wilshere among the big names left out.

England face Tunisia in their opening game on Monday, with Panama and star-studded Belgium their other opponents in Group G.

But Mourinho, whose Manchester United players Jesse Lingard, Ashley Young, Phil Jones and Marcus Rashford are all in the squad, feels England have the talent to go all the way.

Yuri Gazinskiy and Cheryshev struck first-half goals to open their international accounts at Luzhniki Stadium, Artem Dzyuba adding a third 89 seconds after his introduction as a second-half replacement, but an injury to star man Alan Dzagoev will cause concern for Russia.

Dzagoev hurt his hamstring in the opening period and could be a doubt for the rest of the tournament, depending on the results of a scan.

Gazinskiy headed in Golovin's cross to score the first goal of the 2018 event, with Dzagoev's replacement Cheryshev lashing in the second before the interval.