LONDON: World Cup winner James Vince is to stand down as captain of Hampshire after a decade in charge and move to Dubai following attacks on his family home, the English cricket county announced Wednesday.
Although he will miss the 2025 English domestic first-class County Championship or red-ball season, Vince will continue to play white-ball (limited-overs) cricket and skipper Hampshire in the T20 Blast.
The 33-year-old batsman, a member of the England squad that won the 2019 50-over World Cup on home soil, saw his family home near Hampshire’s headquarters attacked twice last year.
Vince, who said the incidents left his young family fearing for their safety, told Britain’s Daily Telegraph in July he believed the attacks were a case of mistaken identity.
“James Vince has signed a revision to the final year of his contract which fulfils his obligation to play for Hampshire Hawks in the 2025 Vitality Blast campaign and confirms that he is not planning to play red-ball cricket this year,” said a Hampshire statement.
“After 10 consecutive years as club captain, Vince will also step down from this position but will remain as team captain of Hampshire Hawks.
“In 2024, Vince endured a challenging year on a personal level, following several attacks on his family home. As a result, the family have taken the decision to move to Dubai.”
Vince added he needed to “understand what is best for my family, and combine that with the stage of my career I am at.”
He made his Hampshire debut in 2009 aged 18 and has scored over 22,000 runs for the county. Vince is the Blast’s all-time leading run scorer and has played in Hampshire’s three title-winning T20 teams, while representing England 55 times across all formats.
Vince has also been retained by the Karachi Kings for this season’s T20 Pakistan Super League on a contract worth a reported £100,000 ($122,000).
The PSL has made a one-off move from its usual February-March slot to take place between April 8 and May 19, the same time as the first half of the County Championship.
English cricket chiefs have introduced rules preventing England-contracted players or red-ball county players from appearing in overseas leagues such as the PSL that take place during the English season, with the exception of the Indian Premier League, cricket’s wealthiest T20 franchise tournament.
But the policy appears to have helped persuade Vince, who won the last of his 13 Test caps in 2018, to abandon English first-class cricket, at least temporarily, rather than reject a lucrative PSL deal.
Pakistan Super League star Vince to move to Dubai after attacks on family home
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Pakistan Super League star Vince to move to Dubai after attacks on family home
- James Vince saw his family home near Hampshire’s headquarters attacked twice last year
- He has been retained by Karachi Kings franchise for this season’s T20 Pakistan Super League
RB Salzburg, Al-Hilal tussle to 0-0 draw at Club World Cup
- Al-Hilal will play Pachuca in Nashville on Thursday
RB Salzburg and Al-Hilal played to a scoreless draw in a Group H match of the Club World Cup on Sunday in Washington.
Salzburg (1-0-1, 4 points), a 17-time Austrian Bundesliga champion, had an opportunity to become the first from Group H to advance to the quarterfinals but instead is second to Real Madrid (1-0-1, 4 points) on goal differential, which favors the Spanish club by one. They face each other in the final group match in Philadelphia on Thursday.
Al-Hilal (0-0-2, 2 points) of the Saudi Pro League, where they have won 19 titles, play Pachuca (0-2-0, 0 points), which has been eliminated, in Nashville on Thursday.
Yassine Bounou made five saves for Al-Hilal. His counterpart, Christian Zawieschitzky, had four.
The match was played with pace despite a real-feel temperature of 99 degrees.
Al-Hilal came close to a breakthrough in the 81st minute when Sergej Milinkovic-Savic earmarked a shot for the bottom left corner from outside the box, but Zawieschitzky covered the post for the save.
While Al-Hilal finished with a 19-13 advantage in attempts, it was a frustrating afternoon for each side with numerous missed chances.
Al-Hilal had 10 of the 15 shot attempts in the scoreless first half. The problem was that Zawieschitzky needed to make just one save.
It did help him that defender Jacob Rasmussen blocked a right-footed shot from Marcos Leonardo and cleared it from near the goal line in the 21st minute. Otherwise the lone Al-Hilal shot on target was by Salem Al-Dawsari in the fifth minute.
Salzburg put three of its five shots on target in the first half, including an opportunity in the ninth minute. Frans Kratzig sent a long overhead ball to Karim Onisiwo in the center of the box and he deftly flicked the ball toward keeper Yassine Bounou with the outside of his right foot.
Bounou was better tested in the 48th minute when he stood tall to deny John Mellberg staring at him from the 6-yard box.
Real Madrid beats Pachuca 3-1 in Club World Cup while playing most of the match with 10 men
- It hardly mattered as Madrid dominated the Mexican club rest of the way to give Xabi Alonso his first win as coach of the Spanish power
CHARLOTTE, N.C.: Jude Bellingham and Arda Güler scored first-half goals and short-handed Real Madrid bounced back from a disappointing performance in its Club World Cup opener to beat Pachuca 3-1 on Sunday in front of 70,248 spectators at Bank of America Stadium.
Seven minutes in, defender Raul Asencio received a red card, forcing Real Madrid to play the remainder of the match with 10 men.
It hardly mattered as Madrid dominated the Mexican club rest of the way to give Xabi Alonso his first win as coach of the Spanish power.
Bellingham got Madrid on the board in the 35th minute when he took a pass from Fran Garcia just inside the box and belted a perfectly placed left-footed shot past goalkeeper Carlos Moreno into the right corner.
Eight minutes later, Güler made it 2-0 when he delivered a right-footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom left corner off an assist from Gonzalo García. Federico Valverde put the final touches on the win in the second half with a sliding right-footed shot off an assist from Brahim Díaz.
Goalkeeper Thabaut Courtois was on form with five saves in the first half. He turned away two point-blank shots in the early going and finished with 10 saves.
Elías Montiel ended Courtois’ bid for a shutout when he scored in the 80th minute for Pachuca, which fell to 0-2 in group play.
Kylian Mbappé has missed both Club World Cup starts after being hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis. He did not travel to Charlotte, but the team remains hopeful that he’ll be ready to play on Thursday night against Salzburg.
Key moment
There were some uneasy minutes early in the match for Madrid when Asencio pulled down Pacheco’s Agustin Palavecino as he was entering the box following a breakaway, forcing Aurelein Tchouameni to move to center back. But Madrid stayed on the attack and Bellingham had the breakthrough goal.
Takeaways
Madrid looked very much out of sync on Wednesday, playing Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal to a 1-1 draw in Alonso’s first game when Federico Valverde’s stoppage-time penalty was saved. That changed on Sunday as the talented roster began to mesh, with precise passing leading to both first-half goals.
Noteworthy
The game was played on a temporary grass field. The stadium is home to the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, who play on an artificial surface. ... With temperatures in the low 90s Fahrenheit (low 30s Celsius), players were given a water breaks midway through each half.
What they said
“We stayed together really well. It’s impressive how the team comes together to win the game. I’m really happy with the team today.” — Bellingham.
“I’m here to win. That is my way. I want to make a statement. We played well on some occasions but I can’t settle for just that.” — Pachuca coach Jaime Lozano.
Canelo and Crawford clash at intense face-off in New York
- Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the GEA and President of Saudi Boxing Federation, addressed crowd at Jevits Center
NEW YORK: A packed Fanatics Fest crowd at Jevits Center in New York witnessed the second leg of the global media tour ahead of the blockbuster Riyadh Season fight between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Terence Crawford, the two best pound for pound fighters in the world, on Sept. 13 in Las Vegas.
Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority and President of the Saudi Boxing Federation, addressed the crowd after being introduced to the stage by legendary ring announcer Michael Buffer, before UFC CEO Dana White stepped up to oversee the press conference ahead of the fight of the century between the two biggest fighters of the modern era for the undisputed super middleweight title.
White announced the performance bonus for the highly-anticipated fight, being broadcast exclusively live on Netflix, will be “over six figures”, before staging an intense face off which led to Canelo and Crawford having to be separated by their teams.
Speaking at the press conference, reigning champion Canelo said: "He (Crawford) is one of the great fighters in the last years, obviously that is why he is a champion. My brother, Turki Alalshikh, thank you so much for this fight, we are here and I think it is a good fight for the fans."
In response, Crawford, a four-division and two-weight undisputed champion, said: "I'm hunting him. That's it. I'm hunting everything that he has got, and I am going to take it come September 13th. I am very confident. This is my time."
The global media tour will conclude on Friday, June 27 in Las Vegas, before the two fighters return to the same city for the main event in September.
Spain’s Alcaraz crowned king of Queen’s for second time
- World No. 2 has now collected 5 trophies this year; Spanish star warms up for Wimbledon
LONDON: Carlos Alcaraz clinched his second Queen’s Club title as the world No. 2 warmed up for Wimbledon with a 7-5, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2 win against Jiri Lehecka in Sunday’s final.
Alcaraz blasted 33 winners and 18 aces to subdue the gritty Czech world No. 30 in two hours and 10 minutes in west London.
Having won titles on clay at the French Open, Rome and Monte Carlo, as well as the hard courts of Rotterdam, Alcaraz has now collected five trophies in 2025.
The 22-year-old has not lost since the Barcelona final against Holger Rune on April 20 and is enjoying the longest winning streak of his career with 18 successive victories.
Top seeded Alcaraz is just the second Spanish man to win Queen’s twice after Feliciano Lopez, who lifted the trophy in 2017 and 2019.
For a player raised on the clay courts of Spain, Alcaraz has developed into a formidable force on grass.
The former world No. 1 signaled his emergence on the surface by winning Queen’s in 2023.
He clinched the Wimbledon title for the first time just weeks later and defended his All England Club crown last year.
Alcaraz, who has an 11-1 career record at Queen’s, will start his bid for a third successive Wimbledon title on June 30.
After his semifinal win over Roberto Bautista Agut on Saturday, Alcaraz fired an ominous message to his Wimbledon rivals, warning that his “grass-court mode” had been activated.
And on the evidence of his relentless display against the obdurate Lehecka, he is in no mood to surrender his All England Club crown.
Playing his first tournament since his epic French Open victory against Jannik Sinner two weeks ago, Alcaraz’s march to the Queen’s showpiece made it five consecutive finals for the Spaniard.
In contrast, Lehecka was playing in his first grass-court final after a shock win against British star Jack Draper in the last four.
The 23-year-old was the first Czech in the Queen’s final since Ivan Lendl in 1990.
Lehecka had come from a set down to stun Alcaraz in the Qatar Open quarterfinals in February.
But there would be no repeat of that upset on the lawns of Barons Court.
In his second Queen’s final, Alcaraz had an early chance to break in the fifth game of the first set.
Lehecka thundered down an ace to get out of trouble of that occasion.
But the five-time Grand Slam champion matched Lehecka’s serve blow for blow, dropping just one point in his first four service games.
Alcaraz’s piercing ground-strokes increased the pressure and Lehecka finally cracked in the 11th game when a badly timed double-fault gifted the first break to the Spaniard.
Alcaraz served out the set in typically ruthless fashion, but Lehecka refused to surrender without a fight.
A tight second set stayed on serve all the way through to the tie-break and, for once, Alcaraz stumbled with a key double-fault, allowing Lehecka to level the match.
Alcaraz was unfazed, breaking for a 3-1 lead in the deciding set when Lehecka netted an off-balance forehand.
Alcaraz had the finish line in sight and he wrapped up his latest title triumph with a flurry of searing winners.
Fluminense top Ulsan in Club World Cup clash
- Freytes’ winner came 17 minutes after teammate Nonato leveled during a contest where the lead twice changed hands
NEW JERSEY: Juan Freytes put Fluminense in front in the 83rd minute and Keno’s second half stoppage time header sealed a 4-2 victory over UIsan HD in an engrossing Group F contest in East Rutherford, N.J., on Saturday evening.
Freytes’ winner — his first goal for the Brazilian club — came 17 minutes after teammate Nonato leveled during a contest where the lead twice changed hands.
John Arias also scored from an early free kick as Fluminense (1-0-1, 4 points) moved even on points and goal difference with Dortmund (1-0-1, 4 points) at the FIFA Club World Cup, ahead of their group finale against Malmelodi Sundowns (1-1-0, 3 points) on Wednesday.
Jinhyun Lee and Um Won-Sang scored for Ulsan (0-2-0, 0 points), which was eliminated with the result.
Freytes put Fluminense in front for good after the South Koreans failed to clear a corner, dispatching a composed finish inside the right post after receiving German Cano’s tidy pass.
Nine minutes later, Keno’s header of Arias’ cross against a clearly fatigued Ulsan defense sealed the victory.
Ulsan struck twice inside the final 10 minutes of the first half to turn an early deficit into a halftime lead before Fluminense leveled at 2-all through Nonato in the 66th minute.
After a flowing move from the Brazilians, Keno’s cross from the left was only partially cleared, and Nonato delivered a composed finish inside the right post from about 15 yards out.
Late in the first half, Lee leveled for Ulsan in the 37th minute on an exceptional counter attack. Darijan Bojanic’s initial pass from just beyond his own box sprung Won-Sang down the right. Won Sang’s low cross rolled all the way across the box and beyond goalkeeper Fabio’s dive before Lee met it on the opposite flank. From a tight angle, Lee delivered an excellent first-touch finish into an open goal.
Meanwhile, River Plate coach Marcelo Gallardo was confident he could still field a team capable of defeating Inter Milan in his side’s final Group E game despite losing several players due to suspension.
Gallardo saw Kevin Castano sent off in the latter stages of the 0-0 draw at the Rose Bowl with Monterrey, while yellow cards for Enzo Perez and Giuliano Galoppo mean the pair will also miss the meeting with the Italians on Wednesday in Seattle.
River Plate are one of South America’s most successful clubs, winning the Copa Libertadores on four occasions as well as the Intercontinental Cup in 1986.
Their draw with Monterrey means the Argentinians are level on four points with Inter Milan in Group E. The two teams are due to face off in their final group game on Wednesday.
Monterrey are third in the standings, two points behind Inter and River Plate, and a win over already-eliminated Urawa Red Diamonds from Japan could see the Mexican side climb into the qualification berths for the knockout rounds.
River Plate coach Marcelo Gallardo said: “We have some players that we’re going to be missing. We, of course, had some yellow cards and there are several players who won’t be able to play in the next game, so we will have to see how we organize that.
“But I see the glass as half full because, if you look at the scores, every club, every team has had its problems. It was hard for Inter to win, it was hard for Monterrey too, so for our third game we’re going to go with the best we have and we’re going to be optimistic.
