‘Results weren’t good enough’: McCullum fully accepts decision to sac…

• Former Test coach apologises for poor results

• ODI series against India begins on Tuesday

Brendon McCullum has apologised for the flatlining results that led to his removal as England’s Test head coach, but he promised to collaborate with his successor as leadership of the men’s national teams is once again split.

BlogRobert MacIntyre Sparks Outrage with Obscene Gesture at Valspar ChampionshipRobert MacIntyre's Crude Gesture in Golf Robert MacIntyre, a Scottish professional golfer, made headlines in the golf world with a crude gesture during a tournament.Open →

Preparing for the first one-day international on Tuesday against India – a series that remains under his remit as head coach of the men’s white-ball sides – McCullum showed no resentment regarding what he called “the tap on the shoulder”.

ECHOPARK SPEEDWAY (Hampton, Ga.) — Ryan Blaney dominated the Cup race Sunday night that lasted until early Monday morning. But as is typical for the 1.5-mile high-banked track, he needed to make a late move for the win. Blaney — thanks to pushes by Bubba Wallace and then Christopher Bell — got by Carson Hocevar on the outside on the final lap and was able to remain out front as the drivers behind him battled to earn his second victory of the season. The Team Penske driver led 171 of the 263 laps. Here are my takeaways: 1. Long Night, Deserving Winner The race featured a rain interruption of 3 hours, 9 minutes — which resulted in a race that didn’t finish until 1:45 a.m. ET on Monday. Blaney was good in the laps before the rain on Lap 109 and afterward. He was good even after he hit the wall after getting pinched into it late in the race by Bubba Wallace. He felt a vibration, but it was only paint and cement in the wheel well and Blaney’s car was still a rocket. "I tried to make a move and just got loose and hit the fence," Blaney said in his television interview after the race. "I think it's just concrete in the wheels and paint and stuff like that. "Luckily, it still drove fairly decent. I'm happy we were able to make back up for it." 2. Wallace Disputes Last-Lap Penalty Wallace crossed the finish line in second but was ruled to have advanced his position by going below the double-line that separates the apron from the racing surface. The 23XI Racing driver was dropped to the last car on the lead lap, costing him 27 points, as he placed 29th. Wallace contended that, while he went below the yellow line, he remained in third long enough before getting second at the finish line. NASCAR determined the move allowed him to improve his position from third to second. "[The rule] says ‘advancing your position,’ which I did not do," Wallace told me and other reporters after the race. "I stayed third, and I was all over the brakes to make sure I did not advance. As soon as I turned, I'm like, ‘I'm going to wreck' and got on the brakes and kept underneath me and stealing it up side by side [with the lead pack]. "That move should have propelled us to the lead, and it didn't because I knew it was wrong because my car did not like that move. My car did not like that move. ... I stayed third from entry to [Turn] 3 all the way until 50 yards away [from the finish line]." 3. Hocevar Has No Friends Carson Hocevar was leading going into the final lap and finished third. However, he doesn’t view Atlanta as a race that slipped away. He didn’t have any friends on the final lap and knows he likely wouldn’t because of the way he has raced and frustrated other drivers. Also, there were no Chevrolets in the lead pack. "I look in my mirror, man, it’s all Toyotas," Hocevar said. "I don't know where the Chevys were, but it was just me. I was all alone. ... People basically are going to choose who is going to win the race. They sure aren’t going to pick me." 4. Bell Finished Second ... Again Christopher Bell finished second for the fifth time this year. But while Bell was in the mix late in the race, he didn’t have a race-winning day. "I just felt like I didn’t quite have the speed to be up there with Ryan," the Joe Gibbs Racing driver said in a broadcast interview after the race. "I could be up there in second or third, but it seemed like a couple of guys with faster cars could always get by me." 4 ½. What’s Next: North Wilkesboro NASCAR heads to North Wilkesboro for the track's first points race in 30 years after having the All-Star event there the last three seasons. Drivers will compete for 450 laps on the 0.625-mile oval. There are six races left in the regular season. Only two of the 16 spots in the postseason Chase have been clinched; Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick clinched spots at Atlanta. The races remaining: North Wilkesboro, Indianapolis, Iowa, Richmond, New Hampshire and Daytona.

• Only Test: India, 285 & 341-7dec, bt England, 170 & 186, by 270 runs

• Ecclestone hits milestone half-century on final morning

India have defeated England by 270 runs in the one-off Test, a famous victory that will go some way to making up for their failure to reach the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup this month. The first women’s Test to take place at the ground broke the world record attendance figure, attracting a crowd of 37,846 in three-and-a-bit days.

England batted for long enough on the fourth morning to allow Sophie Ecclestone to reach her first half-century in an England shirt. To get there, Ecclestone had been forced to appeal to DRS, overturning a leg-before decision that went against her on 44, saved when UltraEdge revealed she had got a very faint bottom edge off the bowling of Deepti Sharma.

“Amo jugar para Francia”, ha confesado con reiteración Michael Olise, la estrella de nuevo cuño de la selección que dirige Didier Deschamps. Olise forma junto a Marcus Thuram y Brice Samba el trío de internacionales galos no nacidos en territorio francés. Olise nació en Londres, pero por los orígenes de su padre pudo elegir jugar con Nigeria. También pudo escoger Argelia, por las raíces franco-argelinas de su madre. Olise no había nacido cuando la Francia multirracial del 98 le dio su primera Copa del Mundo a Francia, pero creció escuchando que aquella mezcla de jugadores con ascendencia magrebí (Zidane), armenia (Djorkaeff), antillana (Thuram padre), oceánica (Karembeu) y de futbolistas autóctonos como el actual seleccionador Didier Deschamps mostró que el mestizaje puede ser tan ganador como enriquecedor. Olise ya sí vivió con 17 años el segundo Mundial conquistado por Francia en Rusia 2018, también perfilada por la mezcolanza de los Mbappé, Griezmann, Kanté, Pogba, Lloris o Giroud. Francia ha marcado con éxito el paso de la multirracialidad en el fútbol europeo desde sus prestigiosas escuelas de formación. Los dos mundiales conquistados, la final perdida de 2006, las semifinales de 2014, la Eurocopa ganada en 2000 y el subcampeonato europeo de 2016 fueron fruto de la integración.

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