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Beaumont guides England to ODI series win over SA

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Third ODI, Potchefstroom

South Africa 233-8 (50 overs): Wolvaardt 61 (68); Ecclestone 2-26

England 153-4 (19 overs): Beaumont 65* (46); Kapp 3-24

England won by six wickets (DLS method)

Scorecard

England beat South Africa by six wickets in a rain-affected encounter in Potchefstroom to secure a 2-1 one-day international series win.

Set a revised target of 152 in 23 overs, England slipped to 25-3 with Proteas all-rounder Marizanne Kapp delivering another masterful new-ball spell.

But Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones’ sublime unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 90 revived the chase, steering England to their target with four overs to spare.

Beaumont finished with 65 from 46 balls, while Jones struck a lively 49 from 36.

England were initially set 234 in 50 overs by the hosts before a lengthy delay because of rain and lightning, and when play did resume it looked like the quick turnaround had caught them by surprise.

Opener Maia Bouchier fell for four after mistiming a pull shot in Kapp’s first over, and Nat Sciver-Brunt was promoted to number three but was caught at point for a duck just two balls later.

Heather Knight was bowled by a beauty in the fifth over to leave England reeling and when Danni Wyatt-Hodge fell for 22, they were 68-4 and South Africa were on top.

But the hosts could not capitalise as their bowlers, Kapp aside, were wayward which allowed Beaumont and Jones to score freely under little pressure.

England had earlier restricted the hosts to 233-8 from their 50 overs, as captain Laura Wolvaardt top-scored with a fluent 61 from 68 balls at the top of the order.

But the rest of the batting line-up were guilty of squandering starts, with all of the top seven making double figures without kicking on.

Knight expertly rotated her bowlers in the heat, and they coped admirably with the blow dealt in the first over when Kate Cross left the field with a back injury and could not return, forcing Alice Capsey to bowl her full allocation (2-59).

England’s tour concludes with a one-off Test match which starts on Sunday in Bloemfontein at 08:00 GMT.

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Havertz online abuse has terrible consequences – Arteta

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says the online abuse of striker Kai Havertz and his wife has “terrible consequences” and needs to be “eradicated from the game”.

Havertz was criticised for his performance in Sunday’s FA Cup defeat by Manchester United, after he missed a glorious chance to win the game in normal time and then had his penalty saved in the shootout as United won 5-3 on penalties following the 1-1 draw.

The German’s wife Sophia shared screenshots of the “shocking” abuse she received on social media amid the game, including threats to the couple’s unborn child.

Arsenal have reported the abuse to the police and are working with a specialist data firm to identify the culprits, but Arteta says more must be done as he spoke before Wednesday’s north London derby against Tottenham.

“It’s incredible, honestly,” he said. “We really have to do something about it, because accepting that and hiding this has terrible consequences.

“It’s something we have to eradicate from the game because it’s so cynical and dependent to a result of an action.

“There is no other industry like this. When we played Ipswich on December 27, we won 1-0 and Kai Havertz scored. The whole stadium after that is singing the ‘Waka, Waka’ (his chant). That was 20 days ago. Where is the perspective?

“We are all responsible. That’s a really serious matter. It affects me. It affects him and everybody that is in the industry.

“We can accept it and say ‘that’s our job’, but there are certain limits and the line has to be drawn. We put a lot of attention on technology and what is next in football.

“What is next in football is that this should be prohibited. It cannot happen. That’s it.”

Meta, who own Instagram, removed the content for violating its policies.

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I will not be the coach of a Red Bull team – Klopp

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Jurgen Klopp says he has made a “clear commitment” that he will not become manager at one of the Red Bull clubs after starting his role as the organisation’s head of global soccer.

The former Liverpool manager was named in the role last year before officially starting at the beginning of 2025.

He has not had a managerial role since leaving Anfield last summer following a highly-successful nine year spell.

Klopp’s new role sees him take more of an oversight role across a number of clubs including RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg and New York Red Bulls.

But when asked at a media conference on Tuesday whether he might be tempted back into day-to-day management if a role at one of the clubs becomes available, Klopp said emphatically said “no”.

“I will not be the coach of a Red Bull team,” he said. “That is a clear commitment. As much as you can give a guarantee, I will not be a coach at all.

“I am probably the only person in this room who will be asked where are you in five years, I don’t have a clue.

“But I will not be a replacement of one of the Red Bull coaches.

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Rising star Fonseca knocks out ninth seed Rublev

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Joao Fonseca had a Grand Slam debut to remember as he knocked out ninth seed Andrey Rublev in the first round of the Australian Open.

The 18-year-old Brazilian thrilled the crowd as he caused the biggest upset of the tournament so far with a 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 7-6 (7-5) victory against Rublev.

Fonseca was playing in his first main-draw match at a major, having come through three rounds of qualifying without dropping a set in Melbourne last week.

The victory extends his winning streak to 14 matches – but who is tennis’ latest rising star?

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