🗞 "Can I retire now?"

March 24, 2022

G'day sports fans,

Classic quote: She comes from a tennis-playing family. Her father's a dentist - BBC Commentator

🇦🇺 Aussie Sport

🏏 Khawaja sets up Aussie charge as tense finale awaits: Australia need 10 wickets for victory on the final day of a grinding Test series after Usman Khawaja’s fourth century of 2022 helped set Pakistan 351 for victory.

Match report: Stumps: Pakistan need 278 runs to win.

Following forecasts Australia's long-awaited return to Pakistan would bring "grinding" games in which hanging on for a draw might prove as valuable as a win, a contest that has raged 14 days without a result hangs on today's final act. (Cricket)

⚽️ Socceroos beaten and bruised by a slick Japan team: Australia has failed to directly qualify for the World Cup in Qatar later this year, and will now be forced into two sudden-death playoffs following a dismal 2-0 defeat to Japan on Thursday night. (Fox)

🏏 Steve Smith became the fastest man to 8,000 runs, reaching the milestone in his 151st innings.

Fastest to 8,000 Test runs (by innings):

  • 151 - Steve Smith

  • 152 - Kumar Sangakkara

  • 154 - Sachin Tendulkar

  • 157 - Garry Sobers

  • 158 - Rahul Dravid

  • 160 - Virender Sehwag

  • 162 - Javed Miandad

  • 164 - Brian Lara & Matthew Hayden

🏉 Nathan Hynes' brilliant start to the season continued in a 36-12 thrashing of the Dragons on, as he set up a try, scored one himself, and taunted St George Illawarra with his running and kicking.

✍🏼 Benji Marshall recalls his first autographs: 

I went to the boys and said ‘boys whoever can do the best signature, I’ll run that for the rest of my career’.

“One of my friends Harley showed me this signature which was Benji with a Q (middle name Quentin) and a Marshall and a crown on top and I turned up after the game the next week and did that.

“Mark O’Neill saw it and grabbed it and ripped it, he said ‘mate you ever do that again and you won’t be playing here’.”

🎾 Ash Barty’s coach Craig Tyzzer was just as surprised when the star tennis player first mentioned retiring. In 2019...

“Ash probably remembers, even after her first grand slam win, I had prepared this speech about how profound this was going to be and what it meant to her,” - Tyzzer revealed in Brisbane as he and Barty spoke to the media for the first time following her retirement.

“The first thing she said to me was, ‘Can I retire now?’

🎾 Ashleigh Barty said that she will remove herself from the WTA rankings after announcing her retirement, opening the door for Poland’s Iga Swiatek to become world number one.

🏀 The Tasmania JackJumpers have sent the Perth Wildcats a stark reminder in just their second game back at RAC Arena that it gives them no guarantees with a historic shock upset 85-82 win over the NBL's powerhouse.

🇦🇺 The AFL has announced it will conduct an independent review into the “work, research and advice” provided to the league by controversial concussion adviser Dr Paul McCrory.

McCrory provided the AFL with advice that helped it frame its concussion policy and now faces several allegations, including nine of plagiarism and also that he treated at least five ex-players for head knocks during an agreed ban. (Fox)

🏏 Australia's star allrounder Ellyse Perry will miss their final World Cup round-robin stage game against Bangladesh but is hopeful to return for the semi-final.

🌍 World Sport

⚽️ Former Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg has ended her five-year exile from the Norway team.

The 26-year-old Lyon forward stopped playing for the national side because of a perceived lack of respect for female players in Norway.

👊🏻 UFC fighter Jorge Masvidal has been charged with by police in the United States after an alleged altercation with rival Colby Covington outside a restaurant.

🏎 Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel could miss the second round of the Formula 1 season because of Covid-19 after his Aston Martin team confirmed that he is yet to travel Saudi Arabia for this weekend's race.

⛳️ The throwing of beer and water bottles at last month's Phoenix Open was "unacceptable" and will be "addressed", says PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan.

🥊 Heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has left his native Ukraine to prepare for his rematch with Anthony Joshua.

Usyk, 35, has been helping to defend his country from the Russian invasion after enlisting in Ukraine's military.

⚽️ Tottenham striker Harry Kane, 28, refused to commit himself to Spurs after being asked about his future while on England duty. (Mirror)

⚽️ Manchester United have spoken to Ajax's highly-rated coach Erik ten Hag about their vacant manager's job.

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