Labuschagne in the nets, Smith in New York
Smith and Labuschagne typically hit more balls than anyone in the Australian squad, so it would've stung the latter to watch others – Sam Konstas, Usman Khawaja, Josh Inglis, Cam Green – get first crack during a lengthy centre-wicket net session at a training venue 30 minutes out of Bridgetown that was more park cricket than international standard.
At one point, Labuschagne looked ready to stride in – only for Alex Carey to gently tell him it wasn't his turn yet.
Chief selector George Bailey was at training, just days after informing Labuschagne that his streak of 53 consecutive Tests since the 2019 Ashes was over.
At 30, Labuschagne's Test career is far from finished. He is too good a player and his Test average of 46.19 still eclipses Justin Langer (45.27), Usman Khawaja (44.96) and David Warner (44.59).
An injury to someone in the top six this week would see Labuschagne parachuted in given Australia aren't carrying a spare batsman at the moment.
When his time for a bat finally came, after nearly two hours of practice, Labuschagne faced a mix of net bowlers and assistant coaches armed with the 'whanger' before poring over footage with a team analyst and discussing technique improvements.
He stayed in the nets for nearly 20 minutes after others had packed up for lunch, watching England attempt to get close to India's first innings total of 471 on the clubhouse TV.
Earlier, Labuschagne had selflessly bowled seam-up to teammates – including Khawaja and Konstas – for the best part of an hour to help them prepare.
Even when Labuschagne tempted Konstas into a drive and found an edge, he didn't celebrate.
Australia will have one more main training session on Monday before the team's opening Test on Wednesday.
Selectors are strongly considering playing two spinners, with left-armer Matt Kuhnemann in the frame to join Nathan Lyon on what is expected to be a dry Kensington Oval pitch.
NSW paceman Sean Abbott sent down a long spell after replacing the injured Brendan Doggett in the squad but remains at long odds for a debut in this match, with Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland all fit.
'Obviously the four guys have been playing some pretty unbelievable cricket. There's a pretty firm pecking order,' Abbott told reporters.
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'I'd say it's probably going to be more of an opportunity through injury or trying to rest a few guys.
'I mean it's good being here. I need you guys to have a chat to Ronnie [coach Andrew McDonald] and Bails [selector George Bailey] and put in a good word so I get a game.
'If I do, I'll get the first shout of rums down at the bar.'
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Courier-Mail
20 minutes ago
- Courier-Mail
‘One for the ages': UFC rocked as icon retires on the spot
Don't miss out on the headlines from UFC. Followed categories will be added to My News. Jon Jones, regarded as the greatest mixed martial arts champion of all time, has retired, UFC CEO Dana White announced on Sunday morning Australian time. White said that 37-year-old Jones informed the UFC of his decision to retire the day prior. A heavyweight title unification bout between Jones and interim champion Tom Aspinall had been touted, but Jones' decision elevates Aspinall to undisputed champion. UFC 317 Topuria vs. Oliveira | SUN 29 JUN 12PM AEST | One of the biggest fight cards of the year has arrived. Spain's Ilia Topuria looks to capture the vacant lightweight title against former champion, Charles Oliveira | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports. 'Jon Jones called us last night and retired,' White said at a press conference in Azerbaijan. 'Jon Jones is officially retired. Tom Aspinall is the heavyweight champion of the UFC.' White went on to say that the UFC will work with Aspinall on finding him his first title defence, but Jones is yet to comment publicly on the announcement. The American (28-1) moved up from the light heavyweight division to become the heavyweight champion in 2023. Jon Jones took the heavyweight belt. Photo by Sarah Stier / Getty Images via AFP. He defended his belt once during his time on top, against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November last year, and had repeatedly played down talk about an impending fight against Aspinall. The potential matchup would have been one of the biggest in UFC history, but Jones continually suggested it would not change his legacy. Fans accused him of ducking the 32-year-old Englishman, and there was so much outrage that an online petition to strip Jones of the title collated more than 200,000 signatures. X SUBSCRIBER ONLY 'I obviously feel bad for Tom that he lost all that time and money, but we'll make it up to him,' White said. 'Tom Aspinall is a good guy. He's been incredible through this whole process that we've gone through. 'He's been willing to do anything — fight him anywhere and anytime and do this, and now he's like, 'I'll fight anybody. You tell me who, and I'll fight him'. 'So Aspinall has been great. He's going to be a great heavyweight champion for us, and I'm excited to work with him.' White's words came as Khalil Rountree Jr. dominated former champion Jamahal Hill in a five-round decision in their light heavyweight bout in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Baku, Azerbaijan. Jones became the youngest ever UFC champion at just 21 years of age, and he went undefeated in championship fights with a 16-0 record despite taking on more of them than anyone else. He is one of only fighters to boast titles in multiple weight classes, and his 22 wins are the equal fifth most in UFC history. Jones also attracted plenty of attention outside of the Octagon. He was arrested and charged for a hit-and-run in 2015 after he fled the scene of a vehicle accident which injured a 25-year-old pregnant woman. The following year, Jones was banned from competition for one year as a result a positive drug test, but he has long maintained that the positive result was due to contaminated legal supplements. Originally published as 'One for the ages': UFC rocked as icon retires on the spot
The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
'Feeling good': Minjee Lee on verge of third major win
Minjee Lee is on the precipice of landing a third career major and one of the biggest pay days in women's golf after seizing a commanding lead at the PGA Championship in Texas. The Australian superstar defied more brutal conditions with a sublime third-round three-under-par 69 to skip out to a four-shot lead at PGA Frisco's scorching and windswept Fields Ranch East course. Lee started the day three shots behind world No.2 Jeeno Thitikul and was unable to make any inroads on the Thai before hitting top gear around the turn. Beautiful off the tee and with the broomstick in hand, the Perth prodigy collected her first birdie of the day on the ninth hole, then nabbed two more on 14 and 15 to turn a three-shot deficit into a four-stroke buffer. After hitting 11 of 14 fairways and needing just 26 putts, Lee finished round three at six under after posting the only bogey-free round of the championship. "I'm feeling pretty good," she said. "I played really well within myself today. Took the birdies when I could and made really great up and downs when I was out of position. "So, yeah, I'm going to try and stick to the same game plan and get it over the line tomorrow." Thitikul briefly reached six under herself before stumbling with four back-nine bogeys in a rough four-over round of 76. The leading duo are the only players in red numbers as the season's third major shapes as a Sunday match-play showdown. South Korean Hye-Jin Choi (72), Japan's Miyu Yamashita (73) and American Lexi Thompson (75) are tied for third at one over, seven shots behind the runaway leader. "Obviously major Sunday is a different story," Lee said. "This is round three, so I have to still dig deep and post a score even with a four-shot lead. "So I'm just going to put my head down and just work on the things that I can do and do it to the best of my ability. "That's what I'm going to focus on." Even Thitikul was in awe of Lee's performance. "Three under par today, I was like, wow, that's really impressive," said the former world No.1. "She played absolutely A-game for sure." Victory for Lee would earn the 29-year-old the third leg of the women's golf grand slam following her 2021 Evian Championship triumph and 2022 US Open success. Lee is also hoping to snap a 19-month winless run, the longest drought of her decorated career. Victory would also secure Australian women's sport's highest earner another monster cheque of $US1.8 million ($A2.8 million), the equal-highest pay day in her game's history. Perhaps most gratifying of all, the West Australian can bury the demons from last year's spectacular final-round car crash at the US Open. Lee opened up a three-stroke back-nine lead only to collapse down the stretch to finish tied for ninth. If she does atone, Lee will likely endure another long day at the office after Saturday's round took some six hours. The one-time world No.2 is happy to be playing in the final group once again with the bubbly Thitikul. "Jeeno is great," Lee said. "She's fast. She has good chat when we are waiting. We had a nice little chat. "I've played with her a bunch of times already, so, yep." World No.1 Nelly Korda will start the final round eight shots back in a share of sixth after shooting a 72. Australian Grace Kim is a further shot back at three over after firing a brilliant 66, the low third round, to surge up the leaderboard. Minjee Lee is on the precipice of landing a third career major and one of the biggest pay days in women's golf after seizing a commanding lead at the PGA Championship in Texas. The Australian superstar defied more brutal conditions with a sublime third-round three-under-par 69 to skip out to a four-shot lead at PGA Frisco's scorching and windswept Fields Ranch East course. Lee started the day three shots behind world No.2 Jeeno Thitikul and was unable to make any inroads on the Thai before hitting top gear around the turn. Beautiful off the tee and with the broomstick in hand, the Perth prodigy collected her first birdie of the day on the ninth hole, then nabbed two more on 14 and 15 to turn a three-shot deficit into a four-stroke buffer. After hitting 11 of 14 fairways and needing just 26 putts, Lee finished round three at six under after posting the only bogey-free round of the championship. "I'm feeling pretty good," she said. "I played really well within myself today. Took the birdies when I could and made really great up and downs when I was out of position. "So, yeah, I'm going to try and stick to the same game plan and get it over the line tomorrow." Thitikul briefly reached six under herself before stumbling with four back-nine bogeys in a rough four-over round of 76. The leading duo are the only players in red numbers as the season's third major shapes as a Sunday match-play showdown. South Korean Hye-Jin Choi (72), Japan's Miyu Yamashita (73) and American Lexi Thompson (75) are tied for third at one over, seven shots behind the runaway leader. "Obviously major Sunday is a different story," Lee said. "This is round three, so I have to still dig deep and post a score even with a four-shot lead. "So I'm just going to put my head down and just work on the things that I can do and do it to the best of my ability. "That's what I'm going to focus on." Even Thitikul was in awe of Lee's performance. "Three under par today, I was like, wow, that's really impressive," said the former world No.1. "She played absolutely A-game for sure." Victory for Lee would earn the 29-year-old the third leg of the women's golf grand slam following her 2021 Evian Championship triumph and 2022 US Open success. Lee is also hoping to snap a 19-month winless run, the longest drought of her decorated career. Victory would also secure Australian women's sport's highest earner another monster cheque of $US1.8 million ($A2.8 million), the equal-highest pay day in her game's history. Perhaps most gratifying of all, the West Australian can bury the demons from last year's spectacular final-round car crash at the US Open. Lee opened up a three-stroke back-nine lead only to collapse down the stretch to finish tied for ninth. If she does atone, Lee will likely endure another long day at the office after Saturday's round took some six hours. The one-time world No.2 is happy to be playing in the final group once again with the bubbly Thitikul. "Jeeno is great," Lee said. "She's fast. She has good chat when we are waiting. We had a nice little chat. "I've played with her a bunch of times already, so, yep." World No.1 Nelly Korda will start the final round eight shots back in a share of sixth after shooting a 72. Australian Grace Kim is a further shot back at three over after firing a brilliant 66, the low third round, to surge up the leaderboard. Minjee Lee is on the precipice of landing a third career major and one of the biggest pay days in women's golf after seizing a commanding lead at the PGA Championship in Texas. The Australian superstar defied more brutal conditions with a sublime third-round three-under-par 69 to skip out to a four-shot lead at PGA Frisco's scorching and windswept Fields Ranch East course. Lee started the day three shots behind world No.2 Jeeno Thitikul and was unable to make any inroads on the Thai before hitting top gear around the turn. Beautiful off the tee and with the broomstick in hand, the Perth prodigy collected her first birdie of the day on the ninth hole, then nabbed two more on 14 and 15 to turn a three-shot deficit into a four-stroke buffer. After hitting 11 of 14 fairways and needing just 26 putts, Lee finished round three at six under after posting the only bogey-free round of the championship. "I'm feeling pretty good," she said. "I played really well within myself today. Took the birdies when I could and made really great up and downs when I was out of position. "So, yeah, I'm going to try and stick to the same game plan and get it over the line tomorrow." Thitikul briefly reached six under herself before stumbling with four back-nine bogeys in a rough four-over round of 76. The leading duo are the only players in red numbers as the season's third major shapes as a Sunday match-play showdown. South Korean Hye-Jin Choi (72), Japan's Miyu Yamashita (73) and American Lexi Thompson (75) are tied for third at one over, seven shots behind the runaway leader. "Obviously major Sunday is a different story," Lee said. "This is round three, so I have to still dig deep and post a score even with a four-shot lead. "So I'm just going to put my head down and just work on the things that I can do and do it to the best of my ability. "That's what I'm going to focus on." Even Thitikul was in awe of Lee's performance. "Three under par today, I was like, wow, that's really impressive," said the former world No.1. "She played absolutely A-game for sure." Victory for Lee would earn the 29-year-old the third leg of the women's golf grand slam following her 2021 Evian Championship triumph and 2022 US Open success. Lee is also hoping to snap a 19-month winless run, the longest drought of her decorated career. Victory would also secure Australian women's sport's highest earner another monster cheque of $US1.8 million ($A2.8 million), the equal-highest pay day in her game's history. Perhaps most gratifying of all, the West Australian can bury the demons from last year's spectacular final-round car crash at the US Open. Lee opened up a three-stroke back-nine lead only to collapse down the stretch to finish tied for ninth. If she does atone, Lee will likely endure another long day at the office after Saturday's round took some six hours. The one-time world No.2 is happy to be playing in the final group once again with the bubbly Thitikul. "Jeeno is great," Lee said. "She's fast. She has good chat when we are waiting. We had a nice little chat. "I've played with her a bunch of times already, so, yep." World No.1 Nelly Korda will start the final round eight shots back in a share of sixth after shooting a 72. Australian Grace Kim is a further shot back at three over after firing a brilliant 66, the low third round, to surge up the leaderboard. Minjee Lee is on the precipice of landing a third career major and one of the biggest pay days in women's golf after seizing a commanding lead at the PGA Championship in Texas. The Australian superstar defied more brutal conditions with a sublime third-round three-under-par 69 to skip out to a four-shot lead at PGA Frisco's scorching and windswept Fields Ranch East course. Lee started the day three shots behind world No.2 Jeeno Thitikul and was unable to make any inroads on the Thai before hitting top gear around the turn. Beautiful off the tee and with the broomstick in hand, the Perth prodigy collected her first birdie of the day on the ninth hole, then nabbed two more on 14 and 15 to turn a three-shot deficit into a four-stroke buffer. After hitting 11 of 14 fairways and needing just 26 putts, Lee finished round three at six under after posting the only bogey-free round of the championship. "I'm feeling pretty good," she said. "I played really well within myself today. Took the birdies when I could and made really great up and downs when I was out of position. "So, yeah, I'm going to try and stick to the same game plan and get it over the line tomorrow." Thitikul briefly reached six under herself before stumbling with four back-nine bogeys in a rough four-over round of 76. The leading duo are the only players in red numbers as the season's third major shapes as a Sunday match-play showdown. South Korean Hye-Jin Choi (72), Japan's Miyu Yamashita (73) and American Lexi Thompson (75) are tied for third at one over, seven shots behind the runaway leader. "Obviously major Sunday is a different story," Lee said. "This is round three, so I have to still dig deep and post a score even with a four-shot lead. "So I'm just going to put my head down and just work on the things that I can do and do it to the best of my ability. "That's what I'm going to focus on." Even Thitikul was in awe of Lee's performance. "Three under par today, I was like, wow, that's really impressive," said the former world No.1. "She played absolutely A-game for sure." Victory for Lee would earn the 29-year-old the third leg of the women's golf grand slam following her 2021 Evian Championship triumph and 2022 US Open success. Lee is also hoping to snap a 19-month winless run, the longest drought of her decorated career. Victory would also secure Australian women's sport's highest earner another monster cheque of $US1.8 million ($A2.8 million), the equal-highest pay day in her game's history. Perhaps most gratifying of all, the West Australian can bury the demons from last year's spectacular final-round car crash at the US Open. Lee opened up a three-stroke back-nine lead only to collapse down the stretch to finish tied for ninth. If she does atone, Lee will likely endure another long day at the office after Saturday's round took some six hours. The one-time world No.2 is happy to be playing in the final group once again with the bubbly Thitikul. "Jeeno is great," Lee said. "She's fast. She has good chat when we are waiting. We had a nice little chat. "I've played with her a bunch of times already, so, yep." World No.1 Nelly Korda will start the final round eight shots back in a share of sixth after shooting a 72. Australian Grace Kim is a further shot back at three over after firing a brilliant 66, the low third round, to surge up the leaderboard.
Herald Sun
an hour ago
- Herald Sun
‘One for the ages': UFC rocked as icon retires on the spot
Don't miss out on the headlines from UFC. Followed categories will be added to My News. Jon Jones, regarded as the greatest mixed martial arts champion of all time, has retired, UFC CEO Dana White announced on Sunday morning Australian time. White said that 37-year-old Jones informed the UFC of his decision to retire the day prior. A heavyweight title unification bout between Jones and interim champion Tom Aspinall had been touted, but Jones' decision elevates Aspinall to undisputed champion. UFC 317 Topuria vs. Oliveira | SUN 29 JUN 12PM AEST | One of the biggest fight cards of the year has arrived. Spain's Ilia Topuria looks to capture the vacant lightweight title against former champion, Charles Oliveira | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports. 'Jon Jones called us last night and retired,' White said at a press conference in Azerbaijan. 'Jon Jones is officially retired. Tom Aspinall is the heavyweight champion of the UFC.' White went on to say that the UFC will work with Aspinall on finding him his first title defence, but Jones is yet to comment publicly on the announcement. The American (28-1) moved up from the light heavyweight division to become the heavyweight champion in 2023. Jon Jones took the heavyweight belt. Photo by Sarah Stier / Getty Images via AFP. He defended his belt once during his time on top, against Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 in November last year, and had repeatedly played down talk about an impending fight against Aspinall. The potential matchup would have been one of the biggest in UFC history, but Jones continually suggested it would not change his legacy. Fans accused him of ducking the 32-year-old Englishman, and there was so much outrage that an online petition to strip Jones of the title collated more than 200,000 signatures. 'I obviously feel bad for Tom that he lost all that time and money, but we'll make it up to him,' White said. 'Tom Aspinall is a good guy. He's been incredible through this whole process that we've gone through. 'He's been willing to do anything — fight him anywhere and anytime and do this, and now he's like, 'I'll fight anybody. You tell me who, and I'll fight him'. 'So Aspinall has been great. He's going to be a great heavyweight champion for us, and I'm excited to work with him.' White's words came as Khalil Rountree Jr. dominated former champion Jamahal Hill in a five-round decision in their light heavyweight bout in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Baku, Azerbaijan. Jones became the youngest ever UFC champion at just 21 years of age, and he went undefeated in championship fights with a 16-0 record despite taking on more of them than anyone else. He is one of only fighters to boast titles in multiple weight classes, and his 22 wins are the equal fifth most in UFC history. Jones also attracted plenty of attention outside of the Octagon. He was arrested and charged for a hit-and-run in 2015 after he fled the scene of a vehicle accident which injured a 25-year-old pregnant woman. The following year, Jones was banned from competition for one year as a result a positive drug test, but he has long maintained that the positive result was due to contaminated legal supplements. Originally published as 'One for the ages': UFC rocked as icon retires on the spot
