Latest news with #qualifying
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Nine local golfers battling for chance to compete at The Open
NINE Frilford Heath Golf Club members will be battling for the chance to compete at The Open next month. Frilford Heath will be hosting regional qualifying at its Red Course on Monday, and among the participating golfers will be nine Frilford Heath members. Any professional or amateur with a handicap index of 0.4 or better, or those ranked within the top 2,000 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, can enter. The event is a one-day 18-hole stroke play competition where players will fight for the opportunity to then progress to final qualifying, whereupon they then compete for qualifying places to play in The Open at Royal Portrush next month. READ ALSO: Shock of the season produced as title holders beaten Of the Frilford Heath members, first up is Alex Stubbs, setting the pace with a 7:15am tee time, followed by Luke Perkins at 8:05am and Hamish Hall at 9:10am. The morning action continues with Robert Harrhy teeing off at 9:20am, before Harry Thomas hits the course at 10:05am, while Olly Huggins is at 10:35am. Kieran Mansbridge then takes the stage at 11:05am, taking the event to the post-midday stretch. The afternoon brings the final two Frilford hopefuls into play, as Charlie Haynes will tee off at 12:30pm, with Harry Richardson then up at 2:15pm. The Frilford Heath website describes the Red Course as 'an authentic, challenging championship golf course in Oxford offering a traditional heathland experience with pushed up greens and fairways that demand accurate driving to score'.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Guernsey set for 'massive' T20 World Cup qualifier
"It's very surreal when I read articles and hear people tell me we're four games away from the World Cup proper," Guernsey Cricket manager Rob Thomson Channel Island side are preparing for their first-ever appearance in the final round of qualifying for the 2026 T20 World will travel to the Netherlands next month for Europe's regional final, a round-robin tournament against the hosts, Scotland, Italy and Channel Island rivals Jersey - with the top two sides progressing to next year's showpiece in India and Sri 37th in the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings, Guernsey are behind 32nd-placed Italy, 28th-placed Jersey and favourites Scotland and the Netherlands, who are rated 13th and 14th respectively."I think you have to recognise the step up for our lads in particular is huge," Thomson, whose side qualified for the tournament after winning their sub-regional qualifier last summer, told BBC Sport."We're the lowest ranked side of the five in the competition, so that tells its own story. The gap between the sub-regional qualification process that we went through last year to this stage is massive."You're going from playing on artificial wickets against lower-ranked European nations to playing on grass against at least two, you could argue three, maybe three-and-a-half professional sides."So it's a massive step up, but T20, as everyone knows, is a leveller." Despite not having any professionals in their ranks, the Guernsey side - drawn up from the island's approximate 60,000 population - know they can beat sides at this recently defeated Jersey and could have beaten them for a second time but for a dramatic final over in which Guernsey fell narrowly short in their run also defeated Denmark - who regularly reach this stage of the competition - last summer on their way to unlike some other nations, the island's small size geographically helps them come together - they train with each other every week and have an almost club-like bond."We play a lot of cricket together in the green shirt and it's definitely a massive strength for us and something in our favour," Thomson says."Watching the lads, certainly the weekend before last when we were in Jersey, it's so noticeable how fluid it is when they're out there on the field in terms of the guys knowing where they're fielding, they know what the plans are for each bowler."(Captain) Ollie (Nightingale) has that all set up so perfectly - they walk out from off the boundary on to the pitch and it just looks very, very cohesive, which is no small feat." And while Guernsey may lack players at the top level, they do have a lot of international experience - Nightingale, Ben Ferbrache, Matt Stokes, Josh Butler and Zak Damarell have been part of the island side for many years, playing all around the to that experience are promising new faces such as teenage bowlers Charlie Forshaw and Harry Johnson as Guernsey bid to cause an upset and reach the finals."T20 cricket, you get a few things in your favour, you win a good toss, you never know, so we go there with eyes open," Thomson says."It's a massive challenge, but I know the lads are really looking forward to it, to putting their skills on display at that top table and at a level that we've never played at before."If we come back with a win or two, we'll have certainly had a fantastic week."
BBC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Midtjylland, Anderlecht & Shakhtar among potential Hibs opponents
Midtjylland, Anderlecht and Shakhtar Donetsk are among a refined group of potential opponents for Hibernian in today's (12:00 BST) Europa League Gray's side are unseeded for the second round qualifying draw, meaning their narrowed-down possibilities are tough looking top-flight runners-up Midtjylland and Belgian club Anderlecht are two potential pairings, while Shakhtar could lie in wait if they get past Finnish outfit Ilves Tampere in their first-round paper, the most favourable possibility looks to be the winner of the tie between Moldovan top-flight side Sheriff Tiraspol and Prishtina of Kosovo.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Many ifs & buts for Hibs in Europa League draw
A third-placed finish has renewed Hibernian's love affair with are plenty of ifs and buts for David Gray's Leith side in Wednesday's Europa League second round qualifying draw, with 12 are unseeded, with Anderlecht of Belgium, Portugal's Braga, Denmark's Midtjylland and Switzerland's Lugano among difficult potential Shakhtar Donetsk or Finland's Ilves Tampere, Moldova's Sheriff Tiraspol or Kosovo's Prishtina, Poland's Legia Warsaw or Kazakhstan's Aktobe and Cyprus' Larnaca or Serbia's Partizan are other are likely to split the draw into two groups early on Wednesday morning and that would reduce the range of Hibs' potential this tie and at least the third qualifying round of the Conference League is there as a consolation for Gray's men.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Guernsey select squad for T20 World Cup qualifier
Guernsey reached the final stage of qualifying for the first time after winning their European sub-regional qualifier last summer [Martin Gray] Guernsey have selected their 15-man squad for the final round of qualifying for the 2026 T20 World Cup. It is the first time the islanders have reached the European regional final after winning their qualifying tournament last year. Advertisement The squad sees one change from the side that were beaten 2-1 by Jersey in their inter-island series earlier this month as wicketkeeper-batter Alex Bushell comes in for Charlie Simmonds. Guernsey have also added highly rated 18-year-old bowler Charlie Forshaw to the squad after he missed the Jersey series because of exams. "Simply put, the prize is huge - a place at the World Cup," Guernsey manager Rob Thomson said. "We have all our key players, everyone is fit, they are all in great form and they are all totally focused. "All the build-up so far this season, all the effort and commitment in every training session and each match, it's all geared towards this tournament. Advertisement "This will be the culmination of all the hard work everyone has put in." Ollie Nightingale will captain the Guernsey side [Martin Gray] As well as facing Channel Island rivals Jersey, Guernsey must also go up against Italy, Scotland and hosts the Netherlands. The Scots and the hosts have both qualified for the last four T20 World Cups. At 37th in the ICC rankings, Guernsey on paper appear to be the weakest side. Italy are ranked 32nd and Jersey 28th with the favourites Scotland and the Netherlands rated 13th and 14th respectively. The Sarnians begin their campaign in the round-robin tournament against Italy on 5 July before taking on Scotland a day later. Advertisement They face Jersey on 8 July before their final game against the hosts on 9 July. "We have confidence in the 15 players we have selected and are looking forward to getting to the Netherlands and taking on the other four teams," Guernsey captain Ollie Nightingale, 29, said. "We have tried hard to increase the depth in the squad and it feels like we're starting to see that now. We go with no pressure on us and are excited to build on the progress we have made over the last 18 months." Guernsey squad: Ollie Nightingale (capt), Martin-Dale Bradley (vice-capt), Luke Bichard, Charlie Birch, Alex Bushell, Josh Butler, Zak Damarell, Ben Ferbrache, Ben Fitchet, Charlie Forshaw, Harry Johnson, Adam Martel, Tom Nightingale, Matt Stokes, Ant Stokes.
