Rothesay County Championship, Division Two, Banks Homes Riverside (day four)

Northamptonshire 450 & 250: Miller 61, McSweeney 52, Broad 49; Potts 4-77

Durham 405 & 296-4: Bedingham 109*, Ackermann 65*

Durham (23 pts) beat Northamptonshire (7 pts) by six wickets

Match scorecard

David Bedingham's sensational unbeaten century helped Durham lay down a marker in the County Championship Division Two promotion race as they beat Northamptonshire by six wickets in a thrilling climax to their fixture.

Northamptonshire managed to set Durham a target of 296 to chase at Banks Homes Riverside on the final day after being bowled out for 250 in the morning session.

The beginning of Durham's chase was tightly contested with the fate of the game in the balance, but a successful spell with the ball for Northamptonshire in the afternoon handed the visitors control with the hosts reeling at 107-4.

However, Bedingham and half-centurion Colin Ackermann steadied the ship and the former took the game to the visitors after tea, reaching three figures for the 29th time in first-class cricket. The pair, whose partnership was worth 189, then saw Durham to the target of 296 with 16 balls to spare.

The result extends Durham's lead at the top of Division Two, while Northamptonshire drop to third because of results elsewhere.

Resuming on 200-6 with a 245-run lead, Northamptonshire's aim was to score quick runs and give themselves enough time to bowl Durham out on the final day.

However, it was Durham who got off to the dream start, as George Bartlett was caught at backward point off the bowling of Matthew Potts.

Kasey Aldridge came into the attack and removed Liam Guthrie, who chipped one in the direction of Ben Raine and he produced an excellent diving effort at mid-on. Northamptonshire then lost their ninth wicket as Aldridge accounted for Ben Sanderson, who was caught in the covers.

Durham then wrapped up the Northamptonshire innings, with Ben Raine picking up the final wicket as Justin Broad was caught behind one short of a half-century.

The hosts started their chase in challenging batting conditions before lunch, with Sanderson and Harry Conway getting the ball to talk but Ben McKinney responded by clubbing one to the boundary.

Alex Lees and McKinney were starting to find more run-scoring opportunities as they navigated the opening 10 overs successfully, but Northamptonshire found the breakthrough just before lunch as Guthrie got McKinney, who was caught brilliantly by Bartlett at backward point.

Lees was joined by Will Rhodes at the crease and the Northamptonshire bowlers continued to cause the Durham batters problems. The impressive Conway then got the vital wicket of Lees as the Durham captain edged a delivery straight to second slip.

Rhodes was heading back to the pavilion soon after as Calvin Harrison got him lbw to give Northamptonshire the edge and Sanderson got Graham Clark lbw to leave the hosts in trouble. Bedingham responded to the double blow by thrashing a Harrison delivery down the ground for six.

Bedingham and Ackermann, who came into the game as Ben Stokes' replacement, adopted a rearguard action and took the hosts through to tea without further loss.

The Durham pair continued their stand and Bedingham reached his half-century with a glorious cover drive.

The South African international then put his foot on the gas, with runs flowing quickly from his bat.

There was yet more drama, as Bedingham launched a Harrison ball towards the boundary and it was caught by Guthrie on the boundary, but it was a no-ball.

That mistake came back to haunt Harrison as Bedingham heaved a delivery over the leg-side boundary for six. Ackermann then started to play his shots as Durham neared the target, with the fifth-wicket partnership passing 150.

Bedingham brought up his fourth century of the season, while Ackermann brought up his first half-century of the season with the first boundary of his innings.

The pair then secured the victory, which gives their side a healthy lead at the top of Division Two.

Report by ECB Reporters' Network, supported by Rothesay.

• Durham and Northants poised for intriguing final day
• Stokes and Atkinson withdrawn from county games
• Stokes hits 95 for Durham while England struggle
• Stokes plays as Northants batters dominate Durham

Report by ECB Reporters' Network, supported by Rothesay.

• Notifications, social media and more with BBC Sport

Oilers bashed for letting Connor McDavid down with $12 million move originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Edmonton Oilers got Connor McDavid to sign a two-year contract extension, before the 2025-26 season, and do it at a discount.

The hope would be that the Oilers would then give that money to a big-time player to help McDavid.

Instead, Edmonton has paid Jason Dickinson, Connor Murphy and Trent Fredric. 

Yep, that's about as exciting as it sounds.

The Athletic's Thomas Drance summed it up with a savage post on X:

"Convincing the single most impactful individual player I’ve ever watched to leave money on the table, only to turn around and sign nearly $12 million worth of Connor Murphy, Jason Dickinson and Trent Frederic is genuinely wild work."

MORE: It's time to ask a serious Matthew Knies question

It's definitely a fair point.

There's something a bit underwhelming about the Oilers deciding before free agency arrived to simply re-sign depth pieces like Dickinson and Murphy. They likely would've been there in a week or two.

The Oilers didn't necessarily explore upgrades. They just gave out a good chunk of their open cap space to guys that aren't bad to have around, but also guys who aren't going to raise a team's upside considerably.

So what now? 

The Oilers may have to explore trades. There are a lot of big names floating around in rumors.

Darnell Nurse has requested a trade out of Edmonton, so that should get things moving more.

The hope for Oilers fans would be that when the new season arrives, McDavid will have more impressive help around him than he does right now. But Edmonton hasn't exactly rushed to make that happen.

• Jack Eichel turned into Ben Simmons
• Frederik Andersen heading toward an unceremonious exit
• Cale Makar is about to become a lot more expensive
• Sabres have reached the Alex Tuch pivot point
• Sidney Crosby trade plans did a 180 for the Penguins

New FIGC President Giovanni Malagò warns getting five stadiums ready to host EURO 2032 is ‘a challenge within a challenge,’ and Italian football cannot remain ‘fossilised’ by lack of reforms.

The former President of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) was elected today with 68.58 per cent of the vote, comfortably beating the other candidate, current Lega Nazionale Dilettanti President Giancarlo Abete.

He held a lengthy press conference after the election in Rome, where he touched upon other matters including the choice of a new Italy coach.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, ITALY – MARCH 5: Giovanni Malago, President of the Organising Committee for the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, speaks during the mural inauguration ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games at the Cortina Paralympic Village on March 05, 2026 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. (Photo by Linnea Rheborg/Getty Images for IPC)

Malagò replaces Gabriele Gravina, who resigned after Italy failed to qualify for a third consecutive edition of the World Cup, losing the play-offs on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“If it weren’t for a penalty, I wouldn’t be here now,” pointed out Malagò.

“It is incredible that Gravina was re-elected a year ago practically by unanimous consent, and yet he was unable to push through any of the proposed reforms.

“Objectively, the situation is completely fossilised. I will continue to defend the autonomy of sport, but if we don’t manage to change our ways, then someone will have to put us into a position to change. It is very simple.”

This is a reference to the possibility that the CONI or even the Government could appoint a special commissioner to force through reforms, if the various components of the Federation cannot vote anything through.

Malagò was chosen largely due to his experience in organising major international events in Italy, including the volleyball and swimming world championships, culminating in the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics.

He will need this when trying to help clubs build new stadiums and training facilities, as the situation is increasingly difficult for Italy to find five stadiums ready for EURO 2032.

They are co-hosting the competition with Turkiye, but even getting five stadiums ready is proving tough.

epa10911065 The UEFA Euro trophy is pictured after Italy and Turkey were elected to host the Euro 2032 fooball tournament during the UEFA EURO 2028 and 2032 hosts announcement ceremony at UEFA Headquarters, in Nyon, Switzerland, 10 October 2023. EPA-EFE/JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT

“EURO 2032 is a challenge within a challenge. I spoke to (UEFA President Aleksandar) Ceferin over the last few days, and already received messages from (FIFA President Gianni) Infantino.

“Michele Uva is our organisational figure with UEFA, we’ve got to identify these five stadiums,” added Malagò.

The discussion with the political class could also involve the push to give passports to players who were born or at least largely raised in Italy, even if they don’t have Italian blood.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, ITALY – MARCH 05: Giovanni Malago, President of the Organising Committee for the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, looks on during the Paralympic Games Opening Press Conference ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games at on March 05, 2026 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. (Photo by Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images)

“I was shocked that over 40 per cent of the players at the World Cup this summer are not representing the country where they were born. I am in favour of birth citizenship, because so many football federations have benefited from those rules.

“In football, you don’t get this limbo, if you wait then another country will come along and take the player because he can’t wait for a passport. It’s unacceptable.”

Where Italian citizenship is a problem is the youth academies, and Malagò explains the basic problem facing clubs.

“If you buy an Italian player in Italy, the club pays 22 per cent VAT on the transfer. If you get him abroad, then you don’t. Tell me, is that normal?”

The Oklahoma City Thunder are finalizing a trade to send Aaron Wiggins to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for two second-round picks, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.

Per the report, OKC will receive Atlanta’s 2030 selection and the least favorable between the Hawks’ and the Lakers’ second-round selections in 2032. The Hawks owned the rights to the Lakers’ 2032 pick.

Perhaps more importantly, the deal offers significant luxury tax relief for the Thunder. Per ESPN’s Bobby Marks, the trade reduces OKC’s projected luxury tax penalty next season from $213 million to $152 million.

The Thunder have two picks (Nos. 12 and No. 17) in the first round of the upcoming draft that starts Tuesday. Those picks will come with two first-round salaries unless they consolidate them to move up or trade one of them away.

Wiggins, 27, has played his entire five-season NBA career with the Thunder. He was a valuable bench piece for OKC who stepped up to start 47 games in the last two seasons in injury relief. In 65 regular season games last season, Wiggins averaged 9.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.

But he played a reduced role in the postseason and during the prior season’s playoffs as Oklahoma City won the NBA championship.

Wiggins averaged 1.5 points in 5.8 minutes per game while playing in 13 of Oklahoma City’s 15 playoff games this season. Jared McCain, whom the Thunder acquired via a midseason trade from the 76ers, developed to play a prominent role off the bench in the playoffs and projects to continue to do so next season.

The Thunder feature tremendous depth in the backcourt and appear to have prioritized luxury tax savings over retaining Wiggins on a deep bench.

For the Hawks, they acquire a potentially valuable rotation player for the relatively cheap cost of two future second-round picks. Wiggins has three years remaining on a five-year, $45 million contract that has a team option for the 2028-29 season.