Briefly: WTC final to be played at Lord’s on June 11-15: ICC

Dubai

The third World Test Championship (WTC) final will be played at the iconic Lord’s between June 11 and 15 next year. The ICC has marked June 16 as the reserve day. The Lord’s is hosting the WTC final for the first time as Southampton (2021) and the Oval (2023) were the venues for the two previous title matches.

New Delhi

India claim 1-2 in mixed air rifle at Deaf Worlds

The Indian contingent continued its medal winning spree, finishing 1-2 in the 10m air rifle mixed team event of the 2nd World Deaf Shooting Championship at Hanover, Germany. The duo of Mahit Sandhu and Dhanush Srikanth secured the gold medal while Natasha Joshi and Mohammed Murtaza Vania clinched the silver. Pranjali Dhumal and Abhinav Deshwal won silver in the 10m air pistol mixed team event.

London

McCullum to take charge of England across all formats

England Test head coach Brendon McCullum will also take charge of their white-ball teams from January next year. The 42-year-old former New Zealand captain will replace Matthew Mott, who stepped down following England’s T20 World Cup semifinal exit against eventual champions India.

Karachi

Oltmans steps down as Pakistan hockey team coach

Head coach Roelant Oltmans ended his association with the Pakistan hockey team after he refused to join the side in China for the upcoming Asian Champions Trophy, citing the lack of a long-term contract. A PHF source said that Oltmans was offered an “event-to-event” contract.

Montevideo

Uruguay’s Suarez announces international retirement

Uruguay striker Luis Suarez announced his international retirement, ending a 17-year career with his national team as their top scorer with 69 goals. The 37-year-old, who has 142 caps for his country, made his international debut in 2007 and was key in the squad that reached the semifinals of the 2010 World Cup and won the Copa America a year later. Suarez’s last game will be against Paraguay in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup on Friday.

Zurich

FIFA says $6.5 billion of spending in transfer window

Spending on transfer fees in international men’s player deals cooled off during the mid-year trading period, according to a FIFA research. FIFA said clubs committed to spend $6.46 billion on buying players in cross-border deals during the June-to-September transfer window — down from $7.43 billion in the same period a year ago.

Karachi

Kirsten to oversee Pakistan domestic One-day meet

Pakistan’s white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten will oversee the Champions Cup domestic One-day competition in which all the contracted players have been asked to play. Kirsten will be helped by physiotherapist Cliff Deacon and strength coach Dreks Simon to check players’ performance and fitness before Pakistan’s white-ball matches this season.

london

Russia’s Tomashova gets 10-year ban for doping

Russia’s Tatyana Tomashova has been given a 10-year ban after she was found to have violated anti-doping regulations at the 2012 Olympics, as the fallout from that Games’s shocking women’s 1,500 metres final continues.