Englishman Sam Bodoano has broken the world record for the longest run-up to bowl a cricket ball.

With the ball in hand and wearing full cricket whites, Bodoano ran 100km from north London to a town called Woking and bowled the first ball of a match, where his father was waiting at the crease.

Dad cut the ball out to the off side for no runs.

As part of the conditions to break the record, Bodoano had to play out the full match. The previous record was held by Sam Dunn, who ran 24km, also through London, to bowl a ball.

The record will now need to be officially verified by Guinness World Records.

Poll result: On Wednesday, we asked you if ‘Test match tennis’ is a good idea. 51% said ‘No, it sounds ridiculous’ and 49% said ‘Yes, it sounds compelling’. Interesting!

🏉 The Brisbane Broncos closed out a forgettable title defence this season with a 34-20 win over the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs on Thursday night. Payne Haas scored the opening try for the Broncos in his last match for the club before he joins the South Sydney Rabbitohs next season. Both sides had already been eliminated from finals contention, with the reigning premiers set to finish 14th or 15th this year.

🏉 Hawthorn produced one of the upsets of the AFL season on Thursday night, beating minor premiers the Fremantle Dockers 72-40 in the first of two qualifying finals this weekend. The result ended the Dockers’ unbeaten record at home this season, and sends Hawthorn straight into a home preliminary final at the MCG in a fortnight. Fremantle now face a must-win semi-final next week against the winner of tonight’s elimination final between Geelong and Carlton.

🚴 Slovenian cyclist Jakob Omrzel became the youngest winner of a Grand Tour stage since 1981 after winning Stage 12 of the Vuelta a España on Thursday. The 20-year-old is younger than five-time Tour de France champion and current world champion Tadej Pogacar was when he won his first stage of a Grand Tour. The Grand Tours (the Vuelta, the Giro d’Italia, and the Tour de France) are three-week, multi-stage races considered to be the toughest in cycling. Spain’s Enric Mas remains the overall race leader, and extended his advantage over second-placed Primoz Roglic to one minute and 45 seconds on last night’s stage.

🎾 Alex de Minaur is out of the U.S. Open in the second round after being beaten in straight sets by unseeded Dutch player Botic van de Zandschulp (6-4, 7-5, 6-2). It marks his first loss in five meetings. Meanwhile, wildcard Dane Sweeny reached the third round for the first time, stunning Lorenzo Musetti in four sets (3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2). Courtside in New York, Sweeny said he “wasn’t getting results for a long while” but kept persevering, adding “that’s the beautiful thing about pursuing something so hard like tennis”. He’s now the last Aussie standing in either the men’s or women’s singles, up to 109th in the live rankings and faces Italian world no. 22 Luciano Darderi on Saturday.

Talking points: Sixteen of the world’s top women’s basketball nations are in Berlin, Germany for the FIBA Women’s World Cup beginning tonight. Coached by Sandy Brondello and led by captain Ezi Magbegor, Australia’s Opals return to the tournament having won a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics in 2024. At the last World Cup in 2022, the Opals also won bronze, losing to China by two points in the semi-final before overcoming Canada by 30 points in the third-place play-off. At this World Cup, Australia sit in Group C alongside Belgium (5th), Turkiye (16th) and Puerto Rico (13th), with only the top team advancing straight to the quarter-finals. The teams that finish second and third in the group stage will compete in an extra qualification phase before the quarter-finals. The Opals will be out to better their 2022 campaign and have their sights set on the team’s first world title since 2006.

How to watch: The Opals’ opening match against Puerto Rico will be played tonight at 7:30pm (AEST). You can watch the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup on ESPN, Disney+, Kayo and DAZN.

Talking points: Three more finals this weekend will leave six teams in contention for the 2026 AFL premiership. Tonight, fifth-placed Geelong will host 10th-placed Carlton at the MCG in an elimination final. Carlton will look to keep the good times rolling after an impressive win over Melbourne last week. On Saturday afternoon, attention will turn to the second-placed Sydney Swans, who are set to host back-to-back premiers Brisbane at the SCG in a qualifying final. The Swans have won their only match since five players - Isaac Heeney, Nick Blakey, Riley Bice, James Jordon, and Chad Warner - were suspended last month for breaching the club’s behavioural standards, but the squad’s depth will be put to the test against Brisbane. On Saturday night, the second elimination final will see the Adelaide Crows face the Western Bulldogs at Adelaide Oval. The Crows, who finished the 2025 season as minor premiers only to be bundled out in straight sets, are looking for the club’s first finals win since 2017.

How to watch: Carlton will play Geelong at 7.40pm tonight (AEST). You can watch the AFL Finals on Channel 7, Kayo, and Foxtel.

Talking points: Australia continues its two-Test tour of Argentina on Sunday, riding the momentum of last week’s 27-21 win over Los Pumas. It’s the fourth match under newly appointed coach Les Kiss. Tom Wright will bring up his 50th cap at fullback, forming a back three with Max Jorgensen and Filipo Daugunu, while Ben Donaldson earns his first start in the gold No.10 jersey in two years. Captain Harry Wilson returns to the back row alongside Fraser McReight and Rob Valetini, and Len Ikitau and Joseph-Aukuso Sua’ali’i reunite in the midfield for their 17th Test together. Despite last week’s victory, coach Kiss said “we will need to keep stepping up our game in all areas”.

Wallabies (1-15): Angus Bell, Billy Pollard, Taniela Tupou, Josh Canham, Jeremy Williams, Rob Valetini, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson, Ryan Lonergan, Ben Donaldson, Filipo Daugunu, Len Ikitau, Joseph-Aukuso Sua’ali’i, Max Jorgensen, Tom Wright

How to watch: Australia takes on Argentina at 7am on Sunday (AEST). You can watch all the action on Stan Sport.

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