A shout out in today’s intro must go to Bradley O’Dell, a 65-year-old spin bowler who plays for Newcastle City Cricket Club.

In a fourth-grade match on the weekend, O’Dell took 10 wickets in a single innings. Making the feat more impressive is the fact that he only conceded 20 runs.

O'Dell told ABC Newcastle Breakfast this morning: "I got a big bear hug … and [the team] sort of mobbed me, it was fantastic."

How good is community sport!

2
The number of Australian teams in Super Rugby Pacific who haven’t lost a game yet. Both the NSW Waratahs and Queensland Reds managed to maintain their clean sheet over the weekend with wins over the Fijian Drua (29-24) and the Western Force (28-24) respectively. The Waikato Chiefs are the only other undefeated club in the competition and are sitting on top of the table. 

“I’ve just changed my life. This is what I do. I want to be here and just play golf. The story is what it is, but I’m just out here playing golf.”
Australian golfer Ryan Peake after winning the New Zealand Open in Queenstown on Sunday. Peake’s victory is the culmination of a remarkable journey for an athlete who was once a member of the Rebels Motorcycle Club and served a five-year prison sentence for assault. The 31-year-old, who won by one stroke, earned a guaranteed spot at The British Open later this year.

Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis has broken the men’s pole vault world record 11 times. The double Olympic champion broke his own record for the 11th time on Friday, clearing the bar at 6.27m at a track and field meet in France.

🏏 India beat New Zealand by 44 runs in their final group-stage match of the ICC Champions Trophy to book their spot against Australia in tomorrow night’s semi-final. Leg-spinner Varun Chakravarthy starred for India with a five-wicket haul. The semi-final between Australia and India will be played in Dubai, rather than official host country Pakistan, because India refuses to play there. The other semi-final will see New Zealand take on South Africa on Wednesday. 

🏀 The S.E. Melbourne Phoenix have forced their Playoffs series with the Illawarra Hawks to Game 3 after winning Game 2 101-94 to level the series on Sunday. Matt Hurt starred for the Phoenix with 30 points. On Saturday, the Perth Wildcats also forced their Playoff series with Melbourne United to a third game. The Wildcats were as far as 20 points behind but came back to win 96-89. The NBL Finals will resume tomorrow night, with the series decider between the Wildcats and United at 7:30pm (AEDT).

🏏 The NSW Breakers beat the Queensland Fire by 21 runs in the final of the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL). It’s the first time NSW has won the competition since 2019. Anika Learoyd was named the Player of the Match, scoring 80 runs off 110 balls. The WNCL is Australia’s top women’s one-day cricket competition. 

⚽ Australia’s Young Socceroos won the under-20 Asian Cup for the first time, beating Saudi Arabia in a penalty shootout in the final. Goalkeeper Steven Hall saved Saudi Arabia’s final penalty to seal the win for Australia. The side will now turn its attention to the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile later this year, where Australia will compete for the first time in over a decade.

🎾 Czech tennis player Tomáš Macháč won his first-ever ATP title at the Mexican Open. The eighth seed at the tournament beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the final in straight sets. He is the third Czech player to win an ATP 500 title. Meanwhile, American Jessica Pegula won her seventh career title with a victory in the final of the ATX Open in Austin, Texas. Pegula beat fellow American McCartney Kessler in straight sets. 

With the Ski Freestyle and Snowboard World Championships set to take place later this month, Australian athletes have continued to impress in the lead-up at various World Cup events.

Australian snowboarders Cam Bolton and Josie Baff won gold in the mixed-team snowboard cross at a World Cup event in Türkiye. Baff also won a bronze medal in the individual event on Saturday.

Aerial skier Laura Peel added to her extensive medal collection, winning gold at a World Cup event in Kazakhstan.

Australian skier Matt Graham claimed a bronze medal in the dual moguls event at that event. The result marked the 27th podium finish of the 30-year-old’s career. Dual moguls is a tournament-style event where skiers are paired up to compete against each other.

There is one more World Cup event next weekend in Italy before the all-important World Championships later this month.

Bolton said: "[Baff] is riding so well I just wanted to come out and make sure that I rode as well as I could and give her every opportunity to shine, and shine she did."

Graham said: "I was feeling the pressure a little at the top, it was running through my head, but I had to tell myself to land the top air, ski a run and let it happen from there in the final dual."

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Rugby league fans were treated to a full day of action on Sunday as the NRL opened the 2025 season in Las Vegas. Here are the stories making headlines.

In the opening fixture of the day, the Wigan Warriors defeated the Warrington Wolves 48-24. The Warriors were on top from the outset, scoring 42 unanswered points before the Wolves finally got on the scoreboard.

Then, the NRL season officially began with the Canberra Raiders playing the New Zealand Warriors. The Raiders won the match convincingly with a final scoreline of 30-8. Rising star Xavier Savage starred for the Raiders with two tries. Coach Ricky Stuart said afterwards: “We’ve had a really good pre-season, and I think that shows.”

The Jillaroos came within two points of breaking the side’s single-match scoring record of 92, beating England’s Lionesses 90-4. The Jillaroos completely dominated the English side, running in 17 tries, five of which belonged to fullback Tamika Upton. Play was paused early in the second half as England prop Vicky Whitfield was stretchered off the field after a brutal head knock with Australia’s Sarah Togatuki.

Finally, four-time defending champions the Penrith Panthers beat the Cronulla Sharks 28-22 in a closely fought match. The Sharks were within a try with two minutes to go but were unable to force the match into overtime with a try. The result showed that even without playmaker Jarome Luai and hard-charging forward James Fisher-Harris, Penrith will still be one of the teams to beat this year.

New Zealand Warriors assistant coach Richard Agar is being investigated by the NRL’s integrity unit following an incident during the Warriors match against the Raiders. Agar is reported to have grabbed English journalist John Davidson at half-time.

Warriors CEO Cameron George said in a statement: "Post-game I was made aware of an alleged incident at half-time involving assistant coach Richard Agar and an English journalist John Davidson from The Guardian. This morning I had the opportunity to speak with the NRL Integrity Unit. They are working through their process which will include us.”

ARLC boss Peter V’landys told AAP that the number of games may be reduced from four to three next year to encourage spectators to stay for the whole duration of the event. According to reports, the attendance in Allegiant Stadium peaked at over 45,000 but a significant number left before the final match between the Panthers and Sharks. V’landys said: "We're looking at three next year [because of the] length of day and fans leaving after their teams played."

Round 1 of the NRL will resume on Thursday night when the Sydney Roosters play the Brisbane Broncos.

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