Remember handball? The game with the bouncy ball you played in primary school. Well… I didn’t know until today that in parts of Victoria (namely Melbourne), it’s called Downball. Some others know it as four-square, I even saw ‘tap’ on the internet.

Send in your variation if you have one. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, that’s also very interesting to me.

P.S. The Aussie women’s cricket side is taking on India in a One-Day International as we speak. At the time of writing, India is batting and has scored 65 runs for four wickets.

451
The record number of games Eddie Ockenden played for the Kookaburras, Australia’s national men’s hockey team. The 37-year-old announced his retirement today after a decorated career that saw him win three medals (two bronze, one silver) at five Olympics. 

“He’s obviously entitled to his view and he’s moving on to new things and we wish him well in that. But we’re very proud of the position we’ve taken and we’re supporting the Afghan women’s cricket team”.
Cricket Australia chair Mike Baird in response to comments made by Greg Barclay, the outgoing International Cricket Council Chair. Barclay criticised Cricket Australia’s policy of refusing to play Afghanistan in standalone games or series but still playing them in World tournaments. Cricket Australia’s policy has been in place since 2021 when the Taliban took control of the country. Barclay told the London Telegraph, “If you really want to make a political statement, don’t play them in a World Cup”.

A professional Sumo Wrestling event has only been staged outside of Japan once before. In 1991, one of the six annual Grand Sumo Tournaments was held at Royal Albert Hall in London. Next October, Sumo will return to the same venue for a five-day tournament as part of the Japanese national sport’s professional schedule. 

🏀 In the WNBL, the Southside Flyers defeated the UC Capitals 89-78. Maddi Rocci and Alice Kunek starred for the Flyers with 22 and 21 points respectively. The victory for the Flyers has moved them up into fourth position on the WNBL ladder, while the UC Capitals are in seventh position. 

🏈 Sports broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit, whose dog Ben died recently, received a letter from President Joe Biden acknowledging the loss of his dog. Ben often featured on college football or NFL broadcasts and was well-known among fans. He died last month due to cancer at the age of 10. Part of the letter read: “I know what it is like to lose a beloved pet, and I hope you can find some comfort in cherishing the beautiful memories you shared with Ben. He was a good boy.”

🏏 The second Test between Australia and India is set to begin at the Adelaide Oval tomorrow. The Aussie men will be looking to bounce back after losing the opening match in Perth by 295 runs. The hosts have a strong record in Adelaide, having won their last five test matches at the venue. The most recent loss was to India in 2018. It is a day-night Test, meaning the first ball will be bowled at 3:00pm (AEDT). You can watch the cricket on Channel 7, Foxtel, or Kayo. 

⚽ Manchester United has supported defender Noussair Mazraoui’s refusal to wear a jacket supporting the LGBTQ+ community. The club abandoned plans for all players to wear the jacket, part of the Premier League’s Rainbow Laces campaign, after the Moroccan international told the club he would not wear it because of his Muslim faith. The club told The Athletic: “Players are entitled to hold their own individual opinions, particularly in relation to their faith, and these may sometimes differ from the club’s position.”

The Matildas beat Taiwan 3-1 in the first of two friendly matches between the teams. The victory saw three first-time scorers find the back of the net for the Matildas, with many of the side’s marquee players having returned overseas to fulfil club duties. 

The Matildas started strongly, with Natasha Prior scoring at the back post off a deflected header in the 10th minute. Sharn Freier was quick to add to the Matildas scoresheet, heading a goal in two minutes later. 

Before half-time, Taiwan netted a goal against Australia for the first time since 2007, courtesy of a superb individual effort from Jin-wen Chen. 

Australia sealed the victory with a goal from Bryleeh Henry in the 78th minute.

The match, played at AAMI Park in Melbourne, was the first to be played without a sellout crowd after 16 consecutive full-capacity stadiums for the Matildas. Even so, there were close to 27,000 people there.

Interim coach Tom Sermanni said: “I was pleased with how we played in general”.

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The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), the world’s premier women’s golf competition, announced a new gender policy for competition eligibility on Wednesday.

The policy states that to be eligible to play on the LPGA tour, players must be assigned female at birth. If an individual is assigned male at birth, they must have transitioned to female before reaching an early phase of puberty. The policy will take effect on 1 January 2025.

Mike Whan, former LPGA commissioner and CEO of the United States Golf Association, told the Associated Press the policy was developed with competitive fairness as the key priority.

Hailey Davidson, a professional golfer who transitioned in her early 20s, will no longer be eligible to compete on either the LPGA or its development tour.

Davidson posted on social media: “Can’t say I didn’t see this coming. Banned from the Epson and the LPGA. All the silence and people wanting to stay ‘neutral’ thanks for absolutely nothing. This happened because of all your silence.”

Part of the LPGA’s statement read: “In consulting with top experts in the fields of medicine, science, sport physiology and golf performance, we have been advised that a Player’s exposure to male puberty provides physical advantages that are beneficial to golf performance compared to Players who have not had such exposure.”

ICYMI: TDA Sport has a new game on Instagram called Blurdle. IYKYK.
Today’s answer: Harry Garside
Useless clue: Ancient fish to the left or the right

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