ISLAMABAD (AP) Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed has defended the 16-man national squad for tours of Ireland and England as the ''best of the best'' despite criticism over the omission of batsman Fawad Alam.

The car builds on the strong platform of its predecessor, but it has been clear that there has been a lot of work done to improve areas which it felt were not perfect – and recover those areas where it had been forced to make changes because of external influence.Suspension evolutionRewind 12 months and a technical directive issued before action even got underway at the start of last ... Keep reading

STUTTGART, Germany (AP) Petra Kvitova defeated Julia Goerges 6-3, 6-2 Saturday to give the Czech Republic a 1-0 lead over Germany in their Fed Cup World Group semifinal.

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The reigning champion, who finished second after being passed late on by Scott McLaughlin, had 38 seconds added to his race time for turning off his pitlane speed limiter too early.Rick Kelly moves up to second as a result, while Shane van Gisbergen inherits the final podium spot.A stewards' report read: "Following a report from Supercars Pit Lane Officials ... Keep reading

Kawasaki rider Rea was up to the lead on the opening lap from second on the grid with van der Mark, starting seventh, making quick moves on Alex Lowes and Xavi Fores to run second.The local rider put pressure on Rea in the first half of the race, and managed to take the lead at Turn 15 for two laps before the reigning champion retook first with an identical move.Van der Mark's Yamaha ... Keep reading

Tougher measures were agreed to in Friday's Safety Commission meeting at Austin, which was attended by most riders following the controversy surrounding Marc Marquez's aggressive riding at Termas de Rio Hondo.The world champion, recovering from an earlier ride-through penalty, was ordered to drop a place after making contact with Aleix Espargaro and was then given a 30-second time ... Keep reading

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) Defending champion Crusaders scored two early tries and then lost their way in a hailstorm before running away to a 33-11 win over Japan's winless Sunwolves in Super Rugby on Saturday.

Boom and bust: that was Ferrari's way. From the peaks, the view was breathtaking. Ascari, Fangio, Hawthorn, Hill, Surtees, Lauda, Scheckter... these were the blessed members of Formula 1's most exclusive club, all having filled their lungs with the heady, rarefied air as Ferrari world champions.Yet, almost to a man, the oxygen turned sour on the inevitable plummeting descent ... Keep reading

TOKYO (AP) Brazilian striker Patric scored his sixth goal of the season on Saturday as Sanfrecce Hiroshima beat Sagan Tosu 1-0 to increase its lead in the J-League.

Rea was confidently leading as SP2 started, his 1m34.761s lap giving him a three-tenth lead over Barni Ducati's Xavi Fores during the mid-session pitstops.However Lowes moved from third to first with a 1m34.066s during the final minute of qualifying, and Rea's subsequent improvement fell narrowly short.Fores was the fastest Ducati rider in third, as the rest of the field was over six ... Keep reading

Following complaints of severe bumps by riders last year, the Austin venue used diamond-grinder trucks to try and smooth out the track ahead of this year's MotoGP round.However, the consensus among riders has been that these efforts have failed, with the surface still riddled with bumps and also covered in a fine layer of cement dust that has affected visibility.Yamaha rider Ross ... Keep reading

Nakajima Racing’s Takuya Izawa was the first driver to set a lap time in Q3, clocking the Suzuka circuit in 1m37.935s.Honda protege Nirei Fukuzumi then posted a 1m36.991s flyer to take over the top spot, only for 2013 champion Yamamoto to deny him a debut pole by going 0.080s quicker in the sister Honda.Dandelion’s Takuya Izawa ended up third with a late lap of his own, a further ... Keep reading

IndyCar has implemented a common aerokit for 2018 which has moved it increasingly toward spec cars, although there are areas for development such as suspension. Since the new car was introduced there has been record overtaking at the street circuit St. Petersburg, while the notoriously difficult Phoenix oval proved more conducive to passes, with drivers praising the series’ ... Keep reading

It was Whincup that got the best of the start, he and polesitter McLaughlin running side-by-side for several corners on the first lap before the Red Bull Holden eased into the lead.From there he was able to slowly build a small gap over McLaughlin across the first stint, getting as much as 1.2s ahead around the 10-lap mark, before McLaughlin reeled it back to within a second a few ... Keep reading

DALLAS (AP) A Mickey Mantle baseball card from 1952 was sold at auction for $2.88 million, falling just short of setting a record.

Dias will drive for Magnussen Racing experience, a team run by multiple Le Mans 24 Hours class winner and former F1 driver Jan Magnussen.The announcement comes in the run-up to the first round of the championship, due to take place at Padborg Park this weekend.“I am pleased to announce that I'll race in the Formula 4 Denmark Championship this year with Magnussen Racing Experience,” ... Keep reading

Kansas City Royals-Detroit Tigers preview

Matt Koch, brought up from Triple-A Reno to take the start, allowed one run on two hits in six innings.

DENVER -- Rain was in the forecast Friday night, which was the last thing the Chicago Cubs needed after having three games postponed this week.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Two left-handers off to fast starts go head-to-head Saturday night when the Boston Red Sox send Chris Sale against the Oakland Athletics and Sean Manaea in the second matchup of a three-game series.

LOS ANGELES - Stephen Strasburg just received the blueprint on how to keep the emerging Los Angeles Dodgers' offense under wraps.

LOS ANGELES (AP) Max Scherzer scattered four hits over six innings against Clayton Kershaw in the 13th all-time meeting of three-time Cy Young Award winners and the Washington Nationals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-2 on Friday night.

Segura keys 4-run 9th as Mariners rally past Rangers 6-2

Tyson Ross lost his bid to pitch the first no-hitter in the history of the San Diego Padres