Sports news – 9th September

Here’s today’s sports news with Tommy Bennett:

Stand-in captain Moeen Ali admits England’s cricketers made uncharacteristic mistakes in their final Twenty20 international with Australia. The hosts suffered a 5-wicket defeat in Southampton – missing the chance to complete a series whitewash. England’s fielders dropped several catches. Moeen tells Sky Sports News, it’s those sort of errors that cost them.

The final table in rugby league’s Super League will be decided on a points per game percentage for the first time. It’s after the organisers acknowledged not all teams may be able to play the same number of matches before the end of the regular season. The changes mean Catalans Dragons are the new leaders, leaping above St Helens, Warrington and Wigan.

Somerset have reached the final of county cricket’s Bob Willis Trophy. They’ve progressed from the Central Group as winners after beating Worcestershire by 60 runs. Somerset will now face holders Essex in a five-day contest at Lord’s later this month for the county championship title.  Essex beat Middlesex by 9 wickets across the 4 days. 

Essex Cricket Club have an extra boost going into the final of the County Championship as wicket keeper and batsman Adam Wheater signed a contract extension. The deal will see him stay with Essex until 2022. Wheater has been an integral part of the squad that has won 2 County Championships and one T20 Vitality Blast in the past 3 years. 

Basildon United FC won their final pre-season game 5-1 last night against Heybridge Swifts U23s. The club welcomed fans to the Basildon Beigels Stadium but they had to follow strict social distancing measures to ensure the safety of everyone at the game. The Bees play their first game of the season this Saturday against Stansted in the FA Cup. Bowers and Pitsea also start their season on Saturday. They are playing in the FA Cup against Barton Rovers FC.

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