Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - World champions France recovered from two goals down to beat Belgium 3-2 in their Nations League semi-final in Turin.

Theo Hernandez's last minute strike secured France a place in this weekend's showpiece match against Spain.

In a crazy end to the game Belgium thought they had won the pulsating contest minutes earlier but Romelu Lukaku's late effort was ruled out for offside by VAR.

Yannick Carrasco fired Belgium ahead in the 37th minute and three minutes later Lukaku doubled their lead.

The 2-0 scoreline at the interval was somewhat harsh on France who had played some attractive football, with Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema linking up well with Antoine Griezmann in the three-pronged attack.

Benzema scored in the 62nd minute and Mbappe, who had not scored in his last six internationals, then equalised with a penalty.

Spain beat European champions Italy 2-1 yesterday.

-Reuters

Suspended prop leaves Warriors for Super League

Warriors prop Kane Evans is leaving the New Zealand NRL club to play in the Super League.

Evans had a tumultuous time with the Warriors, he was fined $5000 by the NRL for writing an explicit message on his strapping during a game in July and picked up a six-game suspension for throwing punches in the Warriors' final game of the year.

The 29-year-old signed for the Warriors from Parramatta and has been released from the last season of his contract in 2022.

"By mutual agreement we've parted ways amicably to enable Kane to pursue opportunities in the Super League," Warriors recruitment manager Peter O'Sullivan said.

"We thank Kane for the contribution he has made this season and wish him all the best for his future in England."

Evans joined the Warriors after a total of 117 matches for the Sydney Roosters and Parramatta since his NRL debut it 2014.

Queens baton leaves Buckingham Palace

The Queen has officially launched the Birmingham 2022 Queen's Baton Relay at Buckingham Palace.

British Paralympic athlete Kadeena Cox had the honour of being the first Birmingham 2022 Batonbearer to receive the Baton from The Queen,

Birmingham 2022 is preparing to welcome 4,500 athletes from 72 nations and territories for 11 days of sport, from 28 July - 8 August 2022.

The Baton will be in New Zealand in March.

Around 240 New Zealand athletes are expected to be selected for the Games.

Batters to be adopted for World Cup

The International Cricket Council will change "batsman" to the gender-neutral term "batter" in its playing conditions starting from this month's Twenty20 World Cup.

The Lord's-based Marylebone Cricket Club, the sole authority on the laws of the game since it was founded in 1787, last month made the change in the Laws of Cricket to stress the importance of the women's game.

"The ICC has been utilising the term batter for some time now across our channels and in commentary and we welcome the MCC's decision to implement it into the Laws of cricket and will follow suit with our playing conditions that are derived from the Laws," said ICC acting CEO Geoff Allardice.

The preliminary round matches of the men's T20 World Cup will start on Oct. 17 in United Arab Emirates and Oman.

England won the 2017 women's World Cup final in front of a capacity crowd at Lord's while the women's World T20 final between Australia and India in 2020 attracted more than 80,000 to the Melbourne Cricket Ground in increasing signs of popularity of the women's game.

Women's cricket will also feature at the Commonwealth Games for the first time in 2022 in Birmingham, England.

-Reuters

Women to join SailGP race crews

Female sailors will have a onboard racing role in this weekend's SailGP round in Spain.

Erica Dawson will compete on the New Zealand boat which is currently sixth in the standings.

Liv Mackay is the other woman in the New Zealand team.

SailGP introduced the Women's Pathway Program this season as part of its better sport strategy to promote inclusion, inspire change and provide opportunities across all levels of the sport.

Until now the women have held non-racing roles within the team, but for Spain a sixth position has been introduced onboard the F50 catamarans which will continue into next season.

SailGP CEO Sir Russell Coutts said: "It is our responsibility as a global league to ensure we create a culture and sporting championship that has gender equity.

" It is no secret that there is currently an experience gap among women at the top of the sport and so far this season we have embedded female athletes in each of our teams to gain vital experience.

"But, we recognize we have to go further to close the gap and work quicker to accelerate change, which is why we are taking this next step. It is imperative to break existing boundaries and create a more inclusive environment."

Fox starts well in Spain

New Zealand golfer Ryan Fox has made a strong start to the European Tour's Spanish Open.

Fox has carded a six-under 65 in the opening round to be tied for seventh place.

He sunk seven birdies and had just one bogey.

Fox is four shots behind the outright leader, England's Ross McGowan, who opened with a course record 10-under 61.

World number one Jon Rahm is third, two shots behind McGowan.

Ryan Fox has just one top 10 finish to his name on the European Tour this season and that was back at the Saudi International in February.

Ferguson returns in form

Black Caps fast bowler Lockie Ferguson has picked up three wickets to help the Kolkata Knight Riders to a big win in the Indian Premier League in Sharjah.

Chasing 172 for the win, Rajasthan Royals were bowled out for 85 in the 17th over with Ferguson taking three for 18 from his four overs.

Ferguson has just returned to action after a hamstring injury.

The result all but seals Kolkata a place in the play-offs.

Milestone for Canterbury player

Liv McGoverne is set to earn her 50th cap for Canterbury in tomorrow's Farah Palmer Cup final against Waikato in Christchurch.

The midfielder made her debut back in 2015 and has since gone on to be a linchpin in the Canterbury backline, winning 4 FPC titles along the way.

Steph Te Ohaere Fox will captain the side in her 105 games in red and black in the absence of Alana Bremner who's unavailable due to Black Fern commitments.

Waikato, who are chasing their first national title, will name their team today.

Saudis buy Newcastle

Premier League club Newcastle United have been taken over by a Saudi Arabian-backed consortium.

The consortium includes the kingdom's $620 billion sovereign wealth fund PIF, chaired by Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, which is at the centre of plans to transform its economy by creating new sectors and diversifying revenues away from oil.

The sale went through after the deal passed the Premier League owners' and directors' test.

The takeover brings to an end Mike Ashley's 14-year spell as Newcastle United owner.

-Reuters

England footballers to be controlled by all-women officials

An all-woman refereeing team will take charge of England's World Cup qualifier in Andorra this weekend, with Ukraine's Kateryna Monzul in the middle and compatriots Maryna Striletska and Svitlana Grushko her assistants.

Experienced French referee Stephanie Frappart will be the Video Assistant Referee for the Group I game at Estadi Nacional, marking the first time an England senior men's international will have all women referees.

Monzul officiated the UEFA Nations League match between San Marino and Gibraltar in November last year as part of the first all-female refereeing team to take charge of a senior men's international.

She made history in 2016 when she became the first female referee in Ukraine to officiate a men's top division match - a game between Chornomorets Odesa and Volyn Lutsk.

Among other big events, Monzul has refereed at Women's World Cups, including the 2015 final, and at European Championships.

In the past two years, Frappart became the first woman to referee a men's Champions League match, a French Ligue 1 game as well as a men's World Cup qualifier.

She also became the first female official to be involved in men's European Championship matches this year.

-Reuters

Raducanu given advise about social media

American teenager Coco Gauff has urged U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu to be wary of social media following the Briton's maiden Grand Slam triumph at Flushing Meadows last month.

Raducanu, who became the first qualifier to win a major, has since gained thousands of new followers on social media, setting up an account on Chinese microblogging site Weibo to keep in touch with fans in that country.

Gauff, who shot to fame as a 15-year-old when she reached the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2019, urged the 18-year-old Raducanu to take time away from her phone.

" ... It is exciting when you get all the retweets, all the follows and all of that, but it can be a bit overwhelming. At least in my experience. That's probably what I wish I would've known, not to focus on social media," said the world number 19.

Roger Federer, a 20-times Grand Slam champion, also recently suggested that the next generation of tennis stars like Raducanu needed help to prevent abuse on social media affecting them.

Gauff and Raducanu will be in action this week at Indian Wells, which returns after two years following the COVID-19 pandemic.

-Reuters

Stokes to miss Ashes series

All-rounder Ben Stokes looks set to miss the Ashes series against Australia later this year after England's cricket board said he has undergone a second operation on a broken index finger.

The 30-year-old sustained the injury playing in the Indian Premier League in April and after the first operation he returned in July, leading England to a 3-0 one-day international series win over Pakistan despite needing injections to play.

Stokes then decided to take an indefinite break from cricket to focus on his mental health after pulling out of the home test series against India that began in August.

"Stokes had two screws and scar tissue removed from the index finger of his left hand," the ECB said in a statement.

"He will now undergo an intensive period of rehabilitation for the next four weeks under the supervision of the ECB's medical team."

Stokes has been omitted from England's squad for the Twenty20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates and Oman, and now looks likely to miss his second Ashes series.

The first match of the five-test series against Australia is due to start on Dec. 8.

-Reuters

Murray loses wedding ring

Airing his sweaty tennis shoes outside a California hotel room has landed Andy Murray in trouble at home after the shoes were stolen - along with his wedding ring tied to one of the laces.

Murray, who married Kim Sears in 2015, has played with his wedding ring attached to one of his laces ever since and did so when he took part in a practice session ahead of his opener in the Indian Wells tournament against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.

The theft prompted the Scot to issue a video plea on Twitter in an attempt to recover the ring.

-Reuters