Tottenham vs. Wolves have the makings of a big game as both teams chase a European place. How will Jose Mourinho respond after the loss at Chelsea? Here's what we are watching out for in the Premier League this weekend.

JUMP TO: How will Mourinho approach key Wolves clash? West Ham on the rebound? | Liverpool the new road kings? | Man to Watch | Game to watch | Team that needs luck | One thing that will happen | Predictions

THE WEEKEND'S BIG QUESTIONS

How will Jose Mourinho approach the game against Wolves?

Jose Mourinho's constant insistence that, without Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min, there's only one possible way he could set up his Tottenham team is just about plausible, if not massively convincing, against RB Leipzig in the Champions League and away to Chelsea. But what about against Wolves? How does Mourinho gauge this one?

This is a big game, against an excellent team who are one of Tottenham's rivals for a European place, but what would Mourinho be saying about the attacking players he has if he doesn't think they can compete in a home game against a team of similar quality, who played on Thursday when Tottenham will have had eight days to prepare? Surely he can't be as negative in this game as he has been before, can he? If he does, it might be another piece of evidence that he's yesterday's coach.

Was West Ham's performance vs. Liverpool the start of a recovery?

For a while on Monday night, it looked like football would do what football does and make West Ham the first team to beat Liverpool this season. But Liverpool did what Liverpool do and got those two late goals to consign the Hammers to a fifth defeat in seven and emphasise even further what desperate trouble they are in. Still, if David Moyes was sunny of disposition, he could spin it as a positive, reason that quite literally nobody beats Liverpool in the Premier League and their performance at Anfield is something to build upon.

For their sake, it had better be, because their game against Southampton at the weekend is now absolutely colossal, firstly because...well, any game would be after a run as bad as theirs, but after this one their next fixtures are Arsenal (a), Wolves (h), Tottenham (a) and Chelsea (h). Not that the Saints should be regarded as a team they should beat: Ralph Hasenhuttl's men are the fifth-best away team in the Premier League, and the Hammers have the second-worst home record. This could get ugly.

Can Liverpool break the record for most consecutive wins?

After most weekends for the past few months it's been a challenge to come up with new ways to describe Liverpool's complete dominance over the rest of the Premier League. If they win on Saturday though, it will be more straightforward: victory over Watford will be their 19th in a row, breaking the record that they currently jointly hold with Manchester City, setting further in stone this Liverpool side's place in history.

Does it mean much? Jurgen Klopp will probably shrug and say it doesn't, but more tangibly it will be another step towards confirming the title, which at the moment is on pace to be confirmed against Crystal Palace towards the end of March. With Manchester City otherwise engaged with the Carabao Cup final this weekend, a Liverpool win will put them an extraordinary 25 points ahead. It doesn't matter how many times you see that written down, it still doesn't quite seem real.

MAN TO WATCH

Odion Ighalo

It was impossible not to feel delighted for Odion Ighalo as he scored his first goal for Manchester United against Club Brugge on Thursday. But now sentiment must be set aside, because Ighalo's work really starts: we don't know how serious Anthony Martial's thigh injury is, but United would be foolish to risk the Frenchman for the trip to Everton on Sunday if there is any doubt over his fitness.

All of which means all eyes are on Ighalo, who'll now almost certainly have to be their attacking focal point, thrown into the Premier League team probably a little earlier than is ideal. But this is his big chance, to show those that scoffed at United signing him that they were wrong, and to justify the faith they showed in him.

THE GAME YOU'RE NOT PLANNING TO WATCH...BUT SHOULD

Brighton vs. Crystal Palace

Frequently one of the most entertaining fixtures in the calendar, if only because of the strange and long-running rivalry between the two sides. There are various theories about why these two don't like each other, most of them dating back to a couple of games in the 1970s, but it remains odd that teams some 46 miles apart maintain such enmity. It's most certainly there though, and while this is a game between two relatively mediocre teams who are probably competent enough to stay up, but not good enough to do much more than that, it is still certainly worth a look.

THE TEAM THAT NEEDS A BIT OF LUCK

Leicester City

They might still be in the Champions League places, but Leicester's form is abysmal: three wins in the last 11, they've failed to score in the last two, have only kept clean sheets in two of those 11 and it was the draw against this weekend's opponents Norwich back in December that seemed to start the poor run. Much could depend on whether Wilfred Ndidi is fit to return, the midfielder whose absence has been one of the key reasons for their poor form, and about whose fitness Brendan Rodgers was cagey this week. For the moment their cushion in the Champions League places looks comfortable at nine points, but if they can't beat the bottom-of-the-table Canaries, then alarm bells will really start to ring.

ONE THING THAT WILL DEFINITELY HAPPEN

Burnley will beat Newcastle in the grimmest game you'll see

Newcastle have one win in their last nine. Burnley have won four of their last five. The form indicates that there's only one way this encounter will go, but would we recommend watching it? No we would not. Sean Dyche generally bristles at the suggestion that his Burnley side are not great to watch, but aside from the brilliant left foot of Dwight McNeil, not many neutrals would willingly part with cash to see them. Newcastle will be trying to grimly hang on and get something -- anything -- to stave off the threat of the relegation scrap, and aside from the chaos of Allan Saint-Maximin and occasional flashes from Miguel Almiron, aren't great entertainers either. No, we wouldn't suggest clearing space in your diary for this one.

PREDICTIONS

Norwich 1-1 Leicester
Brighton 1-0 Crystal Palace
Bournemouth 0-2 Chelsea
Newcastle 0-1 Burnley
West Ham 0-3 Southampton
Watford 1-3 Liverpool
Tottenham 2-2 Wolves
Everton 3-2 Manchester United

Mushfiqur Rahim has stressed that he would not change his mind about skipping the tour of Pakistan, despite BCB president Nazmul Hassan's tough stance on the matter, where he said that Mushfiqur was "contract-bound" to tour with the rest of the team.

"I made my stance clear about Pakistan, and they [BCB] has also accepted it," Mushfiqur told NTV news channel. "They should have shown me respect for not putting my name in the PSL draft either. I think it is pretty clear. It won't change in the future. I wish well to those who are going to Pakistan."

Bangladesh's tour of Pakistan was split in three, and the last of these is lined up for early April, when the two teams play a one-off ODI [April 3] and the second of two Tests [from April 5], all in Karachi. The two teams first played a three-T20I series in Lahore in January and then the first Test in Rawalpindi earlier this month. Mushfiqur, who scored his third double-hundred in Tests in Bangladesh's innings-and-106-run win over Zimbabwe in Dhaka earlier this week, had opted out of touring earlier, saying that his family was concerned for his safety.

He was the only Bangladeshi cricketer to refuse to travel.

Hassan, who had stated before announcing the tour dates in January that every player had the right to choose whether he wanted to tour Pakistan or not, made a U-turn after Bangladesh's win over Zimbabwe, expressing his dismay at Mushfiqur's decision.

"We are expecting that he would go. Not only him, but every contracted player should go," he had said. "Players have to think about the country, and not just themselves. This is what I personally feel. The country comes before everything else.

"Everyone should keep it in mind. We will remind them that the contracted players must play as they are told, when selected. It never occurred to me that one has to tell them this, too."

Amid all the carnage left in the wake of the February 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, the city also lost its primary cricket venue, Lancaster Park. With time, the boutique Hagley Oval, located within the approximately 165-hectare Hagley Park, became the city's new Test centre.

The two venues can't be any more dissimilar in character. Lancaster Park was a stadium where Hagley Oval is clearly a ground, with only one permanent stand and grass banks everywhere else. And like Auckland's Eden Park, Lancaster Park hosted both cricket and rugby, and was known for having similarly quirky dimensions, while Hagley Oval has the traditional cricket-ground shape implied by its name, and some of the longest boundaries in New Zealand.

Another major difference between the venues is how much, or how little, spinners have enjoyed playing there.

Of all the grounds that have hosted Test cricket in New Zealand, Lancaster Park - later known as Jade Stadium, and then AMI Stadium - has produced the best average for spinners, 28.17, though the 40 Tests at that venue were spread over a 76-year span, during which the conditions weren't always the same.

ALSO READ: Shastri hints at Ashwin-Jadeja swap for Christchurch

Which ground has produced the worst average for spinners? Hagley Oval, of course - an eye-watering 59.78.

It isn't surprising, therefore, that the lead-up to the second Test at Hagley has contained plenty of talk about New Zealand playing an all-seam attack against India.

On the eve of the Test match, the pitch was a bright green, with 12mm of grass left on it, according to head groundsman Rupert Bool.

The pitch is expected to offer a little more pace than the one in Wellington did during the first Test last week, where the bounce was often steep but slow off the surface. There is likely to be plenty of seam movement, at least on days one and two, and perhaps more swing too, with bowlers not having to deal with the extreme wind conditions prevalent during some parts of the first Test in Wellington.

And even if there is wind, there may not be any drawing of straws to determine which fast bowler has to bowl against it.

"From experience, I know whether the wind is coming toward the right to left or left to right," Trent Boult said on the eve of the Test match. "Not straight down, and I have seen the wickets. Just excited to have a crack against a good side. It has been an exciting series so far."

As much as New Zealand's fast bowlers enjoyed bowling at Basin Reserve last week, Boult felt Hagley could offer them even more help.

"The Basin has generally turned into a very nice batting surface," he said. "There's a lot of runs been scored there both in domestic and international cricket. Here's a slightly different story. You're not battling the wind first of all.

"The overheads are there and it's generally a nice place to pitch the ball up and get it swinging around. So we do enjoy coming here as a bowling unit. Hopefully, we can continue that over the next couple of days."

Boult did not commit to whether New Zealand would play four fast bowlers, though. With Neil Wagner coming back into the side, their pre-match twelve is pretty clear, with the tall fast-bowling allrounder Kyle Jamieson and the left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel competing for one slot.

"If we look at the record here from specifically New Zealand spinners, there haven't been too many wickets taken by spinners," Boult said. "If that suggests there isn't much turn or they haven't bowled [that much], I'm not too sure, but generally it's good wicket that has good pace and carry.

"There are several ways to be aggressive, whether you can have four or five slips or whether you can have a ring field to control the run-rate. In my opinion both things are aggressive." Trent Boult

"I know it swings around here a bit and it generally a good wicket, a good contest between the bat and ball. That's what we are going to expect.

As poor as the overall record of spinners at Hagley Oval looks at first glance, only six Tests have been played here, and not a whole lot of world-class spinners have taken part. No frontline spinner from New Zealand has played more than one Test here, and whoever has featured has often had very little to do.

Visiting spinners, however, have done a useful job here on a few occasions.

When Brendon McCullum smashed 145 off 79 balls here in 2016 - the fastest Test hundred of all time - Nathan Lyon took three first-innings wickets to help bowl New Zealand out for 370 in a helter-skelter Test that Australia eventually won.

ALSO READ: Rahane optimistic about Christchurch pitch for batsmen

A year later, Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz shared six wickets in a creditable first-innings performance from Bangladesh to bowl New Zealand out for 354.

A good spinner, therefore, can still make a difference, and India will have either R Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja in their attack. New Zealand will know that the only Test they lost here came when they had an all-seam attack, and that they've played at least one spinner in each of their other Hagley Tests. Over rates could be another factor that could dissuade them from going all-seam.

No matter what sort of attack New Zealand go in with, their fast bowlers will know not to get too excited by the prospect of a green, helpful pitch. Their preferred mode of attack in home conditions has usually been to stay disciplined and let the pitch do its work in the first innings, and stay just as disciplined in the second innings and wait for the batsmen to make mistakes. With India promising to take a more proactive approach with the bat in Christchurch, Boult reinforced the importance of that discipline.

"It's a good question, finding the balance between being aggressive and over-aggressive," Boult said. "There are several ways to be aggressive, whether you can have four or five slips or whether you can have a ring field to control the run-rate. In my opinion both things are aggressive.

"From what I know and I have seen, there are certain players in the Indian team who don't allow you to bowl to them and put too much pressure on them. We are expecting them to cash in on any kind of loose deliveries. So I suppose we can focus on drying up boundaries and not let them not get away to good starts. It's probably what we are looking at and dissecting."

Karachi Kings captain Imad Wasim won the toss and opted to bowl first away against Multan Sultans in the tenth match of the PSL.

Asking the opposition to bat first has been the pattern at the competition so far, and Imad followed it as Karachi look to get back on track aftera defeat in their previous match. A win will see them join Islamabad United and Multan on four points. To that end, they made one change, with spinner Umer Khan replacing emerging player Arshad Iqbal.

Multan captain Shan Masood said the pitch, which is separate from the surface where his side beat Peshawar Zalmi, looked a better one than the earlier one and should Multan put up a big total, Karachi can be put under pressure. Ravi Bopara, who once led Multan, came into the Multan side to replace James Vince as they looked to make it three wins in four.

Multan Sultans: Shan Masood (capt), Ravi Bopara, Rilee Rossouw, Khushdil Shah, Zeeshan Ashraf (wk), Moeen Ali, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Ilyas, Imran Tahir, Mohammad Irfan

Karachi Kings: Babar Azam, Sharjeel Khan, Alex Hales, Cameron Delport, Chadwick Walton (wk), Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim (capt), Chris Jordan, Mohammad Amir, Umaid Asif, Umer Khan

Adam Zampa is four years old in international cricket, and is Australia's first-choice white-ball spinner, but he still doesn't feel "comfortable" at this level. Although that may not necessarily be a bad thing.

"Even now I don't feel comfortable, which is probably a good thing to be honest - same as any professional cricketer at this level," Zampa said after Australia won the Cape Town decider to seal the T20I series against South Africa. "I probably feel the same, but I haven't been comfortable since I've been playing professional cricket. So, hope it's a good thing that keeps me driven and as I said earlier, I hope for constant improvement. As I get older, get more experience, train harder and think about the game a bit different and think about it…"

Zampa and left-arm fingerspinner Ashton Agar had played central roles in Australia's 2-1 victory. While Zampa picked up five wickets at an economy rate of 5.89, Agar emerged as the top wicket-taker in the series, with eight scalps at an economy rate of 5.66. Agar took a career-best 5 for 24 in the T20I series opener, and Zampa said he relished bowling in tandem with Agar.

"I'm really confident after the Big Bash and it's nice to bowl well in this series too, but yeah it's probably very similar for Ash," Zampa said. "We speak about spin bowling a lot, we speak about our roles - we do a lot of preparation on the opposition and things like that we talk about a lot. And Ash keeps getting better and better every game as well. He is still a pretty young guy too. Probably took him a little bit longer because of the [holding] role he played at Perth Scorchers for a long time. But, yeah he's a frontline bowler now, and that's for sure. The more he plays, the better he gets."

Zampa also put the recent success down to his chemistry with Agar off the field.

"Yeah, really good combination," he said. "The best thing is we've got a really good friendship, and as I said before, the way we talk about it and understand that our roles might change day in and day out. So, yeah communication is huge and preparation and as I said our friendship is really close."

Australia will now turn their focus to the three-match ODI series, which begins in Paarl on Saturday, and Zampa touched upon the challenge of adapting to ODI cricket and tuning up for the T20 World Cup at home later this year.

"It actually takes a bit of adapting from T20 cricket to one-day cricket," he said. "It's not [similar], I don't find it to be similar at all to be honest - yeah it's going to be a good couple of days preparation and good confidence after this win. But, I think there is a different thought to how T20 works from one-day cricket.

"Yeah, I think we've found a really good combination. The batting side basically picks itself and then our bowling combination is really working at the moment. So, the line-up of our team is great and if we play that team going into the T20 World Cup and keep playing the way we do, we're going to give that a serious nudge."

Zampa had just played two T20Is when he was thrown into the previous T20 World Cup in India in 2016. Zampa, 23 then, was simply happy to be part of the tournament in which Australia exited without qualifying for the semi-finals. Four years on and armed with more experience playing for Australia and Melbourne Stars in the BBL, Zampa wants to win games in the upcoming T20 World Cup.

"I was just excited to be there [in 2016] and it was disappointing to lose," he recalled. "I just look back and think wow! I've played a World Cup, but I think it's a little bit different now. I've got the drive to win games for Australia. I think I can help that rather than thinking I'm just happy to be there."

Aarhus World Cross chief organiser to lead management and coordination of the global athletics calendar

Jakob Larsen, the chief organiser of the popular and innovative World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark, last year, has been appointed director of competition and events for World Athletics.

Ahead of the global cross-country event last March, AW editor Jason Henderson said Larsen “could go down in history as the man who saved the World Cross”.

The event, which featured elite and mass races on a challenging course with various themed zones, was a great success and now Larsen will turn his attention to leading the management and coordination of the global athletics calendar following his role as CEO of the Danish Athletic Federation for the last 12 years – a period which also saw the staging of the 2014 World Half Marathon Championships in Copenhagen.

“This is a real honour for me,” said Danish national Larsen, who was selected for the position from a list of 74 candidates from more than 20 countries.

“I have worked across many facets of sport over the last 25 years – from research and analysis to delivering events at all levels, coaching and running a national sports federation.

“Athletics is a sport I love and I am joining a world-class team operating on a global stage in the most participated sport in the world.

“It is a dream come true and I am looking forward to being part of the team that creates and delivers the changes that will see athletics grow from strength to strength.

“With 214 member federations I can’t think of a stronger global network to work alongside to deliver this growth.”

As part of his role, Larsen will chair the newly-formed Global Calendar Unit. The Unit, which is currently chaired by World Athletics CEO Jon Ridgeon, has been established to lead, manage and coordinate all parts of the global athletics calendar from world to national championships and all competitions in between.

“Its aim is to create a three to four year long-term, constantly updated global calendar to make the competition schedule across the globe easier to understand and follow for all stakeholders,” said the world governing body.

Unit members include Cherry Alexander (GBR, European Athletics competition chair), Alfonz Juck (SVK, Euro Meetings president), Jean Pierre Schoebel (MON, Wanda Diamond League representative), Anna Riccardi (ITA, World Athletics Council and former chair of the European calendar working group), Duffy Mahoney (USA, USATF chief of sport performance)
Michael Serralta (PUR, Competition Director NACAC), Yukio Seki (JPN, JAAF international relations director), Yvonne Mullins (AUS, Oceania general secretary), Helio Gesta de Melo (BRA, CONSUDATLE president) and Jackson Tuwei (KEN, Athletics Kenya president).

“Jakob’s skills and experience across our sport are rare and valuable,” said Ridgeon. “He combines incredible knowledge of athletics, having run a member federation, hosted world championships, one-day meetings, park and road events, with creativity and innovation which is critical to the journey we are on to grow athletics.

“Jakob’s background in running high-performance programmes, coaching, developing schools’ tournaments and scientific research gives him a unique perspective on our sport from the playground to the podium,” he added. “We are delighted to welcome him to his new role at a time when we are focussing on our global calendar, defining our core product and expanding our one-day meetings. Jakob will be a real asset.”

Larsen will take up his position in early April and will be based in Monaco at World Athletics head office.

Briton Heather Watson overcame Christina McHale 6-3 1-6 6-1 to reach the Mexican Open last four.

After taking the first set in 39 minutes, Watson was broken twice in the second as the American levelled.

Seventh seed Watson broke twice in the decider before serving out the match and will play China's Xiyu Wang next.

In the men's event, fellow Briton Kyle Edmund was defeated 6-4 6-3 by American world number 35 Taylor Fritz in his quarter-final.

Fritz, who fired down 11 aces in the match, broke at 5-4 to take the first set and then broke the world number 44 twice more in the second.

Spain's Rafael Nadal eased into the last four with a 6-2 6-1 win over South Korea's Kwon Soon-woo. The 19-time Grand Slam singles winner will now play Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who defeated third seed Stan Wawrinka 6-4 6-4.

If Nadal wins the Acapulco title and Novak Djokovic loses his semi-final against Gael Monfils at the Dubai Tennis Championships, the Spaniard will regain top spot in the world rankings.

Briton Watson, now ranked 69 in the world, said of her victory over McHale: "I knew I had to be aggressive because she wasn't going to give me any freebies."

When asked about their friendship, she added: "We've been hanging out here every day. We've got both of our mums here, we both went to the party together and have practised with each other.

"It's tough [playing your friend], but we're both used to it."

Sabrina Sobhy makes it three Americans in round two
By SEAN REUTHE – Squash Mad Correspondent

Two amazing marathon matches lit up day one of the Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family, with astonishing triumphs for Egypt’s Youssef Soliman and England veteran Selby.

Egypt’s World No.19 Mostafa Asal suffered a surprise defeat against compatriot Youssef Soliman in a 109-minute battle which was halted due to a 35-minute injury break during the first game.

Asal left court on a wheelchair in the opener after going down with an injury to his right leg, but he hobbled back onto court and fought through the pain barrier to lead 2-1. The 18-year-old then went 6-1 up in the decider, only to see Soliman take 10 points in a row to finally halt the World Junior Champion.

That was the longest match of the first round, with the second longest seeing Selby overcome Frenchman Lucas Serme 15-13, 8-11, 5-11, 12-10, 11-8 after 98 minutes of action.

“I think we both move well, he’s exceptional around the court and he picks up everything,” said Selby, 37.

“I’ve got to use my experience at those crucial times. The two games I won in the first and fourth were both tie-breaks, and it’s those crucial points that make the difference.”

Selby’s England team-mates Declan James and Adrian Waller also won through, against Tsz Fung Yip (Hong Kong) and Eain Yow Ng (Malaysia) respectively, but Tom Richards fell to Qatar’s Abdullah Mohd Al Tamimi in a spectacular match full of incredible, attacking play.

World No.16 Mazen Hesham required five games to overcome fellow Egyptian Mohamed ElSherbini, while Scotland’s Greg Lobban overturned five match balls against Hong Kong’s Max Lee to advance.

Lobban will now be looking for another top-class performance against New Zealand’s No.5 seed Paul Coll, who he beat on the way to the final of the recent Edinbugh Open.

World No.63 Shahjahan Khan saw his tournament come to an end after he was on the receiving end of a masterclass of a performance from Hong Kong’s Leo Au.

Khan, who was born in Quetta, Pakistan before switching allegiance to the United States, was backed to the hilt by spectators at the University Club of Chicago and showed some nice touches throughout the 34-minute clash. But Au was always ahead, and it was a consummate performance from the World No.22 as he went about his business with minimum fuss. He will line up against top seed Ali Farag next.

“I’m happy to come back to this event, it’s always nice to play at such an amazing place,” Au said. “I’m happy to get through the first round and I hope I can keep the performance up. I think it will be a tough match [against World No.1 Ali Farag] and I will look forward to it.”

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United States No.3 Sabrina Sobhy overcame Egyptian teenager Nada Abbas in the spectacular Cathedral Hall of the University Club of Chicago to join older sister Amanda and compatriot Olivia Blatchford Clyne in round two of the Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family – which will feature three Americans for the first time.

The match was played at a ferocious pace, with both players looking to attack whenever the opportunity presented itself. Sobhy didn’t start well as Abbas dominated the opening stages, but grew into the match as it went on. Buoyed by partizan home support, the World No.30 claimed an 4-11, 14-12, 12-10, 8-11, 11-8 victory to set up a second round clash with Egypt’s Yathreb Adel.

“I wasn’t expecting this support at all, but I guess that’s one of the perks of being on the glass, you get fans from all over, which is really rewarding,” said Sobhy, who has based herself in Cairo since the latter stages of 2019.

“It’s a complete 180 from what I’m used to [moving to Cairo]. It’s 100 per cent all squash and I think I needed that as a big motivator. There are no distractions, it’s just squash, and you’ve got to be really focused with it. I clearly needed it to get going in my squash career as I was pretty lenient in the past couple of years with it, I think.”

Sobhy was almost joined by fellow American Olivia Fiechter in the last 32. World No.36 Fiechter put in a tenacious display against Australia’s Donna Lobban, ultimately going down 10-12, 11-8, 11-7, 11-13, 14-12 after a gripping 62-minute battle. Brooklyn-born Haley Mendez was the other female American in action on day one, and she went down to Belgium’s Tinne Gilis in straight games.

On the side courts, England’s Lucy Turmel has reached the second round of a PSA World Tour Platinum tournament for the first time after a superb comeback saw the 20-year-old defeat 2007 World Champion Rachael Grinham.

It was youth versus experience, and experience looked to be winning out as 43-year-old Grinham took the first game after a lengthy tie-break, winning it 15-13, and the momentum stayed in her favour she then went on to take the second game 11-8.

However, World No.46 Turmel fought back to win the last three games, restricting the 43-year-old to just 13 points across them all. That win, her second over Grinham, has seen Turmel set up a clash with compatriot Victoria Lust in the last 32.

“I am very pleased to get through in five today,” Turmel said. “I had a very nervy start going 2-0 down and I felt a bit lost on court, but I managed to turn it around and play good squash at the end.”

Elsewhere, France’s Melissa Alves saved three match balls to beat Egypt’s Zeina Mickawy, while a 77-minute encounter between former World No.5 Low Wee Wern and English youngster Jasmine Hutton went the way of the Malaysian in five games.

Round two begins today (Friday February 28) as the battle continues for the $500,000 prize fund – the most lucrative on the PSA World Tour this season.

Top seeds Raneem El Welily and Ali Farag will get their tournaments under way. Play starts at 12:00 and matches from the glass court in Cathedral Hall will be shown live on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour. 

2020 Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family, Chicago, USA.

Men’s First Round:
Leo Au (HKG) bt [WC] Shahjahan Khan (USA) 3-0: 11-3, 11-3, 11-5 (34m)
Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt Ramit Tandon (IND) 3-0: 12-10, 12-10, 11-3 (41m)
Youssef Soliman (EGY) bt Mostafa Asal (EGY) 3-2: 12-10, 8-11, 6–11, 11-6, 11-6 (109m)
Borja Golan (ESP) bt Tayyab Aslam (PAK) 3-0: 11-4, 11-8, 16-14 (48m)
Nicolas Mueller (SUI) bt Baptiste Masotti (FRA) 3-1: 8-11, 11-7, 13-11, 11-9 (51m)
Iker Pajares (ESP) bt Alan Clyne (SCO) 3-0: 11-7, 11-9, 11-5 (44m)
Arturo Salazar (MEX) bt Campbell Grayson (NZL) 3-1: 2-11, 11-6, 11-4, 13-11 (49m)
Raphael Kandra (GER) bt Edmon Lopez (ESP) 3-0: 11-4, 11-4, 11-8 (25m)
Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt Ivan Yuen (MAS) 3-0: 11-9, 12-10, 11-9 (40m)
Adrian Waller (ENG) bt Eain Yow Ng (MAS) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 13-11 (49m)
Greg Lobban (SCO) bt Max Lee (HKG) 3-2: 11-9, 9-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-7 (65m)
Declan James (ENG) bt Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-5, 11-7 (42m)
Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT) bt Tom Richards (ENG) 3-1: 16-18, 11-8, 11-5, 11-7 (55m)
Cesar Salazar (MEX) bt Vikram Malhotra (IND) 3-2: 6-11, 13-11, 11-13, 11-6, 11-4 (53m)
Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) 3-2: 12-14, 11-9, 5-11, 12-10, 11-8 (69m)
Daryl Selby (ENG) bt Lucas Serme (FRA) 3-2: 15-13, 8-11, 5-11, 12-10, 11-8 (98m)

Men’s Second Round (Top Half today, February 28):
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) v Leo Au (HKG)
Gregory Gaultier (FRA) v Omar Mosaad (EGY)
Gregoire Marche (FRA) v Joel Makin (WAL)
Fares Dessouky (EGY) v [6] Diego Elias (PER) [bye]
[8] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) v Youssef Soliman (EGY)
Borja Golan (ESP) v Nicolas Mueller (SUI)
Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) v Arturo Salazar (MEX)
Raphael Kandra (GER) v [3] Tarek Momen (EGY)
[4] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v Miguel Rodriguez (COL)
Saurav Ghosal v Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)
Adrian Waller (ENG) v Zahed Salem (EGY)
Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) v [7] Simon Rösner (GER)
[5] Paul Coll (NZL) v Greg Lobban (SCO)
Declan James (ENG) v Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT)
Cesar Salazar (MEX) v Mazen Hesham (EGY)
Daryl Selby (ENG) v [2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY)

Women’s First Round:
Julianne Courtice (ENG) bt Danielle Letourneau (CAN) 3-0: 11-6, 11-9, 11-4 (27m)
Coline Aumard (FRA) bt [WC] Hana Moataz (EGY) 3-1: 11-6, 11-4, 14-16, 11-8 (47m)
Emily Whitlock (ENG) bt Lisa Aitken (SCO) 3-1: 11-6, 8-11, 11-5, 11-6 (42m)
Nadine Shahin (EGY) bt Mayar Hany (EGY) 3-1: 10-12, 12-10, 11-9, 11-9 (45m)
Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG) bt Milou van der Heijden (NED) 3-2: 11-9, 11-5, 4-11, 8-11, 11-7 (41m)
Hollie Naughton (CAN) bt Sivasangari Subramanium (MAS) 3-1: 11-8, 11-9, 4-11, 12-10 (42m)
Millie Tomlinson (ENG) bt Tze Lok Ho (HKG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-9, 11-8 (40m)
Low Wee Wern (MAS) bt Jasmine Hutton (ENG) 3-2: 5-11, 11-8, 11-5, 6-11, 14-12 (77m)
Rowan Elaraby (EGY) bt Lee Ka Yi (HKG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-6 (21m)
Lucy Turmel (ENG) bt Rachael Grinham (AUS) 3-2: 13-15, 8-11, 11-1, 11-6, 11-6 (57m)
Sabrina Sobhy (USA) bt Nada Abbas (EGY) 3-2: 4-11, 14-12, 12-10, 8-11, 11-8 (50m)
Melissa Alves (FRA) bt Zeina Mickawy (EGY) 3-2: 7-11, 4-11, 13-11, 11-9, 11-8 (51m)
Mariam Metwally (EGY) bt Alexandra Fuller (RSA) 3-2: 6-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-1, 11-3 (35m)
Tinne Gilis (BEL) bt Haley Mendez (USA) 3-0: 11-4, 11-4, 11-6 (26m)
Donna Lobban (AUS) bt Olivia Fiechter (USA) 3-2: 10-12, 11-8, 11-7, 11-13, 14-12 (62m)
Joey Chan (HKG) bt Tsz-Wing Tong (HKG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-4, 11-7 (21m)

Women’s Second Round (Top Half today, February 28):
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v Julianne Courtice (ENG)
Coline Aumard (FRA) v [12] Salma Hany (EGY)
[15] Olivia Blatchford Clyne (USA) v Emily Whitlock (ENG)
Nadine Shahin (EGY) v [6] Joelle King (NZL)
[7] Amanda Sobhy (USA) v Liu Tsz-Ling (HKG)
Hollie Naughton (CAN) v [10] Annie Au (HKG)
[16] Nele Gilis (BEL) v Millie Tomlinson (ENG)
Low Wee Wern (MAS) v [3] Nouran Gohar (EGY)
[4] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) v Rowan Elaraby (EGY)
Lucy Turmel (ENG) v [13] Victoria Lust (ENG)
[14] Yathreb Adel (EGY) v Sabrina Sobhy (USA)
Melissa Alves (FRA) v [8] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
[5] Camille Serme (FRA) v [17/32] Mariam Metwally (EGY)
Tinne Gilis (BEL) v [9] Hania El Hammamy (EGY)
[11] Joshna Chinappa (IND) v Donna Lobban (AUS)
Joey Chan (HKG) v [2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY)

Pictures courtesy of PSA

Eden Hazard fully intends to return to action for Real Madrid before the end of the season, according to Belgium coach Roberto Martinez.

Real Madrid have yet to decide whether the Belgium forward will undergo surgery to repair a fracture to his right distal fibula sustained during Saturday's 1-0 La Liga loss at Levante.

Martinez is in contact with Hazard, who a week ago had returned from a similar three-month layoff. Coach Martinez had previously suggested Hazard's season was over.

"He is someone that never falls apart," Martinez told Cadena Ser radio.

"He is very strong mentally but he is sad because he was very eager to show Real Madrid fans what he is capable of at such an important stage of the season.

"We've been in contact. We are very sad. Now we have to look ahead and hope he recovers as soon as possible. He is very focused on wanting to recover for the end of the La Liga season. He is already looking ahead."

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Martinez says no decision has been made on whether Hazard will undergo surgery or opt for a conservative treatment.

"Real Madrid's medical staff are looking at all the options," he said.

"We are confident the right decision will be taken. We are very confident in Madrid's medical staff. We have all the information."

Asked if he was worried about Hazard missing the European Championship, which kicks off on June 12, Martinez added: "No. I'm not worried. It's 15 weeks [until then] and I'm confident that Eden will play for Madrid this season.

"How he arrives at the European Championship is a different matter but I'm certain he will play before the end of the campaign."

South Africa 195 for 2 (Lee 101, Luus 61*) beat Thailand 82 (Ismail 3-8, Luus 3-15) by 113 runs

Lizelle Lee's maiden T20I century formed the cornerstone of a thumping South Africa victory over Thailand in Canberra as they compiled the highest total in a women's T20 World Cup, although their catching left much to be desired.

Lee and Sune Luus added 131 in 12 overs for the second wicket and South Africa plundered 115 runs from their second ten overs. Lee did not bother with too much running: 82 of her 101 runs came in boundaries.

South Africa's performance in the field started with two very poor dropped chances - overall, they spilled four - but they were soon among the wickets which included a team hat-trick, starting with a run-out and completed when Shabnim Ismail's pace claimed two in two.

Larruped by Lee

Lee was up and running with a brace of boundaries in the opening over and never looked back in a display of her trademark power. Thailand had done reasonably well to restrict South Africa to 37 for 1 in the Powerplay but, as against England, they struggled to maintain pressure. Lee was given a life on 45 when Onnicha Kamchomphu dropped a return catch and the next over from Chanida Sutthiruang cost 20 as Lee went up a gear during which she went to a 35-ball fifty. Her next fifty took just 24 deliveries and there was no lingering in the nervous nineties as she collected three boundaries in five balls off Suleeporn Laomi to reach the landmark. With four overs still to go, there was potential for a huge score, but Laomi had an element of revenge when the ball after her hundred Lee punched a return catch.

Luus enjoys promotion

In the absence of the unwell Marizanne Kapp, who withdrew shortly before the start with a respiratory infection, Luus had the opportunity to bat at No. 3 and built her innings after Dan van Niekerk had carelessly chipped a full toss to midwicket in the third over. "That was the worst shot I've ever played. My head was nowhere," van Niekerk told the host broadcast afterwards. Luus would have been run-out on 19 had a throw from Kamchomphu hit, but had no problems moving along at better than a run-a-ball. Her fifty came off 35 balls when she dispatched a big full toss from Nattaya Boochatham for her second six. Chloe Tryon helped add the finishing touches to the innings as she plundered 20 off the penultimate over from Sornnarin Tippoch which included being dropped at long-on.

South Africa drop their guard

Although the result was a formality, the slipshod nature of South Africa's catching will not have pleased captain or coach. Ismail dropped a chance at deep square-leg first ball when Nattakan Chantam pulled Nonkulueko Mlaba, and in the second over, Nadine de Klerk spilled a sitter at mid-on offered by Boochatham. South Africa got it together when Trisha Chetty pulled off a direct hit from behind the stumps to run Chantam out, and then Ismail, by far the fastest bowler Thailand will have faced, speared deliveries through Nannapat Koncharoenkai and Naruemol Chaiwai. With slips and gullies lined up, Tippoch was able to survive Ismail's hat-trick delivery. The fielding lifted, too, when Laura Wolvaardt plucked out a superb one-handed diving effort at cover to remove Tippoch. There was a note of defiance from Kamchomphu, who struck van Niekerk for Thailand's first six of the tournament, but van Niekerk then dropped another chance, a simple caught and bowled, and a fourth went down at long leg when Mlaba added her name to the guilty list. Though the misses weren't costly today, they could be in the remaining matches.