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Tom Curran blasts maiden hundred to boost Surrey's Championship charge
Northamptonshire 339 and 209 for 5 (Procter 55, Vasconcelos 51*) lead Surrey 421 (Amla 133, Curran 115) by 127 runs
Since an early-season match against Essex in 2019, he has played 84 T20 and 17 List A matches for seven different teams. An itinerant cricketer, much in demand, but with an England career that has recently lost impetus and a Championship career that felt as if it belonged to different times.
Such misgivings were banished, hopefully for many years to come, by a remarkable return: a maiden first-class hundred in 85 balls which became more audacious which each passing over and which energised Surrey's Championship challenge.
With each shot, he appeared to be pouring out his frustration on a period where he has suffered prolonged absences, firstly from a side strain and then from a stress fracture of his back which caused him to leave Sydney Sixers early last December midway through the Big Bash. He has sat in England bubbles, but not played international cricket in over a year.
"I haven't played a lot of Championship cricket in the past few years and I wanted to come in and be more positive," Curran said. "The red ball tends to do a little bit more than I've been facing in the past few weeks, but there is not much in the wicket for the bowlers and I knew if I put some pressure back on them it would make it tough. It's no secret that Northampton means a lot to me so it was extra special to get my first hundred here."
Northampton is a special place for the Curran family. Tom's father, Kevin, was a great servant of the county, and Tom is the only one of the three brothers not to have been born in the town. But his hundred perhaps dispelled some sadness, too, because this week Ben Curran, the brother who never quite managed a Championship hundred, was released by Northants and may have to accept that his county career is over at 26.
Surrey would be under considerable pressure from Hampshire if they fail to win here. They are level on points going into the final day, and will stretch that lead to eight points if they draw, 16 if they win, with two matches remaining. With Northamptonshire holding a precarious lead of 127, with five wickets remaining, Surrey probably need wickets before a second new ball that is still 15 overs away.
The career of the two most celebrated Curran brothers advanced in harmony once more. In late June, Sam had also made his maiden Championship hundred, against Kent at Kia Oval, a run-strewn match in which four Surrey batters passed 100 in the same innings. Tom joined him by flat-batting the offspinner Rob Keogh through mid-on at a time when he felt he could do no wrong. His last 30 runs had come in a torrent, including a hold-the-pose straight drive against James Sales to bring up the hundred stand, Amla by then a virtual spectator, and a six against Keogh that flew wide of the coffee shack at long-on, purveyor of the best coffee on the ground.
There were times during his withering assault when Northants did not bowl well at him, particularly the South African quick, Lizaad Williams, the only player with international experience. Spin made but a brief appearance. He had a couple of fortunate top-edged pulls that flew over the keeper's head, one of which took him to his half-century. But for a player whose previous first-class best was only 60, he dismissed the ball with abandon.
Amla fell eight balls after Curran reached his century, lbw as he tried to work Keogh to leg. Keogh took three of the last four wickets to return 4 for 41, and bowled well enough to deserve some late adornment of his figures. One more bold shot over mid-off from Curran would have beaten his father's career-best score, but this time Williams had his measure and Luke Procter held an excellent running catch.
Intriguingly, the two not out batters who will lead Northants' resistance on the final morning are Ricardo Vasconcelos and Saif Zaib, two players who have dropped down the order in search of form. Vasconcelos, 51 not out, at the close, passed 50 for only the third time in a season where he was burdened with the captaincy unexpectedly at the start and has never recovered.
Surrey's quicks began aggressively against the new ball, and removed both openers by tea. But Northants will particularly regret losing two wickets in the final session to full tosses - Josh Cobb diverting one from legspinner Cameron Steel to short midwicket and Procter's half-century ending when he missed a full ball from Gus Atkinson.
David Hopps writes on county cricket for ESPNcricinfo @davidkhopps
Jordan Cox: 'I thought I'd slipped under the radar - next thing I know I'm on a tour'
England will arrive in Karachi early on Thursday morning for their first tour of Pakistan in 17 years, a historic visit that will see them play seven T20 internationals while under presidential-level security conditions.
The length of their absence is illustrated by the fact that their 20-man squad had made a single professional appearance between them when England played their last international in this country back in 2005: Moeen Ali, who will deputise as captain in the early stages of this tour, playing for Warwickshire against Cambridge UCCE as a 17-year-old.
His call-up came as a surprise to him, despite two impressive seasons in the T20 Blast for Kent and one in the Hundred for Oval Invincibles. "I haven't really been picked up in any leagues," he told ESPNcricinfo before leaving for Pakistan, "so I thought I must be slipping under the radar, just doing my thing without anyone really noticing. Then, next thing I know, I'm being picked on a tour."
His phone rang at 8.20am the morning after Invincibles were knocked out of the Hundred and, not recognising Matthew Mott's number, he rolled over in bed in his Manchester hotel room and ignored it. A follow-up text prompted him to ask his team-mate Jack Haynes where he knew Mott's name from over breakfast - "I'm the worst person in the world with names" - and his pancakes went cold as he tried to take the news in.
"I still can't really believe it now," he said. "Obviously it's an absolute honour to represent your country, especially at 21. When I was a kid, I really wanted to play cricket but I didn't realise this [an England call-up] was going to happen as quickly as it has. It must mean they think I'm a good player, which means a lot."
Cox made a name for himself at senior level with a double-hundred for Kent in the 2020 Bob Willis Trophy - he was bizarrely forced to self-isolate immediately afterwards after posing for a photo with some fans - but while his first-class record (three hundreds, and an average of 37.82) is solid, it is in the shorter formats that he has starred.
He played a key role in Kent's Blast title in 2021, coming in at No. 5 and balancing boundary-hitting with strike rotation, before impressing at No. 3 this season and adapting to a number of different positions in Invincibles' batting line-up in the Hundred.
"They've seen me bat everywhere in the order. It's not all about hitting sixes for me: I start my innings by being busy, getting ones and twos by hitting the bigger pockets and looking to play strong shots for four, then kicking on from there. Hopefully I can fill the gap that they needed."
Cox grew up as a wicketkeeper - he is one of four on this trip, along with Jos Buttler, Phil Salt and Ben Duckett - but has quickly earned a reputation as one of the best boundary-riders in county cricket, most obviously for his role in a stunning relay catch with Matt Milnes in the Blast final last season.
"When I first joined the staff at Kent, it was hard for me to do much keeping work: we had [Sam] Billings, [Ollie] Robinson, [Adam] Rouse and myself so I asked myself 'how am I going to get into our white-ball team and make a difference?' and I thought it was probably by becoming a gun fielder. I've worked really hard on it, and it's paid off.
"It's not as good as I want it to be yet. Heino Kuhn, who left Kent a couple of years ago, was the best I've seen and all the boys said he was comfortably the best in the world. Learning from him - watching batters and working out where they're going to hit the ball before they do - has definitely helped me a lot."
Cox is used to spending time in subcontinent hotels after touring India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh with England Under-19s, but Karachi will still feel a long way away from Canterbury.
"I'm really looking forward to getting going. Hopefully I'll get an opportunity, and I'll try to take it with both hands."
Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98
Evin Lewis returns to West Indies squad for T20 World Cup
"Someone like Evin Lewis, we all agree that he's our best one-day cricketer, he's done so well for us over the years," Haynes told the commentator Ian Bishop in an interview on the sidelines of Wednesday's CPL game between Jamaica Tallawahs and St Kitts & Nevis Patriots. "We had a meeting with him, and he's committed to West Indies cricket; he told us that he's committed to West Indies cricket, and I believe he should be given the opportunity."
There is no room in the squad for the allrounder Andre Russell, who, like Lewis, last featured for West Indies during last year's T20 World Cup. Russell has had a quiet time in CPL 2022 so far with Trinbago Knight Riders, particularly with the bat, managing a top score of just 17 in four innings.
"We had a meeting with Andre Russell earlier in the year," Haynes said. "We're still not convinced yet, he's not performing as well as we would like to see him in the competition. I think in the situation with Andre Russell, we've just decided to just move on, and look for someone who's in form, and doing well in the T20 format."
Haynes said Allen was unfortunate to miss out with the squad having room for only one left-arm spinner in Akeal Hosein.
Sunil Narine, who last played for West Indies in 2019, doesn't feature in the squad either. "Yes, again, the captain [Nicholas Pooran] told me he's reached out to Narine, but I'm not too sure he wants to play," Haynes said when asked about Narine.
The selectors have picked Cariah ahead of Hayden Walsh, who had been the preferred wristspin option over recent months.
"When we look at consistency, we don't feel that Hayden is consistent enough," Haynes said. "We don't write off anybody, because Hayden is somebody we have invested in, and we believe that he still stands a chance of playing for the West Indies, and we hope again that he is another one that will continue to do well in the CPL and give himself a chance to be selected."
Haynes was confident Cariah could do a job in T20 cricket despite his limited experience of the format.
"I think Yannic has impressed us from the time we picked him for the A team," Haynes said. "And then we gave him the opportunity to play against New Zealand in the 50-overs competition, and I think going to Australia, I know we've got a lot of confidence in him, we think that he's bowling well enough that [he] can play in the T20 format. It's a bit unfortunate that he's not in the CPL, we have no control over that, but we think that he is a guy who we feel that can do a job for us. I don't think you can underrate his batting either."
Among other seam-bowling allrounders, there was no room for Romario Shepherd - Haynes termed his exclusion "another close call" - while Dominic Drakes was unavailable due to a knee injury.
Charles, Haynes said, would fill the role of reserve wicketkeeper in West Indies' squad behind Pooran.
Ollie Pope hopes No.3 is for keeps after summer of positive returns
"It's always nice to get those big hundreds and get those accolades," Pope said. "But I think if you're looking at how you've contributed for the team, I guess the two knocks in this series were important - although we lost at Lord's, so it wasn't enough.
"The knock at The Oval was probably more important in a way and looking at that bigger picture. Those innings sort of make me more proud.
"If you're doing it in a winning cause, and they are tougher conditions, then it is nice to show you can do it in different positions, batting at three as well. So I take a lot of confidence from that."
Understandably, some are still wary of anointing Pope as a permanent first-drop. But the man himself is comfortable enough to believe he is ready.
"I'd like to think so," he said. "I've tried to stop looking at the bigger picture too much this summer, I've tried to just focus game by game and enjoy it, and be as ready as I can for every opportunity, rather than think 'if I do this I might be here next week' or 'if I do this it might get you on the next tour' or whatever.
"So I'd like to think so. I've enjoyed that position this summer, it's been new, but hopefully I'll be backed to do it in the future as well."
You'd imagine that will be the case, given there has not been a time yet when England haven't supported Pope. His 30 caps to date are a testament to that.
"I did a lot of work with Tres [Marcus Trescothick] in the West Indies and before West Indies as well," he said. "I realised I needed to change my game slightly and tighten up a few little things, which would then allow me to become a top-order batter even though that wasn't necessarily on the radar at the time, so I spend a lot of time with him.
"I think because Test cricket is so important to me. I'd do anything to have a great career and play 100 Tests or whatever. I think I was almost putting myself under too much pressure, and that fear of getting out was probably getting a bit too much.
"I tried to get rid of that, and try and score my runs basically. Rather than think, 'if I cut this I might nick it', I [now] think 'if I cut it and I nick it then it might go over the slips for four'. That is the mindset change I've tried to go by."
Pope is not the first batter this summer to credit McCullum for ridding him of that anxiety, something that had previously been taken for granted as part and parcel of the format in this country. And the message had clearly got through by the time Pope attempted to speed the finish along in the third Test with an attempted ramp shot off South Africa's left-armer Marco Jansen, with six remaining of their 130 target.
"I mean, my wrist wasn't too happy with me making that decision," he joked, after he had got himself into a tangle on the shot, and deflected the ball up off his wrist and into his visor instead. "But I just thought it was a cool way to finish things. It sort of sums up I guess a little bit what we're about at the minute. It is about entertaining the crowd and it's not about your individual stuff."
As for the encouragement to embrace this kind of attitude, the messenger has been as important as the message.
"From a guy like him [McCullum], he's got an amazing record. He had an amazing career. So he's obviously lived by that and he realises that along the way, you're going to get a few low scores as well.
"And it's probably about bouncing back from that, looking at why you've got the low score, and not overthinking the whole situation.
"Thinking logically, why have I got out for a low score, rather than think I've got out for a low one. This might happen next week. This might happen this week. It's just keeping it a bit more simple."
Pope uses his first-innings 67 at The Oval, in which he eventually fell nibbling outside off stump at Kagiso Rabada, as an example of England's new approach.
"I would have rather got out trying to cut that ball," he said. "But I think, in the first innings, I had a pretty clear game-plan. I know I scored at a decent rate and I got a few things going my way, but I was pretty clear as to where I wanted to hit the ball, and what my positive options were, rather than think 'just go smack it'."
Having beaten all comers this summer - New Zealand, India and South Africa - Pakistan away presents a robust challenge to these newly acquired principles. The players, by and large, are unsure what the conditions will be like, with some wary of spin, some of pace and some of flat tracks, where sizeable first-innings scores will be the name of the game. Whatever awaits in Rawalpindi, Multan and Karachi, recalibration will be a necessity.
"It's probably just that mindset," Pope said, when asked of the most transferrable part of the summer. "It's not just 'go out and slog it'. There's a lot more to it than that. And that's going to be our next challenge.
"Can we do the same sort of stuff in Pakistan, and figure out what's the best positive brand to play in those conditions? It's always going to be positive, it will probably just look slightly different depending on the game, as it did this week compared to last week.
"I'm not going to go in with too many preconceived ideas. I'll be ready. If they're a bit quicker. I'll be ready for that. If they spin a bit then, hopefully, I'll be ready for that as well."
Vithushan Ehantharajah is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo
NFL: Concussions drop 50% with Guardian Caps
Concussions among NFL players mandated to wear Guardian Cap equipment dropped by more than 50% this summer compared to the previous three-year average, according to data released Wednesday.
For the first time, the league required offensive linemen, defensive linemen, tight ends and linebackers to wear Guardian Caps during practice between the start of training camp until the second preseason game -- a period when concussion rates historically have been elevated. There were 11 concussions among those position groups during that time. Six of those were caused by contact to the face mask, which is not protected by a Guardian Cap.
The previous three-year average for players at those positions during that time period was 23 concussions.
Concussions among players at other positions remained flat, said Jeff Miller, the NFL's executive vice president of communications, public affairs and policy.
"The performance of the cap exceeded our expectations in terms of concussion numbers," Miller said.
Approximately 200 players continued wearing Guardian Caps after the mandate expired.
The NFL will work through the offseason, in conjunction with the NFL Players Association, to address feedback from players, equipment managers and coaches. Miller acknowledged there were some issues with fit and sizing but expressed optimism that they can be addressed with the manufacturer.
No final decision has been made about the use of Guardian Caps in 2023 and beyond.
"We want to work our way through those comments before we're ready to make a commitment for next season," Miller said. "We're really pleased with how it went and optimistic that a device like this will improve the health and safety of our athletes. But what exactly that looks like, I think we need a little bit of time and a fair number of conversations before we get to that point."
Adamant McIlroy: No LIV golfers at Ryder Cup
GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy -- For Rory McIlroy, it's a flat-out "no."
U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick is open to having LIV Golf players on Europe's team at next year's Ryder Cup because, he said, "I just want to make sure that we win."
Europe captain Luke Donald, meanwhile, is toeing the official tour line when he says he's in "limbo" waiting for the conflict to be decided in the courts.
As several of Europe's top players prepare to play this week's Italian Open on the Marco Simone course outside Rome that will host next year's Ryder Cup, the pre-tournament discussion has been about who should and who should not be included on the 2023 team.
"I have said it once, I've said it a hundred times: I don't think any of those guys should be on the Ryder Cup team," McIlroy said Wednesday of the players who have joined the Saudi-backed breakaway series.
Litigation is ongoing on both sides of the Atlantic involving the PGA and European tours after LIV golfers were excluded from events, and the divide between the players sticking to the traditional tours and those who have joined the lucrative breakaway series is growing.
But Fitzpatrick, who won his first major title in June, is taking a more neutral stance.
"I just want to win the Ryder Cup. ... I want the 11 best guys we can get," said the Englishman, who lost all three of his matches when the U.S. romped to a record rout in Whistling Straits, Wisconsin, last year. "I'm not really too bothered about where they are going to come from."
Fitzpatrick even went so far as to reach out to one LIV player at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth last week.
"I told him I'd happily have him on the team," Fitzpatrick said, without naming the player.
Donald was named captain last month after Henrik Stenson was stripped of the title because he joined LIV.
"Nothing that's really changed since I was appointed," Donald said. "We're still a little bit in limbo. We don't know what's going to happen with the lawsuit so I'm trying to not really put too much energy into it. Once we get a clearer picture, I can give you better answers."
While European Ryder Cup stalwarts Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter were among the contingent of LIV golfers competing at Wentworth, none of those high-profile names came to Italy.
"I had already committed to playing in this event before Luke was the captain and it was someone else," McIlroy said, refusing to mention Stenson by name again.
"I've had discussions with Luke, and actually a few of us are meeting for dinner tonight for a little bit of team bonding but also to have a talk about the course and how we think it should be set up to favor the European team."
Located about a half-hour from Rome, the course owned and run by fashion designer Lavinia Biagiotti Cigna features hilly terrain, which should lend itself to a stadiumlike setting suited for the Ryder Cup.
"You've got two drivable par-4s [Nos. 11 and 16], you've got a few holes with water and you've got that wonderful closing hole which could be really exciting," McIlroy said of the back nine.
The only time McIlroy previously played in Italy came when he won the European amateur championship in 2006 in the northern town of Biella.
"So I've got a 100% record in this country, and I'd like to keep that going," he said.
McIlroy has been enjoying strolling around Rome with family, especially since his wife once studied in the city for seven months "and she knows her way around."
McIlroy and his teammates' main order of business, however, is strategizing how to reduce the gap from that 19-9 whipping by the U.S. in Wisconsin.
"The European team has a core of six or seven guys that I think we all know are pretty much going to be on that team, and then it's up to some of the younger guys to maybe step up," McIlroy said. "I think we were in need of a rebuild anyway. We did well with the same guys for a very long time, but everything comes to an end at some point. I think Whistling Straits is a good sort of demarcation."
Donald is paired with rising Italian Guido Migliozzi and Adrian Meronk, the Polish player who won the Irish Open in July, for the opening two rounds this week.
Then there's Nicolai Højgaard, the 21-year-old Dane who won at Marco Simone last year a week after his identical twin brother, Rasmus, won the European Masters in Switzerland .
Vice captain Thomas Bjørn is in a group with 24-year-old Norwegian Viktor Hovland, who is No. 11 in the world golf rankings.
"I'm excited to see their games," Donald said. "I'll be keeping my eye on some of the younger, exciting talent to try to make this team."
Then there's Francesco Molinari, the hero of Europe's victory in 2018, who is looking to return to the team after missing 2021 because of back issues. He's coming off a top-10 finish at Wentworth.
"Having an Italian on the team would be huge," McIlroy said.
Molinari said the issues with LIV will take a back seat come the Sept. 29-Oct. 1 event next year.
"The Ryder Cup is such a big, important and fantastic event that I don't think it will be damaged at all by the conflict," Molinari said. "Even if the situation isn't resolved, I think that for that week everyone's attention will be on the Ryder Cup."
Chiefs K Butker, Chargers WR Allen out for TNF
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker will not play in Thursday night's game against the Los Angeles Chargers because of an ankle injury.
The Chargers, meanwhile, will be without starting wide receiver Keenan Allen, who suffered a hamstring injury in Los Angeles' Week 1 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Chiefs listed Butker as out -- as did the Chargers with Allen and tight end Donald Parham Jr. (hamstring) -- for the game on their final injury report of the week.
The Chiefs this week signed former New York Jets kicker Matt Ammendola to their practice squad, and he could be elevated to their active roster in time for Thursday night's game. Ammedola, who kicked for the Chiefs during their only practice session of the week on Tuesday, made 13 of 19 field goals for the Jets last season.
Butker injured his left ankle on a kickoff during Sunday's win against the Cardinals in Arizona. Coach Andy Reid blamed the injuries to Butker and cornerback Trent McDuffie on what he said was loose turf on the recently re-sodded field in Arizona.
McDuffie was placed on injured reserve this because of a hamstring injury.
After his injury, Butker made three PATs and a 54-yard field goal. Safety Justin Reid handled kickoffs and went 1-of-2 on PATs.
Chargers coach Brandon Staley had said Tuesday that it wasn't "looking great" that Allen, who has been selected to five Pro Bowls in his career, would be able to play on Thursday night. Allen had four catches for 66 yards before departing in the first half on Sunday because of his injury.
With Allen out, expect receivers Joshua Palmer, DeAndre Carter and Jalen Guyton to see increased opportunity.
ESPN's Lindsey Thiry contributed to this report.
SEC directs Georgia, Tennessee to nix OU series
Two high-profile nonconference series have been scuttled because of the impending departure of Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC, which is scheduled for 2025.
The SEC announced Wednesday that it "directed" Georgia and Tennessee to "postpone" scheduled games with Oklahoma because the Sooners are on their way to the SEC.
The SEC's reasoning is that the second game in each series was to "take place after Oklahoma joins the SEC in 2025." That led the SEC to nix Georgia's game at Oklahoma next season and Oklahoma's game at Tennessee in 2024.
Georgia was scheduled to go to Oklahoma in 2031, and the makeup of the 2020 game with Tennessee that was scheduled for Norman had not yet set a makeup date. But since it was expected to be after 2025, the SEC decided to wipe away both series.
The timing of when Oklahoma and Texas end up in the SEC has been the subject of much speculation since it was announced in the summer of 2021 that they were joining the league. That left both schools with four remaining seasons in the Big 12, which is an eternity considering how much unrest their departure has caused the league.
An early departure would be subject to both a significant exit fee, expected to be roughly $80 million, and the violation of a grant of rights agreement, which is why both schools and the SEC have been cautious in addressing a potential early departure.
Both Oklahoma and Georgia have filled the Sept. 9 spot in their schedules. Oklahoma announced it will play SMU on that day and play a return game in Dallas in 2027. Georgia filled the scheduling hole on Sept. 9 of next season with a game against Ball State.
Serena teases Brady-style return to tennis
Serena Williams might be taking a page from Tom Brady's book.
Williams, who said last month that she was "evolving" away from competitive tennis after this year's US Open, once again hinted at a possible comeback during an interview Wednesday with "Good Morning America."
And this time, the 23-time Grand Slam champion referenced another all-time legend.
"I mean, you never know," Williams said when asked whether she could be persuaded to return to tennis. "I've just been saying that I think Tom Brady started a really cool trend."
Brady, 45, retired from football this past February before announcing six weeks later that he had changed his mind and would return for a 23rd season in the NFL.
Williams, who turns 41 later this month, lost in the third round at the US Open in what was thought to be her swan song from professional tennis.
Williams has avoided using the word "retirement," however, remaining vague about whether her appearance at Flushing Meadows definitely would represent her last hurrah. She even responded "you never know" when asked during an on-court interview whether she might reconsider walking away.
Williams also acknowledged Wednesday that older sister Venus Williams is among those nudging her to stave off retirement.
"She's not done yet," Serena Williams said when asked about her older sister. "This is just me. ... She's trying to get me, and I'm like, 'No.'"
Williams emphasized that she wanted to stay involved in the sport regardless of whether her playing career is over.
"Tennis has given me so much, and I feel like there's no way that I don't want to be involved in tennis somehow in the future," she said. "I don't know what that involvement is yet, but I do know that I love the sport so much, I love the game, I love everything about it. It's just been such a light in my life that I definitely want to keep some sort of [involvement]."
France rallies past Italy, into EuroBasket semis
BERLIN -- France pulled off a wild rally at the end of regulation, then carried that momentum into a spot in the EuroBasket semifinals.
Thomas Heurtel scored 20 points, Rudy Gobert had 19 points and 14 rebounds, and France found a way to get past Italy 93-85 in a quarterfinal game Wednesday.
France was down seven with 1:59 left in regulation before starting a 25-10 run to finish the contest.
It was France's second consecutive fourth-quarter rally and overtime win, after needing the same formula to get past Turkey in the round of 16 on Saturday.
"I don't really believe in luck," Gobert said. "Tonight, we could have given up, once again, but we got the baskets we needed."
Next up for France: either defending champion Slovenia or Poland on Friday for a berth in the title game. The Slovenia-Poland quarterfinal matchup was later Wednesday.
The other half of the semifinal bracket was set Tuesday: Germany will play Spain, also on Friday.
Gobert started the game-ending burst with a dunk to get his team within 75-70.
Italy had a chance to potentially seal the game with 16 seconds left, up by two, but Simone Fontecchio missed a pair of free throws. It was an eerie resemblance to Saturday, when Cedi Osman, with Turkey up by two, missed two free throws with 12.2 seconds left to extend France's hopes.
Heurtel's layup tied the game with 5.2 seconds left in regulation. France trailed only once in overtime, for 23 seconds, and Evan Fournier's floater with 3:29 left put his team ahead for good.
Fournier scored 17 for France, which got 15 from Guerschon Yabusele and 13 from Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot.
"Congratulations to France," Italy coach Gianmarco Pozzecco said. "They never gave up."
Fontecchio and Marco Spissu each had 21 points for Italy, which was seeking its first trip to the EuroBasket semifinals since winning bronze in 2003.
Luigi Datome scored 12 and Nicolo Melli added 10 for Italy, which trailed by as many as 11 in the early going but outscored France 31-18 in the third quarter and led by as many as eight early in the fourth.
"What can I say? Very painful, of course," Datome said. "Very, very painful. But I'm so proud of my teammates."
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