Ireland will "hold talks" with the England & Wales Cricket Board about the possibility of playing a test match at Lord's in '19 after it was granted full-member status by the Int'l Cricket Council on Thursday. Cricket Ireland CEO Warren Deutrom is "hopeful" of a return to Lord's, where Ireland played the second of two one-day int'l games in England last month. He said, "We saw recently that Ireland were able to get 25,000 bums on seats at Lord's in May, when it is not easy to sell tickets" (REUTERS, 6/23).
Formula 1 owners took the "unprecedented" step of changing the sport's schedule to accommodate a Justin Timberlake concert at October's U.S. Grand Prix. Timberlake is "due to perform" at the Circuit of the Americas on the evening of Oct. 21, and following a request by promoters of the Texas race, qualifying on that day "will be moved back by two hours." The circuit organizers "hope the move will encourage fans to stay and watch the concert which now follows the conclusion of qualifying" (London INDEPENDENT, 6/23).
Plans for the "full resumption" of int'l cricket in Pakistan moved forward Friday when the ICC said that it "wanted to send a World XI team to the country later this year." Following the conclusion of its annual meeting in London, the ICC announced plans for a World XI in Pakistan later this year were "continuing to be developed." The ICC board said that it "agreed to support a three-game Twenty20 series between Pakistan and a World XI side in a bid to help revive international cricket in the country" (AFP, 6/24).
Serbia and Latvia were voted as hosts of FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2019 by the Board of FIBA Europe on Saturday. Serbia will organize group phase pools in Nis and Zrenjanin and the final phase in Belgrade. Latvia will organize two group phase pools in Riga (FIBA).
The Australian men's national cricket team will compete in a pre-tour camp in Darwin prior to its two-Test Tour of Bangladesh. Cricket Australia, Northern Territory Cricket and the Northern Territory Government confirmed the camp, which will be based at Darwin's Marrara Cricket Ground (CA).
The Tour de France, which starts on July 1 on the streets of Düsseldorf, Germany, is “continuing to reinforce security,” with bomb-sniffing dogs being deployed for the first time. The dogs will inspect the areas close to the start and finish of the race. Present for the first time on the Tour in ’16, French special operations forces (GIGN) will “again mingle with the security forces” (LE PARISIEN, 6/25).
