CRICKET

 While other teams are making signings to strengthen their hopes of success in the Vitality T20 Blast, Glamorgan are thinking of what might have been.

The Welsh county’s hopes of reaching the knockout stages ended with their recent 20-run home defeat by Sussex.

That means, with two games to go, they cannot make the top four of the South Group and will head to the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on Friday to face Hampshire, with only pride to play for.

Hampshire, in third, are well placed to make the knockout stages and their record of seven victories from five games compares favourably to Glamorgan’s five victories.

Kiran Carlson’s side have won three and lost six of their nine T20 matches at the Ageas Bowl with their most recent success coming in 2018 by 63 runs.

BOXING

Rosie Eccles is poised to make amends for her Olympic heartache before Tokyo 2021.

The Welsh boxer – who missed out three years ago because of illness – has secured a remarkable opportunity to compete for an Olympic gold medal at the upcoming Paris Olympics.

The 26-year-old, who claimed the light-middleweight gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year, demonstrated her exceptional skills once again at the European Games held in Poland this week.

In a high quality performance, Eccles advanced to the semi-finals and clinched her qualification for the Olympic Games in France next year.

The European Games is being used as Olympic qualification in some sports and on Wednesday, Eccles achieved a hard-fought victory against Amy Broadhurst, the world and European champion from Ireland.

CYCLING

There will be no Geraint Thomas – and no Welsh riders – at the Tour de France this year, but Thomas’s influence will be there at the start line on Saturday.

Wales’ former winner may have gone for the Giro d’Italia this year, instead of the Tour he won in 2018, but Egan Bernal is back for their team, Ineos Grenadiers.

It was Bernal who Thomas took under his wing when the young Colombian first joined the team but this will be the first time the 26-year-old has contested a Grand Tour event since his life-threatening training crash last year.

After a glorious win at the 2021 Giro d’Italia, Bernal suffered serious injuries in January last year when he collided with the back of a bus while riding a time-trial bike in Colombia during training.

The crash left him in intensive care as he recovered from surgery on his spine and several other fractures.

“I’m sure many people have followed everything that has happened to me since my accident in January last year, and the journey I’ve been through to overcome the greatest test of my life,” he said.