SPEEDWAY: Premiership leaders Ipswich suffered a 5-1 reverse in the last heat and lost their first match of the season after going down 46-44 at Sheffield on Thursday evening. Belle Vue captain Brady Kurtz scored a perfect 12 as the Manchester team led from the first heat to claim a comfortable 52-38 win at Oxford and Ryan Douglas top scored with 12+1 points as Leicester brushed aside King’s Lynn by the same score.

WOMEN’S FOOTBALL: The race for the Scottish Premier League title goes down to the wire when table-topping Hibernian travel to second-placed Rangers on Sunday. Hibs are three points clear of the light blues but have a vastly inferior goal difference. At the other end of the table Montrose need to beat bottom club Dundee United and hope Spartans lose against Partick Thistle if they are to avoid the drop.

MEN’S DARTS: Nathan Aspinall beat Chris Dobey 6-1 in the final of Thursday night’s Premier League 15th round and replaced Michael van Gerwen in the fourth play-off spot with just one week to go. Despite losing 6-5 to Dobey in the semi finals Luke Littler increased his lead at the top to nine points over Luke Humphries with Gerwyn Price a further seven points back in third. Sheffield hosts next week’s final qualifying round.

MEN’S CRICKET: Bengaluru will move top of the Indian Premier League with a win against Kolkata as the tournament resumes tomorrow. They currently sit joint top with Gujurat, who will be without England captain Jos Buttler if they reach the play-offs as the delayed competition now clashes with England’s one-day and Twenty20 series against the West Indies. Gujurat face Delhi on Sunday after third-placed Punjab have taken on Rajasthan.