Sri Lanka has won the toss and decided to bat in the first cricket test against Pakistan

Euro 2022 winner Jill Scott has voiced “disappointment” that the World Cup kiss saga has detracted attention from the Spanish women’s team win. The former England midfielder told The Independent that issues within Spanish football have “overshadowed” the team’s “great football”. Her comments come after the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation Luis Rubiales has come under sustained criticism for kissing player Jenni Hermoso on the lips after Spain secured their 1-0 win over England last month. Rubiales, who was also condemned for grabbing his crotch after Spain won the women’s world title for the first time in history, has refused to step down over his behaviour but was suspended by Fifa. It comes as Jorge Vilda, head coach of Spain's women’s team, was fired on Tuesday after he was among those who praised Rubiales’ refusal to step down. Scott said she felt “disappointment” that the kiss has been “the main talking point”, rather than Spain actually winning the World Cup. “I know that there were girls that decided not to go to the World Cup because they weren’t happy with the way things were going. And that for me is just so sad to hear because it’s a dream to play in a World Cup. “I was so fortunate that I got to do that four times, and it’s something that you dream of from being a young girl, and to think that was taken away from them. First and foremost, that is sad.” Speaking to The Independent in a wide-ranging interview, the Lioness also discussed the bullying she endured as a young girl playing football at school. She said people often thought she was a boy because she played football and questioned how girls could play the game. The 36-year-old said it was “unusual” to see girls playing football back then and said she sometimes suffered worse bullying from parents rather than her classmates. “Sometimes for parents, if a young girl back then – I’m going back 30 years – beat their son, it was a bit of an embarrassment,” she added. Scott said she would attend football camps where she was the one girl alongside 50 boys, as well as going to football tournaments where she was the only girl. The former footballer said even though she was better at football than some of the boys she “never wanted special treatment for being a girl”. Scott added: “I just wanted to play football and as a young kid, I didn't understand why it was such an issue that I just wanted to play football.” She continued: “Once I stepped over that white line, that was where I wanted to be. I could escape everything.” Her comments come as new research by Starling Bank found three in 10 girls stop playing football when they get to their late teenage years – a far higher proportion than the one in ten boys who give up the sport. Researchers, who polled 2,000 11 to 16-year-olds in the UK, found that over a quarter of girls quit football over pressures to perform well at school. Meanwhile, 14 per cent stop playing because of insecurities about their body image and eight per cent bow out of football for being bullied for playing the game. Scott, who is an ambassador for the bank, said social media pressure was partly to blame as it puts pressure on girls to make them feel like they should look a particular way. “It’s kind of this perfect world isn't it, in a sense,” she reflected. “And I think we're all guilty of doing it. We don't want to post a picture unless you look good or if it’s filtered.” Scott explained she has coached football to girls aged between 13 and 15 and you can see they do not want to get “stuck into a tackle” or do not “want to get sweaty” due to anxiety about how they will look. Read More Spanish FA chief blames player for World Cup kiss and shouts ‘I am not resigning!’ in chaotic press conference Spanish soccer federation fires women's national team coach Jorge Vilda amid Rubiales controversy ‘He wasn’t raping her’: Woody Allen offers staggering defence of Spanish football boss Luis Rubiales ‘History in the making’: Lionesses’ Euros success sparks booming interest in women’s football Lioness Demi Stokes says misogynistic abuse online ‘really affected’ England players’ game

The eight countries who share the rainforest are meeting in Brazil for a "milestone" summit.

Police continue to search for a woman who went missing after telling her family she spotted a child walking alone on a stretch of Alabama highway earlier this week. Rewards totaling $25,000 have been offered up for the return of 25-year-old Carlethia Nichole “Carlee” Russell, who called 911 to report that she saw a toddler on the side of Interstate 459 in Hoover on 13 July. She then called a family member, who lost contact with her while the phone line remained open, according to police. Officers who arrived at the scene found Ms Russell’s car and some of her belongings but did not locate her or the child. “We currently are investigating every possibility,’’ Hoover Police Department public information officer Lt Daniel Lowe said during a press briefing on 14 July. “We’re certainly leaving nothing off the table.” Her mother Talitha Russell said her daughter left The Woodhouse Day Spa before stopping at Taziki’s at 9pm on Thursday to pick up food for her and her mother, according to AL.com. She called 911 when she had pulled over after spotting what she said was a three- or four-year-old child, her mother said. At 9:36pm, Talitha Russell said her daughter was then on the phone with her brother’s girlfriend. “My son’s girlfriend heard her asking the child, ‘Are you OK?’ She never heard the child say anything but then she heard our daughter scream,’’ Talitha Russell said. “From there all you hear on her phone is background noise from the interstate.” An officer was dispatched to the scene within three minutes. One witness reported possibly seeing a gray vehicle and a male standing outside of Ms Russell’s car at the time of the incident, according to Hoover police. Family members have questioned why authorities did not alert an Ashanti Alert, relying on a similar Amber Alert emergency messaging system for missing children. Ashanti alerts, named after 19-year-old Ashanti Billie, who was abducted and killed in 2017, are used in critical missing adult cases for those too old for Amber alerts and too young for Silver alerts. Ms Russell – who is described as Black, 5’4” and 150 to 160 lbs – was last seen wearing a black shirt, black pants and white Nike shoes, according to Hoover police. Members of the public who believe they have seen her are directed to call Hoover Detective Brad Fountain at 205-444-7562, Sgt Drew Mims at 205-739-7274, or Crimestoppers of Metro Alabama at 205-254-7777.

Matthew Cleveland scored 23 points, Bensley Joseph and Wooga Poplar each added 18 and No. 12 Miami rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to beat neighboring FIU 86-80 on Monday night

MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 30, 2023--

A long way from home and playing in its first Little League World Series game ever, Cuba allowed just one hit Wednesday, but got no-hit in a 1-0 loss to Japan in an opening round game

At almost every stop last year, Jill Biden delivered a clear message to supporters as she campaigned for Democrats in the 2022 midterms

By John McCrank The chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday strongly rebutted criticism

702 had announced in December 2022 that Irish Grinstead was taking 'a medical leave of absence due to serious medical issues'

In gang-ridden Ecuador, people who sport popular animal tattoos such as tigers or eagles are increasingly forced to hide their ink as such symbols have...

By Michael S. Derby NEW YORK Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said on Friday her