An unbeaten 104 by highly-rated batting prospect Joe Clarke was not enough to save Worcestershire from an innings defeat by Sussex on the final day at New Road.

They were bowled out for 237 and are eight points adrift at the foot of the Division One table, with only two games left to play.

BBC WM's Mike Taylor at Edgbaston:

"Middlesex are almost safe in this game, despite lurching on a few occasions through a tense afternoon session. 

"Jeetan Patel spun out three batsmen in various states of bemusement. Nick Compton tried to attack him and clear away some close fielders, but fell to a fine catch by the substitute Laurie Evans at mid-off. 

"Neil Dexter's countering of Patel has so far been more successful, and another 45 minutes or so of batting should secure the draw."

Image source, AP

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has once again blamed Manchester United for the failure of the David de Gea transfer, saying they "lacked experience". Inevitably, United have responded...

Gloucestershire made a promising start to their task of scoring 302 to beat Leicestershire on the final day at Grace Road.

Skipper Will Tavare's enterprising declaration during the morning enabled the home side to increase their lead and leave Gloucestershire a run-chase.

Dan Redfern top-scored with 74 for Leicestershire, who failed to separate Tavare and opening partner Chris Dent before tea, with a minimum of 42 overs remaining.

Juliette Ferrington
BBC Sport in Tbilisi

Gordon Strachan said on Thursday that he was unsure if this was a 'must win' game but the Tartan Army believe their country's qualifying campaign comes down to these 90 minutes at the Boris Paichadze Stadium, which hosted the recent Uefa Super Cup final.

Image source, BBC Sport

Here, Tbilisi looks nice, doesn't it...

Referees in Italy's Serie B are reportedly going to trial a novel new way to reward sportsmanship on the pitch this weekend by issuing green cards for good behaviour.

At the end of the season they will be tallied up and the players with the most will receive a prize that is yet to be decided upon.

Players can be rewarded for stopping the game to allow an injured opponent receive treatment or admitting a foul which had been missed, for example.

Image source, Getty Images

Juliette Ferrington
BBC Sport

Cheapest ticket in international football? £3 to watch Georgia v Scotland at the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena on Friday...

Image source, BBC Sport

You can listen to the game on BBC Radio 5 live from 17:00 BST and follow our live text commentary from 16:00 BST

Shane Daly: Waiting to see if Alan Shearer would join Man United back in 1996. Spoiler alert! He didn't. £15 million, what a steal.  

The rest is history, Shane...

Keep your longest sporting waits coming. Tweet us at #bbcsportsday or post on the BBC Sport Facebook, external page.

Image source, Getty Images

Skipper Gareth Batty finished the match with a hat-trick as Surrey beat Derbyshire at The Oval to seal promotion back to County Championship Division One.

Batty dismissed Tony Palladino, Mark Footitt and Ben Cotton with successive deliveries for figures of 6-51 as Derbyshire were bowled out for 149.

San Marino, here they come. Raheem Sterling has posted this picture of himself and Fabian Delph on their way for Saturday's Euro 2016 qualifier...

Image source, Raheem Sterling

Former international Willie Miller hopes Scotland can stay focused in their qualifier against Georgia despite an eagerness to reach Euro 2016.

The national side have not qualified for a major tournament since 1998.

"We are desperate to get back on to the big stage but desperation doesn't win football games," Miller told BBC Radio Scotland.

"You've got to play with a calm head and I'm sure Gordon Strachan will emphasise that to his players."

If anyone has earned the right to write a book about leadership it is former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson. The winner of 38 trophies in 26 years at United, Ferguson's book is simply titles 'Leading' and is currently being serialised - nay read out loud via the medium of video by the Scot himself - on the official United Facebook page., external

Here is an ominous extract on discipline: “People will give a manager plenty of opportunities to crack the whip so it’s best to pick and choose your moments. You don’t have to dish out a punishment very often before everyone gets the message."

Image source, Manchester United Facebook page

Scotland manager Gordon Strachan says he cannot understand why some feel Friday's Euro 2016 qualifier in Georgia is a "must win".

The Scots are currently third in Group D behind Poland and Germany.

Image source, Getty Images

"We've been asking this question since the first game in Germany and hopefully we're still asking it up until the last game against Gibraltar," said Strachan.

"If you're asking that question then we're still very much alive and kicking."

Enyi Nnanta:  Waiting for Rooney to shoot on Sunday against Swansea when through on goal in the 88th minute... still waiting.

Ian Brennan:  Liverpool fans waiting for a Premier League title, and if Harry Redknapp is right, external it could be a lot longer!  

Keep your longest sporting waits coming. Tweet us #bbcsportsday or post on the BBC Sport Facebook, external page.

British doubles specialist Colin Fleming has said he is "buzzing" after beating fifth seeds Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli to make it into the US Open second round.

The achievement is all the more impressive considering he had never played with his partner, Treat Huey of the Philippines, before. 

Image source, Getty Images

The pair only agreed to pair up on the mobile phone app Whatsapp in the run-up to the tournament.

Fleming, 31, said: "I'm buzzing with the result... I don't know who we face next. We had such a tough first round draw I didn't look any further than that."

Distraction techniques are nothing new in sport, but broadcasting a giant chipmunk onto a big screen to put off the opposition kicker is taking things to a whole new level.

Check out this picture from the match between TCU Horned Frogs (yes, really) and the Minnesota Golden Gophers. 

Much was made of Wales' promotion above England in the Fifa world rankings on Thursday (some borne out of jealousy, admittedly), but spare a moment to look at this Guardian, external piece about Romania, currently the seventh best team in the world.

Don't try convincing team coach Anghel Iordanescu, though. "We are not seventh in the world," he said. “Our teams are out of Europe earlier than they have been for 11 years and our players who are in the strong leagues are – with only a few exceptions – fringe players for small clubs."

There are some great stats in there, including how Romania earned more ranking points (786.91) in four games than Copa America winners Chile. Go figure...  

Usually a 10-0 drubbing is enough to grab our attention. But it was the use of three goalkeepers by Malaysia that really caught our eye following their comprehensive defeat to United Arab Emirates in a World Cup qualifier on Thursday.

Image source, Getty Images

Khairul Bin Che Mat let in four and lasted just 28 minutes, his replacement, Selamat, conceded another three and was taken off on 62', leaving it to Khairul Azhan Khalid to see out the misery.

No fewer than 76 goals were rattled in by Asian teams in Thursday's 15 games - an average of 5.067 per match, one of the highest on record.