good evening. latest headlines: the first cabinet meeting has taken place since last week ‘s resignations over brexit, the prime minister prepares for more talks in brussels. president trump says the united states wants to stand by saudi arabia, even if the saudi brown prince mohammad bin salman knew about the killing of the journalist jamal khashoggi. a judge blocked the us president's donald trump executive order barring the legal in from claiming asylum as a migrant caravan reaches the mexican city of tijuana. —— a judge locks the us president donald trump's executive order. coming up in a moment, sportsday, but first, a quick look at what else we have for you: we will be watching parliament closely tonight, two the budget votes this evening, we will be

exploring why both of them are important for theresa may as she tries to hold onto power. be on 100 days we will be focusing on president trump's renewed support for saudi arabia tonight after the investigation into the death of journalist jamal khashoggi. celebrating 20 years of the international space station and its more memorable moments, we will be looking at that as well. that is all ahead, right now, sportsday. hello, and welcome to sportsday. crunch time for scotland, we're live at hampden as they take on israel in a nations league decider. a four—year—ban for british sprinter nigel levine, punishment for taking a banned asthma drug. what's happened to the olympic champions? great britain struggle at hockey‘s champions trophy. coming up: new money for grassroots

cricket, i'm here in leicester and strictly speaking, we may have a surprise guest or two. coming up. hello, thank you forjoining us. a big game for scotland at hampden this evening — beat israel, and they'll top their nations league group. isreal, though, only need a draw to win promotion. up for grabs is a euro 2020 play offs spot. so lets get straight to hampden, and our scotland sports correspondent chris mclaughlin is there. lots at stake tonight, chris. absolutely, do—or—die, make or break, must win game, take your pick, the equation is worryingly simple for scotland this evening, as

you say, three points, they will top their group you say, three points, they will top theirgroup and a you say, three points, they will top their group and a draw simply is not good enough, israel and scotland both sitting on six points. israel beat scotland's 2—1 back in october. so, as we say, scotland are just that one win away from booking that provisional euro 2020 play—off place, for the first time since 1998, scotland could be heading to a finals. this is a huge game for us, we know that it this is a huge game for us, we know thatitis this is a huge game for us, we know that it is and at the weekend we took on a huge game, after the disappointment against israel. and we absolutely nailed it. we have to ta ke we absolutely nailed it. we have to take that forward and realise it. we are under no illusions about how big are under no illusions about how big a game it is. scotland nailed it

against albania at the weekend, 4—0, the scoreline, from that, morale is clearly high, that win came as well given the fact that scotland were without nine key players, it looks like alex mcleish will go with pretty much the same group this evening, morale is high, confidence is high, something we do not see often in the scotland camp. plenty to play for this evening. alex mcleish has also called for the ta rta n mcleish has also called for the tartan army to come out in force here on the south side of glasgow. it is raining, it will not be full tonight, trust me, but if we get —— if they get the win they are looking for, it will be noisy. lets hope they can turn that morale into a result. we will be joining you later. one other international match to tell you about. wales are away to albania who they face in a friendly tonight. you can follow the progress of ryan gigg's side on bbc radio wales whilst there will also be text commentary along with scotland's game on the bbc sport website.

several championship clubs say they are "gravely concerned" that they have been ignored as the efl has negotiated a new tv rights deal with sky sports. the deal is worth £595 million pounds over five years but the clubs, who are unnamed, say that's not enough to ensure the financial survival of all 72 clubs covered by the deal. the efl say financial security for clubs was an "absolute priority" during discussions and that this is the best way to maximise exposure for the leagues and their competitions. british olympic sprinter nigel levine has been banned from all sport for four years. he's tested postive for a banned asthma drug. he was suspended in december after clenbuterol was found in an out of competition test in november last year. he was part of the british 4x400 metres relay team at the 2016 rio 0lympics, and has won indoor and outdoor european relay gold medals. but levine hasn't raced since he was involved in a motorbike crash in spain injanuary last year, in which he broke his pelvis. rugby union's autumn

international fixtures come to an end this weekend and england have confirmed winger chris ashton will be miss the final match against australia. he was injured during the game against japan on saturday. forwards coach steve borthwick says england will have to be at their best against some "world class" australia players and our rugby union correspondent chris jones has been down at the england team hotel looking at where the game could be won and lost. the scrum has been an area of english dominance over australia going back years, even decades, especially if the weather stays like this, that area could be particularly fascinating this weekend. england have lost a lot of experience in their front row for the campaign, whether because of injury, in the case of mako vunipola, retirement, joe marler, or in the case of dan cole, just not being selected. it has therefore been left to a trio of rocky exeter

props to fill the void: —— rookie. conversely, australia come to twickenham with a couple of pi’ops come to twickenham with a couple of props who have seen it and done it, scott sio has more than 50 appearances for his country, those two have fond memories of twickenham, having crushed england at the world cup that in 2015 and they would dearly love to do the same come saturday afternoon. englandengland start as heavy favourites, winning the last five meetings against the wallabies, if they end autumn on a high, they will have two dominate where it matters the most. chris, looking ahead to england against australia, wales looking for an autumn series clean sweep after wins against scotland, australia and tonga, but for the final match against south africa they will have to do without

full—back leigh halfpenny, concussed in this collision. that was the wallabies‘ samu kerevi ten days ago. halfpenny still hasn't recovered, warren gatland accused the australian player of being reckless at the time. also coming up in the programme... major league baseball comes to london, following in the footsteps of american football, two regular season games will be played this side of the atlantic. the well— known football coach is now showing how a football should be kicked. and forget george best, meet fred spikesly the first rock n'roll footballer with the skills to match. we'll find out how his life and achievements are being honoured. just a couple of years ago, great britains women won an historic hockey gold at the rio 0lympics. it's been a tough two years since,they lost their coach, they're without key players such as goalkeeper maddie hinch and captain alex danson

and they've been accused of lacking motivation. they're currently taking part in the champion's trophy in china and have yet to record a win, today throwing away a 2—0 lead to lose to japan. emily croydon reports: the olympic champions are in transition, interim coach, stand—in captain, and many new faces in the squad. this tournament is the first step on the road to the next games in tokyo, but it was one of the stars of rio who made the opening breakthrough, sophie bray finishing offa breakthrough, sophie bray finishing off a slick move for great britain. tests how would one is a surprise selection for her debut tournament, the 19—year—old student looks the part, showing real tenacity to score her first international goal. david ralph's new look side seemed on track for a first win but sloppy defending in this second—quarter lead injapan to decrease the deficit, they are ranked only 14th in the world but they were applying all the pressure, after a string of

penalty corners, their hero once again. frustration for gb, still yet to register a win in this tournament, they face the world champions the netherlands next. huge challenge coming up for the great britain hockey players. english cricket announced today what it hopes will be a major step forward in inspiring a new generation of players. over a million pounds of lottery funding will recruit some two thousand mentors. these female role models will focus directly at the south asian communities, where those who run the game acknowledge they've missed opportunites to harness enthusiasm for the cricket. joe wilson was at the launch, where a surprise dancer, or two, also turned up english cricket cannot afford to miss an opportunity nor iplayer. lottery money will now find 2000 new

ecb mentors, specifically forfemale cricket in south asia and communitycommunities like leicester's. it would have made such a big difference to me, i dropped out of playing cricket, maybe that was the reason, this is a bigger issue, this is a mission to get out for the girls, having female role models, we will tackle that, they will trust those women. she was an outstanding player for england will trust those women. she was an outstanding playerfor england but stands almost alone as a woman from a south asia and background to make it that far. i was lucky to be involved in the england pathway at a young age, i am hoping that with an increased full of talent, more will come through. that is what this is aiming to do, notjust playing cricket but getting women involved in general. you never know where a career in cricket might take you, i think over there it is graeme swann, and his dance partner. to go out

there and do your best, i think you can relate to a lot of girls, who don't think they can do it, having women in sport, being strong, holding the flag, that says, we are here, we are equal, we are just that strong. graeme swann, over your illustrious cricket career, do although she is feel like a rehearsal for life in although she is feel like a rehearsalfor life in musical better? laughter you know me, i was a frustrated actor, i should have been treading the boards, but thanks to 0ti mabuse a,i the boards, but thanks to 0ti mabuse a, ithink the boards, but thanks to 0ti mabuse a, i think that... that is only a matter of time! it is aboutjust having the confidence to try, whether it is batter, boulder, or —— bowler. time for a quick look at the other sports stories making the headlines today:

australian cricketers steve smith, david warner and cameron bancroft won't have their bans for ball—tampering lifted or shortened. smith and warner were suspended for 12 months and bancroft for nine in south africa in march. the players‘ union wanted the punishments lifted, saying they'd suffered enough, but cricket australia said it wouldn't be appropriate. laura davies will be a vice captain for the european team at next year's solheim cup at gleneagles. she holds the record for appearances and points scored in the competition and will support captain catriona matthew in september alongside suzann pettersen and kathryn imrie. a month after winning the chicago marathon, mo farah has confirmed he will make another attempt to win the london marathon next april. he finished third last year, in his first race over the distance since quitting the track. and wales' lauren price is guaranteed at least a bronze medal at the women's world boxing championships in delhi, she beat the pole elzbieta worchick in her middleweight quarter—final on a spilt decision. the chief executive of the professional footballer‘s association has dodged questions

about his future this evening. gordon taylor is facing calls to step down amid claims the union doesn't do enough to support former players, and that its time for a new leader be elected to modernise it. taylor's been in charge for 37 years, and there have also been questions about his £2.29 million salary. tonight, he refused to address the controversy: can we ask you whether or not you are considering your position? any comment at all? no. what about the money you have received, anything you would like to say about that? any message at all for the players, who expressed concern. any comment at all, tonight, mr taylor? dan roan, sports editor, with the questions. we've already had american football and basketball teams over from the other side of the atlantic

to play competitive games here in the uk. next summer baseball will join the mix, when the new york yankees and the boston red sox play two regular season games at the london stadium. one of the sport's biggest names, former yankee player alex rodriguez, has told the bbc why these matches are vital for baseball's future. john pakey reports. the glitz, the glamour, british sports fans have been seduced by nfl, there was not a spare seat in the house at wembley, could baseball do the same at the london stadium? that is what the people in charge of major league baseball hope, and the big guns have been rolled out to drum up support. alex rodrigo alves, one of the biggest names in recent yea rs one of the biggest names in recent years for arguably one of the biggest names in world sport, the new york yankees, out to sell the game to new audiences, secure his long—term future. game to new audiences, secure his long-term future. it is a job interview for us, we want to come in and do really well, that is why the league has thrown so many resources at this game. we think in the long

run, we have an opportunity to sustain the game for 100 years, and i think that is what the commissioner, he has just i think that is what the commissioner, he hasjust been extended, unanimous, by 30 owners, he thinks decades at a time, the commission, forward thinker. the man at the top sees london as crucial to further expansion. london has commended reputation in terms of hosting, addictively high profile events, we think regular—season games between the yankees and the red sox is a high profile event, this in london is a stepping stone to the rest of europe, outside prospect of expanding baseball's footprint into europe, convinced bothjohn henry footprint into europe, convinced both john henry and footprint into europe, convinced bothjohn henry and alf steinbrenner, respective owners, that this was something worth doing. will it be a hit for british sports fans, or will it be a swing and a miss? —— hal steinbrenner.

its the time of year to choose the bbc‘s african footballer of the year, here on sportsday we'll be profiling each of the five players on the shortlist, starting with senegal‘s kalidou koulibaly. the 27—year old was a key figure in the napoli defence as they finished runners—up in italy's serie a. he also played in all three group matches at the world cup, my most important thing is that i show everybody that i can be one of the best defenders in the world. when i scored the goal, i was really happy, i wanted to do something for napoli, they gave me a lot of love. i hope it will be the skid at, last

year, we left it until the end, because juventus were afraid of us. when you feel a team is afraid of your team, that is a great feeling. i like that sensation. —— the scudetto. i was born in france, but i had two cultures, the french culture, also, back in senegal, i see the french team in 1998, winning the world cup, when i see lily in tehran scoring that goal, zinedine zidane, in the final, i wanted to be a football player. we played well in the world cup. i wanted to show the senegalese were one of the best countries in the world for football. -- lilian thuram. i countries in the world for football. —— lilian thuram. i want to write the story of senegal football and i hope i will do it in the future.|j remember he was a good player, he was always quiet, working hard, a lwa ys was always quiet, working hard, always can. yes, he had a great

season always can. yes, he had a great season last year as well.|j always can. yes, he had a great season last year as well. i am kalidou koulibaly, i play for napoli, vote for me as the bbc african footballer... 0f napoli, vote for me as the bbc african footballer... of the year...! african footballer... of the year. . .! laughter kalidou koulibaly is nominated along with mohamed salah, medhi benatia,sadio mane, and thomas pa rtey, and you can vote for your favourite right now via the bbc sport website. that's bbc.com/sport and follow the link to the bbc african footballer of the year voting page. voting closes on sunday, december 2nd. sticking with football, who was football's first superstar? stanley matthews? george best? david beckham ? well you may not have heard of fred spiksley but even in the 19th century, he had the skills and the lifestyle to rival even the most notorious names of the game.

now a plaque to honour his life has been unveiled in lincolnshire, as shirley henry reports: this time i am going to demonstrate some further aspect of the game. football legend with a colourful lifestyle, this 1930s footage shows what is thought to be the first football tutorial by fred spike sleep. now he's showing you how a ball should be backheel, but who was he? —— fred spiksley. ball should be backheel, but who was he? -- fred spiksley. three lines on his chest. they would that be? is ea compared? he was captured by the germans during the first world war but he escaped, arguably, he is the first superstar of professional football, this weekend is 70 years after the death of fred spiksley, and this lack has been unveiled in his honour. the first wave of schoolboys who could look at footballers on the field and think, actually, there is a career there, i will not necessarily end up in the factory. he