hello this is bbc news. the headlines: new figures reveal accident and emergency waiting times in england are at their worst since current records began. several people have been injured after a shooting at a high school in california, near los angeles — police say the suspect has been located and is in custody. victims of the floods across england are bracing themselves for more rain, with around 100 flood warnings now in place.

italy is set to declare a state of emergency in venice after the city there was engulfed with flood water. a man who caused the death of his girlfriend's three—year—old son by crushing him behind a car seat has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. in a moment it will be time for sportsday but first a look at what else is coming up this evening on bbc news... beyond 100 days at 7:00, we'll bring you the very latest on the shooting at a high school near los angeles. after 8:00, with more rain on the way, we'll have the very latest from those areas in england affected by the flooding. and at 10:40 and 11:30, we'll take a first look at tomoorow‘s front pages in ‘the papers‘ with me tonight are george eaton, the assistant editor of the new statesman, and the spectator deputy political editor, katy balls. now on bbc news it's time for sportsday. hello, i'm 0lly foster.

here's what's coming up on sportsday this evening: a grand night at wembley — england play their 1000th game, and they should also qualify for the euro‘s next year. we'll hear from ben stokes on his stellar summer, but he couldn't have done it by himself. you need a support unit that will be with you and back you through thick and thin. and catriona matthew is up for the solheim cup — again. she's staying on to captain the european team in two years‘ time. also coming up in the programme... there's no catching cockroft — she's won another gold at the world para athletics championships in dubai. and the man trying to keep the nfl safe tells us how they're tackling concussion and what can rugby learn from gridiron.

hello there, it should be quite an evening at wembley, england's1000th international fixture, 147 years after their first that was a goaless draw against scotland in partick , a draw will do for england against montenegro this evening, that's all they need to qualify for next summers european championship. our reporter rhia choan is there for us tonight, and it should be a great occasion, a landmark match? yes, it is getting quite cold here but not stopping thousands of fans pouring into the stadium for what should be a straightforward qualification for england into the euros, and as you mentioned, it is the 1000th england

senior man's game. natalie pirks is inside wembley with a familiar face. representing your country in any sport has to surpass your career at clu b sport has to surpass your career at club level. i had a great career at we st club level. i had a great career at west ham playing with bobby moore. ifi west ham playing with bobby moore. if i had to choose today what is more significant in terms of the plane, you would want to be seen playing for your country. strangely for me, it may seem strange to say this, i never dreamt i would play for england at all. but looking back 50 years, i think i should have been playing for england three years earlier. when i look back at what i was doing three years before that, we st was doing three years before that, west ham are winning trophies, i was scoring goals regularly, in 1962 and 1963 and those two combinations, thinking i should have been picked three years early and they should have got my 50th cap and said of the

409i have got my 50th cap and said of the 4091 have got. it still remains england's only major tournament when, what do you make of what gareth is building?” when, what do you make of what gareth is building? i am very pleased with what he is doing. it is evident, the way they are performing asa team. evident, the way they are performing as a team. i spoke to a couple of players and they are very complimentary, without being prompted about sara's gareth southgate as a boss. you need somebody who can build a team, which is hard because some players don't hardly kick a ball for their clubs. but the man at the top, it is important that is important. you touched on qualification, they should get what they need, what do they have to do, what is the mathematics to get through to the euros? england are top of their

group in these qualifiers. they have had five wins out of six and they only need the one point to qualify. it should be pretty straightforward for england and england should bring more than montenegro for tonight's match but gareth southgate is not going to want any slip ups. they are travelling to kosovo on sunday and they want that to be an easy one, get the point tonight and get it done and dusted, all wrapped up for qualification. that will be a double celebration. we should have some tea m celebration. we should have some team news later in the programme as well, with kick—off just team news later in the programme as well, with kick—offjust over an hour away. the video assistant referee was on the agenda at a premier league meeting today. the referees‘ chief mike riley admitted that improvement is required. all 20 clubs were represented and though west ham‘s co—chairman david gold sais var is alive and kicking, many have serious concerns with how‘s it‘s been implemented for the first three

months of the season. we have had a very robust discussion. the message has got through to the league and the referee‘s association that the fans are unhappy and many other stakeholders in the game think we will do a whole lot better. i expect to see real improvements in the speed of decisions, consistency, which is what everybody craves and i think above all else, for those of us in stadia, we want much more communication of what is going on before, during and after. if we get those three ingredients, things will be a whole lot better in a few months‘ time. let‘s get more on this from our football reporter, simon stone. i spoke to the head of implementation of var, neil swarbrick earlier and he said it could be three years before they get things right. but they are worried the product of the

premier league is being damaged? they are at the meeting was described as fractious. there were some chairmen like david gold, who think everything is ok. 0thers some chairmen like david gold, who think everything is ok. others who really, really don‘t. i guess that depends whether you are a club who have been at the wrong end of these decisions. christian purslow said it there, the premier league want greater consistency, they want faster decisions and they want the communication inside the stadiums, to be better. what they accept it as they cannot make wholesale changes now, nobody is thinking about getting rid of var. big changes cannot be made now partway through the season, because the feeling is that would damage the integrity of the competition. but what can happen is that fans inside the stadiums in particular can be told what is happening. so instead of, as i saw at old trafford on sunday, a simple

var check been put up on the scoreboard, the message will be, var check for a penalty. var check for handball. var check for a red card. and with the other things and the consistency and the speed, it is hoped over the next few weeks and months, the whole var system will improve and that will bring trust back to the premier league. we will see. certainly a work in progress. simon stone, thank you very much indeed. england‘s first test against new zealand starts next week it‘s the first of 25 matches before the next ashes series in 2021. that‘s the priority for the england captainjoe root, who say that he and the new coach chris silverwood have a two—year plan to win back the urn, changing their approach by trying to bat longer and being more patient with the ball. it has been a great opportunity to

have real clarity on how we both wa nt to ta ke have real clarity on how we both want to take the team forward. we are very aligned on that. 0ver want to take the team forward. we are very aligned on that. over the next couple of years we want to do everything we can to be in the best shape possible to go to australia and win. we want to be competitive in the test championship and as much as possible, go up the rankings to become the number one team in the world. ben stokes is in new zealand with the test team, he says his standout performances for england this summer, do not give him any sort of "redemption" for what happened outside a bristol nightclub in 2017. stokes was fined £30,000 and was given an eight—match ban by the ecb after being involved in a street fight — although the cricketer was cleared of affray. from my point of view, i don‘t see

it like that at all. i see it as be going out doing as good as i can to help my team win games. i don‘t see it as redemption. i am not doing it... not, that will prove you wrong, type thing? no, never. something we want to do is reach out toa something we want to do is reach out to a new set of fans and you know, get people falling in love with cricket again. as well as winning the world cup and trying to win the ashes as well, we wanted to do that, but we know we have achieved the goal of making cricket big again and we‘re very of it. goal of making cricket big again and we're very of it. the other thing a lot of people admire is the support of yourfamily, lot of people admire is the support of your family, whether it is your wife and your children and your mum and dad in new zealand. without that, though sacrifices over the yea rs, that, though sacrifices over the years, you wouldn‘t be sat here talking about an amazing few months? no, you need a support unit that will back you through thick and thin. that is what friends and

family are. they love you for the person you are, they don‘t love you because you are an international cricketer. without the support from people like that, things can go pear shaped quite quickly. has it been tripped out with the kids, whatever you do as a normal person, has that changed for ever? no, it is normal, we just changed for ever? no, it is normal, wejust get a changed for ever? no, it is normal, we just get a few more people coming up we just get a few more people coming up and saying, well done, can we have a picture. which is nice. the kids are starting to get aware of it 110w. kids are starting to get aware of it now. are they rolling their eyes or anything like that? no, we got stopped in the metrocentre by three lads who just wanted to say, well done. they said, do you want a picture of my daddy? they are getting used to people, when we are out. ben stokes, speaking to dan walker. still to come on sportsday...

sonny bill williams who said he couldn‘t say no when the wolfpack came calling. and we will be picking out some of oui’ and we will be picking out some of our favourites. it‘s the penultimate day of competition at the world para athletics championships in dubai. wheelchair racer, hannah cockroft, has retained her 800 metres title in a record time for the championships. kate grey is there for us. hannah cockroft has won her second gold of these championships. this time in the t34800 metres. she was helped out by her team—mate, carrie dunnigan on the first lap. but that she went into the second lap, she took the lead and won by a significant margin, with carrie dunnigan taking the silver. the second gold medal went to maria lyle in the 200 metres. her second of the championships and she was very

pleased at the end of the race.|j championships and she was very pleased at the end of the race. i am really happy. i have been waiting a bit longer for the really happy. i have been waiting a bit longerfor the start, really happy. i have been waiting a bit longer for the start, so really happy. i have been waiting a bit longerfor the start, so i was getting nervous. iwas bit longerfor the start, so i was getting nervous. i was thinking about my plan, trying to execute my plan and keep calm and relaxed. at the start, it is good having the girls on the outside for somebody to chase around the bend, but on the straight, it is just keeping relaxed and trying not to tighten up. i don‘t really think too much about my competitors, i just hope don‘t really think too much about my competitors, ijust hope i win. don‘t really think too much about my competitors, ijust hope i winm was an exciting end to the shot put which brought sabrina fortune take the gold in a final throw with a new personal best and the championship record. really performing under pressure in the final stages. there was a silverfor pressure in the final stages. there was a silver for richard whitehead in thet was a silver for richard whitehead in the t 61,200 metres. he was a silver for richard whitehead in the t 61, 200 metres. he wasn‘t quite good enough to beat south africa‘s the tango longer. and an

athlete from japan competing in the t52 , athlete from japan competing in the t52, 100 is, who is 60 years old and she still managed to win a silver medal. there is hope for us all and we will be looking out for her in tokyo next year. we certainly will! catriona mathhew says winning the solheim cup on home soil was a dream come true, but backing that up with a win in america would be even better. she‘s been given the chance to do that, handed the captaincty of the european team once again folloing their victory at gleneagles in september. here‘s the bbc scotland reporter heather dewar. katrina matthew has been named captain after the incredible victory at gleneagles. she is going for back—to—back victories, the first european captain to do so. she says she is relishing the challenge. you don‘t think you have the chance to go and do it in america, it has

never been