SPORTING DIGEST...

RUGBY: Ex-England fly-half Toby Flood is considering switching allegiance to play for Germany. The 32-year-old Newcastle Falcons star won the last of his 60 caps in 2013. “If there was any way of trying to help a fledgling rugby country, it would interest me,” he said. His grandfather Albert Lieven left Berlin under duress in 1936, and Flood applied for a German passport in the wake of the Brexit vote.

BOXING: Anthony Joshua would be willing to box a mixed martial artist or accept a cage fight in the future. The IBF and WBA heavyweight champion was speaking ahead of Saturday’s controversial fight, in Las Vegas, when Conor McGregor makes his professional boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather. Joshua can see the appeal, saying: “I like fighting, I’d do whatever.”

FOOTBALL: Burnley have announced the signing of Chris Wood from Leeds on a fouryear deal for a club-record fee, believed to be an initial £15million. The New Zealand striker rose to prominence by finishing as the Championship’s leading scorer with 27 goals last season. “My ambition has been to play in the Premier League for years,” Wood said.

CRICKET: Chris Gayle is set to play his first one-day international in more than two years after being included in a 15-man West Indies squad to take on Ireland and England next month. Gayle last played an ODI in the 2015 World Cup quarter-final but returned for West Indies in a Twenty20 against India last month following an improvement in player and board relations.

FOOTBALL: Scotland manager Gordon Strachan has handed recalls to Newcastle duo Matt Ritchie and Grant Hanley ahead of the vital World Cup qualifiers against Lithuania and Malta next month. The pair had been left out of Strachan’s previous squad – the 2-2 draw against England in June – but have been recalled along with Matt Phillips, ex-Sunderland man Steven Fletcher and Steven Whittaker.