SPEEDWAY: Dan Bewley scored 12 points and Jaimon Lidsey weighed in with 11+2 as the Belle Vue Aces led from the first tape to beat Premiership champions Sheffield Tigers 51-39 in the first leg of their play-off semi-final on Monday evening.

The second leg is scheduled for Thursday night at Sheffield’s Owlerton stadium, with the winners facing Leicester in the two-legged Grand Final at the end of the month.

MEN’S CRICKET: New Zealand will be hoping for better luck with the weather when they continue their Asian tour with the first leg of their two-match Test series against Sri Lanka in Galle tomorrow morning. 

The Kiwis’ one-off test with Afghanistan planned for last week was rained off without a ball being bowled.

New Zealand are currently ranked as the world’s fifth-best five-day team, one place above the Sri Lankans.

WOMEN’S FOOTBALL: Arsenal travel to Gothenburg tomorrow evening to face Hacken in the first leg of their Champions League second round fixture.

Hacken reached the quarter-finals last season before losing out to Paris St Germain, who start their campaign with a trip to Juventus.

Among Wednesday night’s other matches, two-time winners Wolfsburg face Fiorentina and Chelsea enter the competition in the third round.

ICE HOCKEY: Cardiff Devils defenceman Josh Batch has been fined and suspended for one game after cross-checking Daniel Catenacci twice before removing his glove to punch him in the dying minutes of their 6-2 win at Guildford in the Challenge Cup.

Catenacci, a former National Hockey League player who joined Guildford in July, received a fine for striking Batch between the legs with his stick in retaliation.