The Guardian

England’s Test team have now all arrived in Australia, but with 11 days to go until battle commences their preparation seems a little underwhelming Just beyond the boundary’s edge, a cockatoo flew into the hole in a eucalyptus tree where it is nesting. Beyond that, the Swan River flowed. Galahs, chests as pink as those any number of Englishmen will be sporting in a couple of weeks’ time, snuffled…

The NFL is built on parity. But this season the NFC only has a few contenders while even the best teams in the AFC have worrying flaws No league sells parity like the NFL: it’s the entire brand. But through 10 weeks of this season, this isn’t a league that is equally balanced between the good, the bad and the mediocre. It’s one where most of the league is simply fine. In the NFC, at least, there …

Werder Bremen inflicted a seventh defeat in eight games on a club that has struggled to build an identity since 2009 title ‘All I want in life’s a little bit of love to take the pain away,” sang Jason Pierce in the opening line of Spiritualized’s 1997 opus Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space. And just a little bit has always been all Wolfsburg have been likely to get. One of a couple of…

Sassuolo forward is rarest of beasts – a one-club man – and virtuoso display against Atalanta reinforced his hero status The man with the moustache held his teammate in a headlock and stared down the TV camera lens. “Berardi!” he yelled, jabbing a finger at the back of his colleague’s bonce. “BE-RAR-DI!” It felt like that moment in a kids’ movie when the big brother drags his meek sibling back in…

This week we will be publishing a run-down of our 51 judges’ greatest Ashes cricketers in the buildup to this year’s series opener on 21 November. Here’s how we did it Mark Waugh or Steve? Greg or Ian Chappell? Will it be England’s sepia-tinted Sydney F Barnes, the grumpy and moustachioed Jimmy Anderson of his day, or Australia’s Sidney G Barnes, an eccentric batter in the 1948 touring Invincible…

Defender urges Liverpool to ‘get back to’ previous levels He feels Van Dijk’s disallowed goal should have stood Andrew Robertson admits Liverpool have a “huge uphill battle” to defend the title after Sunday’s 3-0 defeat at Manchester City , which leaves Arne Slot’s team eighth. The reverse was a fifth in six league matches, with Liverpool eight points behind the leaders, Arsenal, after 11 matches…

City overtake Chelsea with a 2-1 win against Everton West Ham fail to beat Leicester to keep them bottom For a while the mood was buoyant in Dagenham as West Ham fans felt their early season woes were finally lifting. Leading Leicester with four minutes to play, news filtered through that Liverpool had conceded a 93rd-minute equaliser to share the points with Brighton in a 1-1 draw. It meant that…

Everton duo stake England claim, Jaydee Canvot steps up for Crystal Palace, and Benjamin Sesko struggles to settle Amid the headlines about Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham being recalled for England, there was a little less said about Nico O’Reilly being named in Thomas Tuchel’s squad. Myles Lewis-Skelly paid the price for his lack of game time and now the City man gets his opportunity to stake a …

Victory in Paris with 14 men showed what the world champions can still do, leaving New Zealand and others playing catchup Some wins count double in terms of the message they send. And amid the blizzard of weekend Test matches it was Saturday night’s result in Paris that will resonate the longest in both hemispheres. Not only the outcome, either, but the manner of it. To say South Africa exploded …

Briton forced to retire on lap 37 of São Paulo GP Hamilton yet to make podium with Scuderia Lewis Hamilton has branded his first season at Ferrari as a “nightmare” after he endured another trying weekend, forced to retire from the São Paulo Grand Prix in a year when he has been frustrated and disappointed as he attempts to adapt to his new team. “It’s a nightmare,” Hamilton said. “I’ve been livin…

Winger’s thrilling performance made elite footballers vanish and surely ended Liverpool’s title defence For heaven’s sake, Jérémy. You’re not supposed to actually enjoy these games. Except, it seems sometimes you can, even at this rarefied level. Perhaps the most striking part of Jérémy Doku’s thrilling performance here was its playfulness, the sense of fun, the way he was into it from the first …

Miami end seven-game losing streak against Buffalo Houston score 26 points in final quarter to secure win Tua Tagovailoa threw for 173 yards and two touchdowns, De’Von Achane added a pair of rushing scores and the Miami Dolphins beat the Buffalo Bills to end a seven-game losing streak against their AFC East rivals. The Bills (6-3) had not lost to Miami (3-7) since Week 3 of the 2022 season but ca…

Wales 28-52 Argentina Jac Morgan dislocates shoulder as tourists run amok The start of a new Welsh rugby chapter left fans reading the same old story, Argentina claiming their biggest ever win over the hosts and consigning Wales to their 19th defeat in 20 Tests. Welsh supporters had hoped the team had turned a page in the summer after they ended their losing streak with a win over Japan and had s…

Tierney strikes as Celtic defeat Kilmarnock 4-0 Rangers beat Dundee for third straight league win Kieran Tierney scored his first Celtic goal in seven years as the Premiership champions cut the gap on leaders Hearts to seven points with a 4-0 home victory against Kilmarnock . The left-back, who scored on his final Arsenal appearance in May, drilled in from 25 yards to double Celtic’s lead six min…

‘We need a clear gameplan to put them under pressure’ All Blacks have not lost at Twickenham for 13 years Jamie George has warned that England must not be seduced by the All Blacks’ mystique if they are to clinch a first Twickenham victory over New Zealand in 13 years on Saturday. Steve Borthwick has been boosted before the toughest assignment of England’s autumn campaign with the return to fitne…