The Guardian

The Hundred put on a show at Lord’s but the hosts’ men’s and women’s teams both lost to Manchester Super Giants London Spirit launched their new era with double defeat at Lord’s, and though they may have new owners, new coaches and new players it seems they’re still getting the same results. For the fifth time in their six-year history the men started their season with defeat, losing by seven run…

Move is significant step in row over prize money US Open will come under pressure to follow suit The French Open has become the first grand slam tournament to offer players a share of the event’s revenue in a significant step forward in the row over prize money. Officials from Roland Garros made the offer to the players’ representative, Larry Scott, in talks at Wimbledon a fortnight ago in a move…

Freestyle swimmer eligible through father Gerry Madeleine’s disappearance still under investigation Madeleine McCann’s younger brother, Sean, has been selected to represent Scotland in swimming at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. McCann, a student at Loughborough University, is expected to compete in a number of longer-distance freestyle events when competition begins at the Tollcross Internati…

A 162-game season guarantees failure as much as success. Inside a losing clubhouse, staying together and believing can become the hardest part of the job If you ask professional athletes, they’ll tell you. Losing is no fun. But in Major League Baseball, losing big can be especially tedious. An MLB seasons boasts a whopping 162 games (twice as many as the NBA and NHL) and even the best hitters fai…

Petulant reaction to a justified two-stroke penalty at the Open illustrates why the American is happier on the LIV tour The potential for stigma was laid bare close to the conclusion of Saturday at the Open Championship. “Bryson, ya cheat,” a lone voice bellowed from the stand adjacent to Royal Birkdale’s 18th green. This is an environment in which being unfaithful to one’s spouse would be seen a…

Finding a candidate to lead the red-ball side is no easy task, with Ben Stokes gone and Brendon McCullum still around As England’s men scatter for the Hundred, ready to pull on new colours, ingratiate themselves with their new paymasters and use the word “exciting” repeatedly, the management above them could be forgiven for letting out a sigh of relief. Not that everything is shipshape going into…

Computer-controlled energy deployment now dictates races – it turns out drivers don’t like Skynet controlling their cars Another race down another classic circuit, in this case Spa-Francorchamps, left neutered for drivers and so their slow, dissonant discontent rumbles ever onward. In the wake of the Belgian Grand Prix , there was an overwhelming sense they wished to simply escape. Not so much fr…

Our cartoonist looks back at the final game of the 2026 World Cup as Donald Trump watched Spain triumph again Buy this cartoon | Some of David’s favourite works And his latest book, Chaos in the Box: get it now Continue reading...

The first 48-team World Cup had its positives and negatives – do we need to brace for a 64-team future? It was less than 12 months after Gianni Infantino succeeded Sepp Blatter as president that Fifa announced the expansion of the men’s World Cup from 32 to 48 teams. The reaction was mixed. Diego Maradona said he was “delighted by Gianni’s initiative” because it allowed each country to dream of r…

Our photographer has been at Royal Birkdale for the Open. Here are some of his best shots as Ryan Fox claimed his first major with a birdie at the final hole Continue reading...

Follow the latest standings for the Glasgow Games as 74 countries compete for the 645 medals on offer The 23rd Commonwealth Games are taking place in Glasgow between 23 July and 2 August. There are 74 Commonwealth Games Associations eligible to compete, all of whom are expected to send athletes to the championships. Medals will be available in 215 events, spread across 10 sports. Six of them incl…

Cecil Alexander is competing at Commonwealth Games Johnson-Thompson and Asher-Smith pull out of athletics The Falkland Islands bowler Cecil Alexander called Argentina’s World Cup banner “disappointing” after his opening men’s singles match at the Commonwealth Games. Alexander, 45, made the comments after a straight sets 10-3, 7-4 defeat by the former world No 1 Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple of Malaysia…

Having stepped in when Victoria deemed the event ‘a waste of taxpayer money’, organisers are bullish about the future Sometimes when a non-responsive person is close to death, a strange medical phenomena occurs. From apparently nowhere they experience a burst of energy. They recognise people again. They start to speak in sentences. Relatives even dare to hope. But, sadly, that hope is short-lived…

Sam Kerr’s and Alexia Putellas’s moves were hard to miss but these transfers may have escaped your attention There were a host of big women’s football transfers which were hard to miss across June and July, despite the dominance of the men’s World Cup. Among them were Beth Mead’s move from Arsenal to Manchester City , Mary Earps and Georgia Stanway returning to the Women’s Super League with Londo…

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! Hmmm, should I order in a pizza tonight ? How does this basic question translate to the monstrously rich, to those operating in the hundreds of billions? Maybe it’s as simple as this: hmmm, should I join a consortium looking to buy a stake in Liverpool Football Club? Welcome to the world of Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and once the wealthiest p…