The Guardian

Updates from the series opener at Kingsmead Ground Play starts in Durban at 10am local/6pm AEST Any thoughts? Email Martin Hello and welcome to live coverage of the first one-day international between South Africa and Australia in Durban. This the first of three ODIs between the old foes as they take tentative steps down a long path towards the Cricket World Cup to be jointly hosted by South Afri…

Steve Borthwick’s side have yet to reap benefits promised two years ago, but Prem is now a vibrant spectacle This month marks two years since the power brokers of the English game held court at Twickenham, sat in the kind of room where old money swills on Saturdays, and told us they were spending £264m to “reshape the rugby landscape”. The professional game partnership (PGP) between the Rugby Foo…

England can learn from being five minutes from the final and they have home advantage and good players for Euro 2028 In the end, Steve, Brian, Gaz or similar, he’s just not done the job he was hired to do. The job? The one he was hired to do? He’s not done it. How can I put this? There are three things here. The job. The being hired. The doing it. And him. Four things. And if you put those things…

Barcelona winger says England cannot play like Spain Gordon: players ‘could have done more’ in semi-final Anthony Gordon has sided with Thomas Tuchel’s assertion that controlling games through possession is not part of English football’s DNA. Although Gordon revealed surprise at being substituted when England were 1-0 up in their World Cup semi-final against Argentina , the winger refused to blam…

On 23 September 1926, two of the best heavyweights in American history met in front of 120,000 fans in Philadelphia. The fight drew in a nation The two fights between Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney rank with boxing’s most-storied championship bouts and are among the greatest sports spectacles ever seen in America. Wednesday marks the one hundredth anniversary of their first encounter. Dempsey bridg…

England batter’s agony on missing out at Edgbaston reminded us that however well you play, a century remains the ultimate validation “Nooooo!” There was something about Dan Lawrence’s pained groan at Edgbaston in England’s first innings of the third Test against Pakistan. For a split second it looked as if he might plunge his bat into the turf like some tormented Norse warrior. His stumps had alr…

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! While football managers moaning about referees to deflect from their own teams’ shortcomings is nothing new, few do performative, wounded, righteous indignation with quite the same brooding intensity and petulance as José Mourinho. It’s been more than two decades since his moaning preceded a pile-on from angry fans whose threats forced the Swedi…

Prime minister says measure is discriminatory when fans of other sports are not similarly restricted Andy Burnham has signalled he may lift the ban on drinking alcohol in the stands at football matches, suggesting it is “unfair” for fans to be singled out when it is permitted for other sports. The prime minister, a committed Everton fan who still attends matches, said there was a case for trialli…

Wieke Kaptein’s early goal gave Chelsea a winning start to their Champions League campaign against Austria Vienna but it was a far from comfortable evening for the Blues. A David v Goliath scale endeavour welcomed the visiting team at the Cherry Red Records stadium. The mammoth financial gulf between the two teams was excellently highlighted by the Austrian broadcaster ORF in the buildup, which r…

38-year-old had been facing attempted murder charge Former player will accept aggravated assault charge Former NFL star Antonio Brown plans to accept a plea deal on an attempted murder charge in Miami, his lawyer said Wednesday. Doing so will mean the former wide receiver avoids prison. Brown is scheduled to appear in court next Wednesday to make the deal final. He could face up to 30 years in pr…

Danish midfielder has been recuperating in homeland Eriksen: ‘I’m pleased we were able to find a solution’ Christian Eriksen and German side VfL Wolfsburg have agreed to terminate ⁠his contract by mutual consent, the club announced on Wednesday. The 34-year-old collapsed during a Denmark friendly ⁠against Ukraine in June. Eriksen said in July he would ​return to his homeland to undergo a ‌rehabil…

Klopp, with Germany, and Xavi, with the Netherlands, face each other in Nations League after disappointing World Cup for both countries Before the latest instalment of a time-honoured international rivalry gearing up for two distinct new beginnings, Jürgen Klopp could not resist sprinkling a little of the old mischief. “The good thing is that we both have the exact same situation,” he said of Xav…

Going into the last round 11 points clear, the bowler Olly Hannon-Dalby is confident the favourites can clinch the title Olly Hannon‑Dalby, 6ft 7in of medium‑fast heritage craft, has just come out of training at Edgbaston. The last round of County Championship cricket is about to start and slow‑burn Warwickshire are nailed-on favourites . Hannon‑Dalby tries to pinpoint what has made the team tick…

‘I love going to the Middle East’ says Ferrari driver Qatar and Abu Dhabi races could still be cancelled With the finale of this year’s Formula One season still in doubt because of the war in the Middle East, Lewis Hamilton has said he hopes the sport will be able to conclude its calendar with the two scheduled rounds in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. F1 is pressing ahead with its original plan, although a…

Player reflects on critics, says ‘they’ve tried to kill me’ Jorge Jesus launches passionate defence of 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo said he considered quitting international football after the World Cup, but confirmed he plans to play on for Portugal and hopes to reach 1,000 goals for club and country. Ronaldo, who is 21 goals shy of the milestone, accepted some critics are trying to “kill” him …