The Guardian

After the captain underscored his team’s new reality, a fast bowler he didn’t even know was coming gave fans a little of the old dream It was still morning when Babar Azam came in to bat at Edgbaston. The Test was only 45 minutes old but you could already see which direction it was heading in. Pakistan were three wickets down. The floodlights were on, a thick smear of black cloud was moving slowl…

One of the batting stalwarts of the team that reached Test No 1 a decade ago says the current side’s woes go far deeper than this tour of England As a pillar of the Pakistan team that climbed from the nadir of the Lord’s spot-fixing scandal in 2010 to the top of the Test rankings six years later, all while playing overseas for security reasons, Azhar Ali knows a bit about overcoming a crisis. But…

New Zealand great made his name at 1995 Rugby World Cup but rapid rise to fame took a toll as his health worsened Making a film about Jonah Lomu’s life was never going to thrill everyone. The big man’s widow, Nadene, took legal action in an unsuccessful attempt to block the project and declined to be involved. You can’t imagine Mike Catt being overly delighted either. Even 31 years later, the bru…

England lead at Edgbaston after 14 wickets on day one Tongue takes four wickets, Robinson and Archer three In jettisoning seven players from their squad, parachuting seven more in, and then making four changes to their XI, Pakistan went into this third Test against England pretty much throwing mud at the wall in the hope that some of it might stick. Some did, in fairness, with newcomer Razaullah …

⚽ Champions League updates from the 8pm BST kick-off ⚽ Live scoreboard | Read Football Daily | And email Scott Arsenal make four changes to their starting XI following the 2-1 victory over Chelsea. Typically, having just posted a large picture of Kai Havertz, he’s one of four players stood down, along with Myles Lewis-Skelly, Christos Tzolis and the increasingly influential Riccardo Calafiori. Pi…

⚽ Champions League and Carabao Cup match updates ⚽ Live scoreboard | Read Football Daily | And mail Daniel Nope, the Feyenoord goal has been chalked off for offside, early in the move. Right, let’s get the teams in our 8pm games – though Feyenoord have just pulled a goal back. Continue reading...

Critics view Fernandes job as move to shore up position Fifa says change is designed to make sport ‘truly global’ Gianni Infantino has separated Fifa’s management of the Caribbean countries from the rest of Concacaf in a move widely regarded by his opponents as an attempt to split the alliance to remove him from office. Concacaf covers North and Central America as well as the Caribbean and was pr…

A referee is alleged to have made a remark referring to menstruation that has revived concerns about treatment of players It was a comment allegedly made by a referee during a WK League match that became one of the biggest controversies in South Korean women’s football. What began as an on-field dispute involving South Korea’s all-time top goalscorer, Ji So-yun, has since developed into a wider d…

Young British rider squeezes out Meeus and Cort Nielsen Mas moves step closer to landing first Grand Tour victory Matthew Brennan claimed a fifth Vuelta a España stage victory on Wednesday as the young British rider edged a bunch sprint in Seville to win the 17th stage. The 21-year-old Grand Tour debutant crossed the finish line ahead of Jordi Meeus and Magnus Cort Nielsen. The general classifica…

Friday’s game between the 49ers and Rams at the MCG is almost sold out with millions more set to watch on Netflix The assembled press kept asking, but the American would not give them what they wanted. Just what does San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan think of Melbourne? “I haven’t left the hotel, except to come to this practice, for five days or however long we’ve been here,” he said a…

Rolling updates from the last eight at Flushing Meadows Shelton wins after night of vomit, sweat and home hopes Get in touch: email Katy | And follow us over on TikTok So where does Alcaraz’s dethroning leave him? Given it was his first tournament in four and a half months, and he was able to play without any pain in his right wrist, he’s still viewing it as a successful fortnight that he can bui…

A $150,000 prize in Budapest has the record-breaking Scot buzzing but the middle-distance star insists he’s no longer chasing paydays The richest event in track and field history launches in Budapest this weekend, and the prospect of walking away with $150,000 at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship has got Josh Kerr ready to rumble again, on and off the track. Some critics have noted that t…

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! There are, you suspect, quite a few folk with links to the London postcode of N17 who would be thoroughly grateful if Troy Parrott could stop popping up to score winning goals for a bit. The Republic of Ireland striker has barely unpacked his bags at Real Betis, yet he’s already ruined the afternoon of his former manager at Tottenham, pouncing t…

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning , Nicky Bandini and Archie Rhind-Tutt to discuss the return of the Champions League Continue reading...

‘I would predict that you’ll see some guys leave’ LIV bankruptcy will invalidate deals with players Rory McIlroy believes traditional tours will soon have “decisions to make” as a player exodus from LIV Golf edges closer. LIV filing for bankruptcy in the United States on Tuesday means its deals with several high-profile golfers will soon be invalid, leaving them free to negotiate a route back to …