The Guardian

Curator says he was in a ‘state of shock’ watching match unfold ‘We’re very, very disappointed that it’s only gone two days’ The MCG’s head curator has conceded staff went “too far” in preparing a pitch that favoured the bowlers too heavily in the wild Boxing Day Test, saying he was in a “state of shock” while watching the match unfold. But the stadium’s chief executive is standing by the under-f…

World No 63 wins 4-3 to claim biggest victory of his career Luke Littler eases past Mensur Suljovic 4-0 in round three By the end, the room had gone still and quiet. The air was warm and smelled faintly of spilled pints. The chants of “One Stephen Bunting” had long since died away, and all that was left was one Stephen Bunting: three darts in his hand and no more tricks up his sleeve. No place le…

Scallywag passes Lock Comanche and LawConnect to take lead on Sunday morning Of the starting fleet, 95 still racing and 33 had pulled out out Tough seas have forced further retirements in a gruelling Sydney to Hobart , with crews reporting broken ribs, lost life rafts and yacht damage. The race entered its third day on Sunday and a new leader emerged about 8am, as the Hong Kong-owned Scallywag to…

Manager made slow starts with previous clubs Frank: ‘I am convinced we will see a similar pattern here’ Thomas Frank is convinced the story from his previous clubs will repeat itself at Tottenham – with unconvincing starts giving way to consistent results and achievement. The manager is conscious that losing can become a habit and he takes his team to Crystal Palace on Sunday in need of a tonic, …

Bath 21-41 Northampton Visitors run in six tries at Rec to leapfrog rivals in table The champions have been mugged at home by the team they deposed. Well, not quite the team. Northampton rung the changes for this match, but the understudies proved the stars of the show to terrorise their hosts. Six tries, a hat-trick for Tommy Freeman and the lead, no less, of the Prem for good measure. The booki…

The old ways are over and nobody is entirely sure what is to follow but football revolutions once experienced are never forgotten If you want a picture of the future, imagine Michael Kayode winding up to take a long throw – forever. Or at least that was how it seemed in October. Already, though, the picture has begun to change. This was the year of the backlash, and then a bit of a backlash to th…

For 58 minutes the notion of Aston Villa as plausible title challengers was laughable. They were second best at Stamford Bridge, were 1-0 down to an inspired Chelsea and looked destined to rue Unai Emery’s decision not to start Ollie Watkins. Few managers are more cunning than Emery when it comes to turning a game, though. The Spaniard is never slow to act and his substitutions were key to Villa …

Sarina Wiegman’s champions took supporters on the most thrilling and nail-biting ride in Switzerland that was in many ways even more enjoyable to cover than their 2022 triumph Surreal. Utterly surreal. A home Euros in 2022 had provided wave after wave of emotion, England’s win at Wembley the culmination of decades of growth, setbacks, fight and deep longing. Everyone sang from the same hymn sheet…

Liverpool and Wolves united in a moving tribute to Diogo Jota while Florian Wirtz grabbed the first goal of his Anfield career after a potential £116m move from Bayer Leverkusen . The lasting impression was the relief inside Anfield, however, from Liverpool players and fans alike, as Arne Slot’s team held off the Premier League’s basement club on a tense afternoon. Rob Edwards’ visitors finished …

If Antoine Semenyo is in his final days as a Bournemouth player, he departs a club with problems. Andoni Iraola’s status as a hot property has chilled amid difficult winter months. Bournemouth are the latest club to struggle after selling players to offset harsh financial winds. Of the Premier League’s set of “well-run”, smaller clubs, perhaps Brentford now provide the best example of how to stay…

A few minutes before half-time in a contest that swung entirely one way and then briefly the other, Brighton & Hove Albion threatened what was then a rare foray into Arsenal territory. For the briefest of moments, the visitors seemed certain to muster their first shot of an afternoon that had hitherto been miserable. But, no sooner had Maxim De Cuyper received the ball on the counterattack and gl…

Bristol 36-27 Newcastle Visitors lose after leading 27-17 but four tries earn first point In the end Bristol had too much. A display of equal parts grit and skill by Newcastle threatened a huge festive upset in the freezing-cold south-west, but two tries by the elusive Louis Rees-Zammit and some classically fluent attacking by Pat Lam’s buoyant team eventually enabled them to overpower their spir…

Raúl Jiménez deepened West Ham’s relegation worries as Fulham snatched victory with five minutes remaining, his second goal in two matches giving Fulham a third straight win. Manchester City’s lunchtime victory at Nottingham Forest gave the Hammers the chance to cut the gap to 17th place to just two points. But instead they remain five points adrift of safety after the first of a run of supposedl…

Burnley must be wondering where their next win is coming from. It has been more two months and nine games since their most recent one in the Premier League. They were the superior team here on Saturday, but unable to find the goal to close the gap on 17th. The hosts had more of the ball and chances but of their 16 shots, they failed to find the target once, explaining why they find themselves six…

England chance their arm and emerge as winners in an Ashes half-match that felt a little hollow Was that fun? Was that … good? Certainly a lot happened in the Boxing Day Test. Those who paid their money saw action. But generally the cricketing public wants wickets and runs in vague equilibrium, not the odd run dribbling out of a hole in the dismissal vortex. Even the season of excess can have too…