The Guardian

England’s 2-0 series win in the Ashes was the perfect preparation for the World Cup in Australia next year By No Helmets Required England did win the Ashes last month. The wheelchair team’s 2-0 series victory in Australia went under the radar in the UK. With games played in the early hours and not screened on mainstream TV, the team missed out on the adulation that came their way when they won th…

Robbie Williams will also perform at Friday’s event Trump expected to receive Fifa’s new peace award Robbie Williams, Andrea Bocelli and the Village People are to perform as part of a “world-class entertainment line-up” during Friday’s draw for the 2026 men’s football World Cup. The draw for next year’s tournament will take place at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, with model and TV personali…

Dawid Malan ‘smiles at the memory’ of taking on Australia’s relentless fast bowler under the lights That tall, fast and slim kid, sure bowls a mean pink ball . Leading into Thursday’s crucial second Test match, a day-night affair at Brisbane’s Gabba, much has been made of Mitchell Starc’s pink-ball wizardry. With 81 wickets at an average of 17.08, the lissom-limbed southpaw seamer has more wicket…

Plan introduced to reduce number of foul jumps Carl Lewis condemned it as ‘April Fool’s joke’ World Athletics has scrapped controversial plans to introduce a take-off zone for the long jump rather than the traditional board because of widespread hostility from athletes, the Guardian can reveal. Jon Ridgeon, World Athletics’ chief executive, said that while the proposals had trialled well, “ultima…

Champions South Africa face Italy, Georgia and Romania Ireland and Scotland in pool with Uruguay and Portugal The host nation Australia will face their traditional rivals New Zealand at the men’s Rugby World Cup in 2027 after the draw was made in Sydney on Wednesday. The Wallabies, hosting a second men’s tournament, were guaranteed to face a top-ranked nation in Pool A due to a current world rank…

12-time All-Star posts at 3am that he’s been released Clippers executive Frank says team will seek a trade LA have lost five straight and sit near bottom of West Chris Paul says the Los Angeles Clippers are sending him home from their road trip, putting a shocking twist on what is expected to be the veteran point guard’s final NBA season. “Just Found Out I’m Being Sent Home,” Paul posted on socia…

Pep Guardiola said that it had been “impossible” for him to enjoy Manchester City’s 5-4 victory against Fulham that moved them to within two points of the Premier League leaders Arsenal, given how close his team came to throwing away a four‑goal lead. City were 5-1 in front at Craven Cottage after 54 minutes and seemingly cruising to an easy win. But then came an extraordinary fightback from Fulh…

Max Rushden is joined by Geoff Lemon, Emma John and Sam Perry to preview the second Test, a day-night affair at the Gabba, with England looking to recover from their embarrassing defeat in Perth Continue reading...

Even Steve Smith struggles under lights and selection of Will Jacks is the right approach by the tourists There has been a lot of discussion over the past week about day-night Tests, how to approach them and whether they produce quality cricket. Stuart Broad described them as a lottery but Australia’s outstanding record would suggest that actually the best team normally prevails, and skill should…

Arsenal represent Europe in four-game tournament Matches to be played in London from 28 January Fifa has been unable to sell TV rights to its first global women’s club competition, the Champions Cup, which is taking place in London from 28 January. The Champions League holders, Arsenal , will represent Europe in the competition that features the winners of the continental championships. The situa…

Plus: the shambles that was 1950 World Cup qualifying, and plenty more brawling teammates Mail us with your questions and answers “Has any player been shown a second yellow card while being substituted for not leaving the pitch correctly?” wonders Ken Foster. They have indeed, Ken. Let Robin Horton take you back to a bitter January in 1980, when Stoke City were the visitors to Burnley in the FA C…

Bloodgate, the ‘Hand of Back’ and a drop goal off ‘someone’s arse’ are among the tournament’s delightful eccentricities On the eve of a new Champions Cup season it is worth remembering when and where it all began. The answer is 30 years ago on the shores of the Black Sea where Farul Constanta of Romania hosted France’s mighty Toulouse in the opening pool game of the old Heineken Cup on 31 October…

Olivia Smith, Aggie Beever-Jones and Vicky López make our list for the first time as we continue our countdown to the year’s best players Meet the judges | 2024 list | 2023 list | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 Subscribe to Moving the Goalposts, our free newsletter Continue reading...

Cristian Romero ensured that Thomas Frank could leave Tyneside celebrating the sort of draw that managers can easily construe as moral victories. The Tottenham captain’s stoppage-time equaliser, his second goal of the scrappiest of nights, not merely camouflaged plenty of visiting flaws but surely reinforced his manager’s recently fragile looking job security. Continue reading...

Another game to show off the concertinaed qualities of this season’s Premier League. If anyone can beat anyone, they can also play out landlocked contests like this. It took a deflection to win it, Jack Grealish’s shot smashing off Bafodé Diakité’s shins and into the corner. Two clubs from the mid-table blob that stretches from seventh to 15th fought and ran hard, effort never in short supply. Th…