The Guardian

Move to replant the playing surface by 2028 is latest effort to repair the embarrassment caused by its variable bounce It was turn-around weather in London, the sort where your first fresh breath makes you think twice about stepping out for air and your second sends you back inside for another cuppa. A great bank of wet grey cloud stretched overhead to the horizon and the idea that New Zealand’s …

1st Test, D3: England, 140 & 226; New Zealand, 113 & 55-5 Ravindra and Mitchell both fall to Robinson for second time in match Just 58 legal deliveries – plus one no ball – were bowled as rain dominated the third day here. It was an unsatisfyingly brief glimpse of action that nevertheless allowed England to upgrade their chances of victory in the first Test after their post-Ashes reset from proba…

Prem Rugby: Exeter 32-12 Saracens Mark McCall’s 15-year Sarries tenure comes to an end Not since 2021 have Exeter finished in the Prem top four, hence the heartfelt Devon roar at the final whistle. To beat their old rivals Saracens to a playoff place made this result all the sweeter for the hosts, if not for their downcast, deflated visitors. It will be the Chiefs who progress to the semi-final s…

Bath 24-22 Leicester Cokanasiga also scores try for hosts in frantic first half Bath-Leicester is about as earthy a rivalry as it gets, and, boy, in this era of free-flowing, almost surreal, rugby, here we had a proper throwback to times past. Brutal. And with this hardest of wins, Bath the champions have chiselled out the right to play at home in next weekend’s semi-finals. You think Bath-Leices…

Winner never looked in danger after turning into straight Officials make move after Benvenuto Cellini had hoof stuck Christmas Day won the Derby at Epsom for the trainer Aidan O’Brien, revelling in the rain-soaked soft ground to give his handler a 12th win in Britain’s premier Classic. The 7-1 shot was up with the pace from the start and the result never looked in danger soon after entering the s…

Russian, 19, beats world No 114 6-3, 6-2 for first slam title Maja Chwalinska fails to emulate Emma Raducanu’s feats Twenty minutes into the first grand slam final of her young career, it looked like Mirra Andreeva’s head was already in danger of exiting Court Philippe-Chatrier. Between the weight of the occasion, the windy conditions and a resourceful opponent seemingly built to cause her maximu…

Mercedes driver goes just 0.043 quicker than Red Bull rival Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton third quickest for second-row start Mercedes’s Kimi Antonelli snatched pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix with an exceptional lap around the streets of Monte Carlo. In a gripping qualifying, the 19-year-old Italian was flawless in edging out Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Charles Lec…

Knicks edge Spurs 105-104 to take 2-0 NBA finals lead Wembanyama made costly turnover in final seconds No team has won finals after losing first two at home San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama could barely remember the details of the late-game miscues that cost the Spurs in their agonizing 105-104 loss to the New York Knicks in Game 2 of the NBA finals on Friday. The Spurs used a 14-0 scoring run …

From Donnarumma to Kvaratskhelia, this all-star team, with a maximum of two players per country, all have the summer off The 27-year-old Italy captain is widely considered one of the best keepers in the world. After a high-profile move to Manchester City, he has quickly adapted to the Premier League demands for ball-playing, a skill he honed at Paris Saint-Germain. Despite his Euro 2020 penalty-s…

Italian will start his first grand slam final as the underdog but he has shown he knows how to beat No 2 seed on clay At almost the exact time Flavio Cobolli and Matteo Arnaldi had been scheduled to take to Court Philippe-Chatrier on Friday and contest the match of their lives, they could instead be located in the bowels of the stadium, their faces a picture of total misery inside the main interv…

Joint-chair and director of relegated club to tackle ‘false allegations’ ‘I am absolutely not the person the media has decided to paint me as’ David Sullivan has announced his resignation as a joint-chair and director of West Ham with immediate effect in a statement. Sullivan and his legal representatives published his intention to stand down on the club’s website on Saturday “for the benefit of …

The New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani , briefly stepped away from City Hall to tackle the ultimate soccer challenge: predicting the entire World Cup bracket In the Guardian's exclusive interactive game. From shocking early exits to his definitive pick for the final, see how Mamdani maps out the world’s biggest tournament Bracketology: predict a path to World Cup victory Continue reading...

Presidential candidate Riquelme wants German as coach Former Liverpool manager now works for Red Bull Jürgen Klopp’s agent has dismissed talk of the former Liverpool manager filling the vacant post at Real Madrid should Enrique Riquelme become the club’s next president. Marc Kosicke rejected Riquelme’s statement that the German, who left Anfield for a job as Red Bull’s head of global football , w…

World Cup friendly football news from 8am UK time Your essential guide to every player at the World Cup You can email us here | Sign up for Football Daily As the game ticked into second-half stoppage time, Spain were almost showboating, Aitana Bonmatí flicking the ball around the pitch with grace, style and a swagger that sent out an emphatic message: Spain are significantly better than England. …

Backroom staff denied entry visas for US, claims post on X Team have moved training base from Arizona to Mexico Iran has slammed World Cup co-hosts the United States over what it called “discriminatory treatment” by not granting visas for some members of the Iranian national team’s delegation to attend the tournament. “Why do you not say that visas were denied to a large portion of the managerial…