The Guardian

With their last title a decade ago, young players moving on and coach churn, Middlesex are no longer even the most famous team that call Lord’s home Middlesex is unlike every other English county in at least one very important way. It doesn’t actually exist. It was abolished by the London Government Act of 1963, persisted, in dotage, as a postal subdivision, until Royal Mail put it to sleep in 19…

Record-breaker says London Marathon win was ‘a victory for all of us’ as he is greeted by family and friends in Eldoret Hugged, cheered and adorned with garlands, the first man to run an official marathon in under two hours has returned as a hero to his home village in Kenya. Sabastian Sawe, who stunned the world when he clocked 1h 59m 30s in the London Marathon last weekend, flew in a Kenyan mil…

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⚽ Premier League updates from the 8pm BST kick-off ⚽ Latest table | Top scorers | Follow us over on Bluesky Evening. Last season, Leeds and Burnley were separated only by goal difference. They both picked up exactly 100 points in the Championship, with automatic promotion to the Premier League their reward. This season – as is so often the case with promoted clubs, and please don’t ask me why – t…

Sinner is youngest man to reach all nine Masters finals Raducanu reunites with coach who helped her win slam Jannik Sinner has become the youngest man to reach the final of all nine Masters 1000 tournaments after swatting aside Arthur Fils at the Madrid Open. The world No 1 follows Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in completing the set and, at 24, has done so at a younger age than h…

Renée Slegers’ team take their first-leg lead to France knowing a repeat of last season’s display will see them into a second European final in a row Arsenal will attempt to become the first British women’s club to reach back-to-back European finals on Saturday as they take a 2-1 first-leg lead to France in their semi-final against OL Lyonnes. The holders arrived in the city known as the gastrono…

Training ground fun, rock star fans and a Christmas party in Copenhagen were ingredients in the rank outsiders’ triumph, sealed on 2 May 2016 I remember in January, February that season Riyad Mahrez asked: “What do you think we can achieve?” I laughed, but didn’t say anything. Riyad said: “You know, you know.” I am a very pragmatic man … I knew we could do something special, but not to win the Pr…

Gloves will be off on Saturday’s lunchtime kick-offs as all three clubs hope to join Coventry in the top-flight If Ipswich do not achieve promotion this month the image may be permanently seared into Jack Clarke’s retinas. He had slalomed through Southampton’s defence in the final act of a dizzying cameo on Tuesday night and, from an angle on the left, unleashed a near-flawless drive across Danie…

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Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! By Monday morning, the shape of next season’s Premier League will be clearer. Saturday lunchtime stages the final round of the actual best league in the world , the Championship. One of Ipswich, Millwall and Middlesbrough will join Frank Lampard’s Coventry in being a top-division club by 3pm, Rochdale-esque pitch invasions permitting, as automat…

Packages still available for 102 of the 104 matches Fifa selling individual suites in former group sections Fifa is upping efforts to sell luxury hospitality tickets for the World Cup, with packages still available for 102 of the 104 matches at the expanded tournament. Mexico’s Group A opener against South Korea and one last-32 fixture expected to feature Spain are the only matches showing a lack…

‘I do believe all of the golfers should be playing’ Harman says rebels should face consequences Donald Trump has supported the reintroduction of LIV Golf players on to the PGA Tour after the league announced the withdrawal of funding from the Saudi Public Investment Fund. The US president said he would love to see top golfers who defected to the LIV circuit playing regularly against the PGA Tour’…

The Japanese wrecking ball known as the Monster takes center stage at the Tokyo Dome on Saturday, facing unbeaten rival Junto Nakatani in a matchup for the ages Naoya Inoue made it to the pinnacle of his sport with a destructive upward surge through boxing’s weight classes not seen since Manny Pacquiao’s prime. And he has made it clear he plans to stay there in the final run-up to his toughest te…

Bath’s European player-of-the-year contender on international recognition, the ultimate test in Bordeaux and those budgie smugglers The shortlist for this year’s Champions Cup player of the year award is an eye-catching one. There are five contenders and four of them – Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Finn Russell, Matthieu Jalibert and Caelan Doris – are established world-class operators. So who is the fif…

Three teams vie for two promotion spots on Saturday, with Charlton and Birmingham going head-to-head Three teams, two automatic promotion spots and only one point between them. Add the fact that two are facing each other and Saturday’s final day of the Women’s Super League 2 season is set perfectly for an afternoon of high drama, twists and emotions. Charlton Athletic, Birmingham City and Crystal…