The England men’s cricket MD offered a postmortem that didn’t address the nuts and bolts of the system he manages “It’s such a fine line between stupid and clever.” David St Hubbins, lead vocalist, Spinal Tap. “There’s a real difference between aggressive and dumb.” Rob Key, managing director, England cricket....
‘We’ve fallen behind’: why Germany’s biggest teams have split from DFB
Ownership of Frauen-Bundesliga is being taken over by the clubs, who want to keep pace with game in England “The reason we started this whole process was a fear of losing more and more the connection to the top,” says Katharina Kiel, the head of women’s football at Eintracht Frankfurt....
David Squires on … the Premier League enjoying a rare Christmas at home
With just one top-flight Boxing Day fixture this year, our cartoonist takes a look at how players, coaches and officials might spend their time David’s favourite cartoons of 2025 | Buy one here And his latest book, Chaos in the Box: get it now Continue reading...
Afcon roundup: Nigeria squeeze past Tanzania as Jackson double helps Senegal win
Group C: Nigeria 2-1 Tanzania; Tunisia 3-1 Uganda Group D: Senegal 3-0 Botswana; DR Congo 1-0 Benin Ademola Lookman scored a superb second-half winner as Nigeria earned a 2-1 Group C victory against Tanzania in the pouring rain in Fes, a positive start for the silver medallists from the previous...
Sivert Guttorm Bakken, Winter Olympics hopeful, dies at training camp aged 27
Norwegian biathlete found dead in hotel room in Italy Bakken, 27, was 13th in this season’s overall standings Norwegian biathlete Sivert Guttorm Bakken has been found dead in his hotel room in Lavaze, Italy. The Norwegian Biathlon Association said the cause of the 27-year-old’s death was unknown. The International Biathlon...
Van Gerwen shows his class but Peter Wright crashes out of PDC World Championship
Van Gerwen looked in form in win over O’Connor Two-time champion Wright averaged just 79.20 Michael van Gerwen showed his class as he powered into the third round of the world championship. The three-time champion struggled in his opening match but brought his best to brush past William O’Connor 3-1....
Wounded England must salvage more than pride in MCG Boxing Day Ashes Test
Can McCullum’s ‘horse-whispering’ still register against a rampant Australia hungry for a series whitewash? The world famous Boxing Day Test awaits England’s beaten cricketers and we are about to discover whether the mighty coliseum that is the Melbourne Cricket Ground becomes their arena of the unwell; whether pride can be...
Arrizabalaga is Arsenal’s shootout hero at expense of Lacroix and Crystal Palace
This competition may not be Mikel Arteta or Oliver Glasner’s top priority this season but that didn’t stop their sides from producing a spectacle full of blood and thunder. It was one-way traffic for Arsenal in the first half but they found Crystal Palace’s second-string goalkeeper Walter Benítez in an...
Manchester City favourites to sign Antoine Semenyo after Chelsea withdraw interest
Manchester City in advanced talks over £65m winger Bournemouth winger has release clause in January Manchester City are in pole position to sign Antoine Semenyo after Chelsea cooled their interest in the Bournemouth winger. Liverpool and Manchester United have also been pushing for Semenyo, whose contract contains a £65m release...
Brooks Koepka quits LIV Golf after three years but PGA Tour return uncertain
The 35-year-old joined Saudi-funded tour in 2022 ‘Brooks is prioritising the needs of his family’ Brooks Koepka, the five-time major champion, has become the first player to defect from LIV Golf, a significant blow to the league funded by Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund and raises questions whether the PGA...