Midnight bedtime was entirely a public relations exercise to reconnect with fans – the same fans the ECB invites to one long piss-up at Lord’s The laws of cricket run to more than 200 pages. The International Cricket Council’s Test playing regulations fill another 125, the anti-doping code packs another...
Didier Deschamps: ‘Mbappé knows that when he speaks, he speaks for all the players’
Questioned in France but championed from afar, the departing head coach has forged a legacy that no one – bar, perhaps, himself – would dare dispute Follow the verdant path towards the Château de Clairefontaine and you are met by a three-metre replica of the World Cup trophy accompanied by...
Teenage sensation Gout Gout ready to dive in at Diamond League deep end
Young sprinter up against the ‘big boys’ for the first time but he still takes life in the spotlight in his stride Life comes at you fast, especially when you are Gout Gout. In April, the 18-year-old prodigy became the fastest teenager over 200m in history. Then last month, he...
Serena Williams makes winning return to tennis with victory in Queen’s doubles
44-year-old victorious alongside partner Victoria Mboko Pair win 7-6 (2), 6-2 over Melichar-Martinez and Routliffe At the most tense moment of Serena Williams’s comeback to professional tennis, the score uncertainly balanced at 5-5, 30-30, an audience member could no longer hold her tongue. Her voice booming across all corners of...
Jo Yapp picks Andy Farrell’s brain on how to win British & Irish Lions tour
Women’s head coach to select staff for New Zealand tour ‘My plan is to pick the brains of those who have gone before’ Jo Yapp, the women’s British & Irish Lions head coach, revealed that she has spoken to Andy Farrell to pick “the brains of those who have gone...
DR Congo World Cup 2026 team guide
Sébastian Desabre’s group has a clear collective identity but star forward Yoane Wissa will shoulder huge expectations This article is part of the Guardian’s 2026 World Cup Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three...
World Cup 2026 news: England gear up for friendly, Infantino warns LA of ‘happy barbarians’, Messi scores on return – live
News and buildup as World Cup countdown continues Player guide | Bracketology | Wallchart | Mail Tom England are gearing up for their final pre-tournament warmup, against Costa Rica in Orlando, with notes of caution being sounded about Bukayo Saka’s fitness. Thomas Tuchel said that while Saka’s fellow Arsenal late-arrivers...
Ben Stokes set to be left out of England squad for second New Zealand Test
England captain considering his long-term future ECB continuing investigation into nightclub incident Ben Stokes is highly unlikely to be included in England’s squad for the second Test against New Zealand after the 35-year-old asked for space and time to consider his long-term future amid the fallout from a nightclub incident...
Bukayo Saka is playing through pain barrier, says Tuchel, as World Cup looms
Arsenal forward still struggling with achilles injury ‘Bukayo is just not there yet. Some things are missing’ Bukayo Saka continues to play through the pain of an achilles injury, according to the England manager, Thomas Tuchel, and must be managed carefully as the start of the World Cup looms large....
Lionesses ease past Ukraine but must navigate playoffs to qualify for World Cup
England 3-0 Ukraine Carter 14, Stanway 37, Mead 67 Sarina Wiegman calmly asserted that she was confident England will still qualify for next summer’s World Cup, despite having to settle for a place in the playoffs as Spain’s 6-1 win in Iceland forced England to finish in second spot. England...