3 hours ago Jacob Bethell, ‘cool cat’ and England rookie thrust into Test spotlight

Debutant has impressed everyone from a young age but can he carry off batting No 3 against New Zealand?Moments after the applause in the England huddle at Hagley Oval that signposted Jacob Bethell’s impending Test debut at No 3, the sound system they use to keep training sessions upbeat began blaring out The Gambler by Kenny Rogers. Even for a leadership group that likes a punt, this feels their biggest yet.Bowlers can burst through with little by way of their back catalogue; bolters elevated on the basis of raw ingredients. England have had a few in their recent past, like Shoaib Bashir – first-class bowling average of 67 when called up – or Rehan Ahmed, a five-fer on Test debut aged 18. Pat Cummins is one Australian example, with nine Shield wickets at 46 when he first pulled on his B...

Politics

5 hours ago The Breakdown | Modern Test margins can be wafer thin but winners and losers are clear

The Springboks are head and shoulders above the chasing pack and the Autumn Nations Series has raised the stakesFirst among equals There is still the small matter of Ireland v Australia on Saturday but that is not going to alter this autumn’s unavoidable fact: South Africa remain the best team in the world. Or, to boil it down to its essence, the hardest to beat. They can bash teams up, slice them open out wide, kick them to death or simply outlast them: in short, they have every angle covered. The outstanding Pieter-Steph Du Toit was a deserving winner of this year’s men’s World Player of the Year award in Monaco on Sunday but, in truth, it could have been any one of several Springboks. Eben Etzebeth and Ox Nché were right on Du Toit’s tail and Cheslin Kolbe and Siya Kolisi, among othe...

Politics

6 hours ago Keep calm and carry on? It may be time for Australia to shift from default setting after first Test thumping | Geoff Lemon

The current set-up lean towards playing it safe on team selection but after humiliation in Perth efforts to project calm can be dissemblingWith 10 days between the early end of the Perth Test and the start of Adelaide, this is the Australian cricket supporter witching hour. They can cope with a close loss to an opponent doing something special: nobody was burning effigies in the streets of Greenslopes earlier this year when Shamar Joseph on one foot bowled West Indies to a sizzling Gabba win. But it’s very different after a beating like the one that India just handed out, when an Australian team that was storming the field after two sessions failed to fire a shot for the next seven.Now, those supporters are angry. They’re swarming talkback lines, writing to papers, voicing disdain in pu...

Politics

8 hours ago Gary Neville reveals 'red flags' watching Manchester United in Ruben Amorim's first game

New era for Red Devils began with 1-1 draw at Ipswich

Sport

8 hours ago The two Lukes headline new darts era that is both deeply trival and deathly serious | Jonathan Liew

Rising star Luke Littler and world champion Luke Humphries are the stars of an ever-expanding cultural phenomenonThere are plant burgers and arancini on sleek dark plates. There is a beer mat with the face of Brendan Dolan on it. In one corner of the room Michael van Gerwen is being interviewed by Troy Deeney live on TalkSport. In another an influencer called JaackMaate is filming a video for his YouTube channel.Dave Allen, the press chief at the Professional Darts Corporation, remembers the first time they held a media launch before the world championship. It was 2008, Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld and Sid Waddell dressed as Santa Claus, holding a huge novelty dartboard. A handful of people turned up, a few photos were taken, and then everyone packed up and went home. Continue ...

Events

8 hours ago Jannik Sinner’s biggest opponent is off the court after astounding rise to the top | Tumaini Carayol

Italian has enjoyed a sublime 2024 on tour but Wada’s appeal after he was cleared over two positive doping tests looms aheadAt the end of the 2023 tennis season, as Jannik Sinner had elevated his game to new heights and his Italy team to their first Davis Cup title in 46 years, there was one comparison to note. Thirteen years earlier, Novak Djokovic had found his way after a difficult period by winning the Davis Cup, a victory that provided a platform for one of the greatest tennis seasons in 2011 and the start of his decade-plus reign.Sinner’s first triumph for Italy at the Davis Cup has similarly preceded a staggering breakout season and, one year on, he ends 2024 as by far the best and most consistent tennis player in the world. Continue reading...

Events

8 hours ago The two Lukes headline new darts era that is both deeply trivial and deathly serious

Luke Littler and world champion Luke Humphries are the stars of an ever-expanding cultural phenomenonThere are plant burgers and arancini on sleek dark plates. There is a beer mat with the face of Brendan Dolan on it. In one corner of the room Michael van Gerwen is being interviewed by Troy Deeney live on TalkSport. In another an influencer called JaackMaate is filming a video for his YouTube channel.Dave Allen, the press chief at the Professional Darts Corporation, remembers the first time they held a media launch before the world championship. It was 2008, Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld and Sid Waddell dressed as Santa Claus, holding a huge novelty dartboard. A handful of people turned up, a few photos were taken, and then everyone packed up and went home. Continue reading...

Events

10 hours ago Arsenal XI vs Sporting: Predicted lineup, confirmed team news and injury latest for Champions League today

Mikel Arteta could shuffle his pack for latest European trip

Sport

16 hours ago Matthew Richardson’s grand cycling betrayal will leave an asterisk on his glittering career | Kieran Pender

After issuing the findings of its review into the Olympic hero’s defection to Great Britain, AusCycling’s upset is understandableConflicting national allegiances in sport are no simple thing. It is hardly unreasonable for someone with more than one national background to feel competing tugs when it comes to flying the flag on the international stage. Emotion and pragmatism collide to force hard decisions.Australia is a deeply multicultural nation – more than one in four Australians were born overseas, while millions more have parents born elsewhere. We are a nation of complex sporting allegiances. I have dual nationalities; if it wasn’t for the fact that I have all the sporting talent of a gnat, I might have to consider which country to represent. Continue reading...

Sport