4 h. ago Best cool bags and ice boxes 2025, tested on picnics, beach trips and hikes

Keep your food and drink colder for longer, with these tried and tested cool bags

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6 h. ago Best password managers 2025: Free and paid apps, tried and tested

Your brain is a terrible place to store things. Beat hackers with one of these tools

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6 h. ago The Spin | One in a 13 trillion chance: why six sixes in a Test over may never happen

Stuart Broad suffered and Herschelle Gibbs enjoyed himself in a World Cup but no one has come close in TestsSix, six, six, six, six, six. The perfect over for a batter but for a bowler a double dose of the devil’s number and the ultimate humiliation. “My brain had turned to fuzz,” says Stuart Broad of 19 September 2007 when Yuvraj Singh took him for 36 runs at Kingsmead in Durban. England had already crashed out of the inaugural T20 World Cup and a 21-year-old Broad suffered a colossal prang to his pride, the events of that night for ever changing him as a bowler.England’s match against India was the second in a double-header. The game before ran over and cut into the preparation time for the second. “I marked my run-up at the end I was starting from, but either forgot or didn’t have time to mark it at the other end. I’d also never really done any death bowling. I think maybe Colly [Paul Collingwood, the England T20 captain] had messed up the overs and he was like: ‘You are back on ...

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19 h. ago Best home security cameras 2025, tried and tested by a tech critic

These are the best indoor and outdoor security cameras for protecting your home

Events

19 h. ago Ben Stokes hits back at England critics: ‘Test matches are played over five days’

Hosts complete stunning run chase against IndiaCaptain questioned over toss after first day of TestBen Stokes describe himself as ­“simple-minded when it comes to cricket” but with England’s ­victory over India in the first Test here he ­demonstrated the extraordinary impact of his methods.Before his appointment in 2022 no England captain had guided the team to more than two successful fourth-innings run chases of more than 250 runs. The 373 they scored to win was Stokes’s sixth, a remarkable record he said owed everything to clarity, calmness, and “turning up every session with the attitude that we could blow this match apart”. Continue reading...

Events

23 h. ago England v India: first men’s cricket Test, day five set for thrilling finish – live

Updates from the final day at Headingley, 11am BST startCounty cricket live – follow the action with Tanya AldredSign up for The Spin newsletter | And drop Taha a mailHere come our teams. Bring it on!“A fantastic final day in store,” reckons Krishnamoorthy V. “While all the attention shall be on Bumrah (rightly so), I have a feeling that it is Ravindra Jadeja who is going to be the matchwinner, should India win this match. A Root century is going to be inevitable whether England wins it or loses it.” Continue reading...

Politics

44 h. ago Ben Stokes loses his magic touch but will still believe in an England special | Andy Bull

Captain tried everything but could not stop Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul driving India into control of the TestThe trouble with captaining by magic is that sooner or later there’s going to be a moment when you reach into your hat and instead of pulling out a rabbit you come up with a fistful of silk lining. We’ve become so used to seeing Ben Stokes conjure up something extraordinary when a Test match is on the line, whether it’s a blizzard of sixes, a tumble of wickets, a spectacularly acrobatic catch, an intuitive decision to put an unorthodox fielder in just the right position, it was a surprise to watch him scrabbling around trying to make a breakthrough as India batted on, and on, and on, through Monday afternoon.England looked well in this game when Rishabh Pant walked to the crease, and looked well out of it when he left again, four hours and 118 runs later, on the far side of a 195-run partnership with KL Rahul. Continue reading...

Politics

59 h. ago Bacardi Breezers to BuzzBallz: why gen Z aren’t the booze buzzkills we’ve been led to believe

Research suggests younger drinkers socialise for longer and embrace bolder, boozier options as drinks companies pivot to catch upYou can tell a lot about a generation from the contents of their cool box: nowadays the barbecue ice bucket is likely to be filled with hard seltzers, non-alcoholic beers and fluorescent BuzzBallz – a particular favourite among gen Z.Two decades ago, it was WKD, Bacardi Breezers and the odd Smirnoff Ice bobbing in a puddle of melted ice. And while nostalgia may have brought back some alcopops, the new wave of ready-to-drink (RTD) options look and taste noticeably different. Continue reading...

Events

68 h. ago ‘It was unbelievably skilled’: Pope hails Brook after swashbuckling innings

Yorkshireman hits 99 with first Test on knife edge‘He was pretty gutted to get out,’ says England No 3Ollie Pope hailed the ability that the “unbelievably skilled” Harry Brook possesses “to flip a game” after the Yorkshireman’s quickfire 99 helped England to sprint to a total only six runs short of India’s first-innings 471 on day three at Headingley. With India reaching stumps on 90 for two the outcome of the first Test remains beautifully uncertain.“Everyone knows what a fantastic player Harry is, and I think being able to put really skilled bowlers under that much pressure shows exactly the skills he has got,” Pope said. “But it is not just slugging, it is very well thought out. The ability to kind of flip a game – we were saying: ‘Oof, if he bats for another hour here we could be in an amazing position.’ That just shows the kind of skill he’s got, and power. It was unbelievably skilled.” Continue reading...

Events

2 d. ago Stokes strikes late for England to leave India Test in balance after Brook falls for 99

First Test, D3: India 471 & 90-2; England 465Batter’s innings at home ground ends on 99For all the tired old wisecracks about cricket in Yorkshire being a dour, uncompromising pursuit, it feels like there is rarely a dull Test at ­Headingley. After a third day that was cut short by late rain but still packed with more incident than a stag do ­taking on the Otley Run, another classic could be bubbling up.At stumps, the long-expected drizzle having finally swept in with 30 minutes still to play, India were 90 for two and the happier of the two sides to call it a night. They had earlier seen their hopes of a sizable lead dashed by Harry Brook’s incendiary 99 and some ruinous drops, with England 465 all out and thus just six runs behind on first innings. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Jasprit Bumrah turns the series into two – when he’s bowling and when he’s not | Andy Bull

Crawley had no chance, Duckett was castled, Pope was dropped and Brook was lucky. All in a day’s work for a master fast bowlerYou could see the weather coming at Headingley, there were billows of grey rain clouds out to the south, creeping slowly up towards the back of the Football Stand. And you knew something wicked was on its way in England’s innings, too.The rain arrived right around the time it was supposed to begin, when Jasprit Bumrah was there waiting for them at the far end of his run, tossing the ball from one hand to the other, wearing a forbidding grin. England’s openers, Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, were so slow walking out to join him in the middle that it felt as if they were hanging on word of a last-minute pardon. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Pope resists Bumrah to lift England after bowlers claw control away from India

First Test, day two: India 471 v England 209-3Pope unbeaten on 100 but Root falls late to BumrahA day on from that much-debated decision to bowl first by Ben Stokes and the clouds had started to lift for England. The hosts were still some way from flipping the advantage they had handed India but by stumps, after an earlier fightback with the ball, Ollie Pope’s unbeaten 100 had established something akin to a foothold in the contest.Pope came into this Test with questions being asked about his spot at No 3; questions that centred around a poor record against India and Australia and not quelled by that 171 against Zimbabwe. Jacob Bethell, flavour of the month in New Zealand late last year, was breathing down his neck, even if potential, rather than back catalogue, was the driver. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Fries with everything: fans swelter on Headingley’s Test return as Jaiswal tucks in

Queues for water refills and ice creams surpassed even those for beer at a sun-baked ground offering unseasonably hot sustenanceAfter two years without a Test here, 23 in which India’s red-ball side had visited only once, seven months since the last tickets for the first three days were snapped up and six in which the sum total of England’s action in this format had been a low-key three-day win over Zimbabwe, it is fair to say that Leeds was ready for this. Or at least, in classic Yorkshire fashion, that it would be ready in its own sweet time.Play started with the stands barely half-full and television commentators feeling they had to remind viewers the day was actually a sellout. That much was swiftly evident, but as India’s batters settled in for the long haul there was no need for anyone to hurry. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago England are right to stick with a settled top six – Bethell should follow the Lara model | Mark Ramprakash

Ollie Pope retains his No 3 spot for the first Test and India wouldn’t mind having a bit more of that kind of continuityThere always seems to be one man under pressure in England’s batting lineup and consensus over the winter seemed to be that Jacob Bethell’s emergence had put Ollie Pope’s place at risk. Pope has clung on to his place for the start of the India series and my view is that Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum should be very careful before they mess with what is probably the most settled top six of any Test side in the world at the moment.There was speculation about both Pope and Zak Crawley before they scored centuries in last month’s game against Zimbabwe, but that performance should have secured their spots for this series at least. Bethell is a huge talent and some really top cricketers have spoken very highly about his performances and potential – clearly his time will come. He was impressive in New Zealand over the winter and since then we’ve seen exhilarating glimpse...

Politics

7 d. ago Arsenal handed nightmare start to new Premier League season as Thomas Frank gets kind Tottenham opener

Gunners face tough early test of their title credentials as Premier League release fixtures for 2025-26 season

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8 d. ago Tendulkar v Anderson: two master craftsmen who gave more than anyone to Test cricket | Andy Bull

If the Pataudi Trophy had to be renamed then the rivalry between India and England’s two most-capped Test cricketers was worthy of the switchSpring 2006 and India are batting against England at the Wankhede in Mumbai. The series is all square, one Test each with one to play. England, batting first, have made an even 400, thanks in large part to a century by Andrew Strauss and 88 from his Middlesex teammate Owais Shah, who is making his debut.It is just past tea on the second day and India’s openers are already gone, bounced out by Matthew Hoggard. Sachin Tendulkar is at No 4 and England’s captain, Andrew Flintoff, has just thrown the ball to his first-change bowler, Jimmy Anderson. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago DNA testing firm 23andMe fined £2.3m by UK regulator for 2023 data hack

Information stolen from US company included details of 150,000 British residents including family treesThe genetic testing company 23andMe has been fined more than £2.3m for failing to protect the personal information of more than 150,000 UK residents after a large-scale cyberattack in 2023.Family trees, health reports, names and postcodes were among the sensitive data hacked from the California-based company. It only confirmed the breach months after the infiltration started and once an employee saw the stolen data advertised for sale on the social media platform Reddit, according to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office – which levied the fine. Continue reading...

Economics

9 d. ago Relentless Chelsea see chance to test evolving squad at Club World Cup

Keeping up with the pace of change in Maresca’s squad is far from easy and their US trip will be more of the sameThis is the never-ending season but Chelsea show no sign of wanting to slow down. They intend to embrace Fifa’s newly revamped Club World Cup – a potential £97m prize pot for the eventual winners is quite the draw in an age of intense financial scrutiny, after all – and have travelled to the US knowing that the tournament gives them an opportunity to find out more about a squad that has evolved in the short space of time since Enzo Maresca’s side beat Real Betis in the Uefa Conference League final on 28 May.There has been little time to pause for breath before Chelsea get up and running in Group D by facing the Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC in Atlanta on Monday. Some players have had a 10-day break, others have been away on international duty and there has been no sign of anyone in the recruitment department taking a bit of annual leave. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Finn Russell savours Bath win as he looks forward to Lions test

Fly-half relishes end to his 10-year wait for a league title before switching focus to British & Irish Lions challengeHad Handré Pollard done his homework he might have known what was coming. For Finn Russell has previous with intercepts when attacking Twickenham’s south stand. It was playing that way that he picked off Owen Farrell’s pass before streaking clear in the madcap 38-38 draw between England and Scotland in 2019. And he was at it again on Saturday, coming up with the decisive moment in Bath’s dogged Premiership final victory over Leicester.On this occasion he did not finish off the try himself – you suspect he probably could have – instead flinging a nonchalant pass inside to the onrushing Max Ojomoh. In a final short on champagne moments, it put the fizz in Bath’s performance, extending their lead to 20-7 before a second penalty of the match proved pivotal in ensuring the 29-year wait for a Premiership title was over. Continue reading...

Events

9 d. ago ‘A special moment’: Russell revels in Bath glory as focus turns to Lions

Fly-half relishes end to his 10-year wait for a league title before homing in on British & Irish Lions challengeHad Handrè Pollard done his homework he might have known what was coming – for Finn Russell has previous with intercepts when attacking Twickenham’s south stand. It was playing that way that he picked off Owen Farrell’s pass before streaking clear in the madcap 38-38 draw between England and Scotland in 2019. And he was at it again on Saturday, coming up with the decisive moment in Bath’s dogged Premiership final victory over Leicester.On this occasion he did not finish off the try himself – you suspect he probably could have – instead flinging a nonchalant pass inside to the onrushing Max Ojomoh. In a final short on champagne moments, it put the fizz in Bath’s performance, extending their lead to 20-7 before a second penalty of the match proved pivotal in ensuring the 29-year wait for a Premiership title was over. Continue reading...

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