8 h. ago Starc leads Australia fightback after Rabada stars for South Africa on day one of WTC final

Day one: Australia 212; South Africa 43-4Rabada takes 5-51 but Proteas’ reply faltersSouth Africa have had to put up with a fair few grumbles about their place in this World Test Championship final and grew tired of the topic during the build-up. Other than pointing folks in the direction of the International Cricket Council, the teams who can afford to arrange more fixtures, and the league table they topped, the only response they could really give was to compete out on the field.It was a case of mission accomplished with the ball, at least, even if a topsy-turvy opening day that saw 14 wickets fall ended with Australia in the ascendancy. Led by Kagiso Rabada, a player dogged by headlines about his recent ban for cocaine use, the Proteas were delighted to skittle the defending champions for 212 in two-and-a-half sessions, only to close on a troubling 43 for four in reply. Continue reading...

Sport

8 h. ago Kagiso Rabada lets his bowling do the talking — but Australian seamers have telling say

South Africa (43/4) trail Australia (212) by 169 runs: Back from a drugs ban, Rabada starred with a five-for on the opening day of the World Test Championship final before Australia exposed their batting frailties

Politics

9 h. ago Rebekah Vardy boards private jet to friend's lavish French wedding after putting huge £9.7m Portuguese villa on the market amid £4m bill for Wagatha Christie trial

The WAG, 43, and her husband Jamie, 38, are selling their Portuguese abode for an optimistic £9.7million.

Economics

10 h. ago Asia benefits from World Cup expansion as AFC qualification delivers thrills | John Duerden

There are concerns that quality at the 2026 tournament will be diluted but giving Asia more places has brought a new dimension to qualificationJeddah is more relaxed and laid-back than Riyadh. Tony Popovic should know. On Tuesday, for the second time in his coaching career, he left Saudi Arabia with a big prize, though back in 2014, it had been a far more fierce fight. Then, Western Sydney Wanderers went to the capital to defend their 1-0 first leg lead in the Asian Champions League final and, despite the best that Al Hilal could throw at them, held firm amid the storm for the most unlikely of trophy wins. This week, however, there was a five-goal cushion by the Red Sea, meaning there was only ever going to be one outcome: a seventh World Cup appearance. After successive playoff qualifications, to advance directly to North America is a welcome change and to do so with wins against Japan and Saudi Arabia is especially pleasing.It may have ended calmly, but this campaign has been a re...

Politics

16 h. ago South Africa v Australia: World Test Championship final cricket, day one – live

Updates from the first day of the WTC decider at Lord’sPlay starts 10.30am BST / 7.30pm AEST / 11.30am SASTSign up to The Spin newsletter | And email MartinSimon Reader has been in touch with a reminder that South Africa are up against it at Lord’s though perhaps found an early win with the toss falling their way.“By my count the Proteas are fielding three players who featured in Temba Bavuma’s last outing at Lords (2017)? That saw Rabada at his finest BMT at Lords is always a tough grasp with the Proteas already notorious for absence here, this is going to be a tough ask.” Continue reading...

Sport

30 h. ago High stakes and a shot at silverware: WTC final will sparkle despite critics

It may not be the pinnacle of cricket’s most storied format but it does provide a spectacle beyond established rivalriesIt was the pandemic that forced the first World Test Championship final to be staged at the biosecure Rose Bowl in 2021, then commercial snags that led to it being held at the Oval two years later. But having been intended for both, Lord’s finally gets its chance this week, the defending champions Australia taking on South Africa for the right to lift the oversized Chupa Chup that is the ICC Test Championship Mace.This will probably prompt eyerolls in some territories, even if June ruled out a fair number of them from acting as hosts. Another argument in favour of Lord’s is the ground’s history and prestige coupled with London’s diversity. Despite England not making the final, likewise India and their jet- set supporters, the first four days in St John’s Wood are sold out. Where else in the world could guarantee this turnout for a “neutral” final? Continue reading...

Events

33 h. ago Iván Romeo breaks rivals’ hearts to claim lead at Criterium du Dauphiné

Spanish rider escapes breakaway to win stage threeTime-trial specialist hails his ‘best day of the year’Spain’s Iván Romeo won the third stage of the Criterium du Dauphiné when he streaked clear at the end of a 207km run from Brioude, claiming the overall lead. Romeo surprised his breakaway companions, including the Dutch world champion Mathieu van der Poel, to drop them in the final kilometres and lead the dash into the town of Charantonnay.“I’ve been thinking about this stage for a month now. I can hardly believe it. It was one of the hardest days of my life, I wasn’t feeling well,” said time-trial specialist Romeo. “But I followed my instincts in the final. It’s the best day of the year for me. Hard work pays off.” Continue reading...

Politics

34 h. ago Incongruity of World Test Championship final fails to dampen Australian excitement | Geoff Lemon

It may be a strange time of year for an Australian, and a strange tournament structure, but the decider is vindicated further each time it is playedIn Australia it is winter, and it is footy season. AFL, NRL, the works. The autumn was passing strange, with unnervingly high temperatures and the Gold Coast Suns in the top four. But now it is June, and feeling more as it should, with nights in the southern half of the continent dipping deep into single degrees. The Raiders must be breathing out steam on Canberra mornings, half remembering dreams of ending a premiership wait. And strangely positioned among all this, the Australia Test team is getting ready to play cricket.Australian winter tours happen, but outside the occasional Asian or Caribbean jaunt this century, they’re confined to quadrennial visits to England. Two years ago, the first time Australia qualified for a World Test Championship final, that match came directly before an Ashes series. As well as turning the supposed cul...

Sport

38 h. ago How South Africa can finally shed ‘chokers’ tag against Australia to shake up Test cricket

South Africa’s path to Lord’s has been criticised by some, but, as Harry Latham-Coyle writes, the imperfect World Test Championship final against Australia brings a chance to rejuvenate a format under siege

Politics

46 h. ago Stanley Cup final: Panthers score six in Game 3 demolition of Oilers to take series lead

Edmonton Oilers 1-6 Florida PanthersChampions take 2-1 lead in best-of-seven seriesBrad Marchand and Sam Bennett scored again, Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe each got their first goal in the Stanley Cup final and the defending champion Florida Panthers capitalized on the Edmonton Oilers’ worst performance in weeks to win Game 3 in a 6-1 rout Monday night and take a 2-1 series lead.The 37-year-old Marchand became the oldest player to score in each of the first three games of a final and the first to open the scoring the next time out after notching an overtime winner. His 11 goals in the final are the most among active players, one more than similarly ageless Corey Perry. Continue reading...

Sport

54 h. ago Pat Cummins: ‘We want to play hard and fair, and I think we’ve got it right’

The Australia captain talks about leading the side against South Africa and not getting too big for his boots – but plays a dead bat regarding the Bairstow dismissal at Lord’sAs Pat Cummins opens up at the pavilion end, while gazing across the vast empty space of Lord’s a few days before Australia face South Africa in the World Test Championship final, it’s clear that the unexpected opponents this week have helped to frame his remarkable career.On Wednesday morning, while towering a foot over Temba Bavuma, his 5ft 3in South African counterpart, Cummins will lead Australia for the 34th time, in his 68th Test. The fast bowler stands at the summit of world cricket, his grizzled matinee idol charm allied to the grit which has helped him to become such a successful captain. Australia have won almost everything during his tenure of three and a half years and they are expected to retain their Test title. Continue reading...

Politics

58 h. ago Australia v South Africa: where the World Test Championship final will be won and lost

There are subplots aplenty in the winner-takes-all contest between the once familiar foes at Lord’s Defending champions Australia face the No 1 team in the 2023-25 World Test Championship cycle with South Africa out to claim the crown for the first time and finally put to bed their “chokers” tag. Australia have played their part as much as any side in stamping that label on South Africa across three decades, but much of that pain and misery could be washed away with a shock triumph at Lord’s.South Africa might be the underdogs but topped the WTC table after taking 69.44% of their possible points from 12 Tests, with Australia the clear next best on 67.54% from 19 matches. The once familiar foes did not meet over the past two years but with an intense rivalry always simmering below the surface and a winner-takes-all contest sure to light a fuse, we look at where the WTC final will be won and lost. Continue reading...

Sport

63 h. ago Injury crisis brewing for British & Irish Lions with Fagerson out of tour

Tighthead Bealham called up with Furlong also injuredOpoku-Fordjour and George join Portugal training campThe British & Irish Lions are facing mounting injury problems at tighthead prop with Zander Fagerson ruled out of the tour of Australia amid serious question marks over Tadhg Furlong’s fitness.Glasgow’s Fagerson has withdrawn from the squad due to a calf injury with the Ireland and Connacht tighthead prop Finlay Bealham added to the 38-man group as a result. Furlong, meanwhile, has not featured for Leinster since the Champions Cup semi-final defeat by Northampton on 3 May and is also battling with a calf injury. Continue reading...

Events

63 h. ago Injury crisis brewing for British & Irish Lions with Zander Fagerson out of tour

Tighthead Bealham called up with Furlong also injuredOpoku-Fordjour and George join Portugal training campThe British & Irish Lions are facing mounting injury problems at tighthead prop with Zander Fagerson ruled out of the tour of Australia amid serious question marks over Tadhg Furlong’s fitness.Glasgow’s Fagerson has withdrawn from the squad due to a calf injury with the Ireland and Connacht tighthead prop Finlay Bealham added to the 38-man group as a result. Furlong, meanwhile, has not featured for Leinster since the Champions Cup semi-final defeat by Northampton on 3 May and is also battling with a calf injury. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Portugal crowned UEFA Nations League champions after scrappy final with Spain

Portugal have won the UEFA Nations League after the pair couldn't be separated until penalty kicks in Munich on Sunday evening

Sport

3 d. ago Rangers 'arrange' friendly against French Ligue 1 side as Russell Martin squeezes in final Champions League warm up game

Reports in France say that the Light Blues will take on Toulouse on July 18

Sport

3 d. ago French Open: Defending champion Alcaraz faces No. 1 Sinner for the men's title

Jannik Sinner faces defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final in a match pitting the world’s top two men’s players

Politics

4 d. ago Coco Gauff v Aryna Sabalenka live: Scores and updates from heavyweight French Open final

There will be a new Roland Garros champion as Gauff and Sabalenka clash in the women’s singles final

Sport

4 d. ago ‘I was locked in the bathroom sulking’: Temba Bavuma on his path from township to WTC final

The South Africa captain talks about street cricket in Langa, adapting to new schools after a scholarship and why playing at Lord’s means so much“There was always some sort of allegiance with Lord’s when we were growing up in Langa,” Temba Bavuma says of his childhood as a township boy living just outside Cape Town. Bavuma, the first black cricketer to captain South Africa, will lead his country against Australia in the World Test Championship final, which begins at Lord’s on Wednesday.In the quintessentially English surroundings of Arundel, the 5ft 3in Bavuma looks as if he has gone back to being a kid in the dusty townships. “In Langa we had a four-way street,” he says, his face crinkling with the memories. “On the right-hand side of the street the tar wasn’t done so nicely and we used to call it Karachi because the ball would bounce funny. The other side was the MCG [Melbourne Cricket Ground] but my favourite section of the street was clean, and done up nicely, and we called...

Politics

4 d. ago Barcelona’s rebirth and one last job for Szczesny: La Liga season review

It’s the Sids! Barça reclaimed the title as Madrid’s giants faltered while Athletic, Celta and Rayo shook up the European placesThe day La Liga 2024-25 began, Wojciech Szczesny was sitting on the beach in Marbella lighting up a cigarette, enjoying his retirement. The night it ended, he sat in the dressing room in Cornellà, 1,000km round the coast, and lit up a cigar instead. He had walked away in August, at 35 years old, unwanted and his heart no longer in it, or so he thought. Nine months on, here he was surrounded by kids half his age, a footballer again and winner of every trophy his new home country had to offer. He had not lost a single league match en route to becoming a champion.“I’ve arrived where even my imagination wouldn’t even dare to take me,” Szczesny had said when he retired. And if he hadn’t dared imagine that, there was no way he could imagine this: a Copa del Rey, a Super Cup and a Champions League semi-final to go with the title. Continue reading...

Politics