Sport

The 100 greatest men’s Ashes cricketers of all time
Posted on Friday November 14, 2025

Sport’s famous rivalry began in 1877 and since then 853 men have featured in Australia v England Tests. But who are the very best of the best?Barney Ronay on the No 1 | Video: review the top 10Check how all the judges voted | Our methodologyEvery ball of the Ashes, no spin. Support us today Continue reading...

England pumped up for chance to end 13-year wait against All Blacks
Posted on Friday November 14, 2025

Maro Itoje and company have talked the talk and are hungry to follow through with a first win at home over New Zealand since 2012For better or worse it has been lashing down in south-west London. Good news for restocking the reservoirs but rather less so for dry-ball rugby. Had England played New Zealand 24 hours earlier it would have resembled a game of outdoor water polo and, although the matchday forecast is less biblical, a decidedly damp, grey afternoon awaits.Is it some kind of celestial clue that England’s on-field drought against the All Blacks might be about to break? It is now 13 years since the last men’s victory over New Zealand at what was once called Twickenham, so long ago that Maro Itoje was still at school. Troublemaker by Olly Murs (featuring Flo Rida) topped the UK charts and the nation was basking in a warm, fuzzy post-London Olympics glow that was supposed to last indefinitely. Continue reading...

Josh Hazlewood ruled out of Ashes opener in fresh blow to Australia bowling stocks
Posted on Saturday November 15, 2025

Michael Neser added to first Test squad already missing Pat Cummins England’s Mark Wood available after being cleared of hamstring injuryJosh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the first Ashes Test after a second scan on the hamstring injury he initially reported during the recent Sheffield Shield match between New South Wales and Victoria found a low-grade tear.The news came hours after England announced that scans on Mark Wood, whose own participation in the opening Test had been thrown into doubt after he reported stiffness in his left hamstring on the first day of their warm-up game against the Lions at Lilac Hill, had found no injury. Continue reading...

Thomas Tuchel wants England substitutes to channel anger into World Cup victory
Posted on Friday November 14, 2025

Coach hopes to match spirit of his 2021 Chelsea teamTuchel needs strong bench ‘after a long, long season’Thomas Tuchel wants his England substitutes to channel any anger they feel at not starting into making the difference when they can because the team that win the World Cup will be defined by productivity off the bench.The head coach will prepare a heat-proof gameplan for the finals next summer when temperatures at many of the venues in the United States, Mexico and Canada are expected to be stifling and a major part will involve how best to use his substitutes. Continue reading...

World Cup 2026 qualifying roundup: Northern Ireland in playoffs despite loss
Posted on Friday November 14, 2025

Slovakia win 1-0 and battle with Germany for top spotNetherlands nearly there after draw in Poland Michael O’Neill fumed at a goal that “should clearly have been disallowed” after Northern Ireland’s hopes of progressing from World Cup qualifying Group A were ended by the Slovakia debutant Tomas Bobcek in a 1-0 stoppage-time defeat in Kosice.Bobcek, who had only been on the pitch for three minutes, prodded in after Bailey Peacock-Farrell failed to deal with a corner, but Northern Ireland were enraged that a foul was not given as Daniel Ballard had gone down under pressure from Leo Sauer. Continue reading...

Felix Auger-Aliassime beats Alexander Zverev to reach ATP semi-finals – as it happened
Posted on Friday November 14, 2025

The Canadian reached the semi-finals for the first time, where he’ll face Carlos Alcaraz, after a 6-4, 7-6 win against the world No 3Auger-Aliassime to serve. Ready? Let’s play.Now Auger-Aliassime, dressed in purple, is making Zverev, clad all in black, wait for the coin toss. The match may not have started yet, but the mind games certainly have. Zverev wins it and elects to receive. Laura Robson is going for a Zverev win; Tim Henman opts for Auger-Aliassime. I think I’m sitting on the fence. Auger-Aliassime has the bigger momentum, but of course it’s Zverev with the greater pedigree. Continue reading...

Ill-advised Benn-Eubank Jr rematch another example of boxing’s cynicism
Posted on Friday November 14, 2025

Gripping contest in April damaged both men who wouldn’t be in the ring again if it weren’t for their fathers’ fights Boxing has always been a deeply cynical business. The overwhelming objective for most promoters, and many fighters, is to rake in as much money as quickly as possible without any undue concern about looking crass or desperate.Anyone who has spent just a little time in the company of boxers will understand that they deserve whatever cash they can make out of such a hard and dangerous activity. But promoters have ransacked the pockets of boxing fans through the decades while peddling anything and everything from Joe Louis’s “Bum of the Month” club to this week’s proposal that Anthony Joshua may make tens of millions of dollars if he steps into the ring to face Jake Paul, the former YouTuber, next month. Continue reading...

Sean Bowen looks real McCoy at Cheltenham in emulating legend’s never-say-die ride
Posted on Friday November 14, 2025

There were distinct echoes of Tony McCoy and Wichita Lineman when the current champion won on Wade OutOn an afternoon for the National Hunt diehards here on Friday, as Storm Claudia battered racegoers and runners alike, one rider’s refusal to be cowed by either the elements or circumstance was a beacon in the gloom.There were distinct echoes of Tony McCoy’s famous never-say-die ride on Wichita Lineman as Sean Bowen niggled, coaxed and cajoled the novice chaser Wade Out around two circuits of Cheltenham, and it was only in the final moments of a race that took nearly seven minutes to run that Bowen’s mount appeared to have any realistic chance of winning. Continue reading...