The opener is in line for an Australia debut after twice taking time away from cricket to protect his mental health and piling on the runs for TasmaniaJake Weatherald and Justin Galeotti travelled separately on the short journey from the coffee shop to the nets for their scheduled hit. They trained as usual and with Galeotti oblivious to the fact Weatherald had just fielded a life-altering phone call from Australia’s chair of selectors, George Bailey, telling him his baggy green dream had

Arne Slot: ‘Florian needs time to adapt to teammates’Head coach hopes to have Isak available for City clashArne Slot has rejected Arsène Wenger’s theory that playing Florian Wirtz as a No 10 has “destroyed Liverpool’s midfield” and insisted the £116m signing will prove a special talent wherever he operates for the Premier League champions.Wirtz impressed when playing off the left in the Champions League defeat of Real Madrid on Tuesday, having pre

Manager: striker ‘works so hard and wants to succeed’Amorim will rotate Fernandes if United return to EuropeRuben Amorim has conceded Benjamin Sesko is struggling for form at Manchester United and wants the striker to learn to accept criticism so it becomes like a “normal Monday”.Sesko has scored only twice in 11 appearances for United since joining the club from RB Leipzig for £73.7m in August. That has brought inevitable pressure on to the 22-year-old’s shou

World No 1 triumphs 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in epic semi-finalRybakina battles back to defeat Pegula 4-6, 6-4, 6-3Aryna Sabalenka will attempt to close out one of the greatest seasons of her career by winning the WTA Finals for the first time as she rekindles her rivalry with Elena Rybakina in the final of the season-ending championships.In the final stages of a tournament that has spectacularly produced both drama and quality, semi-final day in Riyadh further underscored the fierce competition at the top

Aryna Sabalenka came through a gripping three-set battle with Amanda Anisimova and will face Elena Rybakina, who fought back to defeat Jessica Pegula in the first semi-finalFirst set: Pegula 2-2* Rybakina (*denotes next server) Rybakina had started the stronger but lost her way in that last service game. Can Pegula back up the break? An early double fault doesn’t help matters, and Rybakina outlasts her in a rally to earn break point. From the middle of the court, Rybakina lands an inside-o

With Marcus Smith at full-back and a highly mobile back five in the pack, Steve Borthwick could play with the handbrake fully offMuch has happened in the 27 months since Fiji were last at Twickenham and beat England. You would certainly have had decent odds back then on the home side’s reserve prop Joe Marler becoming a national TV treasure, a fever dream roughly on a par with Claudia Winkleman shaving off her hair and packing down at loosehead. Who knew?But here we are in an increasingly

Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen battle for the title, just as Juan Manuel Fangio, Nino Farina and Luigi Fagioli did 75 years agoWith no little pleasing symmetry, 75 years on from a three-way fight for the inaugural Formula One title, the championship is entering its decisive phase once more with three protagonists in the running and the promise of an enthralling denouement of the kind that has graced some of the sport’s greatest seasons.Heading into this weekend’s S&at

Trump grants full pardon to New York Mets great Strawberry hit 335 HRs and was eight-time All-StarUS president cites faith, sobriety, ministry workDonald Trump has pardoned former New York Mets great Darryl Strawberry on past tax evasion and drug charges, citing the 1983 National League Rookie of the Year’s post-career embrace of his Christian faith and longtime sobriety.Strawberry was an outfielder and eight-time All-Star, including seven with the Mets from 1983 through 1990. He hit 335 h

Premier Tech pulls out despite rebranding pledgeTeam’s participation in Vuelta was dogged by protestsThe main sponsor of the Israel-Premier Tech team of the four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome has pulled out of funding the team, despite a pledge to rebrand and distance itself from its Israeli identity. The Canadian company Premier Tech, in a statement issued on Friday, said that it had decided to “step down as co-title sponsor of the team, taking effect immediately”.
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Sabalenka will face Rybakina in Saturday’s finalGet in touch! Send your thoughts to NiallFirst set: Pegula 2-2* Rybakina (*denotes next server) Rybakina had started the stronger but lost her way in that last service game. Can Pegula back up the break? An early double fault doesn’t help matters, and Rybakina outlasts her in a rally to earn break point. From the middle of the court, Rybakina lands an inside-out forehand on the line, and we’re back on serve.Cam Norrie is playing i

Fox drops Sanchez as felony case proceedsBrees joins Adam Amin through 2026 seasonSanchez pleads not guilty to battery chargeFox Sports has severed ties with game analyst Mark Sanchez as he faces criminal charges, multiple outlets reported Friday.“We can confirm that Mark Sanchez is no longer with the network,” a Fox spokesperson told the Athletic. “There will be no further comment at this time.“ Continue reading...

The Real Madrid midfielder is part of an attack-minded squad but the manager will be watching him carefullyOne snub was enough. Another and it would have started to look vindictive from Thomas Tuchel, who is far too wily not to know that winning the World Cup is probably going to require help from Jude Bellingham, even if it is also on the midfielder to fit into the tactical structures and squad hierarchies required with England now that he is back in Tuchel’s warm embrace.The manager want

‘Fans will understand if we go out with pride’Tuchel ‘re-energised’ after 13 months in chargeThomas Tuchel has opened the door to staying on as England’s manager after next year’s World Cup and has said his future does not necessarily depend on leading the team to glory.Tuchel, who handed recalls to Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden on Friday, signed a contract with the Football Association in October last year only till after the tournament. That arrangement gav

Incident took place during February game with BurnleyNorth End criticise FA’s decision to dish out punishmentPreston have been left “extremely disappointed” by the Football Association’s decision to ban Milutin Osmajic for nine matches over allegedly making racist comments to Burnley’s Hannibal Mejbri.Mejbril alleged Osmajic made the comments during last season’s Championship derby between the two Lancashire sides at Deepdale in February, which ended 0-0. The