Sport
FOOTBALL: Aston Villa have completed the signings of Denmark defender Jores Okore, 20, and Dutch midfielder Leandro Bacuna, 21, for undisclosed fees.
WILLIAM CHRIMES PREVIEWS THE US OPEN
AUSTRALIA’S annus horribilis lurched to a new low yesterday when it emerged batsman David Warner was at risk of being sent home just weeks before the Ashes for punching England’s Joe Root in a pub.
BRITISH and Irish Lions head coach Warren Gatland insists the late inclusion of England back Billy Twelvetrees is not designed to cover a specific injury concern, despite doubts over the fitness of the squad’s fly-halves with just over a week to g
WORLD No1 Tiger Woods begins his quest to win a first Major in five years at the US Open today and insists he remains as determined as ever to succeed.
WORLD Footballer of the Year Lionel Messi faces the threat of up to six years in jail after being accused of a £3.5m tax fraud.
BRITISH No1 Andy Murray faces the prospect of having to complete two matches today, after his comeback from injury was disrupted by wet weather at Queen’s Club yesterday.
SPINNER Graeme Swann is set to return to the England bowling attack against Sri Lanka today, captain Alastair Cook has confirmed, as they look to seal their spot in the Champions Trophy semi-finals.
AUSTRALIA must be low on confidence after a nightmarish start to 2013, and sometimes that can manifest itself in extraordinary actions such as those David Warner is accused of.
THE CHAMPIONS Trophy match between Australia and New Zealand was abandoned yesterday, due to persistent rainfall, leaving a cloud over both teams’ chances of progressing from Group A.
ATHLETICS: Olympic champions Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford have been included in the Great Britain squad for the European Team Championships later this month, but triple jumper Phillips Idowu has been overlooked.
HORSE RACING: A private funeral for trainer Sir Henry Cecil will be held on 24 June.
WORLD Cup-winning former England captain Phil Vickery has defended the British and Irish Lions’ tour schedule, after they ran in 10 tries yesterday in the latest warm-up match of questionable value.
WORLD No2 Andy Murray is set to begin his grass court season at Queen’s Club, in London, today.
ENGLAND Under-21 manager Stuart Pearce believes his players must take full responsibility for their abject European Championship campaign, which ended with a 1-0 defeat to hosts Israel last night.
THE WORD “genius” is often too freely bandied about, but genuinely best describes a man who saddled 25 British Classic winners and was Champion trainer on no less than 10 occasions.
THE FIRST round draw at the US Open pits the first, second and third favourites for the tournament together – in Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott – but I can’t look past Matt Kuchar to pick up his first Major this week.
CRICKET: A five-wicket haul from Ravindra Jadeja, followed by Shikhar Dhawan’s unbeaten century earned India an eight-wicket win over West Indies yesterday, sending them into the Champions Trophy semi-finals.
FOOTBALL: Liverpool and Celta Vigo have agreed a fee of £7m for striker Iago Aspas. The 25-year-old scored 12 goals in La Liga last season and agreed personal terms on Monday.
Terry stays captain but may not play, says returning boss
PROLIFIC Napoli striker Edinson Cavani says he would welcome an approach from Chelsea.
The 26-year-old hit 29 goals in 34 games this season to help Napoli finish second in Serie A, but is expected to leave Italy this summer.
THERE was no “I’m a special one.” No “I’m ready for war.” Not even a rant about “class A eggs.” By Jose Mourinho’s own standards, his second bow as Chelsea boss was tame.
QUEENS Park Rangers manager Harry Redknapp has denied he is at loggerheads with the club’s board and reiterated his desire to stay at Loftus Road.
BRITAIN’S Dan Evans shocked Argentina’s Guido Pella, ranked 202 places ahead of him in the world, to reach the Aegon Championships second round as the grass court season began at Queen’s Club yesterday.
BRITISH and Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell has played down fitness fears surrounding the squad’s fly-halves, which threaten to undermine preparations for the first Test against Australia in less than two weeks.
FOOTBALL: Turkish club Besiktas will face a Uefa disciplinary hearing on 21 June regarding accusations of match-fixing, while Fenerbahce will attend a similar hearing 24 hours later.
CRICKET: Pakistan are on the brink of elimination from the Champions Trophy, following last night’s 67-run defeat to South Africa. Pakistan are bottom of Group B, with no points and one match to play.
FORMER world No1 Rafael Nadal admitted that becoming the first eight-time winner of a Grand Slam was beyond even his wildest dreams.
INJURED wing Tommy Bowe may still play for the British and Irish Lions in their Test series with Australia, coach Warren Gatland has confirmed, despite flying out his replacement.
RED Bull's Sebastian Vettel says that last night’s win at the Canadian Grand Prix makes up for the string of disappointments in North America that plagued him and his team in past seasons.
USAIN Bolt was at Roland Garros yesterday in the same way that he turns up at an awful lot of big events these days. The most famous sporting face on the planet, feted and loved by all.
ENGLAND Under-21s captain Jordan Henderson has thrown his support behind under-fire manager Stuart Pearce and hopes to see the former West Ham defender keep his job.
OLYMPIC bronze medal winner Chris Froome believes he can continue his glorious year and pull off an historic win at the Tour de France, after completing victory at the Criterium du Dauphine yesterday.
WORLD No2 Andy Murray returns to the court this week after missing the French Open with injury and believes Queens will provide the perfect setting as he steps up preparations for the Wimbledon championships later this month.
SRI Lankan captain Angelo Mathews admitted last night that his team have to improve their batting after they succumbed to a nail-biting one wicket defeat to New Zealand.
ENGLAND are set to whitewash Australia in this summer’s Ashes series, former all-rounder Ian Botham boldly predicted yesterday.
MANCHESTER United striker Wayne Rooney would be a welcome addition to Paris Saint-Germain, one of the French club’s leading players said yesterday.
FOOTBALL: Former England defender Phil Neville has announced his retirement from professional football.
CRICKET: Yorkshire bowler Matthew Fisher became the youngest post-war cricketer to play in one of England’s county competitions when the 15-year-old featured in yesterday’s Yorkshire Bank 40 defeat to Leicestershire.
GOLF: Ryder Cup winner Sam Torrance finished joint 10th at the ISPS Handa Seniors Championship in Cheshire. The City A.M. columnist carded a four-under-par round of 69 yesterday to finish the week eight-under-par overall.
Robin Hutchison and Bill Esdaile bring you the best cricket and racing bets of the weekend
THIS is one of the more low-key weekends on the racing calendar with both trainers and punters casting an eye towards Royal Ascot. The best quality events are up at Haydock and the most interesting race is the Timeform Jury Stakes (3.15pm).
ARSENAL have offered reassurance to any wavering transfer targets after chief executive Ivan Gazidis indicated manager Arsene Wenger is likely to extend his tenure beyond next season.
BRITISH and Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton says tomorrow cannot come quickly enough as he prepares to lead the team for the first time against Queensland Reds.
ENGLAND coach Stuart Lancaster will grant debuts to Wasps wing Christian Wade and new Gloucester flanker Matt Kvesic against Argentina tomorrow and warned his reshaped team to brace themselves for a bumpy ride.
BRAZIL midfielder Fernandinho wants to turn new club Manchester City into a dominant force in European football.
IT’S EASY to feel like Jose Mourinho’s return to Chelsea for a second stint as manager will mean the Portuguese picking up exactly where he left off, but that can’t happen.
WORLD No1 Serena Williams admitted defending champion Maria Sharapova will be hard to beat in this year’s French Open final after both achieved victories in the semi-finals yesterday.
CRICKET: Opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan scored 114 off 94 balls to help steer India, 331-7, to a 26-run win over South Africa, 305, in the opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy in Cardiff yesterday.
