Rugby’s shadow expeditions: The second string sides heading on tour September 15, 2022 Rugby is set in its traditions, rightly and wrongly, and it takes an enormous shift in will for anything new to seep into the sport. But when Irish province and last year’s losing European finalists Leinster announced earlier this week that they would be playing a fixture against an All Blacks XV during November, it [...]
Ed Warner: How to solve the Hundred and help county cricket with private money September 15, 2022 The Hundred isn’t going away, whatever diehard cricket traditionalists might wish. It’s been cemented into the English calendar until at least 2028 by a television deal finalised just before the arrival of the England and Wales Cricket Board’s new chair. Richard Thompson, erstwhile arch-critic of the controversial competition, now finds his room for manoeuvre severely [...]
Marco Pantani story is a modern fable of fragility September 14, 2022 When you’re at the very peak of your sport there will always be questions asked around how you got there, and how you stayed there. But for some of the very best in history, they became victims of high performance; chewed up by their own hype and spat out at the side of the road [...]
County is capable of giving Fownes a Fine Valley start September 13, 2022 AFTER a two-month break, inner-city track Happy Valley hosts its first meeting of the 2022/23 season in Hong Kong on Wednesday, with an eight-race programme starting at 12.15pm. Most of the talk during the close season centred around the general wellbeing of champion jockeys Zac Purton and Joao Moreira, who both suffered health issues in [...]
Power-packed De Sousa can lift Hercules home to victory September 13, 2022 FORMER three-time British champion jockey Silvestre de Sousa’s return to Hong Kong began with a bang at Sha Tin on Sunday as he visited the winners’ circle on his first day back. An armchair ride on Lucky Sweynesse in the Chief Executive’s Cup was just the start the 41-year-old Brazilian needed, although it did cost [...]
Premiership sees opening-round attendances fall to a six-season low September 13, 2022 Premiership rugby’s opening-round attendances have fallen to a five-season low. Since the start of the 2016-17 season, and not including the pandemic-affected 2020-21 season, the percentage of seats filled by punters in England’s top division during the first round has never been lower than last weekend. The opening round saw 59 per cent of seats [...]
Great Britain have reasons for cheer as Davis Cup returns to Glasgow September 13, 2022 The Davis Cup has not been kind to Great Britain since Andy Murray led the team to victory almost single-handedly seven years ago. They have suffered semi-finals defeats, had to navigate tough draws and at one stage stared down the barrel of relegation from the top tier. But as Leon Smith’s side gather in Glasgow [...]
Boxing set for ‘Battle of Britain’ after Anthony Joshua accepts offer Tyson Fury September 13, 2022 One of the most long-awaited matches in boxing has moved a major step closer after Anthony Joshua accepted terms to fight British heavyweight rival Tyson Fury later this year. Joshua made the announcement via his management company, 258, on Tuesday morning. Fury’s camp confirmed contracts would now be formally drawn up. “258 and Matchroom Boxing [...]
The summer of Bazball under Stokes has been a season of pure fun September 13, 2022 There was no hum around the Oval yesterday as England openers Zak Crawley and Alex Lees walked from the pavilion to the crease, probably because the overriding feeling was one of inevitability. Ben Stokes’s England needed only 33 runs on the final day of the deciding Test match against South Africa to earn another series [...]
Carlos Alcaraz’s US Open win could set him on course for superstardom September 12, 2022 No matter the result at Flushing Meadows on Sunday night the world of tennis was going to be exposed to a new Grand Slam winner, but in Carlos Alcaraz’s victory at the US Open the sport might have uncovered its next superstar. While the world basks in the ability to say they lived through the [...]