England facing fight to avoid fourth defeat in a row after KL Rahul’s 199 puts India in control on day three of final Test in Chennai December 18, 2016 England all-rounder Ben Stokes struck a resigned note after opener KL Rahul’s 199 put India into another commanding position on the third day of the fifth and final Test in Chennai. The tourists for once neutralised India captain Virat Kohli, only for Rahul to conjure his own mammoth knock and usher the hosts to 391-4, [...]
Chelsea record largest loss in six years after ditching Adidas for Nike — but record revenue points to long-term health December 17, 2016 Chelsea recorded their biggest loss in six years last season, after agreeing to pay out of their £30m a year Adidas kit deal. The Blues announced a net loss of £70.6m for the year after incurring exceptional costs of £75.3m — which included compensation fees paid to both Adidas and sacked manager Jose Mourinho. Yet the club's [...]
Christmas with JPMorgan: the bank picks books, sites and music for the holiday season December 16, 2016 There's still time to get a last minute gift for the banker in your life! JPMorgan's annual holiday reading list has been given an upgrade for 2016, and to mark the 10-year anniversary of the reading list, the US bank added on a few cultural and musical recommendations. The bank is actually calling the list #nextlist2017, and [...]
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte says Chinese spending power “a danger to every club in the world” as Oscar exit looms December 16, 2016 Chelsea manager Antonio Conte believes every club in the world is under threat of having star players prised away by cash-rich Chinese teams. Blues midfielder Oscar is on the verge of finalising a mooted £50m move to Shanghai SIPG, where he is reportedly set to earn an eye-watering £400,000-a-week. Conte expects to receive a significant proportion [...]
Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez has Barcelona flat seized in Spanish tax investigation December 16, 2016 Alexis Sanchez's luxury Barcelona flat has been seized by Spanish tax authorities as part of an investigation into alleged tax avoidance by footballers in the country. According to reports in Spain, the Spanish Treasury has taken possession of Sanchez's four bedroom apartment, as the Arsenal star is accused of being £3.7m in debt to the government [...]
Joe Marler interview: All players should see a psychologist December 16, 2016 Reinvigorated England prop Joe Marler has urged every professional rugby player to consider seeing a psychologist, having reaped the rewards himself. The 26-year-old revealed in May that he was seeking professional help from a sports psychologist, former Northamptonshire, Gloucestershire and England spin bowler Jeremy Snape, to address a “lack of professional control”. Marler’s admission followed [...]
Why Adam Silver and Sir Philip Craven are my sports leadership heroes of the last 12 months December 15, 2016 If politics entered a post-truth era in 2016, sport entered a post-trust era. So much of sport is about trust – from your teammates to the coaches and medical team to the administrators that govern the game. Slowly but surely trust has been seeping out of the sports we love, and 2016 was the climax of [...]
Alastair Cook asks beleaguered England for one final push as Liam Dawson is primed for Test debut December 15, 2016 England skipper Alastair Cook has vowed to restore some pride as his side bid to escape from the fifth and series-concluding Test with India, which starts in Chennai on Friday, unscathed. The tourists trail the world’s No1-ranked Test side 3-0 following a long and arduous tour, while Cook continues to be dogged by constant speculation over [...]
Star Wars: Rogue One review: A brilliantly gutsy, spectacular spinoff that could have been braver December 15, 2016 While it may not feature Jedis doing backflips or the Millennium Falcon tooling about space, Rogue One: A Star Wars story definitely feels like a Star Wars film. It has a heartbreaking family-based plot, a familiar struggle between the Empire (baddies) and the Rebellion (goodies, kind of) and all manner of weirdo aliens. There's even [...]
Government blocks sale of rare Wedgwood vase December 15, 2016 The culture minister has blocked a rare Josiah Wedgwood vase from leaving the country. The “Basaltes” vase was sold in July to an unnamed bidder for almost half a million pounds. However, it is hoped that an alternative buyer from the UK can raise an equivalent amount of £482,500 (plus £16,500 VAT) in order to [...]