England cricketers fear reprisals if they seek my advice, says former skipper Kevin Pietersen October 14, 2015 Maverick batsman Kevin Pietersen believes current England players are loath to contact him for advice because they fear incurring the wrath of the country’s cricket bosses. Pietersen, who was sacked by the England and Wales Cricket Board in February 2014, conceded last month that director of cricket Andrew Strauss had been vindicated in dashing his [...]
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho fined £50,000 and handed suspended stadium ban October 14, 2015 Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is just one more infraction away from triggering a stadium ban after he was censured for his criticism of officials in this month’s 3-1 home defeat to Southampton. The Football Association today fined Mourinho £50,000 and issued him with a suspended one-match stadium ban for saying referees were “afraid” to give [...]
Pakistan v England: All-rounder Ben Stokes backs Adil Rashid after leg-spinner endured the worst debut in Test cricket history October 14, 2015 England all-rounder Ben Stokes has backed under-fire leg-spinner Adil Rashid to rediscover his poise after enduring the worst debut in Test history as his side’s bowlers were put to the sword by Pakistan in Abu Dhabi today. A toiling Rashid returned figures of 0-163 from his 34 overs, surpassing the 0-149 posted by Australia leg-spinner Bryce [...]
Manchester City financial results: Club announce first profit since Sheikh Mansour takeover October 14, 2015 Manchester City have recorded a profit for the first time since billionaire Sheikh Mansour bought the club in 2008. Last season’s Premier League runners-up yesterday announced a £10.7m profit for the year ending 31 May 2015, compared with a loss of £22.9m the previous year. Read more: Uefa FFP rules that hit Man City were excessive [...]
Just a Lidl bit: How the discount supermarket conquered the wine world October 14, 2015 Don’t tell anyone, but the other day I paid a visit to my local Lidl. I must be the first person to go there and spend more than I expected. There’s been a lot of hype about Lidl’s recently launched Wine Cellar collection. Still, I was sceptical, expecting to find wines that were cheap but [...]
Arsenal AGM: Three key questions as Arsene Wenger, Ivan Gazidis, Stan Kroenke and Sir Chips Keswick get grilled by shareholders October 14, 2015 Arsenal's directors will sport their best smiles and lay on the charm as shareholders gather at Emirates Stadium for the club's AGM today. Chief executive Ivan Gazidis, manager Arsene Wenger and majority shareholder Stan Kroenke are expected to be in attendance to proudly present the club's record profits, detail plans for the future and field some [...]
Fifa crisis: Prince Ali warns against delaying presidential election in light of Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini suspensions October 14, 2015 Fifa presidential candidate Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein has warned Fifa not to delay in electing Sepp Blatter's replacement following "recent instability" at football's governing body. Current incumbent Blatter and Uefa boss Michel Platini were suspended for 90 days by Fifa's Ethics Committee last week, leading to suggestions that Fifa's Executive Committee could postpone February's election. Read [...]
ICC Cricket World Cup and World Twenty20 to be sponsored by Nissan until 2023 October 14, 2015 Major international cricket tournaments such as the Cricket World Cup, Champions Trophy and World Twenty20 will be sponsored by Japanese carmaker Nissan until 2023 after it agreed an eight-year sponsorship deal with the International Cricket Council (ICC). Nissan will replace Hyundai as the ICC's main sponsor. Its first significant foray into cricket follows an increased [...]
Euro 2016: Robin Van Persie scores own goal in defeat by Czech Republic as Holland fail to qualify for first finals since 2002 October 14, 2015 Holland failed to reach a major finals for the first time since 2002 after their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign ended with a 3-2 defeat to Group A winners Czech Republic at the Amsterdam Arena last night. Former Arsenal and Manchester United forward Robin van Persie scored an own goal to hand the Czechs a three-goal advantage [...]
Pakistan v England: Seamer Stuart Broad says sorry as error-strewn England pay for his no-ball October 14, 2015 Seamer Stuart Broad apologised to his team-mates after his no-ball handed centurion Shoaib Malik a reprieve as an error-strewn England toiled on the opening day of the first Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi yesterday. Former Pakistan captain Mailk marked his first Test match for five years with an unbeaten score of 124, while opener [...]