Stenson defends his Dubai crown and banks £1.3m November 23, 2014 RYDER Cup star Henrik Stenson is targeting a first Major title in 2015 after the Swede concluded the season by scooping a long-awaited victory and a £1.3m payday. Stenson survived a scare on the back nine to successfully defend his DP World Tour Championship title in Dubai yesterday and land a first win since his [...]
Lancaster: Ford has intensified fly-half debate November 23, 2014 ENGLAND head coach Stuart Lancaster admits the enterprising performance of George Ford against Samoa on Saturday has blown fly-half selection wide open ahead of the weekend’s final autumn clash with Australia at Twickenham. Saracens No10 Owen Farrell had been the man in possession but the 23-year-old was switched to inside-centre after successive uninspiring showings against [...]
First-half frailties dent Saracens title charge November 23, 2014 SARACENS boss Mark McCall cited an insipid first-half showing as the principal factor in his side’s 31-24 defeat to reigning Premiership champions Northampton Saints at Allianz Park yesterday. New Zealander James Wilson crossed the line twice for the visitors – who were without international stars Tom Wood, Dylan Hartley, Courtney Lawes and George North – [...]
Washout leaves England lacking practice ahead of Sri Lanka bout November 23, 2014 ENGLAND are at risk of heading into the one-day series with Sri Lanka severely undercooked after their second warm-up game in Colombo was abandoned due to heavy rain without a ball being bowled. Peter Moores’ side face their opening clash on Wednesday with only one rain-affected match under their belts – the team’s sole exposure [...]
Lewis Hamilton wins the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Which country has the most F1 world champions? November 23, 2014 Lewis Hamilton has won the Formula One World Championship in Abu Dhabi as Nico Rosberg, his only rival for the title, was beaten from the first corner. Hamilton, who becomes the first British driver to win multiple world titles since Sir Jackie Stewart in 1972, overtook the pole-positioned Rosberg before the first corner and then [...]
Photography review: World Press Photo 2014 November 21, 2014 Royal Festival Hall | ★★★★☆ The World Press Photograph of the Year has been running since 1955, with the numbers of entries increasing steadily. For this year’s competition a record-breaking 5,754 photographers from 132 countries submitted 98,671 pictures, with subjects ranging from the Boston Marathon bombing to the collapse of the Rana Plaza in [...]
Theatre review: Behind the Beautiful Forevers November 21, 2014 Olivier Theatre | ★★★☆☆ The dirtiest thing in the Annawadi slum is the language. Above the din of arriving and departing planes (Annawadi is located right next to Mumbai airport) millions of slum-dwellers bicker, joke and philosophise in words as colourful as the advertising hoardings above their heads. American author Katherine Boo depicted [...]
Film review: Get On Up November 21, 2014 Cert 12a | ★★★☆☆ Many films don’t feature a single scene in which two female characters talk about something other than a man. I’m not sure this film features a single scene in which any two characters talk about something other than James Brown. Like many biopics, Get On Up subscribes to [...]
Film review: The Homesman November 21, 2014 Cert 15 | ★★★☆☆ Many an American fictional character has dreamed a dream of loading up the wagon and heading way out west to roll the dice on the frontier. It says much of The Homesman’s contrarian spirit that it does the reverse. In his second directorial outing, Tommy Lee Jones trudges backwards [...]
Film review: The Hunger Games – Mockingjay Part I November 20, 2014 Cert 12a | ★★★☆☆ So what happens now The Hunger Games are over? The previous two instalments of the franchise revolved around these Battle Royale-style tournaments, in which two “tributes” from each district of dystopia Panem fought to the death in a grisly reality TV show devised by a fascist regime as a pretty [...]