Chris Tremlett: Solid India represent the biggest threat to home favourites England at the World Cup May 29, 2019 The World Cup begins tomorrow and as I’ve been writing for the last few months England are my favourites. The hosts have all bases covered, are peaking at the right time and know the conditions the best. However, it will be far from plain sailing for Eoin Morgan’s side, with most of the other nine [...]
Hong Kong Horse Racing Tips: Smart Rocket can show his speed for Moore and Moreira May 28, 2019 FORMER champion jockey Joao Moreira has been living in the shadows of Zac Purton recently. However, it didn’t stop the Brazilian providing another masterclass of jockeyship at Sha Tin last Sunday when booting home four winners, including two by the narrowest of margins. The ‘Magic Man’ is now on a roll with 69 winners, including [...]
Trevor Steven: Strike pair can give Arsenal edge over Chelsea in Baku May 28, 2019 There is very little in the way of form to go on when teams have a 17-day gap from their last fixture to their next, as is the case for Chelsea and Arsenal in Wednesday’s Europa League final. Instead, a match like this is usually decided by fine margins and small advantages. I have a slight [...]
Cricket World Cup in London: How the ICC is hoping to create a buzz around the capital this summer May 28, 2019 The summer is here, the sun is out and London is ready for the Cricket World Cup. With two venues and 10 games to look forward to, the capital is at the epicentre of the tournament and will be abuzz with action between Thursday’s opening match involving England and South Africa at The Oval and [...]
More at stake for Arsenal and Unai Emery than Chelsea and Maurizio Sarri in Europa League final between managers with points to prove May 28, 2019 When Unai Emery and Maurizio Sarri pitched up in London a year ago they did so with something to prove. For the Spaniard, it was that his failure to deliver the clean sweep of honours that Paris Saint-Germain’s hierarchy craved owed more to the unique ecosystem of France’s richest club than his own shortcomings as [...]
Aston Villa hit £170m jackpot after promotion gambles pay off against Derby County May 27, 2019 It tends to take a gamble to escape the bear pit of the Championship. Aston Villa have bet bigger than most and now, with victory in the play-off final over Derby County on Monday, they have scooped the £170m jackpot that promotion to the Premier League guarantees. Villa were rewarded for rolling the dice on [...]
England build confidence for the World Cup despite comfortable nature of Afghanistan win May 27, 2019 In the end it wasn’t so much a warm-up as a cool down – an opportunity to get loose before Thursday’s World Cup grand opening. England craved a win after Saturday’s 12-run defeat by Australia, but when it came at The Oval against Afghanistan its nature diminished its significance, the home side chasing 160 in [...]
Johanna Konta’s long-awaited first French Open win is British No1’s latest cause for optimism May 27, 2019 It took seven visits to Roland Garros but, finally, Johanna Konta is into the second round of the French Open and entitled to feel cautiously optimistic that her campaign in Paris will not end there. The British No1 – beaten in the first round for the last four years and defeated in qualifying in both [...]
Rage 2 review: This post-apocalyptic zombie sequel falls flat despite some tight gunplay May 24, 2019 On the face of it, it’s strange that this game even exists, given that the original Rage, released in 2011, sold poorly and left little cultural impression. After playing this drab, repetitive sequel, I’m still unsure why they decided to bring it back for a second outing. I heard the faint ringing of alarm bells [...]
John Wick 3 review: Keanu Reeves shines in the action franchise’s brilliant third installment May 24, 2019 The John Wick films are so far ahead of other Hollywood action movies that this third installment is the best the genre has produced in recent years, without even being the best film in the franchise. We pick up immediately after the end of Chapter 2, with Wick having been declared ‘excommunicado’ from the High [...]