Formula E five years on: How is the electric racing series faring? July 18, 2019 Last weekend Formula E rounded off its fifth season in exuberant fashion with a double-header finale on the streets of Brooklyn, New York. Former Formula One driver Jean-Eric Vergne retained his title and became the sport’s first two-time champion in a season that saw nine different drivers win across the 13 races, as well as [...]
‘It’s not just a nostalgia trip’: The Edge director Barney Douglas on the deeper message behind his England cricket film July 18, 2019 Now is not a bad time to be releasing a film about England’s cricket team. With a remarkable World Cup win still fresh in the mind and a home Ashes series around the corner, Barney Douglas, director of The Edge, hopes his work can benefit from “the swell of cricket euphoria” gripping the country. The [...]
Northern Ireland set for £85m windfall as The Open arrives at Portrush July 17, 2019 For just the second time in golfing history, the Open Championship is being held outside of England and Scotland this year. This week the sport’s oldest and most prestigious tournament returns to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, where it was hosted on the only other occasion it left the British mainland in 1951. For one [...]
Laura Muir interview: Scottish star on her route into athletics, veterinary career and competing at London’s Anniversary Games July 16, 2019 Laura Muir is not your average sportsperson. Despite being one of Britain’s best athletes, the softly spoken Scot’s feet remains planted firmly on the ground ahead of a big summer on the track. At 26 she’s already accomplished so much, with a historic double-double over 1500m and 3000m at the European Indoor Championships in March [...]
I’d love to see Rory McIlroy win The Open at Royal Portrush but Jon Rahm is my top pick for the year’s last golf Major July 16, 2019 It’s a slightly strange scenario to be playing the last Major of the year in mid-July, owing to golf’s new, reshuffled calendar, but there is enormous anticipation surrounding the 148th Open Championship, which starts on Thursday. Royal Portrush is an extremely good golf course which is in mint condition and certainly deserves to be hosting [...]
England cricket chiefs must build on the foundations laid by remarkable World Cup win July 15, 2019 In January the England and Wales Cricket Board released a 35-page document entitled Inspiring Generations, which set out the governing body’s five-year plan to drive youth participation and diversify cricket’s fan base. One of the six priorities outlined was to “inspire through elite teams”. Sunday’s remarkable events at Lord’s have handed the ECB an opportunity [...]
Wimbledon 2019: Novak Djokovic outlasts Roger Federer in titanic final and closes in on his tally of grand slam titles July 14, 2019 They came in their thousands to watch the man likely to hold the record for the most grand slam titles for years to come add another to his tally – and they did, although perhaps not the man they had in mind. By outlasting Roger Federer in a colossal, almost five-hour final – the longest [...]
England beat New Zealand by the skin of their teeth in dramatic finale to win the Cricket World Cup July 14, 2019 There’s a cliche in sport which says you couldn’t write it. Generally that’s a fallacy: over thousands of games most situations have seen airtime. But the fashion in which England won the Cricket World Cup was something unique. It would be stretching the mind to conjure up the events which somehow came to pass in [...]
England put their aggressive mantra into practice to thrash Australia and reach the World Cup final July 11, 2019 It’s one thing to talk about positive intent, batting mantras and aggressive game-plans. It’s another to put them into practice on the biggest stage. Today England faced Australia, the most successful World Cup team in cricket history, who had never lost a semi-final in seven attempts – and they smashed them off the park to [...]
Peter Gynt at the Olivier is a toe-curling, overlong adaptation of Ibsen’s mad epic July 11, 2019 Before the curtain rose for this reimagining of Ibsen’s allegorical play Peer Gynt, audience members were surreptitiously snapping pictures of the set, presumably to impress their Instagram followers. “I’m at the theatre! #culture”. How appropriate for a play (originally a poem but adapted soon after) that asks if a life can be fulfilled simply by winning the [...]