Ed Warner on the sporting year that was December 22, 2022 And so we reach the end of a year of sporting excess, or at least an excess of sport. Sunday’s FIFA World Cup Final was the calorific dessert that may well have caused you to come over all Mr Creosote, exploding under the temptation of just one more dish of must-see sporting competition. While we [...]
Beth Mead wins Sports Personality of the Year 2022 December 21, 2022 Beth Mead has been named the BBC Sports Personality of the Year at a ceremony at Media City in Salford. The footballing star beat gymnast Jessica Gadirova, curling star Eve Muirhead, snooker’s Ronnie O’Sullivan, cricketer Ben Stokes and athlete Jake Wightman to the annual gong. Stokes came second with Muirhead third. Lioness Mead was part [...]
2022 Review: England’s Test cricket side under Ben Stokes in numbers December 20, 2022 It’s fair to say England have been revolutionised by new captain Ben Stokes and his head coach Brendon McCullum. Bazbal has transformed England from an average Test side into a relentless one. The gumption and audacity to just go for it has been injected into the five-day side and they’re playing some of the best [...]
England complete historic 3-0 Test series win in Pakistan December 20, 2022 Ben Duckett hit the winning runs as England completed a historic 3-0 Test series win over Pakistan on the subcontinent this morning. Ben Stokes’ England have become the first team to ever whitewash Pakistan in a Test cricket series in Pakistan. Needing just 55 runs on the fourth day of the third Test in Karachi, [...]
England keep riding the cricket wave with another Test series in the bag December 12, 2022 England’s last overseas Test cricket tour was a shambles. Two draws and a loss to the West Indies ended a run of international Test cricket few were proud of. Joe Root left the captaincy, Chris Silverwood was already sacked as head coach and the remaining void lingered for a number of months. But less than [...]
England win in Pakistan one of their greatest ever Test victories December 5, 2022 Pakistan legend Waqar Younis said he’d never seen a crowd like it on the fifth day of a match in Rawalpindi, and they flocked to the cricket stadium not too far from Islamabad yesterday for the crescendo of one of the great Tests in recent times – and arguably England’s greatest ever win in Asia. [...]
Ed Warner: Is Infantino a moonbeam or a clown? Either way, Fifa boss is here to stay December 1, 2022 Gianni Infantino. Moonbeam or clown? Flibbertigibbet? Certainly. Problem-solver, or problem to be solved? All depends on where you are coming from – quite literally. Just don’t expect Fifa’s demon/angel (delete according to taste) president to be going anywhere soon. Most likely not until 2031. Football’s Swiss-Italian head honcho has been front and centre of the [...]
England’s Test series in Pakistan is about more than just cricket November 30, 2022 When the opening batsman faces the first ball of tomorrow’s Test series between Pakistan and England in Rawalpindi on the outskirts of Islamabad, it will represent far more than just another five-day cricket match. Pakistani cricket has long been dogged by the shadow of security fears, but that has faded of late and the proud [...]
Ed Warner: If Liverpool’s owners want to sell, expect more American buyers November 17, 2022 Ed Warner addresses why American investors are the most likely purchases of any Liverpool shares on the market, why England’s Rugby World Cup defeat was good for the women’s game, and cricket song choices with a sense of humour. Forty-three days without the Premier League. Three days in and already I’m suffering withdrawal symptoms. Yes, [...]
England do white-ball World Cup double as Stokes earns redemption November 13, 2022 England became the first men’s team to hold both the one-day Cricket World Cup and the ICC Twenty20 World Cup yesterday when they beat Pakistan by five weeks in front of 82,000 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was the final that nearly never was given England’s poor Super12 stage and the threat of [...]