England attack’s holiday fling might be the start of something more serious | Barney Ronay

What does it mean? How should we feel? What are the roots that clutch? What branches grow out of this stony rubbish? For most of its combined 142 overs, watching England’s fourth Test victory in Melbourne felt like drifting in and out of a drunken sleep while trying and failing to follow the plot of a particularly gruelling action movie.Why is this car chase happening? Why is The Rock defusing a torpedo inside a collapsing Maya temple? Why are they running to the top of the nearest generic tall building for this final, final, final showdown? Wait. Will Jacks is playing?Australian cricket has at least taken decisive action. It seems a collective policy decision has been made to categorise this as a game to be voided. The talk is of unacceptable grass

Affordale Fury holds off Cheltenham Gold Cup and Aintree winners to take Savills Chase

The two most recent winners of the Cheltenham Gold Cup were among the 11 runners for the Grade One Savills Chase at Leopardstown on Sunday but neither could match the strength and resilience of a resurgent Affordale Fury, as Noel Meade’s seven-year-old made his breakthrough at the highest level after an injury-plagued career to date.Affordale Fury was the 150-1 runner-up in the three-mile Albert Bartlett Novice Hurdle at Cheltenham in March 2023, but his career since has included breaks of 438 and 241 days and Sunday’s race was just his fifth chase start outside novice company.It was also his fourth outing since October, though, offering hope that his former fragility may now be behind him, and he set a decent gallop from the off despite persistently jumping to his right.He appeared to be running out of steam as Galopin Des Champs, the Gold Cup winner in 2023 and 2024 and a five-time Grade One winner at Leopardstown over the Savills Chase’s three-mile trip, took it up at the second-last.Galopin Des Champs’s familiar finishing kick did not materialise, however, and after another sharp jump to his right at the last, Affordale Fury stayed on again to beat I Am Maximus, the 2024 Grand National winner, by two-and-a-half lengths with Galopin Des Champs next across the line

MCG pitch is easy scapegoat but sloppy cricket is to blame for early Ashes finishes | Geoff Lemon

You know that something has gone wrong when the man in charge of the cricket pitch is giving a post-match press conference. Australian pitches are celebrities in their own right, each with a distinct perceived personality. Perth – gasoline, bounce. Sydney – intrigue, spin. Adelaide – graft, a late finale

Hugh Morris, former England cricketer and ECB chief, dies aged 62

Hugh Morris, the former England and Glamorgan batter who went on to hold senior positions with country and county, has died at the age of 62.Born in Cardiff in 1963, Morris became Glamorgan’s youngest ever captain at the age of 22 before returning to the role later in his career, leading them to the Sunday League title in 1993, their first trophy in 24 years.The recipient of three Test caps in 1991, when he was unable to make much of an impression as he averaged 19.16, Morris also led England A on tours to South Africa, the West Indies and Sri Lanka.Morris ended his 17-year playing career – which yielded 19,785 first-class runs at an average of 40

Gout Gout turns 18 as whirlwind year ends amid high hopes for even faster 2026 | Jack Snape

Sprint phenomenon Gout Gout turned 18 on Monday, marking the formal end to the childhood of Australia’s fastest man. It’s a sentence as ridiculous as the Queenslander’s times, which have propelled him towards a medal assault at the 2026 Commonwealth Games and World Junior Championships.The past 12 months delivered Gout a first national title and a first senior world championships semi-final appearance. He was clocked under 10s in the 100m and under 20s in the 200m, even if the times were scrubbed from records due to excessive tailwinds.Yet he believes his achievements off the track – in a year during which he completed year 12 at school – are just as significant, including the purchase of a newly built home for him and his family

Root backs McCullum after MCG win but Stokes needs support from system | Ali Martin

In fairness to Australian cricket, it rarely sticks its head in the sand. On Sunday in Melbourne, when 90,000 fans should have been enjoying day three of the fourth Test, they put Matt Page, chief curator at the MCG, in front of the media to face a grilling over that casino of a two-day pitch.Page was contrite, admitted his mistakes, and vowed to never repeat the 10mm of grass that, while designed to guard against hotter weather later in the match, delivered a second hammer blow to Cricket Australia’s finances this series. For all the public anger Stuart Fox, the ground’s chief executive, did not sound as if he was about to issue Page with his marching orders.Aberrations happen, people are only human and everyone deserves a second chance