Let the guessing games begin: Coe pitches for top job amid murky Olympic politics

No sooner had the crucial presentations for the biggest job in sport ended than the guessing games began. Sebastian Coe mixed flattery with oratory over the course of his 15-minute pitch for the job of International Olympic Committee president, before promising the IOC’s 110 members he would lead them into a glorious new era. But then came the caveat.It came when Lord Coe was asked how he believed he stood in a contest that some observers increasingly believe is a direct battle between him and the Spaniard Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr.“I have no idea,” replied Coe, before telling the story of how his chief executive, Paul Deighton, had been puzzled by how London had only just won the right to host the 2012 Olympics, “because everybody I’ve spoken to said they voted for London”

Ben Duckett promises England ‘won’t rein it in’ after keeping India series alive

England are not ones for “reining it in” with the bat according to Ben Duckett, the opener defending his side’s six-hitting approach as they attempt to launch a comeback in the five-match Twenty20 international series against India.The hosts lead 2-1 going in to the fourth match in Pune on Friday, England having secured their first win of the tour on Tuesday evening. A 26-run margin was a worthy achievement considering the visitors’ mixed bag of a first innings.The old-world method after Jos Buttler was dismissed for 24 would have been to consolidate, spend the next few minutes knocking around the ones and twos, and keep it quiet while Harry Brook settled in. England were 83 for two, nine overs gone, a solid base set, Duckett one away from his first half-century as an opener in T20 internationals

Sri Lanka v Australia: first men’s cricket Test, day two – as it happened

Read our day two report here:Thanks for your company and comments, I’ve got to dash off but the match report from day two, a thumping day for Australia in Galle, will be along and posted here very shortly.Just time for a quick word with a not-very-Yorkshire-sounding Josh Inglis as he reflects on notching up a century on Test debut in front of his proud ma and pa in the crowd:Josh Inglis:I don’t reckon it has quite sunk in… It’s a really special day, something I’m really proud of. Getting a boundary first ball is always nice! I’ve been around this group for a while now and it’s always nice to have your family around. Mum and dad made a quick dash over! A Hundred on debut is special, so I’m really happy.”That’s it for now, we’ll be back tomorrow with all the action from day three

Gamblers complain to Bet365 over outage during Champions League matches

The online gambling company Bet365 has been flooded with complaints after it suffered an outage during one of the busiest nights of European football this season.Customers claimed to have lost out on thousands of pounds owing to what the company called “issues with our service” during the second half of Wednesday night’s 18 Champions League games.The outage could prove particularly embarrassing for Bet365, run by the multi-billionaire Denise Coates, because the Stoke-based company is an official sponsor of the Champions League – club football’s most prestigious competition.Customers were apparently unable to “cash out”, an option that is in effect a compromise between bettors and the company on an open bet.Cashing out allows bettors to settle a wager before the final whistle for a smaller prize than they would get if the result stayed the same until the end of the match

Let’s face it, Australia could pick people from the crowd and still beat England | Geoff Lemon

Five hours before the Women’s Ashes Test started at the MCG, a different match was happening a couple of kilometres down the road in St Kilda. The Afghanistan women’s team, made up of nationally contracted players who had to escape their home country in fear of their lives when the Taliban took over in 2021, assembled from their new homes in Melbourne and Canberra to play their first match as a complete side against a charity Cricket Without Borders team at Junction Oval.They put in a decent showing to make 103, which might have been higher had their best bat, Shazia Zazai, not been run out in a mix-up on 40 from 45 balls. Then without fielding at the highest standard, with a few catches going down, they took three wickets and managed to push the chase into the final over, going down with four balls to spare. None of them were deflated by the result, instead elated to have the chance to play, and mobbed by family and friends on the field during the post-match presentations

Australia’s King spins web that beguiles England’s batters in women’s Ashes Test

So it finally arrived: the first day of women’s Test cricket at the Melbourne Cricket Ground since 1949. Long planned by Cricket Australia, there was a crackle of history in the air, as Alyssa Healy (ruled fit to play at the 11th hour) wore Betty Wilson’s green blazer out to the middle for the toss, before a procession of former Australia Test captains – from Marg Jennings to Rachael Haynes – led the way on to the field to begin the anthems.Then, as Alana King spun her web around England – taking four for 45 as the visitors fell to 170 all out in 71.4 overs – the spirit of another leg-spinner echoed around the ground. No, not Shane Warne but Peggy Antonio, the Melburnian factory-worker who took six for 49 the first time a women’s Test was played at this ground, in January 1935