‘Finally we’ve won one’: Stokes delighted by Ashes Test win but pitch was ‘not ideal’

Ben Stokes shared a hug with Joe Root and spoke of an “awesome feeling” after watching his England side claw back some respectability on this failed Ashes tour with a rollercoaster two-day victory on Saturday.Of the England squad, none had felt the pain of an 18-match winless streak more than the captain and his predecessor. Stokes had played in 13 Tests here without tasting a victory, while for Root the number was 17. With both men aged 34, this tour may well have been their last chance.“It’s an awesome feeling,” said Stokes, his side having chased down 175 on a bowler-friendly surface that had produced 36 wickets in six sessions

Boxing Day Test serves up too much of a good thing even in the season of excess | Geoff Lemon

Was that fun? Was that … good? Certainly a lot happened in the Boxing Day Test. Those who paid their money saw action. But generally the cricketing public wants wickets and runs in vague equilibrium, not the odd run dribbling out of a hole in the dismissal vortex.Even the season of excess can have too much of a good thing. This wasn’t just overloading on Christmas dinner, it was saddling up for the festive meal at an all-you-can-eat sushi train with the conveyor belt turned up to five times normal speed

New Battle of the Sexes is cynical bid for attention and own goal for Sabalenka

2025 was the year of Aryna Sabalenka for so many reasons. She reached three of the four grand slam finals, winning her fourth major title at the US Open and further positioning herself as a generational great. From her humble origins as a volatile, one-note ball-basher, the 27-year-old has admirably evolved into an increasingly complete player. Sabalenka is the best player in the world for a second year in succession.The fleeting tennis off-season is usually an opportunity for players and spectators alike to reflect on such great feats before the new season is upon them

England beat Australia by four wickets in chaotic Boxing Day Test – as it happened

That’s all you need from me for now. Stay tuned for all the analysis and reaction from Ali, Geoff, Barney, and the rest of the crew.I’ll hand you over to the first cut of the match report, filed as England fans celebrated in the Melbourne evening sunlight. See you in Sydney.Australia have questions of their own to answer, chiefly the status of Cameron Green

England survive MCG mayhem to break Ashes drought in Australia with win in fourth Test

Stop press. Hold the back page. Drag out the dusty bunting and book three more nights in Noosa. England’s men have won a Test in Australia for the first time in nearly 15 years, chasing down 175 to win by four wickets and prevent an Ashes defeat from becoming a whitewash.Granted it was not a live victory, England merely dragging the scoreline back to 3-1 and doing so courtesy of a two-day heist on a pitch that made batting a lottery

Scandal-rocked Michigan to hire Kyle Whittingham as next football coach

Michigan have reached an agreement with Kyle Whittingham to become the school’s next head football coach, according to a report by ESPN, turning to one of the most experienced figures in the sport to steady a program throttled by scandal.Whittingham, 66, has agreed to a five-year deal that is expected to be formally announced later on Friday, ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Dan Wetzel reported. The move comes weeks after Whittingham stepped down from his long-held position at Utah, where he spent 21 seasons as head coach and became the most successful figure in the program’s history.At Utah, Whittingham compiled a 177-88 record and led the Utes to consistent relevance at the national level, including an unbeaten 13-0 campaign in 2008. His overall winning percentage of 66