Wounded England must salvage more than pride in MCG Boxing Day Ashes Test

The world famous Boxing Day Test awaits England’s beaten cricketers and we are about to discover whether the mighty coliseum that is the Melbourne Cricket Ground becomes their arena of the unwell; whether pride can be salvaged or it is just another stepping stone for Australia in their pursuit of an Ashes whitewash.Last year a record 373,691 spectators passed through the turnstiles across five days as Australia overcame India in a slow-burn thriller. This fourth Ashes Test was tipped to top that remarkable figure potentially but that will hinge on it similarly going the distance. It also needs the locals to be energised still by a series that has already been won by their team – even if simply beating the old enemy is usually enough.England lasted just seven sessions here four years ago, the match settled before lunch on day three when Scott Boland ran through them on debut like a bull down the streets of Pamplona

English cricket meets Spinal Tap as Rob Key delivers latest Ashes autopsy | Barney Ronay

“It’s such a fine line between stupid and clever.” David St Hubbins, lead vocalist, Spinal Tap.“There’s a real difference between aggressive and dumb.” Rob Key, managing director, England cricket.Listening to Rob Key deliver the latest four‑yearly Ashes autopsy deep in the grey concrete underworld of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, it was tempting at first to conclude that what we have here is a basic category mistake

The Breakdown | Chile coach Pablo Lemoine: ‘Rugby is in trouble, even in countries like Wales’

How did Pablo Lemoine, Chile’s head coach, react when they were drawn with Australia and New Zealand for the 2027 Rugby World Cup? The answer is perceptive and somewhat surprising.“When countries like Chile play in a World Cup, you need a general vision,” he says. “Thinking only of sport it’s fantastic, it’s awesome. But thinking of the real impact Chile needs: development programmes, political impact, social impact … for our fans, it’s much more difficult to find tickets when you play the All Blacks or Australia.”Speaking on Zoom from Chile’s Parque Mahuida training base in Santiago, the 50-year-old sits in front of a whiteboard crammed with densely packed handwritten text, neatly illustrating his attention to detail

A brutal schedule, merciless crowds and always on the road: is professional darts all it’s cracked up to be?

For many of the performers in the 12-month circus, the tour can be soul-destroying and lonely with only the promise of untold wealth to keep them chasing the dream“It’s a lonely place,” Stephen Bunting reflected as he sat quietly in Alexandra Palace on Saturday night, the tears welling in his eyes. “If things don’t go right, you can look at your family, your management, you can look at your sponsors. But it’s down to you. And yeah, I’m getting a bit emotional, but … ”These are stories darts is less keen on telling. Ever since this sport burst out of the smoky pubs and on to our television screens, it has possessed a kind of hedonistic, hyperreal quality, a game in which normal guys slip on their superhero suits and take a shot at unimaginable riches, unimaginable fame

Pat Cummins out of rest of Ashes series as Australia make two changes for MCG Test

Australia coach Andrew McDonald has revealed the extreme risk selectors took with captain Pat Cummins, who starred in the third Ashes Test in Adelaide on his return to the side, but has now been ruled out for the rest of the series.McDonald and the other selectors named a 15-player squad on Tuesday for the Boxing Day Test, which includes back-up pace trio Jhye Richardson, Brendan Doggett and second Test hero Michael Neser, as well as Victorian off-spinner Todd Murphy as a replacement for the injured Nathan Lyon.The coach said although Cummins “pulled up fine” in his first match since July following a serious back injury, it was not worth exposing him to possible injury again given the series has now been won.“We were taking on some risk [with his return] but we’ve now won the series and that was the goal,” the coach said. “To position him for further risk and jeopardise him long term is not something that we want to do, and Pat’s really comfortable with that

Rob Key to investigate England’s ‘stag do’ drinking habits on Noosa mid-Ashes break

Rob Key has defended England’s mid-tour break in Noosa but confirmed he will look into reports that excessive drinking by players in between the second and third Ashes Tests turned it into a “glorified stag do”. Key was speaking before unverified social media footage emerged of what appears to be Ben Duckett looking worse for wear during the team’s stay in the Queensland resort town.Sitting 3-0 down to Australia, the Ashes having gone, the team director, Key, has followed the head coach, Brendon McCullum, in stating that his future now rests in the hands of senior figures at the England and Wales Cricket Board.Among the questions that will be asked in a post-series review is whether the four-night break on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast best prepared them for the pivotal Adelaide Test. According to the BBC, a number of players spent six days drinking, having begun after the eight-wicket defeat in Brisbane