Mitchell Starc has got England’s number as Ben Stokes faces a dirty dozen in Brisbane | James Wallace

A while ago there was an advert in England for directory enquiries that featured two runners in vests with droopy handlebar moustaches. “118, Got Your Number!” the two would holler from various mise en scene. It was big for a while, puncturing the zeitgeist before drifting away as these things tend to. After Mitchell Starc pocketed Zak Crawley for a first-over duck for the second time in the Perth Test with a sinew stretching caught and bowled the retro catchphrase sprang to mind – “695, Got Your Number!”.Not much later, Ben Stokes nicked a Starc laser beam to Steve Smith at slip

England warned ‘wickets fall in clumps’ with pink ball under lights at the Gabba

As they lick their wounds after defeat in the first Test, during which they lost five wickets for 12 runs in their first innings and four for 11 in their second, England have been warned to prepare for conditions where “wickets fall in clumps” when the Ashes resume next week in Brisbane.David Sandurski, curator at the Gabba, is preparing for a second day‑night game in quick succession after the Sheffield Shield match between Queensland and Victoria, which ended on Monday with the home side winning by seven wickets inside three days.Xavier Bartlett took five wickets in that game, while scoring 72 runs in the first innings. “Just on twilight the pink ball talks a little bit more and the game goes through massive ebbs and flows,” Bartlett said. “You see wickets falling in clumps

Undercooked England will not play for a year until Rugby League World Cup

England’s rugby league team will go into next year’s World Cup without playing a fixture for almost an entire year after it was confirmed there was no room in the 2026 Super League schedule to give the national team a mid-season international break.Following their whitewash defeat by Australia in the Ashes this month, the England coach Shaun Wane – whose own position is under review – insisted there needed to be more opportunities and priority given to the national team if they are to bridge the gap to the all-conquering Kangaroos.t next year’s World Cup in Australia, they will have a team severely underprepared. ­England will have no mid-season training camp or international games of any kind before their opening fixture in the tournament against Tonga in Perth next October.By then it will be almost a year to the day since England last took to the field for a match

The Breakdown | A November to remember: let’s celebrate the good in international rugby

We turn the dial towards whimsy and revisit some of the moments that made the autumn internationals irresistibleSouth Africa and Ireland played out a slugfest for the ages and the discourse has been dominated by yellow cards and flying shoulders to the head. England held off a spirited Argentina to claim their 11th consecutive Test win and it seems all anyone can talk about is some alleged after-the-whistle shoving. Wales and New Zealand traded 11 tries in a ding-dong encounter and yet the narrative is weighed down by caveats concerning fading empires.What, exactly, is the point of Test rugby? Beyond winning World Cups and regional crowns, does this chaotic sport hold any value? A bit of spice elevates almost every dish, sure, but it has felt as if this autumn’s brilliant rugby fare has been smothered in a sauce with a needlessly high Scoville count.So, for all the romantics, for anyone inclined to see their incomplete pint of Guinness as half full, for those who believe that elite rugby has never been more entertaining or more competitive or more interesting, let’s turn the dial towards whimsy and revisit some of the moments that made this autumn irresistible

The NBA’s dress code was seen as policing Black culture. Instead it inspired a fashion revolution

Twenty years after the league introduced its controversial policy, many players see it as helping them develop self-expressionLonzo Ball froze in confusion. The question – “What do you think about the NBA dress code?” – hung in the air for a second before he cracked a sheepish grin.“There’s a dress code?” he said, smiling.Twenty years after the introduction of a rule that once roiled the league and ignited a culture war over image and identity, one of the NBA’s current players didn’t even know it existed.“Now do-rags are flying, along with jerseys and baggy stuff,” said Ball, a point guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers

Tennis burnout on the rise as grind of long season brings stars to their knees

Elina Svitolina simply could not go on. Her hopeful start to the 2025 season had given way to despair as the mental and emotional strain of constant competition, travelling and stress left its mark. The 31-year-old understood that competing would only make things worse and, in September, Svitolina decided to prematurely end her season, citing burnout.The world No 14 is not alone in feeling suffocated by her sport. This has been another year filled with incredible performances and gripping matches, but the past 11 months have also been defined by the physical and mental ailments endured by many of the sport’s stars