Great Britain out to show strength in depth at Billie Jean King Cup

Five months on from the heartbreak of Málaga, where they came so close to battling for the Billie Jean King Cup trophy before succumbing to Slovakia in a brutal semi-final, Great Britain will begin their pursuit of their sport’s flagship team competition as they face Germany on Friday and the Netherlands on Saturday in The Hague for a spot in the finals.They will attempt to do so without Emma Raducanu, a key figure in the team’s recent success. Last year, she led them to the finals in Málaga with two-high quality victories against France on clay. She ended 2024 with five wins and no defeats in the competition.Raducanu’s absence is even more significant considering recent events

Australia star Ellyse Perry ‘excited’ to join Hampshire for Women’s T20 Blast

Hampshire have signed the Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry in a major coup for the restructure of the English women’s domestic game.Perry, the all-time leading run-scorer and wicket-taker in the Women’s Ashes, has been at the forefront of eight Australia World Cup wins – two in ODIs and six in Twenty20 – and was named the International Cricket Council’s women’s player of the decade in 2020.The 34-year-old will join the Hawks in July for their last six group matches in the T20 Vitality Blast and is available for Finals Day if they qualify. Perry is also set to feature in two Metro Bank One-Day Cup matches and is expected to make her debut in July against the Blaze, who represent Nottinghamshire, in Southampton.“I’m really looking forward to joining the Hampshire team this summer,” Perry said

Grand National runner Celebre d’Allen died with severe respiratory infection

A post-mortem examination of Celebre d’Allen, who died on Monday evening having collapsed on the run-in during the Grand National at Aintree on Saturday, found that while his “exercise-associated episode” did not lead directly to the 13-year-old’s death, the gelding’s immune system had been severely compromised, probably by over-exertion in the race, and he died as the result of a severe bacterial respiratory infection that had not been present in blood tests taken on Saturday morning.The post-mortem, which was carried out at Rossdales, the leading veterinary practice in Newmarket, concluded that Celebre d’Allen contracted pleuropneumonia after Saturday’s race, while “the subsequent onset of sepsis or endotoxaemia [the release of harmful substances into the bloodstream from bacteria was] likely to have been a key factor in the cause of death”.The report also found that “bloods taken on Monday indicated a severely compromised immune system. These indications had not been present in the bloods taken on the day of the race. This indicates that this issue emerged subsequent to the race and the exercise-associated episode

AFL star Jesse Hogan and his love of chess: ‘Within a month, I was stone-cold addicted’

Having honed his craft during hours spent travelling with the GWS Giants, it hasn’t been unusual for the forward to be up at 3am playing an online game Jesse Hogan admits that, yes, people are surprised when they find out he plays chess. “My characteristics in the past haven’t really mirrored someone that would enjoy chess as much as I do,” he says.One of the AFL’s most imposing forwards, the 30-year-old has become a key piece for a Greater Western Sydney side in contention for the 2025 premiership. After inconsistent stints at Melbourne and Fremantle – in a period where he developed a reputation as an unfulfilled talent – he has honed his craft and fitness in recent years in Sydney, producing a late-career, Coleman medal-winning peak that few saw coming.It’s been a twist in the Hogan story, not unlike his passion for chess

ECB set to retain control over domestic TV rights in Hundred trade-off deal

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is close to reaching an agreement with the new Hundred investors that will enable the governing body to retain control of selling domestic television rights while receiving the full £520m offered for the eight franchises.The eight-week exclusivity period agreed after January’s Hundred auction was extended last month but, following further negotiations, all parties are now confident a redrafted participation agreement will be signed by the end of this month.The new part-owners of London Spirit (a consortium of technology chief executives trading under Silicon Valley Cricket Investor Holdings) and the Oval Invincibles (Reliance Industries, which owns Mumbai Indians and is owned by the Ambani family) had pushed back against elements of the original agreement relating to the sale of TV rights, future sponsorship deals and voting rights on the Hundred committee, a new body that will run the competition from next season.The Guardian has learned that a compromise has been reached under which the ECB retains control of all domestic TV rights including the Hundred, which is currently worth £220m a year to English cricket through a new four-year deal with Sky Sports starting this summer, with the Hundred owners taking charge of selling overseas rights.Many of the new investors have identified the overseas TV market as the main lever for generating growth, particularly given their expertise in that area

Gout Gout breaks 10-second barrier for 100m at Australian athletics championships

Gout Gout has become the third Australian to run 100m in less than 10 seconds, and he did it twice within two hours on a dramatic day at the national athletics championships in Perth.But neither of the teenager’s two times of 9.99s – one in the heat and one in the final – will be formally recorded due to illegal tailwinds.The 17-year-old easily won the Australian under-20 100m title, but the excitement around his victory in the final was tempered by the wind reading.As he crossed the line, the screen adjacent to the track flashed 2