T20 World Cup final, Six Nations, FA Cup and F1 returns – follow with us

Formula One’s new era gets under way at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, where teams will leap into the unknown and grapple with sweeping technical changes under race conditions for the first time. F1 has simultaneously overhauled chassis and power unit regulations for the first time in decades, posing a challenge for drivers and engineers alike while raising concerns about the quality of racing. The new rules have raised hopes of a more open championship and the prospect of a disruptor team emerging. But pre-season testing in Bahrain hinted at a familiar top four, with Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren all performing well. Joey Lynch buckles up for our qualifying blog, with Giles Richards reporting from Albert Park

Nine speeding tickets and counting: Myles Garrett and the illusion of invincibility | Lee Escobedo

The taste of cold beer lingered on my lips as I cut through the quiet night, 105mph toward cigarettes and hot wings. Halfway to my destination, Beyoncé’s Irreplaceable looping through the speakers, my tires hugged the winding turns around the lake that separated my neighborhood from the city. I was young and careless, high on anticipation. No seat belt. Eyes squinting through the haze of cigarette smoke

Stakes sky high for England as Italy eye Six Nations upset for the ages | Robert Kitson

Most England fans will remember the classic final scene in The Italian Job. The bus precariously balanced on the edge of a precipice, the golden loot slipping away. One false move and it’s curtains. Welcome to this weekend’s sequel with Steve Borthwick and his under-pressure England players replacing Michael Caine – “Hang on a minute, lads, I’ve got a great idea” – and the rest of the original film’s cast.Talk about the self-preservation society

Naoya Inoue to face Junto Nakatani in historic Tokyo Dome megafight

Japan’s Naoya Inoue said Friday that he will need to be at his destructive best when he faces unbeaten countryman Junto Nakatani in their highly anticipated showdown at Tokyo Dome in May.The two fighters met in Tokyo to formally confirm their 2 May clash, with Inoue set to defend his undisputed super bantamweight world championship against Nakatani, who is moving up in weight in pursuit of a fourth divisional title.Both fighters are unbeaten and the long-anticipated bout is expected to draw enormous interest in Japan and beyond.“May 2 will be a historic day for boxing,” said Inoue, who will be making the seventh defense of his undisputed crown.“But in terms of my boxing career, I have to think of it as just a point on the way,” added the 32-year-old, whose record stands at 32-0 with 27 knockouts

Scotland sense chance against France to end cycle of brilliance and despair | Michael Aylwin

The mischievous will have eyes on Rome on Saturday in case of a historic win but the game of the weekend is in Edinburgh. Second versus first, Scotland versus France, entertainers versus entertainers. The title on the line. We could even have a champion by the end of it.If France win with a bonus point, that is it

World Cup exit ‘a tough pill to swallow’ for England’s Jacob Bethell after maiden T20 ton

Jacob Bethell described England’s T20 World Cup semi-final defeat by India as “a tough pill to swallow” after his first century in the format failed to prevent his team’s elimination in Thursday’s record-obliterating Mumbai run-fest.The 22-year-old had never scored a senior hundred in any format and for any side when he first broke into the England team towards the end of 2024. But less than six months after banking his debut ton against South Africa in an ODI he became just the fourth Englishman to reach triple figures in all three international formats – just a week after Harry Brook’s spectacular innings against Pakistan made him the third.“I always had the self-belief to be able to do it,” Bethell said. “Me and Brooky were joking about who was going to be the first to get all three