Stokes calls for ‘empathy’ for England players and pledges support for Duckett

Ben Stokes has called for the public and the media to show “empathy” towards his embattled England players. It comes as their Ashes campaign threatens to fully unravel in response to a guaranteed series defeat and allegations of excessive drinking during a mid-tour break in Noosa.Sitting 3-0 down going into the Boxing Day Test, England have been hit by reports that their downtime in between the defeats in Brisbane and Adelaide was akin to a “stag do”. The emergence of footage appearing to show Ben Duckett drunk and slurring his words on a night out has heightened things.The video, taken by an English traveller called “Sam” and posted on social media, has not cost Duckett his place albeit England have made changes to their XI for the fourth Test

Five big Boxing Day Ashes Tests: Botham, Pietersen and Warne

In the first session Australia set off at a lick, surging to 102 without loss with David Warner’s 83 the crux. Warner would go on to notch his 21st Test century, but not without a spot of drama when one run shy. Pity poor Tom Curran, who thought he had claimed Warner on 99 after the batter had spooned to mid-on and the eager hands of Stuart Broad. However, a replay revealed the England bowler had overstepped and his maiden Test wicket was snatched from his grasp.That moment of torment typified England’s sorry Ashes campaign, though this fourth Test would end in a draw thanks to Alastair Cook’s stalwart 244

Trump loomed over sport like never before in 2025. Next year he will take even more

From the Super Bowl to UFC cards to the US Open to the Ryder Cup, the US president has turned sport into his own personal stage. There’s more to comeConsidering he’s the self-declared hardest working president to ever hold the office, Donald Trump has spent a remarkable amount of the past year away from it. In 2025, he loomed over sports like no American politician before him, his visits to stadiums and arenas and golf courses and race tracks so frequent they began to feel like part of the job. But if Trump’s presence on the sporting scene has seemed hard to escape, gird yourselves for 2026, when the American presidency no longer merely intersects with sport but threatens to subsume it. The World Cup is on the way, the Olympics are right behind it, a UFC card is coming to the White House lawn (not a joke) and the commander-in-chief’s well-documented fondness for jumbotrons is becoming less of a habit than a dependency

Alex Samara: how a 30-year-old Englishman became an WNBA head coach

As an aspiring basketball coach in his teens and early 20s, Alex Sarama was often met with snickers when he talked about the game he loved. For the British-born Sarama, who on 28 October was named the head coach of the WNBA’s newest expansion team, the Portland Fire, people doubted him before he even put two sentences together.“There was a lot of skepticism,” he tells the Guardian. “A lot of coaches heard the accent and they’d say straight away this Alex guy can’t coach!”Sarama, however, would not be dissuaded.“So, it’s been great!” he says with a laugh

Scott Boland reveals uncomfortable truth about standing up to England during Ashes

The unorthodox strategy has proved crucial for the Australians in their Ashes victory this summer, but fast bowler Scott Boland has admitted it has not always been easy – both for his ego and his length – to have wicketkeeper Alex Carey stand up at the stumps.Carey’s proximity to the wickets off the fast bowling of Boland, as well as Michael Neser in the second Test, has prevented England’s batters from standing out of the crease – a key tool in their pre-series plan to unsettle Australia’s bowlers.The tactic has delivered crucial wickets, but beyond the scorecard it has been identified as an important reason England have not been able to impose their will on the series that was lost inside 11 days. And it is only possible due to Carey’s talent with the gloves.Ahead of the Boxing Day Test, Boland said the tweak has been an adjustment for him and something of a blow to his ego, given he is one of the best pacemen in the country and typically bowls close to 140km/h

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