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India set England target of 234 at Sophia Gardens Read The Spin | Follow us on TikTok | Mail Tanya3rd over: India 17-0 (Rohit 9, Gill 6) Archer continues, pitching full, finding swing, troubling both these master batters. Then he goes short, rushing Rohit into a top edge, and the catch is dropped by Gus Atkinson at long leg. Archer has been so unlucky, in all formats, since he returned from the IPL.2nd over: India 11-0 (Rohit 4, Gill 6) Another lesson from Tuesday might be: don’t stray onto Shubman’s pads. Saqib Mahmood gives him a straight half-volley and pays the price as Gill’s wrists do the rest. But Saqib too finds the edge of Gill’s bat as another controlled nick squirts away for a single. Rohit comes to the party with a languid push for three, well retrieved by Harry Brook, two inches from the Toblerone. Dinesh Karthik reckons it should have been given as a four, so bear it in mind if England win off the last ball. Continue reading...

️Updates from the first-round action at Royal Birkdale️Official leaderboard | R&A gets tough | And mail usBob Mac aside, it’s still a wee while until some of the more fancied stars take to the course. Time for a little scene setting, then. Ladies and gentlemen, on the tee, Ewan Murray …A fast start for Bob MacIntyre! He sends his opening tee shot into the rough down the left, and only just finds the front of the green with his second. But he rolls in a 45-footer and birdie is not a bad way to start the week! Oban’s finest already has three top-ten finishes at the Open on his resumé, including a tie for seventh at Portrush last year. Keep an eye out. Continue reading...

Infantino has said US president will hand over trophySpain v Argentina final is set for Sunday in New JerseyDonald Trump will attend Sunday’s World Cup final between Spain and Argentina, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday.“We look forward ⁠to the final match on Sunday, ​and I know ‌the president ‌looks forward to attending,” Leavitt said. “This is a fitting conclusion to a tournament that showcased America’s ability to host the world on the grandest stage.” Continue reading...

Manager under fire for manner of 2-1 defeat by Argentina‘There is enough to improve and I am happy to do that’Thomas Tuchel says he is “100%” committed to leading England at Euro 2028 and finding the “extra level” for glory that eluded his team at the World Cup.The manager is under fire for the manner of Wednesday’s 2-1 semi-final defeat in Atlanta. His switch to a back five for the final quarter at 1-0 up did not work, Argentina scoring two late goals to advance into Sunday’s final against Spain. Continue reading...

Forward caught on video making dismissive gesturesBorthwick says Pollock was being ‘good natured’England have defended Henry Pollock after the young forward was caught on video making dismissive gestures towards Argentina fans on the streets of Buenos Aires before the football World Cup semi-final. England’s head coach, Steve Borthwick, insisted the Northampton flanker was just being “good natured” but has again opted not to start the 21-year-old against the Pumas on Saturday.Footage has emerged on Instagram of Pollock and other teammates pulling faces, shushing the crowd and making various uncomplimentary gestures at local supporters from the top deck of England’s team bus on Wednesday. Anglo-Argentinian relations have inevitably been under the spotlight this week, with England’s players having previously been warned not to compromise their personal safety by venturing outside their hotel. Continue reading...

McLaren’s fourth change of power unit exceeds regulationsReigning champion eyes overtaking opportunitiesLando Norris believes he can still be competitive at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, despite a 10-place grid penalty. The defending world champion will nonetheless have his work cut out at Spa after his McLaren team took a new battery for his car, the fourth, one more than is allowed.Norris is fifth in the world championship, 82 points behind the leader, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli. He and McLaren have endured a series of failures from their Mercedes power unit this season, including “terminal” issues with the power electronics unit, a part of the battery. One failed in China, one was withdrawn in Japan, repaired but failed at Monaco. Continue reading...

Soudal Quick-Step rider pips Kooij and PhilipsenTadej Pogacar safely retains yellow jerseyThe likely final sprint stage of this year’s Tour de France was won by Tim Merlier, of the Soudal Quick-Step team, who added victory on the banks of the Saône to his wins in Bordeaux and Bergerac.In what has been a Tour of rare opportunity for both sprinters and breakaways, the final hour of racing was manic in its intensity and peppered with constant but futile attacks, until the riverside finish came into view. Continue reading...

There was a sense of deja vu as Argentina came from behind to win an intense semi-final. But the players also gave the nation some memorable highsHistorically, English football-supporting culture has had a well-known darker side. But in recent decades, as the England men’s team’s trophy drought has continued, some of its unofficial anthems have acquired an endearingly melancholy quality. “It was nearly complete, it was nearly so sweet”, as the Three Lions song had it in the 1990s, when England exited a World Cup and a European Championship at the semi-final stage.This summer, Oasis’s Wonderwall has been the soundtrack as Harry Kane and co progressed to Wednesday’s climactic semi-final showdown with Argentina. This is a song which, very wisely in an England context, puts a heavy emphasis on the idea of “maybe”. In the end it turned out to be maybe not. Continue reading...

Owner ‘even more ambitious than I am’Club pushing to sign Lucas Bergvall from TottenhamOliver Glasner said he wants to bring back the “sweet honey” of European football to Nottingham Forest and suggested the club’s owner, Evangelos Marinakis, may be one of few people more ambitious than him.Glasner revealed talks with ­Marinakis over a seafood platter in Athens convinced him to become Forest’s fifth head coach in less than 12 months, the Austrian signing a three-year contract after a fruitful two years at Crystal Palace. Continue reading...

Born and bred in Southport, the golfer used to have to sneak on the course’s hallowed turf as a kid, but now ‘Tommy Lad’ is very much in the limelightThere were three ways to get to play Royal Birkdale back when Tommy Fleetwood was a kid growing up in Southport. One was to stump up hundreds in visitors’ green fees, another was to get invited as the guest of a friendly member, and the last was to be proposed, seconded and vetted and pay a few thousands in dues to become a member yourself. Or you could do what Fleetwood did and cut south along the beach from Southport, past the posh houses on the south side of town, then hop the fence that runs along the back of the 5th fairway.“I did it once or twice,” Fleetwood said with a blush this week. “It wasn’t like every day.” Continue reading...