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Updates as the Test match gets under way at Marrara Cricket GroundPlay starts in Darwin at 10am ACST/10.30am AESTAny thoughts? Email JamesThe coin falls Australia’s way and they will bat first. Pat Cummins says he and his men are “buzzing”* to get going after a seven month break.*We don’t look too far ahead. We as a group are quite good at just being quite present, not thinking too far ahead and moving on from one game to the next. For us at the moment, it’s all Bangladesh this series.” Continue reading...

After 25 years away, can Coventry make their return to the top division stick under Frank Lampard?Guardian writers’ predicted position: 18th (NB: this is not necessarily Ben Fisher’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)Last season’s position: 1st (Championship) Continue reading...

Uefa Super Cup: Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 Aston VillaKvaratskhelia 20, Doué 62; Madjo 45Luis Enrique says it doesn’t matter which sport he is playing – football, tennis, padel or parchis, a board game – he wants to win all of the time. In Paris Saint-Germain, he has built a winning machine, the back-to-back Champions League victors maintaining a useful habit by conquering Aston Villa in an absorbing Super Cup contest in Salzburg. For PSG, after the joy of Munich and Budapest, three months ago, does a three-peat in Madrid in May beckon?Aston Villa more than played their part in an enthralling showpiece, Brian Madjo becoming the competition’s youngest scorer after the 17-year-old cancelled out Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s opener. They could have taken the game to a penalty shootout, Warren Zaïre-Emery’s extraordinary block preventing João Gomes a near-certain debut goal and Emi Buendía heading wide in stoppage time. Continue reading...

Centre-back closes on move to La Liga sideHull break their transfer record to sign Nobel MendyTottenham have reached an agreement with Atlético Madrid over the sale of their captain, Cristian Romero. Romero was given the green light by the club and Roberto De Zerbi to depart Spurs this summer after a turbulent 2025-26 campaign in which he served four separate suspensions.Inter initially led the chase for the Argentina centre-back, but after talks with Spurs stalled, long-term admirers Atlético swooped in and a package of €40m (£34.1m) is set to secure Diego Simeone his target. Continue reading...

Becomes first man to win three European 400m titlesHudson-Smith: ‘Nobody is going to beat me on this track’Stand … and deliver. On a balmy night in Birmingham, Matt Hudson-Smith powered past the stand ­bearing his name at the Alexander Stadium and into history by becoming the first man to win three European ­Championship 400m titles.And afterwards, as the ­adrenaline flooded his body and he posed ­wearing a crown in front of the Matthew Hudson-Smith Stand, the 31-year-old made it clear just how much it meant. “Nobody is going to beat me on this track,” he said. “This is my home. I have been here since I was nine. I know this track like the back of my hand.” Continue reading...

Manchester United 1-1 Leeds (5-4 on pens)First game between two ­English clubs at Croke ParkWith blazing sunshine fading over a hot Dublin day, this penultimate friendly for Manchester United and Leeds United felt like a pre-season game on a far continent, not one staged a few hundred miles from the teams’ home across the Irish Sea.The phoney-war element is always present whatever the locale, as ­players sharpen technique and fitness, so when Joshua Zirkzee’s instant left-foot shot met Diogo Dalot’s zipped-in cross and James Trafford saved low, all involved could be satisfied. Continue reading...

Midfielder takes confidence from World Cup performancesAnderson intent on making impact for CityElliot Anderson has admitted ­England’s World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina still pains him, but is hoping to use the confidence from his performances at the ­tournament to inspire the start of his Manchester City career.Anderson will probably make his debut when City play ­the Premier League winners, Arsenal, on ­Sunday at the Principality ­Stadium in ­Cardiff for the Community Shield. Continue reading...

Former world No 4 reflects on emotional reaction in Canada and rebuilding after the most difficult period of his careerThose painful images have relentlessly spread to all corners of the internet. Deep in the final set of the first-round match at the Canadian Open against Térence Atmane just over a week ago, 15 months of pent up emotion erupted. Two games from defeat, Draper spent the entire changeover in tears.This was a devastating and alarming sight. Injuries had already defined so much of Draper’s career, but the uncertainty of trying to recover from a bone bruise injury to his left arm over the past year has been more challenging than anything he has experienced. All of his efforts since last July have been focused on trying to find a way to compete consistently at the highest level again, to no avail. Continue reading...

Former Barcelona coach given deal until 2030 World CupSpaniard has been out of management since 2024The former Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernández has been appointed the new head coach of the Netherlands. The 46-year-old Spaniard has agreed a contract to lead the team through to the 2030 World Cup.He replaces Ronald Koeman, who stepped down following the Netherlands’ last-32 defeat by Morocco at this summer’s World Cup. Continue reading...

2017 MVP announces retirement after 18 seasonsWestbrook holds NBA record with 209 triple-doublesGuard spent first 11 seasons with Oklahoma CityRussell Westbrook, the NBA’s career leader in triple-doubles and the 2017 MVP, announced Wednesday he’s retiring after 18 seasons during which he was selected to the league’s 75th anniversary team.The two-time scoring champion shared his decision on social media in a post featuring a video narrated by actor Michael B Jordan in which the Westbrook stays silent. Continue reading...