‘The pitch is doing quite a bit’: Tongue revels in five-fer and defends England batting approach

England may have been bowled out for 110 in Melbourne, another revolution of the unceasing wheel of pain that is the current Ashes tour, but for Josh Tongue day one of the fourth Test was also a career high.“Dreams come true,” Tongue said at the end of a day when 20 wickets fell, five of them to him in Australia’s first innings. “I’ve always wanted to play in the Ashes, if it’s home or away, and this obviously feels very special. Being here at the MCG with all my family in as well makes it even better.”The match situation is already stacked in Australia’s favour, 46 runs ahead on first innings and batting again on an alarmingly sporty pitch that may now settle on day two

Hou Yifan, women’s world No 1, stars in rare appearance at Global Chess League

Hou Yifan, the all-time No 2 woman grandmaster after the retired Judit Polgar and currently ranked women’s world No 1, showed that she retained her brilliant skills when she made a rare appearance in the Global Chess League for Alpine SG Pipers, who defeated the reigning league champions, Triveni Continental Kings, 8.5-3.5 in the 2025 final at Mumbai on Tuesday. The Global Chess League, now in its third season, is planned as the chess equivalent of cricket’s Indian Premier League.The final qualifying match, in which Alpine barely secured the six game points needed to edge their opponents, proved a triumph for Hou, who studied at Oxford and is semi-retired from chess in favour of a professorship at Peking University

I was there: Carlos Alcaraz’s comeback in French Open final is still hard to comprehend

It was not until what appeared to be the dying moments of the French Open final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz that I realised it could be worth taking a photo of such a monumental occasion. This was, after all, the first grand slam final between the two players who seemed set to lead men’s tennis for many years to come.For three hours and 43 minutes Sinner had dominated Alcaraz and he earned three championship points while leading 5-3 in set four. Just before the Italian’s second championship point, I thrust up my phone and took a quick photo before my hand returned to my laptop, ready to file immediately an article that hailed his third consecutive major title and first triumph in Paris.Instead, it would take another hour and 46 minutes for a winner to be decided on Court Philippe-Chatrier in June

Australia v England: fourth Ashes Test, day one – as it happened

Thanks for following along on a frenetic day one of the Boxing Day Test. Ali Martin was at the MCG and somehow stayed across all the action for this report on the day.We’ll be back with the OBO again tomorrow – but it remains to be seen whether the fourth Ashes Test can last into a third day.Australia will take a 46-run lead into day two of the Boxing Day Test even after being sent in to bat first and being all out before tea for 152. Josh Tongue claimed five for 45 while Michael Neser top scored with 35 on a green top that ensured batting was difficult

Boxing Day Test filled with cheer and hope but nothing can be taken for granted

The first stop for the self-anointed “Yobbo Crew” when they had arrived at cricket’s mecca was the statue of Shane Warne. The group – just one of hundreds who had dressed up for the big day at the MCG – wore thongs, mustard yellow bucket hats brandishing their name, and denim shorts with less leg coverage than a 7-2 field.As the clock ticked past 9am, they appeared happy to be at Australian cricket’s great festival, but looked less than comfortable with the temperature. After the coldest Christmas in Melbourne in two decades, Boxing Day had brought wind, spits of rain, and a top temperature in the mid-teens. And so, before taking their photo under the bronzed leg-spinner, the Yobbo Crew took off their hoodies to reveal matching yellow singlets, and offered a zinced grimace

Better late than never: fans relive watching their teams end a long wait for a trophy

Several teams got their hands on silverware at last in 2025. Here supporters talk about the pain and pleasure of finally winning16 March 2025: Won Carabao Cup, beating Liverpool 2-1 at Wembley, their first trophy in 56 yearsDad’s view: As a baby boomer, it seemed to me that Cup success was a God-given right. We’d triumphed in 1951, 52 and 55. Wembley was our second home. But it took nearly two decades to return for the FA Cup – in 1974 – for a loss to Liverpool, compounded by the crowing Emlyn Hughes