Former England cricketer investigated over sexual assault and spiking claims at pub owned by sports stars

A former England cricketer is being investigated by police over an allegation of sexual assault and claims two women had their drinks spiked at a London pub co-owned by a group of current and former sport stars.In a statement released to the Daily Telegraph on Friday, the Metropolitan police confirmed that officers interviewed a man in his 40s in June after it received a complaint about an alleged spiking and assault.“Two women are believed to have been spiked with one also allegedly sexually assaulted,” the statement read. “A man in his 40s was interviewed under caution on Thursday, June 5. Enquiries remain ongoing and no arrests have been made at this stage

Your Guardian sport weekend: Women’s Rugby World Cup quarters, Manchester derby and more

Tom Bassam has all the buildup to Saturday’s bumper football action. He’ll spin through the headlines and look ahead to eight Premier League fixtures, with team news and breaking stories. First action of the day is the lunchtime kick-off at the Emirates Stadium, where Arsenal host Nottingham Forest and English football welcomes back its favourite not-for-turning Aussie. Ange Postecoglou is back in work after replacing Nuno Espírito Santo at the City Ground, less than three months after leaving Spurs. David Hytner and Barney Ronay provide expert reports and analysis, with Rob Smyth providing online coverage

Sweet William is punters’ darling again after second successive Doncaster Cup success

There are horses that win with a minimum of fuss, and others, like Sweet William, that have a style that is all their own, and John & Thady Gosden’s stayer kept it interesting throughout in the Doncaster Cup on Friday, as he overcame a slow start and some early coaxing from Rab Havlin in his saddle to win the Group Two contest for the second year running.Sweet William has often appeared to have his own ideas about the racing game during a 20-race career, with slow starts and mid-race flat spots frequently forcing Havlin to get busy at an early stage.When he eventually goes through the gears, however, he is a very difficult horse to keep out of the frame, and while his latest win was his first since the same race 12 months ago, his fourth-place finish in this year’s Ascot Gold Cup was the only time he has been outside the first three. His strike-rate for each-way backers is 85%.Sweet William was bumped leaving the stalls, took a few strides to find his balance and was then ridden by Havlin to make up the lost ground before tacking himself on at the back of the field

Blunt Hovland talks down early promise at Wentworth while McIlroy struggles

It is difficult to square Viktor Hovland’s excellent position on the Wentworth leaderboard with the Norwegian’s blunt assessment of his game. The 27-year-old claimed he hit certain shots on the West Course on Friday that “hurt my soul”.Hovland has been in a state of technical flux all year, with his driving a particular cause for concern. He is perfectly candid about that, despite rounds of 67 and 66 at this PGA Championship. Hovland’s next start will come as part of team Europe in the Ryder Cup

Álvarez and Crawford face off in breathless blockbuster destined to break records

More than 70,000 spectators will witness oversized fight but smallest margins will decide outcome Las Vegas has staged its share of blockbuster fight nights but nothing on the scale of what is coming this weekend. On Saturday night at Allegiant Stadium, the $2bn (£1.47bn) home of the NFL’s Raiders, Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez will defend his undisputed super-middleweight crown against Terence Crawford in front of more than 70,000 spectators, by far the largest boxing crowd the city has ever seen.Millions more will watch on Netflix, which is carrying the card at no extra cost to subscribers – a first for a fight of this magnitude and a reminder of how the business of boxing is being remade in real time. For decades, the sport depended on pay-per-view

Gout Gout fanfare obscures depth of Australian athletics poised for world championships spotlight | Jack Snape

The sudden rise of sprint phenomenon Gout Gout has triggered an explosion of interest in athletics, but it has also obscured the sport’s growing depth in Australia, which is poised for the spotlight at the world championships in Japan starting on Saturday.Despite the hype, Gout is far from Australia’s best chance of success in the hot and humid National Stadium in inner Tokyo. The team totals 86 athletes – 22 more than in Budapest in 2023 – and Australia has never sent a larger group to a global meet. There are as many as 10 genuine medal contenders, including 21 Australian athletes seeded higher than the Brisbane high school student.The teenager’s seeding of 16 suggests he will do well just to make it to the semi-finals and remain competitive in his first major meet, alongside the likes of Noah Lyles, Letsile Tebogo, Kenny Bednarek and the rest of the world’s fastest men, even if some – including veteran commentator Bruce McAvaney and fellow sprinter Lachlan Kennedy – believe he could go all the way to the final