Ashes 2025-26: player-by-player guide to England and Australia squads

Visitors have their strongest Ashes squad in years but face an Australian team brimming with experienceAge 32 Caps 71 Captain/right-arm fast/right-hand batWhile technically not in the squad for the first Test while recovering from a back injury, Cummins remains captain in the full-time sense, and will still go to Perth with the coaching staff. Leadership aside, he recently passed 300 wickets while averaging 22.10: only Glenn McGrath, Curtly Ambrose, Malcolm Marshall and Kagiso Rabada have taken more for less. Pace and movement create his ability to remove set batters. England will hope he stays sore

England, please be competitive. The Ashes’ claim to the greatest rivalry depends on it | Jack Snape

Don Bradman was the subject of the first adult book I remember reading. In the mind of a primary school student, the injustice of an English captain ordering his countrymen to hurt a brilliant Australian was unfathomable. And so, like many, I came to hate England.Anticipation for the Ashes? It goes without saying. Cricket’s calendar makes this a rare treat to watch two of the world’s best teams test and taunt and tease each other for what we hope will be 25 days of interrogation with the red Kookaburra

Paige Greco, Australian Paralympic gold medallist, dies aged 28

After her shock death on Sunday at the age of 28, Australian Paralympic gold medallist Paige Greco has been remembered for her humility, generosity, and the joy she brought to her teammates.Paige passed away in her Adelaide home after experiencing a sudden medical episode, according to South Australian authorities, and her family has asked for privacy.Paige’s mother Natalie Greco said her daughter “meant everything” to her family.“Her kindness, her determination and her warmth touched our family every single day. She brought so much joy and pride into our lives, and the pain of her passing is something we will carry forever

Broncos 22-19 Chiefs, Rams 21-19 Seahawks; Packers, Steelers and Bills win: week 11 as it happened

Woof! What a night. A couple of real showstoppers in Buffalo and Denver. The rebound from the Bills after losing so badly to the Dolphins is definitely the performance of the day. Josh Allen ran the show with six total touchdowns (three rushing and three in the air). The ship well and truly steadied

Final Demand’s flawless debut over fences bolsters Mullins’ squad for Cheltenham

There was another winner for Dan Skelton on the final day of the November meeting at Cheltenham on Sunday but a reminder too, at Navan, that his trainers’ title rival, Willie Mullins’s immensely powerful team, is scarcely out of first gear. Final Demand, one of the best novice hurdlers last season, made a flawless debut over fences and suddenly Mullins’s squad for the Grade Ones at the festival back here in March is beginning to take shape.The style and strength of his 13-length defeat of Wingmen – also a useful novice hurdler last year – was such that he is now just 6-4 for the Brown Advisory Novice Chase at the festival.“He was just so natural, wasn’t he?” Mullins said afterwards. “Jumping down the back, taking fences in his stride

Jannik Sinner sees off Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets to defend ATP Finals title

On his favourite surface and before a rowdy home crowd, Jannik Sinner closed out his immense season with a statement victory against his great rival Carlos Alcaraz, putting together a supreme performance to defeat the Spaniard 7-6 (4), 7-5 and successfully defend his title at the ATP Finals in Turin.Despite his season being slightly abbreviated because of his three‑month doping ban, and Alcaraz seizing the year-end No 1 ranking with a legendary year of his own, Sinner finishes 2025 with six titles, a 58-6 win-loss record and three of the five biggest titles in the year.Sinner is also, without doubt, the dominant player on indoor hard courts. The Italian has now won 31 consecutive matches on the surface dating back to the starring role he played in Italy’s Davis Cup triumph in 2023. At 24 he is the youngest man to defend an ATP Finals title since Roger Federer in 2004 and just the second man after Novak Djokovic to win this title consecutively without dropping a set