England face wait over fitness of Ollie Lawrence for Argentina Test

England are waiting on the fitness of Ollie Lawrence before their final autumn match with Argentina on Sunday. Lawrence played a major role in the win against the All Blacks on Satur­day, but limped off in the ­closing stages and could be forced to sit out the game at Twickenham. The 26-year-old centre will be assessed when England reconvene on Tuesday after an extra day off.England may also be without ­Freddie Steward, who was withdrawn midway through the first half against New Zealand with a head injury, as they prepare for 11th ­successive win and a clean sweep of their autumn fixtures.Lawrence was in fine form against the All Blacks, scoring England’s opening try before teeing up his ­centre partner, Fraser Dingwall, in the second half

Sean Bowen, jump jockey great who can’t buy a winner at the Cheltenham festival

Mike Trout is 34 years old, weighs 235lb and plays baseball for the Los Angeles Angels. Sean Bowen is 28, tips the scales at around 140lb and is the reigning champion jockey over jumps. At first sight, they do not have a great deal in common besides both being professional athletes (and even then, Trout earns more in a fortnight than Bowen can ever hope to bank in a year).But when you break down what they do and, above all, when they do it, there are some distinct similarities.Trout is widely recognised as the greatest baseball player of his generation, consistently putting up numbers during the six-month, 162-game regular that put him among the all-time greats

Scott Boland seeks to inspire next generation as Indigenous history beckons in Ashes opener

Scott Boland expects Brendan Doggett to help inspire a new generation of Indigenous cricketers, as a slice of history beckons for the duo when the Australia XI is named for the Ashes opener in Perth.The fast bowlers are on the verge of shattering the glass ceiling and becoming the first pair of Indigenous cricketers to be included in the same Australia side as spots open up with Josh Hazlewood joining injured captain Pat Cummins on the sidelines.Only two of Australia’s 471 men’s Test players are Indigenous – former fast bowler Jason Gillespie and Boland – with Doggett poised to join the all-too exclusive club.Boland backed Doggett – whose Indigenous heritage traces back on his mother’s side to the Worimi people from around Newcastle – to make an impact on more than just the Ashes if he is selected to face England in the first Test starting on 21 November.“Hopefully Brendan does get the nod and that happens,” Boland said on Monday about the prospect of two Indigenous players being selected in the same Australia side

Mind guru Gilbert Enoka: ‘England are about to go to war, and I want to be in the trench with them’

“We’ve got a smooth lake at the moment,” Gilbert Enoka says, relaxing in the bar of England’s team hotel in Perth a few days before the battle for the Ashes gets under way. “But the series is going to start and then there’s going to be really, really choppy water in terms of what we actually have to sail. All I want is to help the guys develop structures that can help them be reliable when those waves come.”Enoka is the mental skills coach most famous for instigating a “no dickheads” policy during his 21 years in the All Blacks dressing room, and a man whose path to the pinnacle of team sport is as remarkable as the impact he has had since getting there. He spent much of his childhood in an orphanage before moving back in with his mother, who had settled with a new partner Enoka describes as “alcoholic, dysfunctional”

Anthony Joshua will ‘break internet over Jake Paul’s face’ as fight is confirmed

Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul will face each other in a heavyweight fight in Miami on 19 December, it has been confirmed.Rumours of the fight between Paul, a YouTuber-turned-boxer, and Joshua, the British former heavyweight champion of the world, had been trailed earlier this month and Paul’s company, Most Valuable Promotions, confirmed the news on Monday. The fight will be shown live on Netflix.“This isn’t an AI simulation. This is Judgment Day,” said Paul

Australia target Joe Root as the England batter to ‘take down’ on eve of Ashes

Scott Boland has flagged Joe Root as the England batter to “take down” this Ashes series as Pat Cummins stepped up his return from a back injury with an encouraging net session at Perth Stadium.England were handed a day off on Monday after their warm-up fixture at Lilac Hill, as Australia’s players began their preparations after flying in 24 hours earlier. A green-tinged pitch was being watered out in the middle as temperatures hit 33C inside the ground.Boland, scourge of England on their previous tour here four years ago, was already the seamer chosen to replace Cummins in the Australian XI, with a further hamstring injury to Josh Hazlewood likely to result in South Australia’s Brendan Doggett being handed a debut this week.Asked about the tourist he was targeting, the soft-spoken Boland plumped for the obvious answer