Rodrigues and Amanjot set up second thumping India win over England in T20 series

England fell to a second successive defeat against India at Bristol on Tuesday, falling 25 runs short in their chase of 182, and face a nervous wait to see if the captain, Nat Sciver-Brunt, will be fit for the third match of the series at the Oval on Friday.Sciver-Brunt was unexpectedly absent for three-quarters of the India innings on Tuesday with a “tight hip”, and looked far from fluent in an innings of 13 from 10 balls. She will be assessed over the next 48 hours to determine the extent of the injury.At Bristol it was a case of deja vu as England once again inserted India, conceded far too many runs for comfort, and failed to get within touching distance of their target after a tumble of early wickets.Tammy Beaumont’s first T20i half-century since September 2021 brought a glimmer of hope to the chase, but she was run out by the bowler Radha Yadav in the 12th over and England were left with too much to do at the death, despite a late flurry of boundaries from Sophie Ecclestone who was run out for 35 off the final ball of the innings

F1 chief wants to see record-breaking Silverstone stay on calendar for good

The Formula One chief executive, Stefano Domenicali, has said he would like the British Grand Prix at Silverstone to remain on the F1 calendar for ever, with the event set to host what is expected to be the largest meeting in the sport’s history, reaching half a million people over four days this weekend.The British GP, which has been on the calendar since F1 began in 1950, is expected to sell out with record numbers and Domenicali acknowledged it was part of a large and thriving F1 business in Britain, which he hopes can be improved by working closer with the UK government when he meets the prime minister, Keir Starmer, and other government officials at Downing Street on Wednesday afternoon.Last year Silverstone extended its contract with F1 to host the race until 2034, one of many long-term deals the sport has concluded recently, including Austria extending to 2041 last week, but Domenicali said the British GP was such a unique event for the sport in size and interest it could negotiate a deal of even greater longevity.“Silverstone has the right characteristics to stay for ever in the calendar,” he said. “There’s no other places where you can develop such a huge event in the UK

Jack Draper enters the Wimbledon meat grinder as Britain’s Big Thing | Barney Ronay

First-round stroll past Báez shed light on shapes, sounds and iconography of newfound Draper fandom at SW19As Jack Draper arched his back to serve, a set and a break up on Court No 1, a well-groomed man in thick silver sunglasses stood up in his seat and posed for a photo in front of the action, chewing theatrically on the handle of his lustrously finished handbag, thereby conveying to his social media feed that he was (a) present, vital, right here in the moment; and (b) not very interested in tennis.Nobody seemed to mind. In fairness Wimbledon’s big Tuesday best-of-British event did feel a bit like this. Less an act of white-hot sporting drama, more just, like, a really cool thing happening.An hour and 13 minutes into this first-round match Sebastián Báez would retire with a knee injury at 6-2, 6-2, 2-1 down

Wimbledon’s rampant British players deliver joint-best performance since 1976

It was always asking a lot for there to be a repeat of the heroics of the opening day at Wimbledon but thanks to Jack Draper, Dan Evans and Jack Pinnington Jones, the world No 281, Britain has 10 players through to the second round, the joint-best tally since 12 won through in 1976. What’s more, the total of seven British men into round two is the best at any grand slam event since Wimbledon 1997.Another searingly hot day began with a check through the history books to find out the highest number of British first-round winners in the Open era, which was 13, in 1968. That always looked out of reach but Pinnington Jones’s brilliant 7-6 (4), 6-3, 7-5 win over Tomás Martín Etcheverry, the world No 53 from Argentina, took the tally into double figures.Yet another product of Texas Christian University, where Cameron Norrie and Jacob Fearnley studied, Pinnington Jones played stunning tennis on his Wimbledon debut, winning five straight games from 5-2 down in the third set for victory

Talisman Stokes at Edgbaston evokes Flintoff’s 2005 impact – but he is due a score

A day out from the second Test against India at Edgbaston and Andrew Flintoff was dog-sticking to England’s batters in the nets, his very presence bringing memories of 20 years ago flooding back. It was here where Flintoff wrote his name into Ashes folklore, igniting the afterburners for England’s statement first innings, rescuing the second with a six-laden counterattack, and then sending down a famous over on the third evening that vaporised Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting.As well as driving England to that famous two-run victory, 141 runs and seven wickets across the four days made it Flintoff’s statistical peak as a fast-bowling all-rounder – the only time he went north of 100 runs and five wickets in the same Test. People often underestimate the physical and mental demands that the dual role places on those hardy enough to even attempt it; expecting both facets of their game to deliver consistently is unrealistic save for a handful of freakish greats.All of which is a segue into where Ben Stokes finds himself before this second instalment against India, albeit 1-0 up and buoyed by last week’s Headingley heist

Jack Draper coolly handles Wimbledon pressure by marching past Sebastián Báez

For three long weeks, as Wimbledon has gradually drawn closer, Jack Draper has had to navigate the growing anticipation within himself and from the world around him; he has had to field countless questions about his ability to handle the pressure and, in the quiet moments, he has surely wondered how he would deal with it all.Now, finally, he can simply focus on playing tennis. Draper took his first step forward at his home grand slam as one of the best players in the world by defeating the Argentinian Sebastián Báez with a dominant performance, establishing a 6-2, 6-2, 2-1 lead by the time his opponent retired because of a leg injury.“I obviously was aware of the buildup and all that sort of stuff,” said Draper. “I think my preparation has been really good