Ben Stokes calls on England to adapt better ‘when we’re up against the wall’

Ben Stokes may have described England’s recent lack of Test action as “a bit odd” but playing just one game in the past six months has given the side space to reconsider their approach before the series against India.Stokes has won 23 of his 33 games in charge while losing 12 and insisted: “I don’t think it’s arrogant to say that we’ve been good over the last three years.” But with England’s next 10 Tests coming against either India – starting at Headingley on Friday – or ­Australia they have prepared for potential adversity.“We’ve had a lot of time to speak about what we want to do as a team and where we want to take ourselves,” Stokes said. “We’ve had time to identify areas where we know we are incredibly strong, but also areas that we think we need to get better at

Royal Ascot 2025: Trawlerman nets biggest prize with Gold Cup triumph – as it happened

That’s it for the third day and what a brave and brilliant performance from Trawlerman in the Gold Cup. I’m out of here. I need to sort my outfit for tomorrow’s trip to the races. Don’t worry I’ll be working hard – inbetween sips of champagne – and bringing you surprise guests and lots of reminiscences on Saturday when I’ll see you back here. Good luck one and all tomorrow

Kicking off Lions tour against Argentina in Ireland is profitable for everyone

This is about the game time and the cash. In the first place, ­­­Andy ­Farrell has 38 players he needs to use in the first three games of the British and Irish Lions tour and the first instalment will be before a less than capacity crowd at the Aviva Stadium against Argentina on Friday night. In the ­second place, it is about filling the coffers of the Lions machine and the four home unions who are part of the caravan.Gate receipts from this game will yield in the region of €3m (£2.55m) after costs, which goes towards the Lions’ bottom line, with a dividend to come to the unions involved

Kirsty Coventry to swerve palaces and focus on responsibility as first female IOC president

Kirsty Coventry has promised to not let power go to her head when she becomes the first female president of the International Olympic Committee next week.Her predecessor, Thomas Bach, would always stay in a suite paid for by the IOC at the five-star Lausanne Palace hotel, costing about £2,000 a night, whenever he was in the city. However, the Zimbabwean confirmed her family would not be following suit.“We won’t be staying in the Palace,” she said. “I really want my kids to grow up doing the same thing that I did, making beds and doing our chores and being kids

Wallabies squad thin on playmakers may come back to bite Joe Schmidt

Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt named his 36-man squad to face Fiji and the British & Irish Lions, recalling the enigmatic Will Skelton from La Rochelle, rewarding the uncapped Nick Champion de Crespigny’s rousing form for Castres Olympique, and bringing giant lock Darcy Swain in from the cold.Former star prop Taniela Tupou had wondered publicly if he’d forgotten how to play the game but Schmidt believes he can rekindle his glory days. Perth-born Carlo Tizzano is in having led Super Rugby try-scoring and tackle counts all year. And Sevens bolter Corey Toole, who scored twice in the Brumbies’ semi-final loss, looks set for a Test debut with Queensland’s Tim Ryan missing out.With half-a-million fans set to attend nine sold-out games on this ninth Lions tour, Schmidt knows 2025 must be a gamechanger for Rugby Australia

Cost of children’s sport rises in Australia as voucher programs fail to budge participation

Parents of young cricketers, footballers and basketball players are now paying more than $500 a year on average for their children to play, plus more on equipment, according to a national survey highlighting Australia’s most expensive codes, as state governments pledge hundreds of millions of dollars to ensure sport is not just for the wealthy.But new research from the University of Sydney has found subsidising families’ sporting costs through the use of government vouchers alone is not enough, after two prominent recent examples – including a high-profile New South Wales scheme – failed to increase sport participation at scale.This evidence comes as the Queensland government expands its voucher scheme, now costing taxpayers $62.5m a year, and similar programs have been in place in every state.At the same time, the increasing price of children’s sport has been highlighted by cost breakdowns in the government’s AusPlay survey, released again in 2025 after a year’s break due to a change in methodology