England’s fab five bully Australia’s finest with faultless display of raw aggression | Simon Burnton

After freewheeling at increasing pace for 16 giddy months, the Ashes hypemobile had to run out of road. But instead of letting it come to a juddering halt, the 22 players somehow managed to conjure a fresh acceleration.It is implausible for something as anticipated as this not to produce disappointment, as anyone who follows England knows far too well. Those memories will have flooded miserably back when Zak Crawley nicked the sixth ball of the day to slip. His wicket marked the start of not only the sudden whoosh of optimism leaking from the English balloon, but of a day of 19 wickets, bowling of impeccable quality (with exceptions) and absurd entertainment

Alastair Cook and Becky Ives make best of TNT Sports’ shonky Ashes production | Barney Ronay

Presenter Ives was breezy, while Cook fronted everything like the last ceremonial horse of some dying cavalry unitYou know what they say. Never judge a pitch until both teams have batted really badly on it. You know what they say. Over here you bat long, bat hard, bat short, bat soft. You know what they say, the Ashes in Australia is all about a hybrid maverick production with a fan-first identity

Wounded Wallabies on brink of unwanted 67-year record as French test awaits

As recently as August, the Wallabies humiliated rugby’s No 1 side, back-to-back world champions South Africa, in Johannesburg. They then smashed the pride of the northern hemisphere, the British & Irish Lions, in Sydney. By going all-in and not settling for a draw with Argentina, they won that Test – and with it, a nation’s heart.“The Wallabies are back”, we proclaimed. And indeed they are – back in the doldrums

Golovkin to be elected World Boxing president and lead buildup to 2028 Olympics

The former world middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin is to be elected president of World Boxing and lead the sport as it heads towards the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.Golovkin, who won Olympic silver in Athens in 2004 and went on to make the most world title defences in middleweight history, is the only presidential candidate approved by the sport’s independent vetting panel for Sunday’s election. As a result he will take charge of World Boxing, which became the governing body for amateur Olympic boxing this year.That role used to be held by the International Boxing Association but it was banished by the International Olympic Committee in 2023 after a series of judging, corruption and governance scandals.In his manifesto, the 43-year-old Golovkin, whose initial term runs until 2027, promised to restore trust in the sport and secure boxing’s long-term place in the Olympic programme, starting with Los Angeles 2028

Brydon Carse hails ‘relentless’ England pace attack after thrilling Ashes start

Brydon Carse hailed England’s pace attack after an extraordinary first day of the Ashes, when 19 ­wickets fell, ended with ­Australia nine down and 123 runs on the board.After winning the toss England were bowled out for 172, with Mitchell Starc outstanding in claiming seven for 58. But while Carse ­admitted their total was under par, he said the mood in the tourists’ dressing room – and that displayed by their captain, Ben Stokes – never dipped.“He was always positive, always full of enthusiasm and very simple messaging. That’s the way that he has always dealt with the side,” Carse said

Would South Africa look enviously at England’s game? Probably not, but the gap is closing | Ugo Monye

Be careful what you wish for. That would be my message to England supporters getting a little bit ahead of themselves and wishing South Africa were due at Twickenham on Sunday. By all means get a little carried away – that’s the beauty of following a team on a winning run and it’s a demonstration of the confidence surrounding England at the moment – but the Springboks can wait until next summer.They remain the standard-bearers in world rugby. They are perfectly placed to achieve their goal of finishing the year as the No 1 team in the world and given South Africa have never won in Dublin under Rassie Erasmus there will be plenty of motivation to create another piece of history against Ireland on Saturday

‘I still see title as quite distant’: F1 leader Norris not hedging bets for Las Vegas GP

For all the sound and fury of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Lando Norris is refusing to get excited about the prospect of putting one hand on a first drivers’ championship trophy in Sin City.Norris leads his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri by 24 points in the title race and Max Verstappen by 49 with a maximum of only 83 on the table over the three remaining meetings. But with the 26-year-old Briton having wrought an extraordinary comeback from 34 points behind Piastri after August’s Dutch Grand Prix, he is determined to focus on executing with the clinical calm that has put him into the lead in the standings, not the potential outcome of the race.“It can easily just go the opposite way again as much as I don’t want it to,” he said. “That’s racing, you know

Australia close on 123-9 after England skittled for 172: Ashes first Test, day one – as it happened

I think we all deserve a lie-down, don’t you? I’ll leave you with Ali Martin’s report from Perth Stadium, where 19 wickets fell in a coruscating start to the 2025-26 Ashes. See you tomorrow for the second, probably penultimate day. Don’t be late!This is a bit of a weird statgasm: the fastest innings in Ashes history (where the batting team was bowled out)5.49 runs per over England 592 (107.4 overs) v Australia, Old Trafford, 20235

Starc showed Australia they didn’t need the Big Three – the Big One would do | Geoff Lemon

When an Ashes series finally begins and the interminable prognosticating reaches its end, it is customary to discover anew that all of the talk is just talk. So it was for all of us who have offered opinions on the absence of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood and how losing two champion fast bowlers would drastically weaken the Australia side. Instead, it only gave space to their remaining colleague to dominate the first stanza of the Perth Test on his own. In barely a session, Mitchell Starc turned the Big Three into the BigOne.Scott Boland was off the boil – it didn’t matter