Pat Cummins is in rare air as an Ashes captain. Can his Dad's Army go around again? | Geoff Lemon

While it took longer than expected on the fifth day in Adelaide, eventually it was done. A series won, the Ashes retained for another year and a half until they next go up for grabs in England. For Pat Cummins, this makes three consecutive Ashes series captained without giving up the urn. The feat leaves him in sparse but fine company: the others to do it are Joe Darling, Don Bradman, Richie Benaud, Mike Brearley, Allan Border and Mark Taylor.It made things neater that Steve Smith missed this third Test, having captained the first two wins in Cummins’ absence, so that it didn’t feel like the full-time captain was swooping in to hoover up the stand-in’s lunch

Starc breaks England hearts again as Australia retain the Ashes in tense third Test

“England are talking themselves up more, they’re confident coming to Australia with the group of players they’ve got and fair enough, this is the best team they’ve had probably this century.”As Marnus Labuschagne wheeled away in delight after pouching the catch that sealed the Ashes for ­Australia in tranquil Adelaide, it wasn’t just pre-series optimism from the English – or delusion, as per plenty since – that had been popped into a blender and turned into mush after 11 largely one-sided days.The above came from Ricky ­Ponting, one of the sharpest minds in the sport, and reflected belief on both sides of the divide that this time things would be different: that this England team, forged in the image of their aggressive captain, Ben Stokes, and boasting a phalanx of quicks, would be able to compete.But all this was underpinned by faith in the non-negotiables being in place: that details such as conditioning, workloads and fielding skills would be ticked off; that, despite a positive outlook fostered by Brendon McCullum, pitfalls such as driving on the up in Perth and Brisbane, or the intensity of the spotlight, would be well known.Instead, following a whirlwind of dropped catches, scattergun seam bowling and general batting confusion from the tourists, it is Australia who go into Christmas 3-0 up and can start plotting another whitewash

Brilliant Bristol run in six dazzling tries in Big Game mauling of Harlequins

This was the 17th annual Big Game but rarely can Harlequins have failed to live up to the billing of their Christmas extravaganza as sorely as they did here. Bristol, on the other hand, continue to dazzle in the way their hosts have recently struggled to.These two are probably the Premiership teams most renowned for dazzling. Indeed, they both enjoyed 60-point wins last weekend against lacklustre visitors from the deep south-west of France. But only one side brought it to the big, wide stage of Twickenham

Jake Paul’s artless spectacle robbed boxing of its democratic dream | Bryan Armen Graham

George Foreman once said boxing is the sport to which all other sports aspire. Putting aside the breathtaking exhibitions of physical and psychological intensity it can produce, the sport has long been a refuge of the underclass, credited with changing the lives of the disenfranchised and impoverished. There are no barriers to entry. In that sense, it has always sold a democratic dream.But boxing is, and has always been, the red-light district of professional sports, its flimsy guardrails making it a longtime haven for brazen criminals and the kind of grift and corruption that strains credulity

Greg Fisilau double edges Exeter to comeback victory at Saracens

Something had to give in this collision of two teams with, respectively, the best attacking and defensive records in this season’s Prem. On a cold, clear afternoon in north London it was Exeter, the league’s most resilient operators, who prevailed in a see-sawing contest when the outcome remained up for grabs right until the end.Only in the closing seconds, as Henry Slade picked up a loose ball to sprint away for the bonus point score that elevated Chiefs back to the top of the table – at least for 24 hours – could the visitors celebrate their first win on this ground for eight years. They deserved it, too, battling back from 24-13 down helped by two second-half tries inside six minutes from the industrious Greg Fisilau.With Dafydd Jenkins also outstanding and Olly Woodburn contributing mightily at full-back, Exeter certainly finished the stronger team

Vonn’s Olympic comeback gathers pace with third in Val d’Isere downhill

Lindsey Vonn’s expectations have shifted so dramatically during her Olympic comeback that even a podium finish now comes with a sense of frustration.The 41-year-old American finished third in Saturday’s women’s World Cup downhill at Val d’Isère, France, extending a blistering start to the season that has already included a victory and a runner-up finish in the space of nine days. But after a small mistake on the lower section of the course cost her valuable time, Vonn left the finish area convinced she had let a potential win slip away.Austria’s Cornelia Huetter produced the cleanest run of the day to claim her first World Cup victory of the season, clocking 1:41.54 on the Oreiller-Killy course