Sport

England v Zimbabwe: men’s cricket Test, day two – live
Posted on Friday May 23, 2025

County cricket live – join Tanya Aldred for updatesDay one reaction | Sign up to The Spin | Email James90th over: England 503-4 (Brook 9, Stokes 1) Stokes gets off the mark with a nice clip off his toes. Some time in the middle will do him the world of good too, there was talk he might even play for the Lions in the run up to the India series in order to get some rhythm at the crease. Zimbabwe have been much better in the two overs this morning, a stat going around states that they bowled over fifty per cent of their deliveries down the leg side yesterday.Pitched up and a tiny edge! Ollie Pope goes early on day two, playing away from his body at a decent ball from Chivanga. A late review was called for but the spike was clear for all to see. Trent Bridge gives Pope a hearty ovation and then there’s a loud cheer as Ben Stokes strides out to the middle. Shades of Botham as blond whisps of mullet billow out from under Stokes’ helmet as he takes guard. Continue reading...

Premier League: 10 things to look out for on the final dayFixtures | Tables | Sign up for Football Daily | Email LukeThe latest omission of Jack Grealish isn’t a surprise. Grealish is a bit-part player at Manchester City these days and wasn’t used in last weekend’s FA Cup final defeat by Crystal Palace. The match winner in that game, Eberechi Eze, is included. The Palace duo of Marc Guéhi and Adam Wharton miss out, presumably due to injury (although it should be said Tuchel hasn’t seemed entirely convinced by Guéhi).Tuchel has not been able to name Marcus Rashford because of injury; West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen misses out after failing to take his opportunity last time. Newcastle’s Dan Burn gets another go. Continue reading...

Following Sheffield United in the hope of playoff success is a lifetime of hurt
Posted on Friday May 23, 2025

Watching the team in every final has been doomed to failure but perhaps on Saturday it might finally be our yearSaturday’s game against Sunderland will be Sheffield United’s fifth playoff final. They have lost each of their previous four. I was at every one. Continue reading...

Premier League: 10 things to look out for on the final day of the season
Posted on Thursday May 22, 2025

Chelsea braced for City Ground cauldron, Rodri back on the scene and party vibes all round at Anfield• Golden Boot: how the leading scorers standBournemouth’s hopes of European football were dashed by the defeat at Manchester City on Tuesday but the Cherries, 11th on 53 points, could still achieve ninth spot and match their best finish in the Premier League (under Eddie Howe in 2016-17, although that was reached with only 46 points). A home game against relegated Leicester looks to offer the perfect opportunity but the closing stretch has been tough for Andoni Iraola’s side, with the past 12 league games producing only two victories. Remarkably, a three-game league form table puts Leicester in fourth after home wins over Southampton and Ipswich either side of a 2-2 draw at Nottingham Forest. Perhaps this won’t be the walkover most are expecting, and there could be a wistful feeling in the air at the Vitality on Sunday afternoon. No one can deny it has been a strong season but what a party it might have been. With Dean Huijsen off to Real Madrid and Milos Kerkez linked heavily with the champions, Liverpool, how many of the goodbyes on the traditional end-of-season lap of honour will be permanent? David Tindall Continue reading...

Surrey v Essex, Yorkshire v Notts, and more: county cricket day one – live
Posted on Friday May 23, 2025

Updates from day one of the latest round of matchesSign up to The Spin | Email Tanya or comment BTLA quick-silver outfield at Grace Road, and Keaton Jennings making the most of it: Lancs 25-0.Elsewhere in Division Two, Derbyshire (34-0) and Glamorgan (15-0) have also got off to a brisk start, while Northants have lost Vasconcelos for four, lbw Tom Price. Northants 11-1. Continue reading...

The Świątek problem: can Coco Gauff flip the script at Roland Garros?
Posted on Friday May 23, 2025

Coco Gauff’s brilliance on clay has been overshadowed by Iga Świątek’s dominance. But in a shifting 2025 landscape, Gauff may finally be ready to rewrite the endingIf she only had the fortune of being born seven years earlier, Coco Gauff might have won Roland Garros three times already. Gauff, now 21 years old, hasn’t lost before the quarter-final of the tournament since she was 16, a run of consistency many top players would kill for. Good luck hitting through her on the slow clay surface, she is blindingly fast. She can rip her backhand down the line and offset her shaky forehand by loading the ball with topspin and fluttering it deep towards the opponent’s baseline.All this, on paper, makes for a modern clay-court great – or at the very least, the first American Roland Garros champion since (who else?) Serena Williams. But Gauff is yet to win the title at Roland Garros, or receive much credit for her clay-court pedigree. All thanks to the cosmically bad luck of sharing a generation with Iga Natalia Świątek. Continue reading...

Chess: national solving championship 2025 open to entries from Britain
Posted on Friday May 23, 2025

Entry is free, the prize fund is expected to be £1,500, and the winner qualifies for the world solving championshipThis week’s puzzle is a chance to enter an annual national contest in which Guardian readers traditionally perform strongly and in considerable numbers. White in the diagram, playing as usual up the board, is to play and checkmate in two moves, against any black defence.The puzzle is the first stage of the annual Winton British Solving Championship, organised by the British Chess Problem Society. This competition is open only to British residents, and entry is free. To take part, simply send White’s first move to Nigel Dennis, Boundary House, 230 Greys Road, Henley-on-Thames, Oxon RG9 1QY or by email to winton@theproblemist.org. Continue reading...

Hull hail Sezer on 250th appearance after emphatic Super League win at Leigh
Posted on Thursday May 22, 2025

Leigh 12-26 Hull FCHull score 26 unanswered points in the first halfJohn Cartwright has already enjoyed some wonderful moments as Hull FC coach and transformed the club’s fortunes in just three months in charge, but this win at Leigh could well turn out to be his finest victory yet.There is no escaping the fact that after a wonderful start to 2025, Hull have endured a difficult few weeks. Injuries and a loss of form have resulted in them exiting the Challenge Cup at the hands of their biggest rivals and tumbling outside the playoff places as the midway point of the season approaches. Continue reading...