DAN BIGGAR: I just don't understand the decision to add Owen Farrell to world-class Lions squad
He's been called in to replace Elliot Daly but they are totally different players. It's a real shame for Daly to break his arm because he's been playing well but he wasn't going to start in the Tests.
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The Sun
35 minutes ago
- The Sun
Carlos Alcaraz makes it through to Wimbledon second week then throws down huge challenge to Sir Andy Murray
CARLOS ALCARAZ challenged Andy Murray to a deciding golf game this Wimbledon fortnight – even though he is aiming to win £3million on a different type of grass. The Spaniard made it 17 wins in a row at the tournament as the two-time defending champion beat Jan-Lennard Struff 6-1 3-6 6-3 6-4 on Centre Court in round three. 5 5 There were some tough moments, particularly the second set he lost, but he was grateful the 35-year-old German missed a volley in a key part of set four. Alcaraz, 22, is a crowd favourite and loves to take his mind off lawn tennis by playing rounds of golf on courses in Surrey. Pre-tournament, he had two nine-hole challenger matches with Murray, Britain's two-time champion, and at the moment the score is tied at 1-1. Another contest will be set up at some point next week provided their schedules align. Talking to Annabel Croft in a court-side interview, the reigning French Open champion said: 'He said to you to ask me this question, right? 'He beat me that day. He beat me in golf that day. But then a few days later, I beat him. "So, it's 1-1. We are tied. We are tied. 'Will we play again? Let's see. I love playing golf on my days off. I know he has a busy schedule. 'I will try to set up a golf round again, nine holes, and we will see who wins. We are tied at 1-1. We have to play again, absolutely.' Alcaraz will now face Russian Andrey Rublev in the last 16 on Sunday as he chases a hat-trick of titles in SW19 - with Cameron Norrie a possible quarter-final opponent. Moment Andy Murray holes stunning putt from off the green in challenge match with brother Jamie - but rivals have last laugh All roads continue to lead to a possible final against his great rival Jannik Sinner, whom he beat in thrilling fashion in a five-set, five-and-a-half-hour French Open final. Yet he said his encounter on Friday caused him plenty of 'stress' and it was not a straightforward passage. The world No2 said: 'I knew it would be really, really difficult and I had to be focused on every shot, my service games and returns. His game serves pretty well to the grass. 'Big serves. He approached the net as much as he can. Really pleased about everything I have done, fighting, running, making great shots. 'I tried to make the opportunities he brought to me in the match. I am proud to get the win in four sets. 'It was stressful as well. To be honest, I was suffering in every serve game that I did today. 5 Wimbledon 2025 LIVE - follow all the latest scores and updates from a thrilling fortnight at SW19 'Love-30s, break points down, yeah it was stressful. Every time he could push me, he did it. It was survival. 'I'm really happy that at the end I got the break. He missed a volley in front of the net. I cannot believe I am standing here 6-4. 'I tried to run every ball, tried to fight for every ball. Tried to see if he was going to miss some easy shots. 'I was lucky in that shot and I made the most of it. I made the break. I still don't know how he missed that volley.' American No5 seed Taylor Fritz has spent close to TEN HOURS on court and played 14 sets across three matches as he knocked out Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-4 6-3 6-7 6-1 after FOUR delays for emergency health scares and medical time-outs. Former world No1 Naomi Osaka apologised for her loss ahead of her daughter's second birthday as she was beaten 3-6 6-4 6-4 by former quarter-finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The Japan star, 27, said: 'I'm just going to be a negative human being today. 'I'm so sorry. I have nothing positive to say about myself, which is something I'm working on.' 5
Times
35 minutes ago
- Times
Why England score so quickly: it is not just Bazball's attacking intent
This England team are normalising stuff that is simply not normal. After ten minutes of play on the third morning they had lost the prized wickets of Joe Root and Ben Stokes in two balls, and were tottering at 84 for five, still 503 in arrears. Yet their sixth-wicket pair proceeded to thrash 165 from the next 152 balls up to lunch. It was extraordinary to watch, yet not surprising because we have seen them play like this so often during the past three years. They scored more than 500 runs on the opening day in Rawalpindi in 2022 and almost did so again against Zimbabwe in May. Two weeks ago they scored more than 350 runs on the last day to beat India in the opening match of this series. Jamie Smith, the dominant partner in the stand with Harry Brook, raced to the fourth-fastest Test century scored for England in 80 balls; in broad historical terms this is exceptional but, again, not particularly remarkable for this team. Since Ben Stokes became captain, five other players, apart from Smith, have scored hundreds in 90 balls or fewer: Jonny Bairstow, Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope. The adventurous Bazball mentality tends to dominate conversations about why this team play the way they do, but there is actually more than simply a devil-may-care attitude as to why England are able to score so fast and challenge many of the sport's most revered records. In fact, the Bazball approach would probably not be possible without various other factors being at play. First, and perhaps most importantly, Test pitches in England have become very good for batting. The days when English pitches were tinged with green and guaranteed rich pickings for Stuart Broad and James Anderson are long gone. Now, England want their pitches to be true so that their powerful batting line-up can trust their stroke-play; the less the ball nips around the better. Since June 2022 more Test centuries have been scored in England than any other country, and runs have come faster here than elsewhere. Pitches are better than in India, where they spin, or Australia, where they are greener and spicier. Pitches tend to last the distance too, hence England being happy at home to bat last and chase big scores. This Edgbaston surface shows few signs of deterioration. England's batsmen have cashed in when they have got the chance overseas, as they did last winter in Pakistan and New Zealand in the three games they won. Pakistan's pivot to raging bunsens after being crushed by Brook and Root in the first Test in Multan was a tacit admission that England were simply too formidable on a flat pitch. Another thing that has had a big impact is the state of outfields, which are faster than they used to be due to better drainage. Big venues cannot afford for play to be stopped because of waterlogged turf; the priority is to get any rain through the top surface as fast as possible so that broadcasters and spectators get the spectacle they paid for. Whatever the format, batting is king: people want to see runs scored and big shots played. The shorter boundaries we see here at Edgbaston, where they are close to the minimum of 65 yards, feed that narrative, as does the constantly evolving bat technology which allows the modern player to mishit the ball for six. There is also a broader problem about the quality of international bowling. The crowded schedule, which is under greater strain than ever after the rise of franchise leagues, means that the best players are naturally in high demand, and this is especially true of those X-factor bowlers who have the ability to turn games. Being in demand inevitably means they spread themselves thin: look at Jasprit Bumrah, who is restricted to three of the five Tests in this series because of concerns about the state of his back. Mohammed Shami, arguably India's best bowler behind Bumrah, was unable to make the tour owing to injury. Cricket's crazy calendar benefits batsmen far more than bowlers. The best batsmen are also adept at incorporating into their Test repertoire shots learnt in short-format games. This ability to manufacture shots all around the wicket gives them a big advantage and leaves fielding captains wishing they had 13 fielders to properly protect both sides of the wicket. They have an almost impossible task on good pitches. What should not be ignored, though, is that England do possess a formidable top seven. Duckett and Brook are among the fastest scorers Test cricket has ever had, Root is a modern master and Smith a formidable attacking force. They will not always come off — and they have some work to do in Birmingham if they are to retain their lead going to Lord's after some careless batting on Thursday night — but when they do they are capable of genuinely astonishing things.
BBC News
38 minutes ago
- BBC News
Newcastle target defender Scalvini - Saturday's gossip
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