Arsenal closed out 2025 in emphatic fashion, smashing third-placed Aston Villa 4-1 on Tuesday to surge five points clear at the top of the Premier League.
'He can destroy an attack if he wants to, he can play a longer innings if he needs to.'
IMAGES from all the action on Day 8 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Sunday.
Chasing 305 for victory, England were pushed on the backfoot when they were reduced to 11/2 early in the chase. But a partnership of 156 between Brook and Will Jacks (84 in 82 balls, with nine fours and a six) swung the tide in the hosts' favour.
Harry Brook became only the sixth England batter to hit a triple century in Tests as the visitors piled on the runs on Day 4 of the first Test against Pakistan in Multan on Thursday.
It was a wild ride while it lasted but the 'Bazball' revolution that enlivened English cricket for three years collapsed in 11 days on Australian soil in an Ashes defeat as harrowing as any in the modern era.
England took charge of the first Test against New Zealand on Saturday, riding Harry Brook's 171 to a first-innings lead of 151 before reducing the Black Caps to 155/6 on Day 3.
Bournemouth's Eli Junior Kroupi struck late to salvage a point for his side in a 4-4 draw with Manchester United on Monday.
England have not won a first Ashes Test in Australia in nearly 40 years, nor beaten the hosts in Perth since 1978.
England claimed a 1-0 victory in their three-match Twenty20 series against New Zealand after rain curtailed Thursday's final match in Auckland.
The contest between England's dialled-down "Bazball" approach and Australia's more methodical batting could determine who prevails in the Ashes series beginning in Perth on Friday.
India great Virat Kohli continued his push to regain his place as the best ODI batter while moving up to the second spot in the latest ICC rankings released on Wednesday.
England's Joe Root conquered his final frontier with a first Ashes century in Australia as the tourists pushed past 300 on day one of the second Test in Brisbane on Thursday despite a six-wicket haul from pace spearhead Mitchell Starc.
'Dad played the biggest role in my cricket, coached me all the way through and sort of let me go as I got into my older teenage years, but (he) would always shoot a message (like) 'put the reverse sweep away'.'
Four-Test-old all-rounder Jacob Bethell was awarded his maiden central contract by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) which offered two-year deals to 14 multi-format cricketers, including Test captain Ben Stokes and injury-plagued pacer Jofra Archer.
Chasing a world record 435 runs to win, England were reduced to 207 for six at stumps on Day 4 of the third Test, still 228 runs short of victory
'We know we're behind the game again, in the situation we currently stand.'
'Ben Stokes is one of the best captains I've ever seen. So it would be stupid not to look at him.'
Having hit Western Australia's golf links before being beaten by eight wickets in Perth, England's enthusiasts will have access to a selection of championship courses to play a round before a refreshing dip in the Pacific Ocean.
England on Tuesday named a 16-man squad for the Ashes series starting in Australia in November with Ben Stokes, who is currently nursing a shoulder injury, set to return to lead the side.
Australia, England registered shameful record during first Ashes Test at Perth as express pace dominates proceedings
'The tailenders should have looked to bat with Jamie Smith. Really poor from the batters towards the end. The plan should have been to give him the strike and let him do the heavy lifting.'
Joe Root and Harry Brook's centuries powered England's strong reply on Day 3 of the first Test in Multan.
Blair Tickner took 4/34 and Daryl Mitchell hit 56 not out as New Zealand beat England by five wickets in the second one-day international in Hamilton on Wednesday to seal the three-match series 2-0.
Spin-bowling all-rounder Will Jacks will replace paceman Mark Wood in an otherwise unchanged England side for the second Ashes Test against Australia in Brisbane.
Taking his 17th Test five-wicket haul, he finished with 7 for 58 off 12.5 overs.
Daryl Mitchell's runs had steered the hosts to their victories in Tauranga and Hamilton and when he departed for 44 to leave his team still 27 runs from their target on 196-8, the English scented an unlikely victory.
New Zealand, champions in 2000, are just outside the top four with three points from as many games.
Drama in the most dramatic of series isn't over yet!
England were 301/3 in pursuit of 374 when the 26-year-old Brook's dismissal triggered a collapse on the fourth day of the fifth Test in London that the home side lost by six runs on Monday. With that result, India tied the series at 2-2.
Images from Day 4 of the fifth Test between England and India at The Oval, London, on Sunday.
US President Donald Trump has said that India should not be "dumping" rice into the United States market and he will "take care" of it, while stressing that tariffs will solve the "problem" easily.
England's torrid run in the 50-over format has plunged to alarming depths after they lost their first ODI series to South Africa since 1998.
Harry Brook could be in contention to replace Ollie Pope as Ben Stokes' deputy when England travel to Australia this winter.
Watching it unfold, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting had just one question, 'What was he thinking?'
England's Stokes praises Australia's Head, supports his own errant batters
The legendary B S Chandrasekhar and Brian Lara on Tuesday won the Lifetime Achievement awards.
Buoyed by her team's first win in the ongoing Women's World Cup in Guwahati on Friday, New Zealand captain Sophie Devine expressed hopes of a turnaround for the White Ferns in the tournament and cited South Africa's stunning victory over India.
Rohit Sharma followed up his knock of 73 in the second ODI in Adelaide with a match-winning unbeaten 121 in Sydney to be named the Player of the Series.
Jamie Smith's unbeaten 72 propelled England to a 23-run lead over Sri Lanka on day two of the opening Test on Thursday
