Only 15 men in Test history have achieved the double of 500 runs and 40 wickets in a calendar year but England look set to add three players to that exclusive list on their tour of India, and could reasonably lay claim to fielding one of the most versatile teams ever assembled in the game's oldest format. With two more Tests to play in 2016, England allrounders Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes are within touching distance of completing the rare feat.
Chelsea forward Eden Hazard expects ManchesterCity and Liverpool to be the London side's main rivals in the Premier League title race after the top three sides all enjoyed victories on the weekend.
Diego Costa was on target again as Chelsea overcame a defensive West Bromwich Albion 1-0 to return to the top of the Premier League with their ninth victory in a row on Sunday. The Spaniard's second-half strike sent the Blues three points clear of Arsenal, who had taken the overall lead on goals scored on Saturday after seeing off Stoke City 3-1 at the Emirates.
'Honestly, I don't want to be a testing sort of a cricketer for any new format. I don't want to be someone who's going to be part of that World XI who comes and launches the 100-ball format'
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was back to his irrepressible, boastful best on Sunday as he joked about the landmark 25,000th Premier League goal that signalled a change in his fortunes.
New Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has urged his players to retain the aggressiveness they have shown during the pre-season, saying that the combative nature of the game was essential to the style of play he is looking to impose at the club. Six players were booked, while midfielder Cesc Fabregas was shown a red card, in Chelsea's feisty 1-0 victory over Liverpool on Thursday after Gary Cahill's early header condemned the Merseyside club to their first pre-season defeat.
Defender Gary Cahill has said he is ready to prove his worth to new England manager Sam Allardyce to retain his place in the national team. The 30-year-old, who has 47 caps for England, was regularly picked by former manager Roy Hodgson and was part of the squad that suffered an embarrassing defeat by Iceland in the last 16 of the Euro 2016. "I'm looking to keep involved and keep that shirt. I am excited to be working under Sam," Cahill told British media. "I'm looking to impress him at the start of the season and also if I'm fortunate enough to be involved in the squad.
Leicester City has a chance to go top of the English Premier League table with a maximum nine points.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic trounced stand-in David Goffin 6-1 6-2 for a clean sweep of his group at the ATP World Tour Finals on Thursday but spiced up a leisurely afternoon workout by picking a row with the umpire. The world number two, who will be joined in the last four by Milos Raonic after the Canadian beat Austrian Dominic Thiem 7-6(5) 6-3, began the week at London's O2 Arena quarrelling with a reporter and despite being relatively untroubled on court, there has been an edginess about the 12-times grand slam champion.
Images from the English Premier League matches played at Old Trafford on Saturday
Manchester City returned to the top of the Premier League on goal difference after coming from behind to draw 1-1 with Southampton at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Sunderland became the first top-flight club in more than 100 years to fail to register a win in any of their first nine league games in two successive seasons when they suffered a 1-0 defeat by West Ham United on Saturday.
Aston Villa were relegated from the Premier League for the first time since it began in 1992 when they suffered their 24th loss of the season in a 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford on Saturday.
The match was immediately rescheduled for Wednesday and Monaco ran out 3-2 winners in what turned out to be a pulsating game.
Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has vowed to be more clinical in front of goal after miscuing a header in Monday's goalless draw at Liverpool. Ibrahimovic, who has struck four Premier League goals this season, combined with Paul Pogba for United's best moment at Anfield, only for the Swede's close-range header from the Frenchman's cross to bumble harmlessly across goal. "I needed to chase the ball instead of attacking the ball, but still I should have put it at least on the target. But the next game, I will do better," Ibrahimovic told reporters.
Victory over Manchester United in Monday's Premier League clash would "put to bed" bitter memories of Liverpool's defeat to Jose Mourinho's Chelsea two years ago, midfielder Jordan Henderson has said.
Here's a glimpse of all that happened around the world last week, in 9 images.
Chelsea had the look of champions again as they maintained their comfortable seven-point advantage at the top of the Premier League with a 3-1 victory at Bournemouth on Saturday -- but Tottenham Hotspur will not give up the chase.
Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri is holding special training sessions for Jamie Vardy, Islam Slimani and Riyad Mahrez and hoping they can forge a prolific attacking threat capable of terrorising Premier League defences. Leicester relied heavily on goals from Vardy and Mahrez when they romped to a maiden league title by a 10-point margin last season but this term have scored just eight times in seven league matches. Ranieri is convinced the work he is putting in on his strike trio will pay dividends, however.
'I think I got hit against India in Brisbane on the same thumb last season as well and the pain is always going to be there'
Croatia's soccer federation has been handed a suspended ban from selling tickets to hooligans and given a 100,000 euros ($113,190.00) fine after their team's supporters caused crowd trouble at Euro 2016, UEFA said on Monday.
Manager Pep Guardiola tempered his delight at ManchesterCity's ability to fight back three times in a thrilling 3-3 draw against Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday by urging his players to understand the importance of a good start.
'This crisis is going to be much bigger than anything we've experienced and anything we do will not be enough but my aim is to help, it might not be enough in some cases but I have to try'
Manager Juergen Klopp's leadership is laying the foundations for "something special" at Liverpool, forward Giorginio Wijnaldum has said. Liverpool have started the new Premier League campaign with 10 points from a possible 15 after a 2-1 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Friday. The Merseyside club, who won at Arsenal and also beat champions Leicester City 4-1, were held to a 1-1 draw by Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane following their 2-0 defeat by promoted Burnley last month.
World number two Andy Murray is planning to participate in the forthcoming Rio Olympics in order to defend his Olympic gold medal despite growing concerns over the rapid spread of Zika virus in Brazil. Earlier, in an open letter to the World Health Organization (WHO), a total of 150 health experts had said that the current plans for the prestigious event need to be revised while citing several scientific studies that revealed the adverse effects of the virus. The WHO, however, turned down calls to move the Olympics venue, saying that moving the games would "not significantly alter" the spread of the virus. Murray, however, would head into the tournament after taking appropriate guidance from the Foreign Office and the British Olympic Association about the danger that the virus poses, the Guardian reported.
England's current One-day side is the best cricket unit the country has ever produced, according to former captain Nasser Hussain.
Yaya Toure has been left out of Manchester City's Champions League squad by coach Pep Guardiola, further undermining the Ivorian's position at the club. Toure, a mainstay of the City midfield since joining from Guardiola's Barcelona in 2010, has failed to start any of the club's opening three Premier League matches. He has only played once this season, in the second leg of the Champions League playoff tie against Steaua Bucharest, when they already had a 5-0 lead from the first encounter.
'I feel that if you look at my stats, my goals, then I'm up there. If you guys want to print that (I'm one of the best in the world), I'm more than happy to have that'
Leicester City's England striker Jamie Vardy has been named Premier League Player of the Season after his pivotal role in the club's remarkable title-winning campaign.
'I don't agree that Mesut has not had an impact on big matches. What about the win at home to Chelsea this season and Manchester United the year before?'
India's batting maestro Virat Kohli held on to the number two position in the latest ICC ODI rankings for batsmen released on Monday, while Rohit Sharma dropped a place to seventh.
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney rose to second place on the all-time Premier League scoring list with a clever winner against Swansea City on Saturday.
Rising Pune Supergiants' skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has said that his team-mate Kevin Pietersen's injury could turn out be a 'blessing in disguise'.
Leicester City's remarkable charge on the Premier League title has given fans of other clubs hope that their teams can achieve a similar feat, winger Marc Albrighton has said.
The last time the five times European champions reached this stage of Europe's elite club competition was in 2009 when they went out to Chelsea in a dramatic 7-5 aggregate defeat.
Mourinho dropped a big bombshell when long-term captain and defensive colossus John Terry was substituted at halftime for tactical reasons -- the first time Mourinho had ever taken his trusty skipper off in the heat of battle.
The expected loss of all-rounder Ben Stokes from the third Test against Pakistan has left "a bit of a hole" in the England team, coach Trevor Bayliss has said ahead of the match at Edgbaston, starting next Wednesday.
England batsman James Taylor has been forced to retire from all forms of cricket with immediate effect after it was discovered that he has a serious heart condition. Taylor had to withdraw from Nottinghamshire fixture against Cambridge University last week with what was believed to be a viral condition, but the club said on Tuesday that scans had revealed that the 26-year-old has ARVC (arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy). "Safe to say this has been the toughest week of my life! My world is upside down. But I'm here to stay and I'm battling on! #lifestooshort," tweeted Taylor.
There is space for Juan Mata at Manchester United but the midfielder must fight to break into the first team, manager Jose Mourinho has said.
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