England batted with positive intent to take control of the final Ashes Test at The Oval on Saturday, moving on to 389-9 at the close on the third day with a 377-run lead over Australia.
The match is delicately poised after a see-saw battle on Monday with Australia on 107-3 in their second innings chasing a victory target of 281 to take a series lead.
The rematch between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic was one of the most expensive get-in-final tickets in the history of the sport.
England's audacious 'Bazball' flamboyance was trumped by some true Australian grit after five days of cut and thrust Ashes cricket.
Lucas Bergvall scored his first goal for Tottenham Hotspur to give his side a surprise 1-0 victory over holders Liverpool in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
Images from Day 1 of the first Test between England and New Zealand at Lord's on Thursday, June 2, 2022.
Reach fifth round for first time in 10 years
At The Oval were Broad's father former England cricketer and ICC Referee Chris Broad (he scored three hundreds in consecutive Ashes Tests in the 1986 series), his sister Gemma, who once worked as performance analyst for the England cricket team, his partner Mollie King (a singer who is part of the girl band The Saturdays) and infant daughter Anabella (born last November).
IMAGES from Day 5 of the WTC Final between Australia and India, played at The Oval, in London, on Sunday.
Sabalenka, who was set to face American Emina Bektas, was replaced in the draw by Russian Erika Andreeva, while fellow Belarusian Azarenka's spot was taken up by another lucky loser in Frenchwoman Elsa Jacquemot.
Holders Manchester City beat Chelsea 1-0 with a late Bernardo Silva goal on Saturday to reach the FA Cup final after an absorbing end-to-end Wembley semi-final left the exhausted winners still chasing a domestic double.
England's stand-in captain Ollie Pope has no doubt that Chris Woakes will expertly spearhead their pace attack in the three-test series in Pakistan beginning in Multan on Monday.
A major surprise in the 2024 Google search trends was the absence of iconic names like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, M S Dhoni, and Virat Kohli from the list of the top 10 most-searched athletes.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the Wimbledon Championships, at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, on Wednesday.
Justin Langer got a 'probing delivery' on his possible future as coach of the Indian national team but the former Australian opener like his playing days, judged it perfectly and left the one bowled on the "corridor of uncertainty".
England fast bowler Stuart Broad will retire from cricket at the end of the Ashes series against Australia, he said after the third day of the final Test on Saturday.
Sunday's final promises a fitting climax to a soggy Championships, especially if it scales anywhere near the dizzy heights of last year's classic won by Alcaraz in five sets.
Smith has rarely, if ever, doubted his own talent but even he was aware that his spell at the top of the order was proving unpopular.
Leicester City earned promotion back to the Premier League on Friday after nearest rivals Leeds United were beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers, ensuring the Championship leaders will finish in the top two in the standings.
While Sheffield Shield game for South Australia on a bouncy track would have been ideal preparation for Perth, Head feels that he will relax bit before resuming training for the India series.
Ben Stokes will take time to recover from memories of the catch he dropped, which cost England the first Test in the Ashes 2023 series against Australia.
National record holder long jumper Jeswin Aldrin finished a disappointing 13th with a 7.69m effort in the World Indoor Athletics Championships.
A summary of Saturday's action in the FA Cup third round.
IMAGES from the Premier League matches played on Tuesday.
Australia's victory hinged on the dismissal of Virat Kohli on the final day.
The two teams had numerous chances in the first 90 minutes.
'And to all those people that have chosen to disrespect the player, in this case me, have a goooooood night!'
Champions Trophy headlines Pakistan's home season but India uncertainty remains
India and Maharashtra batter Kedar Jadhav on Monday announced his retirement from international cricket, four years since his last appearance for the national team.
The Kiwi star showered praise on Root for the phenomenal display he has produced on the crease. He admitted that he is a fan of the Englishman and the other two members of the 'Fab Four', Virat Kohli and Steven Smith.
With Kohli and Rohit misfiring, the pressure has mounted on opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and India's middle order to put the kind of scores on the board their bowlers can defend.
South Africa's T20 World Cup campaign has seen them win close matches repeatedly, much to the delight of spinner Tabraiz Shamsi.
Following a victory over Alexei Popyrin at the Queen's Club Championships in his 1,000th tour-level singles contest, Murray withdrew due to the injury while trailing 4-1 in the first set of his second-round match with Jordan Thompson on Wednesday.
India's Diksha Dagar carded 1-under 71 to be placed tied seventh, while her compatriot Aditi Ashok was on tied 13th after an even par round with two holes to go in the women's golf.
Former world number one Andy Murray celebrated his 1,000th tour-level singles match by beating Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the second round at the Queen's Club Championships on Tuesday.
Australian media hailed Pat Cummins' batting heroics as the final blow of a "rope-a-dope" strategy that delivered a thrilling two-wicket win over England
The 35-year-old, who has featured in 85 Tests, is captaining Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy.
Boland credited his intense rehabilitation for getting him back in the national reckoning.
Greece beat England for the first time as striker Vangelis Pavlidis's double earned the visitors a richly-deserved 2-1 victory.
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