Simon Barnes

Girl power

5 August 2017 9:00 am

England won the cricket World Cup for the fourth time. Huzzah! England reached the semi-finals of the European football championship.…

Game changers

15 July 2017 9:00 am

Have you been cheering for the excellent Johanna Konta at Wimbledon? Go, Jo! Or should that be Go, Yo? Johanna…

Andy’s ace

1 July 2017 9:00 am

Who will you cheer for if Andy Murray meets Roger Federer at Wimbledon? It’s not a straightforward question, at least…

Chez newts

3 June 2017 9:00 am

The dragon hung motionless above the surface of the earth, belly picked out in the colours of fire and a…

Side-saddle is sexy

14 April 2017 11:00 pm

These days there are more than 1,000 members of the Side Saddle Association. Well, of course there are. People go…

Little birds, big trouble

18 March 2017 9:00 am

A British military base is being used for a multi-million-quid criminal enterprise, possibly involving the Russian mafia — and Britain…

Save our stables!

28 January 2017 9:00 am

There are plans in place to tax horses out of British life. Proposed adjustments in business rates for non–residential properties…

A stroke of genius

14 January 2017 9:00 am

The picture had been chosen for its utterly gratuitous depiction of female beauty. It showed Justine Henin, the Belgian tennis…

Not cricket

7 January 2017 9:00 am

Sport is a serious matter. If you have any doubts on that score, shed them now, because this is to…

The medal machine

20 August 2016 9:00 am

Never forget Atlanta. Every time a British athlete wins a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Rio, remember the…

Olympic Notebook

13 August 2016 9:00 am

How strange it is to be watching the Olympic Games on television. No wonder people have such rum ideas of…

What wasps do for us

23 July 2016 9:00 am

Dom Perignon, Pimms, Carling Black Label, Coca-Cola — one’s as good as the other, so far as they’re concerned. Even…

What do we gain by burning ivory?

4 June 2016 9:00 am

Burning stockpiles of ivory was meant to wipe out poaching. After nearly 30 years, is it working?

Sport is a fairytale factory – as Leicester City remind us

23 April 2016 9:00 am

Leicester City’s triumphs demonstrate once again sport’s capacity to replay archetypal stories

I adore sport. I can no longer stomach boxing. Here’s why

2 April 2016 9:00 am

In most sports, injuries happen when things go wrong. In boxing, they’re the ultimate goal. It isn’t right

How my disabled son has changed my mind about political correctness

19 March 2016 9:00 am

Here’s another stock joke for your collection: Pembroke College, Cambridge, has cancelled a fancy dress party themed on Around the…

The noisy, filthy, scary glory of geese

5 March 2016 9:00 am

They’re noisy, filthy, scary – and glorious. No wonder we have such complicated feelings about them

How humanity learned to love whales (and what they taught us in return)

13 February 2016 9:00 am

How humanity learned to love them – and what we learned about ourselves in the process

Novak Djokovic, the world number one, said that he turned down US$220,000 to throw a match. (Photo: Getty)

This could be the year that sport starts to die

30 January 2016 9:00 am

If sport loses the public’s faith – and it’s starting to – then all its power and glory will fade

The joy of winter birdwatching (and how it’s changing)

12 December 2015 9:00 am

Our harsh December days are a temperate escape for some gorgeous birds

Through terror and scandal, the joy of sport endures

21 November 2015 9:00 am

Through terror and scandal, it endures

How your garden can help save the hedgehog

3 October 2015 8:00 am

Mrs Tiggywinkle’s in deep trouble. But your garden could help

Paula Radcliffe is a victim of our hypocrisy and confusion about drugs and sport

19 September 2015 8:00 am

Do you want to see Paula Radcliffe’s blood? If so, you’re not alone. Radcliffe, three-time winner of the London Marathon…

Rhinos are being wiped out for the sake of fairytales

29 August 2015 9:00 am

Can anything protect the rhino from rapacious human stupidity?

Why nothing in sport beats thrashing the Aussies at cricket

15 August 2015 9:00 am

Why nothing in sport beats thrashing the Aussies at cricket