Spectator sport
English cricket doesn’t travel well
It’s a tricky old time for cricket. The collapse of England’s World Cup white-ballers – and how they have managed…
It’s a blessing that England didn’t make the rugby World Cup final
In the days when Spitting Image was funny it featured a song called ‘I’ve Never Met A Nice South African’.…
Simone Biles is in a league of her own
Has there ever been an athlete, male or female, quite like Simone Biles, the greatest gymnast of all time? She…
Will the US catch the birdie at the Ryder Cup?
At last the Ryder Cup is here – well, in Rome – and with it Europe’s biennial chance to stick…
The man who won’t go away
‘What are you still doing here?’ joked Daniil Medvedev to Novak Djokovic after their US Open tennis final – a…
England need to look alive to have a shot at the Rugby World Cup
So the end is near… or it certainly will be soon if England’s rugby players carry on trying to do…
England’s rugby World Cup has disaster written all over it
England’s preparation for the upcoming rugby World Cup is beginning to look like a slow-motion car crash, after two pathetic…
Stuart Broad would make a great politician
And they said Test cricket was in its death throes! This epic, attention-grabbing, emotion-wringing Ashes series ended in the last…
Cricket, tennis and the Women’s World Cup: what a summer
Great sport needs great rivalries, and that is why anyone with a pulse must celebrate being in the throes of…
If you thought Lord’s was rowdy, get ready for Leeds
Shouldn’t we all just calm down a bit after Lord’s? Once prime ministers decide to intervene, you know things have…
Why we all need an Ollie Robinson
It’s a long way from Edgbaston to Karachi, but that’s where my thoughts were turning after Australia’s last-gasp victory in…
Football bosses must carry the can for players’ bad behaviour
If you couldn’t watch the Europa League final between Sevilla and Roma, then you should count yourself fortunate. It was…
Is Uefa just useless – or is it worse than that?
It’s not clear how many readers of this journal will be affected, but anyone planning a stag weekend in Prague…
The parallels between Anna Kournikova and Emma Raducanu
Who can turn lying on a hospital gurney into a photo op? Emma Raducanu can, of course – beaming as…
Harry Kane is many things – but he’s not a leader
What’s not to love about David de Gea? Manchester United’s goalkeeper might appear to have it all: a humongous salary,…
Football’s growing shame
It would take a brave man to pick a fight with Roy Keane, and nobody could quarrel with his view…
In praise of Sharron Davies
It’s been quite a while since we celebrated any of Sharron Davies’s considerable achievements in the pool – well, a…
What’s going wrong with English rugby
Rejoice, as you don’t normally say after a hammering like the peerless French dished out to England at Twickenham. But…
A Test match for the ages
Readers of a certain vintage might be familiar with the work of J.A. (Charles) Cuddon, a teacher at Emanuel School…
England rugby must try harder
The first two rounds of the Six Nations have exploded across the sporting landscape insuperlative – draining displays of skill…
Why England vs Scotland is always one to watch
If you think the Calcutta Cup is just any old rugby match between England and Scotland, then the latest in…
Is Eddie Jones’s fate written in the stars?
Something is happening here, and you do know what it is, don’t you Mr Jones? Stargazers – and even some…
Let’s scrap the January transfer window
Norwich City are a likeable club, and currently run by a pleasant-seeming bloke called Allan Russell. He used to be…
