All Blacks brace for Bok-lash as Erasmus adds late fly-half plot twist

Second Test, day two: England 290 & 81-3; Pakistan 110 Ollie Robinson takes 4-11; Emilio Gay unbeaten on 30 Joe Root did not want the England captaincy when the prospect started to be floated earlier this summer. After performing the role as a ­stand-in for the suspended Ben Stokes against New Zealand at the Oval, his father, Matt, floated a full-time return as a hypothetical and says this was met with a “no”. Root was apparently swayed by the impending arrival of Stephen ­Fleming as head coach, with the pair speaking regularly before roles were locked down. But watching this ­one-sided second day against Pakistan at Lord’s – and indeed the ­one-sided series opener at ­Headingley – one wonders whether being handed the keys to this pace attack was another clincher for Root...

Seven people have been charged in connection with damage to Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland in 2025.

Much like Central Cee, the Chelsea attacker is a distinct presence and right now is perhaps the only truly creative English player out there This week Central Cee launched his new Premier League song, called The Team. It owes its existence to a youth-centred, fist-bumping corporate tie-in with Coca-Cola, the press release for which appears to have involved a man in golf-casual clothing frowning at his computer screen for half an hour before typing “cool urban street words, what are?” into the AI search box, then nipping off for a quick brain-bowl strategy lunch with Roger from the Bluesky Synergy hub. The song is really good, because Central Cee is really good. He’s super-smart with words, funny and snappy, but also surprisingly tender and raw...