Rob Smyth's Blog, page 7

England v India: first men’s cricket Test, day two – as it happened

Ollie Pope hits his ninth Test century as England fight back against India on day three at Headingley

89th over: India 368-3 (Gill 132, Pant 69) India still have a fair bit of batting to come: Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur. England would love to gain access to Nair, playing his first Test in eight years, while the ball is new. Gill will be aware of that – he is batting in his bubble, playing every ball on its merits, which in this case means a maiden from Woakes.

“Good morning,” writes John Starbuck. “Another puzzle, neurologically speaking, is why so many Test players go for a double-digit choice as their playing number. It must have begun with Joe Root 66, understandably a mild pun, but it looks like there’s a superstition going around. In the system used by some sides, each player has a number according to their debut, counting from the very beginning of Tests, so why not use that? I suppose they feel that anything which boosts confidence gives you an edge and there’s not much to be done about it. Confirm?”

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England v India: first men’s cricket Test, day one – as it happened

India’s new captain Shubman Gill made a charming century to help his side reached 359/3 after being put into bat

4th over: India 14-0 (Jaiswal 10, KL Rahul 4) Carse induces a tentative poke from Kl Rahul and the meaty edge flirts away for a four to deep third.

Good morning to Guy Hornsby:

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Revisited: Manchester United v Galatasaray, 1993 – Forgotten Stories of Football podcast

In this episode: few had expected much from Galatasaray in the European Cup, but United were out of their depth on the pitch amid terrifying hostility and harassment off it

Written by Rob Smyth , read by Emma Powell, studio production from Polly Thomas, sound design by Eloise Whitmore and original music from Mike Payne

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England 0-0 Slovenia: European Under-21 Championship – as it happened

James McAtee and Ethan Nwaneri missed big chances as England were held to a goalless draw by an impressive Slovenia

2 min Slovenia are a good side, who finished top of their qualification group despite losing 4-0 at home to France*. They drew the return game – against a France team that included Desire Doue and Mathys Tel – and won five of the other six.

1 min England kick off from left to right as we watch. It really is warm out there, 28 degrees apparently. Little brisk.

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South Africa v Australia: World Test Championship final cricket, day three – as it happened

South Africa finished on 213-2, needing 69 more to win, after a wonderful partnership between Aiden Markram and an injured Temba Bavuma

43rd over: Australia 148-9 (Starc 19, Hazlewood 0) The over started with Starc swinging hard at a drive, down the ground for two. Then another for one, then the Lyon wicket. Hazlewood blocks out a couple, swishes at another. Survives the over. Time for Starc to have a dip, one thinks. He has the third highest score in the innings.

Oh, yes! Nine for Rabada. Up the hill, seams in at Lyon a touch and nails him on the knee roll, front leg right in front. It’s not bouncing over on this wicket. A quick decision from the umpire, and the Australian review is in vain.

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England 1-3 Senegal: men’s international football friendly – as it happened

Senegal became the first African men’s side to beat England as Jude Bellingham’s leveller was ruled out by VAR for handball

2 min ITV’s Sam Matterface reminds us that England have never lost to an African team. For a split-second I thought he was wrong, then I remembered that England won the Italia 90 quarter-final against Cameroon. To this day, I know not how.

1 min Senegal, in green, kick off from right to left as we watch.

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Andorra 0-1 England: World Cup 2026 qualifier – as it happened

Harry Kane scored the only goal as England laboured to beat Andorra in a forgettable World Cup qualifier

Jonathan Wilson on Ivan Toney

When he left Brentford for Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League, it made sense that he should lose his place in the England squad. He had voluntarily taken himself to a lower level and it was a reasonable assumption that his sharpness would diminish as a consequence. But he scored 23 goals in 29 starts this season, playing well enough at least to be entered into the conversation for squad places.

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England ease to 21-run win over West Indies in first men’s T20 cricket international – as it happened

Liam Dawson enjoyed a fairytale return to international cricket, taking 4-20 in a comfortable England victory

4th over: England 33-1 (Smith 16, Buttler 12) Jason Holder changes ends to good effect. An early wide didn’t bode well but he was in control after that and conceded only singles. Buttler, on the charge, was also beaten by a nice slower ball.

West Indies have dragged it back after conceding 16 from the first over.

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Spain 5-4 France: Nations League semi-final – as it happened

Spain, who were 5-1 up at one stage, survived a late rally from France in a festival of attacking football in Stuttgart

4 min A dangerous cross from Porro is headed away. At the other end, barely 15 seconds later, Theo Hernandez cuts across a decent rising drive from the edge of the area. Simon has it covered even though it only just clears the bar.

In other news, Germany’s favourite inverted full-back Marc Cucurella is being booed every time he gets on the ball.

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England beat West Indies by 143 runs in second women’s cricket ODI – as it happened

Twin centuries for Amy Jones and Tammy Beaumont take England to a 143-run victory and an unassailable series lead

4th over: England 26-0 (Beaumont 10, Jones 15) A sharp delivery from Fraser almost gets through Jones, who is able to deflect it onto the pad. When Fraser gets it right she looks a proper bowler; her problem at this stage is consistency. That’s a good second over, with just one run off the bat – and that came from a misfield.

3rd over: England 24-0 (Beaumont 10, Jones 14) Another boundary for Amy Jones, clipped crisply through midwicket off James. England are off to a flyer.

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