Posts

Posted on

‘A sign of respect’: Eddie Hearn defends playing Saudi anthem at Wembley

  • Promoter denies that Joshua-Dubois was sportswashing
  • ‘I’ll play the anthem if they want … at every show’

Eddie Hearn would be willing to play the Saudi Arabian anthem at every fight if the country bankrolling boxing asked him to do so, amid further accusations the Gulf kingdom was attempting to sportswash its reputation as a repressive regime.

There was criticism over the decision to play the anthem before Saturday’s heavyweight fight between Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua at Wembley. The fight was part of the Riyadh Season series backed by the nation’s General Entertainment Authority under the chairmanship of Turki Alalshikh, an adviser in Saudi Arabia’s royal court.

Continue reading...
Posted on

Ben Stokes willing to return to England’s ODI team under McCullum

  • Test captain would be open to comeback for India tour
  • Hamstring injury rehabilitation remains a concern

The England Test captain, Ben Stokes, would be willing to return to the white-ball setup under their new coach, Brendon McCullum, if asked but added that there had been no conversations about him returning to the limited-overs squads.

McCullum’s appointment as head coach across all formats came after a two-year period in which England had separate coaches for the white and red-ball teams and followed Matthew Mott’s departure as limited-overs coach in July. The New Zealander will take charge of the limited-overs sides when England tour India in January.

Continue reading...
Posted on

Dan Biggar: ‘I quite enjoyed taking flak and proving people wrong the next week’

The former Wales fly-half on breaking the mould to survive in the No 10 jersey, disappointment over concessions from players’ strike threats and life by the beach in Toulon

“I’m certainly not your stereotypical Welsh fly‑half and I don’t apologise for being different,” Dan Biggar says with a wry smile at a little restaurant on the beach front in Toulon. “I quite like the fact that I was different and did it my way.”

Storm clouds are rolling in from the sea and the atmospheric setting adds to a compelling conversation with Biggar, who, in contrast to his feisty image on the rugby pitch, is a friendly and thoughtful man. The darkening sky reminds us of Wales, which, for Biggar, “has always been a land of poets and dreamers”.

Continue reading...
Posted on

From the Pocket: Sydney stars ready to take centre stage on AFL grand final return

Want to get this in your inbox every Wednesday afternoon? Sign up for the AFL newsletter here

“We just buggered it up today,” John Longmire said after the 2022 grand final. “It’ll take a long time to get over that.” That afternoon, they were a middleweight fighting a heavyweight. Geelong’s team was the oldest to ever take the field in a grand final. Half the Sydney team were 23 or under. They were a team still learning, and not quite ready. They were surprisingly passive, constantly rushed, and often pushed aside. With the exception of Chad Warner, their stars were barely sighted. In selection, in method, and in execution, they erred. “We hardly got anything right,” Longmire said.

It was a grim task, but they reviewed that game forensically – the lead-in and the first half in particular. But 2023 was a bit of a nothing year. They gave up a lot of three-quarter time leads. They’d go to sleep for 15 minutes and let games slip.

This is an extract from Guardian Australia’s free weekly AFL email, From the Pocket. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions

Continue reading...