Le Journal

Updates from the evening session at Melbourne Park Mboko sets up Sabalenka clash after win | Mail KatyNorrie and Zverev are going through the pre-match formalities. The umpire tells the players to smile big for the cameras. Not sure how easy that is for Norrie, given the British No 2, the last Brit standing in the singles, has lost to Zverev in all six of their previous meetings. The last time they played at the Australian Open was in 2024, when Norrie was denied 7-6 in the fifth set. But Norrie will at least take something from the fact he was able to push Zverev all the way then, and the fact that this is a night match, with slightly slower conditions, may help Norrie, because the rallies will be longer and more attritional and that’s what he loves.Up next: we’ve got De Minaur v Tiafoe on Rod Laver and Norrie v Zverev on John Cain and Svitolina v Shnaider on Margaret Court. Continue reading...

Opener had not played 50-over cricket in more than two years, meaning the England selectors are going on instinctAnother continent, fresh pyjamas and, after the disappearance of spin in Australia, a contest dominated by the slow stuff. But it was natural at times to rewind to the Ashes during England’s series-opening defeat against Sri Lanka on Thursday, stretching their losing run away from home in one-day internationals to 11.The flashbacks hit immediately when Jamie Overton took the new ball for the first time in his ODI career, a middle-overs-man miscast, the same way Brydon Carse was when he opened in the Tests. Sri Lanka’s fielding late on in the chase – Dunith Wellalage’s hopscotch grab on the boundary to end Rehan Ahmed’s pyro-party, Dhananjaya de Silva’s swooper at backward point to get rid of Liam Dawson – was clinical, reminiscent of Australia. Continue reading...

James Bord’s consortium is the preferred bidder to take over Sheffield Wednesday but his data-led player recruitment record is mixed, especially with UnitedSheffield Wednesday fans will be delighted to hear that one associate of James Bord describes the preferred bidder for their club as “a mini Tony Bloom”, although the professional poker player’s references from the other side of the Steel City are rather less complimentary.Until it became clear late last year that Bord was planning to buy Wednesday his data company, Short Circuit Science, had a consultancy contract with Sheffield United to assist with their recruitment, which, as their position in the lower reaches of the Championship indicates, has delivered limited success. Continue reading...

Mateus Fernandes steels West Ham, Dominic Calvert-Lewin faces a homecoming and Manchester City need Marc GuéhiTop scorers: check out the latest standingsThe absence of the wantaway Lucas Paquetá has given Mateus Fernandes a chance to take on more responsibility for West Ham. Paquetá, who is said to be nursing a minor back problem, was unavailable again for last week’s win at Spurs but Nuno Espírito Santo’s struggling side coped without the Flamengo target. They called on Fernandes to dictate the flow in midfield and the diligent Portuguese did not disappoint. Fernandes moved the ball cleverly, picked up an assist and looked like that rarest of things: a smart signing from West Ham. They will need the 21-year-old, who joined from Southampton for £38m last summer, to shine again with Paquetá looking unlikely to return against high-flying Sunderland at the London Stadium. Jacob SteinbergWest Ham v Sunderland, Saturday 12.30pm (all times GMT)Burnley v Tottenham, Saturday 3pmFulham v Brighton, Saturday 3pmManchester City v Wolves, Saturday 3pmBournemouth v Liverpool, Saturday 5.30pm Continue reading...