Sport

England captain Ben Stokes is out of the first Test against Pakistan after failing to recover from a hamstring injury in time to feature. Stokes, 33, has not played since the beginning of August, but England said 10 days ago he was “on track” to participate in this tour. The all-rounder mainly trained apart from the rest of the squad …

Former lightweight world champion Anthony Crolla: “I think Ball has a strong claim to being the best active fighter in Britain right now. His draw against Rey Vargas should have been a win and he beat a world-class fighter in Raymond Ford. “Ball is on a roll and has been superbly promoted. I see him being a little bit too …

Farke admitted he had never experienced such an incident in his 30 years in football, with such a defining mistake coming with effectively the last touch of the match. The Leeds boss suggested captain Pascal Struijk had seen the ball bounce unkindly in front of his goalkeeper, causing Meslier to let it spin past him. But Farke could not definitively …

Northampton Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I think it was a game of two halves. At half-time everyone was pretty measured, pretty calm – very frustrated I’d say from a playing point of view. “And we knew the things we needed to rectify, they were fairly obvious, and I was very pleased with the …

Paul Pogba’s four-year ban for a doping offence has been reduced to 18 months after winning his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas). Sources close to the 31-year-old Juventus midfielder told BBC Sport he can resume training in January 2025 and will be eligible to play again from March. France international Pogba was suspended by Italy’s national …

Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall has criticised the “amateurish behaviour” in handling fixture scheduling after a Women’s Super League match was postponed at a week’s notice. Chelsea’s WSL game against Manchester United has been called off because of a conflict with the Blues’ European schedule. The new company which now runs the Women’s Super League, The Women’s Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL), …

Watch the best shots from South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt and Tazmin Brits as the pair both strike impressive half-centuries against West Indies at the Women’s T20 World Cup. MATCH REPORT: South Africa cruise to statement World Cup win over Windies Available to UK users only.

Wales boss Rhian Wilkinson says she feels James leads by example. “Angharad has been a consistent performer for this team for so many years, which is summed up by the number of appearances she’s made,” she said. “Her passion and commitment to her country is evident and while she’s not necessarily the most vocal leader, she’s always demanding and offering …

Gloucester-Hartpury have 21 international players unavailable for their opening game of the new season as they begin their quest for a third-straight title.

Of course, history quickly gathers dust. After reaching one goal, new dreams were spoken of in Tuscany. Harrison mentioned pre-game about how 7-8 points could be enough to finish 24th in the new structure and reach the knockout stage, though at that point you wonder how many believed TNS were genuinely targeting such a tally. It turns out they are …