and sort of aspires to it, then go and have a go because you never know what's going to happen. if you thought darts wasjust a pub game, you might be shocked to hear what the future holds for a world champion. it's difficult to put a number on it. i would think the value of winning the world championships in today's market would be a minimum of £5 million and possibly £10 million or possibly more. phil taylor won his first of 16 world titles in 1990, the year cross was born. nicknamed ‘the power', last night was his last ever professional match. he will go down as the best the game has ever seen. you're never going to see another phil taylor in any sport, i don't believe. i don't think someone can dominate their sport for that amount of time.

so it's probably the coming of me but, at the same time, we were saying farewell to a legend. to shout in his face at the end and do all that, i wasn't willing to do that. i've got too much respect for him in that way. cross now has set his sights on becoming world number one. when your year starts as well as this, anything is possible. natalie pirks, bbc news. newsnight is coming up on bbc two. here's evan davies. it's a new year, but old politics is dead. somehow a lot seemed to change in 2017 for both the tory and labour parties. new political rules apply, which is why the pundits got so much wrong. so tonight we give the pundits another chance to work out where we're going. join me now, on bbc two. here on bbc one, it's time for the news where you are. hello and welcome to sportsday, i'm holly hamilton. coming up on tonight's programme... watford fail to rain on manchester city's parade as the premier league leaders record their 20th win of the season... andy murray reveals his

despair as he pulls out of the brisbane international admitting he may need surgery on a long term hip injury. and england prepares for the final test of the ashes series — but can they secure success at last in sydney? good evening — plenty to come in the programme, but we'll start with tonight's premier league action where even in pretty challenging weather conditions leaders manchester city rained down on watford at the etihad. a win that puts pep guardiola's side 15 points clear at the top of the table with just 16 matches remaining. it took less than a0 seconds for raheem sterling to open the scoring, while an own goaljust minutes later added to watford's woes.

it was city's record goal—scorer sergio aguero who made it three after the break — his tenth goal in six appearances against watford in all competitons. the visitors pulled one back to make it 3-1, giving city their 20th win of the season. we played really good, we could have scored, i don't know how many goals, but after dropping two points, we spoke about our reaction. they are big teams, and since the beginning, we've done it with a performance and we've done it with a performance and we opened up the game. elsewhere, tottenham are up to fifth after a 2—0 win against swansea at a decidedly soggy liberty stadium. harry kane started as a substitute but spurs still had enough to win and leave swansea rooted to the bottom of the table. tim hague reports. new year, same weather in wales. but

swa nsea ha d new year, same weather in wales. but swansea had to hope that times are changing for them. carlos carvalhal with a win in his first game in charge, but tottenham have a tough test next. harry kane was on the bench with a cold so in came former swa nsea bench with a cold so in came former swansea striker fernando llorente and of course can he scored the opener despite being well offside. a 5°99y opener despite being well offside. a soggy start for the swans would only continue in torrential conditions as he almost added a second... but the home side persisted. hugo larousse stopping them that time and while the introduction of harry kane suggested some swansea defending, it was they who attacked. vandoorne‘s header was the closest they came before harry kane indeed had his say. setting up dele alli later on to seal another victory for spurs. same old was onesie, bottom and in need of a master plan from him. tim

hague, bbc news. crystal palace‘s remarkable run under manager roy hodgson continued. they came back from one down at southampton to win 2—1, luka milivojevic the winner. palace are up to fourteenth. southampton are above the relegation zone only on goal difference. we could be tempted, listening to sports scientists. but we were determined not to listen to any of that. we were determined to go and work as hard and run as hard, and do all of the things that we are doing. we have a full week to prepare for games and i'm really impressed by the fact that players could do that. their work was phenomenal, the two front players all the way through. west ham have pulled themselves out of the relegation zone after coming from behind to seal a dramatic late 2—1 win against west brom at the london stadium. andy carroll scored both the hammers goals. west brom stay second from bottom while stoke fall into the bottom

three. meanwhile, championship leaders wolves have gone 12 points clear at the top after they beat brentford 3—0 at home. fulham beat ipswich 4—1 while birmingham move off the bottom of the table with a 2—0 win over reading. andy murray has called his rehab for a long term hip injury "demoralising" after pulling out of the brisbane international ahead of his first match this week. the former world number one hasn't played competitively sincejuly, and admits he's considering having surgery. here's our tennis correspondent russell fuller. this instagram post gives us a real insight into how he is feeling, and how traumatised he has been by the whole experience. this inability to do what he loves most which is competing against the best players in the world on a tennis court. his frustration is the advice that he was given seems to have been very much that rehab is his best option

and he always worked incredibly hard at making sure he's done all he can in his power to recover as quickly as possible but once he's put it to the test against other top players in the world here this week, he has so in the world here this week, he has so far realised even the best part of six months rest hasn't got his hip to where it needs to be. therefore, although he still doesn't wa nt to therefore, although he still doesn't want to go down this route, he is saying that he may have to consider surgery, saying that he may have to consider surgery, which would probably mean three months out of the game, before he even begins to make his return. if he goes down that route it would be some at the very earliest before he saw him on the tennis court again. —— before we saw him. our tennis correspondent russell fuller there. moving down the coast now and the fifth and final ashes test gets under way in sydney tomorrow night. joe root‘s side, who trail 3—0 to australia, earned a creditable draw in the last test in melbourne. that's given renewed hope of a long awaited test win going into the clash at the scg.

here's patrick gearey. and so, to sydney. a particularly stormy sydney as it is at the moment, in the final port of this ashes series. england go into this match knowing there is no prospect of that humiliating 5—0 whitewash but also knowing that they've not been able to force a victory, in large part due to an inability to ta ke large part due to an inability to take 20 wickets, which has brought attention on their spinner, moeen ali. use only managed three wickets in the whole series. there's prospect he may be replaced by mason crane, the leg—spinner with some experience of this part of the world, having played for new south wales in the sheffield shield. whether mason crane plays depends on the pitch and we should get a better look at that tomorrow but england will take part in their performance in melbourne,

it was a battle but they have the better of the draw there. i asked mark stoneman, the opening batsmen, whether he felt their momentum had switched towards england... whether he felt their momentum had switched towards england. . ij whether he felt their momentum had switched towards england... i think it is given confidence moving forward , it is given confidence moving forward, the work that we've tried to do and the things that we try and put in place early in the series, they've eventually come through to a degree, but ultimately we want to wina game degree, but ultimately we want to win a game of cricket on this tour. there are few things more symbolic of australia than the sydney opera house but as for the cricket team, they will be determined to beat england, that is the marketing slogan for this ashes series but now that they cannot win it 5—0 and have already big dramatic the ashes, that would drain some motivation from them. it's from those who say they should rest mitchell starc, he missed the last test with a bruised heel missed the last test with a bruised heel. the bowled increasingly sharply but australia with the series against south africa coming up, some say that playing mitchell sta rc up, some say that playing mitchell starc is too much of a risk but australia will want to underline their dominance over england, some in the england camp say that 3— syria is not a fair representation of how things have gone so far but

pat cummins doesn't agree with that. we have won those key moments and held off the pressure with those big partnerships. 0r held off the pressure with those big partnerships. or when they have run through us with those wickets. a ten wicket win, brisbane shows it is a bit closer than that and the same in adelaide. but yes, i think 3—0 is a fair score. they no longer, as they used to, get the boat home after ashes series but they will fly home after this test match. is the last chance to impress but as for the weather, it has closed in this evening. it was beautiful earlier. we were expecting some brain but when the test match starts, it should be clear, and increasingly hot and sunny, up to 36 degrees —— we are expecting some rain. there should be some time for england but do they have the ability to force a first victory of this ashes series? patrick gearey reporting from sydney. just before we go this evening normally for footballers...

it's all about winning trophies... but a playerfrom ireland has started his 2018 with a very different type of victory after winning a millionaire lottery. kevin o'connor, who plays for preston north end, was visiting family in county wexford where his uncle had bought him the ticket as a present last month. the defender takes home one million euros and comes just two days after he was an unsused subsitute for his side's defeat to middlesborough on new year's day. maybe some of his winning ways will rub off on them. that's all from sportsday. coming up in a moment, the papers. an empty newsroom but a very full

studio here! hello, and welcome to oui’ studio here! hello, and welcome to our look at what the papers will be bringing you tomorrow. with me are kate andrews, news editor at the institute of economic affairs and ned simons, assistant political editor at huffpost uk. it's great to see you both, happy new year. you havejust it's great to see you both, happy new year. you have just returned from the us and you are nursing a hangover from from the us and you are nursing a hangoverfrom new from the us and you are nursing a hangover from new year's from the us and you are nursing a hangoverfrom new year's eve! it's good to see you both, and i'm glad you are both looking so well! the financial times says... that the uk is looking to join a pacific trade group after brexit. tomorrow's metro leads on the man jailed after killing his third partner. theodore johnson's last victim had endured his violence for decades. the i criticises the transport secretary chris grayling, who was on an official visit to qatar as rail passengers saw the highest rise to fares in five years. the telegraph's lead story — the nhs tells hospitals to cancel non—urgent operations to cope with a flu outbreak. the daily express reports on thousands of foreign women coming

to the uk to have babies — health tourism that could be costing the nhs £16 million. the daily mirror highlighting pressures on the health service with some children's teeth in worse shape than those living in the developing world. and with a dazzling picture of the first super mean of 2018, as its orbit brings our heavenly companion extra close to us... let's begin with the telegraph, the nhs tells hospitals to cancel all routine operations. it is winter, the nhs are hugely overburdened at this time of year but it is particularly bad this year? this time of year but it is particularly bad this year7m this time of year but it is particularly bad this year? it is a huge story, to cancel all

nonemergency operations, that's about 50,000 operations until at least february, with senior co nsulta nt least february, with senior consultant saying that patients are being treated in third world conditions among mass overcrowding. there are some important points here. we need to scrap the idea that the nhs is the envy of the world, we have consultants coming out saying it feels like a third world country but in this international comparisons, when you look at the nhs, it tends to rank in the bottom third internationally. if we are to fix this problem we need honest and serious conversations about the nhs. if you are to continue to have a system that is fundamentally based on rationing, that's not really what they do in the rest of europe, you will run into crucial situations where 50,000 people will be denied operations that are crucial, a lot of these people who are needing hip or knee operations are in a lot of pain. weir there are some specific things

going on here. people are taking taxis increasingly to hospitals, they will have two ban the rules on mixed sex roles, that is what people like because of the pressure on the nhs, there's always a winter crisis, it doesn't make it any less serious, the fact we get it every year, and it doesn't seem to be getting better. it would be wonderful if we didn't have a crisis,