patrick gearey watched the action.bley was always going to pause and reflect tonight, but events in leicester made the minute of remembrance still more poignant. football at its best can be escapism, especially when manchester city are in full flow and especially for riyad mahrez — the goal—scorer until earlier this year had been a leicester player. tottenham and wembley looked slightly worn. the mud and markings told of the nfl game played on this pitch only yesterday — maybe that explained harry kane's touch here. pep guardiola has built manchester city's success on perpetual motion, passing until there is a chance. the only problem here, they did not get around to a shot until it was too late. that is what the boss would have done. spurs survived, having enjoyed their best ever start a premier league season. they spent the evening running into city's defensive brick wall, waiting for a crack. here it was. there it went. erik lamela would not get another go. this is a gritty rather than particularly pretty city but t

patrick gearey reports.ch will go into a fifth day but india will inevitably win it with needing just one wicket to do so. with needing just one wicket to do so. england suffered batting colla pses. so. england suffered batting collapses. jennings caught behind. alastair cook caught in the slips sparking doubts about how much longer he will go on in this england side. 0llie pope, another caught in the slips. ben stokes and jos buttler showed resistance, stokes to his slowest test 50 just after tea. the real starjos buttler going for his maiden test century. an innings that shows his maturity as a test batsman. he was trapped lbw by the bowler who took the new ball. 0ver twojimmy bowler who took the new ball. 0ver two jimmy anderson and bowler who took the new ball. 0ver twojimmy anderson and adil rashid to see out the final overs to take this into a fifth day. it might only last one ball. it is inevitable india will make the series 2—1.m was important to turn up and show character and fight and not give it t

patrick gearey, bbc news.s were turned away from chelsea's match at slavia prague after the premier league club identified them in a video appearing to sing a racist song and making reference to liverpool forward mohamed salah. three other fans singing in the video did not turn up to the game, but the bbc understands that chelsea are trying to identify them and will ban them if they are found to be season ticket holders or members. the club have made a statement which says... let's round up some of the day's other football stories now. league i side blackpool won't be deducted 12 points as a result of going into receivership. receivers were appointed by the high court in february, forcing then—owner 0wen 0yston to pay ex—director valeri belokon the £25 million he is owed. according to efl regulations, any club that becomes subject to an insolvency event, including the appointment of a receiver, could be deducted 12 points. they're currenly 8th in the table. meanwhile in scotland, hearts have closed part of the

patrick gearey, bbc news. look, i am look, iam not look, i am not thinking too far ahead.t, we have got a long tournament here, just a matter of us taking it game by game and i am not getting ahead of myself. we just want to be consistent in everything we can focus on and control is cricket and we have three departments to make sure we are clinical and in terms of batting, bowling and fielding. i wa nt to batting, bowling and fielding. i want to be the best we can terms of performance. let's take a quick look at some of the other stories making the headlines today. warrington wolves are a step closer to a return to wembley after a 28—22 victory over hull kingston rovers in rugby league's challenge cup. last year's beaten finalists are now just a game away from their third final in four years. frankie dettori and ana purna won the oaks at epsom this afternoon at odds of 8—1, just beating pink dogswood, with fleeting in third. it was dettori's fifth oaks win, coming 25 years after his first. and colombian estaban chaves left the breakaway reeling on the final climb to claim

patrick gearey, bbc news.to get better as the tournaments go on and we build on confidence, so pleased with the start today, and there is a lot of room for us to improve for next week and a few things to tidy up on, with the breakdown and a few things. yeah, that will be our focus for this week. barcelona's lionel messi won the fifa best men's player of the year this evening in milan, while usa's megan rapinoe won the women's award. it's the 6th time messi has won the award, he beat cristiano ronaldo and virgilvan djik. england's lucy bronze and american alex morgan missed out to rapinoe — she scored 6 goals for the usa on the way to their world cup victory. and also became a vocal advocate for many of the issues facing women footballers during the world cup — and continued that theme this evening in her acceptance speech. i feel like, if we ifeel like, if we really i feel like, if we really want to have meaningful change, what i think is most inspiring would be if everybody other than... if they were as outra

down but after a draw in the boxing day test they will hoping to gain something from the for patrick gearey sydney. the ground staff are making the final preparations to the pitch ahead of the fifth test. pitches have been in the news after dawn in melbourne was described at poor, but the groundsman said he was very proud of his pitch and very pleased with the team's effort, and we should get a good match. there is every chance for england to finally

as patrick gearey reports.ot a glorious sunday morning scene for most unless you have a cricket ball in hand. cloud cover helps.

patrick gearey reports.

patrick gearey reports. the sunday morning waiting game.ng to get their skates on, england came out with their pads on, leaving bowling to later, even with the threat of rain. for the first half an hour, took runs however they can, urgent, not elegant. time ticking on, rain getting closer, sam curran took one risk to many, joe root called them in, england declared, time to bowl. so, india went out into the storm, murali vijay has not managed a run off the bat in the match. he became the 100th wicket forjimmy anderson at lord's. the next to exit was rahul, in room 101 for a batter.

patrick gearey, bbc news.ome from behind to draw i—i against manchester united at old trafford. adam lallana the hero for the league leaders. his late goal cancelled out marcus rashford's opener and means liverpool are 6 points clear at the top. nick parrot was watching this one for us. rarely have liverpool arrived at old trafford as favourites to beat united, it's almost 30 years since there was as big a gap between the two sides in the league as there is today. but the magnitude of this encounter is often a great leveller. liverpool missing mohamed salah in attack, and looking shaky at the back. roberto firmino would usually finish off chances like this, and it cost liverpool dearly afterward. a sloppy pass, a quick counterattack, echoes of the united of old as marcus rashford rushed forward, to put the home side ahead. howls of protest from liverpool silenced by the video assistant referee, ruling divock origi was not fouled at the start of the move. var soon upsetjurgen klopp and his men again when sadio

leclerc was a good friend of the huberts — as patrick gearey reports.for the driver killed in the formula 2 race here yesterday, he was only 22. a tragic reminder of the risks drivers face as an occupational hazard. it's lights out and away we go! at these speeds anything can happen. many of the crowd had come to watch max verstappen, born in belgium and yet his race was over within a lap. most importantly, he was unharmed. meanwhile, lewis hamilton was chasing the ferraris. hamilton took longer in the pits than he might have but in his mercedes he knows he can make up time. he passed sebastian vettel into second and went after charles leclerc but the man from monaco had extra motivation to win his first grand prix. he'd race with his friend for many years. difficult to enjoy the weekend like this. some achievement but one of the moments of his life had been put in a sober context. some things are more important. patrick gearey, bbc news. on the one hand, i have got a dream that has been realised. on the other hand it has been a really difficult weekend

patrick gearey, bbc news.ave liked to bowl them out before the close, but to keep them under 300, hopefully we can get the last week it quickly in the morning. if we get them under 300, we will be batting nicely, we are confident we can get a first—innings lead, so i think quinton de kock played beautifully, it would have been nice to get him early, but that is the way cricket works, all in all i think pretty pleased. in the premier league, mikel arteta could only manage a draw in his first game in charge of arsenal, while carlo ancelotti got his everton career off to a winning start. earlier, spurs came back from a goal down to beat brighton despite yet more var controversy. here's natalie pirks. it never rains, it pours. yesterday, jose mourinho‘s dog died, and tottenham were still reeling from allegations of racism in the crowd during their defeat to chelsea last weekend, but there is no let—up for footballers at christmas. tottenham's subdued fans had something to cheer. kane putting it away! 0rdid he? var

patrick gearey reports. sam billings had been busy.t behind the wheel, this morning behind the stumps. he had driven from canterbury to headingley to be a covid replacement. in front of him, new zealand's roadblock. tom blundell and daryl mitchell have spent three testifying england. now they build a lead. and slowly tucked in. england's scribbling for crumbs, both kiwis made 50s, always staying just out of reach, always surviving. such was there escape all that you that even being given out was no guarantee. mitchell wanted this checked, but he was in line this time. relief, belief. now, jack leach assigned opening. this one bold tim southee and bruised sam billings. the next trick she was kinder for billings. the next trick she was kinderfor him. neil wagner caught kinder for him. neil wagner caught by kinderfor him. neil wagner caught by billings, leg behind wicket. it is in here somewhere! there. leach would end up with five the innings, ten in the match, and when would be to 96 to win. when they chase, they chase hard. this englan

patrick gearey reports. get used to take time to make progress in birmingham.ll does on occasion. it still does on occasion, but one juggernaut had been advancing quicker than expected. virat kohli and company arrived hoping to drive home their advantage. job one took five minutes. a total 287, but curran‘s

patrick gearey, bbc news. newsnight‘s about to begin over on bbc two in a few moments. urban. tonight, if theresa may's sit deal is to get through, labour will be crucial. we ask keir starmer what would take for labour to back the deal. join us on bbc two. that's it from me. now on bbc one it's time to join the news teams where you are. hello and welcome to sportsday. i'm holly hamilton. we're live in antigua as england's cricketers take aim for the double in their world t20 semi final against india in antigua. nothing is impossible, the words of robert kubica as it's announced he'll return to formula one eight years after a life changing crash. he's not going anywhere, sadio mane agrees a new long—term contract at liverpool. hello and welcome to the programme. we start in sunnier climbs in the carribean where the semi—finals of the women's 2020 world cup are taking place. the first one is well underway with australia and the hosts and defending champions the west indies but later it's england who'll be looking for victory to move one step closer to being named double w

patrick gearey, bbc news.ens are being given one last manicure, the fairway is a final trim, and a field of the finest players in the world have assembled for the world have assembled for the final major of the golfing calendar and it is all taking place at the sport's spiritual home in st andrews. the women's open tees off on thursday but the playing to the first time at st andrews featuring defending champion charley hull. she says just keeping warm on the famous course will be difficult enough. course will be difficult enough-— course will be difficult enou:h. ., , ., enough. you can prepare all you want, enough. you can prepare all you want. monday — enough. you can prepare all you want, monday through - enough. you can prepare all you i want, monday through wednesday, but it's all about the weather and taking it a shot at a time. and it's also fun because it's a different creative side to golf where you work the ball and sometimes more than you are used to because you are hitting bumps and runs and its mo

patrick gearey reports .ered for the kandy crunch — anticipating a short, sweet finish. they needed just three sri lankan wickets to win the series. moeen ali took the first and most significant of them. when niroshan dickwella departed, so did his team's chances of an unlikely victory. the end came quickly. two balls later moeen baffled suranga lakmal, then pushpakumara pushed back a sitter to jack leach. his fifth wicket in the innings, and england's first win in sri lanka for 17 years. to come here and perform as we have done, and manage to soak up the pressure and played back on the opposition for long periods of time as well, to hold our nerve, shows a lot of maturity for what is quite an inexperienced side in this part of the world. it's a victory that is in sharp contrast to england's recent away form. it is highly significant. sri lanka have a reputation of ambushing visitors here on pitches that suit them. the fact that they have won not just these first two test matches but also the twenty20 series

patrick gearey, bbc news at edgbaston. plenty to look forward to there, for sure.ember at the us open in los angeles, for frenchman, matthieu pavon. he became the first player from france to card a hole—in—one, with a 124—yard effort on the 15th. pavon finished the day at 1—over. rickie fowler shot an 8—under 62, the lowest round in us open history, with ten birdies and two bogeys. but, just moments later, his round was matched by fellow american, xander shauffele, who also finished his opening round on 8—under. full details of the first round on the bbc sport website, at the ususal address. at the usual address. now onto tennis, and andy murray reached the nottingham 0pen quarterfinals with a 6—3, 7—5 victory over france's hugo grenier, to cap a record—breaking day for british tennis. murray claimed his first title on home soil since wimbledon in 2016, with his win at surbiton last week. he is ranked 44th in the world, and trying to secure a top—32 seeding for wimbledon. the victory came after katie boulter, harriet dart and jodie burragejoined heather watson in t

patrick gearey has more.fghanistan believe they're getting closer to england and belief has always been important in their cricket. it allows them to clear hurdles. but few expected the sheer force gurbaz unleashed in the opening overs, he hammered england's bowlers unsparing, unsettling. time to change direction. and that's adil rashid's area, their lead spinner, their match turner with skill and the helping hands of his captain, jos buttler, he halted the afghan charge. others followed along his curving path, notablyjoe root. england back on top. but the sun had not yet set on afghanistan, finishing as they started. they smashed themselves up to 284, a total far more than it might have been. so in the delhi darkness they had something to conjure with. get root early and you know you're in business. getjos buttler too... well, they tell you the significance. england four down, nearly 200 short, more wickets fell. harry brook was left trying to steer through the crisis, but without support and against an incr

patrick gearey, bbc news.me of the days other sports stories: lee westwood survived a nervy finish at golf‘s abu dhabi championship, to win his first title for 11! months. he needed a par at the last to win — and he birdied it to make sure, finishing two shots clear. the ufc‘s conor mcgregor made his return to the octagon in style — beating his opponent donald cowboy cerrone in — just forty seconds flat. scottish championship leaders dundee united came from behind twice to earn replay at hibernian in the scottish cup — louis appere with the eqauliser. manchester city are top of the women's super league after a 2—0 win at birmingham city. as arsenal slipped to second after being thrashed 4—1 at home to chelsea. sam kerr finally got her first goal in a chelsea shirt. with the win taking them to within a point of top spot. jess softley reports. plenty at stake for these two sides, a win for chelsea would put them one point behind arsenal. with their stars ready to shine, chelsea did not take long to assert their

patrick gearey, bbc news.action to that historic point forjamaica with that goalless draw against france. massive for us. the past few weeks, past year, we faced quite a lot of stuff. together as a team we knew that we stuck together behind the scenes and we knew we wanted to come here and cause upsets and get what we deserve out of the game because we are a good team ourselves and a lot of people put us down and say we have not got a chance of getting out of the group, don't have this, don't have that. what i do know is that group of players have a lot of togetherness and are passionate about this tournament. translation: it was a frustrating match i because we had more than one chance to score. in the first half we missed too many chances. we lacked the technical accuracy to be able to put their team in more difficulty. there were a very compact, very aggressive. but we got a point. we will have to win the other two matches. three more games on monday, italy take on argentina and brazilface panama, but all e

patrick gearey reports.rough shaded eyes, football is back, if it ever went away! european qualifiers began weeks ago, for a start, and both of these teams already had pre—season tours. manchester city's featured 18—year—old phil foden, a young englishman who they see as the future, and he set up a star of the recent past. aguero! aguero's 200th goal for the club. if he represents city's continuity, at chelsea, it is all change. meet maurizio sarri, their new manager, a former banker with a gambler‘s instinct for attack. easier in theory than practice against a side like this. aguero again. time for a break, temperatures at wembley meant water and instructions were taken. it took until the final minutes for anything to filter through for chelsea. tammy abra ham thwarted by claudio bravo, 2—0 it finished. pep guardiola's champions seem in no mood to settle. this shield is a statement. patrick gearey, bbc news. steven gerrard had a lot to deal with in his first scottish premiership game in charge of rangers. a

patrick gearey, bbc news.te to earn themselves a spot in the premier league's top four. ashley barnes scored an 88th minute winner ina ashley barnes scored an 88th minute winner in a hard—fought victory over stoke city at a wet turf moor. it increases pressure on stoke boss mark hughes. the reality is, we've got another tough game on saturday. the players have a right to enjoy this, but the next game comes quickly on a saturday, that's my focus. i'm pleased with last night. tonight we had to work hard for it, grind it out. a real moment of quality to win it. but thursday we will look to recover and look onto the next one. crystal palace left is even later, they came from behind to beat watford 2—1 at selhurst park. ba ka ry sa ko beat watford 2—1 at selhurst park. bakary sako and james mcarthur scoring in the last few minutes to snatch the point that moved roy hodgson's team off the bottom of the table and out of the bottom three. we've done well in the last minutes of game, really. we equalised late against w

patrick gearey has more... cricket is oursummer patrick gearey has more...e are in the uk isn't always suited to cricket. all too often, the weather intervenes and play is lost. it isn't just frustrating intervenes and play is lost. it isn'tjust frustrating but it costs teams, games, points, viewers and the grounds themselves money. wouldn't it be nice if we can keep that rain away? that is exactly what they have done in melbourne at the docklands stadium. it has a retractable roof and has hosted cricket and aussie rules and rugby. it is a neat solution but not one for lord's. that is a particular set of demands as these pictures make very clear. the mcc have been approached with an idea that a giant canopy could cover the entire stadium. it isn't an aprilfool as the entire stadium. it isn't an april fool as the new chief executive guy lavender told us earlier... there are a lot of technical challenges and issues but not to say that we shouldn't look at it seriously. technology is developing all the time. drop in wickets. we need to keep looking forward and

patrick gearey, bbc news. the rest of the six nations after being given a five—week ban. he admitted committing an act of foul play which led to his red card during sunday's draw with italy, after he made direct head—on—head contact while attempting to tackle an opponent. he'll miss the games against wales and england. neil wagner has been talking about his decision to call time on his new zealand test career. he made the announcement after being told he wouldn't feature in either of their upcoming matches against australia. wagner is a fiery swing bowler and fan favourite — he bows out at the age of 37, as new zealand's fifth—highest wicket—taker with 260. it's never easy. it's an emotional road. it's a big roller coaster, but it's something that i feel like, yeah, the time has come to pass that baton on and leave that black cap in a good place for the rest to take it and hopefully grow their legacy forward. to the new zealand public and the fans, i can't thank you enough for their support, for making me feel

patrick gearey, bbc news.en begin their summer tomorrow in a one—off test against south africa. it'll be the first time since 2003 the two have met in a red ball game, and captain heather knight feels the women have a big responsibility in the longest form. it honestly feels like every time we play a test match, we're fighting for the format a little bit. and it's quite hard not to think of that as a player, because, ultimately, you're trying to do the best with the situation in front of you, you're not trying to think too far ahead about the format, but i do think we are always judged on that. and there's a slightly more attritional section of players than there is in men's test cricket. i think we're judged slightly differently sometimes, and then the debate starts to go, "should women be playing test cricket?" so, yeah, we certainly feel that pressure. test match special has live online commentary of that match, which starts tomorrow at 11am. you can also watch in—play video clips via the bbc sport website

patrick gearey, bbc news.ol managerjurgen klopp said it was the best game they'd played at everton since he took over, but he was utterly baffled by that late var decision. somebody showed me the situation with the henderson goal and i don't know where the line is and where you can do offside. ijust don't understand it. so, yes, obviously we should have won this game, but we didn't. so we accept that obviously. so everton stay top, with liverpool second, but chelsea missed the chance to move into the top four this afternon, surrendering a 2—0 lead to draw 3—3 with southampton. chelsea were flying thanks to two strikes from timo werner, his first premier league goals since joining in the summer. but southampton weren't about to lay down, and theo walcott‘s shot was turned in by danish defender jannik vestergaard in injury time. and their manager was pleased with the team's resilience. arsenal also lost ground today. they were beaten by manchester city at the etihad. raheem sterling with the only goal of the gam

patrick gearey, bbc news.s business at westminster and the government s failure once again to get its key brexit policy through parliament. events have once again highlighted how polarising and paralysing brexit has been to the political process. my colleague reeta chakrabarti looks now at the effect the brexit vote has had on the westminster political system and its future. the british people have spoken and the answer is we're out. the message from voters seemed clear. brexit means brexit, and we are going to make a success of it. but, after numerous trips to brussels and showdowns with the cabinet, nearly 1,000 days on, there's deadlock and division. has brexit proved too much for our political system? i sat down with three experts to get their take. it's the most difficult issue for parliament to resolve because, for the first time ever in our constitutional history, mps are being asked to enact something they do not believe in. the vast majority of mps were for remain, the majority in the cabinet voted re

patrick gearey was watching.n park is one of the few places on merseyside that you are allowed to meet your neighbours. in the league, everton started this derby ahead. in the match, the opposite. sadio mane scored for liverpool after just two minutes, and after five, they threatened again. if the play had been offside, it would have been a penalty. as it was, it only ended the van dijk‘s match. with great defenders, you notice the most when they're not there. michael keane was there and it was 1—1. liverpool conceded seven in the last match, and for all the tactical manoeuvring, sometimes it's about pure instinct of players like mohamed salah. once everton might have folded, but in dominic calvert—lewin, they have a player reaching more improbable heights. his tenth of the season already. it seemed like henderson had won it. now there's always a cheque. sadio mane offside by an inch. this was a derby that really was that close. patrick gearey, bbc news, liverpool. liverpool managerjurgen klopp said it was the be

patrick gearey, bbc news.hind closed doors. but tomorrow, the first tentative steps towards fans returning for the first time since march will be made. ross county against celtic and aberdeen's match with kilmarnock will act as test events, with 300 fans allowed to watch both matches. our reporter tyrone smith has been to aberdeen to see the steps they have taken to ensure the safe return of supporters. got our tickets! collecting scottish football's golden tickets, the weight is on must deliver these aberdeen fans. 300 supporters, picked by ballot, will take their socially distanced seats at pittodrie. cannot wait. it is not the adversaries to most games, but it is, as long as i can be there... any opportunity to get active pittodrie. had to go to my doctor to get my blood pressure checked. kind of normal routine. are you excited? 0f of normal routine. are you excited? of course i am, yes. it's around six months since fans are back in a scottish football ground, but life in the states is going to look and fee

patrick gearey, bbc news.ave moved 19 points clear at the top of the premier league table after a 2—0 win at west ham this evening. mohammed salah scored from the spot in the first half, before alex 0xlade—chamberlain doubled their lead after the break. west ham remain one place above the relegation zone on goal difference alone. conor mcnamara has more. liverpool's relentless march towards the premier league title continues. this was their long—awaited game in hand and it has gone the way of so many liverpool matches the season, a win and three points for can co—opt‘s side. the goals came either side of hassan, most of a penalty taken down ten mins before the break and then taman minutes, alex alex 0xlade—chamberlain a brick wiggle putting them to heavens or in front and west ham were never going to get back. for dave moy‘s sigh, they remain only on goal difference was that a nervy end of the season for west ham, difficult matches. they have to go to a way to difficult opponents as well. but for liverpool at

patrick gearey has more.ulder and the latest blow to england's world cup hopes. this was the tackle which would rule him out of his nation's tricky opening match against argentina. add to that that captain owen farrell who will miss two games in the tournament due to his own yet more challenges for a team that has struggled for form for some time now. england have been desperate for form. we don't know how they are supposed to be planned, they don't score tries, as pushover try against wales. there is no pattern. i don't think teams are particularly worried, they have lost their aura. this was not where england or they would be. eddiejones who led them to the last world cup final was supposed to take them into this one but he was sacked the end of last year, replaced by steve borthwick who couldn't lift the team beyond fourth in the six nations. england, it seems, were being bypassed. the world cup warm—ups have left many calls, so do the players really believe they can win the tournament? i wouldn't be here

patrick gearey has this report. that searing pace, it is two!he moments that make football what it is, the explosion of uncontrolled toy that comes with scoring a goal breaks among sport's great highs, and experience to be shared, but this is not an age of hogging. affable has been told to tighten up and spaced out, to isolate and celebrate at the same time. —— now football has been. that might mean this is the final chorus for non—league chorley even if they get another unlikely win in the cup. and... i don't even celebrate goals, because of the var, i adapt, with certain direction of controlling emotions, that i believe players can also can do a little bit of the same. premier league players are tested far more regularly than those at the levels below, and if you play football, by keeping two metres apart from everyone else, you're probably not doing it right. so is there much point in relegating celebrating? to control the emotions when you're going to hundred miles an houragain, it when you're going to hundred miles an hour again, it is... w

patrick gearey has the story.ger bannister, - third from the left, gets away at the iffley ground, oxford, for the race of his life. and so began 3:59.11 seconds of british sporting history. archive: chris brasher. setting the pace in front. there was certainly a feeling of it being a national event and something of a landmark for the country. but it had to be me attempting it, so it was entangled with my own effort. bannister, training to be a doctor, was trying to prove something, perhaps to himself, having slipped to fourth at the olympics two years earlier. but he was also engaged in an experiment. at the time, some scientists believed you would kill yourself trying to run a mile in four minutes. bannister disagreed. his friend chris brasher was tasked with setting the correct pace and tempering bannister�*s enthusiasm. we seemed to be going so slowly. impatiently, i shouted, "faster." but brasher kept his head and didn't change the pace. bannister was an amateur, running was secondary to his studies, and he'd

patrick gearey, bbc news. and the british horse racing authority is to bar inexperienced apprentice jockey gina mangan from riding rank outsider dee—ore lear in saturday's epsom derby. the authority says its made the decision to put responsibility first. that's all from sportsday. coming up in a moment, the papers. hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are rachel cunliffe, deputy editor of the political news website, reaction. and 0wen bennett, deputy political editor of huff post uk. welcome to you both. tomorrow's front pages. the guardian sasteremy corbyn challenged amber rudd over the impact of the government's spending cuts following his last minute decision to take part in the bbc election debate. the daily telegraph notes that the home secretary represented theresa may in the debate, just 48 hours after the death of amber rudd's father. the times reports that the prime minister is concentrating on brexit after her refusal to take part in tonight

patrick gearey reports. kick—off, new year's day — tired arsenal and manchester city fans must hope their luck improves in 2022. referees, of course, can't afford to be bleary eyed, for soon, stuart attwell had a decision to make. no arsenal penalty, he said. and on reflection, var confirmed. not without question. arsenal didn't dwell on that, though. no time to, no need to. bukayo saka extended the new year's celebrations. only the manager missed out — he's in covid isolation. but in the second half came the hitch. a handful of bernardo silva's shirt, enough for a manchester city penalty and thanks to riyad mahrez, an equaliser, too. now the game hurtled into a chaotic fast forward. a mistake, somehow city's nathan ake saved a goal, somehow arsenal's gabriel martinelli missed one. and just seconds later, the gunners' other gabriel, already booked, got himself sent off. arsenal's party was now a lock—out. could they stop city? stoppage time, the league leaders advanced and rodri won it. for those who came fr

patrick gearey, bbc news. ever victory over england today, outshining the visitors by six runs at the grange. callum macleod's brilliant century helped the scots to their highest one day total on a record—breaking day in edinburgh. jim lumsden has more. piped onto the pitch, the world's top ranked one—day side travel to edinburgh to beat the side ranked 13th. the scots went into bad and england were unable to contain the hosts in a compact ground. calum macleod of the most damage pounding out 140, scotland ended 371—5, their best car in a one—day international. jonny bairstow and jason roy led the reply. reaching a century, the first england player to do so with three consecutive 0di ‘s. eoin morgan was lost and alex hales as well. the wickets tumbled further with adil rashid following his team—mates. and when mark wood sell lbw it was all over, a richly deserved victory for scotla nd over, a richly deserved victory for scotland and probably the greatest in their history. england were missing their lead test w

patrick gearey, bbc news. it was pretty straightforward. course i enjoy those races where you're battling through but we needed those points today so i think a solid job from the team. our starting position was compromised but we had a really good start and i was quite quickly back into second so to get that fast lap was very nice and of course i know it will be difficult to the end but that's nice, it keeps it exciting. it certainly is exciting. ireland have finished off their autumn internationals with a dominant 53—7 win over argentina in dublin. the irish ran in seven tries in all, each coming from the forward line, dan sheenan getting this one over in a game where argentina were reduced to 14 men after tomas lavanini was sent off for a high tackle. england's women made it 18 test wins a row after thrashing usa 89—0. they ran in 15 tries from 12 different players to cap off a successful autumn campaign. england's focus will now be on attempting to win a third women's six nations title in a row in april. we have moved things on in the co

patrick gearey has the story of the day. at one game left and the series to win.ide and the captain, shovel the pack and hope for the ace. every so often that ace goes higher. the second ball dawid malan had faced. a confident mood. not risk—free, but 50. he finished with 78 and none of his colleagues threw shade on his spotlight. south africa set 182 to win. the value of runs is not what it was. inflation inevitable with batsmen like ab de villiers who can make any score unsafe, not to mention any spectator. mason crane was the bowler, a 20—year—old leg—spinner who stuck at it. with his bravery came revenge. ab de villiers became his first international wicket. south africa never fully recovered. england's victory was ultimately co mforta ble. england's experiment had worked. patrick gearey, bbc news. so the white ball kevin starc continues. 2—i, they beat south africa. but new faces in the england side. dawid malan today added to tom curran and the others. now attention turns to the test series which sta rts turns to the test series which starts at lord's on the

patrick gearey has the details of day three so far...ed by things like schools. instead, they clear minds and impossible boundaries. happy dm, cricket distract them get intimidated by things like scores. the approach by ben stokes relies on instinct and sometimes not but the problem with look as it has a habit of changing suddenly. one ball later, stoke 725. that is how we play, they say, and instinct to serve injonny bairstow well, a man in the form of his life seemingly able to hit the ball when he wants with india powerless to stop him. a century, his third in three tests. he embodies new england but it cannot be down to him alone. on 160 was sent on his way with love, perhaps for some, with regret, because when india went back out to bat they were 132 runs ahead. england needed with its fast. this was a start, john tojimmy anderson while broad there is another player. india's response was graceful, old school. test cricket as it was. with its kelly began carefully gathering momentum until charging in the other direction came stokes t

patrick gearey, bbc news.s caretaker coach graham thorpe admits england are suffering with a number of injuries — but will fight on to try and salvage a draw on the final day. we've obviously got some blows to some fingers, but i'm sure the lads will take whatever they need to take to get themselves into a position where they are capable of performing tomorrow. so, they'll all bat and they will do their very best. i know that. so work to do for england who could still be helped by the weather, with rain predicted on sunday. former england bowler alex hartley is alongside our reporter henry moeran. this was another entertaining, if difficult day for england here at the scg, with australia piling on the bronze after gaining the wickets, giving some hope at one stage. —— piling on the runs. the headline news was it was back on the side, becoming the first australian in two years to score two 100s in a test match. what a performance from him. it's left england with a mighty target, 388 realistically, their hope ha

patrick gearey, bbc news.t the only surprise on day nine, with the second seed, and australian open champion, caroline wozniacki, knocked out. she was beaten by russian daria kasatkina a former french open junior champion. rafael nadal‘s progress to the quarter finals has been as serene as you might expect. that iith french open title a step closer after a straight sets win over germany's maximilian marterer. england bowler chris woakes has been ruled out of sunday's one—day international against scotland. he took four wickets in the test win over pakistan but he also picked up a thigh strain and joins ben stokes on the injury list. surrey‘s tom curran comes in. meanwhile englnad's women have recalled pace bowler katherine brunt and wicketkeeper sarah taylor for the first two matches of their one—day series against south africa. the three—match series starts at new road on saturday so just before we go, if being told you're not in your country's world cup squad is bad enough, imagine having to see your rejecti

patrick gearey, bbc news.is evening — lets take a look at some of the other football headlines. wales women are leading the faroe islands 4—0 in their latest qualifier for the european championships next year. they lost to norway last month so a win here would keep their hopes alive. glasgow city will host ireland's peamount united in the first qualifying round of the women's champions league. the single—leg match is on november the 3rd or 4th. and fifa's boss gianni infantino says he's not interested in a proposed european super league. fifa were said to support plans for a 18—team tournament worth £4.6 billion. liverpool and manchester united were among five premier league clubs set to be included. now to some shocking statistics which show 43% of premier league footballers have experienced targeted racist abuse. raheem sterling, wilfred zaha and adebayo akinfenwa were three of the 44 players whose social media accounts were analysed in the study by the professional footballers association over the final six

patrick gearey, bbc news.ew 2024 tennis season is already under way with the united cup mixed team competition in australia and great britain beat the hosts to get the tournament off to a winning start. katie boulter secured the vital victory in the three rubber tie with a straight sets win over ajla tomljanovic. the british number one winning 6—2, 6—4just after her team—mate had beaten her boyfriend. cameron norrie is the former, australia's alex de minaur the latter. the british number one claiming a three set victory and after the tie was won, boulter said it was �*super awkward�* but she �*hopes de minaur will still have me�*. britain can reach the united cup quarterfinals if they beat the usa on sunday. meanwhile over in brisbane... rafa nadal is preparing to return to the court after a year out, ahead of a year that may well be his last in the sport. nadal�*s most recent competitive match was injanuary at the australian open, which he�*s also preparing for next week. after missing the other three slams i