ben croucher has the story.d working. eventually, i got diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome, so i went through nearly ten years' worth of treatment and most of them actually made my life worse, not better. eventually, i elected to have my leg amputated. we often hear how athletes make tough decisions. hope gordon knows all about this. three years ago, she took the drastic decision to have her leg removed after it had been causing her constant pain for a decade. the nhs does not offer amputation as a treatment for hope's condition because there's no medical guarantee that it will stop the pain, but hope was willing to that risk, so she raised money for a private doctor to perform the surgery. yeah, life isjust so much better. everybody tells me that i look like a new person. my quality of life is just through the roof. and, just a year after her operation, she became a national champion in the swimming pool. i kind of went from being able to do anything i want to not being able to walk within the space

i think we need a special word for ben croucher getting that report in on time.ad with that manchester city finish. well, what of the side who want to catch city this year — because liverpool were playing in the super cup in midweek — one of their rewards for winning the champions league. not quite so welcome though was that match went on for 120 minutes, plus penalties, and it was played in istanbul, an 8 hour round trip away. they had just two days off to get ready for this match at st mary's where they were playing against southampton. but they got an important result. 2—1 it finished, liverpool's11th straight premier league. and this was thanks to the front players who are so often so important for them — sadio mane brought a slow and frustrating first half to life with a brilliant curling strike into the top corner to make it 1—0, before roberto firmino fired in low from inside the box to make it 2—0. now all the talk before this match was on liverpool's goalkeeping crisis — they thought they may have to give their emergency third choice keeper a game today,

ben croucher reports. the pinnacle of club football. if the caltex wanted to —— celtics wanted to show their chance against the big teams, they would need to take on the small ones. mario finished a clinical counter—attack to put the remaining is ahead. that is more like it. the celebrations hadn't had long to settle when james forrest squeezed celebrations hadn't had long to settle whenjames forrest squeezed a shot past a couple of cluj defenders, most importantly between keeper and posed. but they weren't outside of the woods just yet. —— post. denying the homes in advantage to ta ke post. denying the homes in advantage to take back to scotland, everything went over and out. celtic very much still in it, though, a small step closer to lining up against one of those european giants. in culture, bbc news. —— ben croucher. with the transfer window closing in england tomorrow, there has been plenty of rumour and speculation about players moving around. but let's cut through all the gossip and tell you the de

ben croucher, bbc news was. two tea ms talking. ben croucher, bbc news was.f the table a 100% record. liverpool top of the ta ble after a 100% record. liverpool top of the table after a 2—1win at southampton, sadio mane and roberto firmino putting them 2—0 up with 20 minute left to play before a bit of a howler from adrian minute left to play before a bit of a howlerfrom adrian in minute left to play before a bit of a howler from adrian in the liverpool goal made things interesting. danny ings pulling one back. arsenal made it two wins out of two, and there were victories for everton, norwich and bournemouth. two more ties today in the scottish league cup, places in the quarterfinals at stake. james forrest scored the winner for celtic against championship side dunfermline. a lot of matches went to extra time. now, some terribly sad news in rugby league. but she bulldogs archie bruce has died. the 20—year—old made his debut yesterday against toulouse, came on as a replacement. he was found dead in his hotel room in france this morning. the club say they are d

ben croucher reports. level i— all, but the game unfinished.l was ruled out for offside. the failure of the vai system offside. the failure of the vai syste m m ea nt offside. the failure of the vai system meant the decision can be reviewed and that led to a lengthy delay, one players and officials protested. after a stoppage lasting 80 minutes, the match was ruled a forfeit by casablanca and a victory to esperance who would echo the champions. however, on the fifth of june, caf ordered the match to be replayed and for aspirants to return the trophy in their medals. lastly, the trophy in their medals. lastly, the decision was thrown out by the court of arbitration for sports, leading to caf‘s final and latest decision. both clubs have been fine with wydad find and additional fines for the use of flares by supporters. esperance has been fine $50,000 for the behaviour of their supporters. the upshot of all of this, esperance can finally celebrate a fourth african champion‘s league title. the new english premier league season kicks off this weeken

ben croucher reports.lly played ata for a sport that is normally played at a leisurely pace, everything has got a little frenetic in the last fortnight. time waits for nobody. four days on from lifting her second major in france, kojin—young is preparing for the next, having barely had a chance to celebrate sunday's achievement.” barely had a chance to celebrate sunday's achievement. i finish too late, 9:30 p.m., so i didn't have much time. i needed to sleep, so a couple of beers and a cheeseburger. this unprecedented scheduling hasn't pleased everyone. the appian championship was brought forward from its usual slot, but ko is treating the two as one. my feeling is major, but straight eight days, ami is major, but straight eight days, am i mentally feeling? so i think it is good —— evian championship. while it might only be a short hop over the english channel, so tight as a turnaround being that many players couldn't actually practice on monday as their clubs didn't make it on time. it's interesting. majo

i'm ben croucher with your latest from the bbc sport centre. evening that the club have been sold. for weeks now, uncertainty has surrounded their future, they've had to postponed all their matches this season with the football league seeking assurances over their financial stability. bbc radio manchester's mike minay has more. steve dale has told me that the club has been sold at the 11th hour. bury was in potential of being lost, a clu b was in potential of being lost, a club that is so vital to the community. steve dale has texted me saying it's been sold and his agreed a deal with a company called cnn analytics, a football analytics company headed by henry newman and rory campbell and this deal, they agreed in principle, relies solely on the esl agreeing to an extension on the esl agreeing to an extension on the esl agreeing to an extension on the deadline to get it done. aston villa picked up their first points of the season and their first win in the premier league since february 2016. they beat everton 2—nil this evening as nick parrott

i'm ben croucher and here are your friday night headlines. ashes dreams in ruins.land's cricketers. for the first time since february 2016 — aston villa have won a game in the premier league. we'll show you how they overcame everton. can bury overcome their financial difficulties and avoid explusion from the football league? their owner has told the bbc the club has been sold in the last hour. and it's a dutch disaster for england's women as they are thrashed in the eurohockey semi final. well if this wasn't the day england lost the ashes, it was the day where nearly all hope of winning them back seemed to fade into the leeds sunset. bowled out forjust 67 — the worst ashes performance with the bat since 19a8 — they trail australia by more than 250 runs with 3 days of the third test still to play. andy swiss has more. england's hopes of regaining the ashes finally slipped away. they arrived here with such high hopes after an impressive performance on the first day but instead what a nightmare batting display they provided. jason was the first man out quickly followe

ben croucher has the story.al pain syndrome, so i went through nearly ten years‘ worth of treatment and most of them actually made my life worse, not better. eventually, i elected to have my leg amputated. we often hear how athletes make tough decisions. hope gordon knows all about this. three years ago, she took the drastic decision to have her leg removed after it had been causing her constant pain for a decade. the nhs does not offer amputation as a treatment for hope's condition because there's no medical guarantee that it will stop the pain, but hope was willing to that risk, so she raised money for a private doctor to perform the surgery. yeah, life isjust so much better. everybody tells me that i look like a new person. my quality of life is just through the roof. and, just a year after her operation, she became a national champion in the swimming pool. she responded to an advert looking for a canoeist and she took to that equally well. she's a great success story for the scottish canoe association, one o

a very good evening to you, i'm ben croucher with the latest from the bbc sport centre england were hopingnt to play ball. after day one was a washout, we managed just a single session on friday. england had reduced australia to 80/4, having been 30/1 at the start of play. jofra archer claimed his first test wicket in cameron bancroft, but steve smith was still at the crease when the heavens opened around 1 o'clock. we are we a re pretty we are pretty positive, we would need to bowl australia lunch tomorrow, there is 98 overs for the next two days, isn't there. which for both teams has been enough to bowl each other out, isn't it? there is certainly hope the both sides. it could be quite an interesting, intriguing game left in this test match, although we have lost so much terrain. 0ur bowling unit's aim is to get the next six wickets by lunch. huddersfield town have sacked their managerjan siewert after just three games of the championship. it's following their 2—1 defeat tonight by fulham. huddersfield haven't won a game in any competition since february and after their relegation from t

well, let‘s look ahead to tonight and the season — ben croucher has more. it starts tonight with athletic bilbao taking on barcelona, for the first time in ten years without messi, so could we see an early upset? it barcelona plays in a very challenging stadium where i see many big teams dropping points this season but it is the first game of the season. it is positive to see griezmann playing in winning minutes with a new team with dejong, barcelona are favourites and out of the last six games barcelona won fourin the last six games barcelona won four in bilbao. you mentioned griezmann and de jong, four in bilbao. you mentioned griezmann and dejong, let us look at the statistics from them last season. griezmannjoined at the statistics from them last season. griezmann joined from atletico madrid, had a brilliant season with 15 goal last year. de jong joined from ajax who made to it the semifinals of the champions league, ignore the goals in the assists but it‘s the past perexxxx pass percentage rate that will be important. 91 % success rate. how important.

ben croucher has more on this. yes holly.ams in england last season. that epic title race going down to the final day. they'll meet at wembley on sunday in the community shield. some players might have had the summer off but some liverpool players might be a little more tired than most. the likes of mo salah and sadio mane have been playing in the africa cup of nations this summer. roberto firmino has been winning the copa america with brazil. the community shield represents the first piece of seven possible bits of silverware that liverpool can win this season. but traditionally the community shield hasn't ever been a big dealfor side. nobody told klopp as he takes liverpool into this game for the first time since 2006. it's a guinea pig and city. it's a good test against teams which are there. —— we have to make sure that we defend in a pretty good way because if you don't know well —— defend well against city, you could get a problem and that is not ideal. for city, how'd you build last season? they did the domestic treble

to the goal and it was ruled out, 2—2 the score on the final whistle but the var debate goes on ben croucherbe it confusion, acceptance, anger, eve ryo ne be it confusion, acceptance, anger, everyone has got their own angle on var. you can see why. manchester city thought they had snatched a one day against tottenham. did you spot anything wrong with that? this is the premier league turned back by the premier league turned back by the cameras everywhere. there is a lwa ys the cameras everywhere. there is always someone watching and they spotted this handball. what can i say? spotted this handball. what can i 7 i spotted this handball. what can i say? i would like to win for the chances we create. city display about that they were headed for a 16th straight league when. but totte n ha m 16th straight league when. but tottenham tries came from behind to level the match. when all hope it seemed was leaving the stadium, along with some of the bands, jesus p°pped along with some of the bands, jesus normed up along with some of the bands, jesus popped up in the most dramatic winner. only for the m

ben croucher is here — with all the details.able coach and his 31 man squad to travel to japan is very interesting. let's start with those who are on the plane. lewis ludlam. the northampton flanker. he was only called up to the training squad a couple of months ago. made his debut yesterday against wales. matt dawson — world cup winning scrum half says hejust looks like an international player. his inclusion means new zealand born brad shields misses out. another player who made his debut yesterday was scrum half willi heinz. was scrum half willie heinz. very impressive and assured he was too as england raced into an early lead. he however is just one of two scrum halves named along with england's most capped player in the position — ben youngs. that has freed up a spot for former sevens man rory mcconaccie. he's uncapped. he's only been playing this version of the game for a year professionally after switching from the sevens game. the bath man likely to feature on the wing. so to the outs then and few bigger than ben teo. the

sport — and for a full round up from the bbc sport centre, here's ben croucher. hi, ben.oday, you saw some rain. it was the same for australia and england at lords. joe wilson explains. at about 5:22pm here, the umpires decided to end it for the day. very frustrating for england because the rain came down just at the point of this test match when they felt they we re this test match when they felt they were really on top. let's reflect on the action that we did see here in the action that we did see here in the morning session. very bowler from the conditions with the floodlights on committee balls to new “— floodlights on committee balls to new —— bowler from the conditions with the floodlights on, the balls still new. it was cameron bancroft given out lbw. confident enough to review it. the umpire stayed with his decision. there you go, jofra archer up and off as a test match bowler. chris woakes, 60—3 with that wicket. the wicket england would have loved this morning, of course, was steve smith. did not get him but they did get travis had. the umpire said that was out.

ben croucher has the story.l my legs eventually just stopped working. average kid. during school my legs eventuallyjust stopped working. i went through nearly ten years worth of treatment and it made my life worse, not better. eventually, i elected to have my leg amputated. we often hear how athletes make tough decisions. hope gordon knows all about this. three years ago she took the drastic decision to have a leg removed because it had been causing her constant pain for a decade. the nhs does not offer amputation as a treatment for hope is my condition because there is no guarantee that it. the pain. hope to that risk sushi raise money for a private doctor to perform the circuitry —— search —— surgery. doctor to perform the circuitry —— search -- surgery. my quality of life is through the roof. just a year after her operation, she became a national champion in the swimming pool a national champion in the swimming pool. i went from being able to do anything i want. yes i did train, i did compete, but i used it t

ben croucher reports. be it confusion, acceptance, anger. . .ou spot anything wrong with it? there is always someone watching, and they spotted this handball in the buildup tojesus's goal. what can i say? i would like to win for the chances we created, i think we deserve to win, but in the end we didn't. city played well and thought they were heading for a 16th straight win when sergio aguero flicked them ahead before halftime. but tottenham came from behind to equalise, and when all hope, it seemed, was leaving the etihad, along with many of the fans, this dramatic winner was achieved. but then an even more dramatic twist. hold on a second. i think the enjoyment factor is becoming less for supporters because of the handball rule and because of this. that should never, in any country anywhere, be disallowed. it was left to var to make a decision. whatever your position, these new rules still keep us talking. so the champions slipped up, only two teams have a 100% record, liverpool are top of the table after a 2—1win at southampton. sadio mane an

ben croucher has the story.working. i went through nearly ten years worth of treatments and most of them made me worse instead of better. eventually i elected to have my leg amputated. we often hear how athletes make tough decisions. hope gordon knows all about theirs. three years ago, she took the drastic decision to have her leg removed, after having it caused her pain constantly for a decade. the nhs does not offer amputation, as there is no guarantee it would stop the pain. she raised money privately for a doctor to perform the surgery. my life is just better. everyone tells me my quality—of—life is just through the roof. and just a year after her operation, she became a national champion in the swimming pool.|j went from being able to do anything i want, to not being able to walk in a space of a day. i've used it to get me through some tough times and i don't want to imagine what life would be like otherwise. some three mark —— hope gordon took to an ad looking for paracanoists. she's worked on the talent p

sport now on afternoon live with ben croucher and, ben — robert with ben croucher and, ben — who is producingamiliarfaces is wayne rooney, one of the most familiar faces is moving wayne rooney, one of the most familiarfaces is moving to derby. he is back in the country, making a swift return to british football, just a year after he left to play in america. notjust as a player, he will take on the player coach role. that is his first foray into coaching in professionalfootball. he will be moving at the end of the american soccer league season where he has been playing for washington dc. it is something i will be largely proud of, it has been motivated by family factors. family is everything to us, we make this change to be closed as —— close to family. derby county made a winning start last season against huddersfield. they hope wayne rooney will help them go further. we could still see wayne rooney back in the premier league again. ben, this time yesterday, england were about to lose in the ashes to australia, and today's we're still talking about it, what's been going on? when you suffer su

sport now on afternoon live with ben croucher. ones excited to see him. rather reassuringly, captainjoe to see him. rather reassuringly, captain joe root is. to see him. rather reassuringly, captainjoe root is. if you will remember archer was one of the standout performers at the world cup and he is expected to take his debut with the red ball tomorrow. the second ashes test starts at lord's on wednesday. although second ashes test starts at lord's on wednesday. althouthoe root has not named his team just yet, you would be staggered if he didn't include archer despite him playing only one red ball game in 11 months. he is expected to replace the injured james anderson. missed the first test with a side strain yesterday and he said he looked to give australia something to think about after their coach questioned whether he was cut out for the longer format of the game. you are certainly very confident and that is great to see any young guy, off the back of a brilliant world cup —— he is certainly very confident to stop being part o