All-rounder was a superb player but it was his vulnerability, personality and passion that won the hearts of England fansBen Stokes has been a magnificent player for England, and leaves a legacy of individual brilliance and inspirational leadership. However you want to judge him, whether it is the quality of his bowling, his batting and his fielding, his sometimes heroic determination, or the character that makes him uniquely able to connect with teammates and with the public, he is among the very best.The way he became such an important figure in English cricket, and the fact that he is a seam‑bowling all-rounder, means he will always be compared with Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff, but unlike them he excelled also at captaincy. He is a man of great empathy, which makes him unusually good with young players, at making them feel comfortable in an environment that can be difficult to enter. Continue reading...

28 Jun 2026 20:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

British No 1 had been due to open campaign on MondayWithdrawal marks latest injury setback for 23-year-oldEmma Raducanu has been forced to withdraw from Wimbledon because of the right-foot injury that she has struggled with in the buildup to the Championships.Raducanu, who was seeded 30th, had been scheduled to face Antonia Ruzic at 1pm on Monday on No 1 Court. In a statement, Raducanu said: “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but sadly I’ve had to withdraw from this year’s Wimbledon. Continue reading...

28 Jun 2026 21:15 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

George Russell wins for Mercedes; Ferraris 5th and 8thHamilton says: ‘We have a good car but are down on pace’Lewis Hamilton said Ferrari’s underwhelming performance at the Austrian Grand Prix represented a reality check for him and the team after the euphoria of his first win with the Scuderia at the last round in Spain.Hamilton finished in fifth at the Red Bull Ring, after a race where Mercedes’s George Russell took victory from pole position ahead an enormously quick Max Verstappen, whose Red Bull had made great strides with upgrades the team brought to Austria. Hamilton had moved to second in the championship after the last round and was looking so competitive that he was being touted as a potential title contender, but he has dropped back to third, behind Russell and his teammate Kimi Antonelli, the championship leader. Continue reading...

28 Jun 2026 18:36 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Group 1: Australia, 172-4, beat India, 170-4, by 6 wktsEllyse Perry and Ash Gardner put on 100 off 59 ballsIt was the quintessential Australian performance. They had no need for a win in their fifth and last group game, having already qualified for a Women’s T20 World Cup semi-final by winning their first four. India, conversely, desperately needed one to qualify. And it looked as if they had it, after a late surge with the bat to reach 170, then an early squeeze to have Australia needing 86 from eight overs.Then in a trice it was gone, as an accelerating century stand from Ellyse Perry and Ash Gardner squashed the world-record chase with an over and six wickets to spare. Ruthless, nerveless, pitiless. Continue reading...

28 Jun 2026 17:58 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Ennis stops Zayas in seventh to unify 154lb titlesBoots survives toughest test to stay unbeaten‘I loved it’: Ennis says hostile crowd fueled winJaron “Boots” Ennis navigated the deepest waters of his professional career before stopping Xander Zayas on Saturday night in a wildly entertaining scrap to capture the WBA and WBO super-welterweight titles and become a two-division world champion.The unbeaten Ennis knocked Zayas down three times and fought through a heart-stopping third-round crisis before referee Harvey Dock halted the bout at 1:49 of the seventh round in front of an announced sellout crowd at Barclays Center, giving the Philadelphia native the signature victory that had eluded him despite years of being regarded as one of boxing’s brightest talents. Continue reading...

28 Jun 2026 05:07 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Simon Peter Carman, 46, has denied the charges against himGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAn Australian man has been charged with the murder of a teenage girl whose naked body was found in a suitcase in Thailand.Pattaya City police told the Guardian the man, identified as Simon Peter Carman, 46, has denied the charges against him. Continue reading...

28 Jun 2026 09:25 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Mayor says progressive peers who swept primaries speak to Americans ‘coast to coast’ as moderates have reservationsZohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor, said on Sunday that he and a slew of democratic socialist allies who prevailed in recent primary elections are carrying a “national message” to struggling working Americans hungry for a new kind of politics “coast to coast”.Mamdani made that triumphant clarion call on ABC News’s This Week just five days after he had seen his endorsed candidates win Democratic nominations in three races for New York congressional seats, as well as for five state legislature positions in Albany. He made no effort to disguise his delight that his clean sweep marks a dramatic shift in Democratic politics – not just in New York City, which he has led since January, but also across the US. Continue reading...

28 Jun 2026 18:24 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN