Roger Alton

Roger Alton is an executive editor at The Times. He writes the Spectator Sport column.

Football’s growing shame

15 April 2023 9:00 am

It would take a brave man to pick a fight with Roy Keane, and nobody could quarrel with his view…

In praise of Sharron Davies

1 April 2023 9:00 am

It’s been quite a while since we celebrated any of Sharron Davies’s considerable achievements in the pool – well, a…

What’s going wrong with English rugby

18 March 2023 9:00 am

Rejoice, as you don’t normally say after a hammering like the peerless French dished out to England at Twickenham. But…

A Test match for the ages

4 March 2023 9:00 am

Readers of a certain vintage might be familiar with the work of J.A. (Charles) Cuddon, a teacher at Emanuel School…

England rugby must try harder

18 February 2023 9:00 am

The first two rounds of the Six Nations have exploded across the sporting landscape insuperlative – draining displays of skill…

Why England vs Scotland is always one to watch

4 February 2023 9:00 am

If you think the Calcutta Cup is just any old rugby match between England and Scotland, then the latest in…

Is Eddie Jones’s fate written in the stars?

18 January 2023 10:00 pm

Something is happening here, and you do know what it is, don’t you Mr Jones? Stargazers – and even some…

Let’s scrap the January transfer window

7 January 2023 9:00 am

Norwich City are a likeable club, and currently run by a pleasant-seeming bloke called Allan Russell. He used to be…

Wesley Hall represents everything that cricket should be

17 December 2022 9:00 am

Few sights in the history of cricket have been more thrilling – or more terrifying for batsmen – than the…

Eddie Jones must go

3 December 2022 9:00 am

So should he stay or should he go? That’s Eddie ‘I don’t really care what other people think’ Jones, currently…

Rugby’s new golden age

19 November 2022 9:00 am

This column may have been somewhat negative about the future of rugby recently – so how cheering to report a…

The future of sport is in the Middle East

5 November 2022 9:00 am

When the burly honchos of the Rugby League World Cup gushed about taking the game to new heights, no one…

Rugby union needs its own Richard Thompson

22 October 2022 9:00 am

Dear oh dear, as exasperated kings are known to murmur – just look at the state of rugby union. But…

English rugby is in crisis

8 October 2022 9:00 am

Make no mistake: the game of rugby, which many of us love so much, is in serious trouble: it will…

Is there any limit to what Erling Haaland can do?

24 September 2022 9:00 am

Don’t bother watching those gazillion-dollar TV prequels to The Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones. Who needs gratuitous…

Drama at Lord’s: Stumped is a treat for cricket fans

10 September 2022 9:00 am

So farewell to cricket’s The Hundred tournament, or what seemed by the end to be beefy South Africans in ‘Butterkist’…

I fancy Emma Raducanu’s chances at Flushing Meadows

27 August 2022 9:00 am

British tennis fans famously only acknowledge the sport exists for a couple of weeks in the middle of summer in…

What Richard Thompson can do for English cricket

13 August 2022 9:00 am

Well alleluia, English cricket doesn’t seem able to put a foot wrong these days. After hitting three cherries with Rob…

I’ve seen the future of motor racing, and it’s quiet

30 July 2022 9:00 am

Are petrolheads’ days numbered? I only ask because having just been introduced to the quiet, petrol-less world of Formula E,…

How Kyrgios saved Wimbledon

16 July 2022 9:00 am

What separates this year’s ‘empty seats on centre court’ scandal from every other year’s ‘empty seats on centre court’ scandal?…

Is any sporting event more brutal than the Tour de France?

2 July 2022 9:00 am

That great Frenchman the Marquis de Sade would have been justly proud of the Tour de France had he lived…

The brilliance of Ben Stokes

18 June 2022 9:00 am

Test cricket, bloody hell! For years, it’s been getting the last rites – now it’s the most exciting way anyone…

Rob Burrow is in a league of his own

4 June 2022 9:00 am

What a privilege the other night to see Rob Burrow, the Rugby League legend, win Autobiography of the Year at…

My one to watch at the French Open

21 May 2022 9:00 am

The timing of Brendon McCullum’s appointment as England’s Test match coach couldn’t be better for him, or for the matey…

The rise and rise of women’s sport

7 May 2022 9:00 am

You might have missed this but something very big is happening in women’s sport. The sheer numbers watching are sensational:…