Sport
The Derby is the most interesting race of the year – and I missed it
In 1949, the 18th Earl of Derby revived the tradition of the Derby Club dinner in London, three days before…
Who cares if cricketers drink?
Cricketers Have Beer, Shock: well, who knew! This wretched incident in some joint in Chelsea involving Ben Stokes and Gus…
Might England just do it in the World Cup?
The World Cup has never been just a football tournament. Even if we don’t realise it at the time, it…
Why real Americans can’t stand football
It’s World Cup time again, and Americans from Bangor to Batavia don’t even bother to stifle their quadrennial yawns, while more fervent patriots are praying to…
I’ll be praying for Arsenal’s God squad
Looking forward to the World Cup? I do hope so. You can complain and say that a gargantuan tournament without…
Declan Rice is an island of decency in modern football
As all but the most tribal fruitcases would agree, Arsenal’s Declan Rice is an island of decency in the rather…
I admit it: I was wrong about the Premier League
Yes, of course, one sometimes yearns for the old days. The friend who, appearing in court on a charge of…
In London, Sabastian Sawe demolished the impossible
Suddenly last Sunday in London nearly 60,000 amateur runners were able to say they had competed in a race in…
My miracle match against the Vatican’s cricket team
Many have come to Rome seeking spiritual guidance: Thomas à Becket, Lord Byron, Lionel Richie. I came for a different purpose:…
The inner secrets of Rory McIlroy
It’s easy to be sceptical about top sportsmen turning to psychologists for help. A bit precious, no? After all, what’s…
It’s time to let go of Tiger Woods
It’s not the newest joke in the world, but worth a quick rerun right now after the latest in a…
Arsenal’s boy wonder is the future of English football
It certainly never happened to me when I was a lad – even after a particularly insightful essay on the…
The endearing Englishness of Harry Kane
There’s something ineffably endearing about Harry Kane (though I am sure plenty of Bundesliga defenders would disagree), a sort of…
The lost brilliance of football’s Pink ’Un newspapers
If you can remember Pink ’Un newspapers and the days when FA Cup shocks really were shocks, then God bless…
Can Arteta hold his nerve?
The second half of the Premier League season is brimming with stories and subplots. Hundreds of players are hoping to…
The rise and fall of the football presenter
What does it mean to be a ‘good’ sports presenter? Really, it should mean nothing. They aren’t important. They should…
Does running 42 Lakeland fells in less than 24 hours really bring ‘serenity’?
The Keswick hotelier Bob Graham achieved this in 1932 – and nowadays running improbable distances is considered almost normal, as well as an important factor in mental wellbeing
Don’t blame Ben Stokes
So what was the best bit of this dispiriting Ashes series? Lucky you if you’ve found one, but for me…
Labour is doing all it can to kill off horse racing
In July, Victoria, Lady Starmer was photographed at Royal Ascot, celebrating with friends after backing the winner of the Princess…
I’ve been duped by the Toby hoaxers
Going to see QPR on Boxing Day has become a tradition in the Young household – and not because we…
My advice to Ben Stokes
In preparation for the 2005 Ashes series, the late Graham Thorpe, a man I looked up to enormously, turned to…
Could two great managers bring us two World Cup wins?
Maybe it’s the time of the year, or maybe it’s down to my sad little life, but surely I can’t…
Ben Stokes’s run-in with Aggers
There’s tetchy, and then there’s Ben Stokes ‘tetchy’ – pulling out his mic and stomping off cursing, or so I’m…
Ben Stokes will go down as the greatest captain of modern times
And so it begins, as Donald Trump likes to say, though not usually about cricket. He was offering his thoughts…
The maverick magnificence of Henry Pollock
‘Gosh he seems full of himself’ was how my friend’s wife reacted when she came in to see Henry Pollock…
