England’s new coach Peter Moores tried to play down the prospect of South Africa pace great Allan Donald joining his backroom staff after seeing the home side’s fast bowlers struggle during the drawn first Test against West Indies at Lord’s. England’s quicks struggled to make much of an impression against a West Indies side ranked a lowly eighth in the world Test rankings.
After weaving his magic with best-selling books and blockbuster films, Harry Potter is hoping to cast a spell over stamp collectors. JK Rowling’s schoolboy wizard will feature on seven first-class stamps. They go on sale on July 17, four days before the publication of the seventh and final book: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
A New Zealand city dubbed the "suicide capital" by John Cleese has responded by naming a rubbish heap at the local dump after the British comedian. Proving that revenge is a dish best served cold, the sign for Mt Cleese has been erected more than a year after Cleese revealed he had a "thoroughly bloody miserable time" in Palmerston North.
Bayern Munich midfielder Owen Hargreaves will join Manchester United for about £17,5-million, according to reports on Monday. Minor details of the deal remain to be thrashed out, but Hargreaves is believed to be already looking for a house in the Manchester area, before joining up with his teammates on July 2.
Kevin Pietersen’s dashing 109 put England in a position to win the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s. At the close of Sunday’s fourth day, the tourists were seven without loss in their second innings, needing a further 394 on Monday’s final day to reach their victory target of 401.
The Cutty Sark, a London landmark and the world’s last surviving 19th century tea clipper, was severely damaged in a blaze on Monday. Flames and black smoke shot high into the sky above the dry dock on the banks of the River Thames where the boat has stood as a major tourist attraction for more than 50 years.
Salman Butt and Yasir Hameed hit half centuries and Pakistan beat World Cup runner-up Sri Lanka by 98 runs on Sunday to claim the three-match Warid Cup series. Pakistan posted imposing 313 for nine in the allotted 50 overs, and then dismissed Sri Lanka for 215 in 39.5 overs to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
British fire crews are battling a blaze on the Cutty Sark, the famous 19th-century tea clipper moored as a tourist attraction in south-east London, a fire service spokesperson said on Monday. Television pictures showed the ship well ablaze with flames leaping high into the air.
Ryan Giggs claimed Manchester United had been harshly treated in the FA Cup final after his extra-time effort was ruled not to have crossed the line. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side missed out on the double after Didier Drogba’s goal five minutes from the end clinched Chelsea’s 1-0 victory at Wembley on Saturday.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Denesh Ramdin ensured West Indies avoided the follow-on against England in the first Test at Lord’s on Saturday. But just when it looked the pair would both reach the close unbeaten, wicket-keeper Ramdin was caught by a diving Paul Collingwood at third slip off Durham teammate Liam Plunkett for 60.
Didier Drogba’s 33rd goal of the season, four minutes from the end of extra time, was enough to secure the FA Cup for Chelsea in the first final at the new Wembley on Saturday. Drogba’s goal count this season also includes the winner in the League Cup final against Arsenal in February.
Matt Prior became the first England wicket-keeper to score a century on Test debut as the hosts piled up 553-5 on the second day of the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s on Friday. Prior (25) was one of four England centurions in the innings with Alastair Cook (105), Paul Collingwood (111) and Ian Bell (109 not out) also reaching three figures.
A British golf club has lifted an 88-year-old rule banning Germans and Austrians from playing on its course, newspapers reported on Saturday. Filton Golf Club near Bristol in south-west England imposed the law after nine of its members were killed in World War I, with teed-off survivors vowing that the enemy should never be allowed on the course.
British police are hunting a blue-throated Amazon parrot called Chelsea that screeches when anyone mentions Manchester United. The bird was stolen from its owner’s garden this week. The family pet, which is tame and able to tell people its name, was taken from a home in the English Midlands on Tuesday night.
The FA Cup final, one of the landmark events in the global sporting year, finally returns home to Wembley Stadium on Saturday after a seven-year absence. Although a few matches have been played there, the stadium officially opens its doors for the first time when Manchester United meet Chelsea in the final for the second time in 13 years.
The last little piles of sawdust have been swept away, the builders have being paid off and the two biggest acts in the country have been lined up for the grand reopening. Few places did football as theatre as well as the old Wembley but now, finally, an FA Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester United offers the new arena the opportunity to start establishing its own tradition.
Alastair Cook’s fifth Test hundred in 15 matches was the cornerstone of England’s 200-3 against West Indies at Lord’s on Thursday. Cook was 102 not out when bad light ended play on the first day of the first Test of a four-match series. He’d been in for over four hours after England lost the toss in bowler-friendly conditions.
Iraq is on the brink of disintegration, British experts warned on Thursday in one of the most dramatic studies on the developments in the Middle Eastern country. The report, from the foreign policy think tank Chatham House, said the government in Iraq was nearly powerless in the face of not one but ”many civil wars and insurgencies”.
Finance Minister Gordon Brown became Britain’s prime minister-in-waiting Thursday as the ruling Labour party said he was the only candidate to succeed its outgoing leader, Tony Blair. But Brown faces a six-week wait before actually taking over at 10 Downing Street, when his long-time ally-turned-rival Blair stands down at the end of June.
English champions Manchester United and Chelsea, the team they deposed, square off in a much-anticipated FA Cup Final on Saturday at the new Wembley Stadium, as both teams look to end their season on a domestic high having fallen agonisingly short in Europe.
Britain-based brewer SABMiller said on Thursday that net profit climbed by almost 15% during its fiscal year, but gains were limited by a disappointing performance in North America. SABMiller said that net profit increased by 14,5% to $1,649-billion in the year to March 31 from the same period 12 months earlier, according to an official earnings release.
Britain’s Prince Harry will not be sent to serve in Iraq after military commanders decided it would be too dangerous, Britain’s Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday. Harry (22), the third in line to the throne and a junior officer in the army, had been due to be deployed to Basra, in southern Iraq, with his Blues and Royals regiment.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been arrested in a row with police officers over his dog, a police source said on Wednesday. The 44-year-old Portuguese soccer boss was held late on Tuesday after an animal health official and two police officers went to his central London home to remove his dog, the Sun newspaper reported.
Manchester United captain Gary Neville was on Tuesday ruled out of the FA Cup final against Chelsea due to a right ankle injury. The England right back hurt his ankle against Bolton on March 17. Although Neville was expected to return to training Monday, he continued to feel pain and will now have exploratory surgery.
Flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson admitted that he was braced for a punishing tour to South Africa as he joined a severely depleted England squad that flew out to Johannesburg on Tuesday. The squad, which includes five World Cup winners, also contains seven uncapped players, including six forwards.
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has backed Australia’s decision to call off its tour of Zimbabwe and said the struggling African nation should be ”permanently suspended” from international cricket because of its poor playing standards. The Australia government has banned the country’s cricket team from travelling to Zimbabwe.
The Magpies announced on Tuesday that former Bolton manager Sam Allardyce had joined on a three-year contract. He replaces Glenn Roeder, who quit on May 7 after only a year in full-time charge. The job is one of the toughest in English soccer, with Roeder the latest to fail at a club which has not won the league title since 1927.
The rate of global software piracy has remained static for three years, but the cost to businesses is rising, the United States Business Software Alliance (BSA) said Tuesday. The BSA survey, conducted by the US-based market-research firm IDC, concludes that for every two dollars spent on legitimate software, one dollar goes to pirates.
Canadian publisher Thomson has agreed to buy Reuters for about £8,7-billion (,2-billion) to create the world’s biggest financial news and data group, the companies said on Tuesday. The deal still needs regulatory clearance and shareholder approval, they said in a joint statement.
The two potential challengers to Gordon Brown for the Labour Party leadership decided on Monday to join forces in a bid to ensure there is a contest to succeed Prime Minister Tony Blair. Left-wing Labour MP Michael Meacher agreed to stand aside in favour of fellow left-winger John McDonnell after both struggled to get the 45 nominations necessary to make it on to the ballot.
British sculptor Antony Gormley on Monday unveiled what he himself described as a ”disorienting” work consisting of a glass box that makes those who enter it disappear in a cloud of mist. The Blind Light installation is the highlight of Gormley’s latest exhibition at the Hayward Gallery in London.
Mark Hughes has vowed to resist any attempt to lure Benni McCarthy away from Blackburn this summer after the South African rounded off his outstanding first season in the Premiership with another goal. McCarthy’s opener in the 3-3 draw with Reading on Sunday ensured he finished the campaign with 18 league goals.