Sports

England begin their wandering winter with a sloppy loss to Pakistan in the one-day tri-series in Rawalpindi. In the opening match of five separate tours to four different countries on three continents, England's mistakes opened the door for Pakistan's Arafat Minhas to take advantage. The all-rounder made a crucial 59 with the bat, then bamboozled England by taking 6-40 with his left-arm spin. Asked to bat, Pakistan were 190-5 in.

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Snooker's World Championship without Ronnie O'Sullivan is hard to conceive, after years of him being so often the central figure at the Crucible. But it may not be far away. However, the seven-time winner at the Crucible now faces a battle to maintain his place within the 16-man group guaranteed automatic entry to the World Championship. Already down at number 13 in the world rankings, O'Sullivan fell in the first.

Sports

Football is obsessed by its annual award, but cricket seems less enthusiastic about crowning its own best player in the world It’s time for the Ballon d’Or because it’s always time for the Ballon d’Or. Once the golden ball is presented at the London Palladium this month to Harry Kane/Lamine Yamal/Lionel Messi (let us know in the comments!), the debate will quickly switch to next year’s contenders, continuing football’s unhealthy.

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Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag says Cristiano Ronaldo "let the team and let me down" during the Dutchman's spell at Old Trafford. Portugal forward Ronaldo was in his second spell at United when Ten Hag took charge in the summer of 2022 but left in controversial circumstances a few months later. "He let the team down, and he let me down, because we planned with him," Ten Hag.

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Peta calls on club to never again use a live animal mascot ‘There’s no reason to drag a wild animal into a stadium’ A leading animal rights group has urged Crystal Palace to retire their American bald eagle mascot because, it says, the matchday experience can leave the bird “frightened, disoriented and panicked” and put spectators at risk. In a letter to Palace’s chief executive, Sharon Lacey, People for the.

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Wales include uncapped Dragons backs Aneurin Owen and Che Hope in the squad for November Nations Championship Tests but Taulupe Faletau misses out. Steve Tandy has selected a 39-strong group for the November Tests, with hooker Dewi Lake named as captain. The head coach calls up Dragons lock Seb Davies and Cardiff number eight Taine Basham for the first time since he took charge of the national side. Cardiff loose-head.