Sport

David de Winter - Sports Writer On the same day the football World Cup kicks-off a few thousand miles away in Brazil, England’s cricket team will embark on their first test series, against Sri Lanka, since the 5-0 debacle in Australia.  There is a real sense of a new era with this squad.  Graeme Swann, Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott, big players for almost a decade, are no longer involved in the set-up for various reasons and Peter Moores has...

By Jack Peat, Editor of The London Economic Is Dr Steve Peters the key to World Cup success for England?  England travel to Brazil this week with a secret weapon in their bag; a chimp management specialist. The notion that psychology matters – particularly on the biggest stage – has become a focal point for professional sports teams across the country. From the terraces to the dugout we've long been aware of the psychological battles athletes endure - “their heads...

by David de Winter - Sports Writer Before some mickey-mouse football competition in Brazil gets underway, there’s the small matter of a little tennis tournament in Paris to sort out.  The French Open is under way on the clay of Roland Garros, but given that the Rafael Nadal has won the past eight of nine tournaments, is there much point of even holding it? The most likely man to prise the trophy from the King of Clay is World No....

By Ian Carroll What follows could easily be a(nother) rant from a Newcastle United fan about Mike Ashley, Sports Direct, lack of money spent, good players sold and not replaced, Wonga etc etc. However, the biggest problem at Newcastle United, by far, is Alan Pardew. The man is a complete joke of a football manager, who somehow is still employed on a contract with more than six years left to run. On the face of it, finishing tenth in the...

By David de Winter - Sports Writer The 2013/14 Premier League season has been one of the most exciting in recent memory.  A title race that went down to the wire, a Houdini-style escape by Sunderland, Alan Pardew going a bit loco, and Manchester United finished in 7th.  What’s not to like?  Here are the eleven players who excelled themselves this term. Goalkeeper:  David Marshall (Cardiff City) It’s almost unheard of that the goalkeeper of the league’s bottom club is...

David De Winter   - Sports Writer Hindsight is a wonderful thing.  What if I had actually revised for my A-Levels instead of watching the 2006 World Cup?  Would I have gone to a better university?  Probably (thank God I didn’t).  What if, on one of my desperate and all-to-frequent forays on to Tinder, I had swiped that borderline girl right instead of left?  Would I finally have a match?  Don’t be silly.  What if Steven Gerrard hadn’t stumbled and let Demba...