All posts by 234Radio

There have been few undeniable successes as the dust settles on England’s winter.

Will Jacks, maybe, given his role in the run to the semi-final of the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

Josh Tongue? He was England’s standout bowler in the Ashes, though only played one Test while the series was alive.

There is no doubt about one, however.

Jacob Bethell’s sensational century against India in Mumbai on Thursday may have come in a losing cause but it only confirmed the 22-year-old is England’s future.

At the start of September he did not have a century in any form of professional cricket but now he has three, one in each of the formats and all of them at international level.

His captain Harry Brook completed the set with his hundred against Pakistan in the Super 8s phase, while Dawid Malan and Jos Buttler are the other Englishmen to have done it before.

Bethell is the youngest to get there by a distance.

“Me and Brooky were joking about who was going to be the first to get all three between us,” Bethell said.

“He was like ‘You’re batting at three so it’s got to be you’ and then took my spot at three and did it.

“Both of us can sit back and be very proud of ourselves but at the end of the day his came in a winning cause and mine in a losing cause.

Bethell’s knocks this winter, from Southampton to Sydney and then a Mumbai semi-final, have shown variety akin to Freddie Mercury’s vocal range.

His first Test hundred in the fifth Ashes Test was an old-school epic – 154 runs compiled across six hours of batting.

He clipped and pulled, drove and cut, with shots from the oldest textbook.

But Bethell’s 105 from 48 balls against India, which kept England’s attempt at a record chase going right to the final over, was more reflective of the modern world.

It reflected a man with bleached blonde curls who left home in Barbados as a teenager to pursue his dreams in England. A player who was signed up by one of the world’s biggest T20 franchises before his international place was secure.

“They’re not comparable, really,” Bethell said of his two hundreds.

“The skills and mental thinking are different but both feelings are pretty good.

“But both of them have come in losing causes, which is a weird feeling.”

On Thursday, Bethell cracked a switch hit off Varun Chakravarthy, played a delicate reverse scoop off Hardik Pandya and, with flowing hands and flashing wrists, stroked the ball to all parts.

He did not deserve to be run out in the final over, face down in the dirt. When he slumped off, even the India supporters rose to their feet to applaud.

Bethell’s performances have vindicated England’s decision to pluck him from relative obscurity. He had played only 20 first-class matches when given a Test debut in New Zealand in 2024.

Regarded as calm beyond his years even then, his nerveless mentality and clear thinking were on show yet again in the febrile atmosphere of the Wankhede Stadium.

Between deliveries he wandered to the leg side to steady himself before reengaging with the task at hand.

When England will leave India is still not entirely clear given the situation in the Middle East, but all being well Bethell will return to Barbados for little more than a week.

After that he will return to the sub-continent for his second stint with Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League.

“My game’s evolved a lot over the past six or seven months and I’ll look to take that further,” Bethell said.

“It’s been a nice winter, performances we’d have liked a bit more, but got to keep coming back.”

He began the Ashes outside of England’s XI but there is no doubt he will be at number three when they play next, against New Zealand in the first Test of the English summer.

Only Test, Waca, Perth (day one of four)

India 198: Rodrigues 52; Sutherland 4-46, Hamilton 3-31

Australia 96-3: Perry 43*; Satghare 2-24

Australia trail by 102 runs

Australia dismissed India for 198 on day one of the day-night Test in Perth as Alyssa Healy begun her final match as captain of the hosts.

Australia closed on 96-3 in reply, trailing by 102 runs, with Healy – who will retire from all formats after this series – falling for 13 at the Waca.

All-rounder Annabel Sutherland starred with the ball, taking 4-46, while left-arm fast bowler Lucy Hamilton impressed on her Test debut by claiming 3-31.

After losing the toss, India slipped to 107-5 but Jemimah Rodrigues compiled a defiant 52 to prevent her side being skittled.

In reply, Australia openers Georgia Voll (two) and Phoebe Litchfield (nine) both made single-figure scores to leave the hosts 31-2, bringing Healy to the crease.

She started to rebuild alongside Ellyse Perry before picking out Rodrigues at point off Sayali Satghare as the Aussies fell to 58-3.

Francis Ngannou has left the PFL and is now a free agent in mixed martial arts.

The former UFC champion joined the PFL in 2023 but has fought just once for the MMA promotion, while also overseeing its expansion into Africa.

Ngannou, 39, has not fought in MMA since October 2024.

“The PFL has made the decision to part ways with Francis Ngannou,” the PFL said.

“We wish him success in the next chapter of his combat sports career.”

Ngannou’s exit from the UFC in 2023 was a massive moment in MMA as one of the sport’s biggest stars opted to walk away from the world’s biggest promotion.

The Cameroonian has advocated for fighters to have greater control of their careers and to be paid better, given the comparison in their earnings to athletes in other major sports.

Ngannou previously said two fights in boxing earned him more than his entire 14-fight UFC career combined.

Those boxing bouts were not organised by the PFL but with boxing promotions.

A return to the UFC may be on the cards with the heavyweight division struggling for consistency since Ngannou’s exit.

Briton Tom Aspinall is the current UFC champion, but has not fought since October and underwent double eye surgery in February.

Ngannou’s career now stands at a crossroads. The PFL experiment, although definitely a moral win for Ngannou, hasn’t quite worked out as both parties would have wished.

Key to that deal was Ngannou being permitted to box, which he did, and being the face of PFL Africa.

But Ngannou’s notable absence from the inaugral PFL Africa event last year hinted that things behind the scenes were not harmonious.

A lack of potential opponents for Ngannou in the PFL was a clear issue with the fighter himself much bigger than the PFL brand.

His status sky rocketed when he came close to beating Tyson Fury in a boxing contest 2023 and he went on to face Anthony Joshua in 2024, which ended in a knockout defeat.

The PFL struggled to deliver an event or opponent worthy of Ngannou’s brand.

But that doesn’t mean his options are now limited. The Netflix MMA event in May seems an obvious opportunity for Ngannou, should his ambition to be continue fighting.

Having each completed three successive Scottish titles, Ross Whyte and Fay Henderson will make their World Curling Championship debuts this month.

Scotland are the defending men’s world champions but neither Team Bruce Mouat nor Team Rebecca Morrison, who represented Great Britain at the Olympic Winter Games, took part in the home championships.

Whyte is ranked number four in the world while double Olympic silver medallist Mouat is top of the global standings.

Along with Robin Brydone, Craig Waddell, Euan Kyle and Duncan McFadzean, Whyte will compete in Ogden, USA from 27 March–4 April.

“We have waited for this chance for a number of years and that only makes us all the more proud to get to defend the title for Scotland,” Whyte said.

“We have demonstrated with our Grand Slam wins in Canada in each of the last two seasons that we can beat the world’s best and we will head over there full of confidence in our capacity to deliver for Scotland.”

The alternate (extra member) for this year’s Olympic team, Henderson is a former world junior champion and her rink includes 2022 Olympic gold medallist Hailey Duff.

Those two will be joined by Lisa Davie, Katie McMillan and Laura Watt in Calgary, Canada from 14-22 March.

“This has been a big goal that we’ve been so close to over the last few years so we are really excited to see what we can achieve,” Henderson said.