Joe Root won the Bob Willis Trophy as part of the 2025 Cricket Media Club’s recognition as England’s player of the year.
In October 2024, Root became England’s all-time leading test run-scorer, moving him to second place overall in the summertime Test list after Sachin Tendulkar.
Rehan Ahmed was named young player of the year while England leg-spinner Lauren Bell won the women’s award.
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Nottinghamshire won their first County Championship title since 2010, and Haseeb Hameed was named one of the county’s players of the year.
The Emerging Cricketer of the Year award went to Davina Perrin. In the women’s Hundred eliminator, she scored a stunning 101 for Northern Superchargers.
England’s top bowling team in 2025, led by coach Charlotte Edwards and captain Nat Sciver-Brunt, has had one outstanding season under Seamer Bell, 24.
She is currently a member of England’s World Cup squad in India and has taken 15 T20 international wickets this year, including 13 one-day internationals.
Joe Root won the Bob Willis Trophy as part of the 2025 Cricket Media Club’s recognition as England’s player of the year.
In October 2024, Root became England’s all-time leading test run-scorer, moving him to second place overall in the summertime Test list after Sachin Tendulkar.
Rehan Ahmed was named young player of the year while England leg-spinner Lauren Bell won the women’s award.
ago, one hour ago
three hours ago
last 4 hours
Nottinghamshire won their first County Championship title since 2010, and Haseeb Hameed was named one of the county’s players of the year.
The Emerging Cricketer of the Year award went to Davina Perrin. In the women’s Hundred eliminator, she scored a stunning 101 for Northern Superchargers.
England’s top bowling team in 2025, led by coach Charlotte Edwards and captain Nat Sciver-Brunt, has had one outstanding season under Seamer Bell, 24.
She is currently a member of England’s World Cup squad in India and has taken 15 T20 international wickets this year, including 13 one-day internationals.
The Football Association (FA) fined Lincoln City £8,500 after supporters chanted “sectarian chants” at an opposition player.
After James McClean was verbally abused twice during a game at Sincil Bank on May 3, the FA claimed the club had failed to control its supporters.
The FA has also issued an action plan to stop upcoming incidents that could result in the club being subject to additional sanctions.
The FA claimed that Kick It Out, an anti-racist organization, reported the two incidents in its report on May 7.
The FA stated that the club had contacted the police, spoke with them, and interviewed stewards in response to the report.
The FA added that “seven individuals were prohibited from the club for varying periods” and that “a number of fans had been identified as perpetrators.”
Mr. Scully stated on BBC Radio Lincolnshire that he wanted to hold an open meeting with supporters “to hear the experiences of the fans.”
He said, “It’s really important that we work on both sanctioning and education.”
“Using those two as the right mix and the right combination to address this going forward,” he said.
He continued, “I think it’s getting that balance between making sure we have that phenomenal atmosphere that we create and not sterilizing the games, which is absolutely the last thing we want to do,” but I don’t believe these things are mutually exclusive.
I think and feel that Sincil Bank can provide an inclusive environment where everyone is happy, everyone is happy, everyone is happy, everyone is welcoming, and everyone is having a wonderful time there.
The club claimed that the FA and the club were “in discussions” about alleged similar behavior during our recent Carabao Cup encounter with Chelsea.
Many displaced Palestinians in Gaza have made the regrettable choice to pitch their tents in graveyards despite their homes being destroyed and no longer providing shelter. They battle to rebuild their lives among the tombstones.
Although Claudia Winkleman has been a member of the Strictly Come Dancing family for 21 years, she announced today that she will be leaving the show.
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Claudia Winkleman says ‘we’ve been through all kinds of things’ as she made a confession about Strictly(Image: Lia Toby, Getty Images for BFI)
Strictly Come Dancing’s Claudia Winkleman previously offered a brutally honest reflection on her journey with the beloved BBC programme, ahead of announcing her departure from the show earlier today.
The presenter first appeared on Strictly’s spin-off series It Takes Two in 2004, before co-presenting the Sunday results program with Tess Daly.
Following Sir Bruce Forsyth’s decision to leave the series, she then moved up to Tess on Saturday nights from 2014 onward.
She spoke candidly about her Strictly experience, especially given that the series is “completely run by women,” during an interview with Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett last year on the Dish podcast.
The actress acknowledged that “we are a proper gang and it is a show, no offence, completely run by women, and this is going to make everyone feel nauseous, but it is true life.”
She continued, “We’ve all been through all kinds of things together, whether it’s getting pregnant, meeting someone, or breaking up with someone,” adding, “We’ve all been through all kinds of things together.” The director is a BAFTA award-winning woman, the executive producer is a woman, the commissioning editor is a woman, and there are men there, and they are obviously excellent, but it’s.” Although it’s a television show, Strictly feels like family to me.
Claudia has worked on programs like BBC’s The Great British Sewing Bee and Channel 4’s The Piano, making her a household name on British television.
Her most recent venture has seen her fronting the hugely successful BBC game show The Traitors, with the first series of the celebrity version launching in recent weeks.
However, after a remarkable 15-year partnership, Claudia and Tess announced their exit from the program today, leaving Strictly viewers stunned.
In a shared Instagram video breaking the news, Tess and Claudia wrote: “We have loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream. We were always going to leave together and now feels like the right time.
We just want to say a huge thank you to the BBC and to everyone who volunteers for the show, saying “we will have the greatest rest of this amazing series.”
They continued, “We’ll miss them every day because they’re the most brilliant team.” When we say the final “keep dancing,” we will cry, but we’ll keep saying it to one another. Just possibly while eating some pizza while wearing tracksuit bottoms at home.
Beginning in 2028, Saudi Arabia will host a new ATP Masters 1000 tennis event.
Another indication of the Gulf state’s growing pull will be a 56-man field competing in a one-week competition, which will likely take place in February.
Saudi Arabia hosts the WTA Finals and the Next Gen ATP Finals, and its Public Investment Fund (PIF) serves as the official naming partner for both the ATP and WTA rankings.
The new tournament will not be required because players are so concerned about the length of the season and how many games they compete in.
According to ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi, “we are dealing with players who are independent contractors, so they are ultimately free to choose their own schedule.”
They also perform outside the system, which was just revealed last week at the Saudi Arabian Six Kings Slam exhibition.
I do agree that the off-season is too brief for the players, but I also believe it is too brief for the fans, who will need to take a break from our sport at some point.
Since the concept’s conception in 1990, the Masters 1000 category has expanded for the first time.
What does the workload for players mean?
The players are currently required to play Monte Carlo, which is the only Masters 1000 available right now.
A player who skips the new Saudi event would not be able to claim his portion of the annual bonus, and under the current regulations, he could claim some of the ranking points that were given up at other tournaments.
Seven of the nine previous Masters events are now being held over a 12-day period, which has turned out to be unpopular with many players.
The new Saudi tournament will only last a week, with an announcement still to be made.
As the ATP tries to streamline the end-of-season tournaments, it will fit into a 2028 schedule with a slightly different look and possibly finish at least a week earlier.
“Obviously, we need to be in the same room as the Grand Slams, the ITF, and the WTA, which is not the case, and is something I’ve been pushing for four years,” Gaudenzi continued.
There is a lot more opportunity in the modern world, which also means there is a lot more opportunity, and there is a lot more temptation to play both online and offline.
However, the top athletes in our sport have a tendency to say no and prioritize the Slams, Masters, and ATP Finals primarily because of this.
Players have previously expressed frustration with the already crowded tennis calendar, with Carlos Alcaraz saying in some way in September 2024: “They are going to kill us in some way.”
British alumnus Jack Draper stated earlier this month that players must “adapt” the tour and the calendar to achieve professional longevity.
Holger Rune, who is the latest high-profile player to have his season prematurely ended by injury, joined Emma Raducanu from Britain, Daria Kasatkina from Australia, Elina Svitolina from Ukraine, and Paula Badosa from Spain on the women’s WTA Tour.
What role will the tournament play on the calendar?
With the decision to choose Saudi Arabia one of the sport’s worst kept secrets, it has been more than eighteen months since bidding invitations were sent to Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi, and Australia.
Up until a vote earlier this year, a 10th Masters event had always been planned, but it would have had to be held in either the first week of the year or on grass before Wimbledon.
However, it could happen at any time and is anticipated to be held in February, the same month that the ATP will be traveling to Dubai and Doha.
Because the date is likely to upset someone, the ATP is not confirming that in public.
Since most of its leading men would no longer play in the country in the lead up to the Australian Open, Tennis Australia would consider staging the tournament in Saudi Arabia in the first week of the year to be viewed as hostile.
Players may avoid traditional clay court competitions like those in Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires and European indoor competitions like those in Rotterdam by scheduling it in February.
The Middle East and South America tournaments would be one of the best ways to organize them, with the European competitions moving to later in the year.
The Saudi tournament’s prize pool is unknown at this time, but the ATP has set a minimum prize pool for all Masters 1000 competitions.
Next week’s Paris Masters, which also has a 56-man field, is offering the minimum of 6, 128, 940 euros (£5, 328, 338).
As long as the prize money is distributed evenly throughout the draw, tournaments are permitted to award more prizes.
In the future, will Saudi hold a women’s tournament?
The new Saudi tournament, which will be the seventh ATP and WTA 1000 combined event, has not yet been made public.
Existing owners, including those in Doha and Dubai, would be able to veto any expansion plans if one were to be sold. There are currently no additional licenses for WTA 1000 events.
However, it might change in the future.
According to Danny Townsend, the CEO of SURJ Sports Investment, a PIF company, “we’re very cognizant of serving both the men’s and women’s games.”
“It would be great to have them on in Saudi Arabia at the same time, or at least in sequence. We would never say never and look into it if it were to turn out to be an option, even though that wasn’t at this time.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has made significant investments in boxing, golf, and football.
However, the country has long been criticized for its lack of human rights, particularly in light of how women are treated and homosexuality is made illegal.
