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Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue roll over Pakistan to give England series win

Tempting as it is to wince at the state of Pakistan’s Test team, England’s completion of a breezy series victory with a match to spare was not entirely insignificant for Joe Root and his men given the backdrop of their chaotic summer.

Until Josh Tongue finally nicked off Mohammad Ali at 5.45pm on Sunday to claim this second Test by a yawning margin of 194 runs, England had not won a series since late 2024. For Root it was his first as Test captain for more than five years. To have struggled at home against a touring side in such obvious disarray itself would have been practically to invite the sky to fall in over Lord’s.

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© Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

© Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

© Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

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England v Pakistan: second men’s cricket Test, day four – live

Updates from day four at Lord’s; play starts 11am BST
County cricket – live | Sign up for The Spin | Mail James

48th over: England 182-7 (Lawrence 54, Robinson 3) Mohammad Abbas, who has performed well here and remains a fine bowler to watch, starts us off at the Pavilion End. After four dots, Robinson nudges one off his hips for the day’s first single. It brings Lawrence to the strike and he promptly crunches a square cut to the ropes at the Grandstand for four.

47th over: England 177-7 (Lawrence 50, Robinson 2) Mohammad Ali bowls the remaining ball of his over to Lawrence, who plays an orthodox forward defensive. No run.

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© Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

© Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

© Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

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Dan Lawrence hails ‘different mentality’ as he strives to make up for lost time

  • England all-rounder ‘desperate’ to establish himself

  • Lawrence hits second fifty of Pakistan series at Lord’s

Dan Lawrence said he was “desperate to establish myself in an England shirt” after taking some solid steps in the right direction on a rain-affected third day of the second Test against Pakistan.

In a chill breeze and with frequent interruptions from the weather, the battle for England’s batting spots heated up in the continued absence of the injured Jacob Bethell. Emilio Gay’s hard-fought 31 was ended by a grubber before Lawrence scored his second half-century of the series – matching Jordan Cox on that metric – to put England in control, 177 for seven at stumps to stand 357 ahead.

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© Photograph: Sam Mellish/Getty Images

© Photograph: Sam Mellish/Getty Images

© Photograph: Sam Mellish/Getty Images

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Wallabies’ imperfections on show in win over Argentina, but could be masked by captain call

Rob Valetini filled in for skipper Harry Wilson at No 8 but Fraser McReight’s display will give Australia coach Les Kiss just as much food for thought

Rob Valetini bulldozed, barged through and brought the hammer down on home hopes in San Salvador de Jujuy during the Wallabies’ 27-21 win over Argentina, Australia’s fourth victory on the trot.

It was a rare start for Valetini, filling in for captain Harry Wilson in the gold No 8. The man they call Bobby V turns 28 this week and looks to be building towards his peak just in time for next year’s home World Cup. The person Valetini may have damaged more than anyone with his brutal performance, however, was the rested captain.

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© Photograph: Ramiro Vega/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Ramiro Vega/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Ramiro Vega/AFP/Getty Images

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Кто на самом деле пишет ваш проект

Кто на самом деле пишет ваш проект

Что происходит, когда разработку незаметно передают по цепочке - и почему проблема не в самом субподряде, а в потере контекста и ответственности.

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Argentina 21-27 Australia: men’s rugby union international – as it happened

Tom Hooper scores decisive try in a messy game as Les Kiss earns biggest scalp of his early tenure

Gordon gets us underway!

After Australia’s anthem it’s Argentina’s retort.

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© Photograph: Ramiro Vega/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Ramiro Vega/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Ramiro Vega/AFP/Getty Images

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Lawrence stretches lead against Pakistan as weather delays England victory push

It was one of those days at Lord’s. Rain meant just 24.5 overs were bowled and England’s already dominant position in this second Test meant overall jeopardy was in short supply. The spectators got a 50% refund but this only mildly offset their general frustration of following a sport that is so weather-dependent.

Yet for all this, it may in time prove a significant one for Dan Lawrence. During the two hours of play that were possible, and in hugely challenging conditions for the batters, Lawrence delivered an unbeaten 50 off 66 balls that cut through the gloom and showed his desire to make this latest stab at Test cricket count.

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© Photograph: Ben Whitley/PA

© Photograph: Ben Whitley/PA

© Photograph: Ben Whitley/PA

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Erasmus tricks and Kolisi magic inspire Springboks to level series with All Blacks

  • Second Test: South Africa 33-26 New Zealand

  • Head coach changes front-row just before start

The Boks are back. Level at one apiece in the series after a return to what they do best. Blending power and directness, blood and thunder, to edge far enough ahead of New Zealand and withstand a gutsy comeback from the All Blacks. Throw in some brazen mischief from Rassie Erasmus, who swapped his entire front-row just an hour before kick-off, and this was much closer to a trademark Springboks performance after they were unrecognisable a week ago.

South Africa were far from flawless but constantly ferocious. It was not a knockout blow – not least given how the All Blacks finished the match – but it was some counterpunch after last week’s humbling. The third Test is scheduled for Johannesburg but they may consider relocating to Manila.

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© Photograph: Rodger Bosch/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Rodger Bosch/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Rodger Bosch/AFP/Getty Images

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South Africa v New Zealand: rugby union second Test – live

  • Updates from the second Test (4.10pm BST)

  • Get in touch: mail Daniel and follow us on BlueSky

Pieter-Steph du Toit walks out with his wife and children on the occasion of his 100th Test.

I got to chat with him back in 2021. He has quite the story:

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© Photograph: Gallo Images/Getty Images

© Photograph: Gallo Images/Getty Images

© Photograph: Gallo Images/Getty Images

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England v Pakistan: second men’s cricket Test, day three – as it happened

Latest updates from Lord’s | County cricket live
Day two report | Sign up for the Spin | Mail Tim

Our very own Luke McLaughlin is getting into the soggy swing of things:

“Sticking with 90s Dad Rock rain-related tunes…”

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© Photograph: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images

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Archer illuminates fading summer as Pakistan’s marzipan men melt away | Barney Ronay

The tourists offered little but Jofra again invited us to marvel at what he is and mourn what could have been

At almost exactly 4.19pm on the second day of the second Test something almost happened. The sun, only ever grudgingly present, appeared just enough overhead to offer a lime green sheen to the late-season outfield, as weathered as an antique heirloom carpet.

Pakistan had gradually slumped under the table between lunch and tea at Lord’s. They were lolling at 110 for nine, product of 37 overs of almost entirely anonymous batting. This is an unusual Pakistan, if only in their absolute and unyielding ordinariness. The classic Pakistan Test team are an uneasy balance of stars, perhaps a little overwhelmed by their own weapons: speed, seam, spin, luminous top-order batting, all mixed in with the ballast of some unspectacular other guys.

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© Photograph: The Guardian

© Photograph: The Guardian

© Photograph: The Guardian

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$2 млн за 2 дня: как маленькая механика из большой игры превратилась в хит ReStory

Разбираю, как студия Mandragora вытащила одну механику из четырехлетней разработки I Am Future, превратила ее в самостоятельную игру ReStory и получила хит на миллионы долларов.

На первый взгляд история простая: разработчики сделали маленькую игру про ремонт старой электроники.

Но если посмотреть внимательнее, интереснее становится другое.

Игра про ремонт электроники у Mandragora и так уже была — только она так и не стала популярной.

Давайте разберемся, как уменьшение масштабной игры до одной по-настоящему цепляющей механики сделало ее хитом, хотя казалось бы, должно было погубить.

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All Blacks brace for Bok-lash as Erasmus adds late fly-half plot twist

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s inclusion may be a classic piece of misdirection from South Africa in their must-win match against New Zealand

On the face of it, South Africa have been beset by disruption before their most significant match since the successful defence of their World Cup title. Rassie Erasmus had sought to lean further on the Springboks’ set-piece strengths by selecting Handré Pollard at fly-half for the second Test against New Zealand in Cape Town, suggesting a narrow gameplan. A return to the tried and tested. A reliance on what he knows best. Then came news of the “niggle”.

Out goes Pollard, who, according to the Friday morning bulletin, suffered said niggle in training on Wednesday and failed a fitness test 24 hours before the match, and back comes the far more adventurous Sacha Feinberg‑Mngomezulu into the No 10 jersey. Feinberg‑Mngomezulu struggled in last week’s 33-16 defeat at Ellis Park, as he did on his comeback from injury against Argentina earlier this month, but the 24-year-old has a skill set that has marked him out as a future global star.

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© Photograph: Themba Hadebe/AP

© Photograph: Themba Hadebe/AP

© Photograph: Themba Hadebe/AP

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