Championship

AFC Bournemouth forward Dominic Solanke has been nominated for the Sky Bet Championship Player of the Month for March.

The 24-year-old has also been nominated for the PFA Fans' Player of the Month and won the club's Strategic Solutions Goal of the Month for his back-heel in the win over Huddersfield Town. The Cherries had a solid month in March with two wins, two draws and one defeat in the league. The striker put in a series of sensational performances throughout the month, scoring three goals and assisting two.

Alex has taken the step up from the National Formula Ford Championship to compete in faster cars at some of the UK's most iconic motorsport venues. Eight race ...

We go to Oulton Park now and I hope we can do more of the same.” Hopefully we can carry this forward and get a bit more pace in the car for Oulton, but we’ll see. We took second, first and a sixth so it’s good points in the bag and looking good for the rest of the season.

Lancashire and Warwickshire look most likely to fight for the title, with Jimmy Anderson's availability potentially decisive, while Hampshire benefit from a ...

Salisbury also made a shrewd signing in Steven Finn, and one of the most thrilling overseas acquisitions with Mohammad Rizwan. Having at last found their red-ball form in 2021 after nearly two years without a win, it was a cruel blow for Nottinghamshire to find themselves back in Division Two. Few doubt they will come storming back, with a formidable pace attack to terrify some of the second division batting lineups. Stuart Law’s disappointing period in charge came to an end when Middlesex found themselves in Division Three for the back end of the season. The club have a new director of cricket in Claude Henderson, who quickly signed his compatriot Beuran Hendricks, a left-arm swing bowler, while only Simon Harmer picked up more wickets in the Championship bowling spin than Callum Parkinson, Matt’s twin. Labuschagne will be joined by fellow Ashes player Michael Neser. The batting has been further bolstered by the addition of nearly-man Sam Northeast from Hampshire and Somerset’s Eddie Byrom, plus the talented Kiran Carlson who made three Championship centuries last year plus a sparkling 88 in front of the Sky cameras against Yorkshire. A plucky 2021 campaign gives the club something to build on, with South African Keegan Petersen joining David Bedingham (one of only five players to make 1,000 Championship runs last season) and new England cap Alex Lees to provide some ballast at the top of the order. The batting looks particularly weak with the departures of Harvey Hosein (to retirement) and Matt Critchley (to Essex). Last year’s double title winners – Championship and Bob Willis Trophy – find themselves in the unexpected position of looking down at the rest. Tom Abell hopes Renshaw can nurture young blade Tom Lammonby and old hand James Hildreth. The bowling, a more comforting sight all round, is boosted by the arrival of Peter Siddle. The batting lineup, fragile as a shelf of china dolls, has been boosted by the arrival of Australian Matt Renshaw, who averaged 50 during his last spell with the club. Captain James Vince was head and shoulders above the rest in that game, much as he had been all season. Gloucestershire have waited three years to take up their first division berth earned in the autumn of 2o19, but kept performances up.

Kyle Lafferty has made it an awards double for Killie after being named cinch Championship Player of the Month for March. The Northern Ireland international ...

The Leeds Rhinos head coaching vacancy has been the major focal point of most rugby league fans since Richard Agar departed the club over a fortnight ago.

I’m sure they will appoint the right bloke and turn it around because they’ve got some quality there.” “Leeds are in a tough spot, but they’ve got a lot of good people at the club who will make the right decisions to put them back on track. Then, in 2021, Grix inspired Fax to third in the Championship and the play-off semi-final where they eventually lost out to Featherstone Rovers.

Nat Phillips, Chinwike Okoli, Lucias Vine and Tremaine Eastmond are some of the players floating around in the transfer headlines. Phillips joined Bournemouth ...

Lastly, Hull City are said to be interested in Burnley young winger Eastmond. The 18-year-old featured for the Tigers’ U23 side yesterday and scored against Ipswich Town in a 1-0 win. The young forward will be looking to earn a contract at the Championship club after showing promise in non-league. Okoli has been offered his first professional deal to try and keep him at the club amid interest elsewhere.

Each month, you can vote for your favourite players across five divisions of ...

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter Competition between 10/5/21 at 6:00 PM BST and 6/11/23 at 6:59 PM BST; conducted as 18 separate monthly competitions & 2 separate Grand Prize competitions. Open to legal residents of the United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland), who are 16+ at time of entry. Appearances: 5 Appearances: 5 Appearances: 5 Appearances: 5

Michael Smith will be looking for his first Premier League victory of the year in Leeds on Thursday, with the tough test of Peter Wright in the opening ...

Michael Smith will be looking for his first Premier League victory of the year in Leeds on Thursday, with the tough test of Peter Wright in the opening quarter-final initially standing in his way. Wright secured a 7-5 victory over Smith in the World Championship final in January, the Scot securing his second title and leaving Smith to come to terms with his second loss in the final. Michael Smith faces the tough test of Peter Wright in Leeds as he searches for his first Premier League win; Wright beat Smith in World Championship final and on the opening night of the Premier League; watch Night 9 of Premier League Darts live on Sky Sports Action on Thursday from 7pm

Steve Bruce has been nominated for the Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Month award for March. The Baggies were unbeaten in the third month of 2022, ...

England interest on opening week? Defending champions Warwickshire will host Surrey as part of the opening round of eight matches, with plenty of England ...

Now back in the big league following their unbeaten run to the Division Two title in 2019, they should have more than survival on their mind. Yorkshire and Lancashire are the only teams who won't feature in week one of the season. Seamers Sam Cook and Jamie Porter combined for 92 wickets last summer, with veteran spinner Simon Harmer pitching in with a further 53. From 2017-2019 the allocation of teams had been split unevenly the other way. Warwickshire opener Rob Yates was instrumental in their title push, scoring four hundreds, while Yorkshire's Harry Brook is also held in high regard and could soon be banging down the door for selection. And who are favourites to be crowned champions?

It's set to be a nail-biting end to the season with St Johnstone currently in the relegation play-off.

You can enter once each week to be in with a chance of winning. For your chance to win HOME tickets to cinch SPFL matches each week across ALL FOUR divisions just enter our competition below. All fixtures will be televised with the quarter and semi-finals live on the BBC, with the final on Sky Sports.

How much money a club stands to earn from winning the EFL Championship play-off ...

Two years later, the 2022 final is set to be worth even more. In the semi-finals – which consist of two legs – third will take on sixth and fourth will play fifth. However, putting an exact figure on the game's worth can be challenging. Another reason that the Championship play-off final is so lucrative is parachute payments. It is not just the sporting glory that motivates them either. The two teams that finish first and second in the Championship secure automatic promotion to the Premier League.

With live streams, BBC Radio commentary, scorecards and video highlights across the ECB website and England Cricket app, there are multiple ways to follow ...

If a stream is available for your preferred match, you’ll be able to watch by selecting the ‘VIDEO’ tab within the match itself. Follow us on Every match will be live streamed through the County Championship match centre on ecb.co.uk as well as through the England Cricket app.

Plus, Scyld Berry previews the new season with England-qualified batsmen around the country aware Test places are up for grabs.

If only 12 counties are going to play Championship cricket in future, in a Premier League, there will be every incentive to stay in the First, not be one of the two counties demoted and potentially doomed. Alex Lees must have earned the three-Test series against New Zealand in the first half of this summer but maybe a younger, more fluent, left-handed opener will be in contention for the second three-Test series against South Africa. At Birmingham University he is in the fourth year of a three-year English Language course: the England Lions tour made him split his final year into two but it was something to do during quarantine in Brisbane. His dissertation is on the vocabulary which British newspapers have used to report terrorist incidents since 1992. There are seven Championship rounds (time for several centuries) before the T20 Blast kicks in on May 25, when batsmen are forced to abandon their red-ball habit of playing it under their eyes in favour of throwing their hands at the ball, moving around the crease and going aerial. Another England batsman who had a good winter, because he had no part in the wreckage, was Dom Sibley, who was dropped after clocking 1042 Test runs at 28.9 and who has been reconstructing his technique. Problem-solving was involved, which again is something that some of England’s current Test batsmen do not appear interested in: throw the bat, have a hack, and your next innings will come again soon. His 113 against Australia A in Brisbane went a long way to restoring the 24 year-old’s self-belief, because it was made in Test-like conditions, off 295 balls. There was not much alternative, once the England selectors had decided not to call Buttler, Bairstow and Sam Billings back from the Indian Premier League, while Ben Foakes had his long-term shoulder injury, but Bracey had kept wicket in fewer than 20 first-class games. The other batsman also had the initials of JB, though it was not Jos Buttler, who did not top 50, or 40, in the Ashes series, but James Bracey who scored the sole century for England Lions in their “Test” against Australia A. There are a few moving parts to their side, which looks as strong as any in the country, depending on availability. In a season in which runs were hard to come by across the country, Somerset were notable for their batting struggles in 2021, with only two men scoring 500 runs. Vasconcelos was made captain on the eve of the season when Adam Rossington was unceremoniously stripped of the role and subsequently left the club.

Planet Sport takes a look at some England Test hopefuls looking to press their claims in the 2022 County Championship.

If so, and having been on the Lions tour, Cook will surely be part of the England conversation. As Surrey boss Alec Stewart - one of those doubtless on the ECB's radar to become their new director of cricket - said: "County cricket is a breeding ground for Test cricket. Cook will hope to avoid such a fate. We're back to the top of the order here with Yates a rising star on the county scene. The 24-year-old has played a key role in an Essex team which has been the best in the country in three of the last five years and one which looks set to go well again in 2022. It would be a brave and certainly controversial move but calls for it to happen would only become louder were the batting all-rounder to make plenty of runs on the bat-friendly Taunton pitch in the early weeks of the season.

Snooker legend Ronnie O'Sullivan has compared himself to Lionel Messi and Roger Federer while saying that playing the way he does makes it harder to ...

You have to deal with that, so it is probably a bit harder for me now to win tournaments because you carry that tag on your back, if you like." Whereas a lot of the other players can slip under the radar a bit. Statistically, you would say Nadal, but the way he did it, a lot of people would say Federer is the greatest of all time. Who is the greatest of all time? "It is a lot harder to win tournaments playing Federer's style than Nadal. Nadal will break you down. It is not easy.

The schedule for the World Snooker Championship is out and we know when the top 16 players will be playing their first round games at the Crucible.

7pm: Robertson/Qualifier vs Lisowski/Qualifier 7pm: Robertson/Qualifier vs Lisowski/Qualifier 7pm: Allen/Qualifier vs O’Sullivan/Qualifier