Sports News

Following the historic Ashes Series win, the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has confirmed that Test Match cricket will return to Birmingham in August next summer with England facing Pakistan in the third Test of the Investec Series. In all, Edgbaston will host seven days of Major Match cricket in 2016, starting with the second Royal London One-Day International against Sri Lanka on Friday 24 June, which is followed by England v Pakistan in the third Investec Test Match from Wednesday 3 to Sunday 7 August.

Greg Rutherford completed the Grand Slam of major titles after winning the long jump at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, in China. The reigning Olympic, European and Commonwealth champion added the only major title missing from his collection and becomes only the fifth British athlete in history to hold all four titles at the same time. Rutherford took the lead in the early stages with a jump of 8.29m, before the competition lost USA’s Mike Hartfield and Jeff Henderson, the latter of which qualified for the final in first place.

Over the last decade, Britain has become a nation of cycling enthusiasts, spurred on to take to two wheels for environmental reasons, and the success of Brits at the Olympics and in the Tour de France. Our love of the bike has led to a huge surge in cycling holidays, which can offer an opportunity to unearth hidden corners of our chosen destination, a chance to meet others (as cycling is so often a group activity) and an excuse to drag the kids away from their iPads.

A 27-year-old man from Birmingham is attempting to break four world records, for the fastest half marathon times wearing a variety of fancy dress costumes. James Drakeford, a magazine editor who lives in central Birmingham, has already set a new world record time for a half marathon wearing a graduation gown, which he set in June at the Liverpool Rock n Roll Marathon.

A champion of public health is making sure a holiday doesn't get in the way of fundraising efforts by taking part in the Carvers Wolverhampton Cycle Marathon two weeks early. Councillor Sandra Samuels, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing, is not available when the Carvers Marathon events take place in Wolverhampton on Sunday 6 September, 2015 – so she is getting in the saddle and riding 20km around West Park this Friday (21 August, 2015).

A 29-year-old man from Banbury is taking part in the Morrisons Great Birmingham Run on Sunday 18^th October in an effort to complete a 333.05 mile running challenge, and raise money for SANDS, the stillbirth and neonatal death charity. Tom Venner, an automotive executive, will run the last of his 17 half marathons on 18^th October, and the penultimate running event of a total of 25. 

Commonwealth Games Federation [CGF] Presidential candidate Louise Martin CBE has unveiled her election Manifesto and vision called 'Unlocking Our Potential.'   Martin, who is a CGF Executive Board Member and Honorary Secretary, promises a new era of leadership in order to deliver enhanced revenues to all 71 Commonwealth Games Associations [CGAs] and grow the status and profile of the Games.  

After his backing from, and nominated by, UK Athletics, Lord Sebastian Coe is now the new IAAF President at the global governing body’s Congress in Beijing. The 1980 and 1984 Olympic 1500m champion defeated Ukrainian pole vault legend Sergey Bubka by 115 votes to 92. Coe’s election was part of a clean sweep for candidates nominated by UK Athletics at the Congress, with all five British candidates being elected to various positions.

The 2016 Betway Premier League Darts- the sport’s widest-reaching event- is set to return to the Barclaycard Arena in April, with the venue hosting night 13 of the tournament. The £700,000 Betway Premier League, televised live on Sky Sports, sees an initial ten-player field competing across four months at 16 arena venues to contest for the prestigious title, which was won by Gary Anderson in May 2015.

International cycling superstar Graeme Obree will be riding into Anglesey for the much anticipated Tour of Britain in just a few weeks time and paying a special visit to the luxury hotel Chateau Rhianfa. Once called a “genius” by fellow cyclist Sir Chris Hoy, Graeme will be hosting an exciting evening dinner at the Chateau Rhianfa following the Grand Depart of the Tour of Britain in Anglesey's Beaumaris, on Sunday, September 6.

Four hundred athletes from 13 countries are competing in sports including table cricket, bowls and football in the World Cerebral Palsy Games hosted by Nottingham City Council in a newly opened £16m redeveloped sports centre from 9th-16th August. Cerebral Palsy Sport is the country’s leading national disability sports organisation supporting people with cerebral palsy to reach their sporting potential.

Land Rover, a Worldwide Partner of Rugby World Cup 2015, has surprised a lucky young resident of Solihull with the news that he will be an official Mascot at the Tournament. William Cartwright recently had an unexpected visit from a former Rugby World Cup star as his training session with Silhillians RUFC was interrupted by former England International Paul Sackey. 

Ahead of the new 2015/16 football season, Scout7 has launched a new video scouting and analysis app within its industry-leading Intelligent Sports Framework (ISF) application, which is being used at 150 professional clubs worldwide. During the last six months, the Innovation Birmingham Campus-based football technology company, whose clients include Chelsea, Manchester City, Barcelona, Paris SG, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund, has invested heavily in its video content infrastructure.

Talented Portuguese teenager João Girão singled himself out as a golfing star of the future after beating off competition from some of the game's top up-and-coming players to claim a deserved victory in the 2015 McGinley Junior Cup at Quinta do Lago. Girão, 16, a part of Portugal's team that was successful in Division Two at the 2015 European Amateur Team Championships in Poland last month, carded an impressive two-under-par round of 70 on Quinta do Lago's renowned Laranjal course to clinch the overall gross title at the famous resort in the Algarve.

British Athletics have confirmed Martyn Rooney would take an individual spot and represent British Athletics at the World Championships in Beijing, China in August 22-30. Following the submission of a successful appeal Rooney has been added to the team in the 400m.

As well as showcasing its talent with the matches and helping to develop football at the grassroots level in Singapore, the Premier League sought to help the wider game in Asia with a workshop during the Barclays Asia Trophy 2015. Representatives from the Asian Football Confederation, its member associations and its leagues and clubs were in Singapore to learn about the strategies and programmes in place at the Premier League and the three clubs competing in the Barclays Asia Trophy, Arsenal, Everton and Stoke City.