Sports News

West Indian stars: Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy, Sunil Narine, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons, Denesh Ramdi and Jason Holder will be leading a host of world-class cricketers who have signed-up to take part in next February's inaugural Pakistan Super League tournament.

British Athletics has today announced the dates and locations for the 2015/16 Cross Challenge. The series incorporates five key fixtures across the autumn and winter season as thousands of runners seek to become Britain’s best cross country athletes. With nearly £30,000 in prize money up for grabs across the course of the Challenge, there is an extra incentive to take part in the series which offers quality and competitive cross country races over the coming months.

With a film about his life being released into cinemas next year, Eddie the Eagle is offering winners the chance to ski jump with him in Courchevel in October this year and then in January 2016. The winners of a competition will receive two weeks of professional training in Courchevel and jumping alongside Eddie.

Golfers at Forest Pines Hotel and Golf Resort are being given an added reason to stay in shape after the resort unveiled major plans to invest £300,000 in upgrading and expanding the site's leisure facilities. Work on adding two new fitness studios to the luxury golf venue's health club began at the start of this month and the new facilities, which are set to open in January, will give guests and members an increased choice of up to 55 classes a week.

Residents and visitors to Stockland Green are invited to take part in the annual Stockland Green World Cup Cricket Day this Bank Holiday Monday at Highcroft Community Centre. Erdington district chair, Cllr Josh Jones said: “This event is one of many organised by the Stockland Green Ward Advisory Board, a group of committed local people and professionals who meet regularly to develop facilities and services which are of benefit to the area.

British Athletics has today announced the team to represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the upcoming home World Mountain Running Championship in Betws-y-Coed, Wales on September 19. The 17-strong team contains trial winners Robbie Simpson and Sarah Tunstall alongside previous world medallist Emma Clayton who will be seeking medals in the mountains at the up and down Championships, to be held in the UK for the third time.

NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day is set to be bigger than ever at Edgbaston on Saturday, August 29, with record ticket sales confirmed for the biggest day in domestic cricket. For the third consecutive year, Edgbaston will set a new record NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day attendance, with 24,300 spectators expected on Saturday with the Turkish Airlines Temporary Stand - which was used at the third Investec Ashes Test Match in July - retained following huge demand.

Youngsters can take part in a new weekly fun run around Wednesfield Park. The Wednesfield Junior Parkrun is held every Sunday morning at 9am and is suitable for children and young people aged from four to 14. The Parkrun is free and takes place over a timed 2k distance. Children are encouraged to run, jog or walk for their own enjoyment and at their own pace. Parents can also join in if they wish.

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.