Josh Taylor wants to silence his doubters when he takes on bitter rival Jack Catterall for a second time.

Catterall was distraught when he controversially lost a split decision against Taylor for the undisputed super-lightweight championship two years ago and there were many inside and outside the sport who thought he had every right to feel aggrieved.

The Scot vacated three of his titles before losing his WBO championship to Teofimo Lopez last June in his only bout since fighting Catterall, whom he will meet again in a non-title bout on April 27 at the First Direct Arena in Leeds.

Both boxers had to be separated when they went head-to-head at a sometimes rancorous Edinburgh city hotel media conference, packed with Taylor fans, and afterwards the man from Prestonpans spoke about silencing any critics.

“A lot of people to shut up and put up the middle finger to,” said Taylor.

“There is a lot of bragging rights and pride and to put the doubters to bed. I learned not to underestimate your opponent (against Catterall). I lived by that my whole career.

“But when you have the level of success I have had in such a short period of time then they say you are fighting Jack Catterall who hadn’t really proven himself.

“I thought he had lost against Ohara Davies and it was ‘just be fit and I will beat this guy’ and that was the biggest mistake I made. I never learned the lesson but I won’t be making the same mistake twice.”

Taylor spoke about the online trolls who have made life difficult for him and his family since the Catterall fight.

He said: “It has been OK. At the start was pretty heavy but it was all online.

“In person I haven’t had anything really. I have had people come up to me and say I thought he won the fight which is great, that is their opinion and I have absolutely no problem with that at all.

“But when the abuse starts and the family start getting it and you see how it affects them, that’s when it turns to a different dynamic and tone and it turned violent, putting my wife and sister’s places of work online and threats of violence, coming to their work.

“It is unacceptable. Any man would defend their family. I should have kept my mouth shut but then you can only kick a dog so many times before it bites back and that’s what I did bit back a couple of times but I should have kept quiet.”

39Christopher Head has raised the possibility of Ramatuelle running in the Qipco 1000 Guineas, as connections seek to plot a mile campaign this summer.

Co-owned by former NBA star Tony Parker, Ramatuelle sports black and silver silks based on his former championship-winning team the San Antonio Spurs and made a serious impression on course at two.

The high-class daughter of Justify won three of her five appearances as a juvenile, including the Group Two Prix Robert Papin, before finishing her campaign going down by the barest of margins to star colt Vandeek in the Prix Morny.

Plans for Ramatuelle’s early-season target are still to be finalised and as well as a possible raid on Newmarket, she holds an entry for the Emirates Poule d’Essai des Pouliches the trainer won with Blue Rose Cen in 2023.

But Head will begin testing her Classic credentials at Deauville on April 9 and having seen dual Classic-winning filly Blue Rose Cen switched to Maurizio Guarnieri earlier this year, will be hoping Ramatuelle can fill the void and become another household name for his Chantilly operation.

He said: “Ramatuelle has been a tremendous filly for us as a two-year-old and we are now preparing her for pretty much the mile programme in France, but not only in France, in the UK too.

“We’re looking all over Europe to make the best programme for her as a three-year-old. It (Newmarket) is of course a possibility, but at the end of the day her owner will decide where she will run and of course there is a possibility she could go for that race.

“She’s going to go to the Prix Imprudence and then from there we will see where we go. To be a successful miler is the main objective this year.

“I think Ramatuelle is a really nice filly and Justify has proven he can sire very versatile horses. I’m very happy to have her at three and can’t wait to see what she is going to do for us in the mile races this year.”

Owners Yeguada Centurion may have switched Blue Rose Cen, but their Group One-winning colt Big Rock remains in Head’s care and is being geared up for another enterprising programme.

He was last seen recording a brilliant victory from the front in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on British Champions Day and his handler is excited by the possibility of returning to the UK in search of further riches during the 2024 season.

“Big Rock is brilliant and has done very well over the winter,” continued Head.

“He will have a nice programme in Europe and we will be able to come over to the UK again.

“I will speak with the owners before saying anything about where he is going to start, but don’t worry the horse is doing very well and we’re very happy with his training. We can’t wait to see him back on track.”

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has stressed he is “more than satisfied” with what he is seeing from his team.

Saturday’s 1-1 Premier League draw with Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium, secured by Rodri’s late equaliser, brought an 11-match winning run in all competitions to an end for City.

The defending champions are third in the table, two points behind second-placed Arsenal and four behind leaders Liverpool ahead of playing their game in hand when hosting Brentford on Tuesday.

Guardiola – whose treble-winners are aiming for a fourth successive league title – told a press conference: “The last five, 10 minutes first half, (and) in the second half, we were in our best level.

“But I know the standards we have, that we create to be there, for what we have done in the past, and I understand completely the doubts for the people but what I am seeing, I’m more than satisfied.

“I’ll give credit to Chelsea, who created problems, not just because in some actions we were not good. But in general when you analyse the game, we were more than decent.

“But I know our standards, and you demand our standards, for what we have done in the past. I know it’s not easy to sustain it. For a long, long, long time we did it.

“We were 11 games winning, and the people say ‘they are not going to lose any other game’. So now, just for one draw…when for 55, 60 minutes, we were who we are.”

Guardiola added: “You demand to us all the time, the only team, because we achieve what we have achieved. We have to live with that. We know that. We know how difficult it is, we know it. It’s you that believes it’s easy, not us.”

And when then asked if people demanding perfection every game was the price of success, he said: “Absolutely – I had experience at my previous clubs, especially Barcelona.

“It’s an honour. Go for it. But no effect – we know what it is and we have to continue doing what we try. It’s normal.

“In the beginning was a lack of consistency, and I said it’s how we behave in many, many things in how we perform and I demand, I’m the first to demand myself, the team do it during in 95 minutes, knowing it’s impossible.

“The reality is since we lost against Aston Villa (on December 6) we didn’t lose one game (in 15), and in the (two) games we drew, we were better.

“Are we going to win the Premier League? I don’t know. But still we are there and this is why we continue.”

Guardiola – who confirmed Jack Grealish (groin) and Josko Gvardiol (ankle) will again be unavailable on Tuesday – was also asked what he thought of Kylian Mbappe as a player, following a report in Spain that one of the Paris St Germain star’s representatives had a meeting with City last week.

And he said with a smile: “I think he’s quite good – he has a future! He’s really, really good.”

Chris Ashton believes Ollie Lawrence has the physical presence to become the long-term successor to Manu Tuilagi as England’s midfield powerhouse.

For the first time in this Guinness Six Nations, both Lawrence and Tuilagi are available after recovering from respective hip and groin injuries and Steve Borthwick is deciding what role they should play in Saturday’s clash with Scotland.

Owing to their lack of match fitness, former England wing Ashton insists the existing midfield of Fraser Dingwall and Henry Slade needs to be retained with Lawrence included on the bench.

And while the rampaging, if injury-prone, Tuilagi still has a role to play at 32 years old, Ashton feels Lawrence is ready to show he can also punch holes in defences at Test level.

“Ollie seems like a very, very similar to Manu and its taken his move to Bath to realise his full potential in how good he can be,” BBC Rugby Union Daily podcast co-host Ashton told the PA news agency.

“Against Toulouse a few weeks ago he was outstanding. We have yet to see that at England level, but I see Ollie as the perfect replacement for Manu, a really natural fit.

“When Manu’s available you still have to use him because he’s so different, but he’s more of a risk because he hasn’t had any game time.

“He can come off the bench and do 15 or 20 minutes, but that’s a problem in itself because if someone goes down early and Manu’s got to go on, then he’s at real high risk because he’s got to do 60 or 70 minutes.

“Ollie’s less risky just because of his age, the number of injuries he’s had is quite low and he’s played a lot of ruby for Bath this season, so he can get going quickly. I would be leaning towards Ollie on the bench for those factors.”

Dingwall is the most likely to lose out because of the availability of Lawrence and Tuilagi, having produced solid but unspectacular performances against Italy and Wales, and Borthwick could decide a more muscular carrier is needed at inside centre.

But Ashton, who won 44 caps in a distinguished England career lasting from 2010 to 2019, believes he should be retained for the Calcutta Cup showdown at Murrayfield.

“Fraser is a very unselfish player and is the kind of player I would love to play with,” Ashton said.

“You know he’s always going to provide and work hard to get to places that not necessarily everyone would cover. He’s a link player and he’s knows how to combine and provide for everybody else.

“You know that he will provide the right pass or cover your inside shoulder all the time. Every team needs players like him.”

One change forced upon Borthwick will be at scrum-half after Alex Mitchell was ruled out by a knee injury, creating a vacancy for either Danny Care or Ben Spencer to fill.

“It’s a shocker to lose Mitchell because he’s so good. He’s a big loss and it’s not great timing going into these games,” Ashton said.

“Before we all thought he was an attacking nine, but he showed at the World Cup he can do it all and he’s carried on doing that in the Six Nations.

“He’s just such a threat, especially because of the danger he poses near the try-line when he pulls people out of place. You can’t coach the skills Alex has.”

* Chris Ashton is a co-host of the BBC’s ‘Rugby Union Daily’ podcast with new episodes available every morning during Six Nations match weeks.

Roger Federer’s final moments of his tennis career will be shown in a documentary.

The 20-time grand slam singles champion and eight-time Wimbledon winner retired in 2022 after a Laver Cup appearance in London.

British filmmaker Asif Kapadia will direct the Amazon Prime Video feature looking at the final 12 days of Federer’s professional career.

It “captures Federer at his most vulnerable and candid self, as he says goodbye to a game and the fans that shaped his life for the last two decades”, by using home video that was never intended for public viewing.

Federer said: “Initially the idea was to capture the final moments of my professional tennis career so that I could have it later on to show my family and friends.

“During my career I tended to shy away from having cameras around me and my family, especially during important moments. But I didn’t see the harm in shooting this as it was never intended for the public.

“However, we captured so many powerful moments, and it transformed into a deeply personal journey.

“I am happy to be partnering with Prime Video because of their vast global reach and significant presence in the film industry. This ensures that the story of my final days in tennis will resonate with both tennis enthusiasts and broader audiences worldwide.”

Kapadia, who will direct with Joe Sabia, was behind the Oscar-winning Amy Winehouse documentary Amy and has previously explored the lives of footballers Diego Maradona and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The untitled Federer documentary – for which an official release date has not been announced – will include interviews with Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, who were all part of Team Europe for the Laver Cup.

Until last year, when Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz beat Djokovic in the final, the Wimbledon men’s singles title had not been won by anyone other than those four players since Australian Lleyton Hewitt in 2002.

Federer won his first major title in 2003 at Wimbledon and went on to win seven more times, currently the men’s record at the tournament.

Damian Lillard was honoured to achieve a feat only previously accomplished by Michael Jordan on the NBA's All-Star weekend. 

Lillard saw off competition from the Minnesota Timberwolves' Karl-Anthony Towns and the Atlanta Hawks' Trae Young to win the 3-point contest on Saturday, then he dazzled again one day later.

The Milwaukee Bucks guard was named All-Star Game MVP after putting up 39 points as the Eastern Conference All-Stars recorded a 211-186 win over their Western Conference counterparts. 

Chicago Bulls legend Jordan is the only previous player to complete such a double, having taken the 1988 dunk contest before winning the first of his three All-Star MVP trophies.

For Lillard, who was appearing in his eighth All-Star Game but his first as a starter, following in Jordan's footsteps made it all the more memorable. 

"Anytime you're mentioned in the same category as Mike, it's an honour, it's a major accomplishment, even if it's All-Star weekend," Lillard said during his post-game news conference. 

"Because if it was that simple, more people would have done it. I'm a vet in the game at this point. Why not go and try to get an MVP? I've been here enough."

However, a perceived lack of competitiveness in Sunday's All-Star Game – the highest-scoring in history – led to criticism from some quarters. 

The league's all-time leading scorer LeBron James said the All-Star Game "is something we need to figure out", with players unwilling to risk injury in the mid-season exhibition. 

Asked for his views on that debate, Lillard said: "I think it could be more competitive, 200 is a lot to be scored. It shows we didn't go out there and compete like I guess you would want us to. 

"But I think that's just what it is. Guys are talented, they make a lot of shots. We hit a lot of 3s, and that was it."

Lillard joined the Bucks in a blockbuster trader from the Portland Trail Blazers ahead of the season, but his first campaign in Milwaukee has been a turbulent one. 

The Bucks fired coach Adrian Griffin last month, bringing in Doc Rivers after a short interim stint for Joe Prunty. They sit third in the Eastern Conference with a 35-21 record, but have lost five of their last seven games.

"It's been a tough year with the transition to a new team, we've had three coaches since I've been there," Lillard said.

"Anytime you have these types of experiences where you have adversity, that's the time you've got to show who you really are. 

"Keep doing what you do, keep believing, and when you do that, usually it comes back to you. You just can't fold."

There will be no Cheltenham Festival for No Flies On Him despite Edward O’Grady taking plenty of positives from his second place behind Tullyhill at Punchestown on Sunday.

The JP McManus-owned five-year-old downed Grade One winner Jango Baie in his sole start in the pointing field and lit up Leopardstown at Christmas with a taking display on his rules debut.

That victory raised the possibility of a return to former glories for Killeens handler O’Grady, who is no stranger to success on the biggest stage of all.

No Flies On Him holds entries in both the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and the Baring Bingham, but a trip to Prestbury Park will have to wait, with the promising youngster set to sit out proceedings in the Cotswolds this time around.

“He won’t go to Cheltenham,” said O’Grady. “He’s well and he came home and ate up and pulled out well this morning.

“Had he won then obviously I would have gone to Cheltenham and had no worries. But it might have been just a pretty big step (at Punchestown) and he might improve quite a bit from it.

“He’s a very gross horse and he blew quite a lot after his race and I think there is a nice bit of improvement in him.

“We’ll probably go to Fairyhouse and Punchestown – home soil and good ground. I’m sure he will have benefitted from the experience at Punchestown.”

No Flies On Him ultimately finished nine lengths adrift of the impressive Willie Mullins-trained winner when upped to Listed level for just his second appearance under rules.

However, O’Grady believes there was plenty of encouragement to take from his charge’s performance – especially the way he ran on to claw back second after making a mistake at the last.

He continued: “There were a number of positives and obviously you are always disappointed when you get beat, but maybe at this stage we were over estimating things and the winner put up a Grade One performance.

“My horse is only five and this was only his second start. He had never been off the bridle before in his life, so it was quite a shock to his system and something he handled quite well on reflection.

“He really wasn’t at home on the gluey ground and he did find that rather difficult – the day he ran at Leopardstown it was good ground.

“What we really liked about him was having made the mistake at the last hurdle, he ran on again.

“So there were a lot of positives to take from the run and he certainly hasn’t gone down in our estimations, but just maybe at this stage of his career it was maybe too big an ask under the circumstances.”

A step up in trip is now under consideration for connections who are confident they still have a horse with high-class potential in their care having conceded both age and experience to Tullyhill.

“We would have no worries about stepping him up in trip and whether he does that next time or the time after I don’t know, but we would have no worries doing so,” added O’Grady.

“It’s certainly under consideration and something I will discuss with JP, Frank (Berry, racing manager) and the jockey.

“The other horse (Tullyhill) was one of the top bumper horses last year and has the experience as well. He has a year on No Flies On Him and my horse is very, very green and Derek O’Connor is such a good jockey that when he ran in his point-to-point, he didn’t even know he had a race.

“When he ran at Leopardstown he barely came off the bridle, so there is tremendous room for improvement in racing technique and there’s not a lot we can do about that at home – it’s just something that will come from experience.”

England suffered a humbling defeat for the first time under the leadership of captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum, swatted aside by 434 runs by India in Rajkot.

After falling 2-1 down in the five-Test series, there have been suggestions far and wide that England’s approach, dubbed ‘Bazball’ in a nod to McCullum’s nickname, needs to be refined.

Here, the PA news agency looks at whether England need to overhaul their philosophy.

What is Bazball?

The first thing to know is McCullum himself dislikes the word, which he feels oversimplifies what he and the rest of the backroom team are trying to do. Most cricket fans associate the term with an attacking style, especially when batting. But England and McCullum stress what they are trying to do is instil positivity and confidence into their players, taking the fear of doubt and failure away so they can achieve their maximum potential. The results have yielded 14 wins from 21 Tests after just a single victory in 17 previous attempts, while near enough every match has been a blockbuster occasion.

What’s the problem?

They are perhaps a little too impulsive and occasionally guilty of overlooking the match situation. In response to 445, England were on 224 for two inside 40 overs with Ben Duckett shellacking a depleted India attack – Ravichandran Ashwin briefly left the Test to tend to a family matter – to all parts. But the out-of-touch Joe Root took what seemed an unnecessary gamble in the first few minutes of day three with a reverse ramp, England collapsed to 319 all out and India never looked back. There was a near-identical missed chance against Australia at Lord’s last year which helped Pat Cummins’ side retain the Ashes. It appears England are not learning from their mistakes and harsh lessons have followed.

What has been the reaction?

England have come in for widespread criticism on social media. Ashes 2005-winning captain Michael Vaughan wrote on X that this latest setback should act as a “wake-up call”. Nasser Hussain, another former England skipper, said in the Daily Mail that “tweaks” to their philosophy should be considered, adding: “Bazball is not attack, attack, attack. Occasionally, you must absorb pressure.”

Will England pay any heed?

There is no need to chuck the baby out with the bathwater. It is worth remembering that India have not lost a Test series at home since 2012. The sides led by Sir Alastair Cook in 2016 and Joe Root in 2021 when arriving with more orthodox impulses had forgettable tours; indeed, England have arguably done better than the last two visits already. It was barely three weeks ago that England engineered one of the finest wins in their history in Hyderabad and it appears England fans may have to get used to taking the rough with the smooth. McCullum gave the strongest indication there would be no change of tack, saying: “The positivity and confidence within the environment needs to remain.”

So, more of the same, then?

On the surface, England present a bullish outlook with little regard for outside noise. It is telling that whoever speaks after play is adamant that England are happy to chase down any score in the fourth innings – they have been successful in eight of a dozen attempts. But all may not be as it seems, for after the Lord’s debacle last year, England knuckled down, struck the right balance and were the better team for the last three Tests. Conditions may be completely different now as was then but there is reason for hope as the sides head for Ranchi and the penultimate Test, starting on Friday.

Lorna Fowler intends to roll the dice and send Colonel Mustard to the Unibet Champion Hurdle after his second-placed Kingwell Hurdle run.

The nine-year-old has been consistently hitting the frame over both hurdles and fences in recent seasons, winning only twice in his career but placing second on nine occasions.

His CV includes a third place behind State Man in the 2022 County Hurdle and again in the Paddy Power Champion Hurdle at Punchestown last April.

At Wincanton he was reverting to hurdles at Grade Two level after a brief spell over fences before Christmas, and in a field of five he started at 5-1 under Daryl Jacob.

He was ridden patiently in heavy conditions and although he had ground to make up in the home straight, he did his level best and chased home Nemean Lion to go down by a length and a half with Goshen 15 lengths behind him in third place.

“We were so proud of him, that is undoubtedly the best he has ever finished in a race,” said Fowler.

“The horse that won is vastly improving, we missed at the second-last but we were gaining on him.

“All credit to the winner, of course, but I think he ran a huge race and although it is frustrating to come second again, if you look at the other side of the picture we have a horse that has run out of his skin for the last four years.

“He’s done it in the best company on I don’t know how many occasions, lest we forget how lucky we are to have him.

“He’s completely genuine, 100 per cent, but he’s always had a little look around him to see what everyone else is doing, whereas this time he really had his eye on the one in front and he put his head down and battled.”

Colonel Mustard has an entry for the Champion Hurdle and after his Wincanton run connections are keen to take on the challenge, especially given the chestnut has run some of his best races at the big meetings.

“We’re going to go for the Champion Hurdle, it’s not easy to find races for him to win,” said Fowler.

“How often do you have a chance to run in a Champion Hurdle?

“People are talking about the race cutting up and yes, it isn’t a winning opportunity on paper at all, but does he have a chance of getting a place? Absolutely.

“I’m not saying he will be placed, of course, but he does have a chance in my opinion and we have to take it.

“He is the kind of horse that just loves a big occasion, he does raise his game.

“At the end of the day, horse racing is unpredictable on every single level, we’ve got to get there but so does every other horse – Constitution Hill has got to get there, State Man has got to get there.

“You’re on a tightrope at all times and little things can happen and change the landscape, so you’ve got to take the opportunities that are staring you in the face.”

Rasmus Hojlund’s goals against Luton on Sunday made him the youngest player ever to score in six consecutive Premier League games.

The 21-year-old Manchester United striker broke Joe Willock’s record and here, the PA news agency puts his achievement in context.

Six of the best

Hojlund’s scoring run began with the winner against Aston Villa on Boxing Day. That was his first-ever Premier League goal, having failed to score in his first 14 appearances, but he has not let up since.

He opened the scoring after three minutes in a 2-2 draw with Tottenham, netted against Wolves, West Ham and in the return fixture with Villa and then scored twice in the first seven minutes in the win over Luton.

Aged 21 years and 14 days, he is 260 days younger than Willock when he netted for Newcastle against Sheffield United in May 2021 to break the record previously held by Romelu Lukaku.

Willock extended his streak to seven games three days later against Fulham, who will also be United’s opponents on Saturday as Hojlund has the chance to break that record.

The Dane also has Manchester United’s longest scoring run since Cristiano Ronaldo’s first spell at the club. Marcus Rashford managed five in a row in January and February 2023 but Hojlund is the first United player to score in six consecutive league games since Ronaldo in 2013.

Willock’s run, while on loan from Arsenal, earned him a permanent move to Tyneside – but in a warning that nothing can be taken for granted, he has scored only five Premier League goals in 67 games since.

In good company

The list of the youngest players to achieve each goalscoring streak in the Premier League sees Hojlund join a high-profile group of names.

The early entries are players whose goalscoring impact came at a young age – James Vaughan and Danny Cadamarteri failed to build on their early promise with Everton while James Milner, who scored in back-to-back Leeds games as a 16-year-old, has had a long and successful top-flight career but rarely as a prolific marksman.

Beyond Cadamarteri’s three-game scoring run, the other names on the list are some of the league’s elite strikers – starting with Robbie Fowler, who scored in four straight games for Liverpool as a 19-year-old.

Nicolas Anelka scored in a fifth successive game for Arsenal in 1998 aged 19 years and 239 days, with an age gap of more than a year to Hojlund.

Willock still has the seven-game record, while Daniel Sturridge netted in eight in a row for Liverpool in 2014 aged 24.

No player has had a scoring streak of exactly nine games, meaning Ruud van Nistelrooy holds that record as well as the 10-game mark aged 27, while Jamie Vardy was 28 when he set the league’s record scoring run of 11 games for Leicester in their 2015-16 title-winning season.

Newcastle have placed sporting director Dan Ashworth on garden leave as Manchester United prepare to formalise their efforts to take him to Old Trafford.

The PA news agency understands the 52-year-old has stepped away from his duties at St James’ Park having told the ownership group that he wants to accept the Red Devils’ overtures.

New Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe has identified the former Football Association technical director as the man he wants to lead an overhaul and now faces the prospect of striking a deal to prise him from the Magpies’ grasp.

It is understood there has been no formal contact between the clubs as yet but there is little doubt that both will want the matter resolved swiftly to their satisfaction after a week of speculation.

Magpies head coach Eddie Howe has already expressed his concern over the potential for Ashworth to take his inside knowledge with him and that fear is likely to have a major say in Newcastle’s willingness to cut short a stipulated period of inactivity before he can take up a role with a competitor.

In the circumstances, Manchester United may have to bite the bullet on a significant compensation package if they want to get their man in time for an important summer transfer window.

Ashworth was drafted in by Newcastle’s Saudi-backed owners in June 2022 after they paid Brighton substantial compensation to secure his services.

They had identified him as the man they wanted to knit together the various arms of the club’s football operations and not just to oversee its transfer dealings.

He was at the helm as the Magpies surged to a top-four Premier League finish and earned a return to Champions League football after an absence of two decades.

Along the way, they also reached the Carabao Cup final, where they were beaten 2-0 by Erik ten Hag’s men at Wembley.

Howe has enjoyed a close relationship with Ashworth, who was in the stands at St James’ Saturday’s for 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, but admitted after the game he had not spoken to him since voicing his fears about the confidential information he has about the club’s future planning.

Asked on Friday if the sporting director knew the details of Newcastle’s summer recruitment mission, he said: “Yes, and that’s why I say he’s in a position of power, with a lot of intelligence and information.”

Newcastle have not commented on the situation, but are sure to drive a hard bargain as they attempt to protect themselves while at the same time looking for a talented administrator to replace a key member of the hierarchy.

Tom Cannon is confident Edwardstone can play a major role in the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase if reproducing his resurgent Game Spirit heroics at the Cheltenham Festival.

Alan King’s star chaser bounced back to his very best to produce a blistering front-running display at Newbury earlier this month, a victory that gave the Barbury Castle handler his second win in the Grade Two event alongside Sceau Royal.

It was Edwardstone’s first triumph since the 2022 Tingle Creek and having snapped a six-race losing run, the 10-year-old is now the general 8-1 third-favourite for the Champion Chase behind Willie Mullins’ El Fabiolo and regular adversary Jonbon.

Cannon said: “He must have put himself right in the mix. Hopefully he will be a bit closer to Jonbon given a change of tactics and anything more than that is a bonus, I think.

“If he turns up in the same form as he did at Newbury, we know he acts round Cheltenham so we keep our fingers crossed to get there in A1 condition and anything after that is in the lap of the gods.”

Edwardstone gave Cannon one of the biggest days of his career when waltzing to Arkle glory at the Festival in 2022, but there was disappointment 12 months later when sent off 15-8 second-favourite for the Champion Chase, tailing home in fifth and beaten 64 lengths by an imperious Energumene.

However, the jockey feels Edwardstone is heading for his second bite of the Champion Chase cherry in much better form and has been extremely encouraged by the feel his partner has given him throughout the current campaign.

“He probably wasn’t going into it in as good a form as he is this year, last year. So if he can continue the form he is in now, hopefully he will be thereabouts,” continued Cannon.

“He’s been a different horse since he has come back in this year. The first race at Cheltenham in the Shloer Chase he felt back to himself and the couple of times he had run at Cheltenham the season before he had never really picked the bridle up.

“In the Shloer, he picked the bridle up and pulled my arms off like he used to and then obviously ran very well in the Tingle Creek. Two-mile-four wasn’t to his liking at Kempton, but back to two miles at Newbury seemed to suit him, so you have to look forward to it (the Champion Chase).

“If we can get into a nice rhythm, then the best horse will win at the end of the day.”

Brendon McCullum insisted England’s best chance of turning the tide in India is to keep trusting in their methods as he resists calls to adapt despite a humbling defeat in Rajkot.

Michael Vaughan described a 434-run loss in the third Test – their heaviest since 1934 – as a “wake-up call” on X, while Nasser Hussain indicated in the Daily Mail that “tweaks” to the ‘Bazball’ approach are a must.

The suggestions of two former England captains are likely to fall on deaf ears as McCullum sticks to his guns despite going 2-1 down in a five-match series which resumes in Ranchi on Friday.

McCullum, who has won 14 of 21 Tests as England head coach after taking charge of a team triumphant in one of their preceding 17, accepts criticism will come his way but he and skipper Ben Stokes feel that putting limitations in place can only have a disruptive effect.

“The positivity and confidence within the environment needs to remain,” McCullum said. “If we do that we give ourselves the best opportunity with the talent we possess to bounce back.

“That messaging that comes from myself and the skipper will never change regardless of how we’re going. I don’t want our guys to ever doubt themselves otherwise we go back to where it was beforehand.

“When you start retreating a little bit on what you’ve done before and what you’ve said you’re trying to achieve, you’re literally living and dying every day by your results and that’s not what this team is about.

“This team is about trying to keep pushing the game forward, to try and entertain and ultimately win. It didn’t work this time around but you can only do that by providing an environment where the guys feel safe and feel they can take on the world.”

Joe Root spilled a catch in the first innings of the Test that would have left India 47 for four before they made 445 and was then out to a reverse ramp as England crumbled from 224 for two to 319 all out, with the tourists out of the game from that point on.

Root, left nursing a sore thumb that is not thought to be serious, is yet to reach 30 in this series, while fellow Yorkshireman Jonny Bairstow is also struggling, out for nought and four in recent days.

The pair average around 50 under Stokes and McCullum, with Bairstow setting the template for the era in the summer of 2022 with four hundreds in six Tests at a jaw-dropping strike-rate of 96.59.

“Jonny’s not scored the volume of runs he would have wanted and a couple of times he’s got out kind of mildly for someone who’s got the power game he’s got,” McCullum said.

“I don’t have concerns over him. I’m not blind but he’s done so well for us. We know that a top-quality Jonny Bairstow is as good as anyone in any conditions so we’ve got to keep on giving him confidence and block out a lot of the external noise.

“Joe will be fine. It’s a great compliment to be in a funk after three Test matches. He just has to keep backing himself and wait for the luck to turn his way.

“The fact he’s missed out in three Tests, does that surely not just mean that he’s closer to getting a big score? It’s Joe Root, crikey. I mean, seriously? The law of averages suggests he’ll fill his boots in the next two Tests.”

Stokes has opened the door to resuming bowling competitively for the first time since last summer’s Ashes although McCullum admitted he may have a role to play in reining him in.

“Ben is clever,” McCullum added. “He won’t bowl unless he thinks he’s legitimately able to bowl. The problem would be if he starts getting into a spell and then he can’t get out of the spell.

“If he does get that bit between his teeth, let’s see where the danger lies and try and pull him away from it. But it’s good that he’s actually getting into a state where he thinks he might bowl.”