Ben Stokes reiterated his England side have little interest in drawing games after a dramatic denouement saw them claim a 74-run victory over Pakistan in the pair's first Test.

In the tourists' first red-ball visit to the country since 2005, an aggressive performance with bat and ball paid off as Jack Leach beat the dying light on the final day to dismiss Naseem Shah.

Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum's tactical approach on a flat surface yielded a Test match with the third-highest aggregate number of runs in history, and an early declaration that set up a thrilling final day.

James Anderson and Ollie Robinson struck in a rip-roaring passage after tea to check the ultimate momentum of any Pakistan chase, and Stokes acknowledged vindication for his game-plan in the aftermath.

"We've no interest in drawing," he stated. "On pitches like this, you have to make things happen, [you have to] make some bold decisions. We had to entice the batters to play a shot at times.

"I think it's maybe up there with England's greatest away wins. The toil everyone has put in is hitting. We've done something very special this week.

England had not won in red-ball cricket in Pakistan since a famed win in Karachi in 2000, and there were similarities to its sundown finale as England raced to snag their final wickets before the light was gone in Rawalpindi.

It is a feat made all the more impressive by how the tourists pulled together after a virus outbreak in the build-up left questions over whether the Test would actually proceed as intended.

"There's a few things you can plan for, which is the way we want to approach Test cricket," Stokes added. "But what you can't plan for is what happened to the squad a few days before. That seems a long time ago.

"I want to give our group of players a lot of credit for coming here and turning up, a little bit under the weather. Will Jacks got the nod to make his debut about three minutes before team-time,

"You can go through this whole Test match and pick out key individuals. I think with what we've had to deal with coming into this Test match makes this win feel a little bit better."

Opposite number Babar Azam was left to rue missed opportunities for his side, Pakistan having entered the final session needing only 86 to win with five wickets in hand after tea.

"We were not up to the mark," he added, "We had a golden chance to win this Test, but session by session we lost wickets. All credit to our bowlers, it was difficult.

"We had our opportunity but we couldn't get partnerships in the end. We have a lot of positives, so we will try to continue that in the next match."

Spain coach Luis Enrique is refusing to look at the negatives from his side's loss to Japan, instead pointing to how well La Roja played across their World Cup group stage games.

Japan beat Spain 2-1 on Thursday to secure top spot in Group E, setting up a last-16 tie with Croatia while also condemning Germany to an early exit.

Spain had 82.3 per cent of the possession and attempted 1,058 passes to Japan's 228, and had 12 shots, with five hitting the target.

However, Spain's efforts only accumulated to 1.04 expected goals (xG), whereas Japan's six attempts added up to a combined xG of 1.45, with Ritsu Doan and Junya Ito scoring in the space of three second-half minutes.

If reports in the Spanish media are to be believed, former Barcelona coach Luis Enrique might be replaced as Spain boss after the World Cup, but ahead of Tuesday's last-16 tie with Morocco, he has full conviction in his approach.

"We are talking about 270 minutes if I'm not wrong, plus added time [in the group stage]," Luis Enrique said in a press conference when he was asked if his team failed to recover from setbacks during matches. 

"Out of 300 minutes in total, you focus on 10 minutes that you didn't like. As far as we progress, you will see more of these minutes.

"We are footballers and the opponents also play. There are things to be improved, and I'm sure we will be bitten by Morocco in some moments of the game.

"We can't take blows? What about them? Did Germany take it well when we scored? We are in a competition where the score dictates the risk you are willing to take.

"Other teams pull back but we keep attacking and of course we need to improve that."

Asked if his team lacked the experience required to see out spells of pressure, Luis Enrique replied: "It's such a cliche, we have to try and get rid of this idea.

"I don't believe they lacked experience. Experience in what? Being builders, carpenters? When you lose, people talk about issues and if you win, they don't.

"I don't share this analysis. This team will be recognised by the way we play, analyse our matches, our philosophy but not these sorts of issues.

"Mistakes happen, we are talking about a very complex, unfair sport, 11 players on a huge field, it's impossible to control all the aspects.

"At the end of the day the ones making the decisions are the players, I want them to implement my idea and I want them to buy the whole package when they lose, it's not fair to only buy it when we win."

Spain have only made it beyond the round of 16 once at the last four World Cups, when they went on to win the trophy in South Africa in 2010. This record, though, is of no concern to Luis Enrique.

"This is not our usual trend, to look at everything from a negative perspective," he said.

"I am not concerned about those results. I want to control the things I can control as a coach. I want my team to play in a certain way, I want my players to forget about the result.

"Football is not fair but if you have more merit you usually win the game. I am convinced we will have more merit than Morocco. Our objective was to play seven games, so we want to play seven games."

Warren Gatland has agreed to make a sensational return to the Wales head coach role after Wayne Pivac was relieved of his duties.

Pivac paid the price for defeats against New Zealand, Georgia and Australia last month.

New Zealander Pivac replaced his compatriot Gatland after the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, but has fallen short of expectations.

Gatland, who had such a successful first 12-year spell serving Wales, will leave his position with Super Rugby side the Chiefs to take charge in the Six Nations, the World Cup in France next year and potentially through to the 2027 tournament in Australia.

Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) CEO Steve Phillips said: "This is one of the toughest calls to make in sport, but the review process has reached its conclusion and we have acted quickly and efficiently in the very best interests of our national team.

"Ultimately we are in the results business and we have agreed with Wayne that the current trajectory for Wales is not where we want it to be and we thank him sincerely for his time, enthusiasm, diligence and effort, which is unquestioned, as head coach over the last three years."

Gatland masterminded Six Nations Grand Slams in 2008 and 2012, then won the Six Nations in 2019.

"I'm very much looking forward to returning to coach Wales," said Gatland.

"This is an opportunity to achieve something with a talented group of players in a country so passionate about rugby. A country which made my family and I so welcome, when we first arrived 15 years ago, and all the time we were there.

"Our immediate priority is obviously the 2023 Guinness Six Nations and next year's Rugby World Cup.

"There is little time for sentiment, professional sport is all about preparation, values and results. There will be new challenges as there always is with a change in head coach, but for me the environment, the players and their families will always come first.

"We must prepare to the best of our ability in the time available. We will value and respect each other, we will work hard and, if we get this right together, performances and results will follow."

Ollie Robinson and James Anderson starred as England claimed a famous 74-run win in an enthralling first Test against Pakistan at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

Ben Stokes was rewarded for a bold declaration when the tourists claimed a first away victory over Pakistan in the longest format for 22 years on a benign pitch late on the final day.

Robinson took 4-50 and the evergreen Anderson 4-36 before Jack Leach ended a defiant last-wicket stand with the light  fading to bowl Babar Azam's side out for 268 after they were set 343 to win.

England's seamers were outstanding, generating sharp reverse swing with an old ball to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series in their first Test in Pakistan for 17 years.

Anderson struck an early blow after Pakistan resumed on 80-2, snaring Imam-ul-Haq caught behind by Ollie Pope down the leg side for 48.

Saud Shakeel (76) and Mohammad Rizwan (46) took their side on to 169-3 at lunch, but Pakistan's wicketkeeper-batsman nicked Anderson through to Pope early in the afternoon session.

Keaton Jennings, the substitute fielder due to a tour-ending knee injury sustained by Liam Livingstone, took a brilliant diving catch at short cover off the bowling of Robinson to remove Shakeel.

Azhar Ali (40) played with great composure, after retiring hurt on day four with a finger injury, as he combined with Agha Salman to frustrate the tourists, Stokes and Anderson bowling excellent spells without further reward.

Pope dropped Azhar off Robinson down the leg side off the next ball, but the seamer ended a stand of 61 by trapping Salman leg before and then had Azhar caught by Joe Root at leg slip.

Naseem Shah had a huge stroke of luck with the first ball he faced when Robinson clipped his off stump but the bails stayed on, but Pakistan were eight down when Pope took a stunning catch for Anderson down the leg side to see the back of Zahid Mahmood.

Anderson got Haris Rauf lbw and although Mohammad Ali and Naseem dug in for just under nine overs, the latter fell lbw to Leach to give England one of their greatest wins after Stokes left it late to take the new ball.

Robinson and Anderson swing the game in England's favour

You would expect the spinners to play a massive part on the final day, but it was the reverse swing generated by England's seamers that was crucial.

Robinson generated sharp movement in the air, striking twice early in the last session to set England well on their way to victory.

Anderson was also magnificent, the 40-year-old once again showing age is no barrier as he bowled 24 probing overs on a lifeless pitch.

Stokes can do no wrong

Captain Stokes became only the third England captain to win a Test in Pakistan after Ted Dexter and Nasser Hussain.

The skipper could not have wished for a better start to his reign, beating New Zealand, South Africa and India on home soil this year and leading the side superbly in this remarkable Test.

Marcus Rashford "deserves everything that's happening now", according to Manchester United team-mate Hannibal Mejbri.

After a difficult 2021-22 campaign, Rashford started this season strongly, and has carried that form into the World Cup with England in Qatar, where he has hit three goals.

The 25-year-old scored just five times in 32 Premier League games last season for United, but already has eight goals in 19 appearances in 2022-23.

Hannibal – who is spending the season on loan at Championship club Birmingham City – had also been playing at the World Cup with Tunisia, who were eliminated in the group stage. 

Speaking to Stats Perform, the 19-year-old praised Rashford as a player and a person, with the United forward engaging in significant charitable work over recent years.

"I'm enormously happy because when I was at Manchester United, that's when he [had] a bit of a struggle, but he never let up," Hannibal said.

"He's a very good guy and he deserves everything that's happening now and he's worked tremendously hard for it, so I'm very happy for him."

Hannibal joined United from Monaco in 2019 for a fee of around £8million (€10m), and made two appearances for the first-team last season.

The midfielder described what it was like coming in to the Red Devils' academy when he first arrived, in particular the difficulty of doing so with a sizeable fee having been paid.

"It's very difficult when you come into a youth dressing room with a €10m price tag," he said. "You go into the dressing room, everyone judges you.

"But after a training session or two, you show your qualities and everyone accepts you. So that's how it is and that's football now, you have to put aside what people think of you, work, stay focused."

United head coach Erik ten Hag has made an impressive start to life at Old Trafford, and despite being out on loan, Hannibal confirmed the Dutchman has been keeping an eye on his progress.

"The staff, the technical staff always stay informed with us, the players on loan," he said. "So yes, if you do something bad, he tells you, if you do something good he congratulates you too. So yes, he stays in touch and it's a great pleasure."

England must be considered among the world's very best sides and they are capable of going all the way in Qatar, says Kalidou Koulibaly.

The Three Lions defeated Koulibaly's Senegal 3-0 on Sunday at Al Bayt Stadium to seal their place in the last eight of the World Cup.

England, World Cup semi-finalists in 2018 and Euro 2020 finalists last year, are the tournament's leading scorers with 12 goals, while they have conceded only twice across their four matches.

France are next up for England on Saturday and while Koulibaly knows the Les Bleus will provide the sternest of challenges, he believes Gareth Southgate's team have every chance of going even deeper into the tournament.

"They are very good. We know that they have a lot of talent, a lot of big players, we know all of them," Koulibaly told reporters.

"They played very well, they can go far, but the next game will be tough against France. I hope the best will win.

"They have so many options but we know every game is different in the World Cup. You can score a lot in one game and then the next one will be difficult to score.

"They have to keep going and believe it, I think they can go far."

After losing to the Netherlands in their opening Group A match, Senegal – shorn of star player Sadio Mane through injury – beat Qatar and Ecuador to progress in second place, and Koulibaly is happy with what the Africa Cup of Nations champions have achieved in Qatar.

He said: "It was a beautiful tournament for us. We wanted to get out of the group stage, we did it, and now it was a tough game against one of the best teams in the world. We can be proud of what we did."

Koulibaly's Chelsea club-mate Edouard Mendy added: "Dealing with defeat is not difficult. We came up against a better team than us, we have to accept that, England played at their best.

"They also had all their players at their disposal while we were missing some key players. We had to play without Sadio. We also had Idrissa [Gueye] and Cheikhou [Kouyate] missing.

"So when you play against a team like that with key players missing, it is complicated.

"But throughout the tournament and throughout the year, we have shown that Senegal is more than 11 players, it is a group.

"We will continue to move forward, to progress and we will come back stronger in the 2026 World Cup, God willing."

Legendary tennis coach Nick Bollettieri has died at the age of 91.

The American, who coached the likes of Andre Agassi, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Boris Becker, passed away on Sunday.

He founded the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy, now the IMG Academy, and long since gained a reputation of being one of the most iconic coaches in the sport.

Tommy Haas, who was also coached by Bollettieri, paid an emotional tribute to him on Monday.

The German posted on Instagram: "So many memories, I am not sure where to begin. Nickiiiii, that's how I have called you for the longest time.

"Thank you for your time, knowledge, commitment, expertise, the willingness to share your skill, your personal interest in mentoring me and giving me the best opportunity to follow my dreams.

"You were a dreamer and a doer, and a pioneer in our sport, truly one of a kind.

"I surely will miss you around the academy, our tennis talks, miss showing of [sic] your tan, white teeth and body fat, miss watching you do Tai Chi, miss playing golf with you watching you try to cheat, eating a Snickers bar and running for the bushes, and hearing all about your plans even at the age of 91.

"Thanks again for everything……..

"RIP Nickiiiii."

Monica Seles and Jim Courier were among the other players who were coached by Bollettieri.

Aaron Rodgers always felt confident the Green Bay Packers would rally to triumph in a "special rivalry" with the Chicago Bears and revelled in helping the franchise make NFL history.

Trailing 19-10 through three quarters, the Packers outscored the Bears 18-0 in the fourth to run out 28-19 winners and rack up an eighth straight victory in matches between the two teams.

Back in October 2021, Rodgers went viral for yelling "I own you" at Bears fans during a typically volatile 24-14 win.

Sunday was by vintage Rodgers, who has been contending with a broken thumb since October and injured his ribs against the Philadelphia Eagles last week, but he completed 18 of 31 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown en route to improving to 25-5 against the Bears.

Asked whether this continued his "ownership" of the Bears, Rodgers replied: "Yes.

"We've got a special rivalry that I've been able to be a part of and there was probably a lot of people that felt good at 19-10, so did I.

"A win against the Bears is always a little more special, there was other things involved, the all-time win total was cool, another fourth-quarter comeback.

"I told the guys in the locker room we've played good enough at times to beat anyone in the league, and at times played poor enough to lose to just about anybody."

With the win, the Packers moved outright top on the list of all-time NFL victories at 787, one clear of the Bears in second.

It is a statistic Rodgers takes great pride in.

"It means a lot, part of the legacy is you always want to leave the place you're at better than you found it," he said.

"Right now, we flipped the all-time series [versus the Bears], all-time wins, we've had a lot of success against them.

"In a few years you'll look back and feel pretty good about your contributions to the rivalry."

Liam Livingstone has been forced to withdraw from England's tour of Pakistan after suffering a knee injury.

The all-rounder was making his debut Test appearance in the first encounter in Rawalpindi, and scored nine runs from 10 balls in the first innings as the tourists posted 657.

Livingstone jarred his knee while fielding by the boundary on day two and has played no further part in fielding since, though did return to score seven not out in England's second innings.

After undergoing a scan on Sunday, it has been decided the 29-year-old will head home to begin treatment.

England have not yet made a decision whether to call up a replacement, but potential options of those already in the squad include teenager Rehan Ahmed, also a leg-spinning all-rounder, and pace bowler Mark Wood.

The second Test in Multan begins on Friday.

Joe Burrow got the better of Patrick Mahomes once again and is playing at an "MVP level" according to his Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor.

The Bengals earned a 27-24 triumph over the Kansas City Chiefs at Paul Brown Stadium and moved to 8-4 for the season.

Burrow was once again influential as he moved to a perfect 3-0 in games played against quarterback rival Mahomes, whose Chiefs sit at 9-3.

The 25-year-old completed 25 of his 31 passes, including touchdown passes to Tee Higgins in the second quarter and Chris Evans in the last, with Evans' score putting the Bengals up for good.

"He's playing at an MVP level – absolutely," Taylor said. "He gives us a lot of confidence."

Burrow's outing also included running in a four-yard score and converting on a couple of third-down passes to Ja'Marr Chase and Higgins that allowed the Bengals to run down the clock.

After the game, Burrow said: "We left some points on the field, but we still find a way to win.

"We've still got five weeks left. Let's keep this train rolling. This team knows what it takes to win these games. We've been there. It's December. It's time to separate ourselves."

Wide receiver Chase missed the previous four games with a hip injury and last year's Offensive Rookie of the Year caught seven passes for 97 yards on a brilliant return.

"I was surprised at how quickly he was looking like the same Ja'Marr, even in practice last week. He's a freak," Taylor added.

Mahomes finished the game with 16 of 27 passes completed for 223 yards and a touchdown, while running in for another score.

But the Chiefs quarterback rued some costly mistakes.

"We started off slow, we got back in the game, into the flow of things and [then] we had a turnover late and a missed kick," he said.

"In the fourth quarter, those are the things that kind of bite you at the end."

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa downplayed the severity of an ankle injury that forced him out late in Sunday's 33-17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Tagovailoa, who completed 18 of 33 passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns with three turnovers, did not partake in the Dolphins' final drive and was listed as questionable to return.

That came after being listed on the injury report during the week with an ankle injury although he was able to fully participate in team practices.

"As good as I can be coming off a game," Tagovailoa told reporters after Sunday's defeat. "We'll assess some things but as good as I can be."

Tagovailoa's two interceptions came on successive passes in the third quarter. The third-year quarterback had given up three turnovers all season coming into Week 13.

The result leaves the Dolphins with an 8-4 record, with the Buffalo Bills on top of the AFC East with a 9-3 record fueled by a three-game win streak.

The Dolphins' own five-game win streak was ended by the 49ers and Tagovailoa lamented his performance.

"It sucks," he said. "It sucks that we didn't come out and do what we wanted to do as a team.

"Obviously, it starts with me - turnovers, with third-down communication errors. In that retrospect, it's hard to win a game when you're not on your P's and Q's and you're not dialed in.

"A lot of that has to do with understanding what we're trying to accomplish and what we're trying to do. It was definitely a poor performance from my part in that aspect of the game."