Well, what a whirlwind opening Ashes Test that was.

In case you missed it, the Test finished in two days, which is three days earlier than the allocated five.

The good news is that it was incredibly entertaining (read more below).

The bad news is that fans lost out on three days of Test cricket, either on the TV, the radio, their second monitor at work, or from a seat at Perth Stadium.

Respectfully requesting that the English stay at the crease a little longer for the rest of the series so we can drag this thing out just a bit more.

3 
The number of goals scored by Arsenal forward Eberechi Eze in his side’s 4-1 thrashing of Tottenham Hotspur. The Gunners' victory over their North London rivals sees them move six points clear at the top of the Premier League table, with Chelsea (23 points), Manchester City (22 points), Aston Villa (21 points), and Crystal Palace (20 points) rounding out the top five.

"It's impossible to describe this feeling. I dreamed a lot for this night. We cannot lose for our country. Sometimes you learn, but you never lose. I don't know what I did today. I don't know where I am. The only thing I know is that I am a world champion."
Italian tennis player Flavio Cobolli, speaking after he defeated Spain's Jaume Munar in three sets (1-6, 7-6, 7-5) and helped Italy to a 2-0 win in the final of the Davis Cup. Earlier in the tie, his teammate Matteo Berrettini beat Pablo Carreno Busta in straight sets (6-3, 6-4). The victory marks Italy’s third straight Davis Cup title. Italy’s win this year was made even more remarkable given they were without their two top-ranked players, world No.2 Jannik Sinner and world No.8 Lorenzo Mussetti. 

21-year-old Danylo Yavhusishyn has become the first Ukrainian to win an elite sumo tournament. Now competing under the ring name Aonishiki Arata, he beat Mongolian grand champion Hoshoryu to claim the Kyushu title and is on track for promotion to ‘ozeki’, the sport’s second-highest rank after ‘yokozuna’.

🏉 The 2025 AFLW Grand Final will see the North Melbourne Kangaroos and the Brisbane Lions face off in Melbourne this Saturday after both sides won their respective preliminary finals. The Kangaroos extended their winning streak to 26 games and advanced to a third straight grand final with a hard-fought 46-36 victory over Melbourne. Meanwhile, the Lions were clinical as they dismantled Carlton 67-32 and progressed to their fourth consecutive Grand Final. This year marks the third year in a row that the two sides have met in the season decider, with the Lions winning in 2023 and the Kangaroos taking the honours last year. 

⛳ Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul has claimed the biggest winner’s cheque in women’s golf history after defending her LPGA Tour Championship title in Florida. The 22-year-old, ranked number one in the world, finished four shots ahead of her Thai compatriot, Pajaree Anannarukarn, to take home $AU6.2 million, along with player of the year honours. Australian Steph Kyriacou delivered the moment of the day with a hole-in-one and finished tied for 13th alongside fellow Aussie Minjee Lee.

🏏 Australia have taken a 1-0 Ashes lead thanks to a ridiculous fourth-innings century from Travis Head, as the Aussies successfully reached their target of 205 runs in the final innings in Perth. Head made 100 runs in just 69 balls and finished with 123 runs off 83 balls, combining with Marnus Labuschagne (51 runs) in a match-winning 117-run stand. Australia’s bowling attack, led by Mitchell Starc (10 wickets for the match) and Scott Boland (4-33) set up the comeback earlier in the day, before Head’s fireworks sealed an eight-wicket win inside two days. It marks the first time an Ashes Test has finished within two days since 1921.

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In their final match of 2025, the Wallabies slumped to a fourth straight defeat after losing 48-33 to France in Paris. Elsewhere, England survived an Argentinian fightback, South Africa beat an ill-disciplined Ireland, and the All Blacks dominated Wales.

Here’s what to know.

Australia showed promising signs as they have all year and went into half-time locked at 19-all. The highlight of the first half saw Angus Bell producing a standout try in his 50th Test, while winger Max Jorgensen showcased his world-class talent to score a brilliant long-range try in the second half. 

That being said, France’s backline quality and a costly run of 10 penalties in the second half from the Wallabies proved the difference as the hosts pulled away.

The defeat was Australia’s 10th loss from 15 Tests in 2025, marking the most losses in a single calendar year in Wallabies history.

In other results, England extended their winning streak to 11 matches as they beat Argentina 27-23 and the Springboks defeated Ireland 24-13 to claim their first win in Dublin since 2012. Meanwhile, the All Blacks were back to their very best as they notched up a 34th consecutive win against Wales with a 52-26 victory. 

The final fixture of the Autumn Nations Series will see Wales host South Africa next weekend. 

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The race for the Formula One Drivers’ Championship has been shaken up after a chaotic Las Vegas Grand Prix, where Max Verstappen claimed victory and both McLaren drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, were later disqualified. The disqualifications have turned a once-stable title race into a genuine three-way showdown.

Norris led the field away from pole but lost the early advantage to Verstappen, who controlled the race from the front and secured his sixth win of the season. Piastri crossed the line in fourth position behind Verstappen, Norris, and Mercedes driver George Russell. 

That changed hours after the chequered flag, when both papaya orange cars failed post-race checks. Officials found their skid blocks had worn below the minimum 9-millimetre limit, an automatic breach of the technical regulations. A skid block is a flat plank attached to the bottom of an F1 car that helps ensure it doesn’t run too close to the ground. An illegally low skid block can give a car an increased speed advantage.

The disqualifications lifted both Russell and his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli into second and third, respectively. 

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said the team accepted the ruling and apologised to Norris, Piastri, partners and supporters, describing the outcome as “extremely disappointing” given both drivers’ performances.

The disqualifications wiped all points scored by Norris and Piastri in Vegas, transforming the title picture. Norris stays on 390 points, still leading but no longer with a meaningful buffer. Piastri and Verstappen are now tied in equal second, 24 points behind, each on 366. It comes after the Aussie led the championship race for 15 consecutive weekends earlier this year.

The shift is dramatic. Had the original Vegas results stood, Norris would have been 30 points ahead of Piastri and 42 clear of Verstappen, giving him a tight but important advantage with just two race weekends to go. The strange twist is that Piastri is mathematically closer to the lead now than before the ruling, despite losing points, but the come-from-behind threat of Verstappen makes Piastri’s challenge ahead even greater.

Verstappen’s late-season surge has been remarkable. Seven rounds ago, he trailed Piastri, who was leading by 104 points. The Dutch driver’s Vegas win has pulled him back into contention as he pursues a fifth consecutive world championship.

F1 heads to Qatar for next weekend’s sprint and grand prix, followed by the season finale in Abu Dhabi. There are 58 points still available.

Norris can seal the title in Qatar if he leaves with a lead of at least 26 points. That requires finishing ahead of both rivals across the sprint and the main race.

For Piastri and Verstappen, the path is simple in theory and difficult in practice: score heavily, ideally win everything, and hope Norris stumbles. A tie at season’s end would be settled on race wins, where Norris currently holds the edge.

Earlier in the weekend, French driver Doriane Pin secured the F1 Academy championship. The Mercedes driver missed out on a podium, but her fifth-place finish in the competition's season finale gave her the points she needed to secure the title. 

“Champion is a beautiful word to really fit our season. We can be really proud of all the work we have done since last year. We never gave up, we worked so hard on winning races, winning the title,” Pin said.