Hamilton revives title challenge after dramatic day at Silverstone

LEWIS HAMILTON collided with World Drivers' Championship leader Max Verstappen at the British Grand Prix - and then won the race - to revive his ailing title defence. 

The victory following the incident on the opening lap at Silverstone reduced the Dutchman's title advantage back down to just eight points - and sparked an angry set of exchanges between the drivers and team bosses at Mercedes and Red Bull. 

Christian Horner, the Red Bull principal, said he considered Hamilton to have earned a "hollow victory" and commented in a tone dripping with sarcasm: "I hope Lewis is very happy with himself." 

Verstappen later wrote on Twitter from hospital where he underwent precautionary checks: "Very disappointed to be taken out like this. 

"Watching the celebrations while still in hospital is disrespectful and unsportsmanlike but we move on."

In the case of the defence, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff responded: "It is a situation we all have seen in the past when great drivers race with each other. 

"When nobody is prepared to give in, these kinds of situations can happen. But it takes two to tango."

Hamilton himself added his own comment on Twitter which read: "Today is a reminder of the dangers in this sport. I send my best wishes to Max who is an incredible competitor. 

"I'm glad to hear he is ok. I will always race hard but always fairly."

In fairness to Hamilton's critics, the stewards at Silverstone did not entirely agree with that assessment on this occasion - and they punished him with a 10-second penalty. 

Red Bull criticised the leniency of the punishment - the second-lowest available - but they are increasingly in danger of coming across as rather sore losers. 

For sure, Hamilton stuck a wheel up the inside of Copse corner and failed to make it to the apex - but it felt as if the main reason for the clash was that neither driver wanted to give an inch to their title rival. 

In this regard, the British Grand Prix stewards judged Hamilton to be "predominantly at fault", adding that Hamilton went into the corner "slightly behind and on the inside". 

However, they appear to have assessed the incident accurately - and their penalty award, while not harsh, was a pretty fair outcome. 

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc took the main immediate advantage from the shunt, gaining the lead from third place on the grid, and going onto hold it for the next 49 laps of the 52-lap race. 

But the 23-year-old Monegasque in the red Prancing Horse came up just short as Hamilton - despite his penalty - got into position to complete a clean overtake, ironically at Copse, on lap 50. 

Hamilton therefore secured an eighth win at Silverstone in the British Grand Prix - but this was not any ordinary victory at home. 

Following the recent dominance of Verstappen during this first half of the season, this must count as one of the most important wins in his 15-year F1 career. 

Ahead of the race at Silverstone, the Dutchman had won four of the previous five races to turn a 14-point deficit after the Spanish Grand Prix into a 32-point lead following his lights-to-flag victory at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

In Monaco and in the Styrian Grand Prix - which was also at the Red Bull Ring - an utterly dominant Verstappen had also led from start to finish. 

Indeed, it could easily have been so much worse this year for Hamilton so far.

At the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on 6 June, in the sixth race of the season, Verstappen retired from the lead with a left-rear tyre failure on lap 45 of 51. 

The Dutchman's Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez scored only his second win in F1 after Hamilton made a bad braking error on the restart to fall out of the points altogether - but a Verstappen victory in Baku would have been far more costly to the Stevenage-born champion.

Even this weekend at Silverstone, Verstappen - once he recovers and calms down - will still feel as if he has the edge on Hamilton. 

The British driver qualified ahead of Verstappen in the traditional qualifying session, held on Friday evening - but his Dutch opponent was in front of him before the first corner in the new-fangled one-third distance sprint qualifying trial held on Saturday afternoon. 

In a break from tradition, it was the latter session which confirmed Verstappen on pole for the Grand Prix itself - and, perhaps more vitally, confirmed to everyone that the Red Bull is the faster car. 

Undoubtedly, Verstappen has had a rough weekend - and a hell of a heavy crash at the force of 51G, that is 51 times the force of gravity - but he is still rightly odds-on for the Drivers title. 

Next week, the Hungaroring in Budapest will host the last Grand Prix before the four-week summer break - but, after the recess, the races really come thick and fast. 

The nine visits to Belgium, Verstappen's Netherlands home race, Italy, Russia, Turkey, Japan, United States, Mexico and Brazil are all scheduled to be crammed into a 10-week period between 29 August and 7 November - ahead of two races in the Middle East in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi.

In other words, Mercedes must work fast to improve their pace if Hamilton is going to have a genuine chance against Verstappen.

It may have been a tough weekend - but the future remains bright for Verstappen.

HAMITON v VERSTAPPEN

		HAMILTON			v			VERSTAPPEN
28-March	BAHRAIN	1st	25		(+7)		18	2nd
18-April	EMILIA ROMAGNA	2nd	19	44	(+1)	43	25	1st
02-May	PORTUGAL	1st	25	69	(+8)	61	18	2nd
09-May	SPAIN	1st	25	94	(+14)	80	19	2nd
23-May	MONACO	7th	7	101	(-4)	105	25	1st
06-June	AZERBAIJAN	15th	0	101	(-4)	105	0	18th
20-June	FRANCE	2nd	18	119	(-12)	131	26	1st
27-June	STYRIAN	2nd	19	138	(-18)	156	25	1st
04-July	AUSTRIA	4th	12	150	(-32)	182	26	1st
18-July	GREAT BRITAIN	1st	27	177	(-8)	185	3	Retired

REMAINING CALENDAR

(11)	01-August	2pm	HUNGARY	Hungaroring, Mogyoród
(12)	29-August	2pm	BELGIUM	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot
(13)	05-September	2pm	NETHERLANDS	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort
(14)	12-September	2pm	ITALY	Monza Circuit, Monza
(15)	26-September	1pm	RUSSIA	Sochi Autodrom, Sochi
(16)	03-October	1pm	TURKEY	Istanbul Park, Tuzla
(17)	10-October	6am	JAPAN	Suzuka International Course, Suzuka
(18)	24-October	8pm	UNITED STATES	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, TX
(19)	31-October	7pm	MEXICO	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City
(20)	07-November	5pm	BRAZIL	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo
(21)	21-November	-	TBC	-
(22)	05-December	4pm	SAUDI ARABIA	Jeddah Street Circuit, Saudi Arabia
(23)	12-December	1pm	ABU DHABI	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi

FIA F1 DRIVERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2021

			Points
1	Max Verstappen (NED)	Red Bull-Honda	185	(5 wins)
2	Lewis Hamilton (GBR)	Mercedes	177	(4 wins)
3	Lando Norris (GBR)	McLaren-Mercedes	113
4	Valtteri Bottas (FIN)	Mercedes	108
5	Sergio Pérez (MEX)	Red Bull-Honda	104	(1 win)
6	Charles Leclerc (MON)	Ferrari	80
7	Carlos Sainz Jr. (ESP)	Ferrari	68
8	Daniel Ricciardo  (AUS)	McLaren-Mercedes	50
9	Pierre Gasly (FRA)	Alpha Tauri-Honda	39
10	Sebastian Vettel (GER)	Aston Martin-Mercedes	30
11	Fernando Alonso (ESP)	Alpine-Renault	26
12	Lance Stroll (CAN)	Aston Martin-Mercedes	18
13	Esteban Ocon (FRA)	Alpine-Renault	14
14	Yuki Tsunoda (JPN)	Alpha Tauri-Honda	10
15	Kimi Räikkönen (FIN)	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	1
16	Antonio Giovinazzi (ITA)	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari	1
17	George Russell (GBR)	Williams-Mercedes	0
18	Mick Schumacher (GER)	Haas-Ferrari	0
19	Nicholas Latifi (CAN)	Williams-Mercedes	0
20	Nikita Mazepin (RUS)	Haas-Ferrari	0

FIA F1 CONSTRUCTORS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2021

			Points
1	Red Bull-Honda (AUT)	Max Verstappen - Sergio Pérez	289	(6 wins)
2	Mercedes (GER)	Lewis Hamilton - Valtteri Bottas	285	(4 wins)
3	McLaren-Mercedes (GBR)	Lando Norris - Daniel Ricciardo	163
4	Ferrari (ITA)	Charles Leclerc - Carlos Sainz Jr	148
5	Alpha Tauri-Honda	Pierre Gasly - Yuki Tsunoda	49
6	Aston Martin-Mercedes (GBR)	Lance Stroll - Sebastian Vettel	48
7	Alpine-Renault (FRA)	Fernando Alonso - Esteban Ocon	40
8	Alfa Romeo-Ferrari (SUI)	Kimi Räikkönen - Antonio Giovinazzi	2
9	Williams-Mercedes (GBR)	George Russell - Nicholas Latifi	0
10	Haas-Ferrari (USA)	Mick Schumacher - Nikita Mazepin	0

Root seeks a jewel in the crown

TOUR OF SRI LANKA ▪️ ENGLAND WON THE SERIES 2-0

14-18 January	1 England 421 & 76-3 beat Sri Lanka 135 & 359 by seven wickets	Galle
22-25 January	2 England 344 & 164-4 beat Sri Lanka 381 & 126 by six wickets	Galle

💎

ENGLAND captain Joe Root could not have wished to be in better form ahead of a four-Test tour of India which will begin with him earning his 100th Test cap.

Root comes into the series having hit 228 and 186 in the successive matches against Sri Lanka last month as England enjoyed a convincing 2-0 series win despite batting last on both occasions.

The victories extended England's run to four consecutive series successes since the drawn Ashes contest in 2019.

They also meant England are now unbeaten in their last 10 Tests under the captaincy of Root, which is by far his best sequence of results since he took over as skipper in February 2017.

Make no mistake - despite the horrendously disrupted calendar in the last 12 months, this England Test team have made some good progress during this period. 

But, while beating Sri Lanka is one thing, getting the better of India - in India - is a completely different matter.

More ominously still, the Indians head into this tussle on the back of one of their most famous series wins in their entire history last month when they completed a 2-1 victory away in Australia.

Remarkably, the marquee triumph began with India recording their lowest ever total in Test cricket after being bowled out for 36 in the first Test in Adelaide.

Captain Virat Kohli then departed on paternity leave - and welcomed the birth of a baby girl on 11 January - while the remaining tour party was ripped apart by illness and injury.

Such was the extent of the enforced absences that India used no fewer than 20 different players across the four matches - and yet still turned it around.

By the turn of the year, the series was level as stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane hit a century in Melbourne to help India begin their amazing recovery with an eight-wicket victory.

Then, the Indians batted out the whole of the final day of the match in Sydney to set up a decider in Brisbane at the Gabba, a venue at which Australia had not lost a single Test match since 1988.

By this time, India were without six first-choice bowlers, two middle-order batsmen and, of course, Kohli himself. 

Indeed, going into the game, the number of wickets taken by the bowlers of the two teams read 1033 to 13 in Australia's favour.

To top it all off, the Aussies won the toss - but then, somehow, this heavily patched-up India team spent four days grafting to stay in the match before achieving one of the greatest Test victories of all time.

Resuming the fifth and final day of the series on 4-0 and requiring 328, the Indians lost Rohit Sharma early - but still refused to fold against the menacing pace of Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc.

Instead, Shubman Gill (91) and later Rishabh Pant (89 not out) went on the attack against the bowlers while Cheteshwar Pujara (56) anchored the chase. 

Pant and Pujara took India beyond tea with the requirement tumbling steadily - and, by the time Australia took Pujara's wicket, and those of the three men who followed, India had clearly done enough. 

In fact, just two balls after Shardul Thakur was caught at square leg by Nathan Lyon, Pant hit the winning runs by smashing an off-drive to the boundary.

The fortress at the Gabba had finally been breached once more.

For India, the triumph demonstrated a frightening squad depth, particularly in the bowling department, which - at full strength - unusually features more threat from pace than spin.

England simply cannot afford to underestimate the quartet of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma with 60% of India's Test wickets taken by fast bowlers in the past four years. 

Spin will still be a factor on the subcontinent, of course - but, perhaps, not to the extent that it once was, in the first innings at least. 

However, as former England number three and current batting consultant Jonathan Trott has made clear, the first innings with the bat remains extremely important.

A little over four years ago, England twice scored 400 runs or more in the first knock, only then to lose both matches by an innings. 

Of course, in English conditions, a score of 400 is usually enough to stay in a match, and often enough to take control of it. 

But, in India, a team often needs to make 500 or 600 in the first innings while the pitch is pretty docile so that they have better control of their destiny in the second half of the game when the pitch breaks up and the match suddenly moves apace.

Worryingly, even in victory against Sri Lanka, England only made first innings totals of 421 and 344, and that was thanks mainly to the efforts of Root.

As a matter of fact, Root - as brilliant as he was - scored 426 of England's 1005 runs (42.4%) across the four innings last month, and was at one stage outscoring the contributions made from all of his team-mates put together.

Rather sensibly then, Root has been happy to play the role of the underdog ahead of his landmark appearance in Chennai.

Root said: "To get the opportunity to play India off the back of them beating Australia in Australia - what a scalp that would be for us. 

"There will be more pressure on them than us - they have an expectation to uphold that record they have in their conditions.

Nevertheless, England supporters have every right to feel confident that the tourists will be more competitive in India than in that last series in 2016.

Now especially would be a particularly good time for England to cause an upset - with the surprise news that Test cricket will be returning to terrestrial television for the first time since that seminal Ashes series in 2005.

Just like back then, Channel 4 has gained the broadcast rights, though only after a long, drawn-out process was concluded by an 11th-hour deal.

"It is brilliant for the game,” said Root. “We want to inspire a generation, the next generation.

“You look at the stuff Sky do and the reach they get, they do a wonderful job and they give great content for all the viewers. [But] this is a great opportunity to reach out to a new audience, to grow the game as we keep talking about and for it to be more accessible for everyone else."

One last thing to point out in this preview is the impact that this series will have on the much-affected inaugural World Test Championship. 

The number of postponements caused by the coronavirus has led to the league table being re-adjusted so that it is now based upon the percentage of points won in the matches which have actually been completed.

Pos		Series Won	Tests Won	Tests Drawn	Tests Lost	Points | Played	Points %	Runs per Wicket
(1)	INDIA	4	9	1	3	430 | 600	71.7	1.619
(Q)	NEW ZEALAND	3	7	0	4	420 | 600	70.0	1.281
(3)	AUSTRALIA	2	8	2	4	332 | 480	69.2	1.392
(4)	ENGLAND	4	10	3	4	412 | 600	68.7	1.251
(5)	PAKISTAN	1	3	3	5	226 | 600	37.7	0.785
(6)	SOUTH AFRICA	1	3	0	7	144 | 420	34.3	0.677
(7)	SRI LANKA	0	1	1	6	80 | 480	16.7	0.586
(8)	WEST INDIES	0	1	0	6	40 | 360	11.1	0.493
(9)	BANGLADESH	0	0	0	3	0 | 180	0.0	0.351

Earlier this week, Australia pulled out of their proposed trip to South Africa due to the ongoing concerns surrounding the new strain of the virus - and that was enough to send the world number one-ranked team, New Zealand, through to the Final at Lord's. 

The Black Caps' opponents will be determined by the result of the India v England series, with the Aussies still retaining a chance to progress:

▪️ India will qualify for the Final with a series win by the score of 2-1, 2-0, 3-1, 3-0 or 4-0.

▪️ England will qualify for the Final with a 3-1, 3-0 or a 4-0 series win.

▪️ Australia will qualify for the Final if there is a drawn series, if India only win 1-0, or if England win 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1.

For now, though, it is time to sit back, relax and dust off that old CD with Mambo No 5 on it. Cricket on Channel 4 is back.

England win epic Cricket World Cup Final on boundaries

CRICKET WORLD CUP

ENGLAND ARE THE CHAMPIONS

FINAL Sun 14-Jul	10:30	NEW ZEALAND	241-8		15-1 (Super Over)
Lord's		ENGLAND	241		15-0 (Super Over)

▪️ MATCH TIED - ENGLAND won on boundaries scored during the match (26-17)
Player of the match: Ben Stokes (84* & 8*)

ENGLAND won the Cricket World Cup for the first time ever after beating New Zealand on boundaries scored following an astonishing tie in the Final at Lord's.

Even a Super Over could not separate the teams with Jason Roy running Martin Guptill out off the last ball of the match as the Kiwi scrambled back in a forlorn attempt to make the winning run.

In all honesty, it is difficult to know where to start with this epic match. Just how on earth did England win this?

Well, to begin at the beginning - New Zealand won the toss and opted to bat, a decision which looked pretty reasonable despite the overhead conditions. 

Opener Henry Nicholls (55) and captain Kane Williamson (30) cautiously built a steady partnership of 74 following the early loss of Guptill (19).

However, Liam Plunkett has been an incredibly important factor to England's journey to the top of the One-Day International rankings - and the Middlesbrough-born paceman dismissed both set batsmen.

Mark Wood soon joined the party as he trapped a static Ross Taylor in front for 15 although replays would show the ball was bouncing over the stumps.

The Black Caps had already used their review, having earlier foolishly requested the plumb lbw decision made against Guptill to be looked at again.

Tom Latham then attempted to turn the tide - but the wicketkeeper-batsman regularly lost partners at the other end as Chris Woakes and Plunkett finished with three wickets apiece.

At 241-8 off their 50 overs, New Zealand looked a bit short. Out of the six bowlers employed by England, only Ben Stokes went for more than five per over - and he only bowled three overs.

Meanwhile, Jofra Archer - a vital figure in the hours to come - took 1-42 off his full allocation.

The Kiwis, nevertheless, had at least scored 58 runs more than four years ago when they were hammered in the Final against Australia by seven wickets at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Impressively, New Zealand had also defended 239-8 as they shocked India by 18 runs in their semi final at Old Trafford.

By contrast, England had blasted their way to a first Final in 27 years, thrashing Australia by eight wickets at Edgbaston - and, in their previous match to that, had beaten the New Zealanders by the not-so-small matter of 119 runs at Chester-le-Street.

In the Final at Lord's, though, it was always going to be completely different - especially as New Zealand started well with the ball.

Prodigious opener Roy was caught behind by Latham off Matt Henry, and Joe Root soon followed after an uncharacteristically scratchy innings in which he scored just seven off 30 balls.

Captain Eoin Morgan appeared to be faring better, scoring six runs off his first seven deliveries - but he too became bogged down and was out for just nine after he hoicked Jimmy Neesham's first ball to the impressive Lockie Ferguson.

Ferguson produced a superb catch, diving forwards - having already bowled Jonny Bairstow for a patient 36 - and, at 86-4 in the 24th over, England were in deep trouble.

Enter Stokes and Jos Buttler. Finally, England had found two batsmen willing to rotate the strike and make inroads into the chase which had suddenly become mammoth.

The required rate continued to creep upwards, however - and, just as England were preparing for a few last big overs, Ferguson struck again to take the big wicket of Buttler.

Woakes followed in Ferguson's next over before Neesham accounted for both Plunkett and Archer in the 49th.

Neesham nearly also had Stokes' wicket too - but, as Boult took the catch, he trod on the boundary rope - and instead England picked up a vital six runs.

Heading into the last, the hosts still required 15 runs to win, or 14 to tie with Stokes and Adil Rashid at the crease, and Stokes on strike.

Looking to make amends, the Black Caps' main bowler Boult held the ball - and his team's destiny - in his hands and he started well with two yorkers which Stokes could barely get off the square.

But, in response, the Christchurch-born all-rounder turned the tables by smashing the paceman over midwicket for six off the next ball - and the fourth ball then also counted for six in the most extraordinary way.

Stokes smeared a full toss away to midwicket where it was collected - but, as the luckless Guptill lined up a direct hit, Stokes - desperate to make his ground - got in the way, and he inadvertently deflected the ball with his outstretched bat.

The ball trundled towards the boundary - and there was simply nothing New Zealand could do as umpire Kumar Dharmasena signalled with six digits on his two hands, although it has subsequently emerged that he should have only used five.

Law 19.8 advises that the two batsmen must have crossed for their second run prior to Guptill throwing the ball for the run to count.

However, this - in itself - appears inconsistent with the general principle applied in other Laws that all of the play is taken into account on each ball until the ball becomes considered dead - i.e. when it hit the boundary rope.

Regardless, it is to the immense credit of the New Zealanders that they have not collectively made a big deal of the umpiring error - though it can surely only have compounded their disappointment.

Still, despite that, the Black Caps could have won. Boult had two deliveries remaining - and, with the first, he found his yorker length again - but Stokes played it well.

This time, the ball trundled to Mitchell Santner at long-off - and, this time, the run out was enacted as Boult dismissed Rashid by a long way.

England had completed one run, however, and so needed two off the final ball for victory.

Instead, there was another run out, though again England had completed a single before Wood was out well short of a second.

Incredibly, the Final had gone to a Super Over.

Now, England batted first, nominating Buttler and the unbeaten Stokes as their batsmen as Boult again took the ball in hand.

Four runs came off the first two balls before Stokes doubled that with a boundary through midwicket off the third delivery.

The second part of the over followed a similar pattern as three runs off the next two balls were topped off by a four when Buttler found the fence at deep square leg.

England therefore had scored a very decent 15 off their six balls - as Guptill and Neesham came out to bat for the Kiwis.

Archer - the raw 24-year-old Barbados-born fast-bowler had been just about a last-minute pick by the selectors - and yet he was now given the responsibility of winning the game for England.

Rather understandably, Archer started nervously with a wide called off his attempt before he was hit for six by Neesham off only his second legal delivery.

Suddenly, New Zealand needed just seven to win off four balls - but Archer found a fuller length to restrict the Black Caps to four off the next two.

The next ball was banged in short and Neesham, failing to connect on the pull, had to settle for a single, bringing Guptill on strike for the first time in the over - just in time for the last ball.

New Zealand needed two runs to win as Archer again went full. Guptill managed to clip the ball to deep midwicket - but, as the Kiwi batsmen tried in vain to make the 22 yards, Roy found his range and finally finished the contest.

More than nine hours of play featuring 643 balls - including wides, no balls and the Super Over deliveries - had not been enough to separate the two teams on the scorecard.

England had scored 241 runs and 15 in the Super Over - New Zealand had done likewise - and, though it was in the rules at the start of the tournament, the boundary count seems a slight arbitrary next tiebreaker.

After all, right up until the end of the Super Over, all of the runs - no matter how they had been scored - had counted equally.

So, as much of a cop-out as it sounds, this was a Cricket World Cup Final in which a tie should have meant just that - a shared trophy.

England will have still got the plaudits which they have deserved for their hard work over the last four years. 

But New Zealand too would have something to take from this epic occasion, rather than being left only with perhaps indelible scars caused by this absolute heartbreak.

Even a couple of days later, that still seems a little too cruel on the Black Caps.

CRICKET WORLD CUP

 SEMI FINAL RESULTS
 

SF1 Tue 09-Jul	10:30	INDIA	221 49.3	▪️ NEW ZEALAND won by 18 runs
Old Trafford		NEW ZEALAND	239-8
SF2 Thu 11-Jul	10:30	AUSTRALIA	223 49.0	▪️ ENGLAND won by eight wickets
Edgbaston		ENGLAND	226-2 32.1

GROUP STAGE TABLE

Pos	Team	W	L	NR	NRR	Pts
(Q)	INDIA	7	1	1	0.809	15
(Q)	AUSTRALIA	7	2	0	0.868	14
(Q)	ENGLAND	6	3	0	1.152	12
(Q)	NEW ZEALAND	5	3	1	0.175	11
(5)	PAKISTAN	5	3	1	-0.430	11
(6)	SRI LANKA	3	4	2	-0.919	8
(7)	SOUTH AFRICA	3	5	1	-0.030	7
(8)	BANGLADESH	3	5	1	-0.410	7
(9)	WEST INDIES	2	6	1	-0.225	5
(10)	AFGHANISTAN	0	9	0	-1.322	0

GROUP STAGE RESULTS

01 Thu 30-May	10:30	ENGLAND	311-8	▪️ ENGLAND won by 104 runs
The Oval		SOUTH AFRICA	207 39.5
02 Fri 31-May	10:30	PAKISTAN	105 21.4	▪️ WEST INDIES won by seven wickets
Trent Bridge		WEST INDIES	108-3 13.4
03 Sat 01-Jun	10:30	NEW ZEALAND	137-0 16.1	▪️ NEW ZEALAND won by 10 wickets
Cardiff		SRI LANKA	136 29.2
04 Sat 01-Jun	13:30	AUSTRALIA	209-3 34.5	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by seven wickets
Bristol		AFGHANISTAN	207 38.2
05 Sun 02-Jun	10:30	BANGLADESH	330-6	▪️ BANGLADESH won by 21 runs
The Oval		SOUTH AFRICA	309-8
06 Mon 03-Jun	10:30	ENGLAND	334-9	▪️ PAKISTAN won by 14 runs
Trent Bridge		PAKISTAN	348-8
07 Tue 04-Jun	10:30	AFGHANISTAN	152 32.4	▪️ SRI LANKA won by 34 runs  DLS
Cardiff		SRI LANKA	201 36.5
08 Wed 05-Jun	10:30	INDIA	230-4	▪️ INDIA won by six wickets
Southampton		SOUTH AFRICA	227-9
09 Wed 05-Jun	13:30	BANGLADESH	244 49.2	▪️ NEW ZEALAND won by two wickets
The Oval		NEW ZEALAND	248-8 47.1
10 Thu 06-Jun	10:30	AUSTRALIA	288 49.0	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by 15 runs
Trent Bridge		WEST INDIES	273-9
11 Fri 07-Jun	10:30	PAKISTAN		▪️ NO RESULT - rain
Bristol		SRI LANKA
12 Sat 08-Jun	10:30	ENGLAND	386-6	▪️ ENGLAND won by 106 runs
Cardiff		BANGLADESH	280 48.5
13 Sat 08-Jun	13:30	AFGHANISTAN	172 41.1	▪️ NEW ZEALAND won by seven wickets
Taunton		NEW ZEALAND	173-3 32.1
14 Sun 09-Jun	10:30	AUSTRALIA	316	▪️ INDIA won by 36 runs
The Oval		INDIA	352-5
15 Mon 10-Jun	10:30	SOUTH AFRICA	29-2 7.3	▪️ NO RESULT - rain
Southampton		WEST INDIES
16 Tue 11-Jun	10:30	BANGLADESH		▪️ NO RESULT - rain
Bristol		SRI LANKA
17 Wed 12-Jun	10:30	AUSTRALIA	307 49.0	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by 41 runs
Taunton		PAKISTAN	266 45.4
18 Thu 13-Jun	10:30	INDIA		▪️ NO RESULT - rain
Trent Bridge		NEW ZEALAND
19 Fri 14-Jun	10:30	ENGLAND	213-2 33.1	▪️ ENGLAND won by eight wickets
Southampton		WEST INDIES	212 44.4
20 Sat 15-Jun	10:30	AUSTRALIA	334-7	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by 87 runs
The Oval		SRI LANKA	247 45.5
21 Sat 15-Jun	13:30	AFGHANISTAN	125 34.1	▪️ SOUTH AFRICA won by nine wkts  DLS
Cardiff		SOUTH AFRICA	131-2 28.4
22 Sun 16-Jun	10:30	INDIA	336-5	▪️ INDIA won by 89 runs  DLS
Old Trafford		PAKISTAN	212-6 40.0
23 Mon 17-Jun	10:30	BANGLADESH	322-3 41.3	▪️ BANGLADESH won by seven wickets
Taunton		WEST INDIES	321-8
24 Tue 18-Jun	10:30	ENGLAND	397-6	▪️ ENGLAND won by 150 runs
Old Trafford		AFGHANISTAN	247-8
25 Wed 19-Jun	10:30	NEW ZEALAND	245-6 48.3	▪️ NEW ZEALAND won by four wickets
Edgbaston		SOUTH AFRICA	241-6 49.0
26 Thu 20-Jun	10:30	AUSTRALIA	381-5	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by 48 runs
Trent Bridge		BANGLADESH	333-8
27 Fri 21-Jun	10:30	ENGLAND	212 47.0	▪️ SRI LANKA won by 20 runs
Headingley		SRI LANKA	232-9
28 Sat 22-Jun	10:30	AFGHANISTAN	213 49.5	▪️ INDIA won by 11 runs
Southampton		INDIA	224-8
29 Sat 22-Jun	13:30	NEW ZEALAND	291-8	▪️ NEW ZEALAND won by five runs
Old Trafford		WEST INDIES	286 49.0
30 Sun 23-Jun	10:30	PAKISTAN	308-7	▪️ PAKISTAN won by 49 runs
Lord's		SOUTH AFRICA	259-9
31 Mon 24-Jun	10:30	AFGHANISTAN	200 47.0	▪️ BANGLADESH won by 62 runs
Southampton		BANGLADESH	262-7
32 Tue 25-Jun	10:30	ENGLAND	221 44.4	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by 64 runs
Lord's		AUSTRALIA	285-7
33 Wed 26-Jun	10:30	NEW ZEALAND	237-6	▪️ PAKISTAN won by six wickets
Edgbaston		PAKISTAN	241-4 49.1
34 Thu 27-Jun	10:30	INDIA	268-7	▪️ INDIA won by 125 runs
Old Trafford		WEST INDIES	143 34.2
35 Fri 28-Jun	10:30	SOUTH AFRICA	206-1 37.2	▪️ SOUTH AFRICA won by nine wickets
Chester-le-Street		SRI LANKA	203 49.3
36 Sat 29-Jun	10:30	AFGHANISTAN	227-9	▪️ PAKISTAN won by three wickets
Headingley		PAKISTAN	230-7 49.4
37 Sat 29-Jun	13:30	AUSTRALIA	243-9	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by 86 runs
Lord's		NEW ZEALAND	157 43.4
38 Sun 30-Jun	10:30	ENGLAND	337-7	▪️ ENGLAND won by 31 runs
Edgbaston		INDIA	306-5
39 Mon 01-Jul	10:30	SRI LANKA	338-6	▪️ SRI LANKA won by 23 runs
Chester-le-Street		WEST INDIES	315-9
40 Tue 02-Jul	10:30	BANGLADESH	286 48.0	▪️ INDIA won by 28 runs
Edgbaston		INDIA	314-9
41 Wed 03-Jul	10:30	ENGLAND	305-8	▪️ ENGLAND won by 119 runs
Chester-le-Street		NEW ZEALAND	186 44.5
42 Thu 04-Jul	10:30	WEST INDIES	311-6	▪️ WEST INDIES won by 23 runs
Headingley		AFGHANISTAN	288
43 Fri 05-Jul	10:30	PAKISTAN	315-9	▪️ PAKISTAN won by 94 runs
Lord's		BANGLADESH	221 44.1
44 Sat 06-Jul	10:30	INDIA	265-3 43.3	▪️ INDIA won by seven wickets
Headingley		SRI LANKA	264-7
45 Sat 06-Jul	13:30	SOUTH AFRICA	325-6	▪️ SOUTH AFRICA won by 10 runs
Old Trafford		AUSTRALIA	315 49.5

CENTURIES
166 David Warner (Australia) v Bangladesh
153 Aaron Finch (Australia) v Sri Lanka
153 Jason Roy (England) v Bangladesh
148 Eoin Morgan (England) v Afghanistan
148 Kane Williamson (New Zealand) v West Indies
140 Rohit Sharma (India) v Pakistan
124* Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) v West Indies
122* Rohit Sharma (India) v South Africa
122 David Warner (Australia) v South Africa
121 Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) v England
118 Nicholas Pooran (West Indies) v Sri Lanka
117 Shikhar Dhawan (India) v Australia
113 Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka) v India
111 Jonny Bairstow (England) v India
111 KL Rahul (India) v Sri Lanka
107 Joe Root (England) v Pakistan
107 David Warner (Australia) v Pakistan
106* Kane Williamson (New Zealand) v South Africa
106 Jonny Bairstow (England) v New Zealand
104 Avishka Fernando (Sri Lanka) v West Indies
104 Rohit Sharma (India) v Bangladesh
103 Jos Buttler (England) v Pakistan
103 Rohit Sharma (India) v Sri Lanka
102* Mushfiqur Rahim (Bangladesh) v Australia
102 Rohit Sharma (India) v England
101* Babar Azam (Pakistan) v New Zealand
101 Carlos Braithwaite (West Indies) v New Zealand
100* Joe Root (England) v West Indies
100 Aaron Finch (Australia) v England
100 Imam-ul-Haq (Pakistan) v Bangladesh
100 Faf du Plessis (South Africa) v Australia

FIVE-FORS
6-35 Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan) v Bangladesh
5-26 Mitchell Starc (Australia) v New Zealand
5-29 Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) v Afghanistan
5-30 Mohammad Amir (Pakistan) v Australia
5-31 Jimmy Neesham (New Zealand) v Afghanistan
5-44 Jason Behrendorff (Australia) v England
5-46 Mitchell Starc (Australia) v West Indies
5-59 Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh) v India
5-69 Mohammad Shami (India) v England
5-75 Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh) v Pakistan

All scheduled start times are BST
Full 50 overs batted unless stated
DLS = Result decided using Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method
NRR = Net run rate

F1 2018: Fiesta time for five-star Hamilton

FORMULA ONE: THE GREATEST CHAMPIONS

7	Michael Schumacher	(GER)	1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
5	Juan Manuel Fangio	(ARG)	1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957
	Lewis Hamilton	(GBR)	2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018
4	Alain Prost	(FRA)	1985, 1986, 1989, 1993
	Sebastian Vettel	(GER)	2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
3	Jack Brabham	(AUS)	1959, 1960, 1966
	Jackie Stewart	(GBR)	1969, 1971, 1973
	Niki Lauda	(AUT)	1975, 1977, 1984
	Nelson Piquet	(BRA)	1981, 1983, 1987
	Ayrton Senna	(BRA)	1988, 1990, 1991

LEWIS HAMILTON produced an almost faultless season to win a fifth World Drivers' Championship at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in the Mexican Grand Prix.

Hamilton coasted to fourth place in Mexico City for yet another title, one which is enough to draw him level in second on the all-time list alongside Argentine legend Juan Manuel Fangio.

Only Michael Schumacher, with seven titles, now stands ahead of Hamilton - but, already at this stage, it feels as if that record is destined to face a serious challenge in the next few years.

After all, Hamilton in 2018 has taken his own personal performance to another level, eventually beating Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari in utterly convincing fashion.

In the first part of the season, though, that did not look as if it was going to be the case at all.

Vettel swooped to early wins in Australia and Bahrain, and still led the Championship by the narrowest of margins when the F1 big top rocked up at Silverstone in July.

Hamilton took pole in his home Grand Prix but then suffered an absolute nightmare on raceday. 

First, the Stevenage-born racer was jumped off the start line by Vettel and his own team-mate Valtteri Bottas - and then he was sent spinning off the track at turn three by Vettel's team mate Kimi Räikkönen.

For a brief period, Hamilton was pootling about back in 18th - and, although he eventually scythed his way through the field to finish second, Bottas vitally had earlier lost the lead to Vettel.

The German duly took his fourth win of the campaign and an eight-point lead into the last two races before the four-week summer recess.

A fortnight later, it looked even better for Vettel in his home Grand Prix at Hockenheim when Hamilton's Mercedes broke down in qualifying and was left stranded in 14th on the grid. By contrast, Vettel was seemingly sitting pretty on pole.

However, in a complete reversal of fortunes on raceday, Hamilton battled his way through the field on soft and ultrasoft tyres in the rain, and watched on as - critically - Vettel crashed out from the lead.

Hamilton followed up victory at Hockenheim with another from pole at the Hungaroring to extend his advantage to 24 points heading into the summer break.

But, at the resumption, Vettel responded well in the Belgian Grand Prix to beat pole-sitter Hamilton off the start line in Spa-Francorchamps.

That should really have marked the start of a Vettel comeback as Ferrari arrived at their home circuit in Monza - but the reality could not have been more different to the expectations of the Tifosi.

First, Ferrari chose not to reverse the order of Vettel and Räikkönen in qualifying, despite the former being their only title contender.

The Finn - who had, by then, been told by Ferrari that he would not be retained for 2019 - took pole and, racing on his own merits, it was no surprise at all to see him defend his lead from Vettel.

At the second chicane, a watchful Hamilton took advantage and passed Vettel on the outside.

Crucially, in attempting to defend his position, the battling German crashed into Hamilton and spun to the back. Then, to make matters even worse for him, the Mercedes driver subsequently overtook Räikkönen to win.

By this point, an in-form Hamilton was buzzing - and next came one of the moments of the season as the 33-year-old produced one of the best flying laps of his whole career to secure a race-winning pole in the night race at Singapore.

Two weeks later at the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi, the British driver benefited from a rare imposition of team orders as Mercedes told Bottas to let him past at halfway stage.

Then, at Suzuka in Japan, Hamilton made it four wins in a row with a lights-to-flag victory which left Vettel trailing in his wake.

Rapidly through the autumn, Hamilton's lead had grown to 67 points - a gigantic advantage which meant the Mercedes man could mathematically seal the title at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin.

Indeed, it looked, at one stage, as if he would take the title in Texas as he made a wheel-to-wheel challenge to Red Bull's Max Verstappen for a few corners while Vettel trailed again in fifth.

Ultimately, Hamilton was forced to pull out of his move on the young Dutchman - and, even if he had taken second place, he would have been denied the big prize by Vettel's successful late pass on an ailing Bottas.

Nevertheless, Hamilton's pragmatic approach to his attack on Verstappen contrasted sharply with Vettel's earlier haphazard attempt to pass Daniel Ricciardo in the other Red Bull.

Once again, Vettel made contact and was sent spinning to the back of the field - and, although the German recovered to take fourth, the result in the United States merely delayed the inevitable.

Requiring any finish in the top seven in Mexico, regardless of Vettel's result, Hamilton qualified behind the dominant Red Bulls in third and never dropped below sixth even after his pit-stops. His triumph had become a mathematical certainty.

"I don't allow myself to be too emotional in public, but now I feel humbled by the whole experience [and] it's hard to realise it at the moment," said Hamilton in his post-race interview.

"It's something I dreamed of, but I never in a million years thought I'd be stood here as a five-time champion and I'm so grateful for everyone who helped me be here, to raise the bar and lift the cup.

"It was a goal, when I won the championship last year - I kept thinking how can I be fitter, faster, better - a better all-rounder, a better friend, better son, and I think I've been able to lift them all up this year.

"Maybe it comes with age or experience but I'm very happy with how it's gone."

Undoubtedly, at 33, Hamilton will need to use all his experience to stay at the top of his game in the coming years.

For, certainly, it would be a big surprise if four-time champion Vettel and Ferrari made as many poor mistakes again in 2019. 

Meanwhile, the Prancing Horse from Maranello will also inject younger blood in their line-up following the signing of 21-year-old Charles Leclerc from Sauber.

And then there is Verstappen - also just 21 - who further added to his burgeoning reputation at the weekend with a fifth race win and 20th podium of his relatively short F1 career so far.

But, of course, this Mexican Grand Prix was all about the legendary Hamilton, and his hard work and sacrifices which have allowed him to retain the Drivers' Championship.

A class apart from his contemporaries, it feels only a matter of when - and not if - he will triumph again.

FORMULA ONE 2018
+/- refers to Hamilton lead or deficit in the Drivers' Championship 

Date		Pole	Fast lap	Winner	+/-
25 March	Australian Grand Prix	Hamilton	Ricciardo	Vettel	-7
8 April	Bahrain Grand Prix	Vettel	Bottas	Vettel	-17
15 April	Chinese Grand Prix	Vettel	Ricciardo	Ricciardo	-9
29 April	Azerbaijan Grand Prix	Vettel	Bottas	Hamilton	+4
13 May	Spanish Grand Prix	Hamilton	Ricciardo	Hamilton	+17
27 May	Monaco Grand Prix	Ricciardo	Verstappen	Ricciardo	+14
10 June	Canadian Grand Prix	Vettel	Verstappen	Vettel	-1
24 June	French Grand Prix	Hamilton	Bottas	Hamilton	+14
1 July	Austrian Grand Prix	Bottas	Räikkönen	Verstappen	-1
8 July	British Grand Prix	Hamilton	Vettel	Vettel	-8
22 July	German Grand Prix	Vettel	Hamilton	Hamilton	+17
29 July	Hungarian Grand Prix	Hamilton	Ricciardo	Hamilton	+24
26 August	Belgian Grand Prix	Hamilton	Bottas	Vettel	+17
2 September	Italian Grand Prix	Räikkönen	Hamilton	Hamilton	+30
16 September	Singapore Grand Prix	Hamilton	Magnussen	Hamilton	+40
30 September	Russian Grand Prix	Bottas	Bottas	Hamilton	+50
7 October	Japanese Grand Prix	Hamilton	Vettel	Hamilton	+67
21 October	United States Grand Prix	Hamilton	Hamilton	Räikkönen	+70
28 October	Mexican Grand Prix	Ricciardo	Bottas	Verstappen	+64
11 November	Brazilian Grand Prix	Hamilton	Bottas	Hamilton	+81
25 November	Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Hamilton	Vettel	Hamilton	+88

FIA F1 DRIVERS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

			Points
1	Lewis Hamilton (GBR)	Mercedes	408	(11 wins)
2	Sebastian Vettel (GER)	Ferrari	320	(5 wins)
3	Kimi Räikkönen (FIN)	Ferrari	251	(1 win)
4	Max Verstappen (NED)	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer	249	(2 wins)
5	Valtteri Bottas (FIN)	Mercedes	247
6	Daniel Ricciardo (AUS)	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer	170	(2 wins)
7	Niko Hülkenberg (GER)	Renault	69
8	Sergio Pérez (MEX)	Force India-Mercedes	62
9	Kevin Magnussen (DEN)	Haas-Ferrari	56
10	Carlos Sainz Jr. (ESP)	Renault	53
11	Fernando Alonso (ESP)	McLaren-Renault	50
12	Esteban Ocon (FRA)	Force India-Mercedes	49
13	Charles Leclerc (MON)	Sauber-Ferrari	39
14	Romain Grosjean (FRA)	Haas-Ferrari	37
15	Pierre Gasly (FRA)	Toro Rosso-Honda	29
16	Stoffel Vandoorne (BEL)	McLaren-Renault	12
17	Marcus Ericsson (SWE)	Sauber-Ferrari	9
18	Lance Stroll (CAN)	Williams-Mercedes	6
19	Brendon Hartley (NZL)	Toro Rosso-Honda	4
20	Sergey Sirotkin (RUS)	Williams-Mercedes	1

FIA F1 CONSTRUCTORS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

			Points
1	Mercedes (GER)	Lewis Hamilton - Valtteri Bottas	655	(11 wins)
2	Ferrari (ITA)	Sebastian Vettel - Kimi Räikkönen	571	(6 wins)
3	Red Bull-TAG Heuer (AUT)	Max Verstappen - Daniel Ricciardo	419	(4 wins)
4	Renault (FRA)	Niko Hülkenberg - Carlos Sainz Jr.	122
5	Haas-Ferrari (USA)	Kevin Magnussen - Romain Grosjean	93
6	McLaren-Renault (GBR)	Fernando Alonso - Stoffel Vandoorne	62
7	Force India-Mercedes (GBR)	Sergio Pérez - Esteban Ocon	52
8	Sauber-Ferrari (SUI)	Charles Leclerc - Marcus Ericsson	48
9	Toro Rosso-Honda (ITA)	Pierre Gasly - Brendon Hartley	33
10	Williams-Mercedes (GBR)	Lance Stroll - Sergey Sirotkin	7
NC	Force India-Mercedes (IND)	Sergio Pérez - Esteban Ocon	(59)

[NC - Not classified. The Force India-Mercedes (IND) points were voided and the team was excluded from the Constructors' Championship during the summer recess. The team's assets were sold and re-entered as a newly-formed team also called Force India-Mercedes (GBR) - this team was treated as a separate entrant in the Constructors' Championship]