Summer came late in 1906, and the spring, harried by a keen north-east wind, hardly stopped at all. May was cold and grey, frosty till the third Sunday. It was dismal weather for cricket. The season started on Wednesday the 2nd, but no one came to watch. Lord’s was empty. The Oval was empty. Old Trafford was empty. The press began to fret. On 27 May the Observer published a leader called The Necessity for Cricket Reform. It asked if the game had outlived its popularity. “Matches are being finished, but the crowds do not come,” the editorial read. “Cricket seems to have grown too old fashioned for these go-ahead times.”

The Observer wasn’t the only one worrying. The next year’s Wisden recalled “all sorts of gloomy forebodings”. Until “the sun came out and all was well”. By the far side of the summer, England was in the middle of a long, late heatwave. George Hirst did the double-double of 2,000 runs and 200 wickets, but Yorkshire were still pipped by Kent, who won 11 championship matches in a row, thanks in part to their brilliant young all-rounder Frank Woolley. It was one of the great seasons of the Golden Age, and when it was over, “no more was heard as to cricket being on the wane”.

Thomas Bjorn insisted he has not called time on the Ryder Cup playing careers of Luke Donald and Graeme McDowell after naming the duo to finalise a roster of five vice captains for the meeting with the USA in France.

Confirmation that Lee Westwood and Padraig Harrington would form part of Bjorn’s European backroom team – Robert Karlsson had been named earlier – was widely expected but the appearance of McDowell and Donald at Wentworth on Tuesday had not been predicted.

The former PSG coach needs to instil defensive discipline, find a new shape for Arsenal’s midfield and get the most out of a wealth of young talent to impress at the Emirates

A quick highlights reel of Arsenal’s away performances from last season will tell Emery all he needs to know about how an injection of organisation and motivation are paramount. The concentration lapses, the losing of leads, the lack of robustness, need knocking on the head from day one. Whether it was complacency or anxiety or a weird mixture of both, it needs addressing. The players should be ready to welcome some new instruction, new guidance, new ideas to give them a fresh start. The fear of surrendering points has become mental as well as tactical and technical. Time to sweep bad habits away.

The 22-year-old midfielder is back in the mix with the U.S. national team despite his club enduring relegation for the second straight season

The new manager of the Ligue 1 champions pleaded for patience as the 44-year-old tries to implement his philosophy at the club

PKNP FC’s training session on Monday night was graced by the presence of a former Manchester United winger and two-time English Premier League winner.

The Italy goalkeeper legend, 40, said he needs a week to decide where he will play next season as the Ligue 1 champions circle

More changes at Kelantan and this time around it is the turn of the imports to be updated.