The researchers said D614G has a small but effective change in the 'spike' protein that protrudes from the surface of the virus, which it uses to enter and infect human cells.

Manchester City must rebuild for title challenge: Guardiola

The Dukes were introduced to the Sheffield Shield in 2016/17 to help prepare Australia's batsmen for the ball used on English pitches in the leadup to the 2019 Ashes.

News of all that's transpired on and off the football field

News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.

Daniel Ceballos fired Arsenal into the FA Cup semi-finals with a stoppage-time goal that sealed a 2-1 win over Sheffield United

The win extends United's unbeaten run in all competitions to 14 matches and secures a 30th appearance in the last four of the FA Cup for the club.

English champions and runners-up since the league restarted in the 1946-47 season after World War Two:

Images from the English Premier League matches played on Wednesday.

IMAGES from the EPL matches played on Sunday.

The English Premier League is not the same product with fans barred from stadiums but clubs have no choice but to adapt in challenging times, Newcastle United boss Steve Bruce said on Friday. The English top-flight season restarted on Wednesday with two matches after a 100-day hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but access to stadiums has been restricted to squads, coaching staff and necessary personnel only.

Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish has been charged with multiple driving violations after being involved in a car crash during the COVID-19 lockdown in March, police said on Thursday. British media had reported that police had opened an investigation after the Villa midfielder was pictured leaving an estate in Birmingham following a traffic accident on March 29.

The English Premier League said on Thursday that there was one positive result from the latest round of COVID-19 tests of players and staff conducted earlier this week. The league did not reveal the club or the name of the individual who tested positive.

'We should send a thousand million messages for the black people. I'm embarrassed and ashamed of what the white people have done for the black people'

Aston Villa and Sheffield United players and referee Michael Oliver took a knee at kickoff in support of the "Black Lives Matter" movement as the Premier League season restarted

The English Premier League resumed on Wednesday, after the forced break due to COVID-19. Here are IMAGES from the EPL matches played on Wednesday.

The players, and referee Michael Oliver, also took a knee as the opening whistle was blown, following a moment's silence before kick off in memory of those who died in the pandemic.

CA said in a statement it would ensure elite men's and women's teams were "appropriately and prudently resourced" but chairman Earl Eddings declined to clarify whether the nation's high-performance staff and programmes would be unaffected.

EPL resumes on Wednesday with the high-flying Blades travelling to Villa Park and Dean Smith said it was an honour to play the first fixture on the league's restart.

It will be a poignant evening, with both games -- City vs Arsenal and Aston Villa vs Sheffield United -- played inside empty stadiums and marked before kickoff by a minute's silence for the more than 40,000 people to die of the virus in the UK.

Three months after the last ball was kicked, the Premier League emerges from the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic this week for what will be a 92-match slog to the finish.

The unusual circumstances forced by the COVID-19 pandemic will level the playing field, says Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta

According to media reports clubs will also respect a minute's silence for those who have died during the pandemic and kits will include a heart-shaped badge in honour of NHS and frontline staff during the crisis.

All you must know about soccer's return to action after coronavirus

Aston Villa taking on Sheffield United and Manchester City competing against Arsenal when the Premier League resumes on June 17.

Liverpool will resume their quest for a first top-flight title in 30 years at city rivals Everton on June 21, as the English Premier League released its revised fixture list for the first three weeks of the restarted season on Friday. Liverpool are 25 points clear at the top and are two victories away from winning the Premier League, but will have a shot at securing the title by beating Everton if City lose to Arsenal.

The FA Cup final will be held on Aug. 1, the Football Association announced on Friday, after the Premier League said on Thursday that its season will restart on June 17.

The English Premier League season will restart on June 17 provided all safety requirements have been put in place, the league said on Thursday after meeting with all 20 clubs. The season will get back under way on that Wednesday with Aston Villa vs Sheffield United and Manchester City vs Arsenal, which are both games in hand.

Shane Warne, one of the greatest leg-spinners the game has produced, said there is a dearth of quality spinner who can fill in the shoes of Nathan Lyon and urged CA to ensure that states include a spinner in every Sheffield Shield game.

Finch, who is on the board of Australian players' union, said it is not only about the IPL and all stakeholders have to make compromises to get cricket to thrive again.

There is speculation that the 13th IPL, which was suspended indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, might be conducted in October-November if the T20 World Cup in Australia is postponed.

The US became the first country in the world to have more than one million cases of coronavirus. It accounts for nearly one-third of the 3.1 million cases globally.

'I hope we will all look back and think: 'Maybe we were indulging too much'

Sheffield United players have also agreed to defer wages due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Tony Lewis, the former university lecturer better known for one of the most complex rules of cricket -- the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method which is used in rain-affected matches, died at the age of 78.

'If the international travel ban in reality exists for six months, then it becomes a logistical nightmare. At least, for the T20 tri-series before the World T20.'

Cricket legend Shane Warne's distillery has started manufacturing hand sanitiser instead of gin to make up for the shortage of the alcohol-based solution and "save lives" from the clutches of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The disease, which has so far claimed almost 8,000 lives and infected close to 2,00,000 people globally, has led to the cancellation or postponement of sports events across the globe. Tim Paine on Wednesday said the threat of COVID-19 pandemic is bigger than the game of cricket and needs to be taken seriously

Australian cricketers may have to forego their lucrative IPL contracts in the wake of fast-spreading novel coronavirus, the local media reported on Tuesday. The Australian newspaper reportd that Pat Cummins, Steve Smith, David Warner and Glenn Maxwell could be asked to give up their rich IPL contracts.

New South Wales have been named Australia's Sheffield Shield champions for the first time in six years after the competition's final was called of due to the coronavirus, governing body Cricket Australia (CA) said on Tuesday.