WEEK AHEAD: Royal Ascot is accompanied by US Open golf, Test cricket, and the Canadian Grand Prix to form a cracking week of sport.
After recording a win on his Test captaincy debut, helped largely thanks to a superb display from Joe Root the man he replaced, Ben Stokes will be looking to make it a perfect two from two as the second Test between England and New Zealand draws to a close. Catch all of day four’s action on Monday from 11:00 on Sky Sports. In the evening the Premier League Darts circus reaches its conclusion, with the play-offs held in Berlin. At the end of the night either Jonny Clayton, Michael van Gerwen, James Wade or Joe Cullen will be crowned champion. Don’t miss a dart from 21:00 on Sky Sports.
A win in the second Test would win England the Series. See if they can close things out in the final day of play from 11:00 (Sky Sports) on Tuesday. A big week of horse racing begins with the first day of Royal Ascot live on ITV from 13:30. Feature races include the Group One Queen Anne Stakes, King’s Stand and St James’s Palace Stakes. The next round of Nations League fixtures takes place on Tuesday evening. Scotland will be hoping to at least match their recent win over Armenia (17:45, Premier Sports 1), while Wales have another tough tie against the Netherlands (19:45, S4C). England will be looking to avenge their defeat to Hungary, when they play at Molineux in a 19:45 kick-off (Channel 4).
Racing begins at the same time (13:30, ITV) on Wednesday, with the Prince of Wales’s Stakes the highlight on day two of Royal Ascot.
A world class field assembles at Brookline on Thursday for the third major of the season, the US Open (from 13:00, Sky Sports). Most eyes at Ascot will be on Stradivarius as he bids to equal the record of most Gold Cups won in his final season. All races are live on ITV from 13:30. In the evening the World Cup of Darts begins at 18:00 (Sky Sports).
Play from the second round of the US Open gets underway at 13:00 on Friday on Sky Sports, with day four of Royal Ascot following close behind at 13:30. The Coronation Stakes, Commonwealth Cup and five other races are all live on ITV. Scotland have won two of the last three World Cup of Darts, and their team of Peter Wright and John Henderson begin their title defence against the Hong Kong pairing. The first round concludes from 18:00 on Sky Sports.
The World Cup of Darts second round begins at 12:00 (Sky Sports) on Saturday. Royal Ascot’s final day (from 13:30, ITV) features the Group One Platinum Jubilee Stakes. Jon Rahm is the current holder of the US Open and will be looking to cling on to the trophy as play heads into the weekend in Massachusetts (16:00, Sky Sports). Madison Square Gardens hosts the light-heavyweight unification bout between unbeaten Russian fighter Artur Beterbiev and Joe Smith Jr. Watch live from the early hours of Sunday at 02:00 on Sky Sports.
On Sunday the World Cup of Darts reaches its climax. The quarter finals take place during the morning session (beginning 12:00, Sky Sports), with the semi finals and final in the evening. Last year the US Open final round served up a remarkable finish, as Jon Rahm birdied both the 17th and 18th to snatch the championship from long-time leader Louis Oosthuizen. Could we be in for similar drama this year? Play begins at 14:00 on Sky Sports. The week concludes with the Canadian Grand Prix (19:00, Sky Sports) – the next leg in the battle between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc for the Drivers’ Championship.
