Lancaster and Rowntree will seek to reconnect with the game's grass roots, they tell Chris Hewett

Two-thirds of caretaker coaching team will seek to rebuild tarnished team by reconnecting with union's grass roots

The cost of maintaining an acceptable standard of living has soared by up to a fifth for families in the past year, according to research published today.

Michael McIlorum is ready to risk the wrath of his Irish grandfather after switching his allegiance to England.

It's a fact unwisely overlooked by all those people gearing up to run Sunday's marathon that as Phidippides, the first marathon runner, hit the final ribbon in Athens he promptly dropped dead. It doesn't stop thousands doing the marathon of course, or indeed banging on about it afterwards, so it's a relief to discover that there is actually an interesting subject to talk about in the world of running. As explored in The Sub-Two-Hour Marathon: Sport's Holy Grail, it's the race to beat the current record of two hours, three minutes and 59 seconds.

Police said yesterday that they would be looking into allegations that the England footballer Ashley Cole shot a work-placement student with an air gun at Chelsea's training ground. The defender reportedly fired at Tom Cowan, 21, by accident from just five feet away with a .22 rifle, which he believed was not loaded, at the club's training facility in Cobham, Surrey.

Hundreds of thousands of people who come off benefits to take jobs could be worse off as they move up the income scale under the Government's sweeping welfare reforms.

Fresh from penning a new, improved deal which ties him – contractually, at least – to Murrayfield until the end of the 2015 World Cup year, Andy Robinson was asked yesterday what in particular he had enjoyed in his first two and a half years as Scotland's head coach. "The 9-8 against Australia, the 23-20 against Ireland, the [two] performances in Argentina," he replied, editing the highlights to four of the seven positive results over which he has presided in his 14 matches in charges of the Caledonian national team (there have also been wins against South Africa, Fiji and Samoa, plus a draw against England).

Beckwith, Beckwith, don't I recognise that name?

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Ricky Ponting yesterday issued what is usually described as a warning about the poverty of England's prospects in the first Test. It would have been more of a surprise had Australia's captain derided his own team's chances of success in Brisbane, where the series finally starts on 25 November, but then that is not the purpose of the phoney war.