From the moment Michaelmas cranked into life on October 8th, a plethora of gripping sports stories were on hand to temporarily relieve weary Cantabrigians from the burdens of academia. Amidst windy days, long nights, and bleary eyes, the sporting world helped punctuate the rigours of term with a mixture of magnificence, mediocrity, and drama. Below are ten of sport’s most singular Michaelmas moments.

Root’s relentless runs, 9th October

As the hedonism of fresher’s week began to dwindle, Joe Root continued to churn out runs in test cricket, unfurling a sumptuous straight drive to take his career tally beyond 12,472 test runs and become England’s highest test match run scorer in history. Described as his country’s “greatest ever batter” by Sir Alastair Cook – the man Root surpassed on his way to the record – the Yorkshireman’s seemingly insatiable appetite for runs leaves him fifth on the all-time global batting charts, with the summit well in his sights.

England’s record-breaking rugby ranking, 13th October

After notching a staggering 20th consecutive victory, the England women’s rugby team achieved the sport’s highest world ranking score of all time this Autumn. Having beaten Canada to become 2024 WXV 1 champions, the Red Roses’ ranking reached a peerless 97.56, making them the statistically greatest rugby team of all time in the eyes of World Rugby. No team in the sport’s history, including even the most legendary of All Blacks sides, had ever obtained a world ranking above the 97 points mark previously.

Red Roses’ ranking reached a peerless 97.56, making them the statistically greatest rugby team of all time in the eyes of World Rugby

Thomas Tuchel’s shock appointment, 16th October

The weight of unfulfilled English footballing dreams was placed on a fresh set of shoulders as Thomas Tuchel was appointed the next coach of the men’s national side. To some, the proven winner and renowned tactician is the ideal man to fully unleash England’s attacking potency and finally end their trophy drought. Others thought his German roots should have instantly disqualified him from consideration, feeling rankled by the perceived betrayal of English managerial prospects, irrespective of Tuchel’s on-field credentials.

New Zealand’s Perfect Weekend, 19th-20th October

When New Zealand won world sport’s oldest international competition, sailing’s America’s Cup, for a record-breaking third time in a row, few expected it would become a sporting footnote by the end of the weekend. A brace of football and netball victories over Trans-Tasman foes by Auckland FC and the Silver Ferns brought further revelry before the national cricket teams produced one of the finest days in the sport’s history on Sunday. The barely fancied men’s side defeated an all-conquering Indian test outfit by eight wickets, marking the Kiwis’ first test triumph on Indian soil in some 36 years, only to be outshone mere hours later when the White Ferns won their first-ever Women’s T20 World Cup title. Quite the 48 hours, let alone for a nation of just 5 million people.

High drama at the Ballon d’Or, 28th October

On a truly remarkable night, football’s most prestigious club boycotted the sport’s most prestigious awards ceremony before Rodri became the first Premier League player to win the Ballon d’Or in 16 years, while English manager Emma Hayes was the inaugural recipient of the Women’s Johan Cruyff Trophy. Despite Real Madrid snagging both the men’s club and manager of the year awards, the supposedly ‘not respected’ Spanish titans opted to snub the ceremony in protest against firm favourite Vinícius Júnior not winning the men’s individual accolade.

Manchester City’s astonishing form slump, 30th October-?

Having triumphed in six of the last seven Premier League seasons, including each of the last four editions, the once unstoppable Manchester City juggernaut finally hit some serious turbulence this Michaelmas. Eyebrows were raised after Pep Guardiola’s former winning machine stuttered to successive defeats against Tottenham and Bournemouth, ending a 32-match unbeaten Premier League run in the process. Things were to only get more calamitous as Autumn wore deeper, with minnows San Marino even registering more wins (one) in November than the Sky Blues, who are still enduring an unprecedented nadir.

Eyebrows were raised after Pep Guardiola’s former winning machine stuttered to successive defeats against Tottenham and Bournemouth

WTA Finals cause a stir, 2nd-9th November

Hosting women’s tennis’ season-ending championship in Saudi Arabia was never going to be without controversy. Many hit out at perceived sportswashing and raised very real concerns over the country’s record on human – and especially women’s – rights, while others felt the marquee tournament could provide a force for change in Saudi Arabian women’s sport. On the court, eventual champion Coco Gauff battled past world number one Aryna Sabalenka and second-ranked Iga Swiatek on her way to securing $4,805,000 in prize money, the highest sum in women’s tennis history.

Wales’s Autumn Agony, 10th-23rd November

Welsh rugby appeared to hit rock-bottom when their defeat to Fiji saw Warren Gatland’s side match their country’s record international losing run. The Dragons were to only sink further into the mire, enduring a trouncing by Australia and a battering at the hands of South Africa. These drubbings brought more unwanted entrances into the history books, as Wales was left without a win in a calendar year for the first time since 1937.

Nadal’s last dance, 19th November

Could any finale begin to befit Rafael Nadal’s legend? An ever-humble sporting icon, the greatest clay court player of all time, and tennis’s most indefatigable spirit forced by an ailing body to bring one of the sport’s most storied careers to a close. After announcing he would bow out at November’s Davis Cup, Nadal’s curtain call felt as anticlimactic as they come; he was outgunned by Botic van de Zandschulp in what proved to be his final match before being left to wait on the sidelines as results around him determined whether he would potentially grace the court once more in the competition’s next round. As the tears subsequently flowed around the arena in Málaga, the tennis world was forced to come to terms with Nadal’s truly wicked forehand, quirky pre-point routines, and superlative on-court demeanour being consigned to history.

Masterful Max Verstappen wins world title yet again, 24th November

Red Bull’s unstoppable champion sealed a fourth Formula One World Championship on the bounce to further cement himself as the grid’s pre-eminent driver. Faced with a gutsy challenger in Lando Norris and hampered by a car increasingly riddled with issues, Verstappen’s sheer brilliance was still able to triumph, sealing what many have dubbed his greatest F1 title to date.