One Direction pop star Louis Tomlinson lived the dream of many fans by playing for his club when he turned out for Doncaster Rovers on Wednesday.
Tomlinson came on as a 65th minute substitute for Rovers in their reserve match against Yorkshire rivals Rotherham as part of a charity partnership with the local Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice in northern England.
More than 5,000 fans – an extraordinary figure for a midweek reserve match between two lower league clubs – turned out to watch Tomlinson, with many of the crowd, some of whom had come from as far afield as Mexico, used to pop concerts rather than football matches.
Tomlinson's day started with a visit to one-year-old Harrison Ellmer, who made a remarkable recovery after being sent to Bluebell Wood for end-of-life treatment as a newborn.
Harrison was given just days to live when he contracted meningitis at three weeks old but defied doctors' predictions to survive.
Tomlinson said: "Harrison's story is remarkable, it's been inspirational meeting him and his family. I can't think how difficult it must have been for them.
"Bluebell Wood is a fantastic place that helps so many children and I'm honoured to be their patron and help raise money," he added.
Fans paid £7 (nearly Dh43) to watch Tomlinson's football debut, with all profits going to the hospice.
– Reuters
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
ENGLAND SQUAD
For first two Test in India Joe Root (captain), Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali, James Anderson , Dom Bess, Stuart Broad , Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes. Reserves James Bracey, Mason Crane, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Robinson, Amar Virdi.
Mobile phone packages comparison
Karwaan
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Starring: Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan, Mithila Palkar
Rating: 4/5
More on animal trafficking
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 3
Sadio Man 28'
Andrew Robertson 34'
Diogo Jota 88'
Arsenal 1
Lacazette 25'
Man of the match
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Dunki
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rajkumar%20Hirani%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shah%20Rukh%20Khan%2C%20Taapsee%20Pannu%2C%20Vikram%20Kochhar%20and%20Anil%20Grover%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Bookshops: A Reader's History by Jorge Carrión (translated from the Spanish by Peter Bush),
Biblioasis
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
