Australia

It’s a sign that a tour is running smoothly when there are very few unknowns about selection for the next match. As with last week, the only question for Australia to answer is around the final make-up of their pace attack with Mitchell Starc waiting in the wings should a change be made at Lord’s.

After one match of the men’s Ashes 2023, Australia are able to get the best of both worlds when it comes to Bazball. They can praise its ambitions, while England do much of the combative talking, knowing the scoreline reads 1-0 in Australia’s favour heading to Lord’s and promising there is much better to come

Steven Smith has detailed how he felt like he’d had “a dozen beers” after being floored by a Jofra Archer bouncer at Lord’s on the last Ashes tour. Smith has made his return to the famous English ground this week, training on Saturday for the first time since the first Test. Australia’s players did not

Marnus Labuschagne‘s dismissals at Edgbaston were something that the Australian coaching staff had not seen before but there is confidence from his long-time batting coach that he can respond in the second Test at Lord’s. Labuschagne edged behind against Stuart Broad, playing at deliveries he could have left, with his first-innings golden duck coming from

Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley insists a captivating Ashes can play a key role in preserving Test cricket worldwide. This year’s series is being played in a shadow of doom and gloom around the five-day game’s future, with Steven Smith admitting earlier this month he has concerns about Test cricket’s place in the sport.

Australia’s two-wicket win in the first Test was notable for being achieved without much contribution from the prolific pair as they made 35 runs between them. That’s the fewest they have put together when they have both batted twice and it remains the case even when one of them hasn’t. It is potentially a daunting

James Anderson has admitted that the Edgbaston pitch for the first Ashes Test was “like kryptonite” for him, and warns that if the surfaces for the remaining four matches of the series prove to be similarly flat, then he will be “done”. Anderson, who turns 41 next month, returned the disappointing figures of 1 for

Legspinner Mitchell Swepson has signed for Glamorgan to play in the County Championship as cover for Michael Neser who is with the Australia Test squad. Although the Australia selectors do not officially reassess the squad until after the Lord’s Test it is a strong indication that Neser, who was initially called up to replace Josh

Scott Boland‘s place in Australia’s side is likely to come under scrutiny for the second Test at Lord’s after he was taken for nearly six an over at Edgbaston. Head coach Andrew McDonald admitted there was some surprise at how aggressive England’s batters were against Boland who conceded 147 from 26 overs across the two

Former Australia and Queensland paceman Peter Allan, who played one Test and is one of only three men to have taken 10 wickets in a Sheffield Shield innings, has died at the age of 87. Allan played his sole Test for Australia in the 1965-66 Ashes against England on his home ground at the Gabba.

Ollie Robinson has stepped up his war of words with Australia’s cricket establishment by claiming it is the visitors who will have to change their ways to keep up with England’s Bazballers in the second Test at Lord’s, despite Australia having taken the series lead with their two-wicket win at Edgbaston this week. Writing in

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has suggested that Ollie Robinson needs to back his words up with skill after the England seamer referenced Ponting’s sledging as a player to justify his send-off to Usman Khawaja during the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston. On the third morning of the Test, Robinson removed Khawaja for 141, knocking

Australia’s hero Usman Khawaja proclaimed the Edgbaston victory as the favourite match of his life after he compiled two epic knocks of 141 and 65 to help the visitors claim a miraculous two-wicket win and claim a 1-0 series lead. Khawaja echoed his captain Pat Cummins who also said it was his new No.1 favourite

Labuschagne wasn’t the only Australian who dropped places. Travis Head slipped from third to fourth despite a fifty in the first innings, while Steven Smith slid from second to sixth after ordinary scores in both the innings of the opening Test. Kane Williamson, who hasn’t played a Test since March 2023 and is out with

Ben Stokes defended his decision to declare England’s first innings at 393 for 8 after their two-wicket defeat to Australia in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston. Joe Root was unbeaten on 118 and, along with Ollie Robinson, had just taken 20 runs off a single Nathan Lyon over when Stokes called his batters in

In a pulsating finale in front of another rapt crowd, England appeared to have seized control of the contest when Stokes himself, armed with a 72-over-old ball, bowled Australia’s Player-of-the-Match Usman Khawaja for 65, to open the way to the tail with 72 runs still needed. And it was 54 to win when Cummins was

Australia 386 and 107 for 3 (Khawaja 34*, Boland 13*, Broad 2-28) need 174 more runs to beat England 393 for 8 declared and 273 (Cummins 4-63, Lyon 4-80) An Edgbaston Ashes classic is brewing. England batted frantically for two sessions on the fourth day to set Australia a target of 281 to win the

It’s hard to believe Pat Cummins had ever seen anything like it. Against the first ball of the day, Joe Root attempted to reverse scoop him over the slips. The stroke, even though Root didn’t connect, heralded a passage of play that sent Australia from attack to defence in five overs. They started with three

Cameron Green is building himself an impressive list of outstanding gully catches, even if he did shell a relatively simple one at The Oval last game before more than making up for it. Here’s a selection of his finest so far from ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball commentary. You would imagine there are many more to come Now

England 393 for 8 declared and 26 for 2 lead Australia 386 (Khawaja 141, Carey 66, Robinson 3-55, Broad 3-68) by 35 runs Australia took two wickets for two runs in a compelling 22-ball micro-session between rain breaks to edge ahead in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, as England lost both openers within four

Australia’s lower order was an immediate target for England with Ollie Robinson terming them as having “three No. 11s” after they successfully ran through the tail on the third day at Edgbaston. Though Pat Cummins, batting at No. 8, contributed 38 – his highest score as captain and best since he made 63 against India

Stuart Broad believes England ended the second day in a “really positive” position on an Edgbaston pitch that he described as one of the slowest he has encountered in his 94 Test matches on home soil and a “nightmare” for a fast bowler. Ben Stokes, England’s captain, publicly requested “fast, flat wickets” for this summer’s

Usman Khawaja admitted he had been caught up in the entertainment provided by Bazball, but added that ultimately it doesn’t matter how a Test match is won while England continue to insist the end-game is not something they are concerned with. Khawaja has experienced both sides of England’s approach over the first two days of

Edgbaston, 1st innings3.5 NOW THAT’S OUT!! Full and fast, pinned in front of middle and leg! Warner is gone, no attempt even to review – Broad has burst through in the fourth over of the morning, and Edgbaston is all over this! “Cheerio, cheerio!” they crow, as Warner grits his teeth and heads for the

Australia 20 for 0 trail England 393 for 8 dec (Root 118*, Bairstow 78, Crawley 61, Lyon 4-149) by 373 runs The first day of the 2023 Ashes started with Zak Crawley lacing Pat Cummins through cover for four, ended with Australia’s openers seeing out four overs following an opportunistic declaration, and hardly paused for

Ben Stokes‘ decision to declare England’s first innings at 393 for 8 after 78 overs, with Joe Root unbeaten on 118, “came as no surprise” to their players. That is according to Jonny Bairstow, who said that forcing Australia’s openers to survive four overs on the first evening represented “a shot to nothing” for them.

For DeFreitas to Slater in 1994-95, will we one day be reading Cummins to Crawley 2023? The first ball of an Ashes series has long held a degree of mystique, and today’s long-awaited opener was no exception. Here’s how ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball commentary has covered those moments since the start of the epic summer of 2005

Big picture: Enter the Ashes paradox At what stage will it all begin to matter? Will it come when the teams line up for the national anthem, when the passion of the Hollies Stand seeps through the implacable demeanours of an England team that has been trained in the art of un-think? Will it come

Yorkshire have brought in Australia A seamer Mark Steketee on an initial four-game deal to bolster their LV= Insurance County Championship attack. Steketee, 29, will be available for Yorkshire’s next game in Division Two, against Gloucestershire at Headingley starting on June 25, and three other fixtures during July – although the club have said there

Ben Stokes has declared himself fit to bowl in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston after training with a heavily-strapped knee on each of England’s three training days. Stokes was due to bat at the start of England’s nets session on Thursday but pushed his slot back in order to bowl around four overs on