England

Not only did he agree that they were, he was able to pinpoint a specific moment too, when a format that he has spent more than a decade playing, watching and analysing made his jaw drop. It was during the second of their six Tests wins this summer, as Jonny Bairstow (136) and Stokes (75

Ben Stokes said that he felt “blessed” to be able to call upon the enduring class and experience of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, while thanking his entire team for their collective buy-in to his new proactive approach to Test cricket – one that has culminated in a remarkable run of six Test wins out

James Anderson and Stuart Broad admitted to a mixture of frustration and sympathy for the umpires at the close of another captivating day’s play in the third and final Test against South Africa, after a capacity crowd was denied the prospect of witnessing an England victory march by the onset of bad light. After being

Lunch South Africa 118 and 70 for 1 (Elgar 35*, Petersen 7*, Stokes 1-6) lead England 158 (Pope 67, Jansen 5-35, Rabada 4-81) by 30 runs South Africa, led by Dean Elgar, carried a 30-run lead into lunch following a successful morning session on Sunday after Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada ran through England’s tail.

On the day cricket took the sporting lead at the Kia Oval in paying respects to Queen Elizabeth II and honouring the new King Charles III, it was Ollie Robinson who led England some way to victory in this match and the series. On day three of the third Test, the first of any play

Lunch South Africa 69 for 6 (Zondo 21*, Jansen 17*, Robinson 4-21) vs England Ollie Robinson tore through South Africa on an opening that was emotionally stirring and physically scintillating in equal measure as cricket resumed following a day of respect to honour Her Majesty, the Queen, who died on Thursday. On what remains the

The third Test between England and South Africa will resume on Saturday “to pay tribute” to Queen Elizabeth II. However, there will be no extension of the Test, with South Africa set to depart from the UK on Tuesday. Following the death of the Queen, day two at the Kia Oval was cancelled as a

New ECB chair Richard Thompson has described the current County schedule as “the worst game of Jenga ever”, and has promised to ensure the County Championship holds its own in the jostle with three other formats in the English season. Thompson, formerly chair at Surrey, began a five-year term in his role at the start

The third Test between England and South Africa at the Kia Oval has been suspended following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. The announcement of the Queen’s death at the age of 96 came at 6.30pm on Thursday, the scheduled first day of the Test, after which the ECB confirmed that no scheduled cricket would

Toss England bowl first vs South Africa England captain Ben Stokes has won the toss and asked South Africa to bat first under threatening skies in the third and final Test at The Oval. With the series locked at 1-1 and South Africa targeting top spot on the WTC points table – they currently sit

On Friday, after news of Jonny Bairstow’s freak leg break was made public, along with confirmation he was out for the rest of the year, Jos Buttler was already putting the feelers out regarding his replacement in the T20 World Cup squad. The identity of the alternate in his mind was under no doubt. Alex

It’s nine months away from the World Test Championship final but South Africa are already playing what captain Dean Elgar has labelled “pretty much like a World Cup final,” in the deciding Test against England. With the series locked 1-1 and South Africa sitting second on the WTC points table, 12 behind Australia, the significance

Alex Hales has earned a recall by England for the first time since his banishment from the set-up prior to the 2019 ODI World Cup. He has been named as Jonny Bairstow’s replacement for the men’s T20 World Cup in Australia, as well as the preceding tour to Pakistan, which gets underway next week. Hales,

The South African captain was the victim of a hostile throw from his own coach, Mark Boucher, which bounced off the front of his shoulder and hit him on the grille. Elgar was later spotted holding the arm awkwardly with an ice pack to the injured area, and he did not take part in any

Rob Key says the decision to drop Jason Roy was the most deliberated-over part of a “fiddly” selection for England’s 15-man squad for the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup. Having been almost an ever-present in the limited-overs teams since 2015, with 171 caps and 5500 runs across both white-ball codes, the opening batter has endured a

England are yet to name a replacement. Will Jacks, the Surrey and Oval Invincibles opener, is the most likely candidate after he was named in the squad to tour Pakistan immediately before the World Cup, but Alex Hales, Jason Roy, James Vince and Joe Root are among the other names who could come back into

Ben Stokes has been recalled to England’s 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup in Australia, but will sit out the preceding seven-match tour of Pakistan, for which his fellow World Cup selections Chris Woakes and Mark Wood are among the notable returnees in an enlarged 19-player squad. The Pakistan series – England’s first visit

Jason Roy is expected to be the high-profile omission from England’s T20I squad for next month’s tour of Pakistan, and thereafter the T20 World Cup in Australia in October, after failing to emerge from a season-long form slump. Roy, 32, was an integral influence within the white-ball dressing-room under Eoin Morgan’s leadership, and a mainstay

England men have named an unchanged squad for the third Test against South Africa that begins next Thursday (8 September) at the Kia Oval. Following an innings-and-85-run victory at Emirates Old Trafford, squaring the series at one apiece after the Proteas triumphed by an innings and 12 runs in the first Test at Lord’s, the

Hardik Pandya‘s all-round performance in India’s opening game of the 2022 Asia Cup has helped him jump eight places on the T20I allrounder’s rankings to a career-best fifth position. Hardik was instrumental in India’s five-wicket victory against Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday. Hitting the hard lengths consistently, Hardik picked up 3 for 25 in his

Moeen Ali has confirmed that he will be joining Sharjah Warriors in the International League T20 this winter, following a tussle for his signature that may yet result in him appearing in South Africa’s new competition as well, the dates of which are set to overlap with the UAE-based franchise league. Speaking on Wednesday, Graeme

Chris Lynn will return to Northamptonshire in 2023 for the T20 Blast but James Pattinson has been released from the rest of his Nottinghamshire contract. Pattinson, the 32-year-old seamer who retired from international cricket last year, signed a year-long deal with Notts for 2022 but said he needed to give his body a break and

James Anderson hailed Ben Stokes as “an absolute freak” for his remarkable all-round exploits in the second Test at Emirates Old Trafford, but joked that he could be better still if he had “a body that functioned properly”, after England squared the series against South Africa with a crushing innings-and-85-run victory. Stokes was named as

On Wednesday, on the eve of the second Test against South Africa, Ben Stokes and Stuart Broad were driving back to the team hotel after a round of golf at The Mere Golf Resort & Spa. It was here that Broad first heard he would not be taking the new ball at Emirates Old Trafford.

England’s injury crisis has deepened ahead of their seven-match T20I series in Pakistan and the T20 World Cup this winter, with Liam Livingstone becoming the latest to be ruled out of the final stages of the men’s Hundred. Livingstone was the MVP at the 2021 men’s Hundred as Birmingham Phoenix finished top of the table

A broken car with new wheels is still a broken car. So even if you blur out Dean Elgar’s dismissal by James Anderson for the sixth time in 11 matches; Sarel Erwee’s almost hour-long vigil ending with an edge; Aiden Markram failing again, and South Africa losing two wickets for 10 runs with the old

Ben Stokes wants England’s emphatic win in the second Test against South Africa to be the benchmark for his team. England’s reaction to a first defeat this summer was always going to be instructive of how much this group truly believes in themselves, as well as the wider ethos handed down from Stokes and reinforced

Tea South Africa 151 and 141 for 3 (Petersen 42*, van der Dussen 41*) trail England 415 for 9 dec by 123 runs Rassie van der Dussen defied the pain of a fractured left index finger as he and Keegan Petersen pieced together a defiant unbroken stand of 87, spanning the entirety of the afternoon

Ben Foakes admits fitting into this new England men’s Test side can be a struggle but hopes Test century number two is a sign he is going about it the right way. Foakes finished unbeaten on 113 on day two against South Africa at Old Trafford, as the hosts declared on 415 for 9 to

A revamped 50-over competition and a smaller top division of the County Championship are among the key recommendations made by Andrew Strauss‘ high-performance review into English men’s cricket. The review, launched in response to England’s 4-0 defeat in the 2021-22 Ashes series in Australia, has reached its “consultation stage” which will see the panel’s findings