England

Kagiso Rabada has defended Dean Elgar’s decision to bat first in bowler-friendly conditions at Old Trafford, citing team selection as the reason for the approach. South Africa were shot out for 151, and Rabada, batting at No.9, was the top-scorer with 36 and shared in the highest-stand – 35 for the ninth-wicket with Anrich Nortje.

Innings South Africa 151 (Rabada 36, Anderson 3-32, Broad 3-37) vs England James Anderson claimed figures of 3 for 32 in his 100th home Test, while Stuart Broad and Ben Stokes added five wickets between them, as England seized the early initiative in the second Test at Emirates Old Trafford. After winning the toss and

Joe Root has praised the honesty of Ben Stokes for talking about his struggles with anxiety and believes the England captain’s openness on the subject will continue the progress made against the stigma of mental health. Speaking in his new documentary film, “Ben Stokes: Phoenix from the Ashes”, the 31-year-old has opened up about the

South Africa’s middle-order batters are “under pressure,” to score runs at Old Trafford after none of them got an individual score over 25 at Lord’s. While Test captain Dean Elgar supports backing the same batters who did duty in the first Test, he acknowledged that there needs to be more runs from them if South

Has England’s B… B… bubble burst? At this point, and despite recent evidence, it’s safe to say, no. And Brendon McCullum will no doubt be saying, “I told you so.” McCullum, England’s head coach, did warn that his side’s new risk-versus-reward Test style would bring ups and downs. In facing a quality South Africa side

Reece Topley has pulled out of the final two weeks of the Hundred in order to ensure he is fit to play in the T20 World Cup. Topley was England’s standout bowler in white-ball cricket this summer, taking 17 wickets across 10 limited-overs appearances against India and South Africa, and said in a statement that

On Monday evening, members of the England men’s Test squad taking part in the ongoing series with South Africa – and a handful of others – filed into the Ham Yard Hotel in central London for the premiere of Ben Stokes: Phoenix From The Ashes. On the face of it, there’s nothing particularly unusual there.

England’s first Test tour of Pakistan in 17 years will begin in Rawalpindi on December 1, and includes in the schedule the first Test in Multan since November 2006. The series will end with a Test in Karachi, scene of England’s famous series-clinching win in the dark in December 2000. The final Test will start

Kyle Verreynne batted in the Lord’s Test shortly after his grandfather fell seriously ill in the stands. ESPNcricinfo has learnt that Verreynne’s grandfather was struggling to breathe in the Edrich Stand and was stretchered out of the ground before being admitted to an ICU ward. He remains in hospital. Verreynne was listed on South Africa’s

Heather Knight has undergone surgery on her injured right hip and will continue to be out of action for the foreseeable future. The England women’s captain tweeted that she would miss the home series against India in September as well as the WBBL in October-November. She said she was hoping to return to the field

Dean Elgar praised his South Africa team for the “positivity” that they brought to their crushing innings victory over England in the first LV= Insurance Test, as they cemented their status at the top of the World Test Championship table in barely six sessions of high-octane cricket at Lord’s. After coming into the contest off

Lunch England 165 and 38 for 2 (Lees 12*, Maharaj 2-6) trail South Africa 326 (Erwee 73, Jansen 48, Elgar 47, Maharaj 41, Broad 3-71, Stokes 3-71) by 123 runs South Africa struck twice before lunch, after taking a 161-run first-innings lead, to plunge England into further trouble on day three of the first Test

South Africa 289 for 7 (Jansen 41*, Rabada 3*) lead England 165 (Pope 73, Rabada 5-52, Nortje 3-63) by 124 runs South Africa had refused to believe the hype around England in the build-up to this Test, and they found contributors from all quarters while maintaining the ascendency on day two at Lord’s – defying

Siraj will hope that his county stint will help him in his bid to rediscover his best red-ball form, after a drop-off in his returns during his last two Test tours. After taking just three wickets in two Tests in South Africa at the turn of the year, at an average of 51.00, Siraj had

The Heyhoe Flint Gate has been officially unveiled at Lord’s on the first morning of the England v South Africa Men’s Test match, to honour the life of Baroness Rachael Heyhoe Flint, one of the great pioneers of women’s cricket. Heyhoe Flint, who died in 2017 at the age of 77, made her England debut

Ben Stokes says he’s “happy” for South African captain Dean Elgar and his team to continuing talking about “Bazball” and has vowed to stay true to the new style established under his tenure. The last month has been punctuated by various members of the Proteas talking down England’s new, attacking approach to Test cricket ahead

“It’s the last time I will ever write on a whiteboard, because I needed to ask how to spell ‘environment’.” Who’d have thought we would see the day when Ben Stokes is at the front of the class, pen in hand, not writing lines on a board. Instead, here he was on Sunday in the

Big Picture Amidst the tumult, a return to more familiar rhythms – albeit with the expectation of a modernist twist here and there. For five days this week, it might even be possible to pretend it is Situation Normal in the febrile world of international cricket, where a packed house at Lord’s will burble and

James Anderson has expressed his sadness at Trent Boult’s request to be released from his central contract to improve his availability to T20 leagues, and fears Test cricket will struggle in the changing landscape. Following conversations with New Zealand Cricket, Boult and the board agreed to a parting of ways that by no means ends

Tymal Mills will miss the rest of the Hundred through injury but remains hopeful that he could squeeze his way into England’s T20 World Cup squad. Mills’ impressive form for Sussex and Southern Brave last year earned him a starting berth for England in the UAE but he suffered a thigh injury against Sri Lanka

Yorkshire’s Adam Lyth has been suspended from bowling in ECB competitions following an independent assessment of his bowling action conducted at Loughborough University. The bowling action of Lyth, who is currently playing for Northern Superchargers in the Hundred, was reported by umpires David Millns and Neil Mallender, who were standing in the Vitality Blast semi-final

Charlotte Edwards has said she will need some “thinking time over the next few weeks” to weigh up whether she should apply for the vacancy of England women’s head coach. Edwards, who captained England from 2006 to 2016, has developed her reputation as a coach since her professional retirement in 2017 and is widely considered

England Lions 672 (Duckett 145, Brook 140, Billings 92, Markram 6-91) beat South Africans 433 (Zondo 86, van der Dussen 75, Verreynne 62, Jansen 54, Overton 5-74) and 183 (Markram 88*, Conners 4-25, Robinson 3-29) by an innings and 56 runs Not so long ago, there were doubts over Aiden Markram‘s place in the South

Marchant de Lange, the South African fast bowler, has signed a three-year deal with Gloucestershire as a local player. De Lange, 31, played two Tests, four ODIs and six T20Is for South Africa between 2011 and 2016, but has been playing county cricket regularly over the last six years. He initially signed for Glamorgan as

England Lions 279 for 3 (Lawrence 97, Brook 64*, Olivier 2-39) trail South Africans 433 (Zondo 86, van der Dussen 75, Verreynne 62, Jansen 54, Overton 5-74) by 154 runs At the start of this week in Canterbury, the England Lions were given a briefing by Test coach Brendon McCullum and managing director of men’s

Dean, the 21-year-old off-spinner, takes over from the vastly experienced Knight, who missed England’s entire Commonwealth Games campaign – they lost the bronze-medal play-off to New Zealand – with a hip injury that has left her needing to use crutches and is expected to keep her on the sidelines for a period of months. “It’s

South Africans 282 for 6 (Zondo 86*, van der Dussen 75, Overton 4-48, Robinson 2-56) vs England Lions You have to go back to March 3 this year for Ollie Robinson‘s last wicket in an England shirt. While “only” a warm-up match as part of an England XI, it had a multiplier effect on the

A tearful Katherine Brunt exited the Commonwealth Games without a medal to show for what had been – until their semi-final loss to India – an excellent tournament for England… and without knowing whether she will play international cricket again. Brunt, England’s 37-year-old seamer, had seen this event as her “one and only shot” at

For England, a potential bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games seemed a consolation prize. For New Zealand, it’s “something really special” and the beginning of a “really exciting time” for their women’s team. Sophie Devine shared her delight as her side stunned hosts England to claim the bronze medal at Birmingham 2022, saying that they

Moeen Ali has become the latest high-profile cricketer to bemoan an unsustainable schedule and predict the end is nigh for one-day internationals. Over the last month, Moeen’s teammates, such as Jos Buttler, Joe Root and Ben Stokes have urged cricket’s governing bodies to reassess the schedule during a period in which England played 12 white-ball