England

News England quick hopes to use BBL stint with Melbourne Renegades to build his case Left-arm quick Reece Topley is hoping to use the Big Bash League as a launching pad to build his case to be in England’s first-choice squad for next year’s T20 World Cup in Australia. Topley was a late addition to

News Former England batter won title with Perth Scorchers in 2016-17 Ian Bell was a Big Bash champion with Perth Scorchers in 2016-17 but returns to the league five seasons later hoping to inspire Hobart Hurricanes to the title. Bell retired from professional cricket at the end of the English domestic season in 2020 and

News Preparation is being disrupted by the weather and there are concerns around Covid-19, but the focus is on the Gabba He’s never played a first-class match, let alone a Test, in Australia and the final week of preparation leading into the opening game of the Ashes in Brisbane looks set to be disrupted by

News Former England captain wants law changed to prevent the suffering of terminally ill patients Ray Illingworth, the former England captain, has revealed he is being treated for oesophageal cancer, and has called for assisted dying to be legalised in the UK after witnessing the way his wife Shirley suffered from the same disease. Illingworth,

News England captain reiterates claim that he did not witness any instances of racism in the Yorkshire dressing-room Root’s initial statement on the subject earlier this month led Rafiq to claim he was “incredibly hurt” by his former team-mate’s failure to back up his claims of discrimination during their shared time at Yorkshire. And though

News There must be scope to rehabilitate, says managing director of England men’s cricket Giving people second chances will be key to solving the racism crisis that has engulfed English cricket, Ashley Giles says. Giles, the managing director of England men’s cricket, told a press conference on Sunday that many members of the Ashes touring

Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, has told Azeem Rafiq that he is “sorry for the hurt he has gone through”, after speaking publicly for the first time since being implicated in the Yorkshire racism scandal. Vaughan has been stood down from BBC Test Match Special’s commentary team for the forthcoming Ashes, in the wake

News Review of dressing-room culture and game-wide approach to dealing with complaints are among pledges Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, says that the “earthquake” of revelations surrounding institutional racism in English cricket could prove to be the catalyst for long-overdue change within the sport, as the board on Friday unveiled its five-point action plan

News Non-white female chair steps down with immediate effect as ECB postpone plan to tackle racism The ECB has been forced to postpone the publication of its plan to improve diversity in English cricket, amid the abrupt departure on Thursday of one of the only two non-white chairs of a first-class county. Mehmooda Duke, who

News Broadcaster says “his involvement in the Yorkshire story represents a conflict of interest” The BBC has dropped Michael Vaughan from its coverage of the upcoming Ashes series in Australia after he was named in the Azeem Rafiq racism probe. Vaughan, the former England captain turned commentator, was stood down from his BBC Radio 5

Report The second day of England’s first warm-up match was washed out Experts are warning to expect more than the usual afternoon thunderstorm in Brisbane as rare weather patterns threaten to spoil the Ashes build-up for both Australia and England and the first Test itself. Play was abandoned without a ball bowled on day two

News Coach of Team Abu Dhabi opens up on a successful foray into franchise cricket Team Abu Dhabi have got off to a flyer in the Abu Dhabi T10, winning four games out of four. Paul Farbrace‘s side are the only unbeaten side left in the tournament and he puts that down to a clear

Report The England vs England Lions three-day match is Stokes’ first game of cricket since July England 0 for 98 (Hameed 53*, Burns 39*) vs England Lions Rain and some impressive batting from England’s openers delayed Ben Stokes‘ low-profile return to cricket before next month’s Ashes opener at the Gabba. The England allrounder arrived at

News Seamer tore knee cartilage in training on the Gold Coast, will also maiden BBL stint at Perth Scorchers Brydon Carse has been ruled out of England Lions’ tour of Australia after suffering a serious knee injury at training. Carse, the 26-year-old Durham seam bowler, tore the cartilage in his right knee during a practice

News Nottinghamshire expand investigation after photos emerge of Hales at fancy dress party in 2009 Alex Hales has apologised and will be subject to an investigation by Nottinghamshire after the publication of photos of him in blackface. Hales said that posing as the rapper Tupac Shakur at a fancy dress party in 2009 was “incredibly

News Embattled chief executive ‘receives backing of game’ after tumultuous week for the sport Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, says he has “received the backing of the game” to carry English cricket through its ongoing racism scandal, following an all-day meeting of the sport’s stakeholders at the Kia Oval. Harrison, who had been braced

News English duo sign up for maiden BBL campaigns Evans, the Surrey batter, has not been capped but built up an impressive record on the T20 circuit in recent years, featuring in leagues in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Caribbean. Durham seamer Carse made his England debut during the ODI series against Pakistan

Matt Prior, the former England wicketkeeper, believes that Joe Root’s Ashes squad has the right calibre of fast bowlers to match the methods that delivered their last victory in an overseas Ashes campaign in 2010-11 – but only if their batters can compile enough runs to keep England competitive across the five-Test series. Prior made

News Perth Test still on the cards with plans being still worked through between Cricket Australia and the Western Australian government There could be 100000 people at the MCG on Boxing Day after the Victorian government announced all Covid crowd restrictions would be lifted on Thursday following the state reaching its vaccination targets. Victoria’s vaccination

Roger Hutton, the recently-departed chair of Yorkshire, has admitted in front of parliamentarians that the county is institutionally racist. Hutton, who stepped down as chair earlier this month, made the admission under persistent questioning from MPs at the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee hearing into Yorkshire’s investigation of Azeem Rafiq’s claims of

News That said, the senior paceman doesn’t expect Australia to play the same four-man attack all summer Australia vice-captain Pat Cummins feels he is as fresh as he has ever felt coming into a Test series, but says he would be surprised if the side persists with the same four-man attack through all five Ashes

News Current SKY commentator and former England coach had made disparaging remarks in an exchange with a third party David Lloyd, the Sky Sports commentator and former England coach, has issued an apology to Azeem Rafiq and the wider Asian cricket community, after admitting to a text message exchange in which he had questioned Rafiq’s

News England spinner says he heard Vaughan question the number of players of Asian heritage in the Yorkshire side Adil Rashid has confirmed he heard Michael Vaughan question the number of players of Asian heritage in the Yorkshire side during an incident in 2009. In a statement released to ESPNcricinfo Rashid not only confirmed Azeem

News The trio will be formally inducted before the T20 World Cup final on Sunday in Dubai Janette Brittin, Mahela Jayawardene and Shaun Pollock have been inducted into ICC Cricket Hall of Fame and the formal induction will take place before the T20 World Cup 2021 final between New Zealand and Australia at the Dubai

Joe Root, England’s captain, has pledged to stick by Yorkshire in spite of the current turmoil surrounding the club, and help to reform it from within, as he called on the sport, and wider society, to “eradicate” the scourge of racism. Speaking from England’s Ashes touring base in Queensland, Root said that the revelations around

News “I think he brings so much more than just the batting” – England coach says of white-ball captain Eoin Morgan is the only man who can determine his future as England’s limited-overs captain and he was already making plans for the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia on the bus back from Abu Dhabi

News Squad has emerged from hard quarantine to focus on acclimatisation in Queensland Joe Root, England’s captain, believes that Ben Stokes is firmly on track for the first Ashes Test in Brisbane in just under a month’s time, after making a cautious return to training at the squad’s quarantine base on the Gold Coast in

New Zealand never felt that the target of 167 was beyond their reach, despite losing early wickets and falling behind the asking rate, in their semi-final against England in Abu Dhabi. So said finisher-turned-opener Daryl Mitchell after his unbeaten 72 off 47 balls dragged New Zealand into their first-ever T20 World Cup final. He put

Report With 57 needed in the last four overs and the chase seemingly dead, they teed off to fell England New Zealand 167 for 5 (Mitchell 72*, Conway 46, Neesham 27; Livingstone 2-22) beat England 166 for 4 (Malan 41, Moeen 51*; Southee 1-24) by 5 wickets James Neesham contemplated retirement in 2017. He didn’t.

Big picture Super Over, anyone? By the time England and New Zealand take the field for another World Cup encounter, 850 days will have elapsed since the craziest contest of the lot. Plenty has happened since that extraordinary day at Lord’s in July 2019 – a global pandemic, for starters, not to mention New Zealand’s