England

It was oddly apt that, on the anniversary of England’s World Cup victory at Lord’s, the key protagonists in a series-levelling win over India were three players whose memories of that day – for differing reasons – were bound to be less euphoric than those of their team-mates. But then there was David Willey, whose

Ben Stokes will not play in the T20 series with South Africa or the Hundred, the ECB have announced. The news came as part of the announcement of the limited-overs squads for the upcoming three ODIs and three T20Is against South Africa, which begins next week. Stokes missed the T20 series against India to rest

Fast bowler Navdeep Saini has become the latest Indian player to sign a contract to play county cricket after agreeing a deal with Kent. Saini, who plays his domestic cricket for Delhi and was part of Rajasthan Royals’ squad for IPL 2022, last played for India 12 months ago on their tour to Sri Lanka.

Jos Buttler admitted that England’s batting still isn’t quite firing on all cylinders, but insisted that the positivity they had shown on another complex Lord’s surface made a crucial difference in the final analysis, as they successfully defended a sub-par total of 246 thanks to a record-breaking six-for from Reece Topley. England’s 100-run victory came

South Africa 360 for 7 (Klaasen 123, Phehlukwayo 67, van der Dussen 61) beat England Lions 253 (Eskinazi 79) by 107 runs A century from Heinrich Klaasen was the highlight for South Africa as they warmed up for the first of three ODIs against England next week with a comprehensive 107-run win over England Lions

The ECB and Sky Sports have extended their broadcast partnership by a further four years, until the end of 2028. The new deal, which is set to begin in 2025, includes a commitment to 90 extra hours of cricket each year, and guarantees that the Hundred – the new competition that was a major factor

England Lions 321 for 4 (Smeed 90, Duckett 85, Banton 57, Eskinazi 52*) beat South Africa 318 for 9 (Malan 103, Miller 55*, Klaasen 51, Payne 4-39, Ahmed 3-54) by six wickets Was this a case of mistaken identity? As England’s full-strength 50-over side capitulated to a ten-wicket defeat in south London, bowled out for

If England had sent Emma Lamb in to bat at any position, she reckons she would have tried to grab her chance with both hands. That the opportunity came knocking in her favoured opener’s role and resulted in a century as England swept South Africa aside by five wickets in their opening ODI made it

Big picture If the three T20Is were any indication, the ODI series promises to be a thrill-a-minute ride. England have built a reputation of going hard from the get-go in both white-ball formats, and India, who have traditionally been known to build their innings methodically before going big in the death overs, also took the

Amar Virdi, the Surrey offspinner, has joined Somerset on a short-term loan, and will be available for the club’s trip to face Lancashire at Southport, starting on Monday. Virdi, whose prowess has earned him England Lions recognition, has been surplus to Surrey’s requirements this season, with their new head coach, Gareth Batty, preferring to hone

Danni Wyatt expects to slip back into England’s middle order for the first ODI against South Africa at Wantage Road on Monday, despite her starring role as an opener in the teams’ last meeting, in the World Cup semi-final at Christchurch in March. Wyatt, 31, made the highest score of her international career – an

Brendon McCullum, England’s Test coach, has said that he has no idea what ‘Bazball’ means and suggested that the phrase has missed the nuances of his side’s new approach. ‘Bazball’ was termed by Andrew Miller, ESPNcricinfo’s UK editor, on an episode of the Switch Hit podcast recorded before the start of England’s series against New

Toss India won the toss and chose to bat first vs England India opted to bat and handed a debut to Arshdeep Singh, the left-arm seamer who impressed at the death for Punjab Kings in the IPL, in the first T20I against England at the Ageas Bowl near Southampton. Captain Rohit Sharma, making his return

Moeen Ali has ended his 15-year association with Worcestershire by returning to Warwickshire on a three-year white-ball contract. Moeen, 35, was born in Sparkhill, Birmingham – a few miles down the road from Edgbaston – and reaffirmed his ties with the city last year by captaining Birmingham Phoenix in the inaugural season of the Hundred,

Ben Stokes and his team of self-described “rockstars” have played to sold-out stadiums across the country over the last month, winning all four Tests against New Zealand and India to send the sporting public into a wave of Bazball-mania. Test cricket, in its new, ultra-attacking form, is back in the public consciousness. But the McCullum

Will Williams, the New Zealander who has played domestic cricket for Canterbury for the last decade, has joined Lancashire as a local player for the next three-and-a-half years with the use of his British passport. Williams joined Lancashire last month on a short-term overseas deal but has now been registered as a non-overseas player across

England 284 (Bairstow 106, Siraj 4-66, Bumrah 3-68) and 378 for 3 (Root 142*, Bairstow 114*, Lees 56, Crawley 46) beat India 416 (Pant 146, Jadeja 104, Anderson 5-60) and 245 (Pujara 66, Pant 57, Stokes 4-33) by seven wickets England came to Edgbaston having gunned down targets of 277, 299 and 296 in their

England’s efforts to “rewrite” how Test cricket is played will leave opposition teams fearful of how to approach the third innings, in the knowledge that whatever target they set might not be enough, Ben Stokes said after his team pulled of a record chase of 378 against India at Edgbaston. Stokes chose to bowl first

“It’s like being a kid again. It’s great. It’s like how it felt when I first started playing.” With the first answer of his press conference, Joe Root summed up exactly what he and the rest of this England side are experiencing at the moment. An hour before sitting down in front of the microphones

Given how the day played out – India on top, then England, then India, then England again – another twist seems inevitable. But it ended with control in England’s hands, with India’s batting coach, Vikram Rathour, conceding that a poor session with the bat in the morning had been at the root of their opponents’

Rehan Ahmed, the 17-year-old legspinner, has won an England Lions call-up for two 50-over games against the touring South Africans next week after a breakthrough season for Leicestershire in the T20 Blast. Ahmed starred for England at the Under-19 World Cup this year, taking 12 wickets in four games and showcasing his sharply-spun googly. He

India 416 and 125 for 3 (Pujara 50*, Pant 30*) lead England 284 (Bairstow 106, Billings 36, Siraj 4-66, Bumrah 3-68) by 257 runs Jonny Bairstow added a new chapter to a glorious summer with a belligerent 106 off 140 balls, but it was India who took control of the Edgbaston Test over the course

James Anderson came out in defence of Stuart Broad after his opening partner was on the receiving end of history against India at Edgbaston. Broad experienced the ignominy of conceding a record 35 runs from his 18th over, as India’s tail rallied on day two of this fifth Test to lift their team to a

As the morning unfolded on Saturday, and England worked their way through India’s lower order, they may have entertained thoughts of restricting India to under 400. The second new ball was only a few overs old, and James Anderson had just dismissed the centurion Ravindra Jadeja. India were 377 for 9 when Stuart Broad began

Richard Gleeson, the Lancashire seamer, has earned his first full England call-up at the age of 34 and could make his debut in next week’s T20I series against India. Gleeson, a late developer who made his first-class debut at 27, spent most of the last two seasons sidelined by back injuries and signed a T20-only

On Thursday afternoon, Richard Gleeson saw a WhatsApp notification pop up on his phone. Matthew Mott, England’s white-ball coach, had sent him a message saying, “I’m going to give you a ring.” Gleeson turned to his wife, Laura, and said, in a state of shock: “I think I’m about to get picked for England.” He

Jos Buttler, England’s new white-ball captain, does not expect to have his best team available to him until two weeks before the T20 World Cup due to fixture congestion. England will play 12 limited-overs internationals – three ODIs and three T20Is against both India and South Africa – in 25 days from July 7, and

“Crikey, this bloke is a leader.” That was what Paul Farbrace, then England’s assistant coach, thought in October 2016 when Jos Buttler stood in for Eoin Morgan during an ODI series in Bangladesh, his first captaincy experience in senior cricket. England, missing Morgan and Alex Hales due to their shared concerns about security, won the

In a small sample size, the third Test between England and New Zealand was perhaps the best example of the problem-solving, spirit and intent Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes want from their team. The reaction to being 55 for 6 in their first innings, the manner in which they picked off New Zealand to restrict

Lunch South Africa 284 and 140 for 5 (Sekhukhune 19*, Kapp 17*) lead England 417 for 8 dec by seven runs Tumi Sekhukhune, South Africa’s nightwatcher, and Marizanne Kapp, their first-innings centurion, frustrated England’s attempts to push for a result even before rain arrived on the final morning of their Test in Taunton. Sekhukhune, who