Andrew Flintoff interview: England will rule the world under leadership of Joe Root March 2, 2017 Former captain Andrew Flintoff has backed England to conquer the world and initiate an era of dominance under the leadership of new Test skipper Joe Root. The 26-year-old was installed as the country’s 80th captain last month, taking the reins from Alastair Cook who called time on his four-and-a-half year tenure following a dismal winter [...]
Tom Curran will not be fazed by his maiden senior England call-up, while the West Indies series is massive for certain players March 1, 2017 My former Surrey team-mate Tom Curran is just the sort of cricketer England look for: young, good skills in one-day cricket, an all-rounder and, with his yorkers and back-of-the-hand deliveries, a talented death bowler. The 21-year-old marched into the Surrey side pretty much from school but showed no fear. Tom is a confident young lad [...]
Kevin Pietersen, Tymal Mills and Luke Wright quit Pakistan Super League days before final amid Lahore safety fears March 1, 2017 Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen, fast bowler Tymal Mills and all-rounder Luke Wright have pulled out of the Pakistan Super League final amid safety fears. Pietersen, England Twenty20 specialist Mills and Wright had been due to play for Quetta Gladiators on Sunday in Lahore, which has been hit by a series of bombings by Islamist [...]
Surrey all-rounder Tom Curran “giddy” after maiden senior England call-up February 28, 2017 Surrey all-rounder Tom Curran admitted he was “giddy” after being added to England’s one-day squad for their Caribbean tour as injury cover for Nottinghamshire quick Jake Ball. The 21-year-old Cape Town-born seamer was informed of his call-up by national selector James Whitaker hours after featuring for the England Lions in their defeat to Sri Lanka [...]
Seamer Jake Ball a doubt for England’s one-day series, although opener Alex Hales returns February 28, 2017 England seamer Jake Ball could be forced out of his side’s one-day series against West Indies after suffering a knee injury during Monday’s final warm-up clash in St Kitts. The 25-year-old, who played all three of England’s 50-over matches against India in January, limped from the field following the first delivery of his third over [...]
Eye-watering, life-changing Indian Premier League deals for the likes of Ben Stokes and Tymal Mills are positive for cricket February 22, 2017 While Kevin Pietersen has a point when he says the lucrative £1.4m Indian Premier League (IPL) contract handed to Twenty20 specialist Tymal Mills this week is a slap in the face for Test cricket, I believe it’s predominantly positive for the game. Some domestic players work hard day in, day out for their counties, striving to [...]
Indian Premier League record-breaker Ben Stokes given permission to miss England one-day series February 21, 2017 Record-breaking all-rounder Ben Stokes has been given clearance to miss England’s one-day series with Ireland in May in order to feature for the Rising Pune Supergiants in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Stokes became the most expensive overseas player in IPL history on Monday after joining the Pune outfit for £1.7m, but faced the prospect of [...]
Ben Stokes ready to prove his worth after securing lucrative, life-changing Indian Premier League deal February 20, 2017 England's Test vice-captain Ben Stokes has backed himself to live up to the price tag after becoming the most expensive foreigner in Indian Premier League (IPL) history. Stokes attracted multiple bids from rival IPL franchises during Monday’s auction before the gavel came down in the final round following a bid of 145 million rupees (£1.74m) by [...]
Joe Root declares himself ready to lead England February 15, 2017 Newly-appointed England Test skipper Joe Root has dismissed concerns over a lack of captaincy experience, insisting he has been serving an apprenticeship for the top job for years. The 26-year-old was officially unveiled as England’s 80th Test captain at his home ground Headingley on Wednesday, having been offered the job by director of cricket Andrew [...]
Vital for Joe Root to take a leaf out of Andrew Strauss’s book on captaincy February 15, 2017 When then England captain Andrew Strauss used to come up to me during Test matches around 2010, he would be decisive. In turn, I would be absolutely clear about my role in the team and what was expected. It makes everyone’s job a lot easier when a skipper establishes that level of clarity and in [...]