Stokes’ retirement highlights dilemma for English cricket’s bigwigs July 19, 2022 “Three formats are just unsustainable for me now.” The words of England Test captain Ben Stokes as he announced that today’s one-day international against South Africa would be his last. If that is what the 31-year-old World Cup winner stresses as he bows out of one of cricket’s three main formats, then domestic administrators must [...]
India deserved series winners as Buttler’s ODI tenure begins in defeat July 18, 2022 England one-day captain Jos Buttler’s tenure in charge of the current World Cup champions has not started in the way the previous era finished. Then, under Eoin Morgan, it was a 3-0 whitewash of the Netherlands – which included a record 50-over score of 498. Now, though, it’s a 2-1 loss against India on home [...]
Sky Sports pays more than £880m to extend broadcast deal with England cricket chiefs July 14, 2022 Sky Sports has agreed a four-year extension to its current deal as the main broadcast partner of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). The ECB said the agreement, which runs from 2025 to 2028 and covers men’s and women’s internationals, The Hundred and the Vitality Blast, would see Sky show more cricket than ever [...]
Another new era of English cricket begins tonight with Buttler captaincy July 7, 2022 It’s almost becoming boring to speak of yet another new era in English cricket but such is the pace of change at the moment that the next one begins this evening. At 6pm at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, Jos Buttler will lead out England for the opener of a three-match Twenty20 series against India [...]
Root and Bairstow shone but England Test team will eventually be challenged July 6, 2022 What unfolded in the sun at Edgbaston yesterday will go down in cricketing history as England completed a record run chase of 378 to topple India and scrape a five-match series draw. The result amounts to the pinnacle of a Ben Stokes-Brendon McCullum era in its infancy but sets out exactly how this Test side [...]
England close in on incredible Test series draw against India July 5, 2022 The target at Lord’s was 277, it was 299 at Trent Bridge and 296 at Headingley; but if England complete their chase of India on the final day of the fifth Test match against India today it will be a monumental chase of 378. On Saturday afternoon, as England began – badly – chasing down [...]
India Test offers Stokes and McCullum’s England new challenge June 30, 2022 Come the earlier than usual time of 10:30, the terraces of Edgbaston’s Eric Hollies stand will be bouncing in Birmingham as England’s Test team get set to play India. They haven’t played since last summer but tomorrow is the beginning of the deciding match of a five-Test series. India lead 2-1 after four Tests – [...]
‘I’m left wondering what price The Hundred franchises could one day fetch’ June 30, 2022 “What does Ed Warner know about tennis?” What indeed? My critique last week of the Lawn Tennis Association’s performance drew this feisty query in the Sport inc. comment section from Tom (no surname provided). It also garnered a response column in City A.M. from the LTA’s CEO, Scott Lloyd. Both Tom (no surname provided) and [...]
England can be the great entertainers of Test cricket after whitewash June 28, 2022 And just like that all is well in English Test cricket again, right? In yesterday’s seven-wicket demolition of New Zealand at Headingley, England completed a 3-0 whitewash over the Black Caps to win their first Test series since the beginning of last year. If after England’s humiliating Test series defeat against the West Indies earlier [...]
A look at England’s former captain as Eoin Morgan retires from international cricket June 27, 2022 “We Allah with us as well. I spoke to Adil [Rashid] and he said ‘Allah was definitely with us’ and I said ‘we had the rub of the green’.” The words of Irish-born limited overs cricket captain Eoin Morgan after his incredibly diverse England side won the 2019 Cricket World Cup at Lord’s after that [...]