Ben Stokes and Steve Smith’s redemption stories offer sponsors an alternative to virtue signalling September 23, 2019 The dust may have settled on an exhilarating Ashes series that saw Australia retain the urn, but for the sponsors of each team’s star player it is just the beginning of what will likely become an increasingly lucrative relationship. Steve Smith was almost single-handedly responsible for preventing England from reclaiming the urn, while Ben Stokes [...]
Chris Tremlett: Graham Thorpe can succeed Trevor Bayliss but tactics and selection are more important than new coach September 18, 2019 England’s win in the final Test at the Oval on Sunday may not have made a difference to the destination of the Ashes, but in other ways it still had a profound effect. It ensured they ended the summer on a positive note, with a different feeling, and reminded everyone just what they are capable [...]
England 2-2 Australia: Joe Root leads hosts to victory at The Oval to draw the Ashes September 15, 2019 England have produced two draws this summer, and while the first might ultimately be looked back on more fondly as it brought a trophy, the second carries plenty of meaning too. In July England won the World Cup without winning the final in normal time. Today they lost the Ashes despite not losing the series. [...]
England’s horror film batting makes a mockery of The Oval’s pleasant conditions to spurn fifth Test opportunity September 12, 2019 Many horror films begin with an opening period of calm serenity. A group of fresh-faced innocence teenagers go to a cabin by a lake. A family check into a remote, eerie, cobweb-filled mansion. A group of friends head off on a road trip across the barren countryside. Initially the characters go about their lives with [...]
World Cup winner but Ashes failure: Trevor Bayliss leaves England with lopsided legacy September 11, 2019 Tomorrow’s final Ashes Test match at The Oval marks the end of Trevor Bayliss’s four-year tenure in charge of England and, naturally enough, the landmark has prompted an assessment of his body of work. The man himself rates his time in charge as a five out of 10 – a straight-down-the-middle judgement which is fairly [...]
England must press the reset button and use their Ashes disappointment to drive a new era September 9, 2019 Not so long ago England were the best Test cricket side in the world. The story of how they went from world No7 in 2009 to the summit just over two years later has been retold recently, first through the gripping film The Edge and now with the release of former England captain Alastair Cook’s [...]
England can’t have any complaints, Australia have been the better side from day one and thoroughly deserve to win the Ashes September 8, 2019 It’s a shame that England are ending an incredible summer on a disappointing note but there can’t be any debate that Australia 100 per cent deserve to win this Ashes series. They have been the best side from day one. Having won at Edgbaston, they dominated the second Test at Lord’s, where they would have [...]
Unorthodox but effective: Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne punish wayward England on day one at Old Trafford September 4, 2019 After their Ashes campaign finally set sail with Ben Stokes standing proudly on the helm at Headingley, England were blown off course on the first day of the fourth Test at Old Trafford. The cold, wet and squally conditions might have been to no one’s taste – neither team, nor spectators, who witnessed just 44 [...]
England v Australia fourth Ashes Test preview: Ben Stokes eyes third miracle act at Old Trafford September 3, 2019 If they want to win the Ashes back England really shouldn’t have to rely on Ben Stokes. After all, he’s already performed enough miracles in six weeks to last even the most talented sportsman a lifetime. This summer he’s won them a first World Cup and kept the Ashes alive, so really in the interest [...]
Chris Tremlett: Craig Overton selection at Old Trafford is surprising but based on solid thinking September 3, 2019 I was surprised to see the news that Craig Overton was coming into England’s side for the fourth Ashes Test against Australia at Old Trafford tomorrow. Chris Woakes is not injured, so the fact Overton, who joined the squad as a replacement for Jimmy Anderson, has moved ahead of both Woakes and Sam Curran raised [...]