Aussies dreaming of attending an Ashes Test abroad next year will not only have a revitalised Ollie Robinson to deal with after a major price hike in tickets that English great Michael Vaughan has described as “pure greed” and “really poor”.
Test cricket ponders end times again, but this decline feels both real and symbolic | Emma John
Series and matches are getting shorter as the sport’s pace of change quickens – as if cricket is a proxy for wider fears
There was a strange atmosphere on the final day of the Lord’s Test last week. It was a bank holiday Sunday, Jofra Archer was bowling the occasional rocket, and England were about to wrap up a much-needed series victory over Pakistan. The ground wasn’t full – it’s harder to sell day-four tickets in advance these days – and you couldn’t help the feeling that the denouement was a little, well, flat. Yes, the home crowd enjoyed the win. They’d have liked a bit more contest too.
Instead, it was the Pakistan Cricket Board that delivered the fifth-day drama, issuing an immediate recall of nearly half the team as if they were a bad batch of eggs. Perhaps some will see it as the decisive display of authority that Aaqib Javed, Pakistan’s director of high performance, would like them to give. For others, well-versed in the board’s volatile leadership, it’s just the PCB doing PCB things.
Continue reading...No. 1 to ‘laughing stock’: Inside cricket’s ugly 10-year fall … and Dizzy axing that sparked chaos
Ten years ago, Pakistan cricket stood on top of the world.
Pakistan drama deepens over ‘embarrassing’ King meeting… and one star refused to go
Pakistan’s tumultuous tour of England has been embroiled in further drama, amid reports players sensationally axed with one Test to go were forced to remain in the country to meet King Charles II.
Crocombe takes hat-trick for Sussex, Surrey skittled for 83: county cricket, day two – live
Action from around the County Championship grounds
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Leicestershire take their first Notts wicket, Ben Slater (15) tinkering behind at Ian Holland. Notts 54-1.
Luke Hollman bends his knees deeply in anticipation of Jimmy Anderson, but he’d struggle to get them deep enough to deal with the ball that drops, rolls, and picks out off stump. Gone for 54. Ben Geddes follows three overs later, to Balderson. Middx 151-5 and need a apartnership.
Continue reading...England drop fast bowler Brydon Carse for third Test against Pakistan at Edgbaston
Carse also missed second Test after incident in Derby bar
Matthew Fisher absence is only change from Lord’s squad
Brydon Carse has been left out of England’s squad for the final Test of the summer, against Pakistan at Edgbaston next week, with police still investigating allegations of an assault connected with the late-night incident at a Derby bar last month that led to the Durham seamer being briefly arrested and placed in handcuffs. The Cricket Regulator is also investigating the incident.
As a result of the allegations, and with investigations ongoing, Carse was dropped from the squad for last week’s second Test. The 31-year-old had been in the squad for the first game, but not named in the XI. Sonny Baker, who replaced him for the second Test but also did not play, remains in a squad that has changed only by the absence of Matthew Fisher. Alongside Baker, the other squad members who were not in the team at Lord’s are Shoaib Bashir, Sam Cook and Ollie Pope.
Continue reading...Somerset dominate Glamorgan; Yorkshire struggle against Surrey: county cricket, day one – as it happened
Hampshire make U-turn over Scott Kuggeleijn signing after fan backlash as Warwickshire add to their troubles
Kent’s start is on the crunchy side of autumn. Compton (8) and Crawley (6) both gone. Kent 18-2.
Rain at The Oval too, where my daughter is looking after my nephews and a couple of their friends. If you see an auburn haired young woman looking harassed, placate her with a mini roll. Auqib Nabi is Surrey’s latest recruit.
Continue reading...‘Hope no one noticed’: County backflip on playing Kiwi accused of rape after fan backlash
County Championship side Hampshire backed out of playing New Zealand fast bowler Scott Kuggeleijn in their four-day Division One clash with Warwickshire on Wednesday due to fan backlash.
Grown-up version of Ollie Robinson must seize chance to earn shot at Ashes redemption
Taking on more responsibility as Sussex captain has helped revitalise the bowler’s career, but he cannot afford to take his foot off the gas
Last winter, Ollie Robinson and England were living separate lives on the same continent. To the cracking of crockery and gnashing of teeth, England played five Tests as Bazball imploded. Robinson meanwhile toddled off to play grade cricket for the University of Sydney with no thoughts of playing for England at all.
Eight months later, Robinson’s life has turned upside down. After being dropped in 2024 by England over his attitude to fitness and suspicions of malingering, he was suddenly in favour again. In his first Test back in June he galumphed in from the Nursery End at Lord’s and took three wickets in his first over, a nipped‑back lbw, a nipped‑back catch at short leg and then another lbw. Boy’s Own stuff. He finished with seven wickets in the Test, and an award for player of the match.
Continue reading...Big Ashes twist as Hussey makes call on England coaching move
Former great Michael Hussey is set to sign a part-time coaching deal with Cricket Australia, slamming the door on a move to England, according to reports.
Furious legend quits over Pakistan mass sacking fiasco as Aussie dragged into mid-series mess
Pakistan cricket selector and ex-captain Misbah-ul-Haq resigned following the shock sacking of red-ball head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed in the wake of successive Test defeats to England, sources told AFP.
Why Marnus couldn’t be saved in glaring missed chance; Aussies’ big clues for future — ODI squad Talking Pts
Australia’s selectors have shown their hand ahead of two massive missions next year with Tuesday’s announcement of an ODI squad to tour Zimbabwe and South Africa as well as an Australia A squad to head to India for both red and white ball contests.
‘No room’: Bailey explains shock Marnus call as FIVE Aussies axed in big World Cup move
An emerging star of Australian cricket will travel to South Africa ahead of the highly-anticipated Test tour, but World Cup winning batter Marnus Labuschagne has been axed from the one-day international squad.
Marnus’ likely Test fate revealed after ODI axing as Aussie icon speaks out on ‘untenable’ fear
While an Australian legend believes Marnus Labuschagne’s hold on a pivotal top-order spot is untenable, the Queenslander is reportedly poised to still be selected for the Test squad to tour South Africa in October.
Stokes joins BBL team: Three-way Aussie battle for superstar ends in stunning $500k coup
More than a decade after his last appearance in the Big Bash League, Ben Stokes is returning to Australia after agreeing to a blockbuster deal with the Adelaide Strikers.