Category: Australia Cricket

• Optus Stadium donates fresh produce after England’s capitulation

• OZHarvest redistributes ‘hundreds of kilos’ of food to charities

The shortened Ashes Test in Perth might have left administrators scrambling to recover a multimillion-dollar shortfall, broadcasters scrambling to fill three days of airtime and fans wondering what to do with newfound time on their hands, but for others, England’s early capitulation in the series opener was a blessing.

A huge surplus of food, which was intended for a bumper Optus Stadium crowd with a third day of cricket anticipated but never used as the game wrapped up inside two days, has been donated to charitable causes across Western Australia.

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• Opener dealt with back spasms in Perth as Travis Head excelled

• Josh Hazlewood’s injury not bad enough to sideline him for series

Australia coach Andrew McDonald has failed to guarantee Usman Khawaja will be selected for the second Ashes Test, even if the under-pressure veteran opener is fit, while Josh Hazlewood is expected to take “some part” in the series despite speculation hovering over the severity of the star quick’s hamstring injury.

Khawaja dealt with back spasms during the series opener in Perth, batting at No 4 in the first innings, then wasn’t required in the stunning day two run chase.

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From pyrotechnics in Perth to the denouement in Sydney, our team of writers outline their hopes and fears for the five Tests

Ali Martin A full-blooded Ashes tour – both sets of supporters in the stands watching a hard-fought contest – after the pandemic proved something of a buzzkill four years ago.

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Australians dominate at the very top of our list but the overall numbers are split evenly and England lead the way for all-rounders

• The 100 greatest men’s Ashes cricketers of all time

• Barney Ronay on the No 1 | Video: review the top 10

More than 800 men have played in an Ashes Test. England picked most of them in the summer of 1989. But the process of selecting the Guardian’s Ashes Top 100 required something more scientific than that infamous shemozzle.

Let’s start with the small print. We asked 51 judges to select their top 50 men’s Ashes cricketers, from which we calculated a top 100: 50 points for No 1, 49 for No 2 and so on. The voting rules were simple. Players were assessed solely on their performances in Ashes cricket, though judges could interpret that any way they liked. (Yep, someone did vote for Gary Pratt.) The judges had to pick at least 15 players from each country and a minimum of five from each of five different eras: players who made their debut before the first world war; in the interwar years; from the second world war to 1974; from 1975 till 1999; and from 2000 onwards.

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He coaxed greatness from teammates, bent occasions to his will and mastered the most complex of arts, but best of all he connected like few others in sport

• The 100 greatest men’s Ashes cricketers of all time

Raise the Playboy pants like a pirate flag. Twirl the big brimmer in celebration. It was always going to be Shane, really, wasn’t it.

We did of course have a countdown first, because people love countdowns, because cricket is basically one unceasing countdown, an endless pencil stub ticking off names and numbers. There were 99 members of the supporting cast to be ushered to their spots, the non-Shanes of history, meat in the Ashes room.

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• Fast bowlers were both assessed for hamstring injuries

• Green does not bowl on day two of Sheffield Shield game

Josh Hazlewood has indicated his hamstring scare is not serious and he will join the squad as planned after Australia suffered a double injury concern just nine days out from the first Ashes Test.

It is not such good news for fellow quick Sean Abbott, who along with Hazlewood left NSW’s Sheffield Shield game with Victoria on Wednesday for a hamstring scan after bowling in the first session.

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Sport’s famous rivalry began in 1877 and since then 853 men have featured in Australia v England Tests. But who are the very best of the best?

• Barney Ronay on the No 1 | Video: review the top 10

• Check how all the judges voted | Our methodology

• Every ball of the Ashes, no spin. Support us today

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• Australia captain is on track to feature at Gabba next month

• But paceman may need to rest during final three Tests

Australia captain Pat Cummins is back bowling multiple overs on a reduced run-up and has targeted returning to the team for the second Ashes Test against England, a day-nighter in Brisbane starting on 4 December.

The fast bowler has been sidelined by a lower-back issue since July and has already been ruled out of the series opener in Perth, where he will be replaced as skipper by Steve Smith.

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The line-up for the Perth Test appears to be locked in after a question at the top of the order was answered and the dominoes tumbled further down

In the end, there were few surprises. Even the most forgone conclusion of an Ashes squad will still create weeks of speculation one way or another, but answering one question at the top of the order has knocked over the other unresolved ones, tipping like dominoes as we make our way down the list.

Barring injury, the only new player in the eventual XI will be Jake Weatherald, the 31-year-old Northern Territorian who in cricketing terms became a South Australian and then a Tasmanian, earning his place over severals seasons of unflashy consistency and a willingness to counterattack. Weatherald would not have made the squad if he were not going to open the batting, which means that Marnus Labuschagne, who was always going to make the team one way or another after getting his run-scoring groove back, will bat three rather than moonlighting at the top.

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England need to turn volume up and lean into tone of exceptionalism that continues to annoy their rivals

A few weeks ago there was a wave of newspaper interviews with the stepson of the king, Tom Parker-Bowles. These seemed at first glance to be about absolutely nothing at all, froth and chatter, a wincing man in a tweed hat talking about how he makes Sunday lunch. Why was this happening? Scanning the text for meaning, the clouds finally cleared. He was launching a cordial.

You might say, do we need … a cordial? What is a cordial? A way of ruining water. A drink that isn’t actually a drink. But this is to miss the point, and in way that is frankly embarrassing and I feel sorry for you. Because this is not any old cordial. It’s not the kind of really crappy cordial you might launch. As Parker-Bowles puts it, devastatingly: “Look, we have Belvoir and Bottlegreen. But they use concentrates. Why can’t we make a really high-end British cordial?”

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Lord Beefy has ruffled feathers with his comments on England’s schedule and he has a point – just not the one he thinks he’s making

It was a shock to hear, this week, that Ian Botham had launched a new podcast. But only because I had assumed he already had one. It seemed impossible that the life peer was the last purveyor of strong opinions to have no permanent platform on Acast. Perhaps he has simply been too content to vent: after all, Brexit is a triumph and cricket is racism-free.

But perhaps he was cannily waiting for the dadcasting trend to peak and usher in the age of the granddadcast. This new venture with his old Question of Sport buddy Bill Beaumont will, undoubtedly, appeal to a certain demographic (myself included) who grew up watching the pair josh with each other across a perennially indulgent David Coleman.

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• Right-hander hits second straight Sheffield Shield ton for Queensland

• Place in Australia’s Ashes team all but assured with knock of 159

Marnus Labuschagne appears certain to return to Australia’s team for the Ashes, his fourth century in five innings making a compelling case to selectors.

Fresh off posting 160 in the opening round of the Sheffield Shield, Labuschagne struck 159 for Queensland at Adelaide Oval on Thursday.

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• England duo trained in nets on injury comeback trail

• Carse insists he’s looking forward to Australia fan verbals

Ben Stokes and Mark Wood are expected to be “raring to go” for the start of the Ashes next month, offering England a timely boost that sits in contrast to Australia’s ongoing concerns over the fitness of Pat Cummins.

As the two seamers with prior experience of playing Test cricket in Australia, Stokes and Wood are central to England’s plans this winter. Stokes missed the fifth Test against India with a shoulder injury, however, while Wood sat out the entire English summer following knee surgery back in March.

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• Australia captain to learn this week whether he will be fit for opener

• Star quick says he is ‘less likely than likely’ to face England in Perth

Pat Cummins has admitted he is unlikely to play in the Ashes opener, conceding a return to proper bowling is still some time away.

Cummins is expected to learn this week whether he will be able to feature in Perth on 21 November, with officials conceding the quick is facing a narrow timeline.

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Australian batter, an evangelical Christian who believes this is all written out in advance, may force his way back for the Ashes

Marnus Labuschagne carefully spreads butter on both sides of a slice of white bread. “That’s the key,” he tells the camera as he brings down the lid of his sandwich grill. “Boom. Then you get it crisp on both sides.” He lifts the lid to reveal a golden square of pure toasted goodness, the melted cheese happily bubbling away inside. “So this is the trick of the trade,” he announces. At which point, he does something horrific and unspeakable.

Already, I sense, a glaze of ennui is beginning to form across your eyes. The red lights of sportswriting pretension are flashing wildly. You’re probably aware that Labuschagne scored 160 for Queensland this week and is being feverishly talked up for an Australian Test recall before the Ashes.

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