Category: England Cricket

• League playoffs clash with international assignment
• Buttler, Bethell, Jacks could have allegiances tested

England expect most of the five IPL players picked for their one-day international series against West Indies to report for international duty rather than complete the rescheduled tournament.

The IPL’s league phase will now conclude on 27 May, two days before England play their opening game against West Indies at Edgbaston, meaning that Jofra Archer and Jamie Overton, whose teams have already been eliminated from playoff contention, will certainly be free to play for their country.

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• Decision comes after three poor red-ball series
• First of five Tests start in June at Headingley

Rohit Sharma has retired from Test cricket, his announcement coming hours after reports emerged that he was to lose India’s red-ball captaincy. The 38-year-old, who quit T20 international cricket after leading India to victory at last year’s World Cup, will continue to represent his country in one-day internationals.

“Hello everyone, I would just like to share that I am retiring from Test cricket,” Sharma posted on Instagram. “It’s been an absolute honour to represent my country in whites. Thank you for all the love and support over the years. I will continue to represent India in the ODI format.”

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• Essex bowler, 27, gets first call-up for Trent Bridge Test
• Four-day game against Zimbabwe starts on 22 May

Sam Cook has been selected for England’s one-off Test against Zimbabwe later this month – reward not only for his excellence in the County Championship but also a commendable, unwavering desire to play the longest format.

Aged 27 and having taken a truckload of wickets for Essex at just 18 runs apiece, Cook could have been forgiven for wondering if the call would ever come. During the most recent winter, with six-figure offers from three different franchise tournaments, he could also have been forgiven for putting his bank balance first.

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If Zak Crawley’s form is a worry the middle-order is not, but Ben Stokes’s role as an all-rounder remains unknown

It may be viewed as an amuse-bouche before the main course of India in June, but England’s one-off Test against Zimbabwe is fast approaching. Selection is imminent – for the four-day match Trent Bridge that gets under way on 22 May and a training camp in Loughborough that precedes it – and after four rounds of the County Championship, the contenders are beginning to take shape.

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Fast bowler was unfairly demonised by beige fans but has just turned 30 and is honing his skills for a tough summer

This season, in an attempt to distract everyone from the fact that its main sponsors are one of the world’s largest steel companies and the literal state of Saudi Arabia, the Tata Indian Premier League has been planting trees for every dot ball bowled during the tournament. At the post‑match presentation, the bowler who delivered the most dot balls in the game is awarded a ceremonial sapling. Which means that on four occasions this season – the most of any player – Jofra Archer has been contractually obliged to receive a small tree on live television.

The first time Archer gets his sapling, he eyes it with the kind of narrow-eyed suspicion any of us might exhibit. By the time he gets his fourth sapling – 10 dot balls against Delhi Capitals, 180 trees planted – he’s basically a pro at this. Shake hands. Look straight into the camera. Gaze at the sapling tenderly, as if he’s going to plant it himself, in his own garden, sheltered and watered, and definitely not throwing it straight into the first bin he finds.

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Leicestershire left-armer reflects on ‘surreal’ Test debut last year, fitness work and Anderson’s advice in the nets

Josh Hull returns for Leicestershire this week, his first outing since that fast-tracked Test debut against Sri Lanka last summer. A winter “beasting” by the England Lions fitness coaches has the giant left-armer feeling stronger, with a more robust base from which to attack a potentially huge year of cricket.

Through no fault of his own, Hull was seen as the embodiment of Bazball braggadocio at the end of last season when thrown into Test cricket after just 10 first-class games as England blew their shot at a perfect summer. It was no disgrace – first-innings figures of three for 53 – but ended with a quad strain that underlined the physicality required.

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