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Continue reading...It had to be Shane Warne: the Ashes Elvis had an aura that eclipsed all others | Barney Ronay
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
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.
Continue reading...The 100 greatest men’s Ashes cricketers of all time: the top 10 – video
Sport’s famous rivalry began in 1877 and since then 853 men have featured in Australia v England Tests. But who are the best? Here are our top 10 …
Continue reading...Stand aside Australia, New Zealand are now England’s No 1 sporting rival | Emma John
Harmonious Kiwi teamwork across various sports should fill us with frustrated envy – if only to annoy some Aussies
Do we talk about England and Australia’s sporting rivalry too much? In the past couple of weeks, we haven’t had much choice. The rugby league Kangaroos have been hopping about between London, Liverpool and Leeds, while the Wallabies grazed on the Twickenham turf. In F1, Bristol-born Lando Norris has been getting booed on track during his relentless comeback against his Melburnian McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri. And that personal battle has reached its climax just in time for the much-hyped men’s Ashes – with England kicking off their tour in Perth to already hysterical headlines.
This weekend brings a pause in hostilities. One Ashes series has ended, another is yet to begin. A gap in the calendar before back-to-back grands prix leaves Lando quietly teetering at the top of the drivers’ table. And into that small air pocket – if the Pom-bashing and Aussie-baiting has left a breath of oxygen – come the Kiwis. On Saturday afternoon, just after three o’clock, New Zealand’s rugby union team will run out against England in west London. And by the time we know the result, the Silver Ferns will be taking to the netball court on the other side of the city, in the first of a three-match series against the Roses.
Continue reading...Abbott ruled out of first Ashes Test as Hazlewood cleared to join squad in Perth
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.
Continue reading...The 100 greatest men’s Ashes cricketers of all time
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?
Gabba downpour hands India T20i series victory over Australia
5th T20i: India, 52-0 (4.5), wash out. India win series 2-1
Storm scuppers final match to ruin Australia hopes
India have won the T20 international series against Australia 2-1 after the fifth and final match was washed out at the Gabba. The sold-out crowd will receive a full refund as the fixture did not reach the stipulated cut-off of six overs.
Lightning in the vicinity of the ground initially forced the players off after India made the most of shocking fielding by Australia to race to 0-52 in the opening 4.5 overs. A storm then rolled in, accompanied by steady rain, to ensure there was no further play.
Continue reading...Sports quiz of the week: champions, challengers, scorers, Ashes and Traitors
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Continue reading...Australia caught in spinners’ web as India win fourth T20 by 48 runs
Hosts fail to capitalise on good start chasing 168
Last nine wickets go for 52 in Gold Coast
India’s spinners trapped Australia in a web of despair to secure a 48-run win in the T20 international on the Gold Coast to take a 2-1 series lead.
India made 8-167 after being asked to bat on Thursday and Australia were tracking nicely at 1-67, but spinners Axar Patel (2-20) and Varun Chakravarthy (1-26) sent the required run rate skyrocketing as the pressure built on the hosts.
Continue reading...Pat Cummins targets return in second Ashes Test but doubts remain beyond Brisbane
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.
Continue reading...‘Baz Bawl’: Australian media stoke Ashes rivalry with welcome for England’s Stokes
Captain labelled a ‘Cocky Complainer’ on arrival in Perth
Article critical of Stokes and McCullum’s positive tactics
Australian media gave Ben Stokes a scathing welcome to the country in the buildup to the Ashes. A picture of the England captain pushing a trolley laden with luggage at the airport was accompanied by the headline “Baz Bawl” on the front page of the West Australian newspaper.
“England’s Cocky Captain Complainer, still smarting from ‘crease-gate’, lands in Perth early thinking dopey “BazBall’ can take the Ashes,” read the subhead in reference to an incident in the last series when Jonny Bairstow was controversially stumped. The article went on to criticise England’s tactics under Stokes and the head coach, Brendon McCullum, describing it as “carefree and careless thrash batting”.
Continue reading...Australia keep options open with Ashes squad selection containing few surprises | Geoff Lemon
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.
Continue reading...Ben Stokes signals 2027 Ashes readiness by signing new two-year central contract
Root also among 14 players committed to national team
Bethell and Archer among the other notable inclusions
Ben Stokes has signalled his desire to play in the 2027 Ashes at home after signing a new two-year central contract with England.
Aged 34, and having sustained hamstring and shoulder injuries in the past 12 months, there was a school of thought that this winter’s Ashes – less than three weeks away – could be the Test captain’s swansong.
Continue reading...Mark Wood: ‘We’re going to the Ashes with an Australia blueprint to put their batters under pressure’
Fast bowler says England have confidence and belief as he prepares for what could be his final series against the old foe
“My dad would be Australia and I’d be England,” Mark Wood says with a wry smile when remembering his first Ashes Tests as a boy in his back garden in Ashington, Northumberland. “I’d try to copy Darren Gough, Andrew Caddick, Matthew Hoggard and, later, Jimmy Anderson, who I’d go on and play with. My dad, who didn’t do the actions so well, had to be Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Shane Warne. He was most proud of his Gillespie but his Warne wasn’t great.”
Wood snorts at the idea that his dad, Derek, might have let him win most of those matches. “No, no, no. It was proper cricket. You had to give each other lbw and every time I hit my dad in the leg he’d be going: ‘No, that’s going over’ or ‘That’s down the leg side.’ I was like: ‘Dad, that was plumb.’ I had to get my DRS right.”
Continue reading...India make light work of depleted Australia bowling attack to level T20 series
Hosts miss frontline bowlers as Sundar steers tourists to win
India have levelled the Twenty20 series against Australia, sharing the blows with the bat for a five-wicket win with nine balls to spare in Hobart.
The hosts posted 186-6 on Sunday night on the back of an explosive 74 from 38 balls from Tim David batting at No 4 and a Marcus Stoinis half-century.
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