2 h. ago Ashes latest: Surprise England call made as Brendon McCullum addresses sack threat

England's Ashes fate looks set to be decided this week as Brendon McCullum's men face a make-or-break third Test at the Adelaide Oval

Events

32 h. ago Brendon McCullum: England have dealt with Australian hostility well on Ashes tour

The team has had to contend with derogatory headlines, photographers trailing players on days off and even drones monitoring a round of golf.

Economics

36 h. ago Brendon McCullum backs England batters and shrugs off job questions

At 2-0 down, England are desperate for a win in AdelaideCoach says ‘kneejerk reactions’ are ‘not really our way’The series is on the line and, in all likelihood, jobs with it. But for Brendon McCullum, the latter is irrelevant. The England head coach has instead backed an unchanged top seven to deliver a fightback in the third Ashes Test and flip a narrative that has already featured talk of a whitewash bubble up.At 2-0 down with three to play, all wriggle room has disappeared for England. But talk of Ollie Pope potentially being dropped, or even Ben Stokes moving to No 3, was shot down by McCullum as his players resumed training on Sunday afternoon. No going back now was the message. Continue reading...

Politics

52 h. ago England cricket team's security guard 'lashes out' at Australian camera crew: Disastrous Ashes tour takes a new turn with airport flare

England's hapless Ashes tour was again in the headlines after footage emerged of a member of their security team involved in an altercation with a cameraman.

Events

57 h. ago Adelaide should be England’s best chance: expect changes after Noosa debrief | Ali Martin

Plenty is up in the air as the Ashes tourists escape the Sunshine Coast goldfish bowl, but sharks are circling for next week’s third TestAll being well, England’s cricketers should land in South Australia on Saturday. Those on the port side of the plane will have spotted the mighty Adelaide Oval during their descent. Although at 2-0 down in this Ashes series, a visual cue as to what is at stake next week is hardly needed.The mini-break spent licking wounds in Noosa generated headlines and interest but was hardly unprecedented as modern tours go. Among the reaction was Alex Carey recalling how Australia’s players scattered after the third Test on the 2023 Ashes tour and he personally visited Edinburgh. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Is England’s failing Ashes campaign the end for Brendon McCullum’s Bazball project?

Brendon McCullum has transformed England’s Test team from where he found them, but their struggles in Australia will not be solved simply by the ‘courage’ that his coaching instils

Events

7 d. ago McCullum’s ‘overprepared’ Ashes blunder may prove England’s Bazball epitaph

Australia’s superior basics have shattered expectations and pushed the broader philosophy into the spotlightBrendon McCullum hated the term Bazball from the moment it entered the lexicon, deeming it to be reductive and perhaps knowing how it might be weaponised down the line. Now, 2-0 down in an away Ashes series that began with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.But McCullum has not helped himself, either. After the gutting at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England trained “too hard” before the day‑night match was like trying to put out a bin fire with petrol. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if performances do not take an upturn. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago McCullum’s ‘overprepared’ Ashes remark may prove England’s Bazball epitaph

Australia’s superior basics have shattered expectations and pushed the broader philosophy into the spotlightBrendon McCullum hated the term Bazball from the moment it entered the lexicon, deeming it to be reductive and perhaps knowing how it might be weaponised down the line. Now, 2-0 down in an away Ashes series that began with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.But McCullum has not helped himself, either. After the gutting at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England trained “too hard” before the day‑night match was like trying to put out a bin fire with petrol. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if performances do not take an upturn. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Brendon McCullum demands strong response from England to rescue Ashes campaign

England are on the brink of another Ashes series defeat in Australia after losing the first two Tests

Events

7 d. ago McCullum insists England do not have a ‘glass jaw’ and can fight back in Ashes

Head coach defends squad’s break before third Test‘You have to be strong and get on with it’Brendon McCullum has insisted that England have the quality and character to pick themselves off the canvas and fight their way back into the Ashes contest, and refused to accept the idea of players feeling sorry for themselves after starting the series with two savage defeats. “You come to this country and have a glass jaw, you have no chance,” he said. “You have to be strong, tough, and you have to get on with it.”England travel to Noosa on Tuesday for a short break before moving to Adelaide to begin their preparations for the third Test, 2-0 down for the third Ashes series in succession. In 2020-21 Australia converted that lead into a 4-0 series win, but in 2023 England fought back to draw 2-2. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Brendon McCullum: No chance England can win Ashes with ‘glass jaw’ in Australia

The window of opportunity in one of the most hotly anticipated series in years is fast disappearing.

Politics

8 d. ago England just don’t get it and reaction to another Ashes thrashing leaves a bitter taste

Comment: England slumped to another heavy defeat to go 2-0 down in the Ashes and move to the brink of a series defeat, but the words of coach Brendon McCullum failed to strike the right tone

Politics

8 d. ago Brendon McCullum claims England ‘trained too much’ ahead of second Ashes defeat

England fell 2-0 behind after another heavy defeat to Australia at The Gabba

Politics

1 week ago Ben Stokes reassures Shoaib Bashir after England hand Will Jacks Ashes chance

All-rounder Jacks has been recalled for a first Test appearance in three years.

Politics

1 week ago Strengthened Australia welcome England to Gabbatoir in pivotal Ashes week | Ali Martin

Ben Stokes is still bullish but the omens suggests pink-ball Test could be a nightmare on Vulture StreetMy first day at the Gabba was 23 years ago, half a lifetime having passed since I slept on my brother’s sofa across the river and followed the Ashes tour as a backpacker. The coin went up, Nasser Hussain decided to have a bowl, and Steve Waugh’s Australians cashed in on generosity.Having not returned until 2017‑18, and then covered the Covid tour four years later, the Sydney finale in 2003 remains the only time I have seen England win a Test on Australian soil. Even then I missed the last day: flat broke and forced to head back to Queensland to find work, I eventually found myself on a farm upstate, shovelling melons like a scrum-half for eight hot hours a day while dodging venomous snakes underfoot. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Tony Christie, 82, reveals how he is coping with his dementia diagnosis

The singer, 82, best known for (Is This the Way to) Amarillo, was diagnosed with dementia in 2023 after struggling with crosswords.

Politics

2 w. ago Richard Ashcroft performs 'special' tribute to Mani on last night of Oasis tour in Brazil

'He had the style, the swagger, and the sound'

Politics

3 w. ago Brendon McCullum tells England fans to ‘keep the faith’ after losing first Test

The tourists are picking up the pieces after an eight-wicket thrashing in the Perth opener, the first two-day finish to an Ashes clash since 1921.

Politics

3 w. ago Confident McCullum ‘planning how to bounce back’ after England’s Ashes thumping

Coach asks fans to keep faith despite two-day defeat‘We’ll head to Brisbane with high expectations’Brendon McCullum has called on England fans rocked by the team’s calamitous two-day defeat by Australia in the first Ashes Test to “keep the faith”, insisting the team’s only chance of turning the series around was to double down on their methods. “You’ve got to block out the doubts and the insecurities that can creep in,” said the head coach, “because if that does happen then you literally have no chance.”The speed at which the game unravelled has left the team with some unexpected time off – though a few of those who were not required at Perth Stadium spent their Sunday playing for the Lions against an Australia XI at Lilac Hill – with management now deciding whether the best preparation for the second Test, which starts in Brisbane on 4 December, will involve sending some squad members to play in the Lions’ next fixture, a day-nighter against a Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra, or ta...

Politics

3 w. ago Bazball faces its ultimate test as England eye golden Ashes chance

Tourists have a clearly defined identity and optimism, but still need to compete in a manner that earns Australia’s respectWhen Rob Key named Brendon McCullum as England’s head coach in 2022, his quote in the official press release told supporters to “buckle up and get ready for the ride”. Now, with this hot-ticket Ashes series a few days from setting off in sun‑drenched Perth, the mix of fear and excitement among them has arguably never been greater.The difference being that rollercoasters tend to stay on the rails, whereas England tours of Australia often career off them. No one is quite certain which way this one will play out, other than a broad agreement that Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood missing the first Test (at least) presents Ben Stokes and his tourists a golden opportunity. Continue reading...

Politics