2 d. ago Jacob Bethell plays starring role in Ashes Wars Episode 5: A New Hope | Barney Ronay

A brilliant hundred against an elite attack on a wearing pitch shows this England team can survive and evolveEt in dystopia ego. In the midst of death, we are in life. On a throbbingly hot deep blue afternoon in Sydney, as this ghost ship of an England Ashes tour creaked towards its final dock, the fourth day of the fifth Test produced an unexpected late plot twist. Something good happened.Jacob Bethell batted for six hours from mid-morning to close of play and scored a hundred of rare beauty at the SCG. It was an easy, crisp kind of beauty too, all classical lines and symmetry, an innings of layers and gears, of comforting rhythms, shot through with moments of balletic power. Continue reading...

Events

9 d. ago Harry Randall and buoyant Bristol keen to carry form into new year

England scrum-half returned from injury to a side on the crest of a wave and will hope to catch Steve Borthwick’s eyeHarry Randall and Bristol enter the new year with high hopes. The scrum-half has returned to fitness ahead of schedule after hamstring surgery and marked his 150th Bears appearance in the win against Newcastle last Saturday.Pat Lam’s side approach the Prem encounter with Sale at Ashton Gate on Friday after five straight victories, sitting fourth in the table, their attractive style having clicked. A fresh assault on the playoffs looks likely. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago England's win to cost Australia MILLIONS as repercussions of rapid Ashes victory emerge

England ended their long wait win for a Test victory on Australian soil as Ben Stokes' side wrapped up victory inside two days with thousands of fans in line for refunds

Economics

2 w. ago ‘Finally we’ve won one’: Stokes delighted by Ashes Test win but pitch was ‘not ideal’

England captain and Joe Root revel in rarest of victories‘Narrative that we haven’t won goes back to zero now’Ben Stokes shared a hug with Joe Root and spoke of an “awesome feeling” after watching his England side claw back some respectability on this failed Ashes tour with a rollercoaster two-day victory in Melbourne.Of the England squad, none had felt the pain of an 18-match winless streak more than the captain and his predecessor. Stokes had played in 13 Tests here without ever tasting a victory, while for Root the number was 17. With both men aged 34, this tour may well have been their last chance. Continue reading...

Economics

2 w. ago England seal first win in Australia for 15 years to avoid Ashes whitewash

England chase down 175 to win by four wickets inside two days in Melbourne

Events

2 w. ago England hold nerve to break Ashes drought in Australia with Boxing Day Test victory

Fourth Test, day 2: Australia 152 & 132, lose to England, 110 & 178-6Tourists charge to four-wicket win inside two days at MCGStop press. Hold the back page. Drag out the dusty bunting and book three more nights in Noosa. England have won a Test in Australia for the first time in nearly 15 years, chasing down 175 runs in Melbourne to win by four wickets and ensure this Ashes series defeat will not end as an Ashes whitewash.Granted it was not a live victory, England simply dragging the scoreline back to 3-1 and doing so courtesy of a two-day heist on a pitch that made batting a lottery. But given the ordeal of this tour, and that grim run of 18 Tests without a victory on Australian soil, it was not insignificant either. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago England survive MCG mayhem to break Ashes drought in Australia with fourth Test victory

Fourth Test, day 2: Australia 152 & 132, lose to England, 110 & 178-6Tourists charge to four-wicket win inside two days at MCGStop press. Hold the back page. Drag out the dusty bunting and book three more nights in Noosa. England’s men have won a Test in Australia for the first time in nearly 15 years, chasing down 175 runs in Melbourne to win by four wickets and prevent an Ashes defeat from becoming a whitewash.Granted it was not a live victory, England merely dragging the scoreline back to 3-1 and doing so courtesy of a two-day heist on a pitch that made batting a lottery. But given the ordeal of this tour, and that grim run of 18 Tests without a win on Australian soil, it was not insignificant either. Though robbed of three days’ play, their supporters could finally crack a smile. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago England survive MCG mayhem to break Ashes drought in Australia with win in fourth Test

4th Test, D2: England, 110 & 178-6, bt Australia, 152 & 132, by 4 wktsCrawley, Duckett and Bethell help set up win inside two daysStop press. Hold the back page. Drag out the dusty bunting and book three more nights in Noosa. England’s men have won a Test in Australia for the first time in nearly 15 years, chasing down 175 to win by four wickets and prevent an Ashes defeat from becoming a whitewash.Granted it was not a live victory, England merely dragging the scoreline back to 3-1 and doing so courtesy of a two-day heist on a pitch that made batting a lottery. But given the ordeal of this tour, and that grim run of 18 Tests without a win on Australian soil, it was not insignificant either. Though robbed of three days’ play, their supporters could finally crack a smile. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago England break Ashes drought in Australia with victory in Boxing Day Test – live reaction

England chase down 175-run target for four-wicket win Over-by-over updates from Melbourne Cricket GroundTravis Head walks out to bat with his opening partner Scott Boland. Imagine if you had predicted, on the first morning at Perth, that Australia would use four openers in the first four Tests – and that Usman Khawaja would not be among them.“Dear Rob,” writes Robert Wilson. “I’ve got skin in the game as I am trying to arrange an all-night viewing sesh for day (night) three in an unexpectedly swish Aussie backpacker hostel near Stalingrad (in Paris). Logistically, it’s quite a lot of ducks to get in a row and punters fagging all the way in from below-zero Versailles or somesuch only to catch four overs while nursing a lukewarm Newky Brown might have views. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Boxing Day Test 2025: Australia v England fourth Ashes Test, day two – live updates

Australia edge England in wild opening to Boxing Day Test Over-by-over updates from Melbourne Cricket Ground Live scorecard | Geoff Lemon on Australia’s bowlers“Dear Rob,” writes Robert Wilson. “I’ve got skin in the game as I am trying to arrange an all-night viewing sesh for day (night) three in an unexpectedly swish Aussie backpacker hostel near Stalingrad (in Paris). Logistically, it’s quite a lot of ducks to get in a row and punters fagging all the way in from below-zero Versailles or somesuch only to catch four overs while nursing a lukewarm Newky Brown might have views.“But seeing the highlights, I didn’t feel the pitch was as mega-jalapeno as some claimed. Yesterday’s turnstile innings seemed a perfect mix of often tack-sharp bowling, tasty pitch and Ballymena Academy Third Eleven batting (I watched the Duckett dismissal frame-by-frame and I still don’t even understand). Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago England implode as 20 wickets fall on chaotic opening day of the Boxing Day Test

LAWRENCE BOOTH: Twenty wickets fell on a helter-skelter first day's play in the fourth Ashes Test at the MCG, as England staggered their way to 110 in response to Australia's 152.

Politics

2 w. ago The Harry Brook innings that showed England’s muddled minds amid Ashes carnage

Brook played true to England’s values on a day where 20 wickets tumbled — would they have been better served sticking to their positive approach throughout the tour?

Politics

2 w. ago England’s Ashes chaos continues as 20 wickets tumble in farcical start to Boxing Day Test

Australia secured a first-innings lead despite being bowled out for 152 at the MCG

Events

2 w. ago England reeling as 20 wickets tumble on chaotic first day of fourth Ashes Test in Melbourne

England bowled out for 110 as Australia hold second-innings lead of 46 after almost farcical day at the MCG

Politics

2 w. ago Australia edge wild Boxing Day with England as 20 wickets fall in fourth Ashes Test

Fourth Test, day one: Australia 152 & 4-0; England 110Bowlers feast on green-tinged pitch on day one at MCGA record 94,199 spectators turned up to the MCG on Boxing Day and none will forget what they witnessed. An extraordinary 20 wickets tumbled on a pitch offering lavish movement and Cricket Australia were left fearing what would be a second multi-million dollar loss in this Ashes series.The first came in Perth, when that two-day series opener triggered the refunds and left visiting supporters scrambling for sightseeing trips. This fourth Test had the ingredients for a repeat, not just a surface with 10mm of grass but also a touring side in England who, having lost the Ashes and with criticism flying, looked broken before the coin even went up. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Australia edge England as 20 wickets fall on wild day one of Boxing Day Test

Fourth Test, day one: Australia 152 & 4-0; England 110Bowlers feast on green-tinged pitch on day one at MCGA record 94,199 spectators turned up to the MCG on Boxing Day and none will forget what they witnessed. An extraordinary 20 wickets tumbled on a pitch offering lavish movement and Cricket Australia were left fearing what would be a second multi-million dollar loss in this Ashes series.The first came in Perth, when that two-day series opener triggered the refunds and left visiting supporters scrambling for sightseeing trips. This fourth Test had the ingredients for a repeat, not just a surface with 10mm of grass but also a touring side in England who, having lost the Ashes and with criticism flying, looked broken before the coin even went up. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Chaos reigns as 20 wickets tumble in farcical start to fourth Ashes Test

Australia secured a first-innings lead despite being bowled out for 152 at the MCG

Events

2 w. ago Ashes LIVE: Nightmare start for England in response to Australia's 152 as 20 wickets tumble on day one of the Boxing Day Test

The hosts are trying to roll to a 4-0 lead in the series without skipper Pat Cummins and spin king Nathan Lyon.

Politics

2 w. ago Ashes LIVE: Nightmare start for England in response to Australia's 152 as wickets tumble in Boxing Day Test

The hosts are trying to roll to a 4-0 lead in the series without skipper Pat Cummins and spin king Nathan Lyon.

Politics

2 w. ago Ashes LIVE: Five wicket haul from Tongue has Aussies licked for 152 as wickets tumble AGAIN just before tea in the Boxing Day Test

The hosts are trying to roll to a 4-0 lead in the series without skipper Pat Cummins and spin king Nathan Lyon.

Politics