3 d. ago England spinner Shoaib Bashir finds new county after Ashes snub

Bashir did not feature in a single Test as England were beaten 4-1 in Australia

Politics

8 d. ago JIMMY ANDERSON: Why England stars need to go back to their counties and prove their worth after Ashes debacle

SIR JAMES ANDERSON: The first thing I would insist upon is players going back into county cricket to prove they are good enough to face New Zealand at Lord's in June.

Politics

2 w. ago Ben Stokes calls for players to put team first as England seek Sydney win

A 3-2 series loss is the best the tourists can hope to salvage at the SCG.

Sport

2 w. ago Eternal 31 makes Crawley the tallest small person in England’s Ashes pyre

Series in Australia was meant to bring the best out of opener but he goes into Sydney Test with questions unansweredIt seems a little distant now, a little by-the-by, that this Ashes series was billed, among other things, as a referendum on Zak Crawley’s England career. The tour he was groomed for. The hidden sub-menace in his one-year central contract offer. Here was a chance to justify the high-wire walk of the last few years, to find an answer, perhaps, to the eternal question: is Zak Crawley actually any good?In the event other things have happened, other warning lights blinked, other elements of England’s collective failure creaked more urgently. Shoaib Bashir, the project spinner, plucked from social media for this tour, is in the 12 for Sydney. He hasn’t taken a wicket in a proper game since July. Good luck babe! Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago England set to hand out Ashes debut with Shoaib Bashir also in contention for fifth Test squad

Potts and Bashir have both been named in a 12-man squad for Sunday’s fifth Test at Sydney, with Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes set to make a late call

Politics

2 w. ago Matthew Potts set for Ashes opportunity and England mull Shoaib Bashir option

Potts and Bashir have both been named in a 12-man squad for Sunday’s fifth Test at Sydney.

Politics

2 w. ago England seamer Matthew Potts likely to make Ashes debut in Sydney

Potts and spinner Shoaib Bashir have both been named in a 12-man squad for Sunday’s fifth Test at Sydney.

Politics

2 w. ago Spin bowling on the back foot with pace dominating quickfire Ashes

Nathan Lyon has been the only specialist spinner on show with touring tweaker Shoaib Bashir sidelined by England Disappointment can be found in all corners of this Ashes series. England’s victory came too late. Australia may have secured the urn again but Glenn McGrath’s usual prediction didn’t hold. It’s been a serious letdown for the neutral, never mind that a 3-2 scoreline is still in the offing. This was meant to be the one where England had a shot, where the Sydney finale would actually have something on the line beyond World Test Championship points.Instead we’ve had 13 days of play out of 20, star quicks from both sides missing hefty chunks or all of it and stern-faced discussions about how much grass was left on the “G”. It’s fallen well short as a spectacle. Part of that lies in the absence of the slow stuff, a lack of high-quality spin ruining the show. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Australia mull over spin question as Todd Murphy enters mix with plenty to play for

Off-spinner not guaranteed spot in XI but may have key role against a side that will try to clear the boundaryIt would really be something. A Victorian spin bowler – one from St Kilda Cricket Club, no less – walking out on Boxing Day to play an Ashes Test in the shadow of the Shane Warne Stand at the MCG. Todd Murphy is not much like Warne in most respects: quiet, modest, thoughtful, bespectacled, a student of the even tempered practice of off-spin bowling rather than the lavish excess of leg-spin. But still. The links that do exist are too appealing to ignore.Not that Murphy is guaranteed to play the fourth Test in place of the injured Nathan Lyon, with Australia’s coach, Andrew McDonald, prevaricating about whether to pick four frontline fast bowlers plus an all-round seamer in Cameron Green or Beau Webster. But in picking him as the lone option in the squad, Australia have already given their spinner more positive feedback than Shoaib Bashir has received from England, who have re...

Politics

last month England double down on Bashir as ‘No 1 spinner’ after Jacks toils in Adelaide

Patel: ‘Bash is our No 1 guy and does a fantastic job’Coach plays down suspicions of injury to StokesEngland have doubled down on Shoaib Bashir’s status as their “No 1 spinner” despite omitting their two-year project from the third Test in Adelaide and watching Will Jacks struggle in his place.Speaking after the close of play on day three, at which point Australia were closing in on an unassailable 3-0 series lead, England’s assistant coach Jeetan Patel said Bashir had been sacrificed to prop up a struggling batting lineup. But the tactic has backfired, with Jacks making just six during England’s sub-par first innings of 286 all out and, unable to command a steady line, sitting on overnight match figures of three for 212 from 39 overs. Continue reading...

Politics

last month Jeetan Patel admits England would have ‘liked Graeme Swann out there’ for Ashes

Spinner Will Jacks has toiled in Adelaide while Shoaib Bashir was overlooked again.

Politics