3 h. ago England’s Ashes has been a disaster but touring Australia with a disability has been ‘too easy’

Going to Australia as a freelance journalist with a form of muscular dystrophy was not without trepidation but an away Ashes was too good to pass up“Australia is not for weak men.” Had I heard Ben Stokes’s words in Brisbane earlier perhaps I wouldn’t have decided to cover the Ashes series as a freelancer. Had I known how England were going to play, I almost certainly wouldn’t.My attendance was not in any way predicated on how well England might do in the series – making decisions based on the potential success of the English cricket team can only lead to madness. But having been born with a form of muscular dystrophy, the physical requirements of an eight-week tour to Australia were more of a consideration. Continue reading...

Events

57 h. 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

58 h. ago See you later mate! England's stars fly home after disastrous Ashes series

A handful of England's stars have flown home after yet another disastrous Ashes series on Australian soil.

Events

63 h. ago England ruthlessly privatised cricket – Australia embraces it with constant public displays of affection | Emma John

If there is one takeaway for England from this Ashes tour it should be how cricket thrives in a nation where it is readily and freely available as the dominant summer pastimeThe drive to Bowral in New South Wales takes you through some of Australia’s most English countryside. Pastoral hills roll right up to the roadside and finish in grassy verges, flecked with yellow and white wildflowers. Alliums stand sentinel around vibrant lawns. Even the eucalypts are cosplaying as beech and oaks. You might be in Hampshire, if it weren’t for the dazzling sun.Just a few roads from the high street – storefronts full of fancy cookware and country casuals – is the Bradman Oval. This small ground, with its pre-loved outfield, has become a pilgrimage stop for the Australian cricketing faithful. Head out to the middle and you’re walking across the sacred turf where Sir Don honed his skills. Stand at the crease, look past the white picket fence, and you can see the family homes where he grew from boy ...

Politics

2 d. ago Alastair Cook outlines stance over becoming England’s next head coach

The former England captain has been linked with replacing Brendon McCullum as head coach

Society

3 d. ago Ben Stokes ready to deliver some hard truths in England's Ashes post

The England captain admits that the ‘Bazball’ approach has not been working

Politics

3 d. ago The mediocre Ashes: England arrived as a rabble and Australia weren’t much better | Geoff Lemon

Australia were there for the taking but Brendon McCullum’s tourists were so poor and ill-prepared they never got closeAs far as endings go, it ended nicely. People streamed on to the Sydney Cricket Ground, wanting to get close to the trophy presentation and to have a canter on the turf. Nothing thrills an audience more than a chance to walk the stage. On a sun-kissed blue-heaven day, the match had finished early enough to leave plenty of afternoon to spare. Later Usman Khawaja soaked that up with his own crowd of family and friends, on his last day as a Test player.These endings are supposed to signal the close of something momentous. Another Ashes wrapped up, another chapter in the rivalry written. Still, once it was done, the whole thing felt like it had been more hole than doughnut. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago The two men who should really be in the firing line after latest Ashes debacle

Coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes are taking the flak after the debacle Down Under but the spotlight should also be on their complacent ECB bosses

Politics

3 d. ago England's boozing, brawling Ashes shambles was a humiliation of the ECB's own making

England's tour Down Under has proved brainless from the beginning and the tourists return from the Ashes humiliated after a 4-1 defeat to Australia

Politics

3 d. ago Kevin Pietersen calls for six England changes after miserable Ashes defeat

England slumped to a heavy 4-1 Ashes series defeat with the ECB set to ‘review’ a difficult tour

Politics

3 d. ago Taking a closer statistical look at where the Ashes urn was lost for England

Jacob Bethell’s brilliant 154 in Sydney lifted him to the top of England’s batting averages.

Politics

3 d. ago England’s Ashes humbling was more a series of letdowns than ‘series of our lives’ | Ali Martin

They landed in Perth expecting to challenge Australia but after a 4-1 defeat and more off-field revelations, the laid-back approach of McCullum’s regime is in the ECB’s sightsIt was billed as “the series of our lives” by Brendon McCullum but as he and Ben Stokes looked over towards the podium to watch Steve Smith and Pat Cummins lift the crystal Ashes trophy under an azure sky, the optimism that preceded this failed campaign felt a lifetime ago.They landed in Perth two months ago with what they and many thought was an aggressive, dynamic England side, finally set to challenge Australia’s ageing champions after three miserable tours. Cue a 4-1 humbling, offset by one maelstrom win in Melbourne but with the Ashes already lost in 11 days. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Former England players criticise Ben Stokes’ captaincy and Bazball ‘cult’ after Ashes thrashing by Australia

England arrived in Perth in November with big ambitions of a rare Ashes win on Australian soil but were outplayed for most of the five Test matches and leave empty handed

Sport

4 d. ago ECB launches investigation after ‘deeply disappointing’ Ashes defeat

England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Richard Gould said a ‘thorough review’ was already underway

Events

4 d. ago England’s Ashes player ratings: Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope flop in 4

England toiled to another Ashes humiliation at the hands of Australia

Sport

4 d. ago Brendon McCullum insists he ‘won’t be told what to do’ after England’s heavy Ashes defeat

A five-wicket defeat in Sydney closed the book on a dreadful tour for England and head coach McCullum

Politics

4 d. ago See the shocking Ashes blunder NOBODY spotted until it was too late

After Ben Stokes fumed at Snicko's lack of 'consistency' on Thursday evening, it appears another controversial umpiring decision has emerged.

Events

4 d. ago England’s Ashes player ratings: Jacob Bethell and Josh Tongue shine amid heavy defeat by Australia

England toiled to another Ashes humiliation at the hands of Australia

Sport

4 d. ago Revealed: England cricket star Harry Brook clashed with nightclub bouncer hours before captaining team in Ashes warm

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN SYDNEY: Harry Brook was involved in an altercation with a nightclub bouncer during England's recent tour of New Zealand, in their latest off-the-field misdemeanour.

Events

4 d. ago England cricket chief promises 'changes' as review into 'deeply disappointing' Ashes defeat begins

The most hotly anticipated series in a generation ended in a humbling defeat

Politics