9 d. ago 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...

Events

2 w. ago 'Fake pregnancy mum' who fooled family with toy baby 'goes into hiding'

Kira Cousins, from Airdrie in Scotland, fooled her her loved-ones into believing a plastic doll was her newborn baby having spent months wearing a fake bump

Politics

2 w. ago Fake baby scandal 'mum' Kira Cousins denies starting fundraiser to cover new life

Kira Cousins, from Airdrie in Scotland, fooled her her loved-ones into believing a plastic doll was her newborn baby and spent months wearing a fake bump before pretending to give birth alone

Politics

2 w. ago Worrying hidden signs in 'fake mum's' shock apology after fooling family with baby DOLL

Kira Cousins confessed to faking her pregnancy and the birth of her 'daughter', with the truth unravelling after a newborn doll was found in her bedroom

Events

3 w. ago Reborn doll owner says Kira Cousins' fake baby scandal will make people think she's 'crazy'

Jess Ellis, 29, has 15 reborn dolls which she says are 'beautiful' to look at – but she fears Kira Cousins' fake baby scandal will make people think she's 'crazy'

Science

3 w. ago 'Mum' in fake baby scandal breaks silence as 'grandma' discovers grandchild is a doll

Kira Cousins, 22, from Airdrie, in Scotland, shared a statement after it emerged her newborn daughter was, in fact, a Reborn baby doll

Politics

3 w. ago Fake baby scandal 'mum' Kira Cousins issues grovelling apology after doll hoax

Kira Cousins, 22, was accused of duping those closest to her into believing her plastic Reborn doll was her tiny daughter, named Bonnie-Leigh Joyce, after a months of faking a pregnancy

Politics

3 w. ago Wild riddle of fake baby scandal from 'kicking' video to maternity leave mystery

Kira Cousins, 22, revealed her 'newborn baby' - which was actually a doll - was found in her bedroom by her mum, and that none of the family members knew about the situation

Politics

3 w. ago 'New mum' of fake baby breaks silence after 'grandma' discovers tot is actually a doll

Kira Cousins, 22, revealed her 'newborn baby' - which was actually a doll - was found in her bedroom by her mum, and that none of the family members knew about the situation

Politics

3 w. ago Family horrified to find mum Kira Cousins' 'real' baby is fake doll and dad has 'no idea'

Kira Cousins, 22, pretended to give birth to a baby before receiving gifts worth hundreds - only for it to emerge her daughter was, in fact, a doll, leaving her family mortified

Politics

3 w. ago Fake baby scandal rocks Scots community as young "mum" pretends doll is newborn

Kira Cousins has caused outrage on social media over claims she made her loved-ones believe she had given birth when her "baby" was actually a doll.

Politics