11 h. ago Mark Wood reveals key change in England team from previous disastrous Ashes tour

The fast bowler is set to return to action as England bid to win in Australia for the first time in 15 years

Events

32 h. 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

56 h. ago Jamie Overton insists England’s series loss in New Zealand will not affect Ashes

Overton was a shining light against the Black Caps amid England’s batting collapses, with attention turning to next month’s Ashes series.

Politics

3 d. ago Australia too strong for fading England to seal another Rugby League Ashes win

England 4-14 Australia: The Kangaroos pulled away int he second half to wrap up a 2-0 series victory in front of a packed crowd at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium

Sport

3 d. ago Intruder hauled from pitch at major rugby match as live TV cameras spot him

A notorious prankster invaded the pitch ahead of their clash with England in the second clash of the Rugby League Ashes. The stadium was left red-faced for failing to stop the prankster

Politics

3 d. ago Ultimate prankster manages to pitch invade at Everton's new stadium in 'embarrassing' incident

A notorious prankster invaded the pitch during the England vs Australia rugby league Ashes match in Liverpool, and was not stopped by security until he had sung the Australian anthem

Events

3 d. ago Notorious pitch invader gatecrashes England vs Australia as security slammed

England are taking on Australia in the rugby league Ashes at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium, having faced off in the first of three matches last weekend at Wembley

Events

3 d. ago Brendon McCullum confident England can throw off batting blues for Ashes

Smith, Duckett and Root all fail again in New Zealand loss‘In Tests we have a pretty decent idea of where we’re at’Brendon McCullum has predicted England’s batters will have no trouble shaking off the woes that have dogged their white-ball tour of New Zealand in time for the AshesTheir top order crumbled yet again on the way to a third successive defeat in Wellington on Saturday and several key members of the Test squad, including Jamie Smith, Ben Duckett and Joe Root, have struggled badly in recent one-day internationals. But the team’s head coach believes their troubles are limited to the 50-over format.“It’s a different form of the game and it’s a completely different kind of challenge that we’re going to be confronted with,” he said. “Sometimes the process you go through in regards to batting doesn’t necessarily translate to runs, but the game can come in time. That’s what we’re holding on to, anyway. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Brendon McCullum dismisses Ashes fear for England batters after series whitewash

The tourists were humbled 3-0 by New Zealand in the one-day international series

Events

3 d. ago England batters not scarred by series loss ahead of Ashes, says Brendon McCullum

The tourists were humbled 3-0 by New Zealand in the one-day international series.

Politics

3 d. ago England’s recurring issue exposed again by New Zealand in final international before Ashes

The tourists were beaten by two wickets in Wellington.

Sport

4 d. ago Shoaib Bashir backed to thrive in Ashes as England spinner returns from injury

Bashir broke a finger during the summer Test series against India.

Events

5 d. ago England turn to cricket counterparts for tips in bid to strike Australia blow ahead of Ashes

England’s rugby union side take on the Wallabies at Twickenham just weeks before cricket’s biggest Test series begins

Events

5 d. ago India beat Australia in historic chase to reach Women’s Cricket World Cup final – live

Reaction from the second semi-final in Navi Mumbai Post-Ashes review was meant to change England. Did it? Sign up for The Spin | And you can mail Tanya“Morning from a cold Warsaw,” writes Krishnamoorthy V. “I came to know today (TIL in the modern lingo) that Ian Healy is an uncle of Alyssa. The batting depth in the Indian line up is amazing but we have to wait and see if the bowlers can give them an easy target to chase.”Whatever the target, and whether India chase it or not, I can’t see it being easy. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago AJ Brimson to make England debut as changes made for second Rugby League Ashes clash

The full-back represented Australia earlier in his career but bolsters Shaun Wane’s side for the clash at Everton’s ground

Sport

7 d. ago Australia villain Alex Carey fires Ashes warning to England after Jonny Bairstow incident

Ugly scenes were sparked by Alex Carey's controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow in the 2023 Ashes and Australia's wicketkeeper won't be afraid to cause more controversy

Events

7 d. ago Australia star Alex Carey responds to Stuart Broad’s ‘worst team since 2010 Ashes’ jibe

David Warner predicted a 4-0 home win in the Ashes, leading Broad to call the current squad the worst Australia team for 15 years and now wicketkeeper Carey has had his say

Transport

8 d. ago Steven Finn: ‘Saying I was not selectable was clumsy language and it damaged me’

In his candid new book, the former England fast bowler talks about the lasting mental turmoil that ended his 2013-14 Ashes tour“I couldn’t get the words out because I was crying,” Steven Finn says as he remembers how, hunched over a microphone, he stared at the last lines he was meant to read aloud for the audio version of his raw and revealing new book. Emotion clogged his throat after he had belonged to three Ashes-winning England squads, while never feeling he fulfilled his immense wicket-taking talent, and having ended up lost and broken on the 2013-14 tour of Australia.Finn tried again but stifled crying choked his reading. He looked up and nodded at the encouraging producer. His mouth almost crumpled but, this time, he got through it. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago Pat Cummins ruled out of first Ashes Test in major blow for Australia

The Australia captain has not recovered in time from a long-term back injury

Politics

9 d. ago Shaun Wane requires herculean Ashes effort after Wembley mauling

England head coach must add steel to halt Australia, with Morgan Smithies and AJ Brimson pushing for startsThe scoreline alone offers concrete evidence of how underwhelming England were against Australia in the first Ashes Test on Saturday, but if anyone needed further proof, a glimpse around the Wembley crowd was somewhat telling, too.As a one-sided contest ebbed towards a predictable conclusion, there were cheers among those sat near the press box. Not for an England try, but for a paper aeroplane crafted by a home supporter that had successfully made its way from the top of one tier on to the pitch. It was about the only thing that went right for those of an English persuasion. Continue reading...

Politics