Reece Topley, England’s left-arm seamer, believes that the inaugural season of Major League Cricket (MLC) has opened up “a career path that probably outlives your international career”, and says that the more such global leagues there are, the better it will be for the world game. Topley, who is on the comeback trail after a

It might not have ended like this. There was the mutinous interview in an Ageas Bowl portacabin. The calf injury that ruled him out of the India series two years ago. The exasperation of the Ashes series he voided, and a blind-siding omission from the squad that toured the Caribbean. But Stuart Broad has often

Pat Cummins was left to rue “missed opportunities” after Australia had to settle for a 2-2 draw in the Ashes series although insisted the team could remain proud in their achievement of retaining the urn. Australia began the final day at The Oval with hopes of hunting down 384 – which would have been their

Ben Stokes believes that the 2023 Ashes was “what Test cricket needed” and hopes that it has “inspired a new generation” of cricketers in the same way that the 2005 series did for him. England’s players and management have consistently referred to their desire to keep the format alive since Stokes’ appointment as captain and

England 283 (Brook 85, Starc 4-82) and 395 (Root 91, Bairstow 78, Crawley 73, Starc 4-100, Murphy 4-110) beat Australia 295 (Smith 71) and 334 (Khawaja 72, Warner 60, Smith 54, Woakes 4-50) by 49 runs Stuart Broad conjured one last burst of magic, signing off from his professional career with the last two Australian

Australia 295 and 135 for 0 (Khawaja 69*, Warner 58) need another 249 runs to beat England 283 and 395 (Root 91, Bairstow 78, Crawley 73, Starc 4-100, Murphy 4-110) A day which started with Stuart Broad receiving a guard of honour from the Australians following his retirement announcement the previous night, ended with David

Stuart Broad has announced that the ongoing fifth Test of the Ashes series will be the last match of his professional career. Broad made his decision “at about 8.30pm” on Friday evening, the second day of the Test at The Oval, and informed his long-standing team-mates James Anderson and Joe Root of his decision before

James Anderson has reiterated he is in no mood to retire from international cricket, despite his meagre returns in the Ashes series to date, and insists he’s not far away from regaining his best form. Anderson has so far claimed five wickets at 74.80 in his four appearances in this series, and with his 41st

Australia 295 (Smith 71, Woakes 3-61) lead England 283 by 12 runs Underpinned by Steven Smith, Australia’s tortoises eked out a slender first-innings lead over England’s hares at The Oval. England had thrashed 283 in 54.4 overs on the first day, but Australia responded at a different tempo altogether. They edged ahead after exactly 99

Moeen Ali was batting on one leg by the time he arched his bat and upper-cut Pat Cummins for four over Alex Carey’s head, and Australia seemed to have let their opportunity to take control of the fifth Test slip away. Cummins had finally won a toss, his first of the series, and asked England

England are waiting on the fitness of Moeen Ali, who injured his right groin while batting for England on the first day of the fifth Ashes Test at the Kia Oval, and did not field in the evening session as a result. “I don’t think he’s too good at the minute,” Harry Brook told BBC

Australia 61 for 1 (Khawaja 26*, Labuschagne 2*) trail England 283 (Brook 85, Starc 4-82) by 222 runs The final match of the Ashes began in similar fashion to the first, with England hurtling along on the opening day with the bat. Harry Brook led the way with a sparkling 85, but this time they

Richard Thompson, the ECB chair, has said that he will lobby ICC chair Greg Barclay “to ensure that schedules can be more flexible” after England’s hopes of regaining the men’s Ashes were washed away in the Manchester rain on Sunday. The fifth day of the fourth Ashes Test at Emirates Old Trafford was abandoned without

As Ben Stokes sweated in the Chennai sunshine earlier this year, he dreamed of spending the final week of July playing a full role with bat and ball while captaining England in an Ashes decider at The Oval. Instead, he spent the eve of the fifth Test bowling offspin in the nets, physically unable to

Olly Stone has been ruled out of the Hundred with a hamstring injury but remains optimistic about his chances of being fit to play a part in England’s 50-over World Cup defence in India in October-November. Stone hoped to feature in England’s Ashes squad this summer but has been limited to a single appearance since

England have named an unchanged team for the fifth and final men’s Ashes Test at The Kia Oval, which starts on Thursday, with veteran seamers James Anderson and Stuart Broad both retaining their places. The final day of the drawn fourth Test at Emirates Old Trafford was wiped out by the Manchester rain, effectively giving

James Anderson has insisted he has had “no thoughts about retirement” despite taking four wickets in his three Ashes Tests this summer. Anderson, who will turn 41 this week, admitted he has been “frustrated” not to have a bigger impact on the series, but said in his Telegraph column: “I still feel like I’m bowling

Harry Brook is about a month shy of a year as a Test cricketer. But on the eve of his 12th Test cap at the Kia Oval, where his journey in this format began in September 2022 against South Africa, this feels as good a time as any to reflect on his journey to date

Adil Rashid believes that England’s double-World-Cup-winning white-ball team already deserves to be remembered as “the best England squad that’s ever been”, but says they are not done with creating history as attention begins to turn to the defence of their 50-over title in India this winter. Rashid, 35, is one of the core members of

Reece Topley is expected to make a playing comeback for Surrey in a 50-over contest against Suffolk next week, ahead of a full stint with Northern Superchargers in the Hundred, as he begins his comeback from a cruel run of injuries that derailed his participation in both the T20 World Cup in Australia last year

By the time Monday came around, the rains had ceased in Manchester. The clouds were finally empty after a weekend of showers. And just to rub it in, the sun dipped in and out of view as a reminder it was still up there on this, the first morning in which the 2023 Ashes were

England have named an unchanged 14-man squad for the fifth Ashes Test at the Kia Oval, as they look to bounce back from the disappointment of drawing in Manchester with a win to square the series. Despite being “pretty much perfect throughout”, in the words of captain Ben Stokes, England were unable to force victory

England’s “sentimental” selection of James Anderson in their team for the fourth Ashes Test at Emirates Old Trafford might have cost them the match. That is the opinion of his former captain Michael Vaughan, who also said on Sunday that Anderson has had “no impact at all” in the ongoing series. Anderson was rested for

In contrast to four years ago, there won’t be any big celebrations from Australia on retaining the Ashes with Pat Cummins aware the Manchester rain helped them escape with a draw after being dominated by England. Cummins was part of the side in 2019 when they eventually shared the series 2-2 having also retained the

Australia 317 and 214 for 5 (Labuschagne 111, Wood 3-27) trail England 592 by 61 runs A gloomy Manchester allowed more cricket than many thought would be possible on the fourth day, but England only managed one wicket in 30 overs in their push to send to the series to a decider as Marnus Labuschagne

For some cricketers, the agony of missing out on an Ashes century would be hard to endure. For Jonny Bairstow, however, the raw emotion that went into his stunning innings of 99 not out from 81 balls on the third afternoon at Old Trafford meant that his final numbers mattered not a jot. For Bairstow

The mayors of Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire have urged the ECB to reconsider its allocation of men’s Ashes Tests for 2027, which will see the north of England overlooked. Ben Stokes, England’s captain, said before the ongoing fourth Test at Emirates Old Trafford that he was “devastated” that none of the five Tests would

Right from the moment he drilled the first ball of the Ashes – from Pat Cummins at Edgbaston – for four, Zak Crawley has looked in the mood to repay the unequivocal faith that he’s been shown by Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum since the start of the Bazball era. On the second day at

Australia 299 for 8 (Labuschagne 51, Marsh 51, Woakes 4-52, Broad 2-68) vs England For a cricketer so often shorn of the limelight, the opening day of this fourth Ashes Test at Emirates Old Trafford was one hell of a moment for Chris Woakes to set himself apart. Stuart Broad became only the second seamer

Steven Smith snapped his head back in reaction to what Jonny Bairstow had said running round from behind the stumps when he flicked carelessly to midwicket. Moments earlier, Marnus Labuschagne slumped to his knees and was barely able to drag himself from the middle of Headingley after slog-sweeping to deep midwicket. It was a few