Marcus Trescothick will act as England’s interim head coach in their T20I and ODI series against Australia next month, but has not yet decided whether he wants to be considered as a long-term option for the white-ball role. Trescothick, one of England’s assistant coaches, is working with the Test team during their series against Sri

Tea England 176 for 4 (Brook 53*, Smith 22*) trail Sri Lanka 236 (de Silva 74, Rathnayake 72, Woakes 3-32) by 60 runs Asitha Fernando continued Sri Lanka’s spirited display in the first Test at Emirates Old Trafford, claiming three key wickets in an extended afternoon session as England were made to fight for the

There will be no meaningful reduction in the volume of men’s county cricket played in 2025, despite more than 80 percent of players reporting fears for their physical health due to the busy schedule. A Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) survey at the start of this season found that the majority of players believe the schedule

England’s current stand-in Test captain Ollie Pope has signed with Adelaide Strikers for the BBL. Pope, who is leading England against Sri Lanka due to Ben Stokes’ hamstring injury, will be available for Strikers after the Test tour of New Zealand which finishes on December 18 which means he will miss at least their first

Sri Lanka 178 for 8 (de Silva 74, Rathnayake 32*) vs England Dhananjaya de Silva was a lone figure of resistance for Sri Lanka, as he justified his own decision to bat first with a battling 74 from 84 balls on the first day of the Old Trafford Test. Sadly for the captain, however, the

England’s players will pay tribute to the late Graham Thorpe before the start of their Test series against Sri Lanka, which starts in Manchester on Wednesday. Thorpe took his own life at the age of 55 on August 4, after suffering from what his widow Amanda described as “major depression and anxiety”. He was one

Big picture: Can Sri Lanka test injury-hit England? And now we return to our regular programming… After three weeks of bright lights, big city action in the Hundred, England’s men resume Test commitments with a three-match series against Sri Lanka. Which is the bigger deal is arguable, of course. Test cricket might still be the

Ollie Pope will become the 82nd man to captain England’s Test team when they face Sri Lanka on Wednesday, standing in for the injured Ben Stokes. Stokes is with the squad in Manchester and will remain with them throughout the three-match series, with Pope conceding on Tuesday that “it’s still Stokesy’s team” as he pledged

“I’d bat No.11, if I had to.” It’s a line Dan Lawrence has used before, which is as much a reflection of three years spent largely carrying drinks as his 11 caps spent ticking off every slot between No.3 and 7. But its airing on Monday in the press conference room at Emirates Old Trafford

Matthew Potts has been announced as Ben Stokes’ replacement in the XI for England’s first Test against Sri Lanka, with Harry Brook stepping into the vice-captaincy role for the series to assist stand-in captain Ollie Pope. Potts, who earned the last of his six Test caps in the one-off Test against Ireland last summer, has

Australia and England will play a one-off Test at the MCG in March 2027 to mark 150 years of the format. The confirmation of the anniversary fixture in Melbourne came as Cricket Australia [CA] and state governments announced that the MCG, SCG and Adelaide Oval had locked in seven-year staging agreements for their regular Tests.

England Lions 324 and 122 for 3 (Yates 57*) beat Sri Lanka 139 and 306 (Madushka 77, Dhananjaya 66, Mathews 51) by seven wickets Rob Yates anchored England Lions with a 68-ball half-century, as Sri Lanka’s tourists slipped to a seven-wicket defeat in their first-class warm-up at Worcester. Chasing a modest 122 for victory after

Jamie Smith has revealed that he found his first three weeks as a Test cricketer “mentally draining”, but he is open to shuffling up England’s batting order to No. 6 against Sri Lanka in Ben Stokes‘ absence. Smith kept wicket tidily throughout England’s 3-0 clean sweep against West Indies and made two attacking half-centuries down

They join Rashid Khan and Trent Boult, the pre-signed overseas players for 2025, as well as Nuwan Thushara and Chris Benjamin, who have been retained. The roster of domestic players is as impressive: Kagiso Rabada, Dewald Brevis, Rassie van der Dussen, Ryan Rickelton and George Linde are joined by Delano Potgieter, Thomas Kaber and Connor

England have decided not to name a replacement for Stokes in their squad to face Sri Lanka. In his absence, Jordan Cox will come into contention to make his Test debut as a specialist batter at No. 6. Alternatively, they could change the balance of the team by moving Jamie Smith and Chris Woakes up

James Anderson has floated the possibility of an improbable foray into franchise cricket after his international retirement, a decade after his most recent T20 appearance. Anderson turned 42 two weeks ago, but believes that he still has “something to offer” as a bowler and has said that extending his playing career is “not off the

As the third-highest wicket-taker among overseas bowlers in the BBL, and the best among quicks, Tom Curran has had plenty of good times in the competition, but last season did not bring too many as most of his headlines came when he was suspended for intimidating an umpire. He was handed a four-game sanction after

The ECB and Cricket Scotland have opened talks about plans to field men’s and women’s Team GB cricket teams at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Cricket will return to the Olympics for the first time since 1900 after its inclusion was ratified late last year. Details are yet to be confirmed but the

The uncapped Jordan Cox is England’s spare batter, with Dan Lawrence set to replace the injured Zak Crawley at the top of the order, and could replace Stokes at No. 6 if they opt to pick only four main bowling options. Alternatively, Jamie Smith and Woakes could shuffle up to No. 6 and 7 respectively,

Trigger warning for suicide. Details in this story may be unsuitable for some. Graham Thorpe died after taking his own life following a battle with depression and anxiety, his family has revealed in a newspaper interview. The ECB announced last week that Thorpe, widely considered to be among England’s greatest batters, had died at the

Ben Stokes is a major doubt for England’s first Test against Sri Lanka after retiring hurt with a hamstring injury while playing for Northern Superchargers in the Hundred on Sunday evening. He is set to undergo a scan on Monday which appears likely to rule him out of the three-match Test series. He ended the

England’s decision to call Olly Stone up when Dillon Pennington went down with a hamstring injury underlined their belief in the value of high pace at Test level. Essex’s Sam Cook has been the outstanding seamer in the County Championship over the last few seasons, but Stone’s ability to hit speeds of 90mph/145kph won him

Andrew Flintoff believed he “should not be here” and that he was given “a second go” at life when he escaped a high-speed car crash alive – though expects he will have to deal with its physical and psychological effects “for the rest of my life”. Flintoff, the former England allrounder, underwent a series of

Graham Thorpe, the former England and Surrey batter, has died aged 55, the ECB has announced. Thorpe, who played 100 Tests for England between 1993 and 2005 and went on to work as batting coach for the senior men’s team, was taken “seriously ill” in 2022, shortly after being named as Afghanistan’s head coach. During

Dan Lawrence is set to open the batting in England’s three-match Test series against Sri Lanka after Zak Crawley was ruled out with a fractured finger. Jordan Cox, who is uncapped across formats, has been added to the squad as the spare batter, while Olly Stone has replaced Dillon Pennington after he sustained a hamstring

Jos Buttler has been ruled out of the Hundred with a calf injury, after missing Manchester Originals’ first three matches. Buttler, who has been backed to continue as England’s white-ball captain by managing director Rob Key, took a short break from the game after the T20 World Cup and is understood to have sustained the

Root’s rise is the most significant of the latest update and he ticked off an arguably bigger landmark during the Test itself when he went past Brian Lara’s Test match tally of 11,953 to become the seventh highest run-getter in the format’s history. At 12,207, Root has the most runs among active Test cricketers with

“That didn’t interest me because the team is flying,” Brendon McCullum told New Zealand’s SENZ radio back in May 2022 after being appointed as England Men’s Test coach. “I wasn’t interested in a cushy kind of gig.” The “gig” in question was the England white-ball job, one McCullum was touted for but neither applied for

What’s the one thing better than having a 90mph fast bowler at your disposal? Being able to call on two quick men, of course. England’s new-look Test attack gave a glimpse of what might be possible in overseas conditions that tend to drawn the sting of medium-pace seam and swing – although both Mark Wood

Sunrisers have also brought back van der Merwe, who was previously with the franchise during the first season of the SA20 in 2022-23. The left-arm spinning allrounder was the joint leading wicket-taker with 20 that year, while boasting an economy of just 5.62. He was particularly influential in the final at the Wanderers, where he