Pope said that he rated his fifth Test century “head and shoulders above the other four” and described India as “probably the toughest place for a batter to come at the minute”. On England’s most recent tour of the country, in 2021, he managed 153 runs across four innings with a top score of 34

Rohit Sharma feels India were not “brave enough” in their second innings and they “overall failed as a team” as they went down by 28 runs in Hyderabad. “When you are put against a wall, you need to show character and you need to be brave enough, which I thought we weren’t,” Rohit said on

The reverse sweep was England’s second most profitable shot (48 off 30 balls, no dismissals) in the second innings that took them from 190 behind to 126 ahead. Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett in particular were using it repeatedly, throwing India’s spinners off the good length area where most of the danger lurked in this

England’s women are facing a choice between club and country, with a clash looming between the final stages of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) in India and a bilateral T20I series in New Zealand. The BCCI confirmed this week that the WPL final will take place on the evening of March 17 in Delhi, with

A left knee injury to Jack Leach compounded a miserable second day for England in Hyderabad that saw India march to a first-innings lead of 175 in the first Test. Leach, who has been Ben Stokes’ main spinner throughout his tenure and came into this match as the leader of a three-pronged spin attack, sustained

India 421 for 7 (Rahul 86, Jadeja 81*, Jaiswal 80, Bharat 41, Axar 35*, Root 2-77, Hartley 2-131) lead England 246 by 175 runs India all but batted England out of the first Test as early as the second day, overhauling their 246 for a first-innings lead of 175 and three wickets still in hand.

India 119 for 1 (Jaiswal 76*, Gill 14*) trail England 246 (Stokes 70, Bairstow 37, Ashwin 3-68) by 127 runs The newest gimmick in Test cricket arrived in spurts – not always from the team credited with it – but the oldest truth of the oldest format was reinforced on day one of the series:

England were not expecting Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma, India’s openers, to play with the attacking intent that they did on the first evening of the first Test in Hyderabad. That is according to Ben Duckett, who insisted that England’s total of 246 was “an above-par score” after nine wickets fell to spin across the

Shoaib Bashir has received his India visa and will travel out to join England’s Test squad in Hyderabad over the weekend, following a protracted saga in which the uncapped spinner had been required to return to the UK from the UAE to finalise the process, while the rest of his team-mates travelled to India ahead

Big picture Bazball vs spin. It promises to be the story of these five Tests, and it might be a story of parallel plots. There is, of course, Bazball vs India’s spinners. But perhaps even more relevant to England’s chances is the question of Bazball vs England’s spinners. What? Hang in there. All will be

The physique is as lean as it ever has been. The tattoos now stretch across a sleeker canvas. The cheekbones protrude a little more. Only the beard looks burdened with extra heft. Blow the dust off the memes – Ben Stokes looks more like Vincent van Gogh than ever before. A cricketer’s appearance rarely, if

Ben Stokes says he is “frustrated” by the ongoing delay with Shoaib Bashir‘s visa application for England’s tour of India, which has forced the Somerset offspinner to return to the UK, subsequently ruling him out of the first Test. England arrived in India on Sunday without Bashir, who remained in Abu Dhabi where the squad

The coloured clothing has been shelved for creams, but remnants of blue feeling remain among those England players returning to India after a chastening 2023 ODI World Cup. Five of the current Test squad spent October and November traipsing across this country on a trip that began with great expectations of a successful title defence

English counties are pushing for an increase in the payments they receive from the ECB when players they have developed appear in international or representative cricket. Early discussions have started between the 18 first-class counties and the ECB over an updated County Partnership Agreement (CPA) which will replace the existing arrangements and cover the 2025-28

It was as recently as November that the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium was renovated with a new roof covering its stands. That explains why Brendon McCullum is gazing up at it like he’s been reacquainted with an old friend who has done something a bit different with their hair. It might have also been the

Alex Davies has been named as the new captain of Warwickshire, following Will Rhodes’ decision to step down after four years in the role. Davies, 29, has played more than 50 senior matches for the club across formats since joining from Lancashire in 2021, and in last season’s Vitality Blast, he led the side to

England began their Test preparations in Hyderabad without Shoaib Bashir after visa issues left him stranded in the UAE. England arrived in India on Sunday ahead of Thursday’s opening Test following a training camp in Abu Dhabi, where Bashir remains after a delay in his paperwork left him unable to travel with the rest of

Harry Brook has withdrawn from England’s Test squad to tour India for personal reasons. He is set to miss the start of the five-Test series, with England calling up Dan Lawrence as his replacement. The team were due to arrive in Hyderabad on Sunday, ahead of the start of the first Test on Thursday, but

Winning over the crowds is a key tenet for success in India. So says Steven Finn, a man who was part of the last squad to go there and emerge with a series victory, back in 2012. England travel to India on Sunday dreaming of replicating that effort, which remains one of the team’s most

The ECB will invest an additional £800,000 in wages for the women’s Hundred in 2024 in a bid to attract the world’s best overseas players and to close the tournament’s gender pay gap, with men’s salaries frozen for the third straight season. ESPNcricinfo understands that the salary cap will increase by 40% for each of

Laurie Evans is the fastest-scoring batter in the Big Bash League this season and blitzed 72 off 34 balls in Perth Scorchers’ final-ball defeat to Sydney Sixers on Tuesday, their final game of the regular home-and-away portion. But when Scorchers face Adelaide Strikers in Saturday’s Eliminator, he will be 9,000km away in Abu Dhabi. Evans

Dinesh Karthik, the former India wicketkeeper-batter, will assist England Lions’ preparations in India later this week, after being included in the squad’s coaching set-up for the first nine days of the tour. Karthik, whose international career included roles on two tours of England in 2007 and 2018, as well as the 2019 World Cup, has

Jonny Bairstow is yet to learn whether he will retain his role as England’s wicketkeeper in their five-Test series in India, with Ben Foakes recalled to the 16-man squad that will fly to the UAE next week ahead of the first Test in Hyderabad on January 25. Bairstow kept wicket in all six Tests that

Stuart Broad, who retired in July as England’s second-highest wicket-taker, has been awarded a CBE in the New Year’s honours list. Marcus Trescothick, England men’s batting coach, receives an OBE. Broad, 37, called time on his storied career at the conclusion of the men’s Ashes, signing off with a wicket with his final ball to

Jos Buttler has said that despite England’s T20I series defeat to West Indies, he considers the tour to have been a success. “It’s hard to say when you’ve lost, but I think we’ve found out some really good things,” he said after his side were beaten by four wickets in the decider in Trinidad. England

West Indies 133 for 6 (Hope 43*, Rutherford 30) beat England 132 (Salt 38, Motie 3-24) by four wickets The final game of England’s tour ended much like the first: with Shai Hope clinching victory for West Indies with a match-winning six. His unbeaten, run-a-ball 43 was the highest score of a tense low-scorer in

Matthew Mott has said that England are “very close” to settling on their squad for the T20 World Cup next June. England are currently tied at 2-2 in their five-match series against West Indies, in a contest that has been enthralling throughout with over 100 sixes hit in four matches. The series has been invaluable

The ECB has appointed its successor to long-term Performance Director Mo Bobat, following the recruitment of Ed Barney from the same role with England and Great Britain Hockey. Barney, 41, had previously worked with the ECB as a Talent Identification Scientist from 2010 to 2013, and moved to his hockey role in 2016 where he

Phil Salt has described his IPL omission as “confusing” after he went unsold at the 2024 mini auction. Salt was expected to be in high demand following a successful debut season with Delhi Capitals where he averaged 27.25 with a strike-rate of 163.91. But despite a base price of 1.5 crore, the England opener went

England legspinner Adil Rashid has become the No. 1 ranked bowler in T20Is, while Pakistan batter Babar Azam has displaced India opener Shubman Gill at the top of the ICC men’s ODI rankings. Rashid overtook two other legspinners – Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan (No. 2) and India’s Ravi Bishnoi (No. 3) – after taking seven wickets