Unprepared, arrogant, immature. These are just some of the words being used to describe England’s approach down under that saw them lose the Ashes to Australia after just three Test matches and 11 days of cricket.

In the three and half years since Brendon McCullum took over as coach of the England men’s team, the so-called “Bazball” philosophy he pioneered with captain Ben Stokes “told us that nothing was impossible, that no run chase was too big, that no situation was irretrievable, that no ambition was too haughty”, said the Daily Mail.

England’s final capitulation in Adelaide on Sunday “felt like more than the end of just a game of cricket. It felt like the end of an idea. It felt like that part of a revolution where an ideal bows to realpolitik and the thrill of the new is lost forever.”

A tale of two openers

“Perhaps nobody embodies the emasculation of this England team on this tour, and the emasculation of the philosophy that has underpinned their challenge” more than England opener Ben Duckett, said former England captain Mike Atherton in The Times.

The “unorthodox, rasping opener” who “prides himself on how few balls he leaves at the top of the order” has racked up a grand total of 97 runs over the course of six innings in Australia, being dismissed for a golden duck in the second Test.

Contrast this with the famed England opener of yesteryear, Geoffrey Boycott, who won two tours of Australia and drew the other two. “Never really known for going on the attack as a player,” the now 85-year-old “has been on the offensive as England has laboured through this Ashes tour”, said the ABC.

In a scathing assessment of Bazball, Boycott hammered the team as “irresponsible, rubbish and too far up their backsides to care” and claimed “hubris has taken over from common sense”.

‘Bazball as we knew it is in the skip’

Bazball was named after coach McCullum, whose nickname is Baz. In its “pure form”, it “defined Test cricket as a game of batting intent”, said The Guardian, but “as Australia have demonstrated, it is above all a bowling game”.

While there is “no disgrace at all in losing to these opponents”, England’s “failure lies in the nature of that defeat, in losing not just quickly but sloppily, losing in a way that speaks to a basic lack of tension and discipline, a refusal not just to do your homework, but to recognise that homework exists at all”.

After Adelaide, McCullum was quick to hold his hand up and admit that “we haven’t got everything right” in the series, including England’s much-criticised preparations and failure to play any proper warm-up matches.

This rare moment of introspection “is a massive step forward” for the England coach, said the BBC’s chief cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew, but “Bazball as we knew it is in the skip”.

It “now resembles something hollowed out”, said the Daily Mail. Over the course of three “sobering, humbling Test defeats, a philosophy that once carried all along with it but has become divisive and polarising, has had its soul ripped out and its entrails pored over by those who are now happy to say they always feared it would end like this”.

Attention will inevitably now turn to the futures of McCullum, managing director Rob Key and even Stokes. They may try to claim England’s “death-or-glory style can be retooled and rise again”, said Reuters. “In reality, it is unlikely to survive the bitter post-mortem that looms at the end of a series that had promised so much and has, to date, yielded so little.”

India’s first victory in cricket’s Women’s World Cup will have huge ramifications for global order of the sport.

Harmanpreet Kaur’s team beat South Africa by 52 runs in yesterday’s final, in front of a deafening 45,000-strong crowd in Navi Mumbai – ending Australia’s decade-long dominance in the sport. With this milestone win, India’s women cricketers have “turned long-cherished dreams into reality” and “etched their names in history”, said The Hindustan Times.

It’s a “a wake-up call” for the rest of the world, and a win that could “spell the end for women’s cricket as we know it”, said Sonia Twigg in The Telegraph. India has become the the first country other than Australia or England to win a Women’s World Cup since 2000, and, with greater funding and increased home support, “it is hard to believe” their women cricketers “will stop there”.

‘New levels of stardom’

As Kaur clung on to her match-winning catch, India’s women cricketers entered a “brave new world”, said P.K. Ajith Kumar in The Hindu. Star players like Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma and Shafali Verma have become “household names” overnight, and been propelled to “new levels of stardom across India”.

For Verma, the final’s Player of the Match, the path to yesterday’s success has been marked by significant setbacks. That “rollercoaster ride” began in the “conservative northern state of Haryana”, where, as a girl, she cut her hair short so she could play in the boys’ team, said Agence France-Presse. Her fearless batting soon led to her international debut at the age of 15, and she became the youngest cricketer to play in a women’s T20 for India. But she had recently fallen out of favour with the selectors, and was only in Sunday's final because a teammate had injured her ankle. Her 87 runs (from 78 balls) included her first 50 in three years – and made her, at 21 years and 278 days, the youngest person ever to hit a half-century in a Women’s World Cup final.

India were “late to develop the women’s game”, said Twigg in The Telegraph, and the last time the Women’s World Cup was held in India, in 2013, it “made barely a ripple” on the country’s consciousness. The national team was put up in a “budget hotel”, and had to warm up against under-16 and under-19 boys’ teams. The publicised venue for the final – Mumbai’s historic Wankhede Stadium – was even changed at the last minute to accommodate the men’s domestic Ranji Trophy final.

Belief ‘that women deserved more’

India’s victory on Sunday owes much to star performances by Verma and by Sharma (named Player of the Tournament) but many also attribute the team’s success to major administrative and strategic overhauls behind the scenes.

India’s win was a “vindication” for policy changes that “dared to believe women deserved more”, said Amar Sunil Panicker in India Today. In October 2022, the Board of Control for Cricket in India unanimously passed a resolution for pay parity between men and women. Women’s cricket in India was once defined by the “exceptionalism” of a few individuals who “succeeded despite the system”. Now, “for perhaps the first time, success feels like the result of the system working for them”.

More money is entering the women’s game globally, too. The Australian women’s Big Bash League doubled their team salary cap in 2023 and, last week, the organisers of The Hundred competition in England and Wales announced a 100% increase in the women’s salary pot for the 2026 season – though these salaries are still significantly behind those offered to male players.

Five years after its launch, the Hundred still "gets up people's noses", said Lawrence Booth in the Daily Mail. Traditionalists haven't reconciled themselves to its scoring format, nor to the way it condemns county cricket to virtual irrelevance during August. When the competition follows a particularly "epic" Test series – like this summer's contest between England and India – the purists' distaste merely grows.

Yet, even its critics were given pause for thought in June, when the sale of the eight Hundred franchises "raised £520 million for English cricket". Given how cash-strapped the domestic game has become (two years ago, the collective debt of county cricket reportedly stood at £333.6 million), that's a hugely valuable sum. The Hundred was established, in part, to provide a financial lifeline to county cricket – and it appears to be fulfilling that role.

This year's Hundred, which concluded on Sunday with a third straight victory for Oval Invincibles in the men's final, and a first win for Northern Superchargers in the women's, was marked by a sense of "real progress", said Will Macpherson in The Telegraph. TV viewing figures "bounced back after a drop last year"; there was a notable lift in standards, with the competition attracting stronger players than ever – the young English talent Davina Perrin, for instance, who scored a "breakthrough century" in the women's eliminator. And the crowd for the women's final – 22,542 – was the "highest ever".

All this bodes well for next year, when the competition, under its new owners, is expected to be significantly revamped: there will be "new team names, a player auction with bigger salaries, new kits, possibly a tweaked format". The new owners talk, loftily, of turning the Hundred into a rival for Wimbledon. Such a goal may not be feasible – but what's clear is that the Hundred has been more successful than many predicted, and is here to stay.

Those watching this year's Indian Premier League (IPL) are likely to have noticed the umpires brandishing a curious new piece of kit, said Nagraj Gollapudi on ESPN. When each new batter arrives at the crease, he must insert his bat into a "rectangular implement" with a cut-out shaped like a house.

The checks, introduced on 13 April, are designed to ensure that all bats conform to a law introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board in 2018, restricting their dimensions. The law limits the thickness of a bat's edges to 4cm, its overall depth to 6.7cm, and its width to 10.8cm.

Hitherto, the IPL's checks on bat dimensions were sporadic and took place in dressing rooms before the game. That led to claims that players were submitting one bat for checks and then going out to bat with a heftier blade. The new "live" checks, far more rigorous, have so far snared two illegal bats, both belonging to members of Kolkata Knight Riders.

"Bat makers have long striven for innovation," said Simon Wilde in The Sunday Times. Dennis Lillee famously used an aluminium bat in a Test against England in 1979, until Mike Brearley pointed out it was knocking the ball out of shape, and Lillee was forced to substitute it. There have been bats made of bamboo, and bats reinforced with graphite strips.

More recently, innovation has centred on adding to the blade's thickness – a development made possible by new moisture-removing techniques, which have enabled manufacturers to add depth to blades without making them impossibly heavy. An "extreme example" was David Warner's Gray-Nicolls Kaboom, whose edges were more than 5cm thick.

Such "monster" bats, which can send even mis-hit balls for six, have fuelled concerns that the game was becoming skewed in favour of batters. The 2018 law, and efforts to enforce it, are an attempt to restore a "better balance between bat and ball".

The rise of Afghanistan's men's team has been "one of the great cricket stories of this century", said The Telegraph.

The national side has secured high-profile victories against England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka over the past few years, and against all the odds beat Australia in the T20 World Cup last summer, reaching the semi-finals for the first time after beating Bangladesh.

But Afghanistan's place on the world cricket stage is becoming increasingly controversial. International Cricket Council (ICC) rules require member nations to have both a men's and a women's team, but one of the Taliban's first acts after retaking power in 2021 was to disband Afghanistan's nascent women's squad. Most of its players fled to Australia, where they live in exile. Now England is "under pressure" to boycott its fixture against Afghanistan in the ICC Champions Trophy group stage on 26 February, said the Daily Mirror, in protest at the Taliban's "appalling treatment of women".

'Playing ball with apartheid'

While Afghanistan remains a full ICC member, Australia and England play against the team during World Cup fixtures, but both countries have declined to schedule any domestically controlled bilateral series with the Afghanistan side, in protest against the Taliban's ban on women's cricket.

Now activists including the Women's Rights Network are calling on Keir Starmer to extend that and support a "blanket boycott of Afghanistan across all sports". "How in all conscience can this game go ahead?" said Janice Turner in The Times. Afghanistan is clearly in breach of ICC rules, but more to the point the Taliban is practising "gender apartheid". When South Africa did the same "along racial lines, it rightly suffered sporting boycotts". The Taliban love cricket, so boycotting it would be a "rare way to sanction its monstrous regime", Turner said. "Shame on any Englishman who plays ball with apartheid next month."

'The only source of happiness'

However, "most Afghan women players" oppose such a boycott, said The Economist. Despite a "paltry budget", the men's team has become "wildly popular", and female cricketers have argued that a ban would "deprive their compatriots of a rare source of pride and pleasure".

It would indeed remove a source of "collective pleasure from a beleaguered nation and its weary population", said journalism professor Richard Thomas on The Conversation. Team captain Rashid Khan describes cricket as "the only source of happiness back home".

The outgoing ICC chair, Greg Barclay, last month accused Cricket Australia of hypocrisy over their bilateral series boycott and backed the ICC's decision to allow Afghanistan's men's team to compete. "If you really want to make a political statement, don't play them in a World Cup," he said. "I don't think it would make a jot of difference to the ruling party there to kick them out [of the ICC]," he added.

The team's success also provides a platform for players to speak out. Last month two of the men's team called on the Taliban to lift the ban on women training as doctors and nurses, which had been "one of the last remaining loopholes" available under the overall ban on higher education, said The Guardian.

"It is essential for our sisters and mothers to have access to care provided by medical professionals who truly understand their needs," Khan posted on social media. "Providing education to all is not just a societal responsibility but a moral obligation deeply rooted in our faith and values."

One of only 17 male cricketers to have won 100 Test caps for England, Graham Thorpe, who has died aged 55, was a batsman of rare "skill and tenacity", said The Guardian. 

These traits were the "pillars of all his finest innings", including the unbeaten 64 he scored to secure England's "win in the dark" over Pakistan in Karachi in 2000 – one of the Test side's "greatest victories overseas". Pakistan had never lost in this city, and they had done everything they could to keep it that way, including time-wasting on the final afternoon. In the evening gloom, without the floodlights that are now standard, Thorpe struggled to see the red ball, but he kept his calm, and "saw England home". 

A troubled man, he could be "truculent" and awkward, said The Daily Telegraph, but though his state of mind no doubt affected his play, he finished his international career, in 2005, with an aggregate of 6,744 Test runs at an average of 44.66, having struck 16 hundreds. He had also won nine trophies for Surrey in 17 years of county cricket and 82 caps for England's one-day side.

Fearless against spin

Thorpe was born in Farnham, Surrey, and played cricket from a young age with his brothers. He was naturally right-handed, but learnt to bat left-handed, as this gave him an advantage in their garden. He played football for the England Schools Under-15 team before joining Surrey, aged 18, in 1988. He made his first class debut that year. On his Test debut, against Australia at Trent Bridge in 1993, he scored an unbeaten 114. On the subcontinent, he batted unusually well against spin: in Lahore in 2000, he scored a century against Pakistan, with just one four.

The next year, in dripping heat in Colombo, he scored 113 and 32 not out; the next best score from an England player across the team's two innings was just 26. In New Zealand, in 2002, he scored a rapid double century off 231 balls.

'Gloriously anti-establishment'

He was a "chameleon batter", said former England captain Nasser Hussain in the Daily Mail. He could adapt to whatever situation he was in. "Thorpey" was also "my best mate" on the England side in that era. We all loved him, because he was so fearless, so determined not to back down. It was that "bottle in abundance" that endeared him to fans, too.

Off the pitch, Thorpe was a supportive teammate, but "gloriously anti-establishment, habitually refusing to toe the party line". He was gutsy in his personal struggles too, which included persistent back problems and a difficult break-up from his first wife, Nicky. He married again, to Amanda, who survives him, along with his children.

The family revealed this week that Thorpe had taken his own life, said Mike Atherton in The Times, after suffering for years from severe depression and anxiety. "We are not ashamed of talking about it," said his daughter Kitty. "He had loved life and he loved us, but he just couldn't see a way out."

Cricket in England is associated with gentle, sunny afternoons on village greens and the sound of leather on willow, but in the US there are fears it could lead to drunken "urinating" fans and other acts of "hooliganism".

The game is becoming "increasingly popular" in the US, said The Times, with plans for new stadiums in several states. But not everyone is thrilled at the prospect. "Cricket? Like in England? Why?" asked one sceptic on Facebook.

Major League Cricket begins

South Asian communities in America have long wanted to bring professional cricket to the US, said Tom Melville, author of "A History of Cricket in America", but at around 2% of the population, they struggled to get it to catch on.

Eventually, a professional league was formed, using one converted baseball stadium in Dallas. This "energised the south Asian community all over the country", Melville told The Times.

The six-team Major League Cricket (MLC) competition began last year, the US is co-hosting this year’s T20 Cricket World Cup, and the sport is set to rejoin the Olympics at the 2028 Games, which will be held in Los Angeles.

Flying balls

Plans for major cricket stadiums have met some fierce resistance. When New York City proposed that Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx house a temporary 34,000-seat World Cup cricket stadium, a state representative opposed it, saying: "No. N-O. In caps, underlined, boldfaced, italicised. No." A stadium was found on Long Island.

In Sacramento, plans for a smaller cricket ground didn't sit well with resident Jennifer Chawla, who launched a petition. Explaining her visions of damaged cars and injured residents, she told The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that "this is a flying ball that's hit by a bat". The ground went ahead anyway.

Cricket in the UK is not immune from bad behaviour. At Headingley in Leeds in 2022, "scenes of beer-fuelled drama broke out in the stands", reported the Daily Mail, with fans "seemingly fighting with security staff". And if you look through the history books, "it seems 'gentlemanly' conduct was in rather short supply", said Glasgow Live. In the Scottish city in the 1800s "battles would break out, depending on the results of the matches, between gangs of tooled up thugs known as 'keelies'".

A 'true gentleman's sport'

There is also stiff opposition to plans for future stadiums. At a village hall meeting in Oswego in Illinois, Dawn DeRosa, who lives near the site of a proposed 25,000-seat stadium, said there would be "strangers walking through our yards, urinating in our pond and throwing up in our flowerbeds", said The Times.

Tara McDade is unhappy about plans for a cricket stadium near her Northern Virginia home. Speaking to the WSJ, she admitted she doesn't know much about the sport: "You swing at a ball, I believe," she said. But after a town hall meeting, she was "freaking out a little bit" because "it's being shoved down our throats".

Sanjay Govil, a tech entrepreneur who owns MLC side Washington Freedom, assured those concerned that the game is "not one of these events where people get rowdy and start bashing each other", said the WSJ. Instead, it's a "true gentleman's sport", with "mass hooliganism" absolutely "non-existent".

Four years ago, Ben Stokes produced one of the greatest-ever Test innings to propel England to an extraordinary one-wicket victory in the third Ashes Test at Headingley, said Mike Atherton in The Times. And for a while at Lord’s on Sunday, a similar “miracle looked on the cards”.

Chasing 371 to win in their fourth innings, England had slumped to 45-4 before their captain strode to the crease. Stokes proceeded to hit a magnificent 155, sharing partnerships of 132 for the fifth wicket with Ben Duckett and 108 for the seventh wicket with Stuart Broad. During that latter stand, Australian fielders ringed the boundary whenever Stokes faced a ball, inviting him to take a single. His response was simply to smash it over them. He struck nine sixes in all – more than anyone has ever hit in an Ashes innings – but his heroics, this time, were in vain. When he was finally dismissed, with England still 70 runs short of their target, “all the belief seemed to drain from” the home side. Australia ended up 43-run victors to take a 2-0 lead in the series.

‘Powered by a sense of rage’

Stokes’s innings was the product of “extreme skill, brutal hitting” and his never-say-die competitive spirit, said Barney Ronay in The Guardian. But it was also powered by “a sense of rage”. Shortly before lunch on the fifth day, England’s captain had been left seething by the hugely controversial dismissal of England’s last recognised batsman, Jonny Bairstow, for ten. After the final ball of a Cameron Green over had been left by Bairstow – and had passed harmlessly to Australia’s wicketkeeper, Alex Carey – Bairstow had “briefly grounded his bat behind his crease and walked down the pitch towards his batting partner”. While this is something batsmen habitually do, the laws of cricket state they must not leave their crease until the umpire has signalled the ball is dead by calling “over”. Bairstow didn’t wait for the call and, realising this, Carey rolled the ball towards the stumps and knocked the bails off. After a review by the off-field umpire, Bairstow was given out – “correctly so on the rules of cricket”.

Yes, the decision may have been technically correct, but the Australians’ actions showed a shameless disregard for the spirit of cricket, said Geoffrey Boycott in The Daily Telegraph. Bairstow wasn’t seeking any advantage; he genuinely thought the over had ended. The history of the sport is littered with examples of teams withdrawing appeals in similar situations, and that would have been the right thing for Australia’s captain, Pat Cummins, to have done. Instead, he stuck bullishly to his guns, revealing in the process that the Australians believe that winning “at all costs” matters more than playing fairly.

‘Good people who play the right way’

Had this incident involved any other team, people “might have been willing to give them the benefit of the doubt”, said Matthew Syed in The Times. But this is the Australian side that was “caught red-handed cheating in 2018”, using sandpaper to scuff up the ball against South Africa. In the wake of that affair – which led to lengthy bans for two members of Australia’s current side, Steve Smith and David Warner – Australia vowed to adopt a more sporting approach. Cricket, in the words of Justin Langer, who took over as team coach after the scandal, is “not just about being good cricketers, but good people who play the right way”. Hollow words, judging by the team’s behaviour on Sunday.

Still, none of that excuses the disgraceful behaviour of MCC members, who barracked the Australian team in the Long Room as they returned to their dressing room, chanting “cheat, cheat, cheat” and “sandpaper”, said Josh Alston and Martin Robinson in the Daily Mail. By the next day, somewhat ridiculously, the country’s two prime minsters were engaged in a war of words, with Rishi Sunak branding the Australians’ actions unsporting, and Anthony Albanese declaring himself “proud” of his team.

Behind all this “theatre”, the brutal reality for England is that they now cannot regain the Ashes unless they win three Tests in a row, said Mike Atherton. No team has pulled off that “herculean task” since Australia in 1936-37. Still, it’s not completely impossible: the first two Tests were extremely close, after all, and as head coach Brendon McCullum pointed out, England’s players will be “galvanised” by what happened. Let’s not “discount the possibility” of a glorious comeback.

English cricket is “racist, sexist and elitist” at all levels of the game, according to a damning new independent report.

The findings are the result of a two-year investigation into the sport by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC).

Within the 317-page Holding Up a Mirror to Cricket report, the commission made 44 recommendations, including urging the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to publicly apologise for its failings.

The conclusions “will send shockwaves across cricket”, said the i news site. The report is “damning in its frankness, especially towards the leadership failures over several decades” of the ECB.

Commissioned by the ECB in March 2021, the report found racism to be “entrenched” in cricket, women “frequently demeaned, stereotyped and treated as second-class”, and described the sport as “elitist and exclusionary”.

Reference to former Yorkshire player turned whistleblower Azeem Rafiq was also made in the report, after he “laid bare the abuse he had endured playing the game” in 2021, The Guardian said. The ECB was criticised for “failing to recognise the extent of racism in cricket until more recently”, the newspaper added.

The inquiry was ordered two years ago “in the wake of global movements such as Black Lives Matter and Me Too”, the BBC said. After an online call for evidence, “4,156 responses” were received, and a further 150 replies arrived in March 2022 after a further request, the broadcaster added.

Those giving evidence included Rafiq, England men’s Test captain Ben Stokes, women’s captain Heather Knight and former men’s captain Joe Root. The ICEC is chaired by Cindy Butts, a former deputy chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority.

ECB chair Richard Thompson apologised for the failings of his organisation and the sport more widely. “This report makes clear that historic structures and systems have failed to prevent discrimination, and highlights the pain and exclusion this has caused. I am determined that this wake-up call for cricket in England and Wales should not be wasted.”

England have become the first men’s team in cricket history to hold both the 50-over and 20-over World Cups simultaneously. Winners of the one-day tournament in 2019, they added the Twenty20 World Cup to their trophy cabinet following a five-wicket victory over Pakistan in Melbourne.

In a “pulsating final” on Sunday, Jos Buttler’s England side were set a chase of 138 runs in front of a “raucous Pakistan-supporting crowd” at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, said Matthew Henry on BBC Sport. And like the 2019 final, Ben Stokes “was there at the end” as he scored 52 not out to write himself “further into the folklore” of English cricket.

“Strapping his team-mates to his broad shoulders”, Stokes carried his country to another World Cup triumph, said Andrew Wu in The Sydney Morning Herald. A “laughing stock in 2015”, when they crashed out of the World Cup at the group stage, England are now the “undisputed kings” of white-ball cricket.

Redemption for Stokes

Playing an “instrumental” role in two World Cup finals, all-rounder Stokes is “a champion under pressure”, said former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming on ESPNcricinfo’s T20 Time Out show. Scoring his first T20 international half-century, the 31-year-old is “forging a career where he is there at key moments”. Stokes is “a big presence”, “a big personality” and he’s “a big winner”, Fleming added. “And that’s pretty key ingredients when you talk about a good to great player.”

An “irredeemable drama magnet”, England’s Test team captain is a man who “always manages to crowbar his way into a big occasion”, said Simon Burnton in The Guardian. However, back in the 2016 T20 World Cup final it was Stokes who bowled the “catastrophic final over that cost his side the title” against the West Indies. Six years later, it was “redemption” for Stokes as England got their hands on the T20 World Cup for a second time.

Buttler is building his ‘own legacy’

This group of white-ball players are “extraordinary”, said former England Test captain Michael Vaughan in The Telegraph. And for once English cricket has “a trendsetting team the rest of the world should emulate”. Speaking about Buttler, Vaughan said that the victorious skipper has now “stepped out of Eoin Morgan’s shadow” and is “showing himself to be his own man”. A World Cup-winning captain at the first attempt, he has “the chance to build his own legacy” and can “take them even higher”.

Morgan, the 2019 World Cup-winning captain, retired from international cricket this summer and Buttler was appointed as his permanent replacement. With big shoes to fill, Buttler was hailed by Stokes as “incredible” and he said England were “lucky to have him”.

“When the great man [Morgan] stepped down, you look at how quickly Jos has managed to take control of the team and progress it from the legacy Morgs has left,” Stokes told Sky Sports. “Jos has now created his own legacy. He’s a T20 World Cup-winning captain and he is incredible. It shouldn’t be taken for granted how hard it can be to make tactical decisions under pressure and 95% of his decision-making has been absolutely right.”

India completed a 3-0 series victory over England at Lord’s on Saturday in the third and final one-day international thanks to a controversial “Mankad” dismissal.

England required 17 runs to win, with one wicket left, when Indian bowler Deepti Sharma paused in her delivery stride to run out Charlie Dean at the non-striker’s end and secure the victory.

The mode of dismissal is often referred to as a “Mankad”, after Indian batter Vinoo Mankad, who was the first player to perform this particular type of run out in a Test match.

England were “visibly aggrieved at the dismissal”, said the BBC, which is “within the laws of the game but seen by many as against the spirit of cricket”.

‘Craftiness not cricket’

Broadcaster and cricket fan Piers Morgan condemned the India team on Twitter. “Absolutely pathetic way to ‘win’ a cricket match,” he wrote. “The whole India team should be ashamed of themselves.”

Writing for The Telegraph, Scyld Berry said the cricket authorities will have to change the rules of the game. “Taking a wicket by ‘Mankading’”, argued Berry, is “craftiness not cricket”.

If everyone tried to use this form of dismissal “the sport of cricket would degenerate into niggliness, acrimony and a standstill”, he added.

In the Daily Mail, the former England player, coach and umpire, David Lloyd, also called for a change. “If the law was clarified, we’d avoid the furore that occurs every time someone is dismissed in this way,” he wrote.

Lloyd said it should be “obligatory for a bowler to warn a batter first” and the wording of the law should be tightened up so we get “something more concrete than what we currently have”.

As Lloyd explained, the law currently states that the batter has to stay in the crease until the moment the bowler “is expected to release the ball”.

“For me, that’s too ambiguous,” he said. “What we need is a physical description of that moment. It could be when the back foot lands, or when the arm reaches its highest point.”

‘A simple solution’

Not everyone was so concerned. The Telegraph’s Nick Hoult said that “the run-out of a non-striker by the bowler is no longer considered unfair play under the laws of the game” so Sharma “did nothing wrong”.

Hoult added that the Mankad is “sharp practice and the players know it which is why it only ever happens in a tight match when a result is on the line and they are desperate”.

Indeed, wrote Mike Atherton in The Times, there is a “simple solution” to the problem: “if non-strikers stayed in their ground, as the Law requires them to do, this debate would be cut short”.

As for the India team, they were unrepentant. “It is part of the game,” said captain Harmanpreet Kaur. “I don’t think we have done anything new, and it is in the rules. I think it shows awareness of what the batters are doing and I will back my players.”

All things considered, one would’ve expected Ben Stokes to have been below his best in England’s second Test against South Africa, said Nick Hoult in The Sunday Telegraph. The match coincided with the release of Phoenix from the Ashes, an Amazon Prime documentary about Stokes and his struggles with anxiety and depression. England’s captain was thus the “only story in town”. Some “would have let the fuss distract them”. Not Stokes. At Old Trafford, it was clear he had one thing only on his mind: helping his team level the series following their defeat in the first Test at Lord’s. In his best performance since taking over the reins from Joe Root, Stokes scored a century and took four crucial wickets to propel his side to a stomping innings victory. So when the sides meet in a week at the Oval, an enthralling summer of Test cricket will get the “grand finale” it deserves.

This victory couldn’t have been more different in character from England’s four consecutive wins at the start of the summer, said Simon Wilde in The Sunday Times. Those victories (three against New Zealand, one against India) “were all salvaged from difficult positions”, and all were marked by remarkable fourth-innings run chases. This time, England “dominated the contest from first to last” – skittling South Africa out for 151 on day one, posting a formidable 415 in response, then bowling their opponents out for another low total. Largely absent was the ultra-aggressive, “hell-raising approach” that marked the first few months of Stokes’s captaincy, said Ali Martin in The Observer. Instead of “Bazball”, this was a decidedly old-school Test victory, based on “earthy, pragmatic cricket”.

While Stokes was deservedly man of the match, there were plenty of encouraging performances for England, said Tim Wigmore in The Daily Telegraph. James Anderson again “showcased his full array of gifts”, taking six wickets for 62 across South Africa’s two innings at a miserly run rate of barely two an over. It’s astonishing that, having recently turned 40, the fast bowler “still marries unrelenting control with potency”. Barely less impressive was Ollie Robinson, who returned to the side for the first time since being publicly upbraided for his lack of fitness during England’s winter Ashes tour, said Lawrence Booth in the Daily Mail. Looking much leaner (and claiming he’s now a “gym freak”), Robinson produced a devastating spell of three wickets in ten balls to finish off South Africa in their second innings. And it was a great match, too, for wicketkeeper Ben Foakes, who joined his captain in scoring a century, said Nick Hoult. Having started this summer as “underdogs” to New Zealand, India and South Africa, England are now “one more push away from beating all three”.

England name squad for third Test

The final Test of the series against South Africa takes place at The Oval from 8-12 September. England have named an unchanged squad.

• Ben Stokes (captain), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root

England Test captain Ben Stokes has blamed an “unsustainable” schedule for why he has retired from one-day international (ODI) cricket. The Durham all-rounder played his final 50-over match for England at his home ground in Chester-le-Street yesterday.

Speaking ahead of the 62-run loss against South Africa at the Riverside Ground, Stokes told the BBC’s Test Match Special there is “too much cricket rammed in” for people to play the three formats – Tests, ODIs and Twenty20s. “We are not cars, you can’t just fill us up and we’ll go out there and be ready to be fuelled up again,” he added.

The 31-year-old was given a “terrific ovation” after being dismissed for five runs against South Africa, said Sky Sports. He ended his 105-match ODI career having scored 2,924 runs, including three centuries, and took 74 wickets with a best of 5-61 against Australia in 2013. Stokes also starred with a man-of-the-match performance as England won the Cricket World Cup final against New Zealand in 2019.

A ‘once-in-a-generation’ player

Stokes took over as England’s Test captain in April and he felt that the “jam-packed” nature of the cricketing calendar meant something had to give. “I think the schedule and everything that is expected of us these days, for me personally at the moment, it feels unsustainable,” he told Sky Sports Cricket’s Nasser Hussain. “It was never going to be an easy [decision] but now being the captain of the Test team, and how much cricket we’ve got coming up, I’ve got to bear in mind that I’ve got to look after my body.”

Jos Buttler, England’s current white-ball captain, hailed Stokes as a “once-in-a-generation” player. He believes that the all-rounder’s retirement should “absolutely” be a bit of a “wake-up call” for the bodies in charge of the sport.

Eoin Morgan, who captained England to World Cup glory in 2019, added that it’s “incredibly sad” that Stokes has retired from the one-day game at just 31-years-old.

Cricket needs its ‘headline acts’

In his interview with Sky Sports, Stokes revealed that he wants to play “140, 150” Test matches – he has played 83 Tests since making his debut against Australia in Adelaide in December 2013. Giving up one of the game’s formats has “come earlier” than he would have liked, but there’s “a longevity” he’s thought about when making his decision.

In the space of a generation the amount of cricket played by international teams has “massively increased”, said The Guardian. Last year England played 41 matches: 15 Tests, nine ODIs and 17 T20s. In 1991 they played 17 games: nine Tests, eight ODIs and no T20s.

So far this summer England have played four Test matches – three against New Zealand and one against India. While the limited overs team have played three ODIs against the Netherlands followed by three ODIs and three Twenty20s against India. In the series against South Africa, there’s three ODIs, three Twenty20s and three Tests before 12 September.

Over the next 12 months England will play “more than 100 days of men’s international cricket across all formats”, said Matthew Henry on the BBC. Stokes’s withdrawal from ODIs “should ring alarm bells among cricket’s authorities”. With such an intense schedule, it’s a “worrying prospect” that one of the game’s biggest stars is removing himself from part of it. Cricket is “nothing” without its “headline acts” – “it must heed these warnings”.

England men’s 2022 summer fixtures and results

England vs. New Zealand Test series

• 1st Test at Lord’s: England won by five wickets
• 2nd Test at Trent Bridge: England won by five wickets
• 3rd Test at Emerald Headingley: England won by seven wickets

Netherlands vs. England one-day series

• 1st ODI: England won by 232 runs
• 2nd ODI: England won by six wickets
• 3rd ODI: England won by eight wickets

England vs. India Test match

• Edgbaston: England won by seven wickets

England vs. India IT20 Series

• Ageas Bowl: India won by 50 runs
• Edgbaston: India won by 49 runs
• Trent Bridge: England won by 17 runs

England vs. India one-day series

• Kia Oval: India won by ten wickets
• Lord’s: England won by 100 runs
• Emirates Old Trafford: India won by five wickets

England vs. South Africa one-day series

• 1st ODI at Riverside: South Africa won by 62 runs
• 22 July: Emirates Old Trafford (1pm)
• 24 July: Headingley (11am)

England vs. South Africa international Twenty20 series

• 27 July: The Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol (6.30pm)
• 28 July: Sophia Gardens (6.30pm)
• 31 July: Ageas Bowl (4.30pm)

England vs. South Africa Test series

• 17-21 August: Lord’s (11am)
• 25-29 August: Emirates Old Trafford (11am)
• 8-12 September: Kia Oval (11am)

“Bazball”: that’s what they’re calling the relentlessly aggressive approach to Test cricket that England have embraced under new head coach Brendon McCullum, said Nick Hoult in The Daily Telegraph. And on Tuesday at Edgbaston, the strategy notched up another triumph. In their single Test against India (completing the series begun last summer), England did what they’d already done to New Zealand three times this summer: they made mincemeat of a fourth-innings run chase that had seemed out of reach. Having dominated the first three days, India were bowled out for 245 in their second innings, leaving England 378 for victory – a total higher than any they’d chased in their 145 years of Test cricket.

Yet they made it look easy, said Ali Martin in The Guardian. After Alex Lees and Zak Crawley had blazed their way to “England’s fastest century opening stand in history”, England briefly faltered, losing three wickets for two runs. But that merely brought Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow together – two batsmen enjoying “remarkable purple patches”. And they completed the job with an unbroken stand of 254, both “finessing a pair of slick centuries”.

Surreal to think that, six weeks ago, England were the “laughing stock of world cricket”, said Lawrence Booth in the Daily Mail. Under McCullum and new captain Ben Stokes, a staggering turnaround has taken place, and “in a style that has mocked Test cricket’s prevailing wisdom”. Fourth-innings run chases are meant to favour the bowling side, but England have now successfully chased scores of more than 250 in four successive matches – at a run rate of nearly five per over. There’ll be times when “Bazball” won’t work, said Mike Atherton in The Times: “on pitches that deteriorate, for example, or in sunnier, hotter climes”. But for now, England “are a team transformed”. Australia, who tour here next summer, will undoubtedly “have taken note”.

England’s fourth innings run chase in the third Test against New Zealand this week was never going to finish with a “dribbled single into the leg side”, said Mike Atherton in The Times. That just “wouldn’t have been fitting” for the new approach initiated by England’s new head coach, New Zealander Brendon McCullum, and its new captain, Ben Stokes. Instead, England sealed their 3-0 series victory with Jonny Bairstow belting the gentle off-spin of Michael Bracewell over long on and into Headingley’s Football Stand for six.

Set a not insubstantial 296 for victory, England had knocked off the runs for the loss of three wickets, in a mere 54.2 overs. Bairstow, in particular, had seemed a man “in a rush”: joining Joe Root at the crease in the first over of the fifth morning, following Ollie Pope’s dismissal for 82, he “hurried the match to its conclusion in a blizzard of boundaries”. In the process, he struck 50 runs off 30 deliveries – missing by two balls Ian Botham’s record for England’s fastest Test half-century.

It was a display that encapsulated England’s relentlessly aggressive approach throughout the series, which has seen them three times chase down totals of more than 250. “New Zealand must have felt like they had been hit by an unstoppable tidal wave.”

Ben Stokes has ‘revolutionised’ his team

Since being appointed England captain at the start of the summer, Ben Stokes has “revolutionised” how his team plays Test cricket, said Nick Hoult in The Daily Telegraph. No previous England captain has “stamped a mark” so quickly. What’s especially remarkable is that this transformation has been achieved without any big changes in personnel: by and large, this is the “same group of players who crumbled under the merest hint of pressure in the West Indies in March” – and who had managed just one win in their previous 17 Tests.

What Stokes and McCullum have done so effectively is transform the mindset of their players. Both are “clear communicators” who speak “in words every player understands”. They have issued their team with clear instructions: batsmen must be positive, and “look to score” at every opportunity; bowlers must “bowl attacking lengths”, and not worry too much about conceding runs. As a result, for the first time in years, this is an England Test team with “a distinct identity”.

Fully backing players

Also crucial to the success of the new regime has been its philosophy of fully backing players, said Tim Wigmore in the same paper. In Australia last winter, batsmen were shown videos of their dismissals. The Stokes way, by contrast, is “to focus on what players can do”, not dwell on their past failures. And this has had a galvanising effect on team members. Pope, promoted to number three, has for the first time looked like a Test batsman. Bairstow, given licence to follow his attacking instincts, has smashed two match-winning centuries.

However, no England cricketer has undergone more of a transformation than left-arm spinner Jack Leach. Having been in and out of the side for years – and rarely selected at home – Leach all of a sudden found himself being endorsed by Stokes as a “bowler who could help win England Test matches in all climes”. And he fully repaid the confidence of his captain: at Headingley, he took five wickets in each innings – becoming just the fifth England spinner in the past 45 years to take ten wickets in a home Test.

Eoin Morgan’s retirement

It was in many ways apt that the day after England completed their series win, Eoin Morgan – England’s white-ball captain for the past seven years – announced his retirement from international cricket, said Paul Newman in the Daily Mail. For what England are doing under Stokes is “bringing the same dynamic, high-octane approach to Test cricket that Morgan pioneered in the white-ball game”.

The two revolutions even started in similar circumstances: Morgan’s began in 2015, after “the desperate low” of that year’s World Cup, and fully got into its groove during that summer’s one-day series against New Zealand, which England won 3-2. Adopting an “ultra-positive” style in the “three-dimensional game that is Test cricket” is certainly no easy feat – and England, who at times rode their luck against New Zealand, must expect some “bumps in the road”.

One thing, however, is undeniable: “something seismic and significant has begun in this series”. Watching England over the coming months is going to be a lot of fun.

It doesn’t get any better than this, said Paul Newman in the Daily Mail. On Tuesday, in front of a packed crowd at Trent Bridge, England clinched a series win against New Zealand with one of the most “glorious and scintillating” victories in their history. Star of the show was Jonny Bairstow, whose extraordinary 77-ball century – the second fastest in Tests by an England player – enabled his team to make light work of chasing 299 in 72 overs. Almost as vital was the contribution of Ben Stokes, who partnered Bairstow for most of his innings and whose thunderous boundary, at 5.24pm, brought victory with 22 overs to spare. Together with coach Brendon McCullum, England’s new captain has transformed his team in just two games from a “side devoid of all belief” into one brimming with aggressive intent.

It’s strange to recall, after such a momentous day, that this Test began with New Zealand scoring 553 in their first innings, said Mike Atherton in The Times. Not many sides lose from that position – and the England of old would surely have been cowed. But the new approach, as summarised by Stokes, is “to run into danger, not back away from it and stand still”. Across the five days of this pulsating Test, his players embodied that philosophy magnificently, whether it was Ollie Pope scoring 145 in the first innings, or opener Alex Lees – a man who just recently “looked frightened to play a shot in the Caribbean” – crunching boundaries off the first two balls of England’s run chase.

Welcome, too, is the fact that England knocked off the runs without needing a big contribution from Joe Root, said Nick Hoult in The Daily Telegraph. Although their ex-captain hit a century in the first innings, on the final day he managed only three – and when he was out shortly before tea, many assumed that England’s hopes were dead and buried. Bairstow, though, had other ideas. In the riotous passage of play that followed, he struck “one outrageous shot after another” – many of them pulled sixes off New Zealand’s pace bowlers. In just nine overs, England scored 109 runs – transforming the complexion of the match.

And to cap it all, the “jubilant crowd” at Trent Bridge got to witness such heroics for free, said Ali Martin in The Guardian. In a “generous” move, Nottinghamshire Cricket Club ensured a full crowd for the final day by opening their turnstiles to the public. All this took place on the day it was announced that rights to the Indian Premier League had been sold for an “eye-watering” £5bn – making it more valuable even than soccer’s Premier League. How good to be reminded that the game’s “longest format” can still produce cricket that is, “quite simply, out of this world”.

England men’s 2022 summer fixtures

England vs. New Zealand Test series

• 1st Test at Lord’s: England won by five wickets
• 2nd Test at Trent Bridge: England won by five wickets
• 23-27 June: 3rd Test at Emerald Headingley

Netherlands vs. England one-day series

• 17 June: 1st ODI at VRA Cricket Club, Amstelveen
• 19 June: 2nd ODI at VRA Cricket Club, Amstelveen
• 22 June: 3rd ODI at VRA Cricket Club, Amstelveen

England vs. India Test match

• 1-5 July: Edgbaston

England vs. India IT20 Series

• 7 July: Ageas Bowl
• 9 July: Edgbaston
• 10 July: Trent Bridge

England vs. India one-day series

• 12 July: Kia Oval
• 14 July: Lord’s
• 17 July: Emirates Old Trafford

England vs. South Africa one-day series

• 19 July: Riverside
• 22 July: Emirates Old Trafford
• 24 July: Headingley

England vs. South Africa international Twenty20 series

• 27 July: The Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol
• 28 July: Sophia Gardens
• 31 July: Ageas Bowl

England vs. South Africa Test series

• 17-21 August: Lord’s
• 25-29 August: Emirates Old Trafford
• 8-12 September: Kia Oval

During the final, torrid months of his tenure as England captain, Joe Root cut an increasingly careworn figure, said Mike Atherton in The Times. He would answer questions robotically, as if drawing on pre-scripted excuses. The captaincy – he has subsequently admitted – was proving “unhealthy” for his mental well-being. So what a relief it was last Sunday to see him back to doing what he does best: “scoring a mountain of runs” for his country, and looking happy while doing so. His “superbly crafted” unbeaten fourth innings century, the 26th of his Test career, brought to an end a “dismal run of one win in 17 Tests”, and guided England to victory at Lord’s in their first Test against New Zealand. It also ensured that England’s new captain, Ben Stokes, got off to a “perfect, winning start”. After its recent travails, “English cricket needed a moment like this”.

Uplifting though the victory was, “it would be a stretch to claim this is a corner turned for England”, said Ali Martin in The Guardian. Familiar failings were on show at Lord’s – including a dramatic first innings batting collapse – and with the notable exception of Matt Potts, who “enjoyed a promising seven-wicket debut”, there were few notable contributions from younger players. Moreover, Stokes’s “momentum-shifting half-century in the chase” very nearly didn’t happen at all. With his score on just one, the England captain had his stumps knocked over, and began to trudge back to the pavilion – only to be recalled when it emerged that a no-ball had been bowled. But for that giant slice of luck, England would have been on 77-5, chasing a well-nigh impossible target of 277.

As it is, England have something solid to build on, said Oliver Brown in The Daily Telegraph. And most of the credit must go to Root, who once again proved the one “totem of strength” in an otherwise fragile side. Pride and satisfaction were “etched across his face” as he raised his bat to celebrate his century on Sunday, drinking in the applause that rang out “from every corner of this hallowed ground”. When he made it to three figures, Root also passed another landmark: he became only the second English player, after Alastair Cook, to accumulate 10,000 Test runs, and by a quirk of fate, did so at the exact same age: 31 years and 157 days.

Hard to say which of them will be remembered as the greater batsman, but the signs are it could well be Root. By the time he was 31, “Cook’s powers were beginning to attenuate”, whereas Root appears to be still in his prime: given how infrequently he gets injured, he could well be playing another five years. Stokes has a hugely tough task ahead of him – but it will be made incomparably easier by having “somebody of Root’s pedigree at his disposal”.

The “fabled” feat of hitting six sixes in an over has only ever been achieved twice in first-class cricket, said Ali Martin in The Guardian: by Sir Garfield Sobers in 1968 and by Ravi Shastri in 1985. And last week at New Road, Worcester, Ben Stokes, England’s new captain, came within a whisker of joining this “elite club”. Playing for his county, Durham, against Worcestershire, he launched the first five balls of Josh Baker’s 20th over for six, bringing up a 64-ball century in the process. Sensing that history was about to be made, the crowd fell silent. Yet off the next ball, Stokes could only manage a “one-bounce four”. He had plundered 34 from the 18-year-old left-arm spinner’s over – but still recoiled in “frustration at an opportunity missed”. When he was finally out, for 161 off 88 balls, he had to content himself with a lesser record. He had struck 17 sixes – the most ever in a County Championship innings.

It’s probably a mistake to read too much into what happens in a county game on a lifeless pitch, said Mike Atherton in The Times. Nonetheless, Stokes’s spectacular innings – his first since being appointed England captain – feels like a “pointer towards the rest of the summer”. For a while now, when representing his country, Stokes has reigned in his attacking instincts and “tried to play as a dutiful top-order batsman” – an approach that has fitted with the team’s generally “timid” play during the final year of Joe Root’s tenure. But with Stokes at the helm, it seems inevitable that England will switch to a more aggressive style. And if that means that when he bats, the “brutal middle-order stroke-maker from yesteryear” will resurface, then we “could be in for a treat”.

Given Stokes’s lack of experience as a leader, it’s hard to know what sort of captain he’ll make, said Nick Hoult in The Daily Telegraph. In his entire professional career, he has captained a team on less than a dozen occasions. Those close to him speak of a superb tactician who is more empathetic than his “alpha male” reputation suggests – but how this will translate into handling the pressures of captaincy won’t be clear for a good few months. The precedents set by Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff – the two all-rounders to whom Stokes is most often compared – aren’t exactly encouraging, said Tim Wigmore in the same paper. Both had short, unhappy spells as national captain. However, Stokes, at nearly 31, is an older, wiser and a more confident figure than Botham or Flintoff were when they assumed the role, and that could make all the difference. Yes, the challenge is “gargantuan” – but he may well have the “strength” of personality to meet it.

Ben Stokes said it was a “real privilege” to be named the 81st captain of the England men’s Test cricket team. The Durham all-rounder replaces Joe Root, who resigned from the role after five years in charge.

In a press conference on Thursday, Stokes was confirmed as Test skipper by Rob Key, England’s new managing director of men’s cricket. For his first major decision in the role, Key had “no hesitation” in offering the captaincy to a player who “epitomises the mentality and approach” needed to take the team forwards. “He thoroughly deserves the opportunity.”

Former captain Root was praised by Stokes for being a “massive part” of his development as “a leader” in the dressing room. Stokes said Root will continue to be a “key ally for me in this role”. In a tweet, ex-skipper Root congratulated his mate and said he would be right with him “every step of the way”.

‘A rare determination to succeed’

The appointment sees the 30-year-old assume “one of the most prestigious positions in British sport”, said Rory Dollard in The Independent. He has no doubt had some memorable moments – the 2019 World Cup win and his century against Australia in the Ashes “miracle at Headingley” – to name just two. But there’s also been some moments “that he will look back on less fondly”, such as the “Bristol incident” in 2017 where he was arrested following a “fracas” outside of a nightclub and was “ultimately found not guilty on a charge of affray 11 months later”.

Last July Stokes took a sustained break from the international game to rest an injured finger and protect his mental wellbeing. In a column for The Mirror, he wrote that he was in a “real dark place” and how he struggled with “bubble life” and events off the field. “I don’t want anyone to feel the way I did, because I wasn’t in a good place and I’m not afraid to admit it.”

Stokes’s issues with mental health make this appointment “a huge gamble”, said Martin Samuel in the Daily Mail. He was the outstanding candidate, but this will put “more pressure on a man whose body and mind were creaking”. It remains an enormous gamble, not just for Stokes, who already “carries the weight of being the team’s talismanic match-winner”, but for the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB), too.

Since the incident in Bristol that “nearly destroyed his career”, Stokes has certainly “come a long way”, said Steve James in The Times. Overcoming “so many difficulties” has shown that the new England captain “possesses a rare determination to succeed”.

‘When he speaks, players listen’

Stokes was “No 1 choice in a field of one”, Samuel added in the Mail. He is a “quite brilliant player” and “if this were a general election”, he would be “returned with a landslide and chaired into parliament”.

There was “no need to overthink” the appointment, said former England captain Mike Atherton in The Times. Stokes is a “proven Test match cricketer” and has shown himself to be “an inspirational player” time and again. “He has the respect of the dressing room, as a player, leader and man. When he speaks, players listen; when he motions, they follow.”

Nasser Hussain, another former captain, agrees that Stokes is the “best option” and someone who “puts himself secondary” to England winning. Speaking on Sky Sports, Hussain added that England have a “winner in charge of our Test team” and “he will be doing everything to make sure we win every Test match we play”.

His great all-round predecessors – Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff – may have both failed as captains, said Tim Wigmore in The Telegraph. But there are reasons to believe Stokes “can thrive in both roles”.

New coach for Lord’s first Test?

Following the series defeats in Australia and the West Indies, there has been a personnel overhaul within the England set-up. With Key and Stokes now appointed in their roles, the next task for the ECB is to recruit separate head coaches for the men’s Test and white-ball teams. Key said he is “optimistic” that a new coach will be in place for the first Test on 2 June against New Zealand at Lord’s.

Stokes has scored 5,061 runs and taken 174 wickets in 79 Tests for England, the BBC reported. He had been vice-captain across two spells since 2017 and previously captained the side in the first Test defeat by West Indies in 2020.

One of his first demands as England’s Test skipper is for James Anderson and Stuart Broad to return to the squad, said Ali Martin in The Guardian. “Subject to form and fitness”, the veteran bowlers will be “back in the fold” for the summer schedule.

England men’s 2022 summer fixtures

England vs. New Zealand Test series

• 2-6 June: Lord’s
• 10-14 June: Trent Bridge
• 23-27 June: Emerald Headingley

England vs. India Test match

• 1-5 July: Edgbaston

England vs. India IT20 Series

• 7 July: Ageas Bowl
• 9 July: Edgbaston
• 10 July: Trent Bridge

England vs. India one-day series

• 12 July: Kia Oval
• 14 July: Lord’s
• 17 July: Emirates Old Trafford

England vs. South Africa one-day series

• 19 July: Riverside
• 22 July: Emirates Old Trafford
• 24 July: Headingley

England vs. South Africa international Twenty20 series

• 27 July: The Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol
• 28 July: Sophia Gardens
• 31 July: Ageas Bowl

England vs. South Africa Test series

• 17-21 August: Lord’s
• 25-29 August: Emirates Old Trafford
• 8-12 September: Kia Oval

It’s set to be a very busy few months for English men’s cricket – on and off the pitch. After defeats in Australia and the West Indies, major personnel changes are taking place with coaching, managerial and captaincy positions becoming vacant.

This summer the home fixture list starts with a three-Test series against New Zealand, followed by Test, one-day and Twenty20 matches against India and South Africa. The busy international schedule has “increased the need for splitting the coaching roles”, said BBC Sport. And the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has this week announced that it’s looking to recruit separate head coaches for the men’s Test and white-ball teams.

One change that has already happened is Rob Key being appointed as managing director of England men’s cricket. The search for a new Test captain is also underway following Joe Root’s resignation after five years in the role.

Contenders are emerging

Former head coach Chris Silverwood had previously been in charge of all formats, but he was sacked after the 4-0 Ashes thrashing Down Under. With adverts now formally placed by the ECB for two roles, England will “revert to a split-coaching structure for the first time in eight years”, said Matt Roller on ESPNcricinfo. The decision to split the coaching role in two had been “widely anticipated” since Key’s appointment. The application process closes on 6 May and interviews will be scheduled for 9-10 May.

Key has not yet made any official approaches to coaches but “contenders are emerging”, Sky Sports News reported. Former India and South Africa head coach Gary Kirsten and ex-Surrey, Sri Lanka and Ireland coach Graham Ford have expressed their interest, while former Australia batter Simon Katich is also in contention. Despite being linked, Australians Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer are “not in the frame for either of the head coach positions being advertised”, Sky Sports News added.

Stokes set to be announced

Ben Stokes has been widely tipped to replace Root as skipper. And according to The Mirror’s Dean Wilson the all-rounder will “lead England out” against New Zealand at Lord’s as the new Test captain after being “offered the job” by Key. Stokes, 32, was “honoured to accept the role” and to “start a new era for the misfiring side”, Wilson said.

Key and Stokes met for “face to face talks” for the first time since the new director of cricket’s appointment, said Nick Hoult in The Telegraph. Stokes’s captaincy will now go to the ECB for “final rubber stamping”. Tomorrow, Key is due to hold his first press conference at Lord’s and could announce Stokes’s “widely anticipated appointment”.

Stokes, who was vice-captain for the majority of Root’s time in charge, has expressed his desire to recall fast bowlers James Anderson and Stuart Broad to the side after England’s two leading wicket-takers were left out of the West Indies tour. Stokes is “adamant” he wants Broad and Anderson “back in harness this summer”, Hoult added. And not just for a “sentimental farewell for two legends”.

England men’s 2022 summer fixtures

England vs. New Zealand Test series

• 2-6 June: Lord’s
• 10-14 June: Trent Bridge
• 23-27 June: Emerald Headingley

England vs. India Test match

• 1-5 July: Edgbaston

England vs. India IT20 Series

• 7 July: Ageas Bowl
• 9 July: Edgbaston
• 10 July: Trent Bridge

England vs. India one-day series

• 12 July: Kia Oval
• 14 July: Lord’s
• 17 July: Emirates Old Trafford

England vs. South Africa one-day series

• 19 July: Riverside
• 22 July: Emirates Old Trafford
• 24 July: Headingley

England vs. South Africa international Twenty20 series

• 27 July: The Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol
• 28 July: Sophia Gardens
• 31 July: Ageas Bowl

England vs. South Africa Test series

• 17-21 August: Lord’s
• 25-29 August: Emirates Old Trafford
• 8-12 September: Kia Oval

The timing may have been a shock, coming as it did “early on Good Friday”, said Mike Atherton in The Times. But there was nothing surprising about the decision itself. The utter woefulness of England’s recent performances – they’ve lost 11 of their last 17 Test matches – has finally forced Joe Root to acknowledge what most people have known for a while: that his time was up as England captain.

Root has been in the job for five years, making him England’s longest-serving captain, said Ali Martin in The Guardian. And he leaves it with a curiously mixed record: he is the captain with the most Test victories (27), but also the most defeats (26). Some of his achievements have been highly impressive, notably the series wins in South Africa and India, and he has been an “unimpeachable ambassador for the English game”, but he never realised his ultimate ambition of “being an Ashes-winning captain”.

Root is a “man of utmost decency” who has often excelled in the pastoral side of captaincy, said Alan Gardner on ESPNcricinfo. When Ben Stokes unexpectedly withdrew from the Test squad last summer, he offered an impeccably judged message of support. His relationship with his bowlers has been “more complex”, however. By over-bowling Jofra Archer in 2019, he arguably contributed to the elbow injury that may well end the fast bowler’s Test career. He has also been criticised for mishandling his “seam bowling totems, James Anderson and Stuart Broad”.

One undoubted plus to Root’s resignation is that it will enable him to concentrate all his energies on his batting, said Oliver Brown in The Daily Telegraph. Although early in his captaincy Root performed superbly, the “strain” has started to take a toll. Still only 31, he should have another “five prime years ahead of him”: there is no good reason why he “cannot return to the glories of his pomp”.

It has been obvious for a while now to fans of women’s cricket that Australia are the “best team in the world”, said Raf Nicholson in The Guardian. And last Sunday, they “made it official”. Facing reigning champions England in the final of the Women’s World Cup, Meg Lanning’s side confirmed their dominance with a comprehensive 71-run victory. Australia are a class side, but they were handed a huge advantage by Heather Knight’s decision to bowl first on a flat wicket at Christchurch’s Hagley Oval. And their task became simpler still when England’s fielders dropped several chances. Australia’s openers alone put on 160 runs; Alyssa Healy struck 170 off 138 balls; and they finished on 356 for five – easily the highest total of the tournament. Faced with such a daunting target, “England might as well have got on the plane then and there”. That they even made a fist of it was entirely due to vice-captain Nat Sciver, who struck a heroic unbeaten 148 as her team were bowled out for 285.

It’s a pity the final was so one-sided, because overall this was a “sensational” tournament that will do much to boost the standing of the women’s game, said Milly McEvoy in The Independent. Past World Cups have been somewhat marred by the gulf between the strongest and weakest teams. But here, even the two weakest sides – Pakistan and Bangladesh – were good enough to challenge the top nations, with lots of “nail-biting finishes”. Of the 31 matches played, no less than ten “went down to the final over”. And the competition was a hit with the New Zealand public, who – after two years of punishing Covid restrictions – joyfully “attended in their droves”.

Still, it was somewhat disheartening to watch England being so comprehensively outplayed by Australia in the final, said Paul Newman in the Daily Mail. The side’s 2017 World Cup victory – sealed against India “on a glorious day at Lords” – represented a “massive opportunity for the English women’s game”. Their uneven performance in this tournament – they also lost their first three group matches – suggests they have failed to grasp that opportunity, whereas Australia have spent the past five years transforming themselves into a winning machine. One thing that is surely holding England back is the team’s “lack of diversity”, said Scyld Berry in The Daily Telegraph. Sophia Dunkley is their only regular non-white player, and one of only four “cricketers of colour to represent England Women since their inaugural game in 1934”. This “uniform mindset” spills over into the team’s tactics, which tend to be timid and unimaginative in pressure situations. The ECB must address these problems, if the already “wide margin” between England and Australia is not to become wider still.

England are through to Sunday’s final of the 2022 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup after an emphatic 137-run victory over South Africa in the last four. Heather Knight’s team will now face Australia at Hagley Oval in Christchurch, New Zealand.

After coming into the World Cup as defending champions from 2017, England had a “horror start” to the tournament and were on the brink of elimination, Sky Sports said. Their hopes of retaining the trophy were “hanging by the proverbial thread” after losing their three opening round-robin matches to Australia, West Indies and South Africa.

Victories in their final four group games meant that England sealed their spot in the semi-finals and against South Africa on Thursday the heroics of Danni Wyatt’s batting (129 off 125 balls) and Sophie Ecclestone’s spin bowling (6-36) made the difference.

If England are to defend the title they will have to beat their Ashes rivals Australia, who are the “strong favourites” to win on Sunday, the BBC said. The Australians are unbeaten in the World Cup with eight wins from eight matches and “have lost only two of their past 41 one-day internationals”, including their past seven against England.

It promises to be a “grandstand finale to a superb tournament”, said the BBC’s chief cricket writer Stephan Shemilt.

Ecclestone: ‘let’s put on a show’

England spin bowler Ecclestone is the leading wicket-taker at the World Cup with 20 dismissals – and against South Africa in the semi-final she achieved her maiden international five-wicket haul. Alex Hartley, a World Cup winner with England in 2017, believes Ecclestone is “so good” that the 22-year-old “could play first-class cricket for a men’s side”. In this World Cup, “I have seen a whole new level from her in terms of mindset”, Hartley wrote in The Telegraph.

Ecclestone believes England are yet to play their best cricket in the tournament and she has urged her team-mates to “put on a show”, Sky Sports reported. “Obviously it’s a great feeling getting through to the World Cup final,” she said. “It’s something we’ve been working towards after we lost three games at the start so it’s great to get to the final and hopefully we can put on a show on Sunday.”

Jonassen: ‘It doesn’t get much bigger’

Australia are “relishing the chance to play the old enemy” in the final on Sunday, the Australian Associated Press (AAP) reported. Batting star Beth Mooney “hat-tipped” England’s effort in reaching the final after their bad start, but warned that the Aussies “do enjoy beating them to be honest – there is a huge rivalry there”.

“We played them obviously in the first-round game and I think everyone was happy to have a bit of a break from them,” Mooney told AAP. “They fought their way to the final and kudos to them. But not much of what’s happening this tournament matters now because you’ve got to show up at the right time on Sunday.”

Playing in a World Cup final against England “doesn’t get much bigger”, said Australian spin bowler Jess Jonassen. “We know that England will come at us really hard and have some match-winners, but equally so do we. It’s a rivalry that’s entrenched not only in cricket, but also world sport.”

Predictions: who will win the World Cup?

England’s turnaround has been “remarkable”, but Australia have been “head and shoulders above the rest of the world in this format for several years now”, said Malik Ouzia in the London Evening Standard. “They won all three ODIs in convincing fashion during the Ashes this winter and England will have to be pitch-perfect to avoid a similar result here. Australia to win.”

Four predictions have been made for the final by Harshal Singh Surya on Sports Unfold. Batting predictions include Australia’s Alyssa Healy to score more than 35 runs and England’s Danni Wyatt to score the most runs for her team. England bowler Sophie Ecclestone is also tipped to take two or more wickets. The ultimate prediction is for Australia to win the match.

UK start time and live TV and radio coverage

England fans will have to set their alarms for the Women’s Cricket World Cup final on Sunday 3 April, which starts at 2am BST.

Sky Sports has announced that it will make the final free to watch across the UK. Viewers can enjoy live coverage from 1am on Sunday on Sky Sports Main Event (401), the Sky Sports Cricket World Cup channel (404), Sky Showcase (106) and the Sky Sports YouTube channel.

For fans tuning in on radio, Test Match Special on BBC Radio 5 live will provide commentary, with the show starting at 1.30am.

Joe Root’s future as England’s Test cricket captain is once again in question following the series defeat in the West Indies.

In the third Test in Grenada England were “hammered in three and a half days” following another “chaotic batting collapse”, said the BBC’s cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew. The “thoroughly deflating” ten-wicket defeat meant that Root’s team also lost the series 1-0.

England’s interim management team have “billed this as a new era, talked about a better atmosphere, but in the end it was same old, same old”, Agnew added. With no managing director, no head coach and a “beleaguered captain” hanging on by his fingernails, “you could not help but feel a sense of an end of an era”.

Root ‘very passionate’ to take team forward

Including the 4-0 Ashes humiliation in Australia and the loss in the Caribbean, England are now five Test series without a victory, Sky Sports reported. The defeat in the West Indies “completes a run of results in which they have only a solitary Test win to show from their last 17 matches stretching back to February 2021”.

Speaking after the match in Grenada Root said he was determined to continue as England’s Test captain, but admits that the decision is out of his hands. “I’ve made it quite clear at the start of this game and throughout this tour that I’m very passionate about trying to take this team forward,” said Root, who has been captain since 2017. “I will control all I can; I don’t think it’s ever in your hands. I feel like the group are very much behind me. We’re doing a lot of really good things – we just need to turn that into results now.”

Paul Collingwood, England’s interim head coach, has backed Root to continue as skipper. “You can see all of the players, the management and Joe himself have got the determination to take this team forward and get results,” Collingwood said. “If I was stood here and didn’t think that, then there would be a problem. The leadership doesn’t affect his batting, he is still going out there and scoring the runs. And he is desperate to turn things around and make this team the best it can be – simple as that.”

Root’s captaincy is ‘untenable’

While Collingwood is backing the skipper to stay on, The Times’s chief cricket correspondent Mike Atherton believes the defeat makes Root’s captaincy “untenable” and “it’s time to end the delusion”. Atherton, a former England captain, said it “was obvious to anyone who was in Australia, and should have been obvious to anyone who wasn’t, Root has reached the end of the road as captain”.

The time has come for a change at the top, said former England skipper Nasser Hussain in the Daily Mail. England’s defeat by the West Indies “should signal the end of Joe Root’s captaincy... he is a world-class batsman and a likeable lad but the team needs tougher characters”.

Michael Vaughan, another ex-England captain, agrees that Root should go. “Joe is without question the best role model England cricket has in terms of how he bats, prepares and carries himself,” Vaughan said in The Telegraph. “But his captaincy has not been good enough. Tactically he consistently misses a trick.”

Time to give Stokes a go?

If Root’s spell as captain does come to an end then “who do you go for?”, asked former England player Jonathan Trott. “It is really tricky,” Trott said on BT Sport. “That’s the conundrum that England cricket finds themselves in. There’s no one really coming forward.”

With Root “hanging on to the Test captaincy by grim death”, maybe now is the time to appoint all-rounder Ben Stokes, said Will Macpherson in the London Evening Standard. “It is worth wondering if Stokes, fiercely loyal, would agree to take over from his great friend Root if he was fired. Stokes is not a perfect candidate, or guaranteed to improve things. But it is time to give him a go.”

On 4 June 1993, a 23-year-old Australian with a cocky manner and peroxide blond hair ran up to the wicket at Old Trafford to deliver his first ball in Ashes cricket, said Martin Samuel in the Daily Mail. Although considered a bright prospect in Australia, nothing Shane Warne had done to this point had suggested he was anything out of the ordinary. His early Tests had been unremarkable, and a few weeks previously, in a warm-up game at Worcester, Graeme Hick had hit him to all parts of the ground. Now, from a short, casual-looking run-up, he bowled to Mike Gatting, who was on four. “Two-thirds of the way down the pitch the ball dipped into the leg-side, opening Gatting up like a can of beans, before ripping diagonally across his body to clip the outside of off-stump”, reported Mike Selvey in the next day’s Guardian. “Gatting stood his ground, not in dissent or disappointment, but in total, utter disbelief.”

The “Ball of the Century”, as it became known, turned Warne into a “cricketing superstar”, said Mike Atherton in The Times. And he remained one throughout his career, which ended 14 years later with the leg-spinner having taken 708 Test wickets, then more than any other bowler in history. But Warne wasn’t just the “greatest leg-spinner in the history of the game”, he was also one of its biggest personalities, a “force of nature” who “lived his life to the full, fitting more in one year than many others would” in a lifetime. That was why his death from a suspected heart attack last week came as such a blow. It seems inconceivable someone “so full of energy, so fizzing with the enjoyment of life’s rich possibilities” should be dead at the age of just 52.

Warne was born in 1969 in the Melbourne suburb of Ferntree Gully, said The Daily Telegraph. His father, an insurance consultant, and his German-born mother were both “natural athletes” who encouraged Shane and his brother Jason to try “all kinds of sports”. Warne’s first love was Australian rules football, which he dreamed of playing professionally. He only took up cricket seriously in his late teens, after being rejected by one of Melbourne’s biggest Aussie Rules clubs. It soon became apparent that he “possessed an extraordinary capacity to spin the ball”, largely due to his phenomenal upper body strength: something he attributed to a period as an eight-year-old which he’d spent dragging himself around in a cart, after breaking both legs in an accident.

Once Warne hit his stride in the Test arena, his impact on the game was incalculable, said Matthew Engel in The Guardian. He joined an already formidable Australian team and made it “overwhelmingly stronger”. And he “single-handedly revived the discipline of leg-spin”, which had become “almost a lost art” in a sport dominated by fast bowlers. Combining his prodigious spin with “rare consistency for a wrist-spinner”, Warne would “attack right from the start of a spell”, said Vic Marks in the same paper, staring down batsmen in a cocksure manner and often sledging them mercilessly as well. Under such pressures, batsmen would often cave in psychologically, resorting to “desperate acts of foolishness”.

Warne embodied the Australian archetype: a “larrikin” – a scrape-prone young man with a heart of gold, said The Times. And over time, his off-field antics became almost as notorious as his cricketing achievements. “There were brawls, betting scandals, drug controversies and sexual peccadilloes, such as in 2006, when he was secretly filmed ‘romping’ with two models who sold the story to a tabloid.” While none of this dented his popularity, it put paid to his hopes of ever captaining his country. And that’s arguably a shame, said Ed Smith in The Sunday Times, because “Warne’s cricketing intelligence was superb”. He planned each over meticulously, and had “great insights about wider trends” in the sport. In retirement, at least, his more reflective side got a chance to reveal itself, as he became a respected commentator.

Warne was someone with “no airs”, said Mike Atherton. Like most great sportsmen, he was “often surrounded by the monied” – but he always treated “ordinary folk” as he would anyone else. His death took place at a resort in Thailand, where he was holidaying with friends. One revealed that he and Warne had shared a meal of toast and Vegemite hours before the cricketer died. “Geez,” the friend reported Warne remarking, “you can’t beat Vegemite with some butter, always great wherever you are in the world.” He was an Australian “through and through”, to the last.

In response to the 4-0 hammering by Australia in the Ashes, England cricket selectors have made major changes to the Test squad for the upcoming tour of the West Indies. Eight players who featured in the Ashes series have been dropped – including two of English cricket’s all-time star performers.

James Anderson and Stuart Broad, England’s two leading wicket-takers, have been left out of the 16-man squad for the three-Test series in the Caribbean. The decision to drop the veteran bowlers has sparked huge debate among cricket pundits and fans.

Anderson, 39, is both the “most prolific and experienced seamer in Test history” with 640 scalps in 169 matches, Sky Sports said. While 35-year-old Broad has taken 537 wickets in 152 appearances.

The “post-Ashes cull” has already seen head coach Chris Silverwood, assistant Graham Thorpe and managing director of men’s cricket Ashley Giles lose their jobs. The changes have now moved “on field”.

Joe Root continues as captain of the Test team while Paul Collingwood has been named interim head coach and Andrew Strauss takes on the role of interim managing director.

‘An earthquake in cricketing terms’

The fallout from the “disastrous” Ashes tour was “never going to be restricted to administrators”, said Vithushan Ehantharajah in The Independent. But Anderson and Broad are “comfortably the most contentious axings so far”.

Mark Ramprakash, former England batsman and batting coach, said it was a “seismic” decision to drop the bowling duo. “I mean this is really an earthquake in cricketing terms,” he told Sky Sports. “I never saw this coming because really there’s been so much focus on England’s poor batting displays, particularly in Australia but also last summer, and it seems that these two great bowlers may have paid the price for the Ashes defeat.”

Anderson and Broad “weren’t anywhere near to blame” for the Ashes defeat, ex-England bowler Steve Harmison said on talkSPORT. “If anything, I’m looking at shining lights – probably Mark Wood was the standout performer [in Australia], then you’re looking at Broad and Anderson.”

However, former England skipper Michael Vaughan believes that “culling” the country’s greatest ever bowlers “sends a strong message”. Writing in The Telegraph, Vaughan said he was “quite happy with this selection” as Root and the panel “clearly feel that they need to move away from that pair” and build a new team without Broad and Anderson.

Strauss: it’s not the end

Interim managing director Strauss said it was “time to draw a line after the Ashes defeat” and changes were made to the squad to “give some impetus with an influx of new players”. But even though Anderson and Broad will not travel to the Caribbean, their England careers are not over.

“In respect of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, I want to emphasise this does not mean the end for them as England players,” Strauss added. “No one doubts the quality and experience that James and Stuart bring to the England set-up. It will be up to the new managing director and permanent head coach to decide on whether they will be involved this summer and beyond.”

England 16-man Test squad for the West Indies tour

• Joe Root (Yorkshire, captain), Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Matthew Fisher (Yorkshire), Ben Foakes (Surrey), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Alex Lees (Durham), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Craig Overton (Somerset), Matthew Parkinson (Lancashire), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Ben Stokes (Durham), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham)

West Indies vs. England Test fixtures

Four-day warm-up match

• When: 1-4 March
• Where: Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua

First Test

• When: 8-12 March 2022
• Where: Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, North Sound, Antigua
• UK start time: 2pm

Second Test

• When: 16-20 March 2022
• Where: Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados
• UK start time: 2pm

Third Test

• 24-28 March
• Where: National Cricket Stadium, St George’s, Grenada
• UK start time: 2pm

After seven years of “hard work, toil and relentless perseverance”, Virat Kohli this week announced that he was stepping down as captain of India’s Test cricket team.

Kohli, 33, led India in a “record-breaking 68 Tests, winning 40 matches – the fourth best record of any Test captain in history”, the BBC said. His announcement came after India were beaten 2-1 in the series against South Africa.

He may have departed as India’s Test talisman, but Kohli has built a legacy that will “live on long after him”, said The Guardian’s Anand Vasu. This Indian team “can and will win overseas, in any and all conditions” and his vision was to build a side that could win in Australia and England, “with an emphasis on fast bowling that had never been seen before”.

In an “impactful” seven years as Test captain, Kohli showed “who was the boss” by letting the opposition and the world “know every success on the field”, said Sanjjeev K Samyal in the Hindustan Times.

Regarded as “one of the greatest cricketers of all time”, Kohli previously served as India’s captain in both Twenty20 and one-day international matches, CNN reported. He will, however, “continue to contribute as a player and help Indian cricket attain greater heights”, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement.

The age of Kohli the captain is over, but Kohli the batsman will remain, said the BBC’s Suresh Menon. “Perhaps the end of the captain will see the resurgence of the batter.”

Root: I want to turn things around

Another Test captain whose future is up in the air is England’s Joe Root. After his side’s 4-0 thrashing by Australia in The Ashes, Root said he wants to stay on as England Test skipper, but admits the decision may not be his to make, Sky Sports reported.

“I believe that I am the right man to take this team forward,” the 31-year-old said. “I have an appetite to carry on and turn things around. If that decision is taken out of my hands, so be it.”

Following Kohli’s announcement, “I wonder what went through Root’s mind when he learnt of this” and “what will be going through his mind in the next few weeks”, said former England captain Alastair Cook in The Sunday Times. “Only Joe will know and I respect his decision either way.”

For now, Root remains as England’s Test captain – but there is lots of improvement needed. The 146-run loss in the fifth Ashes Test in Hobart condemned England to a tenth defeat in their last 14 Test matches, Sky Sports said. And just one victory has come in that time.

“At the minute we are going through a real tough stage as a group of players and the performances haven’t been good enough,” Root said. “But I’d love the opportunity to try to turn things around and for us to start putting in performances from an English Test team.”

1. Test dates, start times and TV

First Test

• When: 8-12 December 2021
• Where: The Gabba, Brisbane
• Result: Australia won by nine wickets

Second Test (day-night)

• When: 16-20 December 2021
• Where: The Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
• Daily start time: 4am
• TV coverage: BT Sport
• Radio coverage: Test Match Special on BBC radio

Third Test

• When: 26-30 December 2021
• Where: MCG, Melbourne
• Daily start time: 11.30pm
• TV coverage: BT Sport
• Radio coverage: Test Match Special on BBC radio

Fourth Test

• When: 5-9 January 2022
• Where: SCG, Sydney
• Daily start time: 11.30pm
• TV coverage: BT Sport
• Radio coverage: Test Match Special on BBC radio

Fifth Test (day-night)

• When: 14-18 January 2022
• Where: Blundstone Arena, Hobart, Tasmania (replaces Perth)
• UK start time: TBC
• TV coverage: BT Sport
• Radio coverage: Test Match Special on BBC radio

2. Predictions: who will win the Ashes?

Australian bowling legend Glenn McGrath has given his “customary” 5-0 verdict, The Daily Telegraph reported. McGrath believes his country could secure a whitewash depending on the result of the first Test. “I’ve painted myself into a corner in that if I say anything other than 5-0, people will say I’m not confident any more,” he told the BBC. “I’m predicting an Australia win – not 5-0, but if they are dominant in the first Test I might readjust.”

An “ill-prepared and raw” England need a “mini-miracle” to win the Test series in Australia, said Daniel Storey on the i news site. The Ashes is “not the playground, the academy nor the finishing school, but the stage”.

Chris Silverwood’s England team are “certainly underdogs”, said Metro’s Louis Sealey. The return of Ben Stokes is “huge” so they should win a Test, but they “remain huge underdogs to reclaim the urn”. Sealey predicts a 3-1 series win for Australia.

Fox Cricket’s leading commentators believe an Australian series win is “inevitable”. Aussie spin legend Shane Warne believes the Baggy Greens will win the series 2-1 while he tips David Warner to make the most runs and Pat Cummins to take the most wickets. Michael Hussey predicts a 4-0 series win for Australia and Adam Gilchrist is backing a 4-1 triumph for the home side.

Writers at The Cricketer “lay their reputations on the line” with their Ashes predictions. George Dobell said “it’s hard to be wildly optimistic” about the series and he fears a “real drubbing” for the tourists. However, he’d be “delighted” if England “make me eat my words”. Elizabeth Botcherby was equally optimistic… “4-0 (to Australia, obviously)”.

Cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew and Test Match Special commentator Alison Mitchell are two of the BBC pundits predicting a 2-2 series draw. “The Covid restrictions, schedule and the weather are working in England’s favour,” Agnew said. Australia were the firm favourites, that now “only seems to be marginal”. Mitchell, meanwhile, believes the series might be “a lot more even than people who are favouring Australia presume”. It will come down to “how many times England can take 20 wickets” and “how many times their batters can withstand the much-vaunted Australia bowling attack”.

Oliver Brown, chief sports writer at The Telegraph, believes “reasons for English optimism are multiplying fast”. Brown is predicting a 3-2 series victory for Root’s team, but should they lose either of the first two Tests badly then England will be “staring at whitewash territory”.

3. Ashes squads in full

Australia squad

• Pat Cummins (captain), Steve Smith (vice captain), Alex Carey (wicketkeeper), Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Mithcell Swepson, David Warner

England squad

• Joe Root (captain), Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Jimmy Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Azeem Rafiq’s testimony to MPs last week about the racism he faced as a Yorkshire cricketer was grimly compelling, said Jonathan Liew in the New Statesman. The media focused on the overt bigotry: the references to Asian players as “elephant washers”, the jokes about corner shops. But the most poignant parts of Rafiq’s story were those that described the sense of isolation he felt as a result of more insidious forms of bias: the “sniggers and whispers, the imagined subtexts, the unvoiced suspicions”. This was perfectly illustrated by a letter sent by some Yorkshire staff to the club in October, before Rafiq’s complaints became big news. In it, the staff described him as “problematic in the dressing room” and accused him of not sharing the club’s “White Rose values”. “This language will be instinctively familiar to anyone who has ever been in an environment where, for whatever reason, their face didn’t fit.”

Tackling subtle forms of prejudice is difficult, said Kenan Malik in The Observer. Some have leapt on the latest revelation that Rafiq himself exchanged anti-Semitic texts with a fellow cricketer a decade ago, implying that this somehow discredits his testimony. But these texts (for which Rafiq has apologised) only served to illustrate his point about how “people can be blind to bigotry in one context while alert to it in another”. There was a further example of that earlier this month when London’s Royal Court Theatre apologised for giving a fictional money-grabbing billionaire in a new play the Jewish-sounding name of Hershel Fink. The theatre blamed it on “unconscious bias”, which is something we all need to be mindful of.

We do indeed, said Nick Timothy in The Daily Telegraph. Racism is still a “significant problem” in the UK, in its overt, subconscious and institutional forms. But the Rafiq case also exposed the strange “double standards” that often apply in this area. People who would usually damn racist comments seemed strangely quick to excuse Rafiq. Some Jewish commentators suggested that there is a “hierarchy of racism”, in which anti-Semitism counts less than other acts of discrimination.

This story is not just about one particular case, said Isabelle Westbury in The Independent. In the wake of Rafiq’s complaints, a slew of disturbing allegations have emerged. It’s disappointing that he too has used racist language in the past, but he apologised, immediately and unreservedly – “a first and integral step towards change. Others might take note.” Now it would be best to focus on cricket’s “troubling culture”. Making the sport more welcoming to ethnic-minority players will require “structural change”.

Ahead of this year’s T20 World Cup, few people gave Australia any chance of lifting the trophy, said Mike Atherton in The Times. The country has never really taken to sport’s shortest format. But on Sunday at the Dubai International Stadium, Aaron Finch’s team produced an “intimidating display” to crush New Zealand in the final and win their first ever T20 World Cup. Put into bat, New Zealand set a challenging total of 172-4 – largely thanks to their captain, Kane Williamson, who scored 85 in 48 balls. But in reply, Australia made light work of the target, romping to victory with seven balls to spare.

This win was a sharp rejoinder to those who’d mocked Australia for rolling up to this tournament with “what looked suspiciously like a Test team wearing a false moustache”, said Geoff Lemon in The Guardian. It has recently been orthodoxy to maintain that the best T20 teams should be full of players who specialise in this format. But Australia not only relied on “Test-hardened” pace men like Josh Hazlewood (who took three wickets), but also on several batsmen who feature in their Test line-up.

For the Kiwis, meanwhile, this was another painful loss to add to their defeats in the finals of both the 2015 and 2019 50-over World Cups, said Simon Burnton in The Guardian. Williamson’s team may be one of the best in world cricket – but it seems to be their fate to “still be in the ballroom at the 11th hour before turning into pumpkins when the clock strikes 12”.

Pakistan entered this year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup having never once beaten India in 12 attempts in World Cup matches, said Anand Vasu in The Guardian. But at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, they broke these shackles “in the most emphatic fashion possible”, with a crushing ten-wicket victory.

Virat Kohli’s Indian side didn’t play badly, said Tim Wigmore in The Daily Telegraph. It’s just that their opponents played as if “powered by an elemental force”. In their towering, young quick bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, Pakistan seem to have uncovered a “worthy successor” to such greats as Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. His “mesmerising opening spell” – accounting for both India’s openers – laid the groundwork for his side’s victory. And when it was Pakistan’s turn to bat, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were all “pristine timing and silky placement” as they chased down India’s 151 with 13 balls to spare.

‘What a night’

It isn’t hard to imagine the scenes across Pakistan, said Mike Atherton in The Times: the “families huddled around TV sets in every city, town and village in the land saying a silent prayer in thanks”. True, this was only a group-stage match, and so didn’t have all that much riding on it. Both sides will still probably qualify for the knock-out stages. But its symbolic significance should not be underestimated. After so much World Cup heartache against their greatest rivals, “what a night this was for Pakistan”.

The real deal

In their second Super 12 group two match, Pakistan secured a five-wicket win over New Zealand in Sharjah. Alongside England, they are now one of the “teams to beat” and look “well and truly the real deal”, said the official T20 World Cup website. Before the tournament Pakistan “weren’t exactly top billing”, The Times of India said, but things have “fallen in place very fast”.

Pakistan’s next fixtures are against Afghanistan in Dubai on Friday, Namibia in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, and Scotland in Sharjah a week on Sunday.

England star Ben Stokes has declared that he is fit and ready to face Australia in this winter’s Ashes series. The all-rounder was not in the initial England squad when it was announced two weeks ago, but he has now been added for the tour down under.

After a second operation on a fractured left index finger, and time away to prioritise his mental wellbeing, Stokes has been given the all-clear to resume training. The 30-year-old said he is “looking forward to seeing my mates and being on the field with them - I’m ready for Australia”.

“Time and time again, Ben has demonstrated how important he is to the England team,” said Ashley Giles, managing director of England Men’s Cricket. “Having him available for the Ashes series is excellent news for all of us.”

Stokes, who has not played any competitive cricket since late July, produced one of the “most memorable Test innings” to steer England to victory in the third Test of the 2019 Ashes series, said Fox Cricket’s Ben Waterworth. “The Australians will now be on notice that England’s most likely match-winner will be facing them.”

Dynamic has changed

When England announced their squad without Stokes’s name on the list it was not a line-up to strike fear into Australia, said Nick Hoult in The Daily Telegraph. And it made a victory down under – already a “once-in-a-generation” occurrence – an ever more remote possibility.

However, Stokes’s “bombshell selection” is a major boost, “not only for England, but for the entire Ashes spectacle and narrative”, said Fox’s Waterworth. The “dynamic” of the series has “changed dramatically”.

Former Australia Test wicket-keeper Brad Haddin agrees. “Now the theatre begins,” he said. “This is what you want, you want the best players playing in the Ashes series. This England team now will grow a leg.”

Brett Lee, the ex-Aussie quick, believes any side with a quality all-rounder will have “a lot better chance to beat Australia”. Stokes is a “genuine” fast bowler and “can bowl some decent gas too, so it’s fantastic”.

In a column for The Mirror Stokes said he was “buzzing” for the Ashes. “To be able to confirm to [England captain] Joe Root that I would be available to join the tour from the start after my second successful surgery on my finger was a great moment,” he wrote.

“I do realise Australia is one of the toughest places to tour, but also one of the greatest places to tour. I know what it is going to be like, especially the crowds, I’ve experienced it before and I say bring it on.”

Stokes will depart with the England Test specialists and the Lions squad on 4 November. The first Test of the five-match series starts on 8 December at the Gabba in Brisbane.

England’s Test squad for the 2021-2022 Ashes tour

Joe Root (Yorkshire, captain), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire), Dom Bess (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Rory Burns (Surrey), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Haseeb Hameed (Nottinghamshire), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Jack Leach (Somerset), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), Craig Overton (Somerset), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Ben Stokes (Durham), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham)

Ashes Test fixtures

• 8-12 December 2021: 1st Test at the Gabba, Brisbane
• 16-20 December 2021: 2nd Test at the Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
• 26-30 December 2021: 3rd Test at the MCG, Melbourne
• 5-9 January 2022: 4th Test at SCG, Sydney
• 14-18 January 2022: 5th Test at the Optus Stadium, Perth

This winter’s Ashes series is expected to go ahead as scheduled after positive talks were held between the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Australia.

There had been concerns over entry requirements, quarantine arrangements and bubble conditions for England’s touring squad, but it is hoped a resolution can be reached this week, the Press Association reported. Aaron Finch, Australia’s one-day captain, suggested that talks have progressed well and “the quarantine conditions sound really positive”.

Since the start of the pandemic Australia has imposed strict quarantine rules to curb the spread of Covid-19. The difficulties presented by coronavirus restrictions have put England’s tour in doubt and one of the main concerns for players had been quarantine arrangements for the families, PA added.

Earlier this week the ECB had warned that the 11-week tour was not a done deal as it pushed to secure the best possible conditions for the players. The Guardian reported that the Ashes will only go ahead if enough leading England players tour. The estimated £106m value to Cricket Australia also means the series is likely to happen even if one or two England players pull out.

‘The ultimate test’

Last week England captain Joe Root said he was “desperate” to skipper the team in the Ashes series, but wasn’t ready to commit because of uncertainty about arrangements in Australia, The Guardian reported. This prompted Aussie Test skipper Tim Paine to declare that the Ashes will still go ahead “whether Joe Root is here or not”.

After negotiations Root has now committed to leading England in the Ashes this winter and a deal has been struck that is likely to see a full-strength squad travel. The only potential exception is wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler. He is “still wavering, having publicly expressed reservations at being apart from his family for so long”, The Telegraph reported.

Finch sympathised with the situation for the tourists, but Ian Botham has questioned the desire of some of the England squad.

Botham, one of England’s greatest Ashes heroes, told The Telegraph that if he was in the shoes of the current players he would “already have my bags” packed for Down Under. “It’s the ultimate test and – I don’t know – I start to wonder maybe if some of these guys don’t fancy the ultimate test,” he said. “You have to start to worry about it.”

Ashes 2021-2022 Test fixtures

• 8-12 December 2021: 1st Test at the Gabba, Brisbane
• 16-20 December 2021: 2nd Test at the Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
• 26-30 December 2021: 3rd Test at the MCG, Melbourne
• 5-9 January 2022: 4th Test at SCG, Sydney
• 14-18 January: 5th Test at the Optus Stadium, Perth

The “rights and wrongs” of The Hundred, the new competition introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board, have been endlessly debated, and will doubtless go on being so for some time to come, said Matt Roller on ESPNcricinfo. Purists object that a contest between sides from different English cities – one that does away with cricket’s basic unit, the six ball over, in favour of “sets of five” – undermines the sport’s very soul. Others contend that the game faces such severe problems, from a decaying county structure to the younger generation’s lack of interest in the game, that it makes a gamble like The Hundred fully justified.

Well, now we’ve had the first acid test, said Isaan Khan in The Mail on Sunday. After all the heated debate about its merits, The Hundred staged its grand finale on Saturday with a “double bill” at Lord’s. And while neither the women’s nor men’s finals “ended in a showreel finish”, there was still enough outstanding cricket to keep the crowd entertained.

First up was the women’s final, between Southampton’s Southern Brave and London’s Oval Invincibles, said Raf Nicholson in The Observer. Brave went into it as favourites, having finished top in the group stages. But batting first, Invincibles posted 121/6 and then skittled Brave out for only 73. A tepid finale, you might say, for the new format, but it was still a landmark moment for the women’s game, being the first domestic women’s final ever to be played at the home of cricket.

Southern Brave also featured in the men’s final, this time taking on Birmingham Phoenix, said Scyld Berry in The Sunday Telegraph. It proved to be a feast of hitting. Batting first, Brave posted a formidable 168 for five, thanks to a devastating partnership between Paul Stirling (61 off 36 balls) and Ross Whiteley (44 off 19). Phoenix’s response was dominated by Liam Livingstone, who rapidly progressed to 46 off 19 balls before being dismissed by a “piece of fielding brilliance” from Tim David, throwing down the stumps from 80 yards. It was the decisive moment: with their talisman gone, Phoenix’s run-chase tailed off, and Brave won by 32 runs.

Judged by numbers alone, the competition has undoubtedly been a success, said Elizabeth Ammon in The Times. Stadiums have been almost full, and viewing figures have been impressive (some 2.4 million people tuned into the final, broadcast by the BBC). Still, next time round, one or two things really have to change. Largely as a result of the Hundred’s scheduling, England’s Test players went into their series against India this month woefully underprepared. That can’t happen again. Fans are likely to turn against the Hundred if it means our chances of Test success are “sacrificed on the altar of franchise cricket”.

The final day of the second Test will surely go down as “one of the most intense in the 207- year history of Lord’s”, said Ali Martin in The Guardian. It began with England pressing for victory – having valiantly fought their way back into the game – but ended, at 6.35pm, with Mohammed Siraj sealing an astonishing 151-run victory for India with the “detonation of Jimmy Anderson’s off-stump”. Over the three sessions, watched by 25,800 spectators, both sets of players regularly “snarled and swore at each other”. This was a thrilling, if unusually bad-tempered, day of cricket.

And unfortunately, it was Joe Root’s men who “lost the plot”, said Mike Atherton in The Times. When play began, the match seemed theirs for the taking: India were 181-6 in their second innings – a lead of just 154 runs. Soon, England increased their advantage with the wickets of Ishant Sharma and Rishabh Pant. That brought “two rabbits” to the crease – Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. Yet inexplicably, England all of a sudden lost discipline and focus. With the field spread, they pelted Bumrah with bouncers – in attempted revenge for the paceman’s aggressive spell of bowling against Anderson two days earlier. The tactic backfired: Bumrah’s “stumps were rarely threatened”, and the two batsmen picked off runs with increasing ease. They ended up putting on an unbroken 89 for the ninth wicket – enabling captain Virat Kohli to declare shortly after lunch. Those watching professed dismay at England’s strategy; Michael Vaughan called it “schoolboy cricket”.

Now came England’s turn to bat, with a “nominal 272” in 60 overs the target, said Nick Hoult in The Daily Telegraph. Things got off to a disastrous start, when Dom Sibley and Rory Burns “became the first England openers ever to be dismissed for nought in the same innings of a home Test”. Further carnage followed: Haseeb Hameed and Jonny Bairstow fell for single figures, before Sam Curran achieved the ignoble feat of falling for the first ever king pair in a Test at Lord’s. Resistance came from predictable quarters: Root top scored with 33 – to follow his magnificent 180 not out in the first innings – and Jos Buttler hit a patient 25 from 96 balls. But defeat followed swiftly when these two departed; England’s final wicket fell with 49 balls remaining.

What an “extraordinary, see-saw Test match” this was, said Simon Wilde in The Times. England’s “brain-fade” certainly contributed to India’s victory, but it was also testament to the “strong collective spirit” in Kohli’s squad: this is a side that relishes adversity, and never gives up. England, who now trail the five-match series 1-0, have their work cut out if they are to turn things round.

Women’s cricket will take centre stage when The Hundred’s inaugural edition launches this summer.

Postponed last year because of the pandemic, the new 100-ball tournament for men and women will begin on 21 July with a women’s fixture between the Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals.

The historic decision to start the tournament with a women’s match is a “first for a major UK sporting event”, Sky Sports reports, and has “set a statement” says former England international Ebony Rainford-Brent.

“It’s amazing news,” she told Sky Sports News. “Men and women competing side by side, the women play the first game and that sets a statement.

“Women’s sport has been put on the backburner a bit over the last 12 months because of the pandemic and this is a real chance for young boys and girls to turn on the TV and see something exciting and the women are really going to drive it. It’s a fantastic message to start the tournament.”

After the clash between the Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals women’s teams, the same sides will then feature in the first men’s match a day later.

Cricketing equality

In a year of upheaval caused by the coronavirus, Caroline Nokes MP, chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee, told Sky Sports recently that “women’s sport has been left behind” and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport insisted that women’s sport “must not take a back seat again”.

With a women’s fixture beginning the tournament, The Hundred “could be transformational”, says the BBC. There will also be equal prize money on offer to men and women.

Beth Barrett-Wild, head of The Hundred women’s competition and female engagement at the England and Wales Cricket Board, said there’s a “big opportunity” for cricketing equality this summer.

“Visibility is crucial,” she told the BBC. “We’re really presenting those two [men’s and women’s] matches to the same scale. Everything we’re doing is through a gender-balanced lens. How do we harness this opportunity so that it’s not a surprise that the women are opening the competition and that it is just a completely normal thing to happen?”

Eight new teams

The Hundred will feature eight brand new teams from seven cities, with men’s and women’s competitions taking place side by side. The teams are: Welsh Fire (Cardiff), Southern Brave (Southampton), Northern Superchargers (Leeds), London Spirit, Trent Rockets (Nottingham), Oval Invincibles (London), Manchester Originals and Birmingham Phoenix.

Fixtures start at The Kia Oval with the games between Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals. All matches will be broadcasted live on Sky Sports and BBC and the finals will be held at Lord’s on 21 August.

Cricket pundits and fans are running out of superlatives to describe the bowling of England star James Anderson.

At the age of 38, the “Burnley Express” should be in the twilight of his career. However, he continues to perform at the highest level and extend his record as the fast bowler with most wickets in international Test cricket.

On the final day of the first Test in Chennai, India were chasing a world record 420 to win the match. The home side made a decent start but when Anderson was introduced he swung the game in devastating fashion with “one of the great overs in recent memory”, says the BBC’s Matthew Henry.

Anderson and Jack Leach then went on to inspire England to a 227-run win - a performance that ranks as “one of England’s greatest Test victories”, says The Telegraph’s Nick Hoult.

From Freddie to Jimmy

In his first over of the day, which came 50 minutes into the opening session, Anderson’s reverse swing masterclass saw the dismissal of Shubman Gill and Ajinkya Rahane as well as no runs conceded.

With “skill and execution” Anderson produced “one of the great overs of bowling”, says The Times’s Simon Wilde, and the devastating six-ball spell put England on course for the famous victory.

The Telegraph’s Tim Wigmore and ESPN’s Andrew Miller both said that Anderson’s magical over conjured up memories of Andrew Flintoff against Australia in 2005 at Edgbaston.

“The method may have been subtly different but the impact was every bit as spectacular,” said Miller. “Just as Andrew Flintoff ripped open the 2005 Edgbaston Test with a sensational and never-to-be-forgotten over of high-class reverse-swing bowling, James Anderson did likewise on the final day in Chennai - to set up an England victory that deserves to be recalled as one of their finest in recent memory.”

‘The GOAT of English cricket’

England captain Joe Root, who was named man of the match for his double century in his 100th Test, praised Anderson for being “the GOAT of English cricket” and said the over was one of the best he’d ever seen.

“He’s finding ways of constantly challenging himself, and he’s getting better all the time,” said Root. “I can’t think of [a better over] in my time. It reminded me a little bit of Flintoff in ’05, the impact of that over to [Ricky] Ponting and [Justin] Langer, but in the context of this game it was huge.

“When you are looking around, in big moments in Test matches, naturally you expect that from him and the likes of Ben Stokes, coming on and taking the wicket of Virat Kohli. Big-game players stand up and do special things.”

Anderson, meanwhile, was typically understated in his post-match comments, the BBC reports. “I didn’t really do anything out of the ordinary from the plans we had,” he said. “I just got lucky really with a couple that hit some bare patches, and I had a bit of reverse [swing] as well.

“It’s always nice to see a stump cartwheeling out the ground, it doesn’t happen much at my age so I’m really happy with today.”

The second Test of the four-match series between India and England starts on Saturday in Chennai (4am GMT daily start; live on Channel 4).

Australian cricket captain Tim Paine may live to regret his “sledge” against Indian batsman Ravichandran Ashwin during the drawn Sydney Test match last week.

Standing behind the stumps keeping wicket, the Aussie skipper baited Ashwin by warning him we’ll “see you at the Gabba” in the final match of the series.

The Brisbane Cricket Ground, located in the suburb of Woolloongabba, has become a “fortress” for visiting teams, with Australia unbeaten there for 32 years in Test cricket.

Going into the deciding match, the series was evenly poised with the scores level at 1-1. But with Australia’s Gabba record and the visitors missing star captain Virat Kohli, the odds were clearly stacked against India, who were also without first-choice players Jasprit Bumrah, Hanuma Vihari, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ashwin.

However, this is Test cricket and the young Indian team were not going to let history or injuries stand in their way. Chasing a Brisbane record of 328 runs to win in the fourth and final Test, India pulled off one of cricket’s best ever chases to seal a three-wicket victory and 2-1 series win.

Cricket fans all over the world watched on in amazement, the Indian team celebrated retaining the Border–Gavaskar Trophy, then the focus quickly turned to Paine and his comments from Sydney.

‘India’s gain is Australia’s Paine’

Some of Test cricket’s most colourful characters have enjoyed the odd slanging match while in the heat of the battle. But comments can often come back to haunt you...

On social media today cricket fans from India - and a few from England and New Zealand - have widely shared videos of Paine chirping away at Ashwin in the Sydney Test.

Some Twitter users have had some fun with it, while others have been brutal in mercilessly mocking the Aussie skipper.

Ravi Ashwin did not play in Brisbane but in a tweet he even tagged Paine on his post. He said: “Good evening from Gabba!! I am sorry I couldn’t play here but thanks for hosting us and playing some hard cricket during these tough times. We will remember this series forever! @tdpaine36 @CricketAus.”

Ashwin’s wife, Prithi, also got in on the act:

‘One of the all-time great series’

Despite the mocking of Paine and his Gabba comments, the 2020-21 Test series between Australia and India will go down in history as one of the best ever.

In the first Test in Adelaide India were bowled out for just 36 runs in their second innings (their lowest team total in Tests) as they lost by eight wickets. But they hit back in Melbourne to win the second Test by eight wickets, drew in Sydney then secured the memorable victory in Brisbane.

BBC Sport described India’s run-chase at the Gabba as “astonishing”, in what was “one of the all-time great series”. Former Australia captain Ian Chappell added: “It had everything. It was an absolutely amazing day. This has been one of top three Test series of all time.”

An emotional India captain Ajinkya Rahane summed up the efforts of his team by saying: “I don’t know how to describe this victory. I’m really proud of all the boys. We didn’t talk about anything after Adelaide, we just wanted to show good character and express ourselves. It was all about a team effort.”

Will Paine still be captain for the Ashes?

Australia skipper Paine may regret his sledging in Sydney, but he was quick to praise the visitors for their performance. He said: “In the key moments we were found wanting and completely outplayed by India, who fully deserved their series win.”

Test cricket fans also have the Australia vs. England rivalry to look forward to in 2021-22. But will Paine still hold the captaincy for the series down under? Former England skipper Michael Vaughan is doubtful.

Writing in The Telegraph he said: “Any time Australia lose a series at home, their skipper is in a precarious position, and Paine is now under serious pressure.

“He left himself a hostage to fortune with his comments to Ravi Ashwin in Sydney, where he called him a “d---head” and said that he couldn’t wait to get him to the Gabba. To say those comments haven’t aged well is an understatement.”

It was fitting that on the final day of England’s summer Test schedule Jimmy Anderson would achieve a cricketing milestone: his 600th Test wicket.

With his 14th ball of a rain-delayed fifth day at the Ageas Bowl, fast bowler Anderson had Pakistan’s Azhar Ali caught at first slip by captain Joe Root. England had to settle for a draw but won the series 1-0.

Anderson’s achievement means he becomes the first fast bowler to take 600 Test wickets and is fourth on the all-time list. Spinners Muttiah Muralitharan (800 Test wickets), Shane Warne (708) and Anil Kumble (619) hold the top three spots.

The Lancashire star made his Test debut for England in 2003 and has since played 156 Tests. He may be 38, but the quick bowler is not ready to slow down just yet and has his eye on another milestone.

He said: “I didn’t bowl as well as I’d have liked for the whole summer. But in this Test, I was really on it and I feel like I’ve still got stuff to offer this team.

“As long as I still feel like that I think I’ll keep going. I don’t think I’ve won my last Test matches as an England cricketer yet. Can I reach 700 [Test wickets]? Why not?”

Sky Sports reports that Anderson has also not ruled out playing in the next Ashes series in 2021-2022. “Rooty said he would like me to be in Australia - I don’t see any reason why I can’t be,” he added. “There is no better feeling than putting the boots on, going out there and doing what I love doing.”

‘Set the bar like Sachin’: tributes to the King of Swing

Joe Root, England Test captain

“It was a fantastic achievement for Jimmy. To be able to stand up and perform in Test cricket over such a long period of time is an incredible effort achievement. We all know how valuable he is to our squad. He’s a wicket taker but as a senior player and leader of bowlers, helping those young guys come through, he’s so much more than what you see on the field and a credit to our country. Absolutely see [Stuart] Broad and Anderson continuing for a long time for us.”

Stuart Broad, England bowler

“It’s just a phenomenal achievement. He has got better with age and is someone who has inspired me throughout my career. He’s a role model to follow for every English cricketer and young cricketer coming through. He’s always searching to be better and better and 600 won’t be the stopping of him.”

Michael Vaughan, former England captain

“We are witnessing true greatness. I’d be lying if I said we thought we had a bowler that would get this many wickets. We thought we had a bowler of great promise and skill. I never in my wildest dreams thought 17 years later we’d be talking about him getting to 600.”

Glenn McGrath, Australian bowling icon who took 563 Test wickets

“I didn’t have the skill level that Jimmy has. When he’s swinging that ball, both ways, in control, there’s no one better. He’s set the bar a bit like [India batting legend] Sachin [Tendulkar] has. No one is ever going to catch Sachin in Test cricket for the amount of runs he’s scored and the matches he’s played. Jimmy’s done the same for fast bowling.”

Anderson’s Test career in numbers

Matches: 156Overs: 5,624.1Maidens: 1,430Wickets: 600Average: 26.795fers: 2910fers: 31st dismissal: Mark Vermuelen (Zimbabwe)600th dismissal: Azhar Ali (Pakistan)

Which teams has he taken the most wickets against?

India: 110Australia: 104South Africa: 93West Indies: 87Pakistan: 74New Zealand: 60Sri Lanka: 52Zimbabwe: 11Bangladesh: 9

1. Wisden honours Stokes and Perry

England’s Ben Stokes and Australia’s Ellyse Perry have been named the world’s leading male and female cricketers respectively by the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 2020.

All-rounder Stokes starred as England won the Cricket World Cup on home soil last summer and the 28-year-old was also in superb form in the Ashes series against Australia.

Stokes is the first Englishman to be named the world’s leading cricketer since Andrew Flintoff in 2005 and he also ends India captain Virat Kohli’s three-year run at the top.

Wisden editor Lawrence Booth said: “Ben Stokes pulled off the performance of a lifetime - twice in the space of a few weeks. First, with a mixture of outrageous talent and good fortune, he rescued England’s run-chase in the World Cup final, before helping to hit 15 off the super over.

“Then, in the third Ashes Test at Headingley, he produced one of the great innings, smashing an unbeaten 135 to pinch a one-wicket win. Against red ball or white, he was a force of nature.”

Fellow all-rounder Perry also made history as part of the Australia women’s cricket team. She has been named by Wisden as the leading woman cricketer in the world in 2019 and also one of the five cricketers of the year - the first female player to achieve the double.

Perry helped Australia win the women’s Ashes against England and the Women’s T20 World Cup.

2. Prem facing £1bn loss in revenue

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has warned the English top-flight could lose as much as £1bn in revenue because of the indefinite postponement of the season.

Masters said: “We face a £1bn loss, at least, if we fail to complete season 2019-20, and further losses going forward if the seriousness of the pandemic deepens and extends into the future.

“This would negatively impact not only the finances of the 20 Premier League clubs, but would also have a significant detrimental effect across the whole professional football landscape.”

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3. Greaves admitted to hospital

Tottenham Hotspur and England legend Jimmy Greaves was last night taken to hospital due to an unspecified illness.

The 80-year-old, who suffered a severe stroke in 2015, is Spurs’s record goalscorer and also played for Chelsea, West Ham and AC Milan.

Spurs said in a statement: “We can confirm that our record goalscorer Jimmy Greaves is currently being treated in hospital. We are in touch with his family and will provide further updates in due course. Everybody at the club sends their best wishes to Jimmy and his family.”

4. No answer from Wilder about stepping aside

Sky Sports reports that Tyson Fury’s camp have not heard if Deontay Wilder will step aside to allow the WBC champion the chance to face IBF, WBA and WBO belt holder Anthony Joshua.

Top Rank’s Todd DuBoef said: “I have not personally had any conversations about that. It is not on my radar. I am working with Wilder’s representatives on coming up with new potential dates in late-summer or early-fall for the Fury fight. We are speaking about potential venues too.

“That fight breaking up as a result of [Joshua vs Fury] fight? I have not been privy to any conversations about that. I have not heard that they are willing to step aside. Nobody has communicated that.”

5. Rugby prop Du Plessis registers for NHS

Glasgow Warriors player-coach Petrus du Plessis has registered with the NHS as a respiratory physiotherapist.

Following the suspension of the Pro14 rugby union season because of Covid-19, the 38-year-old prop said: “I strongly believe it’s important to have all hands on deck to overcome this virus.”

6. Real return for CR7?

Football may be shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic, but that doesn’t stop the transfer rumours.

Cristiano Ronaldo was recently being linked with a return to Manchester United and now it’s mooted that the Juventus star could move back to Real Madrid.

The Daily Mail, citing a report in Corriere dello Sport, says Italian champions Juve are “strapped for cash” and would accept £50m for the Portuguese superstar.

Ronaldo, 35, spent nine seasons with Real before joining Juventus in 2018. In Spain he won La Liga twice, the Champions League four times and scored a club-record 450 goals.

7. Royal Ascot may go ahead with no fans

Horse racing is the latest sport to see its prestige events cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic with the Jockey Club announcing that the first four Classic races of the year - the 1,000 and 2,000 Guineas, the Derby and the Oaks - have been postponed indefinitely.

According to The Guardian Royal Ascot will go ahead in June but behind closed doors, although, in the words of Ascot Racecourse’s chief executive Guy Henderson, the final decision is “dependent on government and public health policy and the approval of the BHA [British Horseracing Authority]”.

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8. ‘No way’ Liverpool will not win title

Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin says Liverpool will not be denied the chance of being crowned Premier League champions.

Ceferin said: “I see no way for Liverpool to stay untitled. If the championship resumes, they will almost certainly win it - theoretically, it has not yet reached the guaranteed level, but it is practically close.

“However, if it could not be played, it would also be necessary to announce the results in some way and find some key on how the champions should be determined. And, of course, again I do not see a scenario in which that would not be Liverpool.

“I understand that fans will be disappointed if it happens in an empty stadium or even at the green table, but I believe they will win the title one way or another.”

9. Canadian GP is postponed

Formula 1’s shutdown has been extended by two weeks and the Canadian Grand Prix has become the ninth race to be called off because of the coronavirus pandemic.

On Monday F1’s rulemakers approved a motion to extend the shutdown period from 21 days to 35 days. Then yesterday it was confirmed that the Canadian GP, which was originally scheduled for 12-14 June, had been postponed.

F1 are now working with race promoters on a revised calendar for the 2020 season and it is planned for the Montreal event to feature later in the year.

10. Back pages: Spurs flout lockdown rules

Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho is on the back page of The Times after he received a warning from the club for “flouting the government’s lockdown guidelines”.

The paper describes how the Special One was observed standing with midfielder Tanguy Ndombele and two others on some parkland in Barnet, north London.

The Sun claims that Mourinho could face a police warning from the police for flouting the lockdown rules, and adds that the photos of the illicit training session were “posted on an Arsenal fan account”.

Today’s back pages

Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho is warned over outdoor training session

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1. The Test motivates Root

England captain Joe Root has revealed that the Amazon Prime documentary about Australia’s cricket team is motivating him ahead of next year’s Ashes series.

The Test docu-series on Amazon follows a “new era” for the Australian team and includes scenes of them retaining the Ashes last summer.

Root told the BBC: “It’s been a good motivator to get back and train, use it as a way of incentivising myself. I resisted watching that for a good while. I’ve started watching the first few now.”

The next Ashes series will start down under in November 2021. Australia retained the urn following a 2-2 draw in England last year.

Best sports documentaries and TV shows to watch on Netflix and Amazon

2. Cricket stars face pay cut

Joe Root is ready to take a pay cut as cricket faces up to a period of severe financial hardship.

A “catastrophic reality” is how the Independent describes a situation in which a ball is unlikely to be bowled before June.

On the question of pay cuts, England skipper Root said: “I’m sure at some point in the coming weeks there will be a discussion. But I’m also aware they are discussions that will take place between the PCA [Professional Cricketers’ Association] and the ECB. That’s not my area of expertise.

“I think we just have to concentrate on making sure we are as fit and as ready to go as we can be for whenever we get back to playing cricket.”

3. Spurs cut non-playing staff wages

Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur have announced that 500 non-playing staff will have their pay cut by 20% as part of furlough measures to “protect jobs”, Sky Sports reports.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy said: “The club’s operations have effectively ceased, some of our fans will have lost their jobs and most will be worried about their future.

“Yesterday, having already taken steps to reduce costs, we ourselves made the difficult decision - in order to protect jobs - to reduce the remuneration of all 550 non-playing directors and employees for April and May by 20% utilising, where appropriate, the Government’s furlough scheme. We shall continue to review this position.”

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4. Premier League planning May return?

The English Premier League could restart as early as May in order to finish the season by 12 July.

In what it bills as an “exclusive”, the Daily Mail says that the EPL bosses have drawn up an “ambitious plan to restart the season behind closed doors on the first weekend of May”.

Their proposal will be examined in detail during a conference call of the 20 clubs on Friday.

5. Messi’s high praise for Mount

Chelsea youngster Mason Mount has been backed to become a star by arguably the biggest star of all, Lionel Messi.

Barcelona and Argentina captain Messi has partnered with Topps to produce an exclusive set of Champions League “Greatest Moments” football cards. One category of card is “youth of the rise” and this is where Mount is featured.

Six-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi said of the Chelsea man: “Having watched him play he has the potential to be one of the best.”

6. ‘No doubt’ Wimbledon will be cancelled

German Tennis Federation vice-president Dirk Hordorff says Wimbledon chiefs will announce tomorrow that this summer’s grass-court grand slam is cancelled.

Hordorff said: “The necessary decisions have already been made there and Wimbledon will decide to cancel [on] Wednesday. There is no doubt about it. This is necessary in the current situation.”

Whether the event will be rescheduled is unclear but being a grass tournament the window of opportunity is very slim and the probability is that there will be no Wimbledon in 2020.

7. Saunders has boxing licence suspended

WBO super-middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders has had his boxing licence suspended by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) after he uploaded a video online in which he gave tips to men about how to hit women.

The BBBofC said: “We have suspended his boxer’s licence pending a hearing under the board’s misconduct regulation, at a time and venue to be confirmed as soon as possible.”

Saunders, who is due to fight Mexican star Canelo Alvarez this year, added: “I didn’t mean for anyone to get upset about it. There are people dying all around the world with coronavirus and I was just trying to take the heat off that a little bit. It clearly hasn’t done, my sense of humour is not everyone’s cup of tea.”

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8. Non-league clubs send open letter to the FA

BBC Sport reports that more than 100 non-league clubs have called on the English Football Association (FA) to reconsider its decision to expunge the season.

All football below the National League’s three divisions is to end immediately but in an open letter the clubs say: “Our concern is grounded primarily in the needless and inexplicable haste exercised in reaching the decision, coupled with a total lack of substantive dialogue or consultation with affected clubs.

“We believe it is unacceptable that such a decision has been handed down to us in this manner. We urgently seek constructive dialogue with the FA with the aim to have the decision reconsidered.”

9. Briatore: Max is better than Jos

Former F1 team boss Flavio Briatore has revealed that he would have preferred Max Verstappen driving for him instead of the Red Bull star’s father Jos.

Verstappen senior drove for Benetton in 1994 and when asked by F1’s Beyond The Grid podcast if Max was better than his dad Briatore said: “No question. The name is the same, but the driver is completely different… I tell the father, ‘Jesus Christ, I wish I had your son in the car and not you!’”

Briatore: Hamilton and Verstappen are F1’s only two stars

10. Back pages: Grealish says sorry

A humbled Jack Grealish stares out on the back page of The Sun after the Aston Villa captain released a video in which he said he was “deeply embarrassed” after being filmed looking dishevelled at the scene of an accident on Sunday morning.

The tabloid, which broke the story of his car crash on its front page yesterday, says that despite his contrition Grealish’s action could have put the kibosh on his proposed £70m move to Manchester United.

Today’s back pages

‘Covidiot’ Jack Grealish is fined by Aston Villa

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1. Cricket cancelled?

The photo on the back page of The Guardian is of veteran England pace bowler Jimmy Anderson above the headline: “We might not bowl a ball this summer”.

England’s tour to Sri Lanka was abandoned last week and today cricket chiefs meet to plan the way forward.

“Cricket and sport is not the be all and end all but it is my livelihood, it’s all I know,” said the 37-year-old Anderson. “There’s a chance we might not even bowl a ball this summer.”

The 2020 County Championship is scheduled to begin on 12 April, while England’s three-Test series against the West Indies starts on 4 June.

According to BBC Sport the England and Wales Cricket Board will examine all options, “including postponements and playing games behind closed doors”.

2. English football suspended until 30 April

English professional football will remain suspended until 30 April at the earliest because of the coronavirus pandemic - but authorities confirmed that rules have been amended to extend the season indefinitely.

Under the current regulations the season was scheduled to end on 1 June, but The Football Association (FA) says the campaign will be extended in order to complete the fixtures.

English football suspended until 30 April - but the season is extended indefinitely

3. F1 moves dates of mid-season break

Formula 1 has brought forward its summer break following the postponement of the opening four races of the 2020 season.

The mid-season shutdown usually takes place for two weeks in August but F1 bosses have confirmed that this year’s revised break will be in March and April and extended to 21 days.

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4. Clay-court season is off

The BBC reports that the ATP and WTA professional tennis tours will now be suspended until 7 June, meaning that the entire clay-court season has been ruled out.

The French Open grand slam at Roland Garros was due to take place from 24 May to 7 June but will now start on 20 September.

A joint statement by the ATP and WTA said: “Now is not a time to act unilaterally, but in unison. The challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic to professional tennis demand greater collaboration than ever from everyone in the tennis community in order for the sport to move forward collectively in the best interest of players, tournaments and fans.”

5. Pinsent hits out at ‘tone deaf’ IOC chief Bach

British four-time Olympic rowing champion Matthew Pinsent says the Tokyo 2020 games should be called off and has accused International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach of being “tone deaf” over the coronavirus crisis.

Quoted by The Daily Telegraph, Pinsent said: “I’m sorry Mr Bach but this is tone deaf. The instinct to keep safe [not to mention obey govt instructions to lock down] is not compatible with athlete training, travel and focus that a looming Olympics demands of athletes, spectators organisers etc Keep them safe. Call it off.”

6. Ryder Cup reports are ‘inaccurate’

Ryder Cup organisers and Team Europe captain Padraig Harrington have dismissed “inaccurate” reports that this year’s big golf event could be postponed until 2021.

Irishman Harrington said: “September is a long way off so there’s no change to the situation at all at this stage. I know there’s been some rumours and they had to put out a statement to say there’s been no change, but there’s definitely no change.

“I’m on the inside of these things. Normally you’re looking at ‘anonymous source says this…’ but now that I’m on the inside you go ‘wow, it really is made-up stuff’.”

The 2020 Ryder Cup between Team USA and holders Team Europe is set to take place from 22-27 September at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. In 2018 Europe beat the Americans 17½-10½ at Le Golf National in France.

7. Thorne diagnosed with leukaemia

Snooker icon Willie Thorne has announced that he has been diagnosed with leukaemia and will undergo chemotherapy treatment. The 66-year-old said: “I realise everybody is having a tough time. Mine’s just got worse - I’ve been diagnosed with leukaemia. I’m devastated. Start chemotherapy tomorrow. I’m in Spain where the health care is hopefully second to none - love to you all. Willie.”

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8. Hey Jude

In a sign that football will one day return to normal, the Daily Star reports that Manchester United are ready to table a £30m bid “to beat off rivals” for the hand of Jude Bellingham.

The 16-year-old wonderkid has been in blistering form for Birmingham City and the Star says that United are “obsessed with coming out on top in the race for him”.

Apparently Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea and Bayern Munich are also “keen” on the teenage sensation but United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is determined to bring the youngster to Old Trafford.

9. Pogba’s United career is ‘over’

The Daily Mail reports that Paul Pogba’s Manchester United career is “over” and the Red Devils are willing to listen to offers of £100m for the midfielder.

Pogba’s contract expires in the summer of 2021 and the French World Cup winner has been linked with Spanish giants Real Madrid and a return to former club Juventus.

10. Back pages: hotels of hope

The Daily Express and the Independent report that Chelsea have offered their Millennium Hotel at Stamford Bridge to NHS staff as they battle coronavirus.

Under the headline “Football United”, the Daily Mirror says a similar initiative has been taken by former Manchester United defender Gary Neville.

Sky Sports pundit Neville and former United team-mates Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and brother Phil Neville co-own the Stock Exchange Hotel in Manchester city centre and Hotel Football at Old Trafford.

Today’s back pages

Football unites against virus as Gary Neville and Roman Abramovich hand hotels over to NHS staff

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1st Twenty20 international

• South Africa innings: 177-8 (20 overs)
• England innings: 176-9 (20 overs)
• South Africa won by one run

England snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in the first of three Twenty20 matches against South Africa to leave captain Eoin Morgan a frustrated man.

“We should be winning that ten times out of ten,” Morgan told the BBC’s Test Match Special podcast. “It’s about learning, going through a process we’ve gone through over a number of years to try to get better.”

With the 2020 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup taking place in Australia in October and November, England are using the three-match series in South Africa as the first stage of their preparations for the tournament.

Having been crowned world champions in the 50-over format last year, England’s aim is to double up in the T20 but judging by last night’s one-run defeat they have a lot to learn.

Spin twins

South Africa batted first in East London, and got off to a flier, smashing 97 in the first nine overs for the loss of just one wicket. But England fought back with the spin of Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid returning combined figures of 2-45 from their eight overs.

That restricted the Proteas to a modest 177-8 on what was a reliable batting strip.

Although Jos Buttler fell cheaply, Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow cracked a blistering 72-run partnership for the second wicket before the departure of the latter precipitated a familiar middle-order collapse.

From 132-2 after 14 overs, the tourists slumped to 176-9 in their 20 overs with the outstanding Lungi Ngidi taking 3-30 in his four overs.

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Keep calm and carry on

Morgan was particularly angry with himself for holing out for 52 when a calmer head would have steered his side home.

“Getting out off the last ball of the 19th over was horrifically bad for me, given my experience and how many games I’ve played,” said the England skipper.

Nonetheless, the Irishman said that it’s these sort of games that will prove crucial come October and the T20 World Cup down under.

“Recently we’ve played in a lot of tight games, but we want to play in as many of these as we can because we want guys exposed to as much pressure as they can be,” explained Morgan.

“You cannot replicate the pressure you’d have in the World Cup, but in situations like that we have to find a way to get over the line.”

The second match of the T20 series between South Africa and England takes place tomorrow at Kingsmead in Durban.

England’s tour of South Africa: results and fixtures

• Test series: England won 3-1
• 1st ODI: South Africa won by seven wickets
• 2nd ODI: match rained off
• 3rd ODI: England won by two wickets (series finished 1-1)
• 1st Twenty20 international: South Africa won by one run Friday
• Friday 14 February: 2nd T20 at Kingsmead in Durban (4pm GMT, live on Sky Sports)
• Sunday 16 February: 3rd T20 at Supersport Park in Centurion (12.30pm GMT, live on Sky Sports)

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South Africa vs. England: 1st ODI, Cape Town

• England innings: 258-8 (50 overs)
• South Africa innings: 259-3 (47.4 overs)
• South Africa won by seven wickets

England’s sports stars suffered their second humiliation in the space of 72 hours as South Africa did to the cricketers on Tuesday what France had done to the rugby team on Sunday.

In their first match as world champions after their unforgettable triumph last summer, England were thrashed by seven wickets in the first of three one-day international (ODI) matches against South Africa.

Captain Eoin Morgan admitted his boys were “way off the mark” as the home side strolled to victory under the Cape Town floodlights.

Way off the pace

“Right from the beginning of our innings, we struggled to adapt to the conditions,” Morgan told BBC Sport’s Test Match Special podcast.

“We did our best to adapt but the skill level wasn’t there. We’ll identify the little reasons why we didn’t gel as a team today because if we play like that again, we’ll lose.”

Admittedly, England were without three of their top stars from last summer’s Cricket World Cup success - Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer - but nonetheless it was a poor performance from a side that still contained, on paper, some of the biggest stars in the ODI format.

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Doughty Denly

One of those, Jason Roy, got England off to a flier at Newlands, as he and Jonny Bairstow put on 51 for the first wicket. But the openers then fell in quick succession, heralding a middle-order collapse that saw the tourists slump to 131-6.

The impressive Joe Denly and Chris Woakes then stopped the rot with a partnership of 91, which allowed England to reach a respectable 258-8 in their 50 overs.

But whereas South Africa had a dangerous bowler in left-arm wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi (who took 3-38 in his ten overs), England had no one to exert control over the opposition batsmen.

Quinton de Kock hit 107 and Temba Bavuma scored a slick 98 in a second-wicket partnership of 173, and although both fell in the closing stages, South Africa still eased to victory with 14 balls remaining.

The second ODI of the three-match series between South Africa and England is on Friday 7 February at Kingsmead in Durban (11am GMT, live on Sky Sports).

Reactions to South Africa’s emphatic win

Simon Mann, BBC Cricket

“Few of England’s back-up players advanced their cause in a strangely flat performance.”

Chris Stokes, The Times

“It is little over six months since England won the World Cup on an unforgettable summer’s day at Lord’s. That glorious triumph felt like a lifetime ago as Eoin Morgan’s team succumbed to a grim seven-wicket defeat at the hands of South Africa.”

David Lloyd, Sky Sports

“England didn’t really have their game head on tonight. They won’t say too much, I wouldn’t have thought, in the changing room. This next match is on Friday and I expect them to be much, much better.”

England tour of South Africa: fixtures and results

• Test series: England won 3-1
• 1st ODI: South Africa won by seven wickets
• Friday 7 February: 2nd ODI at Kingsmead, Durban (11am GMT, live on Sky Sports)
• Sunday 9 February: 3rd ODI at New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg (8am GMT, live on Sky Sports)
• Wednesday 12 February: 1st Twenty20 international at Buffalo Park in East London (4pm GMT, live on Sky Sports)
• Friday 14 February: 2nd Twenty20 international at Kingsmead in Durban (4pm GMT, live on Sky Sports)
• Sunday 16 February: 3rd Twenty20 international at Supersport Park in Centurion (12.30pm GMT, live on Sky Sports)

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The message from the MCC: don’t tamper with Tests

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has suffered a set back that will have purists purring after the MCC and India opposed the idea to make four-day Tests mandatory from 2023.

The ICC announced its proposal to cut Tests from five to four days last month and immediately drew criticism from players, the public and the press. And now it faces opposition from within the game after the MCC’s cricket committee and world cricket committee added their opposition to the idea.

England hero Ben Stokes said the drama of England’s victory over South Africa on the fifth day of the second Test proved why the current format should stay: “It was an amazing game to be a part of. The atmosphere in the ground, it was like a home game. The fact that it went down to the wire proves why Test cricket should be five days and should stay five days.”

Spirit of cricket

The MCC remains, in the words of BBC Sport, “the guardian of the laws and spirit of cricket while its world cricket committee is an influential independent panel of former and current players and umpires”. Among those players are Brendon McCullum, Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara and Shane Warne, and they met on Tuesday to discuss the ICC’s idea of lopping a day off Test matches.

At the end of the meeting the MCC issued a statement in which they said: “Both committees believe that Test cricket should continue to be played over five days.”

The Times reports that that view is shared by Sourav Ganguly, “the president of the all-powerful Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)”. Ganguly is also a member of the MCC’s world cricket committee, and one of the most influential voices in the sport.

In recent days Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri, the India captain and head coach respectively, have spoken out in favour of five-day Tests and it appears that their views are endorsed by the BCCI.

Money talks

According to the Times the ICC remains undeterred despite the opposition and they are “likely to propose that four-day matches should be part of the World Test Championship from 2023”, believing that there are “compelling economic and strategic reasons to shorten the longest format to four-day games”.

The proposal will be discussed at length in March at a meeting of the ICC’s cricket committee and it will then be voted on later this year by the chief executives and chairmen of the national boards.

1. Support grows for four-day cricket Tests

New Zealand’s cricket board has joined England and Australia in supporting the introduction of four-day Test matches.

The Daily Telegraph exclusively reports that the International Cricket Council (ICC) is proposing scrapping the five-day format to “create more space in the calendar and ease the workload of players”.

New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White told the Telegraph: “Given the congested schedule, four-day Tests demand serious consideration in order for us to accommodate an increasingly packed calendar - ICC world events, bilateral arrangements, and domestic leagues.”

The BBC says the England and Wales Cricket Board “cautiously” supports four-day Test matches while England captain Joe Root told Sky Sports: “I think there’s a place for it in the game - I do, whether that’s across the board or can it be flexible?”

2. Archer a doubt for Cape Town

After losing the first Test match by 107 runs England will look to draw level in the series against South Africa when the second Test begins tomorrow at Newlands in Cape Town (8.30am GMT daily start, live on Sky Sports).

England, who have not won in Cape Town since 1957, could be forced to line up without Jofra Archer. The fast bowler is an injury doubt after missing training because of a sore right elbow.

3. Wray retires as Saracens chairman

English rugby union giants Saracens are planning for a “fresh start” after owner Nigel Wray decided to retire as chairman with immediate effect.

In November Saracens were given a 35-point deduction and fined £5.36m for breaching league salary cap regulations.

In a statement Wray said: “As we enter a new year, a new decade, it is time for the club to make a fresh start. The Wray family will continue to provide the required financial support to the club.”

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4. Reds look to increase lead

Premier League leaders Liverpool face Sheffield United tonight knowing that victory will see them build a 13-point advantage at the top of the table. Jurgen Klopp’s men are already more than halfway through an invincible league season. Tonight’s match at Anfield kicks off at 8pm and is live on BT Sport 1.

5. Jordan hails ex-NBA chief Stern

David Stern, who was the NBA’s commissioner for 30 years from 1984 to 2014, has died at the age of 77. NBA legend Michael Jordan said: “Without David Stern, the NBA would not be what it is today. He guided the league through turbulent times and grew the league into an international phenomenon, creating opportunities that few could have imagined before.”

6. Snakebite wins first world darts title

Peter Wright’s victory against Michael van Gerwen in last night’s PDC World Championship final is described as a “stunning upset” by The Guardian.

“Snakebite” Wright won the darts showdown 7-3 against Dutch icon Van Gerwen to end a wretched record of ten defeats in 11 major finals.

“You should never give up,” Wright said after winning his first world darts title. “It doesn’t matter how many times you get beaten. From the beginning, I believed.”

7. F1’s UK TV viewership down by 8.6m in 2019

The Independent reports that Formula 1 lost 8.6m television viewers in the United Kingdom during the 2019 season.

Last year 20 of the 21 races were exclusively live in the UK on Sky Sports, with Channel 4 showing highlights of all races and live coverage of only one grand prix, the British GP in July.

According to data released by the Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board, Channel 4’s highlights were watched by a “cumulative total of 34.7 million viewers [in 2019], which is a staggering 10.8m less than in 2018”, says the Independent.

Sky Sports’s audience increased by 2.2m viewers to 20.1m, but despite these numbers the total UK viewership was down by 13.6% to 54.8m.

F1: Robert Kubica joins Alfa Romeo as reserve driver

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8. Arteta’s Arsenal impress

Mikel Arteta’s 2020 started in superb style with his first victory as Arsenal manager. The fact it came against Manchester United made it all the sweeter, and for the long-suffering fans there are reasons to be cheerful after a miserable few months.

After goals from Nicolas Pepe and Sokratis Papastathopoulos secured the 2-0 win, Arteta said: “The confidence, the things they tried and the energy they had towards the game was much better. The challenge is to maintain it.”

9. Solskjaer takes swipe at Pogba’s people

The “strained relationship” between Manchester United and Paul Pogba receives extensive coverage in the press today. The French midfielder has been suffering from an ankle injury since September and according to reports he is set to undergo surgery, or at least that is what his “people” are saying.

Speaking last night after seeing his side beaten 2-0 by Arsenal, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is allegedly concerned about the “influence of Pogba’s entourage”.

Asked how long it will be before Pogba is back in action, Solskjaer said: “Three or four weeks maybe, I don’t know. He’s been advised to have an operation by his people and he’ll probably do that.”

10. Today’s back pages

The Sun, the Daily Star, The Times and i Sport all focus on Jose Mourinho admitting he was “rude to an idiot” during Tottenham’s 1-0 defeat at Southampton yesterday.

After a touchline spat with Saints goalkeeping coach Andrew Sparkes, Mourinho was shown a yellow card by referee Mike Dean.

In his post-match interview the Spurs manager then said: “I think the yellow card is fair because I was rude, but I was rude to an idiot. And for some reason, I was rude, but I was and because I was I deserve the yellow card.”

Spurs suffered a double blow after striker Harry Kane limped off with a hamstring injury.

Today’s newspaper back pages

Mourinho is ‘rude to an idiot’ and Solskjaer takes swipe at Pogba’s people

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Ben Stokes became the first cricketer to win the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award since Andrew Flintoff in 2005 when he was rewarded for his heroics in England’s memorable Cricket World Cup victory.

In a ceremony in Aberdeen on Sunday evening, the 28-year-old fulfilled his billing as the bookies’ favourites with Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton second and Team GB sprinting star Dina Asher-Smith third.

Stokes was named man of the match when England won the World Cup for the first time in July with a thrilling super over victory against New Zealand at Lord’s.

Later in the summer he also scored one of the greatest centuries in Test history in guiding England to an unlikely victory against Australia at Headingley.

Unlike Flintoff in 2005, Stokes’s brilliance wasn’t enough to inspire England to a series win in the Ashes but his mesmeric performances throughout the summer were rightly recognised by the public.

How Stokes reacted

In receiving his award, all-rounder Stokes paid tribute to his fellow nominees, his family and his England team-mates, who he will join later this week in South Africa ahead of the four-Test series.

“First of all, I think congratulations to all the nominees,” he said. “What you’ve managed to achieve as individuals and do for your sport is simply sensational, so well done to you too.

“There’s so many people you feel you have to thank when you’re up here. It’s an individual award, but I play a team sport and one of the great things about that is you get to share special moments with those team-mates, coaches and without that effort you put in, I wouldn’t be up here receiving this award so thank you so much.

“Two years ago was a tough time for me in my life and I’ve had so many people help me through that. My fantastic manager and friend Neil Fairbrother, you’re more than an agent, you’re an incredible man. I don’t know how you’ve put up with Andrew Flintoff and me, you and [Fairbrother’s wife] Audrey, you’re incredible people.

“My parents, they live on the other side of the world, they don’t get to share moments like this, the World Cup and be there with me, but the time you dedicated to me growing up, the selflessness to get me to training camps and around the country, this is for you. I love you so much, thank you.

“To my amazing wife, Clare. Family to me is more important than what I do for a living. It puts perspective on everything, after the good and bad days they are there for me no matter what. My two kids too, they are awesome I love you so much.

“Back to Clare, you’re a rock. You always have been. You always will be. I wish you could come here and share it with me, you deserve it just as much. I love you so much and I’m so proud to call you my wife. I’m guessing I should leave it there.”

Other awards

England’s cricketers dominated the evening as they scooped the Team of the Year award, while Jos Buttler’s runout of Martin Guptill to win England the World Cup was voted the Greatest Sporting Moment.

The Young Sports Personality of the Year award went to 18-year-old boxer Caroline Dubois, the world and Olympic youth lightweight champion, who has just won her fourth European gold medal.

Eleven-time Paralympic champion Tanni Grey-Thompson received the Lifetime Achievement award. “It’s been an amazing journey to see where the Paralympic movement is today,” said Grey-Thompson. “For young people today we have to make sure they have an opportunity to get active and play sport.”

SPOTY 2019: all the winners

• Helen Rollason Award: Doddie Weir
• Young Sports Personality of the Year: Caroline Dubois
• Lifetime Achievement: Tanni Grey-Thompson
• Coach of the Year: John Blackie
• Team of the Year: England's Cricket World Cup team
• World Sport Star: Eliud Kipchoge
• Greatest Sporting Moment: Jos Buttler breaks the stumps to seal Cricket World Cup victory
• Unsung Hero: Keiren Thompson

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Tributes have been paid to Bob Willis, the former England captain and fast bowler, who has died at the age of 70 after a long battle with prostate cancer.

“We are heartbroken to lose our beloved Bob, who was an incredible husband, father, brother and grandfather,” said a family statement. “He made a huge impact on everybody he knew and we will miss him terribly.”

Willis took 325 wickets in 90 Tests between 1971 and 1984, also captaining his country in 18 of those matches. But it was the eight wickets he took at Headingley in the summer of 1981 that earned him his place in English cricket folklore.

Trailing 1-0 in the Ashes series against a swaggering Australia, England looked on course for another crushing defeat in Yorkshire when they were forced to follow on.

Ian Botham scored a spectacular 149 in England’s second innings to give the home side the faintest glimmer of hope, but the bookmakers were so confident Australia would knock off the 129 runs needed for victory the odds were 500-1 against an English win.

Cue one of the most devastating spells in Test match bowling history as Willis tore through the Aussie batsmen. He finished with figures of 8-43 as the tourists were skittled out for 111.

England went on to win the series and although they were dubbed “Botham’s Ashes”, the contribution of Willis – who took 29 wickets at 22.96 in six matches – was huge.

Retiring from cricket in 1984, having fought back from serious knee injury, Willis quickly established a reputation as an acerbic pundit.

His dry wit and deadpan delivery belied a sharp cricket mind and despite his often candid criticism of England performances he was a popular figure among later generations of players.

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Tributes to Bob Willis: 1949-2019

England and Wales Cricket Board

“We are forever thankful for everything he has done for the game. Cricket has lost a dear friend.”

Nasser Hussain, former England captain and fellow pundit

“Those who knew him will not have a bad word to say about him and that is the perfect tribute. He was a great cricketer but more importantly he was an even better bloke who will be missed by the whole cricketing world.”

David Gower, former team-mate

“He was a bright man, very opinionated in all sorts of things, not just cricket, and was such very, very good company.”

Mike Brearley, England captain in 1981

“He was fierce, but he wasn't unpleasant… He wanted the best and wanted us to produce our best.”

Mark Butcher, former England cricketer

“Warm, funny, generous - will miss Uncle Bob enormously.”

Stephen Fry, actor and writer

“What joy he gave, and what a marvellous man. That 8 for 43. Used to lunch with him occasionally to talk cricket, Wagner and Bob Dylan, his three great passions.”

Today’s back pages

Cricket mourns ‘hero of Headingley’ Bob Willis

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England have named Chris Silverwood as their new head coach following the departure of Trevor Bayliss this summer. His salary is about £500,000 a year, the same as Bayliss, plus performance bonuses.

The 44-year-old Silverwood played six Tests between 1996 and 2002, and joined the England set-up as bowling coach in January 2018 having led Essex to the County Championship title as head coach in 2017.

He is only the second Englishman to coach the national side in almost 20 years and fans will hope he meets with more success than his predecessor, Peter Moores, who quit in 2015 after a shambolic World Cup campaign.

Describing Silverwood as the “outstanding candidate” in a field that only really included South African Gary Kirsten, England director of cricket Ashley Giles said: “Chris demonstrated in his interview a clear understanding and strategy of how both the red- and white-ball teams need to evolve.

“He has some detailed thoughts on what it will take to win the Ashes in Australia and win major ICC white-ball tournaments.”

Poor presentation

According to the Daily Mail, Kirsten, a former Test match opening batsman, lost out to Silverwood through a combination of complacency and stolidity.

“Arriving in England a week ago for his interview, he was under the impression that the job was his,” said the Mail.

“Instead of an all-singing powerpoint presentation of the kind that goes down so well in the corporate world, he depicted himself as someone who would get the job done once appointed.”

Mixed results

Bayliss left after four years at the helm, which included the highs of a first Cricket World Cup triumph and a low of losing the Ashes to Australia down under in 2018 and failing to recapture them in the recent home series.

Those series have been characterised by some woeful batting collapses, and Silverwood’s priority is to re-establish England as a serious batting force.

Hard taskmaster

“I aim to continue the great work that has been done over the past five years and build on our future, especially in the Test arena,” said Silverwood, who will lead England to New Zealand next month where they play five Twenty20s and two Test matches.

“I am excited to get started and build teams that the whole game can be proud of. There is a tremendous amount of talent coming through, and there is enormous potential for growth. The hard work starts now.”

Pundit reactions to Silverwood’s appointment

Nasser Hussain, Sky Sports

“He’s someone who seems to ask the right questions, at the right time. He’s that type of coach - he’s not an in-your-face type… his man-management is absolutely first class.”

Michael Vaughan, The Daily Telegraph

“I am surprised Chris Silverwood has been appointed the England head coach. Looking from the outside it appeared to me that Gary Kirsten was the outstanding candidate… Batting has been England’s weakness in Test cricket for some time. What is Kirsten’s great area of knowledge?”

Mike Atherton, The Times

“[Silverwood’s] appointment to the role of England head coach feels like a missed opportunity to reorder the coaching set-up so that it is nimbler and more dynamic, and to welcome a fresh voice and new ideas to the dressing room.”

Lawrence Booth, Daily Mail

“[Kirsten’s] expertise as a Test-match opener would have been a good fit for England’s new-look top order, especially at a time when managing director Ashley Giles has promised to refocus on red-ball cricket after this summer’s World Cup triumph.”

Vic Marks, The Guardian

“This is a massive step up… he has impressed with his composed straight talking in his limited dealings with the press, but he will soon discover that when the plans go awry and those skills are not being executed quite as well as expected – the brickbats now head in his direction.”

What a summer it’s been for cricket

“See you down under in 2021”, that’s the back page headline of The Times today after the Ashes series between England and Australia came to a close.

Australia may have retained the famous Ashes urn but England fought back to win the final Test at The Oval yesterday and secure a 2-2 draw in the series.

After England won the Cricket World Cup and drew the Test series the Daily Mail reports that captain Joe Root has hailed a “phenomenal” summer of cricket in the country.

Following the 135-run victory in the final Test Root said the performance was a blueprint to regain the urn in two years’ time in Australia, The Daily Telegraph reports.

“What a summer of cricket it has been,” said Root. “It’s been phenomenal. That World Cup was incredible, for it to finish how it did, made for fantastic viewing - not just the England games, but across the board.

“It was backed up by such an evenly matched Ashes series. We were blessed by brilliant support throughout and the cricket was pretty gripping. It was quite hard to be involved in at times, especially when we were on the wrong end of it.

“It has been a huge success for English cricket and a great opportunity to spring the game forward in this country.”