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Pakistan captain Babar Azam admitted he was blindsided by the decision to tear up his squad ahead of this week's final cricket test against England, saying the drastic cull was "news to me." Babar learned of the wholesale changes only after an official statement by the Pakistan Cricket Board, he said on Tuesday, the day before the third test at Edgbaston. "It was news to me," Babar said in Urdu. "I found out after. "The PCB decided it, so they will be able to explain better. The PCB's decision must have been taken after some thought process. It's better if you ask them why." Heavy defeats at Leeds and Lord's were met with sweeping changes by the PCB, who sent seven players home and removed head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and his assistant Umar Gul. The replacements summoned included five with no test experience, while white-ball coach Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke were drafted to take charge at Edgbaston. Babar framed the remarkable overhaul as a fresh chance for the players "to showca
Former captain Kevin Pietersen was on Monday appointed as a specialist mentor of England's white-ball teams in the build-up to next year's ICC Cricket World Cup in Africa. Pietersen will join head coach Brendon McCullum's white-ball set up for the T20I and ODI series against Sri Lanka later this month, joining a coaching team which will also include Marcus Trescothick, Tim Southee, Jeetan Patel and Sarah Taylor. He will also be involved in this winter's white-ball tours of Australia and South Africa, before joining up again for the home series against Pakistan and New Zealand next summer, as well as the World Cup. "I am immensely proud to have been asked to help this team on their journey to win a World Cup in South Africa. Putting on the England uniform again for the first time since 2014 is a profound honour and a deeply special moment," Pietersen said in a England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) statement. "We have an incredibly talented white-ball squad, and I am excited to get
Long may it continue, England seam bowler Ollie Robinson said. And there's the rub. Robinson was talking about how successful his new-ball partnership with Jofra Archer was working out. In harness together for the first time in test cricket, they have taken 24 of Pakistan's 38 possible wickets in the ongoing series. They are a big reason England clinched the series 2-0 at Lord's on Sunday with a day and a game to spare. The change bowlers, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson, have come off helping Manchester win the Hundred competition and claimed the other 14 Pakistan wickets. It's a pace attack that is exciting England supporters, who have fingers crossed the four quicks can stick together for the home Ashes series against Australia in less than 10 months. But that's a long time for any player and the foursome has yet to be truly tested. Pakistan has underwhelmed and was struggling before it undertook its first tour of England in six years. The loss at Lord's was its 10th in its last
England extended its lead over Pakistan in the second test to 342 runs after reaching 162-6 at tea on a rain-hit Day 3 at Lord's. England's bid for victory had been delayed with no play possible on Saturday morning at the home of cricket because of showers. The hosts eventually resumed in the afternoon on 81-3 in its second innings and with a commanding lead of 261 runs. By tea - and more time lost to rain - England's innings had doubled to 162 runs at the cost of losing three wickets to Mohammad Abbas (3-48). Emilio Gay (31) was quickly trapped leg before by Abbas and Harry Brook (34) was caught behind after a 45-run stand for the fifth wicket with Dan Lawrence. Abbas dismissed Jamie Smith (7) for his third wicket. Lawrence (37 not out) and Gus Atkinson (7 not out) are at the crease. Almost 23 overs have been bowled so far on Saturday. England scored 290 in its first innings before dismissing Pakistan for 110. England won the first test by an innings at Headingley last week so
England wrapped up an innings win over Pakistan inside three days in the first test on Friday, delivering a strong start to the post-Bazball era under returning captain Joe Root. Dismissed for 409 around 40 minutes into day three, England took a 238-run advantage into the second innings and skittled Pakistan for 135 in 37.3 overs before tea. England won by an innings and 103 runs for a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The second test starts on Thursday at Lord's. "Brilliant performance," Root said. "You look at the prep we had leading in, coming straight from the Hundred, the fact we're in a slight transition stage. I thought the way that we dealt with all of that, the clarity and the way the guys approached this week has been outstanding." England's battery of four seamers pestered consistently at a fuller length that's required at Headingley and Pakistan couldn't endure it. Jofra Archer removed the openers with the new ball, Ollie Robinson got three more wickets, Josh Tongue
England strengthened its grip on the first test against Pakistan on Thursday, with Joe Root and Harry Brook among four batters to make half-centuries in a score of 366-8 that gave the hosts a first-innings lead of 195 runs after Day 2. Brook, the world's top-ranked test batter, came closest to reaching a hundred on his home ground of Headingley but fell for 91 - one of those dismissed by Ali Usman (5-92) in the left-arm spinner's first five-wicket haul. Root (66) and Jordan Cox (73) shared a 150-run partnership after England resumed on 112-2 four hours into the day, with rain causing a long delay to the start of play. Dan Lawrence, playing his first test in two years, hit 51 at No. 6 and was another England batter likely ruing a missed opportunity to go big against some substandard bowling and erratic fielding. In general, it has been a poor showing by Pakistan, which was bowled out for 171 in barely two sessions on Wednesday. Brook dropped on 1 then punishes ...
The midnight curfew imposed on the England men's cricket team has been scrapped under newly appointed captain Joe Root. The restriction was put in place by England managing director Rob Key after controversial late-night incidents on the winter tours of New Zealand and Australia. Former test captain Ben Stokes was out past the curfew following a match against New Zealand in June, leading to his temporary suspension and then sudden retirement from test cricket - a chain of events that has sparked the return of Root for a second spell as skipper. The latest new era for English cricket begins next week with a three-match test series against Pakistan, and Root told the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast: "There's not going to be a curfew. "I don't think this needs to be a big deal, to be honest," he said. "My view on curfews is I don't think they work, and if you want guys to take responsibility on the field they've got to be able to feel they can be grown adults off it and make good strong ..
Former England captain Ben Stokes has expressed his desire to coach the national team in future, insisting that he has the required experience to be successful in the position. The 35-year-old all-rounder retired from international cricket in June during England's Test series against New Zealand, drawing curtains to a career that included the country's 2019 World Cup triumph and his match-winning Ashes innings at Headingley the same year. Stokes led England's Test side from 2022 before moving away. "I'm doing my Level 3 coaching now while I'm still playing, because I want, when the day comes that I'm not playing any more, I'd love to be able to have all that stuff signed off and done," Stokes was quoted as saying on the podcast "For The Love Of Cricket". "I want to be a coach. I know what I want to do in terms of staying within the game, which is to be a coach. And would I love to be coach of England one day? Absolutely." Stokes is confident about delivering in the role. "I would
Ben Duckett made mincemeat of an inexperienced Indian bowling attack with a fabulous 141 as England posted a mammoth 387 for 3 in the series-deciding third ODI, riding on a 192-run opening stand between the centurion and Jacob Bethell here on Sunday. Jasprit Bumrah's absence due to an impact injury on his left knee was certainly a blow for India and that proved to be telling for the visitors. The four-pronged pace attack comprising Prasidh Krishna (2/69 in 10 overs), Arshdeep Singh (0/72 in 10 overs), Prince Yadav (1/79 on 10 overs) and Gurnoor Brar (0/97 in 10 overs), with a cumulative experience of 51 ODIs, lacked both skill and experience against an in-form batting line-up. Duckett and Bethell (91 off 93 balls) were fantastic in terms of planning and execution. The batting powerplay of first 10 overs yielded 58 runs but the wheels came off between overs 11 to 30 when they literally ran the bowlers ragged. With head coach Gautam Gambhir using Kuldeep Yadav in only 38 games out of