But the coming months will shape his legacy as Test captain, and England’s hopes of regaining the Ashes in Australia would be almost destroyed if they were to lose Stokes. Any further burden on his body would be a huge gamble. “Let him get the Ashes urn in his hands,” said Vaughan, who was speaking...
Surrey captain Rory Burns says English cricket needs to “protect” the County Championship as the new domestic season is set to get under way. The first round of fixtures starts on Friday with defending champions Surrey facing Essex at Chelmsford in their opening match. Burns said he was “not really” worried that the red-ball competition...
Lancashire are in Division Two for the first time since 2019 and just the fourth time since two divisions were introduced. Each time they were relegated previously, the Red Rose bounced back straight away as champions in the second tier, most recently six years ago. But it is now 10 years since their last major...
Gloucestershire’s new red-ball captain Cameron Bancroft has an experience of winning that can “boost” his team-mates, says head coach Mark Alleyne. The Australian was named Gloucestershire’s new captain last month for the 2025 County Championship campaign. Bancroft, who has played in 10 Test matches for Australia, has won three Sheffield Shield titles – the country’s...
Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim says he has told Bruno Fernandes he will not allow him to leave this summer. Club captain Fernandes – who signed a contract extension until 2027 last August – has been United’s star player this season. Over the weekend reports emerged linking the 30-year-old with a move to Real...
Kraigg Brathwaite has stepped down as Test captain of the West Indies after three years in the role. The 32-year-old will hand over the captaincy to an as yet unnamed replacement for Australia’s three-match Test tour of the Caribbean in June and July. Brathwaite took over the side in March 2021, leading them to a...
Durham have six County Championship matches before England’s first assignment of the summer – a one-off Test against Zimbabwe – begins on 22 May. Stokes was initially ruled out of cricket for three months after surgery in January and a Durham appearance closer to the Zimbabwe Test has not been dismissed. The all-rounder continued his...
David Raya, Arsenal, keeper, £5.5m – Fulham (h) Raya has four clean sheets in his past seven and Arsenal have the second-most clean sheets (11) this season. There could be a few clean sheets knocking about this week and this game is one of them. Josko Gvardiol, Manchester City, £6m – Leicester City (h) I...
Kerr, who has not played since the end of 2023 after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament during training in January 2024, said: “I recognise that leadership means being mindful of our actions both on and off the pitch. “I’m proud of the Matildas, the role I have played as a member of that team and...
Eoin Morgan says England could make a “left-field call” with their new white-ball captaincy and create an arrangement where Test skipper Ben Stokes is parachuted in to do the job for major tournaments. England are looking for a new captain for the men’s one-day and T20 sides after Jos Buttler resigned following their early exit...
It is a month since Buttler resigned after two-and-a-half years in the role, but there has been little public movement towards a replacement. Managing director Rob Key said England will not rush the decision and will consider Ben Stokes combining the job with his role as Test skipper among various other options. Coach Brendon McCullum...
“It’s a huge honour to become Yorkshire captain,” Bairstow told BBC Sport. “It’s something as a young boy you dream about. It’s something you want to do, no matter if it’s the first few years of your career or the last few years of your career. “To be asked to do that with the group...
Warwickshire have been hit by a pre-season injury issue that will delay main overseas signing Tom Latham’s arrival at Edgbaston. Wicketkeeper Latham, 32, has suffered a broken finger while practising in the nets with his domestic club side Canterbury before this week’s Plunket Shield game in Wellington. The New Zealand Test captain was, in any...
Former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal has thanked doctors for their “amazing” care after he posted on social media for the first time since he suffered a cardiac arrest. The 36-year-old required medical attention during a domestic T20 game in Dhaka and is currently recovering in hospital. Tamim, Bangladesh’s record run-scorer in one-day internationals, complained of...
Jos Buttler made a half-century in his first innings since resigning as England’s white-ball captain but was unable to prevent Gujarat Titans from slipping to an 11-run defeat by Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League. Buttler acknowledged he had “reached the end of the road” when he relinquished the captaincy at the Champions Trophy...