Cricket news

• Crawley trapped lbw in first over playing no shot

  07-01-2026 01:36 via bbc.com
  Mitchell Starc strikes in the first over yet again as Zak Crawley is trapped lbw for one, having made no attempt at playing a shot, to leave England 4-1 on day four of the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney.
  
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• England ruthlessly privatised cricket – Australia embraces it with constant public displays of affection | Emma John

  09-01-2026 21:00 via theguardian.com
  If there is one takeaway for England from this Ashes tour it should be how cricket thrives in a nation where it is readily and freely available as the dominant summer pastimeThe drive to Bowral in New South Wales takes you through some of Australia’s most English countryside. Pastoral hills roll right up to the roadside and finish in grassy verges, flecked with yellow and white wildflowers. Alliums stand sentinel around vibrant lawns. Even the eucalypts are cosplaying as beech and oaks. Yo
  
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• Big Bash League momentum builds but its future remains up in the air | Jack Snape

  09-01-2026 15:00 via theguardian.com
  The BBL is enjoying a resurgence even as Cricket Australia pushes the case for private investment to keep pace with T20 competitions around the globeRenegades fans got a kick out of the Melbourne BBL derby last Sunday, as they watched their side triumph in the final over against the crosstown Stars. But it was Australian cricket officials who went home giddy amid an increasingly heated international contest between T20 franchise leagues.The 68,124 at the MCG – the highest BBL crowd since 2
  
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• All-heart Travis Head leaves indelible mark on Ashes series by playing his own game | Angus Fontaine

  09-01-2026 15:00 via theguardian.com
  The Australian’s rare attitude to the game and his destructive batting against England have seen him elevated to cult hero status Fast bowler Mitchell Starc won player of this Ashes series but make no mistake, talismanic bat-out-of-hell Travis Head was the man who ripped out England’s heart and served it to them on a silver platter with a cold beer chaser.With three outlandish centuries across the five Tests, Head’s statistical contribution was immense. He scored 629 runs at an
  
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• McCullum insists he has ‘to be able to steer the ship’ to shape England’s Test future

  09-01-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  Head coach defends methods and leadership after AshesTeam culture likely to be main focus of ECB reviewAt the end of a sorry Ashes loss capped off by news of Harry Brook’s involvement in a late-night incident two months earlier, Brendon McCullum set out his position as England head coach: if his wings are clipped and his ethos compromised then “maybe there is someone better” to do the role.The caveat is key here. McCullum is keen to continue and having held talks with Richard T
  
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• Brendon McCullum keen to carry on with England but wants to ‘steer the ship’

  09-01-2026 13:00 via theguardian.com
  Head coach defends methods and leadership after AshesTeam culture likely to be main focus of ECB reviewAt the end of a sorry Ashes loss capped off by news of Harry Brook’s involvement in a late-night incident two months earlier, Brendon McCullum set out his position as England head coach: if his wings are clipped and his ethos compromised then “maybe there is someone better” to do the role.The caveat is key here. McCullum is keen to continue and having held talks with Richard T
  
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• How can England rise again from the Ashes? – Ashes Weekly podcast

  09-01-2026 09:51 via theguardian.com
  After a humbling 4-1 defeat in Australia, England’s approach to the series and Test cricket itself has been under the microscope. Max Rushden is joined by Barney Ronay, Emma John and Ali Martin for a look back on the 2025-26 series Continue reading...
  
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• Sports quiz of the week: Ashes, Afcon, Australian Open and moving managers

  09-01-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Have you followed the big news in football, cricket, boxing, tennis, athletics, snooker, darts and cycling? Continue reading...
  
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• Australia 4-1 England: player ratings as the hosts win the Ashes in style

  09-01-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Mitchell Starc and Travis Head were astoundingly good, but plenty of England players will want to look away nowBy 99.94 Cricket BlogBen Stokes: 184 runs at 18.4; 15 wickets at 25.1; two catches
  A body unable to match his will, a team unable to match his ambition and, surely, a screaming sense that he made mistakes when preparing for this challenging but winnable series, adds up to a horrible seven weeks for the England captain. His personal form inevitably buckled – and you have to feel a
  
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• Ashes talking points: searching questions raised by Australia’s series victory | Martin Pegan

  09-01-2026 06:45 via theguardian.com
  Australia take away a 4-1 win and bragging rights but also a number of issues that need to be addressed over a busy 18-month period aheadAn Ashes series that overpromised and underdelivered will be remembered for the dazzling performances and moments of magic rather than as a classic of the genre. For Travis Head’s star turn as a swashbuckling opener, Mitchell Starc’s new-ball destruction and Usman Khawaja’s emotional farewell on one side. For Joe Root’s belated century i
  
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• Ashes talking points: searching questions raised by Australia’s series victory

  09-01-2026 06:45 via theguardian.com
  Australia take away a 4-1 win and bragging rights but also a number of issues that need to be addressed over a busy 18-month period aheadAn Ashes series that overpromised and underdelivered will be remembered for the dazzling performances and moments of magic rather than as a classic of the genre. For Travis Head’s star turn as a swashbuckling opener, Mitchell Starc’s new-ball destruction and Usman Khawaja’s emotional farewell on one side. For Joe Root’s belated century i
  
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• Five Ashes charts: the numbers that show how Australia got the better of England

  09-01-2026 03:59 via theguardian.com
  From Ben Stokes’s drastically reduced strike rate to Mitchell Starc’s near best ever bowling figures, the statistics from the series tell their own storyThe Ashes are over, and the post-mortems have begun. Some may point to a lack of preparation, uneven pitches or a mid-tour Noosa bender for England’s failures, and wonder what might have been if only one or two chances were taken.But in a series won quickly and then – despite an MCG blip – comprehensively, Australia
  
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• The mediocre Ashes: England arrived as a rabble and Australia weren’t much better | Geoff Lemon

  08-01-2026 20:14 via theguardian.com
  Australia were there for the taking but Brendon McCullum’s tourists were so poor and ill-prepared they never got closeAs far as endings go, it ended nicely. People streamed on to the Sydney Cricket Ground, wanting to get close to the trophy presentation and to have a canter on the turf. Nothing thrills an audience more than a chance to walk the stage. On a sun-kissed blue-heaven day, the match had finished early enough to leave plenty of afternoon to spare. Later Usman Khawaja soaked that
  
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• England arrived as a rabble and Australia weren’t much better – mediocrity defined this Ashes | Geoff Lemon

  08-01-2026 20:14 via theguardian.com
  Australia were there for the taking but Brendon McCullum’s tourists were so poor and ill prepared they never got closeAs far as endings go, it ended nicely. People streamed on to the Sydney Cricket Ground, wanting to get close to the trophy presentation and to have a canter on the turf. Nothing thrills an audience more than a chance to walk the stage. On a sun-kissed blue-heaven day, the match had finished early enough to leave plenty of afternoon to spare. Later Usman Khawaja soaked that
  
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• Sack the vibe: goodbye Bazball and hello England’s search for a cricketing soul | Barney Ronay

  08-01-2026 19:00 via theguardian.com
  There have to be consequences for Rob Key and Brendon McCullum but English cricket’s problems lie much deeper and will be much harder to fixIt seemed fitting, as the final moments ticked down at the Sydney Cricket Ground, as the day, the match, the tour seemed to ooze and melt a little at the edges under a hard white January sun, that Ben Stokes should finish this Ashes series still standing, but only just.It was at least a suitably slapstick final session in front of a scattered, holiday-
  
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• Harry Brook to captain England at T20 World Cup despite pre-Ashes scuffle with bouncer

  08-01-2026 16:01 via theguardian.com
  White-ball captain issues apology for October incidentRevelation after abject Ashes deepens England crisisHarry Brook will retain the captaincy of England’s white-ball team for next month’s T20 World Cup, despite receiving a final warning for his off-field conduct following an altercation with a nightclub bouncer in Wellington the night before a one-day international against New Zealand last November.The Yorkshire batter, who was also made vice-captain of the Test side earlier this y
  
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• England’s Ashes humbling was more a series of letdowns than ‘series of our lives’ | Ali Martin

  08-01-2026 14:00 via theguardian.com
  They landed in Perth expecting to challenge Australia but after a 4-1 defeat and more off-field revelations, the laid-back approach of McCullum’s regime is in the ECB’s sightsIt was billed as “the series of our lives” by Brendon McCullum but as he and Ben Stokes looked over towards the podium to watch Steve Smith and Pat Cummins lift the crystal Ashes trophy under an azure sky, the optimism that preceded this failed campaign felt a lifetime ago.They landed in Perth two mo
  
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• Ben Stokes' England captaincy decided after humiliating Ashes defeat

  08-01-2026 12:19 via express.co.uk
  Express Sport readers have had their say on Ben Stokes' future as England captain.
  
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• Ashes review launched by ECB as Stokes gives full backing to under-fire McCullum

  08-01-2026 12:10 via theguardian.com
  ‘I love working with Baz. He’ll be getting my full support’Coach will push back if told what to do by governing bodyBen Stokes has backed Brendon McCullum’s continuation as head coach despite England’s 4-1 Ashes thrashing in Australia. McCullum, in turn, has accepted the need for improvement but will push back if he is told what to do.“If I’m asked my opinion he’ll be getting my full support and backing,” Stokes said after England’s fiv
  
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• 'We're losing more': Ben Stokes admits England need to go back to the drawing board – video

  08-01-2026 11:42 via theguardian.com
  Ben Stokes, the England Test captain, has said the team 'need to go back to the drawing board' after losing the Ashes 4-1.'When you come up against a team like Australia, who know how to play cricket out here and you are adding to your own downfall then you're going to end up losing the series 4-1 like we have done,' Stokes said.'In the first couple of years, teams found it difficult to try and come up with anything ​to combat the way we played, but now teams are coming up with plans that
  
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• England Ashes player ratings as four 2/10s dished out in appalling Australia disaster

  08-01-2026 09:48 via express.co.uk
  England will return home from their Ashes tour of Australia after suffering a 4-1 defeat.
  
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• Harry Brook’s pre-Ashes scuffle with bouncer deepens crisis around England

  08-01-2026 09:27 via theguardian.com
  White-ball captain issues apology for October incidentLatest revelation just hours after abject Ashes reversalEngland’s white-ball captain Harry Brook has issued a public apology for becoming embroiled in a late-night incident in New Zealand just before the Ashes, admitting his actions “brought embarrassment to both myself and the England team”.A matter of hours after England’s 4-1 defeat to Australia was confirmed in Sydney and shortly after ECB chief executive Richard G
  
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• Harry Brook issues apology after 'clashing with bouncer' hours before captaining England

  08-01-2026 09:01 via express.co.uk
  Harry Brook has issued an apology for his behaviour before England's Ashes Tour, admitting his actions "brought embarrassment to both myself and the team"
  
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• Australia beat England by five wickets on day five of the fifth Ashes Test – as it happened

  08-01-2026 05:38 via theguardian.com
  Despite a late wobble at the SCG Australia held their nerve to secure victory and win the series 4-178th over: England 312-8 (Bethell 145, Potts 7) Bethell finally has the strike … and he immediately takes a single off Webster. I wonder if he’s going to play some shots before that second new ball? The singles continue as Webster tosses the ball up, inviting a potential hoo-ha. Bethell gets the reverse-sweep out, but with the field back he gets just one.77th over: England 307-8 (Beth
  
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• Talismanic Mitchell Starc adds final flourish to his imperious Ashes series | Geoff Lemon

  08-01-2026 05:17 via theguardian.com
  The bowler’s smarts and stamina from the first ball in Perth to the last in Sydney – not to mention his batting – made him a worthy man of the seriesIt was right that Mitchell Starc should clean up the last two English wickets of this Ashes. Right, too, that Travis Head should mop up a few more runs, but for all of the enjoyment that Head brings with his Jayasuriya-lite batting and his Boon-lite persona, the difference in the series has been the other left-hander. The fifth mor
  
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• Australia beat England by five wickets on day five of the fifth Ashes Test – live reaction

  08-01-2026 04:53 via theguardian.com
  Over-by-over updates from Sydney Cricket Ground
  The Ashes top 100 | Follow us on Bluesky | Mail Angus78th over: England 312-8 (Bethell 145, Potts 7) Bethell finally has the strike … and he immediately takes a single off Webster. I wonder if he’s going to play some shots before that second new ball? The singles continue as Webster tosses the ball up, inviting a potential hoo-ha. Bethell gets the reverse-sweep out, but with the field back he gets just one.77th over: England 307-8 (Be
  
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• Australia hold on to win fifth Ashes Test leaving England to rue missed chances

  08-01-2026 04:47 via theguardian.com
  5th Test, D5: Australia, 567 & 161 bt England 384 & 342, by five wicketsAlex Carey hits winning runs at SCG as hosts wrap up series 4-1 There were a couple of wobbles along the way but at 2.30pm on the final day in Sydney, Australia had knocked off a target of 160 runs to win the fifth Test by five wickets and claim this Ashes series by a 4-1 scoreline.Like their tour as a whole, there was a nagging sense of what might have been for England with a few more runs on the board, or better ca
  
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• Australia hold on to win fifth Ashes Test and leave England rueing missed chances

  08-01-2026 04:47 via theguardian.com
  Australia, 567 & 161 bt England 384 & 342, by five wicketsCarey hits winning runs at SCG as hosts wrap up series 4-1There were a couple of wobbles along the way but at 2.30pm on the final day in Sydney, Australia had knocked off a target of 160 runs to win the fifth Test by five wickets and claim this Ashes series by a 4-1 scoreline.Like their tour as a whole, there was a nagging sense of what might have been for England with a few more runs on the board, or better catching and tighter b
  
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• 'A wonderful innings' - Bethell's brilliant knock ended by Starc

  08-01-2026 01:14 via bbc.com
  Jacob Bethell's memorable innings comes to an end as he's caught for 154 by Alex Carey, off the bowling of Mitchell Starc to leave England 328-9, with a lead of 146 on day five of the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney.
  
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• Australia v England: fifth Ashes Test, day five – live

  07-01-2026 23:25 via theguardian.com
  Over-by-over updates from Sydney Cricket Ground
  Play starts at 10am local at the SCG/11pm GMT
  The Ashes top 100 | Follow us on Bluesky | Mail TahaBeau Webster continues to impress, those numbers particularly appealing at present: he’s averaging 41 with the bat and 23 with the ball in Test cricket. England are lucky they’ve only had to face him in one game. Here’s Geoff Lemon on Australia’s all-rounder debate.Yeah, but can he do it in the County Championship? Anyway, here
  
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