Cricket news

• Root hits masterful century for England before Head leads Australia fightback

  05-01-2026 08:39 via theguardian.com
  Fifth Ashes Test; day two: Australia 166-2, England 384Root makes 160 but hosts’ opener helps reduce lead to 218The Richies were out in force for the final time on the second day at the Sydney Cricket Ground, an entire block decked out in either cream, bone, white, off-white, ivory, or beige. Bathed in sunshine, flags fluttering over the two heritage-listed pavilions, the backdrop for Joe Root’s 41st Test century was absolutely marvellous.This has not been the case for Root here over
  
  Read more

• Ashes 2025-26: our writers’ end-of-series England v Australia awards

  10-01-2026 09:00 via theguardian.com
  Brainless moments, moral victories and tough lessons were abundant during a series that still provided plenty of dramaPlayer of the series Travis Head was the boxing kangaroo at the top of the Australia order. But this one goes to the other animal on the baggy green crest, Mitchell Starc bounding in like an emu, slicing through England during the live bit, and playing all five to finish with 31 wickets at 19 apiece. Elite. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Ashes Weekly: A flawed Ashes series ends in familiar fashion - podcast

  10-01-2026 03:21 via theguardian.com
  As Australia celebrates a comprehensive 4-1 victory, England’s approach to the Ashes series and Test cricket itself has been under the microscope. Max Rushden is joined by Geoff Lemon, Barney Ronay, Emma John and Ali Martin for a look back on the 2025-26 seriesRead more: Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Brisbane Heat v Sydney Thunder - BBL scorecard

  10-01-2026 01:00 via bbc.co.uk
  Latest scorecard from the Big Bash League match between Brisbane Heat and Sydney Thunder at the Gabba, Brisbane.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• 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
  
  Read more

• Adair returns to Ireland squad for T20 World Cup

  09-01-2026 15:07 via bbc.com
  Ireland include opener Ross Adair in a 15-man squad for next month's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
  
  Read more

• 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
  
  Read more

• 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
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Bigger conversation needed over cricket drinking culture - Prior

  09-01-2026 14:30 via bbc.com
  England wicketkeeper Matt Prior calls for a "much bigger conversation" around cricket's drinking culture.
  
  Read more

• Maybe someone better if I can't steer the ship - McCullum

  09-01-2026 13:17 via bbc.com
  England head coach Brendon McCullum says there could be "someone better" to take on the role if he is not allowed to "steer the ship".
  
  Read more

• Lancs hand two-year contract to all-rounder Shetty

  09-01-2026 13:15 via bbc.com
  Arav Shetty is rewarded for some promising displays in 2025 with a new two-year contract by Lancashire.
  
  Read more

• 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
  
  Read more

• 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
  
  Read more

• Winning in England will be Australia's next goal - McGrath column

  09-01-2026 11:02 via bbc.com
  After a comfortable 4-1 series win in the Ashes, Australia's next goal will be winning in England for the first time in 26 years when they tour next summer, says Glenn McGrath.
  
  Read more

• 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...
  
  Read more

• 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...
  
  Read more

• 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
  
  Read more

• Green or Webster, Head the opener: Australia’s searching questions to rise from the Ashes | Martin Pegan

  09-01-2026 06:45 via theguardian.com
  Australia take away 4-1 series victory 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
  
  Read more

• 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
  
  Read more

• 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
  
  Read more

• 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
  
  Read more

• Second Sri Lanka-Pakistan T20 washed out - scorecard

  09-01-2026 01:00 via bbc.co.uk
  Latest scorecard from the second Twenty20 international between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Dambulla.
  
  Read more

• Durban's Super Giants v Sunrisers Eastern Cape abandoned in SA20 - scorecard

  09-01-2026 01:00 via bbc.co.uk
  Latest scorecard from the SA20 match between Durban's Super Giants and Sunrisers Eastern Cape at Kingsmead, Durban.
  
  Read more

• 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
  
  Read more

• 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
  
  Read more

• 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-
  
  Read more

• Brook, 'Boozeball' and another Ashes hangover

  08-01-2026 16:10 via bbc.com
  The revelation Harry Brook got into a fight with a bouncer brings further focus on the culture of the England team.
  
  Read more

• 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
  
  Read more

• Stumped: Matthew Hayden on what's next for England and Australia?

  08-01-2026 14:02 via bbc.co.uk
  We are joined by former Australia opener Matthew Hayden for our post-Ashes debrief.
  
  Read more

• 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
  
  Read more

Follow @Cricket_News_UK on Twitter!