Players.bio is a large online platform sharing the best live coverage of your favourite sports: Football, Golf, Rugby, Cricket, F1, Boxing, NFL, NBA, plus the latest sports news, transfers & scores. Exclusive interviews, fresh photos and videos, breaking news. Stay tuned to know everything you wish about your favorite stars 24/7. Check our daily updates and make sure you don't miss anything about celebrities' lives.
Australia coach Andrew McDonald backed Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne to rebound from rare twin failures in the opening Ashes test, but said it was a positive sign that his team could still win without getting hefty contributions from them.
It would be advantage Australia during the Ashes as they can play at "different tempos", while England only know how to play "really hard", feels former Test skipper of the touring side Time Paine. Paine, a wicketkeeper-batter, had stepped down as Australia captain days before the last Ashes series at home due to a 'sexting' scandal and was replaced by pacer Pat Cummins as Test skipper. Australia defeated Ben Stokes' England by two wickets in a thrilling Ashes opener at Edgbaston with Cummins scoring an unbeaten 44 and guiding the visitors to victory when things had started to look difficult.
Despite a two-wicket setback against Australia, England head coach Brendon McCullum feels the first Ashes Test "validated" his team's aggressive strategy and expects his side to "go a little harder" in the second Test at Lord's next week. England scored 4.61 runs per over and targeted Australia's bowlers from the first ball when Zak Crawley smacked Pat Cummins through the covers for four. However, Australia won the match on the last day by scoring 3.20 runs per over across the five days and consistently posting defensive fields.
Leanne Kiernan says she is "raring to go" for the Republic of Ireland's final warm-up match before Vera Pauw names her 23-player squad for the FIFA Women's World Cup.
England pacer Ollie Robinson has courted plenty of attention for his antics in the first Ashes Test. His duels with Usman Khawaja were well noted by the cricketing fraternity and the pacer was even asked about the same in the press conference. After Robinson cited the examples of Ricky Ponting and other former Australian cricketers over the Khawaja sledging episode, the former Aussie skipper has given a sharp retort, calling English pacer a 'slow learner' while questioning his bowling too.
The thrilling first Ashes Test match between England and Australia ended in the favour of the Pat Cummins-led side on Tuesday by two wickets. Playing in Birmingham, the visitors held their nerves as Cummins (44*) and Nathan Lyon (16*) stitched an unbeaten partnership of 55 runs and took their side across the line in the chase of 281. Cricket is considered as the gentleman's game but sometimes the intensity of the contest makes the players lose their cool on the field. An example of that was seen during the match when Australia opener Usman Khawaja engaged in an exchange of words with England pacer Ollie Robinson.
The Republic of Ireland are entering the home straight, with a cluster of hopefuls jostling for position. Fallers, sadly, are inevitable.