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Ben Stokes returns as captain for England's three-Test tour of Pakistan next month while Brydon Carse could make his debut just weeks after completing a ban for breaches of betting rules. sStokes will skipper the side after missing the 2-1 home series win against Sri Lanka with a hamstring injury. Opener Zak Crawley is also in the squad announced on Tuesday after missing the same series with a broken finger.
Former England captain Nasser Hussain said Ben Duckett's astonishing knock of 86 on day one of the third Test against Sri Lanka was yet another example of why the left-handed opener is at the heart of the side's risk-taking attitude while batting. At The Oval, Duckett set the tone for England making 221/3 by hitting nine fours and two sixes in a 79-ball 86 to leave Sri Lanka dazed. “Let's be honest, Sri Lanka were poor. It was almost like they'd never bowled to a left-hand, right-hand combination before, but Duckett never let them settle at all.”
England vs Sri Lanka 3rd Test, Day 1: With a 2-0 lead, hosts England would hope to complete a 3-0 sweep as they take on Sri Lanka in the final match of the 3-Test series. It has been a flawless series for England, especially considering the fresh faces that have were drafted into the team. While Joe Root has been the marquee star of the series, the likes of Jamie Smith, Matthew Potts, and Gus Atkinson have done really well. For Sri Lanka, a trend-breaking performance is the need of the hour. (Live Scorecard)
Skipper Jos Buttler has been ruled out of England's T20I series against Australia due to a setback in recovering from a right calf injury. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said it places his participation in the ODI series against Australia, happening later this month in doubt. ECB further announced that Phil Salt will be assuming England captaincy duties for the T20I series in Buttler's absence while all-rounder Jamie Overton has been drafted into the squad. Salt had captained the Manchester Originals in The Hundred this season after Buttler was ruled out due to a calf injury while preparing for the competition.
England Test captain Ben Stokes has lauded the decision to appoint Brendon McCullum as the new head coach of limited-overs teams, calling it "an unbelievable move" for the future of the sport in the country. McCullum, who has already revolutionised England's Test cricket with his leadership style, will now take charge of all formats, starting in 2025 under a new three-year deal that will extend his tenure until 2027. Since taking the reins of the Test side in May 2022, McCullum, alongside Stokes, has overseen a dramatic transformation, with England winning 19 of their 28 Tests, including six series victories out of nine.
The record of the most balls faced without scoring a single run in Tests is held by former New Zealand pacer Geoff Allott, who did not score a run despite facing 77 balls. That innings, against South Africa in Auckland in 2006, also holds the record of the least runs scored per minute in Test history, with Allott having batted 101 minutes. However, both of these records would seem paltry to what father-son duo Ian and Thomas Bestwick put up in a valiant display of old school first-class cricket - the art of defensive batting.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has said he would be happy to be proven wrong on stand-in skipper Ollie Pope's leadership credentials. At the same time, Vaughan stuck to his view that Pope is an insecure person as a leader. Pope made scores of one and 17 in England's 190-run win over Sri Lanka at Lord's. So far in the series, he has amassed only 30 runs in four innings. Questions have been raised over Pope being fidgety while batting and criticism has increased over his leadership abilities not being up to the mark.
England vs Sri Lanka 2nd Test Day 4 Highlights: Gus Atkinson continued his Lord's love affair by taking five wickets as England thrashed Sri Lanka by 190 runs in the second Test on Sunday to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in a three-match series. Sri Lanka, set what would have been a new Test record fourth-innings winning total of 483, were dismissed for 292 after tea on the fourth day despite fifties from Dinesh Chandimal (58), Dimuth Karunaratne (55) and captain Dhananjaya de Silva (50). Fast bowler Atkinson, who scored his maiden first-class hundred in England's first-innings 427, led the attack with 5-62. Player-of-the-match Atkinson secured a fifth mention on the dressing room honours boards in just his second Test at Lord's after taking 12 wickets on England debut against the West Indies in July. (Scorecard)