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Victory sweet but ‘doubt I’ll be playing in Melbourne’ Nathan Lyon’s potentially series-ending hamstring injury has posed a question that hasn’t needed to be asked in 15 home summers: who is Australia’s next Test spinner? A veteran of 141 Tests, Lyon played 100 consecutive matches between 2013 and 2023, occasionally paired with other slow bowlers in Sydney (Steve O’Keefe – 2016 and 2017, Ashton Agar – 2023) and on the subcontinent but always the first-choice tweaker at home. The day five injury was a cruel blow for Lyon and his second Ashes injury in 18 months after a torn calf…
After Australia won the T20 World Cup in Dubai four years ago, white-ball song-master Adam Zampa reminded the first-time champions of those who had written them off. It is not in the nature of Alex Carey, who led the Test side’s thunderous delivery of ‘Under the Southern Cross’ on the Adelaide Oval outfield on Sunday, to be as combative. The Aussies have indeed avoided saying anything that could generate an inflammatory headline at every turn over the past few months. But as they savoured their Ashes-clinching victory first with their families in Adelaide’s cool evening air and then long among…
Sydney Sixers paceman provides update on hamstring injury that ruled him out of the start of the Ashes Sean Abbott has put a “frustrating” six weeks behind him as he pushes for a Big Bash return on Boxing Day. Abbott hasn’t played since injuring his hamstring during a Sheffield Shield match in early November, ruling him out of the start of the Ashes series after the uncapped paceman was named in Australia’s squad for the first Test. The 33-year-old had taken five wickets for NSW against Victoria before suffering a moderate grade strain to his left hamstring on the same…
New Zealand sealed a 2-0 victory on the final day of the series in Mount Maunganui Jacob Duffy has taken 5-42 as New Zealand bowled out West Indies for 138 on a deteriorating fifth-day pitch to win the third Test by 323 runs and take the series 2-0. Duffy surpassed Richard Hadlee’s New Zealand record of 80 wickets in a calendar year and finished the series with 23 scalps at an average of 15.4, including three five-wicket hauls. “I saw that list at lunchtime and there were some cool names on there, so to be up there on any sort…
Tom Latham and Devon Conway earned a unique place in Test history when their 192-run second innings partnership paved the way for New Zealand’s declaration at 306-2 on the fourth day of the third Test against West Indies.Latham made the declaration at drinks in the third session with New Zealand leading by 461 runs. New Zealand earlier had bowled out West Indies for 420 in reply to its 575-8, a first innings lead of 155. At stumps after 16 overs the West Indies were 43-0 with Brandon King (37) and John Campbell (2). They will start the last day needing…
Chris Jordan’s best-ever BBL figures and Nikhil Chaudhary’s blitz saw the defending champions romp past the Renegades in Geelong Melbourne Renegades v Hobart Hurricanes | BBL|15 Nikhil Chaudhary and Chris Jordan have had their best BBL games and Ben McDermott also fired in Hobart’s seven-wicket mauling of the Melbourne Renegades. The Hurricanes’ win in Geelong on Sunday night with 37 balls left took the defending champions to the top of the KFC BBL|15 ladder. It was the perfect response to last week’s loss to the Melbourne Stars at the MCG. Hobart will end their tricky three-game road trip on Boxing…
England’s bid to regain the Ashes is over after three comprehensive defeats in the first three Tests of the five-match series in Australia, but where did it all go wrong for Ben Stokes’ side?Poor planning and preparationArguably the sorest spot for most followers of this England Test team, not just the so-called “has beens”. Stokes would later apologise for his choice words when taking on former England greats like Sir Ian Botham, Geoffrey Boycott and Michael Vaughan who had challenged the team’s preparation ahead of the Ashes, saying ‘I got the words I said completely wrong’. But the damage had…
Australia v England | Third Ashes Test | Day Five England coach Brendon McCullum concedes he got his side’s preparation for the Ashes wrong, while Pat Cummins expressed his surprise at how Bazball lost its bite during the third NRMA Insurance Test. McCullum labelled Australia as “formidable” opponents whose bowlers have stepped up to a level beyond what he had previously seen after England fell to their third straight defeat in the series. But the architect of an England’s Test resurgence based on an aggressive method showing increasing signs of being unsustainable has ruled out any squad additions for the…
Australia v England | Third Ashes Test | Day Five The returns of Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon might both have been triumphant ‘one-and-done’ appearances as Australia now weigh up the risk-reward equation of pushing their captain in pursuit of an Ashes whitewash. Cummins admitted his side had claimed major satisfaction at dismantling Bazball and proving criticism of their ageing side wrong after romping to their third straight win of the NRMA Insurance series on Sunday.”Winning 3-0 is hugely satisfying for many reasons,” the fast-bowling skipper told reporters. “But particularly because … a lot of the chat before the series…
With the Ashes series decided before Christmas, the Bazball autopsy is certain to be thorough. Were England deficient technically? Tactically? Mentally? Or perhaps all of the above? Well, according to the England leadership, a larger factor than both the batters’ shot selection or bowlers’ lines and lengths was their side’s inability to “seize the key moments”.What makes a moment? It’s a subjective term, but it’s effectively a passage of play that could last a full session or a single ball. They’re the mini-battles and periods of time that determine the outcome of the match. Captain Ben Stokes said after the…