All posts tagged: ENG vs AUS

Mark Wood doubtful for Adelaide Test too after missing Pink-Ball Test at Gabba

Mark Wood doubtful for Adelaide Test too after missing Pink-Ball Test at Gabba

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After being ruled out of the Pink-Ball Test at the Gabba in Brisbane, England’s ace pacer Mark Wood remains doubtful for the third Ashes Test in Adelaide. Wood, who wore a brace on his left knee during Day 1 of the second Test in Brisbane, has cast doubt on his ability to recover from the injury in time for Adelaide. “I think there’s a chance there for the third Test in Adelaide,” Wood told Channel 7 on Thursday. “More realistically, it’s probably Melbourne and then Sydney after that.” There is a week between the scheduled end of the second Test and the start of the third in Adelaide, but Wood noted he must first get out of the brace and regain mobility. “I need to get out of this first to get moving around.” Ahead of the Brisbane Test, the 35-year-old’s status came into question after he skipped England’s first training session on Saturday. He was the only one of the 13 squad members in Queensland not to attend. Teammate Joe Root later clarified that …

Will Jacks replaces injured Mark Wood as England announce playing XI vs Australia for Pink-Ball Test at Gabba

Will Jacks replaces injured Mark Wood as England announce playing XI vs Australia for Pink-Ball Test at Gabba

Published by Webster

The England Cricket Board (ECB) on Tuesday announced England’s playing XI for the second Ashes Test against Australia, a Day-Night Pink-Ball game which starts at the Gabba in Brisbane from Thursday, December 4. England have made a solitary change in the XI, replacing their injured marquee pacer Mark Wood with all-rounder Will Jacks for the Brisbane Test. Jacks, who plays for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League,  has played in two Test matches for England before getting a call-up for the Pink-Ball Test. The spin-bowling all-rounder had claimed a maiden five-wicket haul on debut against Pakistan in 2022. Meanwhile, Wood was always a doubtful starter for the second Test. His status came into question after he skipped England’s first training session in Brisbane on Saturday, making him the only one of the 13 squad members in Queensland not to attend. Joe Root then clarified that while he is not aware of the specific details of Wood’s injury, the express pacer is doing everything possible to ensure his availability for the second Ashes Test. …

Mark Wood doubtful for Adelaide Test too after missing Pink-Ball Test at Gabba

Mark Wood in doubt for Pink-Ball Test at Gabba? Joe Root provides clarity

Published by Webster

Following reports from multiple sources claiming that England’s fast bowler, Mark Wood, is a doubtful starter for the pink-ball Test at the Gabba due to a recurring injury, teammate Joe Root provided an update on his condition. Root clarified that while he is not aware of the specific details of Wood’s injury, the express pacer is doing everything possible to ensure his availability for the second Ashes Test. “I don’t know the full ins and outs with Woody, but you know, with him, he’ll do everything he can to be as ready as soon as possible,” Root told England Cricket. “He is very professional in that regard; he is desperate to do well for England. He will put everything out on the field, leave no stone unturned, and he wants to bowl as fast as he can, as often as possible.” Wood’s status came into question after he skipped England’s first training session in Brisbane on Saturday, making him the only one of the 13 squad members in Queensland not to attend. Josh Tongue is …

Ben Stokes defends England’s ‘best preparation’ for Pink Ball Test at Gabba, saying ‘we’ve moved on’ from Perth’s crushing loss

Ben Stokes defends England’s ‘best preparation’ for Pink Ball Test at Gabba, saying ‘we’ve moved on’ from Perth’s crushing loss

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After a whirlwind innings from Travis Head, whose once-in-a-generation knock dismantled England in the first Ashes 2025-26 Test at Perth, visiting skipper Ben Stokes said his team has moved on from that eight-wicket loss. England had taken a 49-run lead by the end of Day 1, and it seemed they would push Australia into a corner. However, the collapse of nine wickets before Tea saw the team set a paltry target of just 205, which the home side chased in 28.2 overs courtesy of Head’s 69-ball century. “We’ve talked about it and we’ve moved on. We had some good conversations around the group,” Stokes said in Brisbane ahead of the second day-night Test starting on Thursday. “Look, Travis played an amazing knock, there’s no hiding away from that. But that’s not the overriding contribution as to why we didn’t end up getting the result,” he said. Stokes also said there were “amazing things throughout that Test match.” “The way that we bowled in the first innings … and we ended up putting a score on …

Ben Stokes reacts to his ‘has-beens’ comments to describe former England players amid Ashes 2025-26

Ben Stokes reacts to his ‘has-beens’ comments to describe former England players amid Ashes 2025-26

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England captain Ben Stokes has admitted that he should have chosen his words more carefully and not referred to former players as “has-beens” in the lead-up to the 2025-26 Ashes series. The all-rounder said that he was going to be a part of that “has-beens” group once he retired from the game, adding that those were the words that came out of his mouth at that point in time. The 34-year-old admitted that he could have done a lot better as a captain than what he has so far, admitting that he was in charge of the decision-making in the present setup. “I got the words I said there completely wrong. Has-beens is a horrible word. It’s the only thing that managed to come out of my mouth at that moment. God, I’m going to be one of those one day. But it’s not at all what I meant by that.” “I could have been a lot better as captain. I am the person who makes decisions about how we go out there and operate, …

Ian Botham on Bazball: ‘I’ll throw something at the television’

Ian Botham on Bazball: ‘I’ll throw something at the television’

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Former England cricketer Ian Botham has questioned Ben Stokes and England’s way of playing cricket and has said that while their performance at Perth was ‘horrendous’, if they played the same style of cricket, they might as well go home. England have come into this Ashes series better prepared than ever before, thanks to a healthy contingent of pace options that had Australia rattled in the first innings at the Optus Stadium. “It (Perth) was horrendous, there’s no other word for it. England needs to fire up and fire up quickly. I’m fed up of hearing, ‘this is the way we play’. If I hear it once more, I think I’ll throw something at the television. If that’s the way you play, you might as well go home now because it’s going to be 5-0,” Botham, 70, said to the PA News Agency. “They probably won’t like me saying that, but they need to get their heads around it. I want more pride when I see people pulling that sweater on.” In Perth, it seemed …

Darren Lehmann slams England for constant ‘sandpapergate’ jibe at Steve Smith

Darren Lehmann slams England for constant ‘sandpapergate’ jibe at Steve Smith

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Former Australian batter and coach Darren Lehmann has slammed England for constantly reminding them of the “sandpapergate” incident involving batting talisman Steve Smith, saying that their behaviour felt like they had never done anything wrong in life. The former left-hander felt that folks in England never forgot what had happened in the past and admitted that the 36-year-old’s mental health might be affected by the frequent reminders. Lehmann was the coach of the Australian side when the incident took place in 2018 during a Test match against South Africa in Cape Town. Smith was banned for 12 months for his involvement in the role. “The abuse you get is daily. It is unbelievable. He [Smith] is playing every day. It would be worse for him. In England, they just don’t forget. It is like they have never done anything wrong in their life. It is only the ones that drink too much and carry on like pork chops,” Lehmann told ABC after the first Ashes Test. “It just borders on abuse, but we did the …

Darren Lehmann slams England for constant ‘sandpapergate’ jibe at Steve Smith

Darren Lehmann slams England for constant ‘sandpapergate’ jibe at Steve Smith

Published by Webster

Former Australian batter and coach Darren Lehmann has slammed England for constantly reminding them of the “sandpapergate” incident involving batting talisman Steve Smith, saying that their behaviour felt like they had never done anything wrong in life. The former left-hander felt that folks in England never forgot what had happened in the past and admitted that the 36-year-old’s mental health might be affected by the frequent reminders. Lehmann was the coach of the Australian side when the incident took place in 2018 during a Test match against South Africa in Cape Town. Smith was banned for 12 months for his involvement in the role. “The abuse you get is daily. It is unbelievable. He [Smith] is playing every day. It would be worse for him. In England, they just don’t forget. It is like they have never done anything wrong in their life. It is only the ones that drink too much and carry on like pork chops,” Lehmann told ABC after the first Ashes Test. “It just borders on abuse, but we did the …

How Travis Head’s blistering knock spoiled a fan from Germany’s plans who travelled to Perth to watch Ashes cricket with his father | Cricket News

How Travis Head’s blistering knock spoiled a fan from Germany’s plans who travelled to Perth to watch Ashes cricket with his father | Cricket News

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Travis Head’s 83-ball 123 will stand as one of the iconic centuries, not just in the Ashes but overall in Test cricket too. It was not just the strike rate the cicumstances under which the knock was delivered. On a pitch that was seaming around and in a position that Head (Opening) has not played too often in his Test career. But against all the odds, Head for once came into the white-ball mode against the red-ball, unleashing the carnage, bazballing the bazballers to help Australia take a 1-0 lead. His innings might have left a smile on the faces of many Aussie supporters; a couple of them were with a bittersweet emotion at the end of it. One of them was a certain fan called Alex Earle, who is based in Germany, who traveled all the way to Perth to watch Day 3’s action with his father, Bruce, who is a first-grade cricketer based in Sydney had to alter plans for Sunday. The duo got into the pub minutes away from the Optus Stadium …

Ben Stokes defends England’s ‘best preparation’ for Pink Ball Test at Gabba, saying ‘we’ve moved on’ from Perth’s crushing loss

R Ashwin slams Bazball: ‘As a batting group, how reckless can you be?’ | Cricket News

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Going into lunch on Day 2, England’s lead was over 100 runs with nine wickets in hand. But what followed was unprecedented, the side got bundled out from 65/1 to 164. While the Bazball approach is renowned for its attacking play, many players have been critical of the kind of shots the batters have played in the Test match. It was not just this innings, but even in the first innings, England could only manage to get 172. Former Indian off-spinner R Ashwin made scathing remarks and said, “How reckless will reckless suffice?” “But how reckless will reckless suffice? I am actually thinking, where will the bandwidth of the word ‘reckless’ remain? If you keep putting everything into that bandwidth, how reckless can even reckless get? Because I am saying that, you know, there are many things. I don’t want to take names of players. Even in the Indian team, there will be many next-generation players who, I mean, the fielders are back on the boundary, yet they take the chance, they hit lofted shots,” …