Latest news with #Ecclestone
Express Tribune
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Express Tribune
Sadia Iqbal becomes world's premier T20I bowler in ICC rankings
Pakistan's Sadia Iqbal has risen to the top of the ICC Women's T20I Bowler Rankings, reclaiming the No.1 spot after a re-shuffle at the top. Iqbal's climb follows the absence of England's Sophie Ecclestone, who sat out her side's recent T20I series against the West Indies. Iqbal, a key performer in Pakistan's successful 2024 Women's T20 World Cup campaign, has once again demonstrated her consistency and skill. She had briefly held the No.1 position during last year's T20 World Cup, but Ecclestone's absence in recent weeks allowed the Pakistan spinner to reclaim the top ranking. She is also joined by Nashra Sandhu from Pakistan, who retains her No. 8 rank. Ecclestone drops to fourth in the latest rankings following her absence, while Lauren Bell, England's emerging pace bowler, jumps 13 spots to sixth after a strong performance against the West Indies. Bell took seven wickets in the series, helping her rise up the rankings. Meanwhile, Hayley Matthews of the West Indies has also seen success, moving up to second in the T20I batting rankings after her Player of the Series performance against England. Matthews scored 177 runs in the series, maintaining her all-rounder status as she also claimed three wickets. The latest rankings also see England's Nat Sciver-Brunt, Heather Knight, and Sophia Dunkley rise following their performances with the bat against the West Indies.
Express Tribune
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Express Tribune
Eng eye WC2026 glory on home soil
This will be the first women's ICC tournament in England since the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup in 2017. Reuters Excitement is building as the 10th edition of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup returns to England in 2026. Prominent cricketing personalities converged at a launch event at Lord's last week to confirm the dates and venues for the global mega-event. This will be the first women's ICC tournament in England since the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup in 2017. In that tournament, the hosts managed to overcome India in a thrilling final to win the title. Like the 2017 World Cup, the 2026 T20 World Cup will also have the final staged at the prestigious Lord's Cricket Ground in London. England stars Sophia Dunkley and Sophie Ecclestone were among the attendees for the T20 World Cup launch event and the pair recalled the 2017 tournament with much excitement. 'Having watched 2017, there's no other kind of bigger motivation than to want to do it myself and inspire lots of young girls and boys to play cricket themselves,' Dunkley said, when discussing what it would mean to walk out on the pitch for England next year. 'So it would be incredibly special. And yeah, something that you kind of dream of growing up.' Dunkley was one of those present in the jam-packed stadium during England's afternoon of magic eight years ago, wherein they halted a cruising India, who were 191/3 in pursuit of 229 at one stage, to take the title decider by nine runs. 'In 2017, I was seated in the stand, I think somewhere over there on the right (pointing), and what a great occasion it was,' Dunkley said. The win bore greater significance since Dunkley was a young cricketer on the verge of her international debut, which she eventually made in 2018. 'I think it was really inspiring for me as a player, kind of coming through the pathways and really wanting to be involved in that team,' she added. 'And it was really special for me to watch that, and then be part of the England team later on that year was something incredible. 'So to have a home World Cup, to have watched it in the crowd and to have a competition like that to look forward to next year is really, really special.' Ecclestone, the leader in the ICC Women's Bowling Rankings in both white-ball formats, was already an England international when she watched the 2017 final from the stands. Ecclestone, then just a teenager, recalled fond memories of watching Heather Knight's side claim the final. 'My memories were of the day that I was sat up there watching with (English cricketer) Ellie Threlkeld, actually. I'd just finished school,' Ecclestone said. 'It was great to watch the girls win here.' Speaking about the upcoming 2026 event, which would be the left-arm spinner's first-ever home World Cup, Ecclestone wanted to soak in the joy of playing at prestigious home venues. 'I feel like I've played World Cups all around the world now, and it's going to be so exciting to play at home, play here at Lord's, play at Old Trafford. I think it's really exciting,' she added. ICC
Forbes
01-05-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
Driven To The Limit: The Human Cost Of F1's Expanding Calendar
The 2023 Ferrari team personnel at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Twenty-four grand prix. Twenty-four cities. Ten months. One relentless race. Behind Formula 1's glitz and glamour, an unseen army works in overdrive–pit crews dismantling garages, engineers poring over data, logistics teams orchestrating the next cross-continental move. For the mechanics, engineers, and staff keeping the sport running, exhaustion isn't just a byproduct of the job–it is the job. Formula 1 has never been bigger. In the past five years, attendance and engagement have soared, driven by Liberty Media's takeover in 2017 and the Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive, with revenue increasing from $1.83bn in 2017 to $3.65bn in 2024. The sport, once resistant to change under the Ecclestone era, has cracked open its door to a broader, younger audience. Dr. Samuel Tickell, a sport and media researcher at the University of Muenster in Germany, said, 'We've entered a new area of ownership. We've gone from traditional sport ownership that we've had for so long to now a new American multinational media company that owns it, that has a different take on the economic sustainability of the sport.' New venues, particularly in the United States and the Middle East, have secured spots on the calendar, with venues like Saudi Arabia paying astronomical fees close to $55 million to taste a morsel of F1' s commercial boom. This price of this growth is paid by those running the circus. In 2017, the calendar had 20 races. In 2025, it has 24. Liberty Media has made it clear that the expansion isn't over. This isn't just exclusive to Liberty Media, the teams themselves have incentives to race more weekends. Sports lawyer, John Hand, has worked at Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team as a senior legal counsel, negotiating contracts and handling key legal matters. 'More likely than not, the teams will vote for more because it makes more money at the end of the day,' said Hand. While fans celebrate more racing, those behind the scenes endure longer hours, constant travel, and an unrelenting workload. Twelve-hour days are standard. Back-to-backs are brutal. Some employees say the work is 'never- ending.' Whilst some may strike it down purely to the nature of the traveling circus, the exodus of employees rings alarms that it simply cannot be oversimplified to 'nature." The 2025 calendar features two triple-headers and seven double-headers. A double-header means two race weekends in a row, while a triple-header extends that stretch to three consecutive events. For the ten teams, this means constant travel and limited recovery time. Javier Bermejo—Former Performance Engineer at Red Bull Racing Javier Bermejo is a Spanish performance engineer at Sauber F1 team. Bermejo previously spent nearly two years at Red Bull Racing, working on suspension design, optimization, and trackside race support. 'There is so much decision-making that needs to be done fast, people on the track, relying on information sent from the factory, and people on the track that need to operate the car real time, ' said Bermejo. After the chequered flag, it's straight back to the factory for analysis and prep for the next race—rarely any downtime. A mandated break of 14 consecutive days, as described in Article 21.8 of the FIA sporting regulations, in July and/or August offers a brief respite where no work can be done on design or development, but the calendar itself offers little room for recovery or meaningful change between races. Massimo Bigi, a junior aerodynamicist at Haas, knows this well. He's spent the past two years with the team, working out of Maranello, just a short drive from where he grew up falling in love with racing. 'To have the races so close together sometimes puts you in the condition where the result that the people are expecting you to give, you cannot provide them with because you cannot even have the data that you need to work on time,' said Bigi. Massimo Bigi–Junior Aerodynamicist at Haas Formula 1 Team He explained that the pace of the calendar is taking a toll on development and is slowing the whole process down. F1 has increasingly become a revolving door, with fresh talent filling the gaps left by those who burn out or move on. With the sport's surging popularity, there's no shortage of newcomers eager to get a foot in the door. 'The recruitment processes have become extremely more selective, and it has, of course, grabbed the attention of many, many F1 fans that now want to work to make it to the F1 teams,' said Bermejo. However, passion for the sport is finite, and it can't keep up with the demands of the job. Pacing yourself is key to survival in F1' s relentless schedule, and disconnecting is no easy feat. 'You need to be able to know where to put your breaks strategically,' said Bermejo. 'But even if you do, it's still a challenge, working at this pace for so many days, even if you take one or two days off…it's hard to disconnect knowing there's so much pressure,' added Bermejo. So why do they stay? 'Prestige. It's just the idea of being in what is the pinnacle of motorsport. It's as simple as that,' said Hand. Like any elite competition, Formula 1 runs on the passion of the people behind it. There's a deep pride in being part of a team that builds a car capable of scoring points or even winning, a sense of purpose that makes the long hours and relentless schedule feel worth it. 'If you are not passionate about it, you cannot endure this kind of stress on your shoulders every day,' said Bigi. Yet, Bermejo points out that even passion has 'to crash at some point.' Although revered for their expertise, they are often trapped in this paradox. The prestige of being part of F1 comes at the cost of personal sacrifices: family time lost, relationships strained, and health pushed to the brink. The real price of this elite job is measured not in paychecks but in the toll it takes on one's life off the track. When burnout reaches a breaking point, many employees step through F1' s revolving door, this time on their way out. Some transition to similar, high-level motorsports championships. For some, the World Endurance Championship (WEC) offers a more balanced alternative. 'If you can earn more in the World Endurance Championship and only do eight to 10 races a year, then you do it,' said Hand. World Endurance Championship There's also growing investment flowing into those forms of the sport. 'F1 pulls everything else with it the same way the Premier League pulls the Championship and League One etc. with it. Same thing happens in motorsport: as F1 gets bigger, WEC gets bigger because it just increases the number of people watching any form of motorsport on a given weekend,' added Hand. The travel, the hours, and the sheer physical and mental toll raise the question of whether employees are fairly compensated for the demands of the job. Salaries in F1 might seem competitive at first glance, but compared to other high-performance industries, they often fall short. While drivers earn anywhere from $500,000 to $65 million a year, some even more, thanks to bonuses, sponsorships, and driver value—the same can 't be said for the engineers, mechanics, and factory staff powering the operation. Take chief engineers or technical directors, for example. According to motorsport job website Fluid jobs, the top personnel might earn around $175,000 a year—decent, sure. Race engineers, who sit on the pit wall making split-second decisions, might start at £40,000. Mechanics? Some make as little as £23,000. In a sport that prides itself on being at the cutting edge, these figures raise questions about the disparity. Sure, they are not athletes but they are specialists–often with degrees in engineering, physics, or aerodynamics–working under extreme time pressure, tight margins, and constant traveling. Even championship-winning F1 car designer Adrian Newey told German automobile magazine, Auto Motor und Sport that the cost cap had inadvertently made Formula 1 'no longer the best-paid industry.' 'Now we're losing people to tech companies because they pay better. We ' re losing people to WEC teams because they pay better,' said Newey. 'We're struggling to get graduates because Formula 1 can 't afford to be the best-paying industry anymore, so it has a lot of, let's say, unexpected penalties to it,' added Newey. Bigi compared the demands of F1 to roles in companies like Airbus or Boeing—intense hours, and high commitment. 'It's definitely not a well-paid job as it was before,' he said. 'My type of contract is such that basically when you sign it you accept that your salary will be higher than like standard average job of that level but you accept that the extraordinaries will not be paid.' Hand noted that it' s likely all of them have chosen to opt out of the legislation limiting working hours, a decision that, while optional, is commonly made by most people. In 2023, F1 introduced a curfew to limit working hours during race weekends, restricting when personnel could enter the paddock. But in a sport built on competition, the line between regulation and reality can blur. Teams are granted a limited number of 'curfew breaches' per season, and many are happy to burn through them if the reward justifies the risk. At the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix, both Mercedes and Alpine broke curfew to finish late-night work on their cars. It's not always about ignoring rules. It's a competition. If there's performance to be gained, teams will push. Technical Delegate's Report: 2025 Japanese Grand Prix Credit: FIA Technical Delegate's Report: 2025 Japanese Grand Prix Credit: FIA Back at base, factory staff fall under EU and British labor laws, which mandate rest days, paid leave, and maximum weekly hours—at least on paper. Yet in reality, race prep, last-minute part manufacturing, or overnight wind tunnel testing often pushes staff to the edge of those legal boundaries. 'With a limited working time at a race, this is still an exhausting prospect,' said Tickell. Despite the strain, there's currently no union for F1 personnel and it costs a fortune to bring a legal case. In a sport that rewards those who go the extra mile, collective protections are still playing catch-up. Possible solutions have been floated around the paddock but that' s where they stay–ideas, discussions, and nothing more. Promises of change fade as quickly as they appear, leaving the same cycle to continue. Two main solutions have emerged in conversations: reducing the calendar or rotating staff. However, both come with complications, fewer races mean less revenue, and rotation risks disrupting team cohesion. One of the biggest obstacles to rotation is F1' s cost cap. Introduced in 2021, the first-ever set of financial regulations outlined a new cost cap aimed at trying to equalize the playing field. It established a limit on how much an F1 team may spend in a calendar year. It relates a team's spending to the performance of the car. In 2025, each team has a budget cap of $135 million, and this includes salaries too. It's not just the salary that adds up when hiring more staff to cope with the calendar ' s demands. There ' s a ripple effect: benefits, tax, and the administrative burden of managing a growing workforce. Expanding headcount means expanding HR, finance, and legal teams, too. The cost isn 't linear, and that complexity can become a major limiting factor. What seems like a simple solution—just hire more people—is anything but. Moreover, introducing flexibility around employee compensation, like exempting salaries from the cost cap, could tip the competitive balance. 'One team will start siloing all of the best employees…and that will just drive everybody to join this other place,' said Hand. These 'loopholes ' would just allow wealthier teams to dominate the talent pool. Under the cap, every dollar spent on personnel is a dollar not spent on performance. For front-running teams, that trade-off is hard to justify. Instead, the burden falls on those already in the system–pushed to their limits, with no real solution in sight. 'Now, because you have that limit, you are forcing people to work harder, probably for less money, and with tighter deadlines, because the work needs to be done anyway,' said Bermejo. 'You are competing with tier-one teams that are giving it all, so you need to be there in the fight.' 'I don't see how this rotation could work…it will make more sense to reduce the number of races…if fans are asking for more and the organization is pushing for more then it gives you only one answer, which is to implement the rotation, ' he added. Evana El Haddad is a long-time F1 fan from Lebanon. El Haddad feels that the calendar is saturated. 'I do enjoy the fact that there are more races, but it does get extremely overwhelming because it' s like you just don't know where to focus anymore, ' she said. Having surveyed 135 F1 fans from around the world, the data shows that most people are open to change, especially if it helps reduce the pressure on teams. Around 54% support a rotating calendar where select races alternate each year, and almost half believe 24 races is already too many. While a few enjoy the intensity of back-to- back weekends, many admit it' s hard to keep up or say their interest depends on how the schedule flows. Many admitted resorting to watching highlights, unable to keep up with the volume. Some questioned whether the number of races would affect the quality of the sport. Whether it's through a rotating system with wildcard slots—preserving iconic circuits while keeping the calendar fresh—or by grouping races regionally to make the sport more sustainable, change feels not just possible, but necessary. El Haddad also pointed to the toll on those behind the scenes. 'I can't imagine how the mechanics, engineers, or the staff behind everything—not just the drivers—are feeling. They're working overtime, ' she said. To her, the essence of the sport is getting lost. 'They're putting in more of the flashy glamour and more venues. We really don 't need that many.' added El Haddad. F1 has always been about innovation, pushing the limits on track, in technology and competition. As the calendar grows, so does the expectation for teams to adapt beyond just performance. 'It' s driving more value from a smaller asset set like keeping it at 23 or 24 [races]...and then instead looking for value around the edges of the ' sport, said Hand. Tickell expressed that with Liberty's approach to profiting from the sport, there's an expectation to innovate, particularly in human resources, to ensure a sustainable workforce as the race calendar grows and wealth expands. The expense of this expansion falls considerably on the employees working together– the glue of the sport– without whom it would fall apart. While F1 prides itself on innovation, it has made grueling schedules the norm rather than seeking sustainable solutions that support its talent in a balanced, thriving environment. The real question is no longer whether F1 can innovate, but whether it will do so before those who keep it running are worn out. 'It's amazing, the level of commitment, passion of people working here, it's like, you don 't find it anywhere else,' said Bermejo. As the demands on both workers and the sport itself continue to grow, the clock is ticking for F1 to strike the right balance. How much longer can the engine keep running before it sputters out?
BBC News
21-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
England trio among Wisden cricketers of the year
England trio Gus Atkinson, Jamie Smith and Sophie Ecclestone have been named among Wisden's five Cricketers of the Year. The players are chosen by the Wisden editor, a tradition that dates back to 1889. The awards are based on performances in the previous English summer and no player can win the award more than once in their spinner Liam Dawson and Surrey fast bowler Dan Worrall complete the line-up, which has been announced as this year's Wisden almanack is published on Thursday. India duo Jasprit Bumrah and Smriti Mandhana are crowned the leading cricketers in the world, while West Indies' Nicholas Pooran is the world's leading T20 took 12 wickets against West Indies on his Test debut in July, which sparked a remarkable tally of 52 scalps in the year. He then scored a Test century - also his maiden first-class century - batting at number eight against Sri Lanka at Lord's the following month. Smith also made his Test debut in the summer as England's new wicketkeeper and made his first century against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford. The 24-year-old finished the three-match series with 280 runs at an average of 46.6, second only to Joe Root. His solid wicketkeeping also solved England's selection dilemma as he edged out Jonny Bairstow and Surrey team-mate Ben Foakes. Ecclestone has been an outlier in a difficult year for England's women, as she becomes the first English woman to be named in the quintet since batter Tammy Beaumont in were unbeaten during their home summer against Pakistan and New Zealand, before the disappointing group-stage exit in the autumn's T20 World Cup and a disastrous Ashes defeat which saw head coach Jon Lewis and captain Heather Knight removed from their spinner Ecclestone, 25, is the world's number one ranked bowler in both white-ball formats, and surpassed Katherine Sciver-Brunt as England Women's leading T20 wicket-taker during the series against Pakistan. England's Nat Sciver-Brunt and Australia captain Pat Cummins were the leading cricketers in the world for 2024.
BBC News
07-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Ecclestone keen to 'move on' from Hartley incident
England spinner Sophie Ecclestone says she has "moved on" and "learned from" her refusal to do an interview with Alex Hartley during the Women's Ashes in who was working as a pundit for the BBC and other networks, was refused a TV interview by former England team-mate Ecclestone during England's 16-0 came after Hartley questioned the fitness levels of some of England's players following their early exit from the T20 World Cup last for the first time since the incident, Ecclestone, 25, told BBC Sport: "It is in the past now. "We have got a really exciting summer this year and I am really excited to get back with England and playing West Indies and India again." Ecclestone's refusal to do an interview was prior to the first T20, at which point England were already 6-0 down in the multi-format points-based Connor, the managing director of England women's cricket, has since described the episode as "an unfortunate incident that won't happen again". Ecclestone and Hartley have not spoken why she refused the interview, Ecclestone reiterated her wish to look forward."Everyone has moved on now, as I said," the left-arm spinner said."There is not much more to be said about that story. "Me and Alex have moved on and we have both learned from that. I am excited for the summer to start."Former spinner Hartley, who is currently working with Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League, told BBC Sport: "Sophie and I respect one another and we absolutely have moved on. We will continue to move forward."The fallout from England's defeat in Australia resulted in Jon Lewis and Heather Knight being sacked as coach and captain has been replaced by legendary former captain Charlotte Edwards, who said at her unveiling she will make players "accountable" for England were knocked out of the T20 World Cup group stage in October, former spinner Hartley said some players were "letting the team down" in terms of fitness."Everyone has got their own opinion and everyone is entitled to that," Ecclestone said."Not many people see how hard we work behind closed doors as cricketers and people. People can have their own opinion."It is a new era now and we are all excited to start working hard and hopefully get a few trophies this year." Not the 'right time' to be captain - Ecclestone The position to be England captain remains vacant but Ecclestone, who has served as vice-captain, said she was unsure if it is the "right time" for her to take over."I feel like I would love to do it in the future but I am not sure now is the right time," Ecclestone said. "I am still working on myself and getting better as a cricketer."Ecclestone was speaking at Wythenshawe Cricket Club in Manchester as part of the ECB's Get Set Weekend, where more than 1,700 clubs across the country - record number for the project - get prepared for the new season with the help of 37,000 made her England debut aged 17 in 2016, after Edwards had retired as a player, but as a highly-rated youngster was involved in the England set-up under the former batter."When I was 16 and started coming into the England environment Lottie was captain and I was scared to meet her," Ecclestone said."I remember when I went in I was like 'Charlotte Edwards is in that room…' "I am so excited to work with her again."
