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The Guardian
2 hours ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Incongruity of World Test Championship final fails to dampen Australian excitement
In Australia it is winter, and it is footy season. AFL, NRL, the works. The autumn was passing strange, with unnervingly high temperatures and Gold Coast Suns in the top four. But now it is June, and feeling more as it should, with nights in the southern half of the continent dipping deep into single degrees. The Raiders must be breathing out steam on Canberra mornings, half remembering dreams of ending a premiership wait. And strangely positioned among all this, the Australian Test team is getting ready to play cricket. Australian winter tours happen, but outside the occasional Asian or Caribbean jaunt this century, they're confined to quadrennial visits to England. Two years ago, the first time Australia qualified for a World Test Championship final, that match came directly before an Ashes series. As well as turning the supposed culmination into an incongruous entree, it also made the WTC final melt into the Ashes summer. This time, things are different. England will shortly start another five-Test series with India, but neither side is involved in the WTC. So it will be England the cricket board rather than England the cricket team that hosts Australia and South Africa, whose struggle for the right to be called world champions will be based not on a series but a single match. An imperfect mechanism, but it means that this time around, in an Australian consciousness, that match will stand alone. So it is that among the footy news of dawn beach sessions and tribunal verdicts, Pat Cummins is back at Lord's this week after half the time that an Ashes cycle would otherwise dictate, wearing the green cap and blazer while wandering about the pavilion doing moody photo shoots as one half of an exercise in height contrast with South Africa's Temba Bavuma. Their squads run drills on the main turf, the pleasantness of white knitted jumpers covering the ugliness of synthetic training kit. The timing may be incongruous, but that classic visual cue says it's time for a Test. The ICC has gone full-court press on promotion, making sure these images are distributed far and wide. Their Hall of Fame announcement was what the marketing types might call something like a brand crossover activation, with four of the seven inductees reflecting the upcoming contest: for South Africa, batting contemporaries Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla; for Australia, their rival Matthew Hayden, along with New Zealand player but current Australia assistant coach Daniel Vettori. Approaching the third WTC final, the concept of a Test format decider is starting to cut through. Press access is oversubscribed, largely by English publications for a neutral contest. Public tickets are sold out. It will be a different crowd to the usual. London has plenty of Australians and South Africans, and the latter are starving for global tournament success in any form, so expect both camps to turn out in numbers. After the unhinged reaction that Lord's gave Australia in 2023, in a spontaneous bout of moralising from the Long Room to the back rows, it might make for a nicer atmosphere to have the England supporter base diluted. It will still be plenty aggressive on the field. Kagiso Rabada's preparatory outing against Zimbabwe was vicious, the ball rising from a length at serious pace again and again. Marco Jansen swings it left-arm from a release point about 10ft off the ground. Keshav Maharaj is a vastly experienced left-arm spinner who the Australians in their World Cup semi-final treated with a respect bordering on hypnosis. The fourth link in that bowling chain could be several options, but none that maintains the proven quality of the other three. The Australians have an edge there, with Cummins likely to join Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood yet again in a fully rounded attack. When Scott Boland took 10 Indian wickets in the Sydney Test last January, he looked the man, but Hazlewood recovered from injury to dominate a title-winning IPL season. Boland has been wildly successful in scant opportunities, but Hazlewood has 279 Test wickets, and last year took them at 13 runs apiece. Current Australian selection tends towards stability, so career-length pedigree should pip one of the best understudies the game has seen. Sign up to The Spin Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week's action after newsletter promotion Likewise, the other selection questions feel all but decided. Sam Konstas is unlikely to be thrown in at Lord's as he was at the MCG, with Marnus Labuschagne the seasoned candidate to open instead. That means Cameron Green takes Labuschagne's slot at No 3, after a run-filled county cricket stint. With Green unable to be a fifth bowler due to injury, Beau Webster stays at six. Though if selectors trust the fitness of their four main bowlers, Josh Inglis should be considered for that spot, not just because of his recent century on debut in Sri Lanka, but his ability to problem-solve so many batting situations. Whatever the configuration, the players are excited, the press attentive, and the audience has committed. The Test decider is vindicated further each time it is played. It may be a strange time of year for an Antipodean, and a strange tournament structure for anybody involved. But the important thing now is the game: jumpers on, caps fitted, seats taken, rain cursed, sunshine welcomed. Channel changed. The footy can wait a week.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
England's new mixed disability squad to take on India in T20 series
England's newly formed mixed disability cricket squad is ready to take on India in the first international T20 series this month. Player Brendon Parr expressed confidence in the team, made up of players from the learning disability, physical disability, and deaf squads. The players have been practising at Budleigh Salterton Cricket Club (BSCC), which has been praised as "amazing" by England Cricket Board CEO Richard Gould. Mr Parr said: "This format is new for all of us; we've been selected from three separate squads and we've all had to learn and adjust our game to take into account different impairments. "The new format is a trial and this will be our first major tournament." Mr Parr praised the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for its support and efforts to create more opportunities in disability cricket. The Devon cricketer's own journey in the sport was interrupted after a road accident left him in a wheelchair. He eventually returned to cricket, trialled for disability cricket, and in 2024 was named the Lord's Taverners Disability Cricketer of the Year. He said: "It was a long recovery, but gradually I got back involved, starting at a lower level and playing at a higher division as my body healed and I got stronger." Both the England and India squads will use BSCC for pre-competition training and warm-up matches. The new home for BSCC will host the India team from Monday, June 16 to Friday, June 20. The series will kick off on Saturday, June 21 when India plays the England Men's Mixed Disability team at Taunton. In January, Mr Parr played for the England Physical Disability squad, which reached the final of the Physical Disability Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka. He said of the opposition: "They are a tough team to beat, but we are in good form." Mr Parr, who will be warming up close to home at BSCC, said: "Everyone is very excited. "To be able to come to Budleigh before the series, with its two pitches and great facilities, new nets, and lovely set-up is a real bonus."
Hans India
5 days ago
- Sport
- Hans India
England Announces 14-Member Squad for First Test Against India on June 20
The England Cricket Board has picked a 14-player squad for the first Test against India. The test match will start on June 20. All-rounder Jamie Overton is back in the team after his last Test in June 2022. He has a broken finger but is being closely watched by the medical team. Brydon Carse has recovered from a toe injury and will play, along with experienced bowler Chris Woakes, who is also back in the squad. England's star all-rounder Ben Stokes will lead the team after recovering from a hamstring injury. This Test starts a new cycle in the ICC World Test Championship. Some well-known players like James Anderson (retired), Jonny Bairstow, and Ollie Robinson are not in the squad this time. The team looks different from the last time England played India, but fans are excited to see how they perform in this important series. England Squad for First Test Against India: Ben Stokes (Captain), Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes
Time of India
5 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
England name 14-man squad for the first Test against India
England Cricket Board on Thursday announced a 14-member squad for the first match of the Rothesay Test Series against India, which is set to begin on June 20 at Headingley in Leeds . Ben Stokes will continue to lead the side, while bowling all-rounder Jamie Overton has got a call-up to the Test team for or the first time since earning his sole cap against New Zealand at Headingley in June 2022. However, the 31-year-old is under medical review after breaking his right little finger during the first One-Day International against the West Indies at Edgbaston last week. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trading CFD dengan Teknologi dan Kecepatan Lebih Baik IC Markets Mendaftar Undo Seamer Brydon Carse, as well as batter Jacob Bethell and allrounder Chris Woakes, were recalled after featuring in England's Test tour of New Zealand in December. Allrounder Gus Atkinson was ruled out of selection due to a hamstring injury he suffered during the one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge last month. Live Events England will play five Test matches against India over the next two months, finishing on August 4 at the Kia Oval in London. England squad Ben Stokes, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue and Chris Woakes.
Hans India
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Hans India
Lord's to Host 2026 Women's T20 World Cup Final in England
In 2026, the Women's T20 World Cup will be held in England, and the final match will take place at Lord's. Lord's is one of the most famous cricket grounds in the world. This will be the third time that a World Cup final is held at Lord's. The last time was in 2017, when England won the Women's Cricket World Cup, and again in 2019 when England won the Men's Cricket World Cup. The 2026 Women's T20 World Cup will start on June 12 and end on July 5. There will be 12 teams from different countries playing in the tournament. The matches will be played at seven places, including Lord's, Old Trafford, and Edgbaston. Jay Shah, from the ICC, is excited that the final will be at Lord's. He believes it's the best place for the big match. Richard Gould, from the England Cricket Board (ECB), said it would be the biggest women's cricket event in England. He also hopes that many new fans will enjoy watching the matches. This tournament will be a big moment for women's cricket, and it will inspire lots of young people to get interested in the game.
