Latest news with #RichardGould
India Today
6 hours ago
- Business
- India Today
Champions League T20 to return as World Club Championship? ECB chief reacts
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is exploring the viability of a revamped World Club Championship for T20 cricket, after more than a decade since the final edition of the defunct Champions League T20 (CLT20). The final edition of the CLT20 took place in 2014 with CSK defeating KKR in the summit clash in Bengaluru. The tournament started 2009 before going defunct in 2014. advertisementSeveral countries have launched their own franchise leagues in the past few years, including England (The Hundred), South Africa (SA20), the UAE (ILT20) and the United States (MLC). In other sports as well, we have seen new club-based leagues come up with the FIFA Club World Cup being revamped and Rugby union getting ready to launch their own Club World Cup. Also Read: Pataudi Trophy renamed Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy for India vs England Tests: Report While the plans are still at an early stage, the ECB are interested in bringing in a CLT20-type tournament. Richard Gould, the board chief executive, told ESPNcricinfo that he feels that the Club Championship, for both men and women, could be the next logical step for the evolution of the sport. "That is on the cards," Gould said. "Without doubt, at some point, there will be a World Club Championship - for both men and women. That's the next logical step."advertisementThe CLT20 was run by the BCCI, Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa and was discontinued as the organisers said that its limited public following as the main reason behind the tournament's demise apart from the commercial aspect. However, Gould feels that the tournament was ahead of its time and was a really good event. "That tournament was ahead of its time," he said. "Commercially, it couldn't keep up with the expectations on it, but it was a really good event."The World Club Championship will require support from eight of the 10 IPL teams as they have investments in teams in other countries as well. IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal had hinted that the BCCI could look into the Club Championship if it can create value for the game.
Time of India
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Ahead of India series England to play one-off Test against Zimbabwe after 22 years
England cricket team England and Zimbabwe are set to clash in a rare four-day Test at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, from Thursday, their first international meeting in 18 years. The match serves as vital preparation for England's packed season while marking a symbolic return for Zimbabwe to the Test arena. Zimbabwe last played a Test in England in 2003 , the same series where Jimmy Anderson debuted. Their cricketing journey since has been turbulent, with a complete Test hiatus between 2005 and 2011 due to political interference. From 2022 to 2024, they featured in just four Tests, but are now on an upward path with 10 scheduled between December 2023 and August 2024. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! The ECB is paying Zimbabwe a touring fee for being England's first Test opponents this summer. ECB chief Richard Gould highlighted the board's responsibility to sustain bilateral cricket. Zimbabwe arrive on the back of a 138-run loss to a County Select XI in Leicester but recently drew a Test series 1-1 in Bangladesh, their first win since 2021. Quiz: Who's that IPL player? England, currently ranked No. 2 in Tests, will treat this as a warm-up ahead of sterner tests: a five-match series against India and the Ashes in Australia. Sam Cook is set for a debut, with Josh Tongue returning and Gus Atkinson continuing his rise. Questions remain around Ben Stokes 's fitness post hamstring injury, and whether Shoaib Bashir will play. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Why Didn't Anyone Tell You About This Power Saver? elecTrick - Save upto 80% on Power Bill Pre-Order Undo India's probable Test squad for England Tour England head coach Brendon McCullum said the team is ready to "shoot for the stars" in the Bazball era . While traditionalists may frown at the four-day format, most Tests under McCullum and Stokes have not needed a fifth day. For England, it's a preparatory step; for Zimbabwe, it's part of a long road back to Test relevance with upcoming series against South Africa and New Zealand also lined up this summer. Get IPL 2025 match schedules , squads , points table , and live scores for CSK , MI , RCB , KKR , SRH , LSG , DC , GT , PBKS , and RR . Check the latest IPL Orange Cap and Purple Cap standings.
Hamilton Spectator
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
England prepares for India with its first test against Zimbabwe in 22 years
For England, it's little more than a warm-up match ahead of much sterner examinations to come. For Zimbabwe, it means everything. Trent Bridge in Nottingham will host a four-day test match — something of a rarity for the usual five-day format but perhaps a sign of the future — from Thursday when England and Zimbabwe meet for the first time at international level in 18 years since a Twenty20 World Cup match in Cape Town. You need to go back four more years — to Chester-le-Street in 2003 when Jimmy Anderson , a 20-year-old with highlights in his hair, was playing in his first series — for the last test match between the teams. Zimbabwe's return to English soil continues the African nation's gradual reintegration to test cricket after two decades of political interference, poor governance and sanctions that resulted in the team being exiled from test cricket for around six years. The Zimbabweans didn't play a test from 2005-11. Between December last year and August this year, they'll have played in 10 tests, with two-match series against South Africa and New Zealand to come this summer. Zimbabwe still isn't part of the World Test Championship but, in the bigger picture, progress is being made. Zimbabwe Cricket will receive a touring fee from the England and Wales Cricket Board for being the first test opponent of the summer, ECB chief executive Richard Gould confirmed last year while speaking about the 'huge responsibility' to maintain the strength of bilateral cricket. Zimbabwe isn't expected to offer much resistance to England, having slumped to a 138-run defeat to a Professional County Club Select XI in Leicester last week. Before that, however, it did earn a first test victory since 2021 — beating in Bangladesh on the way to sharing the series 1-1. Debut for Cook While Zimbabwe's view is very much about the present, England's sights will be on the future. Ahead this summer is a five-test series against India and then an Ashes tour Down Under. For England, it doesn't get much bigger than that, so the match against Zimbabwe will be important preparation, especially for a bowling department at the start of a new era following the test retirements of Stuart Broad (in 2023) and Anderson (last year). For the Zimbabwe test, England will give a debut to Sam Cook, fellow pacer Josh Tongue is returning to the team after a two-year absence, and Gus Atkinson is about to start his second summer of test cricket. There are as many question marks about the only specialist spinner in the team, Shoaib Bashir, and the fitness of allrounder Ben Stokes, returning after a hamstring tear to regain the captaincy. Then there's the batting lineup where opener Zak Crawley and No. 3 Ollie Pope have been retained despite continued speculation about their worthiness in the team. There's the welcome sight of a return for wicketkeeper Jamie Smith after missing the tour of New Zealand in November and December while on paternity leave. England is No. 2 in the test rankings but coach Brendon McCullum said 'there's a lot of meat on the bone for us' in the next stage of the so-called ' Bazball ' era. 'When we took on a project like this, it was not about necessarily settling on 'good,'' McCullum said. 'I think now's the time, working from a strong base, to be able to shoot for the stars and say, 'Where can we take this team? What can we achieve?'' The scheduling of a four-day test might be a blow to test purists but England home matches have rarely reached Day 5 under the leadership of McCullum and Stokes since 2022. As for the Zimbabweans, they'll take whatever top-flight games they can on the long road back to cricket relevancy. ___ AP cricket:
Fox Sports
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
England prepares for India with its first test against Zimbabwe in 22 years
Associated Press For England, it's little more than a warm-up match ahead of much sterner examinations to come. For Zimbabwe, it means everything. Trent Bridge in Nottingham will host a four-day test match — something of a rarity for the usual five-day format but perhaps a sign of the future — from Thursday when England and Zimbabwe meet for the first time at international level in 18 years since a Twenty20 World Cup match in Cape Town. You need to go back four more years — to Chester-le-Street in 2003 when Jimmy Anderson, a 20-year-old with highlights in his hair, was playing in his first series — for the last test match between the teams. Zimbabwe's return to English soil continues the African nation's gradual reintegration to test cricket after two decades of political interference, poor governance and sanctions that resulted in the team being exiled from test cricket for around six years. The Zimbabweans didn't play a test from 2005-11. Between December last year and August this year, they'll have played in 10 tests, with two-match series against South Africa and New Zealand to come this summer. Zimbabwe still isn't part of the World Test Championship but, in the bigger picture, progress is being made. Zimbabwe Cricket will receive a touring fee from the England and Wales Cricket Board for being the first test opponent of the summer, ECB chief executive Richard Gould confirmed last year while speaking about the 'huge responsibility' to maintain the strength of bilateral cricket. Zimbabwe isn't expected to offer much resistance to England, having slumped to a 138-run defeat to a Professional County Club Select XI in Leicester last week. Before that, however, it did earn a first test victory since 2021 — beating in Bangladesh on the way to sharing the series 1-1. Debut for Cook While Zimbabwe's view is very much about the present, England's sights will be on the future. Ahead this summer is a five-test series against India and then an Ashes tour Down Under. For England, it doesn't get much bigger than that, so the match against Zimbabwe will be important preparation, especially for a bowling department at the start of a new era following the test retirements of Stuart Broad (in 2023) and Anderson (last year). For the Zimbabwe test, England will give a debut to Sam Cook, fellow pacer Josh Tongue is returning to the team after a two-year absence, and Gus Atkinson is about to start his second summer of test cricket. There are as many question marks about the only specialist spinner in the team, Shoaib Bashir, and the fitness of allrounder Ben Stokes, returning after a hamstring tear to regain the captaincy. Then there's the batting lineup where opener Zak Crawley and No. 3 Ollie Pope have been retained despite continued speculation about their worthiness in the team. There's the welcome sight of a return for wicketkeeper Jamie Smith after missing the tour of New Zealand in November and December while on paternity leave. England is No. 2 in the test rankings but coach Brendon McCullum said 'there's a lot of meat on the bone for us' in the next stage of the so-called ' Bazball ' era. 'When we took on a project like this, it was not about necessarily settling on 'good,'" McCullum said. "I think now's the time, working from a strong base, to be able to shoot for the stars and say, 'Where can we take this team? What can we achieve?'' The scheduling of a four-day test might be a blow to test purists but England home matches have rarely reached Day 5 under the leadership of McCullum and Stokes since 2022. As for the Zimbabweans, they'll take whatever top-flight games they can on the long road back to cricket relevancy. ___ AP cricket: recommended in this topic
Winnipeg Free Press
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
England prepares for India with its first test against Zimbabwe in 22 years
For England, it's little more than a warm-up match ahead of much sterner examinations to come. For Zimbabwe, it means everything. Trent Bridge in Nottingham will host a four-day test match — something of a rarity for the usual five-day format but perhaps a sign of the future — from Thursday when England and Zimbabwe meet for the first time at international level in 18 years since a Twenty20 World Cup match in Cape Town. You need to go back four more years — to Chester-le-Street in 2003 when Jimmy Anderson, a 20-year-old with highlights in his hair, was playing in his first series — for the last test match between the teams. Zimbabwe's return to English soil continues the African nation's gradual reintegration to test cricket after two decades of political interference, poor governance and sanctions that resulted in the team being exiled from test cricket for around six years. The Zimbabweans didn't play a test from 2005-11. Between December last year and August this year, they'll have played in 10 tests, with two-match series against South Africa and New Zealand to come this summer. Zimbabwe still isn't part of the World Test Championship but, in the bigger picture, progress is being made. Zimbabwe Cricket will receive a touring fee from the England and Wales Cricket Board for being the first test opponent of the summer, ECB chief executive Richard Gould confirmed last year while speaking about the 'huge responsibility' to maintain the strength of bilateral cricket. Zimbabwe isn't expected to offer much resistance to England, having slumped to a 138-run defeat to a Professional County Club Select XI in Leicester last week. Before that, however, it did earn a first test victory since 2021 — beating in Bangladesh on the way to sharing the series 1-1. Debut for Cook While Zimbabwe's view is very much about the present, England's sights will be on the future. Ahead this summer is a five-test series against India and then an Ashes tour Down Under. For England, it doesn't get much bigger than that, so the match against Zimbabwe will be important preparation, especially for a bowling department at the start of a new era following the test retirements of Stuart Broad (in 2023) and Anderson (last year). For the Zimbabwe test, England will give a debut to Sam Cook, fellow pacer Josh Tongue is returning to the team after a two-year absence, and Gus Atkinson is about to start his second summer of test cricket. There are as many question marks about the only specialist spinner in the team, Shoaib Bashir, and the fitness of allrounder Ben Stokes, returning after a hamstring tear to regain the captaincy. Then there's the batting lineup where opener Zak Crawley and No. 3 Ollie Pope have been retained despite continued speculation about their worthiness in the team. There's the welcome sight of a return for wicketkeeper Jamie Smith after missing the tour of New Zealand in November and December while on paternity leave. England is No. 2 in the test rankings but coach Brendon McCullum said 'there's a lot of meat on the bone for us' in the next stage of the so-called ' Bazball ' era. 'When we took on a project like this, it was not about necessarily settling on 'good,'' McCullum said. 'I think now's the time, working from a strong base, to be able to shoot for the stars and say, 'Where can we take this team? What can we achieve?'' The scheduling of a four-day test might be a blow to test purists but England home matches have rarely reached Day 5 under the leadership of McCullum and Stokes since 2022. As for the Zimbabweans, they'll take whatever top-flight games they can on the long road back to cricket relevancy. ___ AP cricket:
