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The ODI World Cup champions have been forced into a host of changes to their squad with all their first-choice quicks now missing

Andrew McGlashan12-Feb-20252:01

Finch: Big three absence a chance for Ellis to lead attack

Mitchell Starc has withdrawn from the Champions Trophy for personal reasons with Australia confirming a different looking 15-player squad that will be captained by Steven Smith.Australia had already been forced into a number of changes to their provisional squad due to the injuries to Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Marsh alongside the retirement of Marcus Stoinis. Starc’s absence means they are without their entire World Cup winning frontline pace attack for the tournament in Pakistan and the UAE which starts on February 19.Related

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Starc, who has asked for privacy around his decision, had looked in some discomfort in the latter stages of the second Test in Galle.”We understand and respect Mitch’s decision,” chair of selectors George Bailey said. “Mitch is deeply respected for his commitment to international cricket and the priority he places on performing for Australia.”His well documented ability to play through pain and adversity, as well as forgoing opportunities in other parts of his career to put his country first should be applauded. His loss is of course a blow for the Champions Trophy campaign but does provide an opportunity to someone else to make a mark on the tournament.”Smith will take on the captaincy in place of Cummins and Marsh having led Australia to a 2-0 victory the Test series against Sri Lanka.Sean Abbott, Ben Dwarshuis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Spencer Johnson and Tanveer Sangha have been brought in from outside the original 15-player group that was announced. Cooper Connolly will be a traveling reserve.Fraser-McGurk, who averages 17.40 from five ODIs but finished the BBL with 95 off 46 balls for Melbourne Renegades, provides another top-order option in the absence of Marsh while left-arm quick Johnson is as close as possible to a like-for-like of Starc although is wicketless from two ODIs. Legspinner Sangha, who was already in Sri Lanka with the Test squad as a development player, joins Adam Zampa as a second frontline spinner.”The squad has changed significantly over the past month on the back of some untimely injuries and the retirement of Marcus Stoinis,” Bailey said. “The upside of that is that we have been able to call on players who have had international exposure and success over the past 12 months.”A strong core of some our most experienced players will provide a strong foundation in our attempt to win this edition of the Champions Trophy. We have a range of options to shape the playing XI within the tournament depending on the opposition and conditions we face.”Australia will prepare for the Champions Trophy with two ODIs against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Wednesday and Friday. Their first match of the tournament is against England on February 22 followed by South Africa (February 25) and Afghanistan (February 28).

Australia Champions Trophy squad

Steve Smith (capt), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Aaron Hardie, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short, Adam Zampa

Director of cricket declares Brook to be ‘better leader’ than Pope after promotion to vice-captaincy

Vithushan Ehantharajah24-Sep-2025England men’s managing director Rob Key has called time on Chris Woakes’ Test career after the seamer was overlooked for the Ashes, while also stating Harry Brook’s credentials as “a better leader” led to him replacing Ollie Pope as vice-captain.Key was speaking 24 hours after England announced their 16-man squad for this winter’s tour of Australia. While the presence of Will Jacks was the only surprising name in the touring party, the absence of Woakes and a new deputy to Ben Stokes – which had been teased by head coach Brendon McCullum – were the main talking points in an otherwise predictable touring party.Woakes is a veteran of two previous Ashes tours. Though he possesses an average of 51.68 in Australia, he had enjoyed a new lease of life as England’s attack leader following James Anderson’s retirement at the start of the 2024 summer. Of his 62 caps, 17 have come during Stokes’ reign, with 62 wickets at an average of 27.25. That includes a player-of-the-series performance in 2023’s home Ashes, in which he was parachuted in for the final three Tests, and claimed 19 dismissals to help England square the series from 2-0 down.This summer, Woakes and Mohammed Siraj were the only quicks to start all five matches of the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy. However, he badly dislocated his shoulder on day one of the fifth Test at The Kia Oval. Having come out to bat in a sling on the thrilling final morning of the match, he subsequently opted against surgery to give himself the best chance of making the Ashes.England’s management, however, felt Woakes was too much of a risk. And with the seamer turning 37 in March, and out of a central contract next month, Key revealed he will not feature in their plans beyond the Ashes.Brook is deemed the better option to lead England in Stokes’ absence•Getty Images

“It’s been as tough a time for someone, I think, in cricket terms, the timing of it (the shoulder dislocation) as much as anything else, and the chance of reoccurence for the immediate future for Chris Woakes,” Key said.”He was running out of time to be ready for the start for the Ashes. And then once you get out of an Ashes series, you’re often looking at the next cycle, really. So Chris Woakes isn’t in our plans at the minute… at all.”Brook’s elevation to vice-captain was the other big decision for the selectors. Key revealed that he, McCullum and Stokes had spoken to Pope ahead of the announcement, but said the move had no bearing on whether he would make way for Jacob Bethell at No.3, when the Ashes get underway at Perth on November 21.Pope had previously stood in as Test captain on five occasions, most recently in the Oval Test against India. However, England have been impressed with how Brook has taken to the limited-overs captaincy since replacing Jos Buttler in March. This extra responsibility confirms him as the likeliest candidate to take over from Stokes in the long term, as well as being the best short-term replacement in Australia should the captain miss any Ashes action through injury.”It’s pretty simple, really – we think (Brook) is the best person for the job,” Key said. “He has had more experience now in leadership and I think that Harry Brook deserves it. There are no other ulterior motives, other than the fact that we think Harry Brook is the best person to be the best vice-captain.”I think he (Pope) felt that it was coming. Vice-captaincy is not always the most important decision you have to make. We could have gone down the road of not having a vice-captain. When Popey has done it, he’s done it well. He’s fitted into so many different roles that we’ve asked him to do over the past few years and done them all well. Harry Brook is just the better leader and will be the better leader going forward, so that’s why he gets that job.”Pope has been a stable presence as Stokes’ deputy, averaging just under 40, and 41.60 at first-drop, while also standing in as wicketkeeper on five occasions. But he has come under increasing pressure from the emergence of 21-year-old Jacob Bethell, who sowed the seeds of change with an impressive showing at No.3 in New Zealand last year.Related

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Bethell managed just 6 and 5 in his only subsequent Test appearance – under Pope’s captaincy at The Oval. However, he emerged from the summer with credit despite limited playing time, scoring a maiden professional century in the ODI series against South Africa, before becoming England’s youngest-ever captain on the recent T20I tour of Ireland. Further opportunities to state his case will come in October’s white-ball tour of New Zealand that will be used to build towards Australia.Such has been the consistency of the Pope-Bethell debate that Stokes accused the media of an “agenda” against the former earlier this summer. Key, however, said such conversations were inevitable at the sharp end of the international game, as is the possibility of Pope losing his spot to a player who may be deemed a better option against Australia.”I just think it’s international cricket,” he said. “If it’s not Ollie Pope, it’s someone else. There’s always a talking point and things like that drive interest towards the game. Someone like Ollie Pope has played really well in a tough position, he has had to deal with this all along, as have any players when they have lost a bit of form. That’s part and parcel of being an international cricketer. That is why it’s tough.”There is not, like, an elaborate scheme where, if we take the vice-captaincy off Ollie Pope, it makes him easier to drop. It doesn’t matter if you are vice-captain or not. If we don’t feel you are the right person wherever you are batting – whether that’s an opener or No.5 – we’ll end up bringing in someone we think can do the job better.Looking ahead to the Perth Test in just under two months’ time, Key added: “Ollie Pope is the man in possession. We’ll find out what that XI will be, probably two days before.”

Senior pros Sean Williams and Craig Ervine have both been omitted from the T20I squad

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2024Zimbabwe have picked three uncapped players – Trevor Gwandu, Tashinga Musekiwa and Tinotenda Maposa – in their ODI squad for the upcoming three-match series at home against Pakistan.While Gwandu and Musekiwa have both played T20I cricket for Zimbabwe, quick bowler Maposa, 21, is uncapped in international cricket. He has played just three List A matches so far, picking up four wickets at an economy rate of 6.29. Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava will continue to lead the seam attacks in both ODIs and T20Is.”The series against Pakistan is an important platform for Zimbabwe, and we believe the ODI squad we have selected is well-rounded,” David Mutendera, Zimbabwe’s convener of selectors, said in a statement. “The presence of seasoned players like Craig [Ervine], Sikandar [Raza] and Sean [Williams] provides stability, while young players like Clive Madande, Brian Bennett, Dion Myers and the uncapped trio bring energy and the potential for game-changing moments.”Sean Williams, who had missed the white-ball series in Sri Lanka earlier this year because of an injury, returned to the ODI side, but was omitted from the T20I squad. ODI captain Craig Ervine was also left out of the T20I side. Williams last played an ODI in July 2023.Zimbabwe retained the same T20I squad that had won the men’s T20 World Cup 2026 sub-regional qualifier in Kenya last month. During that tournament, Zimbabwe had broken the record for the highest T20I total.”We felt it was essential to maintain the same T20I squad that excelled in Kenya,” Mutendera said. “This continuity allows the team to build on the cohesion and confidence that drove their outstanding performance.”The white-ball series against Pakistan will begin with the first ODI on November 24 and will run until December 5, with Bulawayo set to host all the games – three ODIs and three T20Is.

Zimbabwe ODI squad for series against Pakistan

Craig Ervine (capt), Faraz Akram, Brian Bennett, Joylord Gumbie, Trevor Gwandu, Clive Madande, Tinotenda Maposa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Brandon Mavuta, Tashinga Musekiwa, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams

Zimbabwe T20I squad for series against Pakistan

Sikandar Raza (capt), Faraz Akram, Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Trevor Gwandu, Clive Madande, Wessly Madhevere, Tinotenda Maposa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Brandon Mavuta, Tashinga Musekiwa, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava

He got there in 103 balls, breaking the record previously held jointly by Travis Head and N Jagadeesan in men’s List A cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2024Chad Bowes scored the fastest List A double-century on Wednesday for Canterbury against Otago in the Ford Trophy. Bowes brought up the milestone in 103 balls, before eventually falling for 205 off 110 deliveries.The record was previously held by Australia’s Travis Head and India’s N Jagadeesan, who both took 114 deliveries each to get to their respective double-centuries. Head achieved the feat for South Australia against Queensland in the 2021-22 Marsh Cup, while Tamil Nadu’s Jagadeesan did it during his record-breaking 277 against Arunachal Pradesh in the 2022 Vijay Hazare Trophy.Playing his 100th List A match, Bowes hit 27 fours and seven sixes as he helped Canterbury post 343 for 9 after they were put in to bat at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.”It might sink in over the next day or two, but obviously a great day here at Hagley and a good occasion to do something special,” Bowes said after his innings. “These things happen naturally, organically. You don’t plan for it or try to do it, so I’m glad it was my day. Probably not [hit he ball] consistently that well, so it was nice to get most of them out of the middle and hit it around the park. It started off really nicely so I just kept going and it was working so I didn’t try to rein it in too much and just kept the foot on the gas.”The 32-year-old got off to a quick start and continued to show his aggression despite losing his opening partner Henry Nicholls for a five-ball duck in the second over. He got to his half-century in 26 balls and brought up his century in 53 deliveries. He took another 50 deliveries to complete his double, before being trapped lbw in the 39th over by Matthew Bacon, who registered a five-for. This was Bowes’ best List A score, comfortably going past his previous high score of 126.Only two other batters in Canterbury’s top seven reached double-figures, with captain Cole McConchie’s 40-ball 27 the next highest score. However, No. 8 Zakary Foulkes gave them a late boost with a 46-ball 49 to take them close to 350.Canterbury bowled Otago out for 103 to complete a 240-run win.

Rawal, Mandhana and Harleen also chipped with fifties as India posted a record total and eventually won by 116 runs

Shashank Kishore12-Jan-2025India notched up a series win that never appeared to be in any doubt, but in batting out 50 overs for a second straight game in Rajkot, Ireland ticked off a few boxes as part of their preparations for the World Cup qualifiers.India stormed to their highest-ever ODI score, fuelled by Jemimah Rodrigues’ maiden ODI century, and then saw Ireland’s top order deny a young Indian pace attack. Christina Coulter Reilly brought up a maiden half-century in her fourth innings, while Laura Delany made a 36-ball 37 to frustrate India’s spinners. Ireland eventually surpassed the 238 for 7 they made two days ago, to take away plenty of batting positives.The crux of India’s win lay in how their own set of youngsters, outside of Smriti Mandhana, batted and put up runs on the board. Pratika Rawal hit a third half-century in five innings, but would’ve been disappointed at missing out on a century for a second-game running.Related

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After making 89 two days ago, Rawal exhibited outstanding offside stroke play against the seam bowlers in particular, during the course of a 156-run opening stand with Mandhana. Rawal was out lbw for 67 off the very next ball after Mandhana mistimed a pull off Orla Prendergast at midwicket for 73.India’s urgency in the powerplay wasn’t accompanied by blind slogging but pristine stroke play, even as Mandhana initially fiddle in what seemed like a role reversal from the series opener two days ago. That day, Mandhana charged off the blocks, playing her signature pulls, while Rawal buckled down.This fusion helped the pair put together their third opening stand of 100 or more in five innings, with Mandhana quickly overtaking Rawal. There seemed a sense of inevitability to two impending centuries, but lapses in concentration led to a double-strike.This brought Harleen and Rodrigues together as the pair took a while to play their strokes on the face of some really slow bowling. Harleen struggled for momentum early on, pottering to 5 off 21 deliveries; Rodrigues was a tad more industrious at the other end, attempting to move around the crease and thwart the seamers by playing the pulls and paddles.The pair took 75 deliveries to raise their half-century stand which Harleen raised with a superb, lofted hit over mid-off. Rodrigues didn’t want to be left too far behind as she hit Arlene Kelly for back-to-back fours, with overs 32-34 fetching India five boundaries. Harleen possibly played the shot of the day when she exhibited incredible control in whipping a full ball from fourth-stump to bisect the gap between deep midwicket and long-on.The Harleen Deol-Jemimah Rodrigues partnership took time to speed up•BCCI

Ireland let themselves down when they missed running out Rodrigues for 34 in the 35th over when Prendergast missed a direct hit at the non-striker’s end from mid-on. Rodrigues was let off a second time when keeper Coulter Reilly put down a tough chance off an attempted late cut off Canning.Harleen got to her fifty off 58, and accelerated towards her second hundred in four ODIs, before falling for 89. Rodrigues got her half-century a tad slower, off 62 deliveries, before she shifted gears sensationally in the last ten overs. The purity of her strokeplay stood out, with her signature lofted hit by moving legside of the ball making repeated appearances.Rodrigues took just 28 balls to move from a half-century to her maiden ODI ton, much to the applause of the entire team on the balcony, before she celebrated by mimicking playing a song on her guitar with her bat. India ended with 370 for 5, 102 off those coming in the last ten as Ireland walked back relieved that their morning toil was over.Christina Coulter Reilly scored her maiden ODI fifty•BCCI

Ireland were slow off the blocks and never equally went for the target. But Coulter Reilly overcame two blows on her helmet, both times missing a bumper from Sayali Satghare. She overcame the early jitters to exhibit a sense of fearlessness against spin, particularly enterprising off Priya Mishra, the legspinner, whom she swept into different arcs on the leg side.Delany, who came in at No. 4, showed urgency from get-go, hitting her second ball through the covers for a boundary, and was equally formidable when Deepti Sharma tried to lull her in flight after an early reprieve when the offspinner put down a tough return catch on 7.As it turned out, this passage – an 83-run fourth-wicket stand – was the only period where in India felt challenged by Ireland’s batters, even as the rest tried to get their eye in. Leah Paul, who struck a half-century in the previous game, made an unbeaten 22-ball 27, to add the finishing touches as Ireland surpassed the 238 for 7 they made two days ago.

Dickson makes key half-century as leaders bounce back from defeat in style

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay06-Jul-2025Somerset returned to winning ways in the Men’s Vitality Blast and cemented their place at the top of the South Group with a last-over win over Hampshire Hawks.Sean Dickson led Somerset’s chase of 179 with a sublime 52, having been accompanied by Tom Abell in an 89-run fourth wicket partnership.But a spree of wickets made sure the visitors still required 23 off two overs and then 11 off the last, but Ben Green and Lewis Goldsworthy reached the winning line with a ball to spare.Earlier, James Vince and Joe Weatherley had ravaged 82 and 60 in a massive 141-run stand but it wasn’t enough.Somerset were miserly with the new ball, after stand-in captain Tom Kohler-Cadmore had chosen to bowl first, as they forced the Hawks to flounder in the first eight overs.Ali Orr turned to short leg second ball, and while Toby Albert tried hard to inject some impetus into the innings he was caught and bowled by Riley Meredith for a 19-ball 27.Hampshire were 39 for two at the end of the eighth over, with Vince stumbling to just six runs – having already been one off 10 and five off 16 balls.But from that point Vince and the hosts started scoring runs and barely stopped for the remaining 12 overs.Vince kicked into gear with back-to-back boundaries off Ben Green to start the ninth over before roaring through his repertoire of bat cracking strokes.The tortoise-esque start was long forgotten as sixes became an overly sight off Vince and Weatherley’s bats.Vince reached his fifty in 41 balls, having been one off 10, before further accelerating to end up with a strike rate of almost 144.Weatherley had been equally important to the resuscitation of the innings and ended up with five sixes, to one four, having whacked his half-century in 38 balls – brought up with a huge pulled maximum.In total, the Vince and Weatherley alliance put on 141 in 85 balls, just three runs shy of the all-time record partnership for Hampshire against Somerset. And even though Vince picked out long on with a ball to go, the Hawks reached 178.Somerset were more even paced in their chase, but lost wickets just as batters started to click.Tom Banton flew a six before slapping to mid off next ball, Will Smeed inside-edged behind, and Kohler-Cadmore had his stumps dismantled by Liam Dawson.But they found stickability in Dickson and Abell – who put on 89 in 57 balls.Dickson naturally took the aggressor role with a quartet of square sixes as Abell rotated strike and found boundaries when they were provided.Dickson reached his second fifty of the campaign in 30 balls but within five balls of each other he and Abell had departed. Dickson holing out before Abell was incredibly caught and bowled by Scott Currie with 36 still required.Tom Lammonby picked out cover in the penultimate over but Goldsworthy and Green took it down to 11 from the final six balls.Sonny Baker stood up against his former club but a Green six with the third ball over midwicket turned the tide in Somerset’s favour.

Kaitano, Masvaure, Madhevere and Matigimu have been left out while Brendan Taylor is expected to return

Firdose Moonda21-Jul-2025Ben Curran has recovered from a fractured hand sustained in a warm-up match against South Africa in Arundel and has been named in Zimbabwe’s 16-player squad to take on New Zealand next month.At the moment, the squad does not include Brendan Taylor, whose three-and-a-half-year ban for breaching the ICC anti-corruption code ends on July 25. ESPNcricinfo understands he will be added to the squad once his ban expires on Saturday and is expected to be available for the first Test that starts July 30. The squad does feature four other changes from the one that lost 2-0 to South Africa.Sikandar Raza, who was playing in the MLC during the South Africa Tests, returns to the squad alongside Roy Kaia and Tanunurwa Makoni. Opening batters Takudzwanashe Kaitano and Prince Masvaure, middle-order batter Wessly Madhevere and seamer Kundai Matigimu, who debuted against South Africa, have been left out.Related

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Blessing Muzarabani leads the seam attack, but there was no room for Richard Ngarava. The left-arm quick had injured his back in the Test against England but returned in the ongoing T20 tri-series featuring Zimbabwe, South Africa and New Zealand.Brian Bennett, who was concussed in the first Test against South Africa and had returned in the T20Is, is also in the Test squad. Dion Myers, who was covering for Bennett, has been released.Both Tests will be held in Bulawayo, where conditions are difficult for quicks and run-scoring can typically be slow, though South Africa scored at 5.49 runs to the over in the most recent Test there.This is the first time Zimbabwe will play Tests against New Zealand since 2016, when New Zealand visited Bulawayo and won the series 2-0. It also marks the end of a busy period of Tests for Zimbabwe for the time being.Since December last year, they have played eight Tests, including five at home, all at Queens Sports Club. Zimbabwe have lost all their home games and only won one of their last 15 Tests. They will next play Tests towards the end of the year when they host Afghanistan.The matches are not part of the current World Test Championship cycle.Zimbabwe squad: Craig Ervine (Captain), Brian Bennett, Tanaka Chivanga, Ben Curran, Trevor Gwandu, Roy Kaia, Tanunurwa Makoni, Clive Madande, Vincent Masekesa, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani, Newman Nyamhuri, Sikandar Raza, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Nicholas Welch, Sean Williams

“They have been doing that in the nets in the last seven to eight days to all our bowlers,” says Smriti Mandhana of Ghosh and Kanika Ahuja after record chase

Srinidhi Ramanujam14-Feb-2025It wasn’t a perfect opening night for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, so captain Smriti Mandhana was “really happy” to be on the winning side. Her team, the defending champions, conceded what was the fourth-highest total in the WPL, then went one better, chasing down 202 in exhilarating fashion. They chiefly had Richa Ghosh, Kanika Ahuja and Ellyse Perry to thank for this, and Mandhana heaped praise on her middle order for delivering after an early wobble.”It was brilliant to watch,” Mandhana, who was out for 9 in the second over of the chase, said after the game. “They [Ahuja and Ghosh] have been doing that in the nets in the last seven to eight days to all our bowlers. So, really happy that things clicked on. But yeah, I think after the first innings we knew with the dew coming, it was going to be tough to bowl. So we always thought that we were in the game.”The way Richa batted and Pez [Perry] batted was amazing to watch.”Related

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RCB had been up against it after Ashleigh Gardner dented the visitors with the bat first, smashing a 37-ball 79, and then with the ball, removing Mandhana and Danni Wyatt-Hodge in the second over. But from thereon Giants had an awful time in the field with dropped catches, misfields, a missed run-out chance, overthrows and a flurry of full tosses. Perry, who was out in the 13th over, had done a repair job with 57 off 34, before Ghosh (64 not out off 27) and Ahuja (30 not out off 13) proceeded to snatch the game away.Ghosh took her time initially – she scored just 15 off her first 12 balls. A lot of match simulation before the tournament helped her deal with the high-pressure situation, she said later.”The plan was to take some time, and see how the pitch is reacting,” Ghosh said. “I wanted to take it deep, and I focused on my game. We [Ahuja and I] thought we could get to the total, and that we would play a positive game.”The preparation we did with sir [head coach Luke Williams] really helped us. We had a lot of match situation during practice matches. We kept targets that if the situation is so and so then what should we be doing. That helped me a lot.””Yes, the boundaries were uneven, but I didn’t have that in mind. I knew I could clear [the boundaries] so I was just reacting as the ball came.”Ahuja, who missed the last edition due to injury, was elated. In addition to her match-turning knock, she had returned 1 for 19 from three overs with her offspin.”It feels great. I’m really happy as I’m playing after a year,” Ahuja said. “All the visualisations and the rehab that I did seemed to have helped me mentally. I tried to become a better player.”I thought I’ll go for whatever is in my reach. We were looking at a [required] run rate of 10 or 12 runs an over, and that worked out. Thankfully, we won.”RCB had lost key players like Sophie Devine (unavailable), Shreyanka Patil, Asha Sobhana and Sophie Molineux (all injured) ahead of the season, so they had to dig deep into their squad here. This resulted in three debutants: Prema Rawat, VJ Joshitha and Raghvi Bist. The inexperience in the bowling unit showed, and sloppiness in the field did not help. Mandhana backed her young players but said there remained “a lot of things to work on” if they are to defend their title.”I think we lost pretty much the top-three wicket-takers of last year,” Mandhana said. “And we had to start, but luckily we had good options. And whoever came in for the injured people, I think they were all brilliant replacements.”[But] I think definitely a lot of things to work on as a bowling unit and fielding unit. And we have two days off before the next match, so we’ll have good discussions around it.”

Fast bowler to miss tours to Pakistan, New Zealand after problem picked up on routine scan

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Sep-2024Mark Wood, England’s fastest bowler, will miss the forthcoming Test tours of Pakistan and New Zealand, after being ruled out for the rest of the year due to a bone-stress injury to his right elbow.Wood was withdrawn from the ongoing Sri Lanka series as a precaution, after suffering a right thigh strain while bowling during the first Test at Old Trafford. However, he subsequently underwent what he had hoped was a routine elbow scan, after feeling discomfort in the joint, and admitted in an Instagram post that he had received some “pretty rubbish news”.”During what I thought was routine check on a previously troublesome elbow, I was shocked to learn I’ve got some bone stress in my right elbow,” Wood wrote.As a result, he will miss England’s final six Tests of the year, three each against Pakistan in October and New Zealand in December.He will continue to work closely with the ECB medical team in the meantime, with the aim of returning to full fitness by early 2025, in time for England’s white-ball tour of India and the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan, which is scheduled to begin in February 2025.Wood’s surprise at his diagnosis comes in the wake of some of the fastest bowling of his international career. During the Trent Bridge Test against West Indies in July, he hit a top speed of 97.1mph in an electrifying performance that culminated in a broken forearm for Kevin Sinclair, and had his captain, Ben Stokes, predicting he would break the 100mph before his career is done.Though he went relatively under-rewarded in that performance, he closed out the series with 5 for 40 at Edgbaston, his first five-wicket haul in a home Test. However, he bowled just 18.2 overs across two innings against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford, before he was withdrawn from the action.”After the minor groin injury at Emirates Old Trafford, me and the medical team felt it was a good time to get my elbow looked at as it was a bit irritated,” Wood added in his Instagram post. “I’d put that down to the normal niggles every fast bowler gets and which I was playing through.”I’m especially surprised because I’ve been playing Test cricket and kept my speeds up.”I work incredibly hard on my fitness, putting in extra work with coaches and physios making this even more disappointing. However, I guess this is, ‘part of being a fast bowler’, like Stokesy says.”I will miss the rest of the year needing time to rest and build up, fully expecting to be back and firing in early 2025. I have been down this path before and will put in all the hard yards behind the scenes. I am very proud to represent my country and there is no better feeling. See you for some rockets in 2025!”In Wood’s absence, Olly Stone was recalled for last week’s Lord’s Test, his first Test since undergoing back surgery three years ago, with Josh Hull, the 20-year-old left-arm seamer, making his debut in the ongoing third Test at The Oval.

Club hope to give long-serving coach “send-off he deserves” after seven years in the role

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Sep-2025Hampshire hope to give Adi Birrell “the send-off he deserves” by winning the T20 Blast and Metro Bank Cup double after announcing he will leave the club at the end of the season. Birrell, 64, joined Hampshire ahead of the 2019 season but will complete his tenure later this month and return to his native South Africa to spend time with his family.After a convincing win at Durham in the quarter-finals, Hampshire head to Edgbaston on Saturday targeting a record fourth Blast title ahead of their semi-final against Northamptonshire. They will then face Worcestershire at Trent Bridge in the Metro Bank Cup final the following weekend, eyeing a first List A trophy since 2018.Hampshire have been competitive across formats under Birrell, winning the Blast in 2022 and finishing runners-up in the County Championship on three separate occasions. They have struggled in the Championship this year in the absence of James Vince, but have still thrived in both white-ball formats.Birrell also deputised as Southern Brave coach in the men’s Hundred this year, but is now unlikely to return to that role next summer. Hampshire are expected to lean on the global network developed by the GMR Group – their new Indian owners, who co-own Delhi Capitals – in recruiting his successor.”All good things come to an end, and we are sad to see Adi go,” Giles White, Hampshire’s long-serving director of cricket, said in a club statement. “It’s been a fantastic seven years at the club, during which he has become a hugely popular figure and overseen a successful period across all formats.”Under his leadership, the team has reached numerous finals, come close in Championships, and lifted the Blast title in 2022. His contribution has left a lasting mark, and he will be deeply missed by players, coaches, and fans alike at the Utilita Bowl.”We hope to give him the send-off he deserves, with two pieces of silverware still up for grabs in the next two weeks and important days ahead in the Championship. Everyone at Hampshire Cricket and the Utilita Bowl wishes Adi the very best as he looks forward to spending more time at home on the farm.”