06.03.2026 18:37
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A screenshot of the squads for the England women's practice tour.
It would have been more interesting to see an England 1st XI Vs England Lions lineup, but understandable that they didn't because it would have been quite embarrassing if the Lions won.
Which I suspect they would have done...
"Where is the PCA?"
Where they always are. beingoutsidecricket.com/2021/06/15/i...
I wouldn't be so sure. Don't forget at least 30 players in the women's Hundred were part time amateurs until last year. Amateurs are usually expected to pay for their own expenses, including food.
Was this quote from a player in The Hundred? There aren't many women's competitions which are concurrent with the men's.
If so, it's pretty shocking (meaning bad rather than surprising) considering that the ECB were basically organising everything until this year.
I would disagree with this. SACA is in some ways a victim of its own success. At launch, it seemed to be intended as a proof of concept for counties to learn lessons from. Now, it feels like a permanent alternate pathway to professional contracts.
The other alternative is that both England and India are 'seeded' to their respective semis, regardless of whether they finish first or second in their group (like the current men's T20 Super 8 seeding).
I notice all of England's games are at 6.30pm, and all of India's at 2.30pm to maximise the home TV audiences.
One semi final is at 2.30pm, and one at 6.30pm. Is India guaranteed to be in the first one if they qualify? If so, what happens if England is drawn against them?
"In messages seen by the BBC, a senior official from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) indicated to an agent that interest in his Pakistan players would be limited to sides not linked to the IPL."
Remember when The Hundred was specifically designed to attract cricket fans from the British Pakistani community because it would shake off the "pale, stale and male" image of county cricket and the England team?
It seems an odd outcome considering the current England teams' culture and practices are expressly mandated in the 2022 High Performance Review that Sir Andrew Strauss led.
Maybe let someone else have a try? bsky.app/profile/outs...
A screenshot of a tweet by Sir Geoffrey Boycott, asking for people to tell him the identity of the person who complained about a Yorkshire CCC official telling inappropriate jokes at a public dinner speech.
Nothing to see here, just Sir Geoffrey Boycott asking for the identity of a whistleblower who complained about the former Yorkshire CCC deputy chair's inappropriate jokes in a public speech.
With that short innings from captain Harry Brook, he probably has time for a quick pint before he has to face the media.
Not that he has a problem, obviously...
The tough pill for England and their fans to swallow is that this was a genuine opportunity to win an overseas Ashes.
Australia had a relatively weak batting lineup, and only one of their first choice bowlers through most of this series, but still dominated England.
People like Strauss rely on people not remembering or rereading the things they wrote at the time, like his 2022 review.
He explicitly recommended an aggressive playing style, prioritising player happiness and using metrics such as release height for selection. HE IS RESPONSIBLE.
Recommendation 14: Sustain an exciting 'shop window' for the game Our proposed Actions · Create a clear style of cricket for England, aligned to What it Takes to Win, that everyone understands, buys into, and knows their role in · Create inclusive culture so everyone feels welcome – both new and existing players and staff – giving players the psychological safety to express themselves. Our Rationale England may not always be able to compete financially with T20 leagues, but it can coexist as an option for players by being attractive on culture and style of play, creating an environment that players want to be a part of. England have established and will look to sustain this with their white-ball teams and are on the path to establishing this in Test cricket. This will help deliver an engaging, exciting style of cricket, where the mentality is to focus on playing in the right style and letting the results look after themselves.
Recommendation 14 from the review mandated a implementing a single, 'exciting' style of cricket for the team, whilst also prioritising both this style and the players' morale over results.
"Letting the results look after themselves."
Sounds familiar...
Recommendation 2: Improve our shared understanding of what it takes to win. Update What it Takes to Win (WITTW) research on the batting and bowling skills required to win in Test and limited overs cricket. This includes broadening the analysis to include a deeper understanding of the physical and psychological factors that predict how well a player may perform in elite cricket · Embed the game’s WITTW analysis into the ECB coaching curriculum and the wider network ethos · Implement mobile ball tracking technology within the domestic game to ensure that any WITTW skills are measured objectively.
For example: The 2022 review's second recommendation is to identify key factors which can be measured by ball tracking in county cricket and used for team selection.
Rob Key has done this in relation to 'release height' and bowler speed, without success.
While Sir Andrew Strauss uses England's failures to tout his 2022 High Performance Review, he doesn't say that Rob Key was a co-author of that review.
Key has also implemented parts of that review, which we did a point-by-point critique of at the time: beingoutsidecricket.com/2022/11/02/t...
England said their four nights in the beach resort of Noosa had been scheduled for more than a year, which possibly leaves it as one of the best-planned parts of the tour. Some used it in the spirit it was intended. Root, for example, had accommodation with his family away from the main drag and was never spotted near a bar. It was curious that more family members were not present for what was billed as a break from the Ashes. For others, it was a glorified stag do. Some members of the team followed two days of drinking in Brisbane with four more in Noosa – six in total, as many days as there had been of Test cricket at this point in the tour. The England party was hardly inconspicuous, drinking by the side of the road, with plenty wearing traditional Akubra hats that became the uniform of the holiday. There was a three-line whip issued to attend a kick-about on the beach, where England were sledged by local radio DJs and mingled with other holidaymakers. Stokes was seen out running, while on another occasion strength and conditioning coach Pete Sim invited the entire group for a run along the coast at 07:45am. Smith, Bashir and Tongue were the only players to turn out.
Famously, Olympic athletes prepare for the biggest sporting event of their lives by going on a week-long bender a few days beforehand.
It really puts them in the physical and mental state required to reach the very pinnacle of their abilities.
McCullum was right. If anything, England overprepared for this series.
After all, they could have lost 3-0 without practicing at all...
As it stands overnight, while he is not out, Jofra Archer has the second-highest batting average for England in this Ashes.
Even if he was dismissed without scoring another run, he would still be ahead of Crawley, Jacks, Pope, Duckett and Smith, halfway through the series.
Yeah, we should be concentrating on release height.
A tweet describing Alex Carey's training, saying that he is always at the ground 45 minutes before everyone else doing keeping drills.
This can't possibly be right.
I distinctly remember someone saying that doing more training was counterproductive, and that five days of golf at a beach resort was better preparation for Test cricket.
What was it about Lewis letting England captain Heather Knight do whatever she wanted that endeared him to London Spirit GM Heather Knight?
Jofra Archer:
Has a higher batting average than Stokes, Duckett and Smith so far in this series.
Would have a much better bowling average if England could catch.
Has bowled more overs for England in this series than everyone bar Atkinson.
Gets clicks when he's in the headline.
Everything for England to play for tomorrow.
Will they lose by an innings, or lose by a mere ten wickets? Wake up at 4am to find out!
The list of England women's central contracts for 2025-2026, divided into those in the second year of a two-year contract, those in one-year contracts, and "skill" contracts.
It's interesting that there are no new two-year contracts being signed.
Perhaps it's an indication that they did not have the desired effect with the players who signed them last year, because there definitely seemed like there was some complacency in the squad.
It's interesting that Heather Knight won't be playing in this year's Hundred, with England hosting the T20 World Cup a month beforehand.
It seems certain she's retiring, the question is if she will do so representing England once last time or won't be in the squad. www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricke...
More trouble at Middlesex.
Some questions members might want to ask at Tuesday's public meeting:
1) How much has Middlesex spent on legal fees and crisis management consultants during Cornish's tenure so far?
2) Will the club be funding Cornish's legal defense?
Obviously it's not going to be a major topic of conversation, but the two teams were 16 overs short of the allotted overs today.
That's the equivalent of more than a full hours' play.
