#england-cricket

#england-cricket

The flashbacks hit immediately when Jamie Overton took the new ball for the first time in his ODI career, a middle-overs-man miscast, the same way Brydon Carse was when he opened in the Tests. Sri Lanka's fielding late on in the chase Dunith Wellalage's hopscotch grab on the boundary to end Rehan Ahmed's pyro-party, Dhananjaya de Silva's swooper at backward point to get rid of Liam Dawson was clinical, reminiscent of Australia.

Trevor Bayliss will be among those watching the fifth Ashes Test at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground this Sunday. But even as the head coach responsible for delivering the World Cup in 2019, the majority of England fans who walk past him will probably do so without so much as a double take. This was very much the Australian's way when sporting the Three Lions on his training kit for five years low key and forever dodging the spotlight under that wide-brimmed hat.

The 27-year-old looked nearer his best when he was recalled for the fourth Test, taking three wickets and making 28 with the bat in England's first innings. He grabbed his left hamstring at the end of the fourth over of his spell on the second morning and immediately left the field.

Born in Cardiff in 1963, Morris became Glamorgan's youngest ever captain at the age of 22 before returning to the role later in his career, leading them to the Sunday League title in 1993, their first trophy in 24 years. The recipient of three Test caps in 1991, when he was unable to make much of an impression as he averaged 19.16, Morris also led England A on tours to South Africa, the West Indies and Sri Lanka.

There is no doubt that McCullum meant what he said on Sunday, however, repeating it in various ways to multiple outlets as he and Ben Stokes surveyed the wreckage. On one level you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. As much as McCullum claims to block out external noise, he will have been all too aware of an England side that has become increasingly characterised as freewheeling and underprepared; unwilling to do the hard yards,

It's a different form of the game and it's a completely different kind of challenge that we're going to be confronted with. Sometimes the process you go through in regards to batting doesn't necessarily translate to runs, but the game can come in time. That's what we're holding on to, anyway. I think in Test cricket we've found ways in various conditions to deal with those seaming wickets, but in one-day cricket we just haven't been able to nail down whether we stick or twist.

You go round every single player there and you think: Bloody hell, there isn't many teams that they don't get into in the world.' It's disappointing we haven't performed as well as we could. Sometimes you've got to hold your hand up and say they've been the better team.

Harry Brook says there has been no Ashes talk in the England camp as the tourists prepare for a hell of a long winter, with the white-ball captain's determination to stay in the moment so strong that he has not even noticed the ramping-up of pre-series trash talk by David Warner and Stuart Broad. The England squad arrived in Christchurch on Wednesday after the three-day bonding break in Queenstown for their six-match series against New Zealand, which concludes in Wellington

England appeared to be in control of the match, chasing a target of 374 runs, propelled by stellar centuries from Harry Brook and Joe Root, but suddenly found themselves in a precarious position with six wickets down and 35 runs still required as the day ended prematurely due to bad light and rain.

Smith, at 24 years old, achieved an extraordinary milestone with 184 not out, making the highest score by an England wicketkeeper in men's Test history, surpassing Alec Stewart.

India makes one change to their lineup, bringing back captain Harmanpreet Kaur into the squad in place of Harleen Deol, enhancing their strategy after a previous victory.