How fit do you need to be to play first-class cricket? The Athletic found out www.nytimes.com/athletic/712...

Cricketing great accuses English club of ‘contributing to Indian casualties’ by signing Pakistan player www.nytimes.com/athletic/712...

The South African, the professional pole-dancer and how cricket is offering hope in war-torn Ukraine www.nytimes.com/athletic/704...

T20 World Cup: Did England do enough to make up for their winter of Ashes discontent? www.nytimes.com/athletic/709...

T20 World Cup final: Can anyone compete with India on this stage? www.nytimes.com/athletic/709...

Alyssa Healy: Classy, combative and a significant figure in women’s cricket history www.nytimes.com/athletic/710...

👏 Jacob Bethell finishes the day 142 not out 🚑 Ben Stokes sustains a groin injury and will not be able to bowl 💪 Beau Webster takes three wickets after scoring 71 not out Cameron Ponsonby and Tim Spiers dissect the key talking points from day four at the SCG ⤵️ 🔗 theathletic.com/6947360/?sou...

England coach Brendon McCullum and managing director Rob Key look likely to stay in their roles until at least after the T20 World Cup, which begins next month. Further discussions are likely to follow regarding their longer-term futures. 🔗 theathletic.com/6948920/?sou...

“Eventually, they will get you. “Sustained excellence, repeated over and over again. Pat Cummins is a freak and Nathan Lyon is a genius. You can swap those around as well if you really want.” Cameron Ponsonby, Paul Newman & Tim Spiers dissect the talking points from Adelaide Oval ⤵️ bit.ly/4akZGqu

The Sydney Cricket Ground. Where English cricket careers go to die. Across this century alone, 14 England cricketers have played their final Test here. Cameron Ponsonby talks to Scott Borthwick and Mason Crane, whose only England Test appearances came at the SCG.

“This is only the second time England have conceded a first-innings lead and then successfully chased down a target in a Test in Australia. “The only previous time it happened was back in 1895 in Melbourne.” Cameron Ponsonby, Tim Spiers and Paul Newman dissect England’s victory ⤵️ 🔗 bit.ly/4pP4J7o

It has been 5,468 days since England last won an Ashes Test match in Australia. This victory within two days in a madcap fourth Test played on a desperately poor pitch stopped yet another blighted tour Down Under spiralling completely out of control. 🔗 bit.ly/3YIpNAy

“With 20 wickets falling and the genuine possibility of a second two-day Test in the space of four Ashes matches, questions have to be asked about the state of the playing surface.” Tim Spiers and James Wallace dissect a remarkable day of cricket at the MCG ⤵️ 🔗 theathletic.com/6918885/?sou...

City Football Group executive Carlos Raphael Moersen is in advanced talks to take up the role of director of football operations at Tottenham Hotspur. Exclusive from @david-ornstein.bsky.social, @jackpittbrooke.bsky.social & Jordan Campbell ⤵️

But here we are. Things are not different. They are very the same. The process has turned out to be toilet water. The best English bowler ever, the best bowler any of us will probably ever see play for England, was sacrificed… for this? 📝 @nickmiller79.bsky.social

England called time on James Anderson’s international career in 2024. Pretty much every decision that has been made in the last couple of years was done so with this Ashes series in mind. All of it was predicated on the idea that things will be different this time. Trust the process.

The England captain said he will be having conversations with his team-mates in the nine days between now and the third Test in Adelaide and, when he goes and knocks on their doors, he must deliver some harsh truths. England cannot afford another game of just rocking up and playing the same way.

Ben Stokes has sent a message to his team. For the first time, he has made it clear in public that he is unhappy with what they are doing, particularly the way they are responding to pressure.

Australia’s grip on the Ashes has been tightened. The home side eased their way to an emphatic win to establish a 2-0 lead in the series. The tourists have been left wondering where to turn next. The key talking points at the Gabba ⤵️ 🔗 www.nytimes.com/athletic/686...

The second day at the Gabba saw Brydon Carse carted to all parts. By the time England hobbled off for tea with Australia 228-3 and only 108 runs adrift, Carse had conceded the third fastest half century by an England bowler in Test history. It was a bruising second session.

Then England spectacularly fluffed their lines. The Ashes were not over at the end of the second day of the second Test. But if they are slipping away yet again for England — and, let’s be honest, history tells you they are — then they can only blame themselves.

Three years of planning. Three years or more of trying to make sure their fastest bowlers were fit and firing at the right time. And three years of indulging the likes of Zak Crawley in the belief that his game was perfectly suited for the series that will define ‘Bazball’.

But, of course, it did matter. It made all the difference. And now he has achieved it.

It really shouldn’t make any difference. So what if Joe Root had never made a hundred in Australia? He already had a record that had seen him become statistically the greatest batter in England’s history and one of the best any country has had to offer.

In the humidity and hostility of the Gabba, England’s greatest batter broke his duck Down Under. 🔗 theathletic.com/6858031/?sou...

There were daft shots to endure. There was Mitchell Starc discomforting England’s top order and threatening to run through the tail. And, through it all, there was the defiance and brilliance of Joe Root. That tiresome statistic about not having made a Test century in Australia has been put to bed.

The Kent opener has come under severe scrutiny after a poor run of form which has seen him score just one century in his last 22 Tests, against Zimbabwe in May, with his Test average having dropped to 30.96.

England coach Brendon McCullum has backed Zak Crawley to find his form despite opening his Ashes series with a pair. Crawley endured a miserable first away Test in Australia at Perth, being dismissed for ducks in both innings and facing a combined total of just 11 balls.

“Ben Stokes said he was shell-shocked afterwards but now he’s got to dust himself off and move on. But he has to do that by learning. He can’t just say: ‘That’s the way we play’…”

“Defeats like this are the ones that hurt the most. The ones when you’ve been in a commanding position and somehow thrown it away leave you thinking: ‘How on earth did that happen?’ Nasser Hussain's exclusive on what went so horribly wrong for England in Perth - and how they can put it right.

Another frantic, barely believable day of Test cricket saw Australia take a 1-0 lead in the Ashes. Travis Head, stand-in opener for the hosts, thrashed Australia's third fastest 100 to lead his side to victory inside two days - the first time that has happened in the Ashes for 104 years.

It was so fast and brutal it almost knocked Cameron Green off his feet and into his stumps. It was the ball, delivered at 93mph by Mark Wood, that summed up a breathless day of extreme pace bowling that got the Ashes off to the most raw and visceral of starts. 🔗 theathletic.com/6825825/?sou...

Or at least, the version of it that breeds erratic batting, cheap wickets and vigorous shakes of the head from those who wistfully wish for five days of the majestic Test cricket of yore, writes @michaeljbailey.bsky.social in Perth.

It turns out Bazball is infectious. Even in Australia. The opening day of the Ashes in Perth was riddled with it. 🔗 theathletic.com/6819497/?sou...

steve smith, you scored 17 on your specialist subject, "getting hit by jofra archer"

Steve Smith, Monty Panesar, Mastermind. Weird ✍️ @nickmiller79.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/682...

“First of all you need a bit of luck, and England have had that with (Pat) Cummins & (Josh) Hazlewood going down injured.” How do you win in Australia? James Wallace spoke to Dale Steyn, whose wickets propelled South Africa to success there in 2008-09, to find out. theathletic.com/6816814/?sou...

Came up with this idea while still in England. So much fun digging into how you go from rugby & AFL, to a cricket oval at a glorious new stadium — all while trying to recreate an iconic pitch from the opposite bank of the Swan River... #Ashes @theathletic.com www.nytimes.com/athletic/680...

The International Ice Hockey Federation has confirmed to The Athletic that neck guards will be mandatory for hockey players participating in the upcoming Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina in February.

History in the making for Australia. Hopefully. Great to hear from Scott Boland at Perth Stadium this lunchtime. Big week ahead... www.nytimes.com/athletic/681...

𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙨 Our writers have picked out the most memorable series from down the years to chart the history of one of sport's deepest rivalries. ▪️ The death of English cricket ▪️ Bodyline & The Don, the best the world has ever seen ▪️ Botham's Ashes & how Allan Border wrestled back control

Nasser Hussain has joined The Athletic as a columnist as part of our coverage of the Ashes, which begin on Friday in Perth. “This series usually defines England captains and coaches, and this one will.” Hussain will return to provide analysis for The Athletic after each Test.

Norfolk cricket hits @theathletic.com! (Not something I imagined writing a few yrs ago.) Lovely stuff from @nickmiller79.bsky.social on Jake Weatherald — and a pocket of yellow & green in England hoping for at least a slither of Australian magic during the Ashes ... www.nytimes.com/athletic/678...

Getting excited about the Ashes? You should be! This is wonderful from Cameron Ponsonby on Ben Stokes' New Zealand heritage and how it formed him. Plenty more where this came from on the way too @theathletic.com … Enjoy! #TheAshes www.nytimes.com/athletic/678...

A huge blow for Australia with less than a week to go before the Ashes. Josh Hazlewood has been ruled out of the first Test in Perth with a hamstring injury. Meanwhile, England have received a positive update on Mark Wood. More from @michaeljbailey.bsky.social ⤵️

England fast bowler Mark Wood will undergo a precautionary scan after complaining of stiffness in his left hamstring following his first bowl in a ‘competitive’ match since February. Full story from @michaeljbailey.bsky.social ⬇️

He transcended his sport like few other cricketers and crammed more into his 52 years and 172 days than most do in much longer lifetimes. He had his flaws and led a life full of colour that included controversy on and off the field — but he was a sporting genius.

Shane Warne took 708 wickets in 145 Tests for Australia and reinvigorated what had become the dying art of leg-spin bowling. But Shane Keith Warne was so much more than statistics. 🔗 theathletic.com/6787575/?sou...

“He was the greatest player I ever saw. It was not just his skill — he was a magician.” Ahead of a home Ashes without him, @paulfnewman66.bsky.social talks to Mark Waugh, Mike Hussey, Jason Gillespie, Rob Key and others about the brilliance of Shane Warne www.nytimes.com/athletic/678...

Josh Hazlewood has joined up with the Australia squad ahead of the first Ashes Test after initial scans indicated a hamstring problem was not serious. Fellow pace bowler Sean Abbott, however, has been ruled out of the first Test in Perth, after suffering a moderate grade hamstring injury.