England need to alter their approach if they hope to claw their way back after their disastrous start to the Ashes series and avoid another drubbing, former Australia paceman Mitchell Johnson said.
Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime reached the last four of the ATP Finals with a 6-4, 7-6(4) round-robin win over two-times winner Alexander Zverev on Friday and Jannik Sinner extended his indoor hardcourt unbeaten run by beating American Ben Shelton.
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Four-Test-old all-rounder Jacob Bethell was awarded his maiden central contract by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) which offered two-year deals to 14 multi-format cricketers, including Test captain Ben Stokes and injury-plagued pacer Jofra Archer.
'It's a moment I'll never forget, having my family there.'
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England's Ashes hopes rest largely on the all-round performance of talismanic captain Ben Stokes, who took 17 wickets against India in the recent home series.
Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime came from a set down to earn his first victory at this year's ATP Finals in Turin with a 4-6, 7-6(7), 7-5 win over American Ben Shelton on Wednesday.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting tips confident England to pose real Ashes threat.
'Dad played the biggest role in my cricket, coached me all the way through and sort of let me go as I got into my older teenage years, but (he) would always shoot a message (like) 'put the reverse sweep away'.'
IMAGES from the Premier League matches played on Sunday
IMAGES from Day 5 of the 3rd Ashes Test in Adelaide on Sunday.
Joe Root's Australian hoodoo is over. The England batter scored his first Test century in Australia, an unbeaten 135 off 202 balls, rescuing his side after a shaky start in the second Ashes Test at Brisbane's Gabba and steering England to 325 for nine following captain Ben Stokes' decision to bat first.
Shelton was broken in the opening and closing games of the first set, unable to take advantage of a break point at 2-1 down while Sinner was always capable of pulling out an ace at the crucial time, hitting two in that fourth game to hold serve.
'He's a good competitor, he comes hard at you so it was good fun.'
Trescothick, who played in three Ashes campaigns including a triumphant 2005 series on home soil, said England's batters were also looking to be smarter on the pitch.
England have not won the Ashes in Australia after losing the first Test since the 1950s but McCullum and Stokes will remain convinced they can turn the series around, just as they did against South Africa in 2022 when they won 2-1 after losing the opener at Lord's.
'He (Pandya) can command a spot in the top five on his batting alone. He could also be one of the top three seamers in any team if he was just a bowler.'
Former England fast bowler Stuart Broad said the second Ashes Test starting Thursday next week will be a lottery and the toss is a key factor in Brisbane with the pink ball.
Only three England captains have secured the urn in Australia in the last 50 years, with Andrew Strauss the last in 2010/11.
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Seasoned South African opener Quinton de Kock returned to his old base Mumbai Indians for a base price of Rs 1 crore.
'I've been a little bit shocked this week with how players have been treated by the broadcaster.'
England's Stokes praises Australia's Head, supports his own errant batters
England are unlikely to tinker with their side for the second Ashes Test against Australia starting in Brisbane next week despite being thumped in the opening match, their former fast bowler James Anderson said.
'They are up their own backsides convinced that Test cricket has changed so much that only they know anything about the modern game.'
'But I think that the manner in which they play is part of the reason why I think they've got their best chance in 15 years of regaining the Ashes Down Under, because in 2010-11 when we went down there and won, we pushed back against Australia.'
Expect nothing less than hostility, fire and close contests as Ben Stokes' England come armed with their Bazball philosophy to try and get the better of a depleted Australia.
The Perth Stadium curator has promised the wicket will be green, fast and bouncy but Stokes offered no thoughts on whether England would attack with four quicks or pick the specialist spinner, Shoaib Bashir, in their 11.
England on Tuesday named a 16-man squad for the Ashes series starting in Australia in November with Ben Stokes, who is currently nursing a shoulder injury, set to return to lead the side.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 3rd Ashes Test played in Adelaide on Wednesday
Their last eight Tests in Perth have all been defeats, with the most recent setback a bitter innings and 41-run capitulation in 2017 that saw Joe Root's team surrender the urn.
Kane Williamson was included in the New Zealand squad for December's three-Test series against West Indies.
Captain Ben Stokes brushed off concerns about England's Ashes preparations on Wednesday, saying there was no way the squad could prepare in the same way touring teams of the past had, given the demands of the modern game.
Steve Smith said the decision to drop Nathan Lyonwas taken to strengthen the pace-bowling department.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction saw some foreign names earning big bucks, headlined by Aussie all-rounder Cameron Green
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are poised to reignite their rivalry at the ATP Finals, with the year-ending championship that begins on Sunday expected to produce another title showdown between the pair in a season that has belonged to them.
Carlos Alcaraz began his bid for a first ATP Finals trophy with a win over Alex de Minaur and Alexander Zverev overpowered Ben Shelton in their round-robin openers.
Australia captain Steve Smith has declined to rule out a surprise return for fast bowler Pat Cummins for the second Ashes Test against England.
