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Jofra Archer has been named in England’s provisional squad for the 2026 T20I World Cup despite still nursing a left side strain that ruled him out of the Ashes after the third Test.The 15-man squad also includes Josh Tongue, uncapped in international limited-overs cricket. Tongue has been drafted in by head coach Brendon McCullum and white-ball captain skipper Harry Brook as a strike bowler they believe will thrive on the flatter pitches expected for the tournament in India and Sri Lanka.Jamie Smith has been axed completely from the limited-overs set-up, which begins the new year with a pre-tournament tour of Sri Lanka, after a failed experiment at the top of the order. He has endured a tough Ashes tour – averaging 19.85 – which followed on from a torrid white ball run, which included four ducks in his last 10 ODI innings. He last played a T20I for England in June having been moved to open across both codes at the start of the year. Ben Duckett returns after missing the three T20Is in New Zealand ahead of the ongoing tour of Australia.Related

• Archer out of Ashes tour, Bethell replaces Pope for Boxing Day Test

Archer was England’s standout player of the Ashes before he picked up his injury during the third Test in Adelaide, which Australia won to secure the urn in just 11 days. The fast bowler registered nine wickets at 27.11, including 5 for 53 – his fourth five-wicket haul – in the first innings at Adelaide Oval. He also contributed with the bat, striking a maiden half-century in the same game as part of 102 runs at 25.50.Archer left Australia on Boxing Day evening, after day one of the fourth Test in Melbourne, and is currently recovering in Barbados under the supervision of the ECB’s medial team. He will miss the three ODIs and three T20Is in Sri Lanka, which starts from January 22, with Brydon Carse staying on after the 50-over matches to fill in. Archer is likely to join the squad in India ahead of their opening Group C match against Nepal in Mumbai on February 8.

England’s T20 WC group fixtures

• vs Nepal, February 8, Mumbai

• vs West Indies, February 11, Mumbai

• vs Bangladesh, February 14, Kolkata

• vs Italy, February 16, Kolkata

Tongue, though relatively inexperienced in T20 cricket with just 21 matches under his belt, has come to the fore with a string of impressive performances this year. He was the leading wicket-taker in this year’s men’s Hundred with 14 wickets and has impressed in the two Ashes Tests, with 12 at 18.58. That includes 5 for 45 at the MCG, as part of match figures of 7 for 89 which earned him the Mullagh Medal as Player of the Match in England’s first Test win in Australia since January 2011.Meanwhile, allrounder Will Jacks is back in both squads after missing the New Zealand tour, and Zak Crawley returns to the ODI set-up for the first time since 2023, looking to add to his eight caps. There is no place for Jordan Cox, or seamer Saqib Mahmood, who is still recovering from a knee injury that required minor surgery at the end of the 2025 home season.

England’s white-ball tour of Sri Lanka

• 1st ODI: January 22, Colombo

• 2nd ODI: January 24, Colombo

• 3rd ODI: January 27, Colombo

• 1st T20I: January 30, Kandy

• 2nd T20I: February 1, Kandy

• 3rd T20I: February 3, Kandy

Despite the tight turnaround after the Ashes – the group will leave the UK for Sri Lanka on January 18, ten days after the scheduled finish of the fifth Test in Sydney – England have decided not to rest their Test stars. Seven of the ODI squad have been out in Australia for the duration, including Joe Root, who turned 35 on Tuesday.Leaning on experience speaks to the importance of correcting England’s ailing white-ball fortunes, and the need for McCullum to restate his worth after a demoralising Ashes tour.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Since assuming control of the limited-overs team at the start of 2025 alongside his Test head coach role, McCullum has overseen six wins and five defeats in 13 T20Is – he skipped the Ireland tour which England won 2-0 – and lost 11 of 15 ODI matches in charge. The latter means automatic qualification for 2027’s 50-over World Cup is not a foregone conclusion, with the top-eight-ranked sides progressing to the main tournament. England are eighth as it stands, ahead of West Indies and Bangladesh.Success in the T20 World Cup would no doubt ease the pressure on McCullum. England finished as semi-finalists in 2024’s edition, losing to eventual winners India, which ultimately cost former white-ball coach Matthew Mott his job as head coach. England previously won the tournament in 2010 and 2022.

England squad for Sri Lanka T20Is and provisional squad for T20 World Cup

Harry Brook (capt), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer (World Cup only), Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse (Sri Lanka tour only), Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Josh Tongue, Luke Wood

England ODI squad for Sri Lanka tour

Harry Brook (capt), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Luke Wood

Sunderland played out their final game of a jaw-dropping 2025 when drawing 1-1 with Leeds United.

It really has been a dream year from a Black Cats perspective, with promotion finally achieved back up to the Premier League.

Yet, the Wearside giants were only getting started with that stunning feat, looking back, with four defeats from 18 top-flight games to date, seeing Regis Le Bris’ men enter into 2026 in a more than healthy seventh spot.

Sunderland fans would have been content if their team had stumbled to a 17th-place finish come the end of their first season back in the big time, as the hardened Stadium of Light masses leap into the New Year firmly in dreamland.

However, it isn’t all entirely rosy on Wearside, with Chris Rigg struggling to adapt to the pressures of the Premier League after a breakout campaign under Le Bris.

Rigg's struggles at Sunderland

For an 18-year-old still learning the ropes, it does feel as if Rigg has been in and around the senior picture at Sunderland for some time now

Indeed, he was only 15 years of age when Tony Mowbray would hand him his first-ever senior shot in the FA Cup.

But, while he had been gifted opportunities here and there to shine, it was last season, under Le Bris’ watchful eye, where the homegrown talent really came into his own as a consistent first-team presence.

Rigg would amazingly line up for 45 Championship clashes under the Frenchman, having only been afforded 21 league appearances the campaign before, and it would prove to be a masterstroke to make him a guaranteed starter.

The 12-time England U19 international would pick up four goals and one assist as his team were crowned playoff winners, with commentator Ian Darke stating that he will “obviously play in the Premier League”, even if Sunderland didn’t secure a passage up to the promised land.

He was also dubbed a “phenomenal” talent by scout Ben Mattinson, with the playoff final further seeing him bravely win two tackles and three duels for his boyhood employers.

Unfortunately for the teenage sensation, he is yet to look comfortable on such a grand stage, despite once being tipped to move to Manchester United, with zero goals or assists coming his way from only 253 minutes of action.

With Sunderland reportedly set to go after Ayyoub Bouaddi to enhance their midfield personnel, Rigg could slide down the pecking order even more.

But, with Le Bris’ track record evident with Rigg, they might well be better bumping up another academy gem to bolster his options, instead of forking out more major cash on the Arsenal-linked starlet.

Sunderland are already brewing a homegrown Bouaddi

Bouaddi really is the talk of the town in the Premier League heading into what will surely be a chaotic January window, with the 18-year-old – who has already been dubbed “world-class” by scout Jacek Kulig – on the shopping list of the likes of Chelsea and Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, away from the ultra-ambitious Black Cats.

Comfortable lining up as a defensive option centrally, or further forward, the Lille golden boy has four assists next to his name from 74 senior appearances, leading to the much-talked-about number 32 having an audacious £52m valuation slapped above his head.

Bouaddi is clearly heading for a major move in January, off the back of already being a Champions League-level star at the tender age of 18, with Sunderland hopeful they can compete with their mega-rich rivals in attempting to land his coveted signature.

But, if they realistically fall short, they won’t feel too downbeat, with Harrison Jones sticking out as a similarly silky performer from the middle of the park for the Black Cats at U21 level.

Jones’ numbers for Sunderland

Stat

Jones

Games played

74

Senior appearances

7

Goals scored

16

Assists

14

Sourced by Transfermarkt

Equally capable of playing as a midfield anchor or further up the pitch as a number ten, much like Bouaddi, Jones can also boast a seriously impressive haul of 16 goals and 14 assists from 67 youth appearances and counting.

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Six of those goal contributions have come just this season in Premier League 2 action, as the Sunderland-born “diamond” – as he was once labelled by youth coach John Hewitson – continues to stick out as a classy youngster centrally, like his £52m counterpart.

He wouldn’t cost a single penny to bump into the first team picture, unlike the bank having to be broken to land Bouaddi, with Sunderland more than vindicated in the past when bumping up the likes of Rigg to the men’s side, even if he has disappointingly fallen to the wayside since promotion was sealed.

Of course, Bouaddi has already been exposed to the difficult pressures of stages such as the Premier League to justify such a lavish price tag, with nine Champions League outings even under his belt.

Still, it feels far-fetched that Le Bris and Co. will be able to tempt him to Wearside, with Jones more than a standout alternative, having regularly been named on the bench by the Frenchman this season.

Related Sunderland plot move to sign Serie A forward who wants Premier League switch

The Black Cats could turn to the transfer market once again.

Posts ByTom Cunningham

India have picked seamer Mohammed Shami for the World T20 and Asia Cup. Shami came back from Australia with a hamstring injury, and has not played for India since the 2015 World Cup. Virat Kohli, who has been rested for the three T20Is against Sri Lanka, also came back duly, replacing Manish Pandey in the 15-man squad. Shami took Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s place.

India T20 squad for World T20 and Asia Cup

MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Mohammed Shami, Pawan Negi.
In: Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami
Out: Manish Pandey, Bhuvneshwar Kumar

The selection of Shami was a calculated risk. He had not proved his match fitness at the time of the announcement, on February 5. India’s first match in the World T20 is on March 15, against New Zealand. The advantage with Shami is that from now we have 30 days before we start the World T20,” chairman of selectors Sandeep Patil said. “Also we have the Asia Cup. So we have good time for making a call on Shami. He has been one of our best bowlers. He has recovered, he has started bowling. That’s what I can say at the moment.”Apart from the XI that beat Australia 3-0 in the T20I series in Australia, India selected Ajinkya Rahane, Shami, Harbhajan Singh and left-arm spinner Pawan Negi. The uncapped Negi is the only left-field selection in the squad. He used to play for Chennai Super Kings, and represents Delhi in domestic cricket. He bowls quick left-arm spin, and is a big hitter down the order.In a press conference in Australia, Dhoni had said the four players outside the XI should be able to fit in more than one slot should a need arise. Negi can do that: on a turning pitch he can play the role Hardik Pandya did, and he can also replace Ravindra Jadeja as the specialist spinner.Rahane, who used to open for Rajasthan Royals, can slot in at the top of order should Shikhar Dhawan, who has not scored an international half-century and strikes at 120 per 100 balls in all T20 cricket, fail. Rahane can also play a role in the middle order if required.Dhoni had also said that Harbhajan would play if the opposition has many left-hand batsmen. It is Harbhajan’s experience and hitting ability down the order that come in handy, according to Dhoni.The big change from India’s last WorldT20 squad was the absence of legspinner Amit Mishra, who was India’s second-highest wicket-taker. While he has come back into the Test team since then, he has not played a Twenty20 for India.

The formal process of appointing Bangladesh’s new coach has commenced with John Harmer making his presentation to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) officials. The panel members were impressed with Harmer’s knowledge of bowling and bio-mechanics and said that the formal appointment would have to wait till next month once the remaining candidates are interviewed.”His knowledge of the game, error detection, and expertise on bowling impressed us,” Gazi Ashraf Hossain, a panel member was quoted in the . “However, it is too early to detail the outcome because we have just started the process.”Hossain said that Harmer would conduct a training session on Saturday with the contracted players not included in the squad for the Twenty20 World Championship, at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.Bangladesh are hoping to complete the process ahead of the tour of New Zealand in December. Zimbabwean Dave Houghton and Australian Jamie Siddons are the other two candidates. The team is currently under coach Shaun Williams, filling in on a temporary basis through the World Championship later this month.”David Houghton is likely to make his presentation in September and we can only give you a clear picture after the interview ends,” Hossain said. “But we must do it before the New Zealand tour in December.”Harmer, the former England women’s coach, expressed satisfaction after the meeting said – if appointed – his aim would be to improve Bangladesh’s world ranking, taking it one step at a time.”It was a very good meeting where we had a lot of discussions and negotiations,” Harmer said. “I want to make the team a little better than what they are at the moment, if I got the job. Bangladesh is a leading international side, ranked eighth after the World Cup and I will try to make them number seven at first.”

‘The pitch is going to play a part and we are looking to get the better part of it – Lara © Getty Images

Brian Lara has lifted his game ever so many times when up against the bestin the world. He was hoping his team would do just that as they take onAustralia at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Speaking at a pre-matchmedia briefing he said, “We have beaten the opposition [Australia] in thelast month and that’s a positive. We are going to ensure that the guysknow that and the biggest positive is the fact that the pitch is going toplay a part and we are looking to get the better part of it.”Lara did not place too much stress on the pitch, which has come in forplenty of criticism in the wake of the South Africa-New Zealand match.”Firstly you have to play on whatever pitch you’re given. There’s nothingyou can do about it,” he said. “What’s confusing is the fact that New Zealand batted first and didn’t put up a total on the board and SouthAfrica batted second and did not do well.”At the same time, Lara stressed on the importance of playing smartcricket. “It’s important for the team batting first to put up a goodtotal. It’s up to the people at CCI (Brabourne Stadium) to try and get things improved and the final is here as well. So we hope the pitches will improve,” he said.”It’s not the sort of pitch where you can think of 275 or 300 being on thecards. We will be looking to score as much as possible, analyse thesituation as early as possible.”Interestingly, Lara also said the pitch was not necessarily one where thebetter team would win. “It’s not a surface on which the better team isgoing to win, it’s the team that plays better will win,” he said.”Whatever you do first, do it to the best of your ability and take totaladvantage of the game at that stage.”Lara added that he and his team were putting the thumping loss against SriLanka behind them and looking to adapt as quickly as possible to theconditions before them. “We are the defending champions and there’s a certainstyle of play that we have to adapt to. The defeat on Saturday had noramifications on our position in the tournament and that all the teamshave started on zero and we are moving forward on that positive thinking.It’s a question of having belief in your players.”

Alan Kourie: ‘We are grateful to have two such prestigious companies joining forces to support our team’ © Cricinfo Ltd.

Minolta South Africa, a Bidvest Group company, have announced a R1.5million sponsorship deal with the Highveld Lions side for the next year.A long-standing supporter of South African sport, Minolta SA has decided to shift its focus to cricket and Alan Griffith, their managing director, said that the agreement with the Highveld Lions reflects Konica Minolta’s ongoing support of local and national sport initiatives. “We are proud to be associated with a well-established sport like cricket, a team like the Highveld Lions and our co-sponsors, 94.7,” he said.Minolta had been involved with cricket earlier as well – they sponsored West Indies’ first tour to South Africa in 1998-99; they have had a major sponsorship in cycling, with the successful Conica Minolta team; and have also been involved with with the Free State rugby team. Alan Kourie, the CEO of New Heights, the governing body of Gauteng Professional cricket, said “We are grateful to have two such prestigious companies joining forces to support our team”.Both Minolta SA and the Highveld Lions are looking forward to a mutually beneficial relationship and hope to renegotiate the sponsorship once the one-year agreement comes to an end.

Shane Warne: wouldn’t be surprised if Murali made a late entrance© Getty Images

Shane Warne hasn’t ruled out the possibility of Muttiah Muralitharan taking part in the Test series against Australia, even though Murali announced he would not be taking part for personal reasons.Murali, the leading wicket-taker in Tests with 527, is actually due to be in Australia during the series for a promotional event, and Warne, who is only eight wickets behind on the list, won’t be surprised if Murali ends up putting his whites on after all.According to an AAP report, Warne said: “It might be a tactical thing they’re trying, maybe a couple of days before the first Test he might just rock up and play.” He continued, “It’s something I feel might happen. I am not saying it’s definitely going to happen. I just wouldn’t be surprised.”Meanwhile, Warne welcomed the selectors’ decision to recall Stuart MacGill, the legspinner. “He did well up in Darwin and Cairns last year, so if they decide to play two spinners, good,” said Warne. “I am a bit biased. I always like to see the spin bowlers. The more spin bowlers, the better.”The first Test starts at Darwin on Thursday, July 1.

At its meeting yesterday, the ECB Management Board endorsed the recommendations contained within the Report of the Chairman of the International Teams Management Group (ITMG), Dennis Amiss, reviewing England’s Winter Tours 2002/3.The Report reinforced Duncan Fletcher’s role as ‘Manager’ (in addition to Head Coach) of the England Team on tour and for home series and, in so doing, rejected the idea of creating an additional Tour Manager role.The Report also recommended some areas of fine-tuning and improvement aimed at achieving greater integration of the England Team within the ECB’s operations.The main areas being:

The England Head Coach will now have a direct reporting line to the Director of Cricket Operations (John Carr) as opposed to the Chief Executive, as the DCO is better placed to devote the required time to England Team issues.

The DCO will, in future, be in more frequent direct communication with the England players to ensure they have a clear understanding of the Board’s policies, ethos and objectives.

The Team Operations Manager (Phil Neale) will play an enhanced role within the England team management structure, ensuring daily two-way communication between the England touring party and the DCO.

Communication protocols are to be put in place to ensure improved communication on cricketing, administrative and medical issues between England Management, ECB personnel and the Professional Cricketers Association.It has also been agreed that David Graveney will be submitting a detailed paper for the late August ITMG meeting on proposed selection procedures and policies taking into account the recent change in composition of the Selection Panel.

Cricket clubs, especially those with adequate financial resources,have been strongly urged to develop their facilities.Doing so would ensure that Barbados moves into a position to playfirst-class matches outside of Kensington Oval and also have enoughgrounds to quality for hosting regional tournaments such as the RedStripe Bowl, says Minister of Sports Rudolph Cappy Greenidge.He threw out the challenge to clubs in an address at the BarbadosCricket Association’s (BCA) 2000 awards ceremony at Kensington Oval onFriday night.I am going to appeal to clubs, especially those clubs with money to dowhatever is possible to upgrade their grounds, clubhouses and ourcricket generally, Greenidge told the small audience.There are clubs with money that are doing absolutely nothing to helpus. We are lagging behind places like Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago andGuyana when it comes to having three or four grounds that we can playcricket at simultaneously in any particular tournament.Since the inception of the Red Stripe Bowl in 1997, Barbados havenever hosted a leg of the competition. Jamaica, which can boast ofhaving at least six grounds capable of staging such matches, will hosta zone for the fifth successive year next month, while Guyana, whichhas just as many grounds, will do so for the third time in five years.Whenever you are having a regional tournament now, the teams come intoone island and play at Ground 1, 2 and 3, Greenidge said. All of thosegrounds would have to be at a certain level. We do not have that leveland I believe that the time has come for us to move away fromKensington as being the only place that we have that we can playcricket like that.The Windward Club ground in Lucas Street, St Philip, was utilised lastyear for a first-class match between Barbados and South Africa A, butit was not used during this year’s Busta Cup when each of Barbados’six home matches was played at Kensington.Greenidge identified Windward, the North Stars ground in Crab Hill, StLucy, and the Cable & Wireless BET ground in Wildey as those withpotential to hold regional matches.We have grounds in Barbados that are up there and they are almostready but we need to spend some money to get us up to where Jamaica,Trinidad and Guyana are, he added.The sports minister also urged the BCA to try to have its annualawards ceremony no later than four weeks after the completion of theseason, as the celebratory effect could be diminished if it was heldwell after the season.He, however, commended the BCA for its innovations for this domesticseason, which included the introduction of covers and a new format inwhich matches were played over two successive days, starting at 10:30a.m. daily.No one can ever criticise the BCA for that. It is history that whoeveris president, whoever is responsible for those initiatives, especiallycovers, must at some time be regarded as a person or as a group ofpersons to have made a significant contribution to cricket inBarbados, Greenidge said.He observed that in an effort to attain outright results over the twodays, some teams were approaching batting in a rush and he suggestedthat half-hour could be added to the beginning and end of each day’splay, thereby extending the match by a further two hours.He also lauded the BCA for having a benefit match for Winston Reidearlier this year and said he hoped there could a chain of benefitmatches for those who have contributed so much to cricket.

ScorecardMark Cosgrove gave his side some batting ballast•Getty Images

Captain Mark Cosgrove hit his first home century for Leicestershire as the Foxes passed 300 for the first time in 15 county championship innings.The Australian hit 15 fours and a six in going to his hundred off 114 deliveries before edging the following delivery, from Mark Footitt, to first slip, where opposite number Wayne Madsen held the catch.Earlier Madsen had been left unbeaten on 172, made from 292 balls, after Derbyshire lost their two remaining first innings wickets in adding 25 runs to their overnight score of 320-8.Footitt registered a first class career best with the bat, scoring 31 before losing his middle stump to Charlie Shreck, and when last man Ben Cotton was bowled by Clint McKay for 1, it left captain Madsen unbeaten.When Leicestershire began their response, opener Angus Robson scored a quick-fire unbeaten half-century, a badly needed effort by the Foxes after losing Robson’s fellow opener Lewis Hill, caught at second slip by Wes Durston off the bowling of Mark Foottit for 5, and then Ned Eckersley, run out without scoring at the non-striker’s end after being sent back by Robson, to leave them wobbling on 15-2.Robson was dismissed by Footitt in the second over after lunch, going back to a rising delivery from Footitt and edging to wicket-keeper Harvey Hosein.The home team then lost Aadil Ali, leg before on the back foot to Tony Palladino for 10, but Cosgrove and Niall O’Brien compiled a partnership of 97 for the fifth wicket before Cosgrove’s dismissal.Soon afterwards, however, Madsen took Footitt out of the attack after the left-armer received a second official warning for running on to the pitch in his follow through. He returned after tea from the opposite end, picking up the wicket of Ben Raine caught at square leg after being hit painfully by the previous delivery.Palladino, in an outstanding spell after tea, had already bowled Andrea Agathangelou, and when Niall O’Brien edged Shiv Thakor to Hosein for 60, Leicestershire were again in danger of being dismissed for less than 300.But Rob Sayer, on his first class debut, and Clint McKay, steered the Foxes to a rare third batting bonus point.