12:13 AM ET Cricket chiefs have implored the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) Trust not to abandon the ground’s natural wicket block and replace it with “unproven” drop-in pitches under pressure from the AFL. They believe such a move would run the risk of imposing “boring cricket” on spectators. This comes at a time when the

3:00 AM ET Paul Edwards Durham 199 for 5 (Bancroft 77) trail Lancashire 337 (Vilas 74, Rimmington 4-74) by 138 runs Cricket mattered very much at Sedbergh long before Lancashire contemplated playing here. It mattered even before the Ashes were a mischievous gleam in the eye of a Melbourne lady. And it therefore mattered well

Katherine Brunt bowling for England © Getty Images Katherine Brunt is desperate to finish her career with another Ashes series victory. That’s not to say the England quick – who turns 34 on Tuesday, the opening day of the series – will retire immediately if her side manages to win the Ashes back from Australia

3:00 AM ET England 337 for 7 (Bairstow 111, Stokes 79, Roy 66, Shami 5-69) beat India 306 (Rohit 102, Kohli 66, Plunkett 3-55) by 31 runs As it happened Jason Roy was back, despite not being fully fit. Jonny Bairstow was back to his monster-hitting mode. Liam Plunkett was back in the XI in

5:09 PM ET Virat Kohli has questioned Edgbaston’s short, 59-metre boundary where England openers picked off a substantial percentage of runs against the Indian bowlers. Although Kohli did not blame the shorter boundary for India’s first defeat of the World Cup, he did raise an eyebrow over the dimensions on one side, which he called

6:36 AM ET Liam Brickhill The Zimbabwe women team have pulled out of their tour of Ireland, citing funding and logistical issues. They were due to arrive in Ireland on Sunday ahead of a one-day and T20 series double-header with the men’s side, who are already in Ireland, but did not travel. The ongoing impasse

9:10 PM ET Wahab Riaz should be on a vacation. He wasn’t picked in Pakistan’s original 30. He wasn’t in the World Cup training camp. He wasn’t even in the XV originally named for this World Cup. Somebody in the camp told him to not book his holiday because you never know with Pakistan cricket.

3:00 AM ET Australia 243 for 9 (Khawaja 88, Carey 71, Boult 4-51) beat New Zealand 157 (Starc 5 for 26) by 86 runs Big-game temperament, they said. On a decent run of form, with players coming back in who will strengthen them further. Know how to win a World Cup (or five). Plenty of

9:16 AM ET Eoin Morgan has admitted England are prepared to take a risk with the fitness of Jason Roy and Jofra Archer in Sunday’s match against India. England go into the game knowing that they almost certainly need to win it to keep their World Cup hopes alive. As a result, they are desperate

3:58 PM ET For only the second time in the tournament, South Africa’s top order produced serious runs, and their bowlers knocked an opposition over cheaply, all in the same game. There’s an obvious criticism here: Of course they are playing well. There was no pressure on them in this game. Captain Faf du Plessis