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Received today — 16 December 2025

Usman Khawaja left out of Australia’s XI for third Ashes Test in Adelaide

15 December 2025 at 20:33
  • Veteran batter’s omission means Josh Inglis retains spot at No 7

  • Travis Head to open as Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon return to side

Usman Khawaja could be facing the end of his international career after being overlooked for the third Ashes Test. Pat Cummins, who will return to captain Australia after what he called an “aggressive” rehabilitation from his back injury, has just about kept the door ajar for the opener.

Cummins is one of two changes for the hosts as they look to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in this Ashes series. Nathan Lyon makes a comeback on his former home ground, with Brendon Doggett and Michael Neser the bowlers to miss out despite the latter’s five-wicket haul in Brisbane.

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© Photograph: Philip Brown/Getty Images

© Photograph: Philip Brown/Getty Images

© Photograph: Philip Brown/Getty Images

Received yesterday — 15 December 2025

England face daunting task as Ashes series resumes in shadow of tragedy

15 December 2025 at 15:00

Sunday’s events in Bondi have stunned Australia and the watching world before a third Test that could be a decisive one for this England team’s legacy

Adelaide may be 1,300km to the west of Bondi but the sense of pain in the city has been no less for the distance. People are in shock here trying to make sense of the horrors that unfolded on Sunday evening – a day that was supposed to be one of celebration for Sydney’s Jewish community.

As the first national public event being staged in Australia since, the third Ashes Test that starts here on Wednesday will play out to a sombre backdrop. The flags at Adelaide Oval will fly at half-mast, a minute’s silence will be observed before the toss, while players are likely to wear black armbands throughout. Inevitably, security for the match has been increased.

It will doubtless be an emotional week for Australia’s players and not least given the number of links to New South Wales within their squad. Nathan Lyon summed up the helplessness many were feeling on Monday, offering thoughts and prayers to those affected before admitting: “Nothing I’m going to say right now is going to make anyone feel any better.”

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© Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

© Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

© Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

If Harry Brook is truly a generational talent, that promise needs to be delivered now | Barney Ronay

15 December 2025 at 10:42

Arguably the poster-boy for Bazball, England’s vice-captain is in dire need of an innings of substance in Adelaide

“They were shocking shots. I’ll admit that every day of the week. Especially the one in Perth. It was nearly a bouncer and I’ve tried to drive it. It was just bad batting. The one in Brisbane I’ve tried to hit it for six. That’s what I mean when I say I need to rein it in a bit.”

Oh yes, Harry. This is real transgression. Inject that mild good sense into my throbbing veins. Trash talk binned. Mind games deactivated. Tell me about reining it in again. Shock me with your filthy, filthy conservatism. Talk sensible to me baby.

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© Photograph: Robbie Stephenson/PA

© Photograph: Robbie Stephenson/PA

© Photograph: Robbie Stephenson/PA

Ben Stokes calls on England to show some ‘dog’ in Adelaide and keep Ashes hopes alive

15 December 2025 at 07:00
  • Captain cites summer Lord’s win over India as good example

  • England must win in Adelaide to have chance of regaining the Ashes

Ben Stokes has called on his England players to summon up the rage witnessed against India in the summer and show some “dog” as they look to keep their slim Ashes hopes alive in Adelaide.

After going 2-0 down in Brisbane, Stokes spoke of Australia being “no country for weak men” and stressed the same went for the England dressing room under his captaincy. Looking ahead to the third Test that gets under way on Wednesday, that comment was seemingly no slip of the tongue.

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© Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

© Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

© Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

England make one change for third Ashes Test as Harry Brook vows to ‘rein it in’

15 December 2025 at 01:18
  • Josh Tongue comes in for Gus Atkinson for Adelaide Test

  • Brook rues ‘shocking shots’ in Perth and Brisbane

England have made one change to their line-up for the third Ashes Test, with Josh Tongue coming in as a like-for-like replacement for Gus Atkinson in the bowling attack.

Seamer Atkinson failed to take a wicket in the series opener in Perth, although he did make a useful 37 runs with the bat in the second innings, before returning figures of 3-151 in the second Test in Brisbane.

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© Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

© Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

© Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

Cricket commentator Michael Vaughan says hearing gunshots at Bondi was ‘terrifying’

14 December 2025 at 22:50
  • Former England cricket captain is in Australia for Ashes series

  • Pat Cummins and Usman Khawaja lead tributes to victims

Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan has described hearing gunshots during the terrorist attack at a gathering to celebrate the first night of Hanukah at Sydney’s Bondi beach as “terrifying”.

Vaughan, who is in Australia working as a media pundit for the Ashes series, said he was locked in a restaurant “a few hundred yards from the attack” with his wife, two daughters, sister-in-law and a friend.

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© Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA

© Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA

© Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA

Received before yesterday

England need to be introduced to concept of consequences after Ashes flops | Mark Ramprakash

14 December 2025 at 13:00

Players and coaches need to realise they will not be immune if fortunes do not change in the third Test in Adelaide

There’s always a lot of white noise around an Ashes series but at the moment for England it must be overwhelming, not just given their performances in the first two Tests but because of the mid-tour break they’ve just been on, with assorted media and attention-seekers following them around the beaches of Noosa.

I absolutely understand that Brendon McCullum’s priority is to do what he believes is right for the team, but the optics around that trip were not great and many England fans, who have spent their hard-earned money travelling to Australia with little reward so far, will be quick to bring it up if they produce another poor display.

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© Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

© Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

© Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

Brendon McCullum backs England batters and shrugs off job questions

14 December 2025 at 00:23
  • At 2-0 down, England are desperate for a win in Adelaide

  • Coach says ‘kneejerk reactions’ are ‘not really our way’

The series is on the line and, in all likelihood, jobs with it. But for Brendon McCullum, the latter is irrelevant. The England head coach has instead backed an unchanged top seven to deliver a fightback in the third Ashes Test and flip a narrative that has already featured talk of a whitewash bubble up.

At 2-0 down with three to play, all wiggle room has disappeared for England. But talk of Ollie Pope potentially being dropped, or even Ben Stokes moving to No 3, was shot down by McCullum as his players resumed training in Adelaide on Sunday afternoon. No going back now was the message.

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© Photograph: Robbie Stephenson/PA

© Photograph: Robbie Stephenson/PA

© Photograph: Robbie Stephenson/PA

England caught up in Ashes media fallout over security guard’s row with TV crew

13 December 2025 at 05:25
  • Channel Seven airs footage of Brisbane airport incident

  • ‘This matter is being taken seriously,’ says broadcaster

England’s embattled tour of Australia suffered a public relations setback on Saturday as the result of a testy altercation between a member of security staff and a local camera operator at Brisbane airport.

In footage released by Channel Seven, England’s minder Colin Rhooms is heard repeatedly telling the camera operator Nick Carrigan to “get out of my face, mate” and eventually pushing him back as he attempted to film players in transit.

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© Photograph: 7NEWS Australia/YouTube

© Photograph: 7NEWS Australia/YouTube

© Photograph: 7NEWS Australia/YouTube

Even Bazball’s implosion can’t shake Barmy Army’s crew of Ashes veterans | Emma John

12 December 2025 at 03:00

If anyone knows how to weather a whitewash, it’s the merry band of England fans marking their 30th anniversary at their spiritual home

Courage, soldier. Ben Stokes’s England team may be heading into the third Ashes Test already 2-0 down, but not everyone in English cricket is fazed. There is one group tailor-made for this scenario, a crack(pot) unit who can lay claim to be the ultimate doomsday preppers. Have your dreams been shattered? Are you crushed beneath the weight of unmet expectation? Then it’s time to join the Barmy Army, son.

Already their advance guard are moving in on Adelaide, the city where they officially formed 30 years ago. England’s most famous – and per capita noisiest – travelling fans will be hoping for an anniversary win-against-the-odds, like the one they witnessed on that 1994-95 tour. And whatever happens on the pitch, off it the parties will be long and loud.

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© Photograph: Bradley Kanaris/CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bradley Kanaris/CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bradley Kanaris/CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images

‘Having a Bazball at Noosa’: Australian media goes to town over England’s mid-Ashes beach break

9 December 2025 at 20:49

The host nation’s newspapers could barely contain their delight after Ben Stokes and his team were spotted relaxing before the crucial third Test

A mid-tour jaunt by the England cricket team to a Queensland beach town was covered gleefully by Australia’s tabloid newspapers, which splashed a shirtless Ben Stokes across their pages amid taunting headlines.

“On back foot, England bails to the beach”, one read. “Life’s a beach, even for the sinking Poms,” added another. “Sun’s out, runs out”, offered a third, alongside a photo of Stokes’s tattooed biceps.

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© Composite: The West Australian / Herald Sun / Courier Mail

© Composite: The West Australian / Herald Sun / Courier Mail

© Composite: The West Australian / Herald Sun / Courier Mail

Pat Cummins primed for return as Australia name squad for third Ashes Test

9 December 2025 at 19:53
  • Captain back at the helm in Adelaide after missing first two Tests

  • Usman Khawaja remains in frame despite back injury concerns

Australian veteran Usman Khawaja remains in the frame for selection for the third Ashes Test after being included in the squad for Adelaide headlined by the return of captain Pat Cummins.

Khawaja was left out of the second Test XI after struggling with a back injury during the series opener in Perth, and new opener Jake Weatherald broke through with his first half century at the Gabba.

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© Photograph: Hollie Adams/Reuters

© Photograph: Hollie Adams/Reuters

© Photograph: Hollie Adams/Reuters

England’s Ashes approach is scrambling the brains of the next cricketing generation | Mark Ramprakash

9 December 2025 at 13:00

This squad aren’t just throwing away the series, they’re messing up the minds of the young cricketers I try to coach

The cracks are starting to show with this England team and with the narrative we’ve been fed for three years after another defeat. Their identity of always taking the aggressive option, of relentlessly putting pressure on their opponents, isn’t holding up to scrutiny. So far in this series they haven’t had the strength needed to achieve it, and they haven’t had the skills either.

I was confident that they could win the Ashes this time, mainly because I thought there was quality in the squad and that they had adapted their game to add intelligence and adaptability to their armoury. It’s becoming clear that neither of those beliefs were completely true. And meanwhile I’m seeing things at home that make me worry that this team aren’t just messing up this series, they’re messing up a whole generation of young cricketers.

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© Photograph: Philip Brown/Getty Images

© Photograph: Philip Brown/Getty Images

© Photograph: Philip Brown/Getty Images

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