Sussex have appealed to the England and Wales Cricket Board to consider introducing a T10 league alongside The Hundred so that smaller counties such as Sussex, Kent and Essex do not miss out on the financial windfall generated by the competition.
Although Sussex fall under the Southern Brave umbrella, the franchise’s home games are played in Southampton, leaving precious little cricket at Hove during the height of the English summer.
Sussex’s new Chairman Ed Warner has suggested that a secondary competition would keep smaller county venues such as Hove, Canterbury and Chelmsford busy while also providing opportunities for players who miss out on the riches of The Hundred.
Flintoff leaves England Lions role
Charismatic former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has stepped down from his role as England Lions coach.
Flintoff, the former England captain, had become hugely popular within the English set up and earned praise for the diligence with which he prepared young players for international cricket.
The ECB had been considerate of Flintoff’s other commitments and even released him to coach in the Big Bash League during the winter. However, Flintoff has now thrown in the towel, saying that juggling coaching and television work was taking too much time away from his family.
Stokes getting ready for coaching role
Although speculation over Ben Stokes featuring in the next Ashes has been doing the rounds in cricket circles, the former England captain has ruled out the prospect, insisting that he is done with international cricket.
Speaking on the podcast ‘For the Love of Cricket’, hosted by his former team mates Stuart Broad and Jos Buttler, Stokes revealed that he is currently working towards his Level Three coaching qualification.
Stokes, who abruptly retired following England’s recent series defeat to New Zealand, continues to turn out for his county Durham and has indicated that he remains available for franchise cricket.
The bigger picture, however, appears to be coaching and Stokes is already getting the paperwork in order for the next chapter of his career.
During the interview, Stokes went on record saying that he would love to coach England one day.
Afghanistan set to secure automatic World Cup qualification
Afghanistan were the most improved side at the last World Cup, narrowly missing out on a semi-final berth in 2023. The Afghans were so clinical that they defeated three former world champions, England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
They nearly pulled off another famous victory against Australia as well, only for a few costly mistakes to deny them a place in the last four.
They now appear well placed to qualify automatically for the 2027 World Cup after taking a 1-0 lead in their five match series against Ireland.
Only the top eight teams qualify automatically for the sport’s showpiece event and with a healthy gap opening up between eighth placed Afghanistan and ninth placed Bangladesh, the Afghans appear to have one foot in the tournament. The cut-off date for automatic qualification is September 30, 2026.
Galle win maiden Lanka Premier League title
Galle Gallants humbled Jaffna Kings to secure their maiden Lanka Premier League title at Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium on Saturday.
The hero for Galle was Charith Asalanka. The only difference was that this time he did the damage with the ball.
When Sanath Jayasuriya took over as Sri Lanka’s Head Coach, one of the things he insisted on was Asalanka spending sufficient time in the nets honing his bowling skills. That investment is now paying rich dividends, with his off-spin winning finals as well.
Asalanka claimed three for 20 as Galle restricted Jaffna to 123 before cruising home with more than four overs to spare. Fittingly, Asalanka was named Man of the Match.
Bangladesh shot out for 54 by rookie left-arm quick
Bangladesh’s first Test match on Australian soil in 23 years could prove a severe examination after they suffered a humiliating defeat in their warm up game, being bowled out for just 54 in 22 overs.
Rookie left-arm quick Campbell Thomson claimed eight wickets in the innings despite having featured in only one First Class match previously.
The obvious question now being asked is this: if the tourists struggled so badly against the 22-year-old South Australian, how will they cope with Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood?
Head, Nissanka and Atapattu named Players of the Year
Cricket awards ceremonies in Australia and Sri Lanka took place around the same time, with the highlight in Brisbane being Travis Head winning his second Allan Border Medal after edging out Alex Carey by a solitary vote.
Head had won the medal last year as well and followed it up with another terrific season during Australia’s Ashes triumph.
The great Allan Border, who has faced health challenges in recent years, was present to hand over the medal to Head, whose transformation from a middle order batter into an opener midway through the Ashes proved a masterstroke.
Meanwhile in Sri Lanka, Pathum Nissanka and Chamari Atapattu were recognised as the country’s leading players.
Dates fixed for Women’s Asia Cup but venue undecided
Dates for the Women’s Asia Cup have been finalised, with the eight nation tournament scheduled to take place from August 28 to September 13, although where it will be played remains unclear.
With India facing travel restrictions involving Bangladesh and Pakistan and vice versa, the tournament is expected to be staged either in the UAE or Sri Lanka. The Asian Cricket Council is yet to make an announcement on the venue.
This will be the sixth edition of the tournament, with Sri Lanka entering as defending champions after winning the title in Dambulla in 2024.
More injury woes for India
India have suffered another injury setback with batter Sai Sudharsan ruled out of the two match Test series against Sri Lanka.
Sudharsan had been nursing a toe injury and although it was initially expected to heal in time for the series, he failed to receive clearance from Bengaluru’s National Cricket Academy.
Sarfaraz Khan, a prolific run-scorer in the Ranji Trophy, has been named as his replacement. Sarfaraz boasts a First Class average of 65 from 62 matches but has often been overlooked by India because of concerns over his fitness.
Jasprit Bumrah, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana have already been ruled out, while Washington Sundar will miss the first Test.
