Refreshed Stokes clears the air with England before New Zealand Test

Returning to his native Christchurch is having a positive effect on the captain and hopefully will lift his side tooCome rain or shine, New Zealand cricketers tend to wear a smile on their faces. But this week there is a palpable glow around the place, that remarkable clean sweep in India, coupled with victory for the women’s team in the T20 World Cup, still fresh in the memory. Hagley Oval is sold out for the first Test against England, folks drawn to its inviting grass banks.English cricket has felt a little less cheery by contrast, be it their women’s team flunking that latest shot at a global title, the continuing culture war as the sale of the Hundred teams gathers pace, or the men’s Test side having lost in Pakistan to reopen the debate about the merits of so-called Bazball. Ben Stokes seemed to embody the mood in Pakistan, his return from a hamstring injury resulting in what he calls one of his toughest trips

RFU’s annual report shows a worrying decline. Has it lost its purpose? | Gerard Meagher

Beneath headline figures of the chief executive’s bumper income, what does the RFU stand for and want to achieve?There have been suggestions in recent years, little more than rumours – though plenty of them – that the Rugby Football Union’s chief executive, Bill Sweeney, might have been preparing his exit strategy. That finding a replacement for Eddie Jones could be his parting gift, that negotiating the new eight-year agreement with the Premiership could be his intended legacy. Eventually the whispers grew loud enough that Sweeney publicly denied it and, after it emerged on Monday he was paid £1.1m thanks to the maturation of a bonus three years in the making, we appear to have a pretty good idea as to why.The first thing to say about Sweeney’s eye-watering raise – a performance-based payment of £358,000 on top of a base salary of £742,000 – is that you can hardly blame him for taking it

‘Nightmare’: Juan Martín del Potro lives with daily pain after tennis career

Former US Open champion Juan Martín del Potro has detailed the toll injuries took on his career and the pain he still experiences.The 36-year-old’s last professional tournament came in February 2022 at the Argentina Open, when he hinted his career was over after a first-round loss. He had not played in the three years before that after fracturing his knee at Queen’s in 2019.In an Instagram video on Monday, the Argentinian spoke about how his injuries still affect him.“My daily life isn’t what I would like it to be

Jacob Bethell, ‘cool cat’ and England rookie, thrust into Test spotlight

Debutant has impressed everyone from a young age but can he carry off batting No 3 against New Zealand?Moments after the applause in the England huddle at Hagley Oval that signposted Jacob Bethell’s impending Test debut at No 3, the sound system they use to keep training sessions upbeat began blaring out The Gambler by Kenny Rogers. Even for a leadership group that likes a punt, this feels their biggest yet.Bowlers can burst through with little by way of their back catalogue; bolters elevated on the basis of raw ingredients. England have had a few in their recent past, like Shoaib Bashir – first-class bowling average of 67 when called up – or Rehan Ahmed, a five-fer on Test debut aged 18. Pat Cummins is one Australian example, with nine Shield wickets at 46 when he first pulled on his baggy green in 2011

The Breakdown | Modern Test margins can be wafer thin but winners and losers are clear

Springboks are head and shoulders above the chasing pack and the Autumn Nations Series has raised the stakesFirst among equals There is still the small matter of Ireland v Australia on Saturday but that is not going to alter this autumn’s unavoidable fact: South Africa remain the best team in the world. Or, to boil it down to its essence, the hardest to beat. They can bash teams up, slice them open out wide, kick them to death or simply outlast them: in short, they have every angle covered. The outstanding Pieter-Steph Du Toit was a deserving winner of the men’s World Player of the Year award in Monaco on Sunday but it could have been any one of several Springboks. Eben Etzebeth and Ox Nché were right on Du Toit’s tail and Cheslin Kolbe and Siya Kolisi, among others, finished the year in splendid form

ECB to continue with controversial Kookaburra in County Championship

As the ink dried on the latest million-pound Indian Premier League contracts, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) released details for the men’s 2025 County Championship season. It is one that looks largely the same as 2024, only with some tinkering around the edges with the Kookaburra ball and the trial of hybrid pitches continuing for another year.The Kookaburra experiment continues, despite audible discontent from some bowlers and the outgoing Surrey director of cricket Alec Stewart describing it “as the worst decision ever”. But the early season dalliance has been binned – after 16,817 runs were scored in the first two rain-hit rounds for only one result – and instead the Dukes will be substituted for the Kookaburrain rounds nine-12 in late June and July.Sign up to The SpinSubscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week’s actionafter newsletter promotion“There is a difference of opinion,” said Alan Fordham, the ECB’s operations manager and the man tasked with trying to stuff an ever-increasing cricket calendar into a six-month pot