Scott Barrett fit to return and captain All Blacks against England at Twickenham

Scott Barrett has come back to captain the All Blacks against England at Twickenham this weekendBarrett had 12 stitches threaded in his leg after he sustained a cut beneath his knee playing against Ireland a fortnight ago, and missed his team’s 25-17 victory against Scotland at Murrayfield last week, but Scott Robertson, the New Zealand head coach, confirmed that he had played a full part in training and will be ready for the England game.“We’ve gone for our best team for this game, for this Test,” Robertson said. “It’s remarkable that he healed so well, once you saw the cut. The Barretts must have some good skin.” His older brother Beauden will start at fly-half again, but younger brother Jordie is back in New Zealand having treatment on the ankle injury he suffered in that same match against Ireland

‘No progress’: county cricket clubs criticised for continued lack of diversity

The 18 first-class counties have been criticised by the England and Wales Cricket Board for failing to make any progress in increasing the ethnic and gender diversity of their senior leadership.The State of Equity in Cricket Report published on Thursday, which was first commissioned in the wake of the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal, shows that minority ethnic and female representation among the county chairs and chief executives has not improved since 2019 despite repeated calls for change from the ECB.Yorkshire’s chief executive, Sanjay Patel, who was previously chief commercial officer at the ECB and managing director of the Hundred, is the only county executive from an ethnically diverse background. Kent’s Krishna Shanmuganathan, who took office earlier this year, is the only minority ethnic chair.Lisa Pursehouse was a longstanding chief executive at Nottinghamshire, but left the club in September, with Emma White hired by Leicestershire the same month

Ashes injury scare for England with Mark Wood in hospital for scan on hamstring

England endured the most chilling of starts to their Ashes warm-up with a potential injury to Mark Wood meaning the key fast bowler will start the second day of their solitary pre-series fixture in hospital rather than on the pitch.Wood reported “stiffness in his hamstring” at the end of his second four-over spell against the Lions at Lilac Hill and will have a precautionary scan on Friday morning to assess the extent of any damage.England’s plan had been for Wood to bowl eight overs across the opening day against the Lions, a number he reached in the hour after lunch. The 35-year-old immediately left the field and, though sources in the England camp initially put this down to thirst, when he failed to return after tea a more sobering update emerged.This is Wood’s first game of any kind since England’s Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan in Lahore in February

England reveal Ashes blueprint only for Mark Wood injury scare to threaten ripping it up

Eight days before the curtain rises on the Ashes in the sold-out enormodome that is Perth’s Optus Stadium, England’s campaign began in semi-earnest a few actual kilometres and a million metaphorical miles away in front of a few dozen spectators in leafy, sedate Lilac Hill.What followed was intriguing, at times even encouraging, but for news of a potentially significant injury, and, while Ben Stokes had promised “balls-to-the-wall” action, it was more jaws to the floor as news of Mark Wood’s stiff left hamstring filtered through in mid-afternoon.England had revealed their blueprint for the first Test in naming a lineup featuring five seam options including Stokes himself and no full-time spinner, with Shoaib Bashir relegated to the Lions team. But however carefully it is prepared, sometimes a blueprint is destined to become nothing but shredder-fodder.With Wood’s participation in next Friday’s opening Test now in doubt and Bashir’s suddenly looking more likely, certainty has slipped through English fingers much as a few catches did across a breezy day by the Swan River

Cameron Green stakes Ashes claim with strong all-round showing in Sheffield Shield

Cameron Green used his final Sheffield Shield hit-out before the Ashes to prove he is ready for England, although whether he bats at No 3 for Australia or plays as an all-rounder remains unresolved a week out from the first Test.The 26-year-old showed he has overcome the side strain suffered last month by bowling eight overs in the second innings at the Waca Ground, on top of another eight in Queensland’s first innings of 390.He may have been wicketless on Thursday, but Green’s bowling load passed the threshold set by chief selector George Bailey of “15 to 20” overs when announcing the squad last week, clearing the path for Green’s selection as Australia’s all-rounder for the showdown at Optus Stadium against England beginning on 21 November.The towering right-hander also reminded selectors he remains an option at No 3 – where he batted earlier this year for the national team – with an accomplished 94 off 172 deliveries against a strong Queensland attack that meant he spent almost the entire day on the field.He was finally dismissed lbw to Michael Neser

Rugby World Cup ‘heartbreak’ but then ‘a cool feeling’: New Zealand duo Liana Mikaele-Tu’u and Layla Sae’s rollercoaster ride

The Black Ferns pair arrive at Harlequins eager to put semi-final defeat behind them and ‘to see how this side of the world plays’There’s a certain aura that surrounds New Zealand rugby players. Liana Mikaele-Tu’u and Layla Sae have all the athleticism, talent and professionalism that come with being a Black Fern but during a joint interview at Harlequins’ training ground in Surrey, what stands out most is their humility, refreshing honesty and wicked sense of humour.The duo have signed for the Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) club until March. Sae, fresh off the plane from New Zealand, could make her debut against Exeter Chiefs on Sunday, while Mikaele-Tu’u already has a few appearances under her belt after joining a few weeks earlier.Part of the attraction of playing in England, they say, is the enthusiasm for women’s sport