England pick Pope over Bethell at number three for first test against India
England pick Pope over Bethell at number three for first test against India
England named their team for the first test of the five-match series against India as they retained Ollie Pope at the expense of Jacob Bethell while Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse return to the team for the match that begins on Friday at Headingley.
Bethell had impressed for England in his debut series against New Zealand when he scored three half centuries, including a knock of 96, when batting at number three.
But vice-captain Pope, who played as a middle-order batter in that series, is set to be promoted to number three after his knock of 171 in the one-off test against Zimbabwe.
Bethell had missed the test against Zimbabwe as he was playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League.
Meanwhile, all-rounder Woakes returns to the team for the first time since December while Carse, who has played five tests for England in Pakistan and New Zealand, will get the opportunity to impress on home turf for the first time.
ENGLAND TEAM FOR FIRST TEST
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Liverpool's Salah, Mac Allister among six nominees for PFA Players' Player of the Year
Premier League 2024-25 top scorer Mohamed Salah has been nominated for the Professional Footballers' Association Players' Player of the Year award, along with Liverpool teammate Alexis Mac Allister. Newcastle United's Alexander Isak, Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes, Arsenal's Declan Rice and Chelsea's Cole Palmer were the other four to be voted into the list by their peers, PFA said in a social media post on Friday. Salah scored 29 goals and provided 18 assists to equal the record of 47 goal involvements in a Premier League season, matching Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer who achieved the feat when each team played 42 matches in a campaign, which was reduced to 38 from 1995-96. The Egypt international played a crucial key as Liverpool won the league, finishing 10 points ahead of second-placed Arsenal. Isak was second in the scoring charts with 23 goals as he spearheaded Newcastle's efforts to qualify for the Champions League with a top-five finish. Palmer scored 15 goals and provided eight assists as Chelsea finished fourth. The winners of this year's PFA awards will be honoured at a ceremony in Manchester on August 19.
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Australia's Super Netball goes global in deal with Whoopi Goldberg's AWSN
FILE PHOTO: Whoopi Goldberg poses during the Met Gala, an annual fundraising gala held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute with this year's theme 'Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,' in New York City, New York, U.S., May 5, 2025. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo SYDNEY - Australia's Super Netball league will be broadcast to more than 65 countries over the next three years after Netball Australia struck a deal with Whoopi Goldberg's All Women's Sports Network (AWSN), the governing body said on Friday. Netball, one of a few sports created exclusively for women and girls, is the most popular participation sport for females in Australia with Netball Australia estimating there are up to a million players across the country. The professional Super Netball league, which was launched in 2017, has eight teams and 41 of its games, including the playoffs and finals, will now be broadcast on AWSN. "This breakthrough deal puts netball on screens across the globe and cements our place at the forefront of women's sport," Netball Australia chief executive Stacey West said in a statement. "AWSN shares our vision of taking women's sport to new heights. Together, we're creating a platform for our athletes and game to shine like never before." Co-founded by Oscar-winning actor and comedian Goldberg, AWSN was launched late last year as the first global media channel dedicated exclusively to showcasing women's sports. "I am so proud to be thanking you for joining us on AWSN," Goldberg said in a video message to Super Netball released by Netball Australia. "I see that your fans are really loving you, so we want to make sure that we put you everywhere in the world so that everybody knows about you." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Figure skating-Japan's Sakamoto to retire after 2026 Winter Olympics
FILE PHOTO: Mar 28, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Kaori Sakamoto (JPN) wins silver in Womens Free Skating during the ISU World Figure Skating Championships at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images/File Photo REUTERS Three-times world figure skating champion Kaori Sakamoto is to retire after the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics next year, the Japanese 25-year-old told reporters in Kobe on Friday. Sakamoto became the first woman in 56 years to win the figure skating world singles title three times in a row last year, matching the feat of American Peggy Fleming, who won three world titles between 1966-68. "I feel like I have less than a year left. I'll be 29 at the following Olympics, which is out of the question," Kyodo news reported Sakamoto as saying. "I'll try to bring things to a close the year I turn 26." Sakamoto, who won bronze at the 2022 Winter Olympics, missed out on a fourth straight world title in March when she finished runner-up to American Alysa Liu. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
