England cricket will take its first tentative steps into a new era when the first Test against the West Indies begins in Antigua on Tuesday.
The three-match Test series in the Caribbean can be described as the beginning of the end of the record-breaking seam bowling partnership of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
The veteran seamers have been one of the greatest exponents of swing and seam bowling and have served English cricket with distinction, picking up a combined 1,177 wickets in Tests. However, England went for a new-look Test side for the tour of Caribbean, leaving out eight players who featured in the 4-0 Ashes thrashing in Australia.
Anderson and Broad were the most high-profile names to be sidelined, even if temporarily. England's reliance on the veteran quicks meant they enjoyed success at home but were left exposed in unfavourable conditions overseas, especially on batting friendly surfaces.
Now, the leadership reins have been passed on to the likes of Chris Woakes and Mark Wood. However, the lack of depth in the pace bowling group will be a concern. Seamer Ollie Robinson has been ruled out of the first Test with a back spasm, allowing uncapped quick Saqib Mahmood to step into the squad.
Interim head coach Paul Collingwood and captain Joe Root must now decide whether to hand the Lancashire quick a debut on Tuesday in an all-pace attack or select left-arm spinner Jack Leach.
Craig Overton seems certain to play, Wood has recovered from illness and Woakes is most likely to lead the attack. But without Anderson and Broad, there are obvious concerns.
"Ollie is a talented bowler. Naturally he'll be a big miss," said Woakes.
"He's shown in his short Test career so far that he's certainly got the skills and the ability to do good things in the format. At the same time, it gives people opportunities.
"We're trying to win games of cricket here, but it does give that chance to someone to potentially make their Test debut who's been waiting in the wings for quite a while to show what they can do at this level."
Their opponents know England will still be licking their wounds from the Ashes defeat. West Indies pace spearhead Kemar Roach said he was surprised to see England leave out his old sparring partners Anderson and Broad and believes the move is good news for his side.
As the leader of the West Indies attack, Roach has enjoyed his battles against the experienced pair and thinks they will be missed.
"It was quite surprising. I definitely thought both would still be involved," he said.
"Decisions have been made from that end and it's a slight advantage for us. Those experienced players missing leaves a little bit of a hole for England to fill.
"Robinson, Woakes and Wood are still fantastic bowlers, we still take them seriously, but once we get our plans right we should be good going into the series."
The one player who will possibly be under the most scrutiny is England captain Root. The top-order batsman had earlier said he was thankful to still hold his post after the crushing Ashes series loss.
The 4-0 result in Australia saw England director of cricket Ashley Giles, head coach Chris Silverwood and batting coach Graham Thorpe all sacked.
Root was spared the axe, with some suggesting a lack of viable and long-term alternatives possibly saved his position.
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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Glossary of a stock market revolution
Reddit
A discussion website
Redditor
The users of Reddit
Robinhood
A smartphone app for buying and selling shares
Short seller
Selling a stock today in the belief its price will fall in the future
Short squeeze
Traders forced to buy a stock they are shorting
Naked short
An illegal practice
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others
Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.
As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”
Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.
“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”
Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Who is Tim-Berners Lee?
Sir Tim Berners-Lee was born in London in a household of mathematicians and computer scientists. Both his mother, Mary Lee, and father, Conway, were early computer scientists who worked on the Ferranti 1 - the world's first commercially-available, general purpose digital computer. Sir Tim studied Physics at the University of Oxford and held a series of roles developing code and building software before moving to Switzerland to work for Cern, the European Particle Physics laboratory. He developed the worldwide web code as a side project in 1989 as a global information-sharing system. After releasing the first web code in 1991, Cern made it open and free for all to use. Sir Tim now campaigns for initiatives to make sure the web remains open and accessible to all.
T20 World Cup Qualifier A, Muscat
Friday, February 18: 10am - Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm - Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain
Saturday, February 19: 10am - Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm - UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain
Monday, February 21: 10am - Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm - Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines
Tuesday, February 22: 2pm – semi-finals
Thursday, February 24: 2pm – final
UAE squad: Ahmed Raza (captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia
All matches to be streamed live on icc.tv
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