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Kate Cross: Cultural change required as England women seek to rise from Ashes
"There's areas that we probably know we need to address from cricket points of view, but also from probably cultural points of view as well," Cross said. "This review, I don't know what's going to come of it, but I'm hoping that these are the things that will get addressed, and pave the way for the next generation to want to play for England."
"Ultimately I feel like we might've lost a few fans in the last couple of months, which is really sad from our point of view," Cross added. "I think the 2023 Ashes was how good it can be and the 2025 Ashes how bad it can be."
Cross brought a unique perspective to her evaluation of the tour, having travelled with a bulging disc in her back, which ultimately kept her sidelined throughout despite repeated attempts to prove her fitness to play.
"It was unprecedented how poorly we performed over there, I don't think anyone probably anticipated the Ashes turning out the way it did, and obviously there was a huge disappointment that came with that," Cross said.
"As a group of players now, we don't know what's going to come of this review that's happening at the moment, but I think it motivates you to be a better group of players and a better, I guess, version of yourself."
"My reflections on my trip were quite unusual. I didn't get to play a game of cricket, but as a 33-year-old getting ruled out of an Ashes series was devastating. So I feel like it's made me really think about how I want to manage my career now moving forwards and, with the new structure of the tiers in the counties, I'm hoping that I'll be so well supported with that, that that wasn't my last Ashes hopefully.
"Ultimately as players, we still want to try and get young girls interested in the game and us losing quite drastically isn't going to do that. So we're going to have to have a real look at how we want to portray ourselves as a team moving forward and try and get a bit of love back from our fans because we, or certainly I, felt that we kind of lost a lot of that from our Ashes series, so hopefully we can move in the right direction now."
Cross was speaking at the launch of the Professional Cricketers' Association Women's Impact Report, highlighting advances made in the game since 2020. That progress includes equal domestic minimum salaries of 28,000 for men and women from this season, where women's teams have been aligned with the men's in a three-tiered county-based structure.
But more work remains to be done, including addressing the salary gap between genders in the Hundred, which widened rather than closed this year. While the leading earners in the men's competition will earn 200,000, an increase of 60%, the top earners in the women's game will earn 65,000, up 30%. The base salary for men went up by 1,000 on last year to 31,000 compared to the women, who went from 8,000 to 10,000.
"I would hope to see that it happens quite quickly, especially with how vocal the players were about the pay gap getting bigger," Cross said. "It was obviously a disappointment, but I'm always of the bigger picture, that the Hundred has done a lot for the women's game. It continues to do that. It puts us in a spotlight that we've never had before in the domestic game.
"So as disappointing as those headlines are, there's still a lot of great stuff and there's a lot more money coming into the game now and hopefully that'll get pushed in the right direction and the gender play gap will continue to get smaller rather than get bigger."
A PCA working group will lobby the ECB on various aspects of the Hundred, which will receive a huge injection of funds through private investment from next season.
Daryl Mitchell, PCA chief executive, said: "From our side, I think particularly the announcement of the salaries took us a little bit by surprise this time around, I think the communication needs to improve, particularly in that sort of announcement. What we were shown in October actually, at the players' summit, was very different in terms of salary bands to what was actually produced and put out publicly.
"There's been some pretty robust discussions about that process, it's fair to say, over the last couple of months. The ECB have stated it was an interim year with the sale of the Hundred franchises with a view to increase the salaries across the board next year. There's a lot of things to work through."
Valkerie Baynes is a general editor, women's cricket, at ESPNcricinfo
Liam Guthrie signs three-year Northamptonshire contract
His arrival follows that of new head coach, Darren Lehmann, who described Guthrie as a "genuine pace" option who can swing the ball. The pair worked together previously during Lehmann's time coaching Queensland and Brisbane Heat.
"I'm truly excited about the opportunity to play for Northamptonshire." Guthrie said. "Competing in the UK has always been a goal of mine, and I am eager to embark on this new chapter.
"I'm looking forward to reconnecting with Darren Lehmann, whose influence on my cricket has been significant since our time working together in Queensland."
Guthrie, 27, made his first-class debut for Western Australia in 2018 but struggled for regular opportunities. He made his Big Bash League debut for Brisbane Heat in 2021, subsequently winning a state contract with Queensland.
In 18 first-class matches, he has taken 50 wickets at 37.82, to go with 27 at 27.62 in List A cricket and six at 34.00 in T20s.
Lehmann said: "We're really excited about Liam joining us as a local player for the next three years. He brings left arm swing, genuine pace and having worked with him at Brisbane Heat and Queensland, his attitude is excellent and he has real wicket-taking abilities.
"He'll fit right in with the group who I've thoroughly enjoyed working with so far."
Will Smeed signs new deal to play red-ball cricket for Somerset
It was viewed as a groundbreaking move, indicative of the growing divide between limited-overs and first-class cricket. While many players have taken up white-ball contracts, often while simultaneously retiring from red-ball, none had done so at such a young age.
However, after a hamstring injury ruled him out of last summer's Hundred, Smeed found playing time for Somerset in the Second XI County Championship, which prompted a rethink.
"I'm desperate to play more cricket than I did last summer," Smeed said. "I picked up an injury last summer and it felt like I hadn't really played any cricket. I played a few second XI red-ball games towards the end of last year and really enjoyed it. That's when I started to think that this would be a good option.
"Watching how the team went about things in the Championship last year was great and some of the wins were absolutely insane. It would be crazy to not want to be a part of that team."
Smeed, who scored a red-ball hundred for the second XI when he was just 16, has played almost exclusively T20 cricket in his career to date, with his one List A appearance coming for England Lions. In 2022, he became the first player to score a century in the Hundred, and was soon in demand on the franchise circuit, playing in the CPL, PSL and SA20.
Somerset director of cricket, Andy Hurry said: "We all know Will has a huge amount of potential, and his return to multi-day cricket will certainly add depth to our County Championship batting options.
"When he initially signed a white-ball contract, he always made it clear that the door was not closed to the red-ball game, and I know our members and supporters will be excited by the prospect of him now being available to be considered for selection in all formats for the club that he loves."
U.S. offers $10M for arrest of former Olympian
LOS ANGELES -- There's a $10 million reward for information leading to the arrest of a former Olympic snowboarder for Canada who is wanted for allegedly running a multinational drug trafficking network and orchestrating multiple murders related to the drug ring.
The FBI added 43-year-old Ryan Wedding to its 10 Most Wanted list Thursday, while also announcing the U.S. State Department's $10 million offer.
"Wedding went from shredding powder on the slopes at the Olympics to distributing powder cocaine on the streets of U.S. cities and in his native Canada," said Akil Davis, the assistant director of the FBI's Los Angeles field office. "The alleged murders of his competitors make Wedding a very dangerous man."
Among his aliases, according to the FBI, are "El Jefe," "Public Enemy" and "James Conrad King."
Wedding was charged in June with murder and drug crimes. Those charges were augmented in September in an indictment that alleged Wedding and others arranged the shipment of some 60 tons of cocaine a year using long-haul semitrucks to move the drugs between Colombia, Mexico, Southern California and Canada.
In announcing the indictment in October, the FBI said a dozen people had been arrested in connection with the case.
U.S. authorities allege the group killed two members of a family in Canada in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment in what officials there said was a case of mistaken identity, as well as two other people, according to officials and federal court filings.
Wedding finished 24th in parallel giant slalom at the 2002 Olympics.
'I texted him right away and said, "Are you crazy?"': Why Terry Francona and Bruce Bochy ditched retirement to manage again
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Alyssa Francona had several missed calls from her dad. Then her sister texted her.
"Dad's trying to get in touch with you," the message read. "Be supportive. He's really excited."
Alyssa -- the eldest daughter of longtime MLB manager Terry Francona -- wasn't sure what to make of that. Her dad was happily retired and feeling healthy for the first time in years. He was traveling more, his golf game was improving and by all accounts, his time with family and friends was fulfilling.
If Francona, 65, was itching to manage again, he wasn't showing it.
Not surprisingly, his daughters were happy that Francona seemed done with the grind of the game, but they knew their dad better than anyone: He loved being in the dugout and in the clubhouse. And there is "nothing like that ninth inning," Francona would later say.
Alyssa called her sister Leah before calling her dad back.
"She said the Cincinnati guys were out there talking to him," Alyssa recalled recently. "Don't burst his bubble."
KIM BOCHY HAD a similar experience in 2022.
The wife of manager Bruce Bochy was looking forward to her husband's retirement. Bochy, 69, quit baseball after the 2019 season, but the two hadn't fully enjoyed their newfound freedom yet as the COVID-19 pandemic soon shut the world down, and, like Francona, Bochy had various health issues to address. Just as the two were beginning to enjoy the fruits of a lifetime in the game, new Texas Rangers GM Chris Young came calling.
"Once CY came to visit -- once he walked through the door -- I was like, 'Oh my gosh,' I think this is not going to be good," Kim Bochy recalled. "In my perspective, I was very, very content and very happy being done. He was too. I tried to talk him out of it, I did my best to talk him out of taking the job.
"Why do you want to go back? You've won three World Series, you've done everything in this game. Why do you want to go back? And he said, 'I want to win another World Series.'"
Kim eventually came around to the idea of her husband's return and it didn't take long for Bochy to accomplish that goal, leading the Rangers to their first title in 2023. Now Francona has the same desire to restore glory to a franchise as the new manager of the Cincinnati Reds. When Francona left the Cleveland Guardians dugout after the 2023 season, he swore he was done. Baseball disagreed.
"I wasn't planning on coming back," he told ESPN. "I really wasn't."
BY THE TIME Francona left Cleveland, after 10 years, his body was breaking down. Ask him what ailed him the most, and he shakes his head.
"That's the problem, there were about 12 things," Francona said with a smile from his office in spring training. "I got both knees, both hips, my right shoulder. About a week after the season in Cleveland, I had my shoulder replaced and I had three hernias.
"I'm on blood thinners because of the blood clots. So when we fly, f---, my right leg, we take off, my pants fit. When we land, my pants don't fit."
Those issues finally caught up with him. He felt he was relying too much on his coaches and wasn't fulfilling his No.1 rule -- one that possibly impacted his health.
"I think if you're managing correctly, you're putting the players and the organization first and you're putting yourself like a distant last," Francona said. "I needed to be away. When you know you need to be away, you're probably late."
Francona's short retirement consisted of time with his grandkids, golf trips to Mexico, a vacation to Hawaii and taking in some college football.
"I wasn't married to my phone anymore," Francona said. "My biggest decision was should I get another cup of coffee?"
He even offered to watch the grandkids while his daughters vacationed in Europe last summer.
"I almost came back then," Francona quipped.
Watching a 7-year-old and a 9-year-old might have been more taxing than managing, according to his daughter. Shortly after arriving in Europe, Alyssa texted one of the kids, asking what grandpa was doing.
"She's like, 'Grandpa needed a rest day,'" Alyssa said with a laugh. "He's taking a day off and we're like 48 hours into what is a 10-day trip!"
Francona told that story at baseball's winter meetings in December, not long after taking the job in Cincinnati. The Reds had flown down to Tucson to see him about their opening after the team had let David Bell go near the end of the season. Francona was "enjoying some beers" at a football game when he got the call that Cincinnati was interested -- former broadcaster Marty Brennaman first broached it to him -- and soon after, Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall and GM Brad Meador were at his house. A day later, owner Bob Castellini was there, as well.
"I'm sitting in my rocking chair talking to them and I caught myself really early a couple times," Francona recalled. "I said, 'we' could do this or 'we' could do that. I'm like, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down.'"
But he wasn't premature. The job was his if he wanted it -- and on Oct. 4, he accepted it. After four years in the Philadelphia Phillies dugout, eight more in Boston and 10 in Cleveland followed by a one-year sabbatical, Terry "Tito" Francona was back. The news came unexpectedly even to his own family.
"We were making jokes about his golf score," Alyssa said. "If he started shooting over 80 that he may take a job, but from all accounts he was shooting well on the course too. It was a little surprising."
MANY OF FRANCONA'S contemporaries, starting with Bochy, were less surprised. Even after accomplishing his goal of winning another World Series after returning, Bochy is still going, with his 70th birthday coming early in the 2025 season.
"I just went through it," he said. "I know the feeling. You get out. You miss it. You think 'Gosh, I got out too early.' All those thoughts go through your head. You just miss what you love to do."
Like Francona, Bochy didn't seek out a job as much as it sought him out. It's why his wife knew there was trouble brewing once Chris Young walked through that door. A team needs you. It's hard to turn away from that.
"I'm so glad he's back, nor did it surprise me when Bochy came back," Colorado Rockies skipper Bud Black said. "Don't ask me why. I just know those guys and I knew they weren't done."
Black, 67, has been the manager in Colorado since 2017. The Rockies haven't sniffed the postseason since 2018, losing more than 100 games in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024. He has been given little to work with, yet he keeps coming back for more.
"It's not just one thing, it's all of it," Black said. "It's the passion for the game. I don't think it ever leaves you. When you have the desire to stay in it, to stay in the fight, it feels good."
Several managers ESPN spoke with echoed Black's comments. Even those who were a little surprised at Francona's unretirement understand what drives him -- what keeps men who don't need the money or glory from stepping away for good.
"I texted him right away and said, 'Are you crazy?'" San Francisco Giants manager Bob Melvin said. "But there are guys that are just baseball guys. It's in their blood. It's what they have to do. He's one of them.
"He's a legend."
Melvin is looking forward to exchanging lineup cards before Francona's first regular-season game back in the dugout later this month as the Reds will host the Giants on Opening Day. Ahead of the matchup featuring two managers in their 60s, Melvin, 63, was asked why teams are turning back to some of the older guard to lead their clubs after a period when younger skippers were en vogue across the sport.
"Because of the success," Melvin said, citing Dusty Baker and Bochy both winning World Series titles this decade. "Any time there is success, there's a wave that goes in that direction."
Francona is hoping to get caught up in that wave. He has a young, ultratalented team that seemingly underachieved last season when it won just 77 games and finished in fourth place in the NL Central.
Infielder Jeimer Candelario is among the players at Reds camp who think their new manager will provide just what the team needs to change that in the season ahead.
"Leadership," Candelario said. "I think he's a Hall of Famer. He's done this for a long time. When he was named manager, he came to the Dominican Republic to see the guys. That was different. The way I see him is with a lot of respect because we know he's a leader."
After replacing retirement vacations with introductory trips to meet his new players, Francona admits he wasn't sure how he would have filled his free time if he hadn't come back. There's only so much golf and traveling a person can do. Besides, managing is about the only thing he knows.
"Other than taking a real estate course for two weeks, this is all I've ever f---ing done," Francona said. "I'm comfortable here."
Jabeur wants to 'use platform' to change women's lives
As Ons Jabeur continues her quest for further sporting success, there's more on the Tunisian star's mind than just tennis.
Her appointment in 2024 as an ambassador for the World Food Programme (WFP) has given the three-time Grand Slam finalist a chance "to do some good", particularly in the empowerment of women.
"I wanted to be able to use my platform and represent the woman I am and where I come from, to try to make a change in the world," Jabeur told BBC Sport Africa before International Women's Day, which is on Saturday.
While highlighting global food insecurity is part of her work with the WFP, the 30-year-old says the focus on women is also key.
"People think it [the WFP] is only related to food, but it's also education and helping women.
"When you help women, they get the opportunity to work and provide for the whole family, and that's really important."
One of Jabeur's first assignments was attending projects in Cairo where she saw first-hand how women were trying to improve their lives.
"I was preparing bread with one of the women and you have no idea the big heart that they have," she said.
"She almost gave me everything that she made, and I was like, 'No, please, you keep it. You have to sell it!'
"Even though they don't have enough, they were very generous and that is what everyone should stand for."
Education in vulnerable areas is another important issue for Jabeur.
"A woman went to school at a late age. I told her she was very courageous and very proud that she's going with her kid to school, because she never had education before. That was really a great example," said Jabeur.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou said his side did not have the right mindset for their Europa League round-of-16 match at AZ Alkmaar on Thursday and was glad to leave the Netherlands with only a 1-0 deficit to overturn.
An own goal in the first half by 19-year-old midfielder Lucas Bergvall gave AZ Alkmaar a narrow win, and while Spurs enjoyed the lion's share of possession they managed just one shot on target.
Chasing a first trophy since winning the Carabao Cup in 2008, the Europa League is Spurs' only hope of winning silverware this season. They are 13th in the Premier League and have been knocked out the FA Cup and League Cup.
"I don't think it's a matter of effort or attitude. I don't think it is going out there and not trying, but like I said we didn't really come to grips and have the right mindset to tackle an away fixture in Europe," Postecoglou said.
"It is always tough and we obviously conceded the goal, which was a disappointing set of events. But even after that we didn't really settle down into the game at all.
"You are going to face some pressure when you play away from home in Europe and weather the storm and get to grips with it, but we never really did so that was a disappointment.
"It's only 1-0 so I guess that's a positive in that we didn't let the game get away from us."
Striker Dominic Solanke was forced to come off with an injury in added time and Postecoglou was unsure of his availability for Sunday's Premier League game against Bournemouth.
"It looks like a knock but I haven't really seen it. Hopefully nothing too bad," Postecoglou said.
McSweeney open to possibilities in bid to earn Test recall
"I don't know," he said. "All I can do is make runs and get back to being a consistent run-scorer which is what got me the opportunity in the first place. So wherever my spot is, if the opportunity comes I'm happy to bat wherever. And I think my game is suited to that. All I can focus on now is trying to punch out some runs. Hopefully that means South Australia in a Shield final,"
He will get a second innings in this game before South Australia host Queensland in the final round of the season. That game and a possible final will be his only playing opportunities before the WTC final unless an opportunity in England presented itself.
"I'd love to get over and play some county cricket but at this stage I'm just staying in Adelaide," McSweeney said. "I haven't looked too much past the next couple of weeks for us. It's massive for South Australia. So hopefully we can nail the end of this game and the next couple of weeks leading into hopefully a Shield final. But post that I'd love to head overseas and keep working on my game."
"It was nice to spend some time middle," McSweeney said. "It's been a little bit of a stop start season for me, I guess, and I haven't played heaps of cricket. Not the score I would have liked. But it's nice to spend some time out there and face plenty of balls and hopefully I can get make use of that in the second innings and really come out and hopefully score a bit more freely."
The selectors were pleased with what he showed technically and temperamentally in his first three Test matches but there were concerns over his scoring limitations, which ultimately was the reason why they opted to omit him. His innings at the Junction Oval perfectly incapsulated both the positives and the negatives of his game.
He showed outstanding defensive skill and decision-making to withstand Test-quality spells from Boland but struggled to rotate the strike, particularly in the evening session on day one when he was 9 off 52 balls and the morning session on day two. He got busier and more proactive as the innings wore on before nicking a good delivery from Victoria seamer Fergus O'Neill who also probed with unerring accuracy all innings to claim five wickets.
McSweeney's brief taste of Test cricket has shown him that he needs to keep trusting the foundations of his game but add some different scoring options.
"A little bit of both," McSweeney said. "I think I know a method that works in Shield cricket for me, but you're also trying to keep learning, keep getting better. And from my experiences in Test cricket, there's definitely some learnings to try and add and scenarios where I can tinker with my game to hopefully be better for it.
"I think it's also important to know what worked for me leading into that and what makes me a good player. So it's been an enjoyable last couple of months, a challenging one, no doubt, but I definitely like to think I'm better for it."
A tearful Nick Kyrgios was forced to retire from his first-round Indian Wells match with a wrist injury as his tennis return suffered another setback.
The Australian, playing his first match since January's Australian Open, trailed Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6 (9-7) 3-0 before ending the match early.
Kyrgios became visibly upset when speaking to the trainer about his right wrist, which he had surgery on in September 2023.
The 29-year-old also struggled with knee and foot injuries over an 18-month period before making his return at the start of the year.
"No-one in the sport has had a wrist reconstruction and tried to play after that," Kyrgios said.
"There's been players that have had wrist surgeries and nowhere near as bad as what I had.
"It's all an experiment at this point. I was told I was arguably maybe not ever playing tennis again.
"I feel I'm like right there, I feel like I can compete."
Raducanu stalking incident 'not a security failure'
Archer also addressed the suspension of Stefano Vukov, the former coach of 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.
The Czech has been banned for an undisclosed period by the WTA following an independent investigation into his behaviour towards the player.
Vukov, who is currently unable to access accredited areas at tournaments, has denied any wrongdoing.
Rybakina has said she was never mistreated by the Croat and would like him to be able to resume full coaching duties.
"We are able to offer support and advice to Elena," Archer said.
"Our responsibility is to Elena as well as to the hundreds of other WTA players and it's really important that we keep our environment safe.
"This is the workplace of my staff, our athletes and it is a place where fans come to enjoy our sport.
"That is what is at the forefront of my mind - we have to keep our environment safe.
"In doing so we are certainly providing resources to the affected individuals within our community, like Elena in this case, to the extent that's necessary and desired."
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