Root has had a rare poor test 8 and 1 must be among his lowest two innings score And Stokes getting a duck as well! What an bonkers match.
According to PitchViz (based on the ball-tracking data) this is the most inconsistent surface for a Test in England since records began. Which is not ideal— Ben Jones (@benjonescricket) June 5, 2026
They were talking about the pitch earlier in commentary. Essentially, the groundstaff at Lords know the pitch is knackered, but it will cost £12m to sort it and put Lords out of commission for 2 years. They suggest it would take the ECB removing Lords from Test consideration for anything to happen, as both the ECB and MCC appear happy enough to just collect their cash from Lords.
That feels pretty unlikely. But surely the ICC will have to justify why Lords is hosting the WTC final with a rubbish pitch.
Ollie Robinson gets his name on the Lord’s honours board for the first time, while Gus Atkinson makes his third appearance ✍️Those figures from Gus in 2024 are still ridiculous 😅 pic.twitter.com/epnrDfVc1b— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 7, 2026
Rabada getting in it because South Africa were the home team in the Test Championship final is weird.
ECB Statement: Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 8, 2026 Stokes and Atkinson are to be kicked out of the second test. Baker or Archer presumably replaces Atkinson but who replaces Stokes. Is Brook the best captain with his own issues last autumn? Do wonder if Stokes might just be has enough and retire from international cricket.
Maybe I’m extremely boring, but the elephant in the room here is why men that are in their 30s, mid 30s in Stokes case, even going to nightclubs on a regular basis? I’m 29 and stopped going to them in my mid 20s. They were fun for a while but then I grew out of them, and prefer to go to the pub, bars or social gatherings at people’s houses. Forget professionalism, the gulf in maturity between this lot and the Aussies, or great England players like Cook, Anderson, Root etc is both stark and damning.
I know people in the 30’s and older that do but they tend not have not yet fully settled down. Stokes has a teenage son which makes it feel unusual to be clubbing so much. But then I have never even been in a club and now I am 30 not likely to either do so.
I'm not condoning anything, but describing The Rex Rooms as a "nightclub" is seriously understating it. It's an exclusive late night cocktail lounge on the Kings Road geared towards the celebs and the rich. "On Friday and Saturday nights, minimum spends for standard tables typically start from £750 to £1,000. Premium booths and larger table setups may require £1,000 to £1,500. Midweek nights and special promotions can reduce the minimum to around £500," https://londonnightguide.com/rex-rooms-bottle-prices/
Back in camp 🏕️England Senior Men head coach Steve Borthwick has named a 26-player squad for a three-day training camp in preparation for England XV's clash against France XV, ahead of the inaugural Nations Championship.@O2 | #WearTheRose— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) June 9, 2026
It's all a bit ridiculous. Clown behaviour to get caught breaking a curfew precisely on the first game back after the disastrous winter where the teams drinking culture was under heavy scrutiny. Even more clownish behaviour if he retires immediately because of it. Take the one match punishment. If it happens again he should be stood down regardless. English cricket remains stuck in the 90s. If getting humiliated in the Ashes and a entire bowling attack collectively unable to maintain bowling speeds in consecutive matches (or between innings for that matter), all while a 35 year old Mitchell Starc was maintaining near 90mph+ speeds through all 5 games isn't enough to shame them into professional behaviour, nothing will.
Apparently if he doesn’t retire he will get a 2 or more match ban while Atkinson will get just the 1 match ban,
Either way throwing his toys out the pram because of a short ban for breaking rules that he presumably agreed to as captain is ridiculous. It wouldn't be the worst thing for England cricket to move away from Stokes anyway who clearly isn't capable of overseeing a good team culture, and is a fading figure as a player. Early games under him were exciting but ultimately unable to get series wins against good teams, or indeed failing to beat a dreadful India side last summer, coupled with an away Ashes capitulation as bad as any we've seen. The main issue is really that there's a lack of any clear alternative as captain.
It be Brook because he’s Vice Captain - they will sacrifice him as white ball captain if needs be. Brook does have big flaws through.
The fact that the man who caused the biggest winter scandal, and multiple team mates comment how dumb he is, is next in line is probably the biggest reason to keep Stokes in place.
Speculation they have gone for Root because they think Stokes will be back in August so no need for anything long term.