Author: acc

The June issue of The Cricketer is a celebration of county cricket with wondrous Worcester on the cover – and of Ben Stokes’ elevation to the England Test captaincy

The former Australia Test captain has not been retained as a member of the playing staff for next year, and at the age of 37 it seems unlikely he will find a route back into the elite level of the sport.

The managing director of England men’s cricket’s second major decision since taking the job at the ECB was to plump for 40-year-old New Zealander McCullum as the man to lead a Test recovery

GEORGE DOBELL: A New Zealand-born double-act at the helm of the red-ball team is an exciting prospect, but problems almost certainly go deeper than simply appointing a group of charismatic leaders can resolve

McCullum – the new Test head coach – will need to play a prominent role in nurturing young talent, reinforce the fragile top order, find a way of winning away from home, and move on from a reliance on Stuart Broad and James Anderson with the ball

Claridge is a wicketkeeper-batter, she is half American

Harmer considers AB de Villiers to be her cricketing hero and previously represented Team GB in gymnastics

Cleary is a seam-bowling allrounder from Australia

The left-armer is still set to return to the county for the latter stages of the T20 Blast group stage once his international commitments have come to an end

His candidature for the Test job has perhaps come as a surprise. But, while often remembered for his cavalier white-ball game, McCullum featured in 101 Tests for New Zealand between 2004 and 2016