The 29-year-old endured a difficult winter in red-ball cricket, with a top score of 43 in five matches across series in New Zealand and South Africa.

England begin their attempt to become double women's world champions on Saturday with new coach Lisa Keightley declaring they are 'planning for the final' and 'excited' about tournament.

England's hopes of becoming double women's world champions suffered a serious blow yesterday when they lost a Twenty20 World Cup match to South Africa for the first time.

EXCLUSIVE BY KISHAN VAGHELA: Pat Brown maybe hasn't been in professional cricket long enough to look retrospectively at what he has already achieved with ball in hand.

England's trio of young spinners led them to the Women's Twenty20 World Cup semi-finals on Sunday with six wickets between them in an emphatic 46-run victory over West Indies.

NASSER HUSSAIN - VERDICT: The first thing England's women should do ahead of Thursday's Twenty20 World Cup semi-final against India is do whatever the opposite is of a rain dance.

PAUL NEWMAN IN COLOMBO: England have banned autographs and selfies on their Sri Lankan tour and have asked supportersto keep their distance due to coronavirus.

England are considering calling off their tour of Sri Lanka before an anticipated 3,000 supporters leave home to head to Galle for the first Test.

The 24-year-old, who helped England win the 2019 World Cup, screenshot racist messages from an individual and posted them on his Instagram story on Monday evening.

England's top cricketers joined the rush of sports stars doing their bit to fight the coronavirus crisis when they pledged £500,000 to the ECB and 'good causes'. 

England's World Cup winning cricketers have come together to raise awareness about the importance of staying at home, protecting the NHS and saving lives.

With the Indian government extending the national lockdown until May 3, tournament organisers have informed the eight franchises that there is now no date in place for the 13th edition.

The ace bowler, who helped England lift the World Cup at Lords last summer, was identified by tax officials as a 'deliberate defaulter' who failed to pay more than £100,000 in taxes.

England are hopeful of returning to international action on July 8 for a three-Test series against West Indies behind closed doors following the coronavirus pandemic.

Joe Schmidt's Irish team were hammered 57-15 by England at Twickenham last Saturday, in what was a record defeat in that fixture and O'Driscoll is concerned their confidence could suffer.

Moeen Ali believes that 'legend in the making' Ben Stokes is England's greatest ever all-rounder. Moeen has ranked his England colleague above the likes of Sir Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff.

Jimmy Anderson successfully came through an extensive workout in the heat of Chester on Tuesday and looks certain to be named in England's squad for the fourth Test at Old Trafford.

PAUL FARBRACE: What we saw at Headingley from Ben Stokes was the performance of a cricketer who has matured as a person and now fully understands what he's capable of.

The midfielder, who has been identified by UEFA as one of the players to watch at this tournament, had been expected to start the opening Group C match against France in Cesena on Tuesday night.

England suffered heartbreak in Cesena after an Aaron Wan-Bissaka own-goal gifted France a stoppage time victory in a thrilling Under 21 European Championship clash.

MATT HUGHES - CHIEF SPORTS REPORTER: England's dubious reward for winning their qualifying group could be a place in the group of death with Portugal and France at Euro 2020.

Thierry Henry believes 'amazing' Gareth Southgate can lead England to Euro 2020 glory on home soil next summer. The former France striker won the tournament back in 2000.

Nigeria have launched an ambitious attempt to convince Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham to snub England and represent the Super Eagles at international level.

Abraham is in sensational form for Chelsea, scoring seven goals in three matches, which puts him alongside Sergio Aguero as the Premier League's top scorer and he is keen to win a senior cap.

The 21-year-old was born in Canada to Nigerian parents, but moved to Gravesend when he was a baby. He has played for Canada's Under 20 team and for England's Under 20 and Under 21 teams.

Central defender Fikayo Tomori has shone for Frank Lampard's Chelsea side this season and is understood to have impressed England's coaching staff.

The Chelsea striker is in line for his competitive England debut in the Euro 2020 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Bulgaria after a recall by England manager Gareth Southgate.

The 18-year-old was born in Ealing, London but has Nigerian parents so therefore can play for England or Nigeria. The winger is currently playing at left-back for the Gunners.

PAUL NEWMAN IN CENTURION: England look set to throw an off-spinning all-rounder who was only called up here as emergency cover just before Christmas into the pivotal second Test.

Moeen Ali has been told to take his time over his Test comeback, with England expected to name uncapped Matt Parkinson as their third spinner for next month's tour of Sri Lanka.

KISHAN VAGHELA: James Anderson has admitted it was 'very frustrating' to be left out of England's tour to Sri Lanka but maintained he was looking forward to a full Lancashire pre-season.

Heather Knight continued her love affair with the Manuka Oval on Friday and Anya Shrubsole made history as England beat Pakistan to stand on the brink of the Twenty20 World Cup semi-finals.

England's cricket Tests against the West Indies this summer could be switched to the Caribbean if rescheduling in this country proves impossible due to the coronavirus crisis.

Before the tournament begins Gareth Southgate's side will travel to Vienna on June 2 to play Austria, before returning to England for a tie against Romania at an undecided English stadium.

England are out of the Women's T20 World Cup after their semi-final against India was called off without a ball being bowled.

Woakes was picked up by Delhi Capitals for £160,000 at the tournament draft in December but has opted to pull out in a bid to keep himself fresh for the international summer.

PAUL NEWMAN IN COLOMBO: Dom Sibley begins the latest leg of his journey towards becoming an established Test opener confident he can adapt to the very different conditions in Sri Lanka.

There has been only one recorded case on the island to date but the squad are taking a proactive approach with all players and backroom staff provided with an 'immunity pack' for the Test tour

PAUL NEWMAN IN SRI LANKA: Sportsmail revealed that Archer was ahead of schedule in his recovery and was still hopeful of heading to India towards the end of the IPL in April.

PAUL NEWMAN IN KATUNAYAKE, SRI LANKA: England were only facing an inexperienced Sri Lanka Cricket XI but Parkinson bowled with accuracy and varied his pace intelligently.

PAUL NEWMAN IN KATUNAYAKE: Crawley, 22, was again composed and classy on Sunday as he scored 91 in the first warm-up of England's Sri Lanka tour before getting out carelessly.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY RICHARD EDWARDS: England may be on an upward Test curve after victory in South Africa, but in Sri Lanka they will be up against a coach who has their number.

Woakes, 31, was signed by Delhi Capitals for £160,000 in the IPL draft but pulled out last week when he realised he needed to 'get off the treadmill' and focus on England.

PAUL NEWMAN IN COLOMBO: Leach was named in England's team for their final warm-up game against a Sri Lanka Cricket President's XI and will have to prove he is over his calf injury.

The participation of England players at this year's IPL has been thrown into doubt due to fresh visa restrictions on foreigners entering the country due to coronavirus.

Ben Stokes has been withdrawn from England's tour match in Sri Lanka due to an abdominal issue which team management insist is unrelated to Coronavirus concerns.

England's cricketers would not play any rescheduled Test series against West Indies in the Caribbean until December at the earliest, it has emerged.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY PAUL NEWMAN: Expectations of Dan Lawrence were always likely to be great once he had scored a century in his second Championship appearance.

Not only is the 37-year-old fully fit after the broken rib that curtailed his tour of South Africa but he wants to ensure he makes the very most of what remains of his record-breaking career.

England's star cricketers have been nonplussed by reports that they will be expected to take pay cuts of up to £200,000 as the game repositions its finances because of the coronavirus crisis.