Results tagged “The Ashes”

It's been another exciting sporting year and plenty of big names have appeared in the pages of The Wharf, including West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola, a quartet of England cricket captains and two heroes of the 1966 World Cup win.

We look back at what's been making the headlines locally and nationally over the last 12 months.

The Canary Wharf crease has been getting used to top cricketers opening up here in recent years and its not over yet.

Sir Ian Botham and current England captain Andrew Strauss have both been here in recent weeks and now they are being followed by former test skipper Michael Vaughan.

England cricket captain Andrew Strauss is preparing for a tough tour in South Africa but he's confident his team are up there with the world's best.

Strauss led England to victory in this summer's Ashes series against Australia and he is determined to build on that success this winter.

England need to forget their Ashes euphoria and prove a point this winter according to one of cricket's all-time greats.

Sir Ian Botham, who was in Canary Wharf on Monday, thinks the forthcoming tour to South Africa is a bigger test for Andrew Strauss's team than Australia were in the summer, and he's expecting big things.

England cricket star Andrew Flintoff dropped into Canary Wharf this afternoon to meet his adoring public.

The popular all-rounder, nicknamed Freddie, was signing copies of his new book Ashes to Ashes at Waterstone's in Jubilee Place mall and drew a big crowd.

Cricket fans hoping to meet Andrew Strauss next week need to check their diaries.

England's Ashes winning captain is heading to Canary Wharf to promote his new book, Testing Times: On and Off the Field, but the signing has been moved to next Tuesday at Waterstone's in Jubilee Place mall.

He has 100 centuries to his name but Mark Ramprakash might always be seen as the nearly man of English cricket.

With 33,244 first-class runs in a 20 year career, Ramprakash has been one of the heaviest scorers in the domestic game but never hit those heights in the test arena.

The Ashes series is tantalisingly poised at 1-1 as England and Australia head into the final test match at The Oval.

England have to win to reclaim the famous urn and test veteran Mark Butcher is under no illusions about the scale of the task facing them.

A couple of men in suits hover over a quiet pint, flicking their eyes between their watches and the TV screen like a midday game of Pong.

Every now and again other small groups pop in and out to grab a few minutes of action before slipping back to the office.

"It's going to be a hell of a battle and one England are very much looking forward to."

England batsman Alastair Cook is relishing the chance of getting stuck into Australia next month, and he cannot wait for the talking to stop and the Ashes action to begin.

ENGLAND cricket star Alastair Cook is backing his new international captain and wants to know who writes Kevin Pietersen's scripts.

Pietersen, who was handed the England captaincy just three weeks ago following the resignation of Michael Vaughan, has enjoyed a fairytale start with a test victory and two one-day wins over South Africa.

Cook was full of praise for the way Pietersen has taken to the task.

He said: "I think it's very hard to turn down the England captaincy. It's the biggest honour in the sport.

SHANE Warne’s threat to come out of international retirement for next year’s Ashes series should be taken with a pinch of salt, according to ex-England skipper Mike Gatting.

Warne, currently playing in the Indian Premier League, famously took Gatting’s wicket with the “ball of the century� on his Ashes debut in 1993 and was reported to want a return to the Australian team.

“He’s being very mischievous,� said Gatting. “I thought he’d got enough on his plate in India. For him to slip out a little mischievous comment like that, it’s typical Shane.�

But would Gatting be tempted to try to regain his England place to get revenge for “that� ball?

He said: “No, no, no. I shan’t be coming back anywhere near, and I don’t think Shane will either.�