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The month in Cricket
Longest running story: 35 days
Institutional change, rather than one result, became the month's clearest through-line.
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Stokes' retirement and New Zealand's series win began England's transition, which accelerated when the ECB dismissed McCullum and left the team without a captain or coach. England recovered against India before appointing Joe Root as captain and Stephen Fleming as head coach, turning a loose rebuild into a formal reset.
Pakistan's removal of Shan Masood and return to Babar Azam framed a Test campaign already affected by omissions and selection changes. West Indies then won the first Pakistan Test by 90 runs, forcing Pakistan to reshape its attack and enter the second match needing a win.
The ICC redesigned the 2027 ODI and 2028 T20 World Cups, while associate nations warned that reduced access to leading teams could hurt development. Hosting plans also became more flexible, with an India-based Ashes possibility, Afghanistan hosting India, a new WTC final venue, and twelve cities confirmed for the 2027 World Cup.
The first women's Test at Lord's became a landmark defeat for England, with India winning and Beaumont and Knight ending their international careers. England responded in the shorter format by completing its first T20 series win over India, leaving the women's side balancing historic change with improved white-ball results.
The T20 Blast qualification race tightened through ties, emphatic wins, and late pushes for quarter-final places before Northamptonshire and Somerset secured knockout berths. Northamptonshire then beat Hampshire for a third men's title, while The Blaze won the women's tournament after Durham's upset run to the final.
Welsh Fire and Southern Brave set strong early standards, while the women's Brave opened with four straight wins and moved four points clear. Trent Rockets then rose to the top of the men's table and reinforced their position with narrow wins, giving the competition clear early leaders in both sections.
Australia beat England by seven wickets to win a seventh Women's T20 World Cup. England's Nat Sciver-Brunt made an unbeaten 58, but Australia controlled the chase of 150 and extended their hold on the title.
India completed a 3-0 T20I sweep of Zimbabwe without losing control while rotating its squad. Fifteen-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi progressed from a debut half-century to an unbeaten 81, making the series both a dominant result and an introduction to a potential future star.
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