Allrounder is carving his own niche away from attention that comes with Ashes-winning father

Valkerie Baynes26-Mar-2025Archie Vaughan is enjoying the freedom to be his “own man” at Somerset.Vaughan, who turned 19 in December, produced a match-winning performance against Surrey last year in just his second first-class game.Though he doesn’t consider that to be the moment that established him as a player in his own right, independent of his famous father, Michael, he does see an upside to carving out the beginnings of a promising career in a place where his surname carries less weight of expectation.”It’s something that I’ve probably not really thought about before,” Vaughan tells ESPNcricinfo during Somerset’s pre-season media day. “Coming to Somerset where my dad’s not known, I think that’s really helped me just be my own man.”It’s nice obviously putting in a performance like that in a big game, but I think Somerset’s a club where everyone’s treated the same, so it doesn’t matter if you’ve played 200 games or you’ve played four.”We’ve got great friendships and it’s not really about proving yourself. Everyone knows the pressures of cricket and, when you go into the changeroom, it’s trying to be as inclusive and welcoming as possible. That’s what we do.”Vaughan’s connection with Somerset came about, not from any desire to put distance between himself and his father’s Yorkshire roots, but through attending Millfield School, near Glastonbury. From there, he entered the Somerset Academy system and worked his way up.”Before then I wasn’t involved in any major county, it was just Cheshire,” he said. “If I was to stay at home and progress, it probably would’ve gone down the Lancashire route, which is obviously not where my dad went.”It’s definitely not been a conscious thought, but I think I’ve probably recognised some benefits, just him not knowing anyone, I think that’s helped just me get on with my own game.”Vaughan captained England Under-19 in South Africa this winter•Gallo Images/Getty ImagesHe made his Championship debut against Durham last August, having signed his first professional contract in May and already played for Somerset in the One-Day Cup. He ended up playing four first-class matches and seven List A games, averaging 33.71 with the bat in the Championship and taking 15 wickets at 20.13.But it was his 11 wickets against Surrey that drew the most attention. Partnering left-arm spinner Jack Leach to keep Somerset’s title hopes alive, the duo took 20 wickets between them for the match, Vaughan ending with 6 for 102 and 5 for 38 after scoring a first-innings 44 in his primary role as a top-order batter.The England Under-19 captaincy followed at the start of this year in South Africa, where England lost a 50-over series 2-1 before winning the two-match four-day series 1-0.But he remains humble and eager to learn.”I’m very proud of what I’ve done, but trying to manage my expectations for the start of the season to try and get in the team for starters,” Vaughan says. “Then if I do get in the team, trying to stay in and just put performances in to win games of cricket.Related

Will Smeed fighting on all fronts for Somerset after red-ball reversal

Jack Leach, England's unlikely Asia enforcer, comes to the fore once more

Leach comes back stronger for England after feeling the love

Archie Vaughan, son of former captain Michael, set to lead England Under-19s

Vaughan six-for as England U19s complete 10-wicket thrashing

“It’s easy to put pressure on myself after having a few good games, but I’m still 19, I’m still young, so trying to manage my expectations is probably going to be the challenge and realising I’m not going to bowl that well every game or even bat – I batted a few nice innings.”So it’s just going to be a challenge, but trying to get in the first team for the first game of the season will be my first goal.”Vaughan only started bowling off-spin during lockdown, in 2020, so Leach is a key source of knowledge that he is keen to keep drawing on.Leach, who took two wickets in three balls to seal victory in the Surrey match, understandably has fond memories of that game too.”It was really special,” Leach recalls. “That game will always live with me and just that last moment, to take that last wicket and then the boys and Archie all running towards me, and to win it right at the end like that, there’s no real better feeling in cricket.”What he did and the temperament he showed as a young player, and someone who was renowned as a batter and then bowled some off-spin, he has shown that he’s much more than that.”His temperament on those wickets, to not put too much pressure on himself, but deliver, was awesome and made my job a lot easier as well. I really enjoyed that partnership.”Vaughan has made an impression in white-ball cricket too•Getty ImagesIt may not be until later in the season that they combine again with the ball. Shoaib Bashir – another mentor for Vaughan – has gone to Glamorgan on loan to increase his opportunities given that Leach remains Somerset’s No.1 spinner, if not England’s, at the moment.And while Vaughan is happy in his batting with just over a week until the start of the Championship season, he says “a few teething problems” in his bowling indicate more volume might be required.But that doesn’t deter him from wanting to do it all. Quite the opposite.”When it comes to training, I do definitely treat myself as an allrounder,” Vaughan says. “I spend probably the same amount on both in terms of skillset. At the minute I think I’m probably a slightly better batter than a bowler but I think that’s just due to my inexperience with the ball.”In terms of length of time, I’m a few years back on my bowling than I am on my batting, so again, it’s managing my expectations. I had a good game here. It’s about realising that it’s not going to be like that every game, it’s not going to come out as I want every game.”Chatting to Leechy and Bash, having these people at the club, it’s definitely a great asset to my bowling.”England Lions host India A in two four-day matches this summer, which could prove another step in Vaughan’s development, although he’s not looking that far ahead.”My main aims and goals are definitely the start of the season here, getting in the team, putting in performances, and if I do well and that comes along then great, but definitely no thoughts, trying to just keep focus here.”

Ahead of his final Test, Angelo Mathews looks back at a long, eventful career

Andrew Fidel Fernando14-Jun-2025In the first few years of your international career, it felt like you were a little bulletproof. You’d captained age-group teams, and suddenly you were the dynamic young allrounder in one of the greatest Sri Lanka teams that ever was. What do you remember of that start?I’d like to start off by thanking the Almighty, and then my parents, my wife, my kids, my siblings – everyone who has sacrificed a lot for me. Starting from school, I got every opportunity to study and excel in sports. I’m very thankful to my college, all my teachers, past presidents, rectors, my coaches from under-13 to first XI.I got those opportunities, and then I was able to excel and get myself to achieve the target of any cricketer’s dream – playing for the national team. I was suddenly called up to a team that I used to watch on TV. Those were my heroes. The next minute I’m with them, getting myself ready to play again. I was shocked. But the seniors helped me feel at home.Related

• Mathews defies drama, one last time

• Storm, steel and silverware: how Angie and SL took over the world in 2014

• Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh: New beginnings for both teams as WTC restarts in Galle

• Mathews' best – Rain man in Galle, Hero at Headingley

• The changing game: bowlers rise, batters fall, Tests get faster and shorter

You’re sitting here a much wiser man. How do you feel about the Angelo of that early era who was playing ridiculous amounts of cricket as an allrounder? Do you think about missed opportunities to set yourself up for a sustainable peak, or do you judge yourself with a bit more kindness?I didn’t actually think about my workload management. As I said, I’ve seen a stat where from 2010 to 2015 I have played the most number of games in the entire world. So that speaks for itself.I would say the only other regret I have in my career is that I couldn’t achieve the 10,000-run mark. But every other thing, I’ve given my best in every situation. I’ve tried to win games for my country in every situation. Giving 100% to your team in every single game is another thing, so I was wanting to play all three formats and contribute with bat, ball, and in the field, in every single game. I was absolutely going for it.Obviously, I could have done things better. It was in 2018 that I sat down with Dilshan Fonseka (men’s team trainer) and looked at the amount of injuries that I had. He told me that my body couldn’t bear it. So I changed everything – the way I eat, my lifestyle, and my training.The Headingley Test was one of the highlights of Angelo Mathews’ career•AFPWe’ll get to how you changed things up a bit later, but ahead of your final Test, I wanted to also talk to you about what most people remember as maybe your greatest Test innings – the 160 in Headingley. This was at your very peak…That was one of the standouts in my career, I would say. I remember quite a few innings where I was also surprised with how well I batted, and that is definitely one of the innings. That England tour was a very heated competition between the two teams, especially starting from the one-dayers where they were targeting me as the captain. I took that energy and I transferred it into my focus and performances and that helped me play that aggressive sort of cricket. I’m pretty happy with what we did on that tour, as a team, and for me as a cricketer and captain.The young Angelo was very cool, calm and collected. That England tour was when we saw a bit of grumpiness come in…It all started with that mankading incident in the one-dayers. I’d say we’d given them enough warnings, especially in the previous game, where they were stealing quite a few runs. Both teams were grumpy. The laws weren’t that strict [on player behaviour] back then, so we exchanged a lot of words.You were doing a lot of things for this team at the time, though. You were captaining. You were expected to finish games with the bat, but you were also playing match-saving innings. You were opening the bowling in limited-overs games, and also playing a role with the ball in Tests. And you were quite young – did it feel unfair to be loaded with so much responsibility?No, every single captain goes through this. I’ve lost a lot of hair during the tenure. Not many captains have a lot of hair left. Whether you’re captaining Sri Lanka or wherever, there’s always that added responsibility. Everyone is watching you, everyone is waiting to hear from you. So that sometimes can be a bit of a pain, but I enjoyed it. Sometimes I did feel like I wanted to give up. But then I said to myself, ‘You’ve been given this opportunity. Try and take the team to another level.’In 2018, something extremely unusual happened to you. You essentially got called fat by coach Chandika Hathurusingha, in one of the most insulting ways, and you were dropped from the team you had been asked to resume captaincy of. Does that still make you angry?No, I think you shouldn’t be holding on to things. You need to learn to let go. You don’t need to react. I’ve been brought up in a way where my parents and in my school, everyone has taught me to understand and then respect people. Later, things got a bit too ugly. Let’s say, whatever, whoever said about me, I didn’t really care because I know people have their own opinions.Angelo Mathews celebrated his Test hundred at Basin Reserve with a set of push-ups•Getty ImagesBut you did react at the time, and it was putting obvious pressure on you. When you hit a hundred at the Basin Reserve, you did push ups to almost defy the coach who was calling you unfit…Whatever the selectors and the coach decide is out of my control, so I was just trying to control what was in my control. In the heat of the moment, I did some push-ups, and I did react. But I didn’t want to react like that without performing.Another fun little moment came in that 2019 ODI World Cup match against West Indies, when you hadn’t bowled in months, even in the nets, but offered to make up the overs right at the end of the game. And you ended up taking a wicket!chuckles I hadn’t bowled in about six months, but I knew [captain] Dimuth Karunaratne was running out of options because all our top bowlers were finishing their quota of overs. And then I said to Dimuth, bowl our best bowlers for now and try and get this wicket. If in case, if they don’t get out and if you’re stuck with a couple of overs, I can still bowl you those two overs.Unfortunately the quota was finished with our best bowlers, and then I had to eventually roll my arm over. I think the experience paid off. I knew I couldn’t bowl onto Nicholas Pooran’s legs because he was so strong – he was just picking everything up from his legs and hitting it over the boundaries. So I knew that I had to go wider to him, and then I just went wide to him, and he just nicked it.

“Fitness plays a major part nowadays because of the volume of cricket that we play. I understand the value of being fit. I just want to encourage the younger generation to keep pushing.”Angelo Mathews

You’ve also spoken about reorganising your relationship with food around 2018. Is that something you wish you did earlier?I’d say yes, but then all the way until 2018, I was playing all three formats and didn’t really have the opportunity of being able to block out time for just training. You need at least six to eight weeks for that. Once I started getting injured constantly, I thought I needed to slow things down and think of what I actually needed to do rather than just playing. That’s when that meeting with Dilshan happened. I was doing a lot of static training, but needed to change to a lot of functional training. I made that change and feel absolutely brilliant.After being called fat for several years, you’re now posting shirtless mirror selfies with your abs popping in your mid to late 30s. That’s got to feel good…laughs Yes, I’m feeling good. I just want to inspire the younger generation. Fitness plays a major part nowadays because of the volume of cricket that we play. I understand the value of being fit. I just want to encourage the younger generation to keep pushing.We got some very grumpy moments from you late in your career too. I’m thinking of that heated press conference where you went all out against Bangladesh after you got timed out…I think that was one of the times that I did speak quite a lot because I was angry and I felt disappointed. I hadn’t done anything wrong. When I showed the video to the match referee and the umpires post-game, they realised it and said sorry. But that was a very crucial game for us and I felt like I was targeted. I don’t know what prompted them to appeal.I felt that the umpires should have got involved a little bit more. I certainly didn’t cross the two-minute mark when I went to the crease. It was obvious that my helmet broke at the time and not before I walked into the ground. So it was a fair reason for me to get angry.Any Sri Lankan player, and particularly someone who has captained as long as you, has many off-field battles to fight through their career as well. Any battles that stick out?There was one phase where some of the past cricketers were coming out and saying unnecessary stuff [about corruption] without evidence. That really hurt the entire team. You shouldn’t drag the players into it. I just urge them to produce evidence in front of everyone, but don’t just say things for the sake of it, because it tarnishes the team’s reputation. This was around 2018, when the big allegations were happening and the ICC had started an investigation in Sri Lanka, and they went through the entire team. It was a very disturbing thing for everyone.There will always be attempts to topple the administration, and that’s not our business. But they shouldn’t be dragging players into it.Now, there is a bill passed anyway (Sri Lanka has criminalised sports fixing), so if someone talks rubbish we can raise it according to the law. Back then we didn’t have anything.Are you glad that bill has passed?Yes, because it stops the rubbish that people say. If they want to say something and have evidence, then no problem.Moving back to your cricket, are there any parts of your record you look at now and are especially proud of?To finish third on the list of Sri Lanka’s Test run-scorers, behind two of the greatest that have ever played for Sri Lanka (Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene) – that makes me really proud. I know there is regret about 10,000, but I’m happy reaching 8000-odd. Due to injuries I couldn’t play a lot of Test cricket as well. But I’m fortunate that despite that, I was able to play 118 Tests.Dinesh Chandimal, Rangana Herath and Angelo Mathews during a lap of honour after the series win against Australia in 2016•AFPYou had two truly outstanding Test series wins in your record as captain – 2014 series win in England, and the 3-0 home whitewash against Australia in 2016. Were those your favourites?Yeah, they’re my two top ones. Because winning against England in England is a very tough ask.Against Australia, wherever you play, it’s going to be a challenge. We all know that they are a very strong team. And then to beat them 3-0, when they were number one at the time as well, with a young set of guys, was incredible. Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva were performing, and we were able to complete a whitewash with Rangana Herath leading the bowling.I know you’re available for white-ball cricket for a little while, but you must be thinking of post-retirement life. What does that look like for you?I haven’t decided. Cricket has given me everything. I would like to give back in whatever capacity. I’ll still keep playing for a year or two in leagues and other stuff if that comes my way. I feel I can still contribute to the game.I’d also like to thank SLC for all their support from 2008 till now. I’d love to thank the support staff since 2008 as well. A special mention to all the back-room coaches at the high performance centre, and all the other stuff there – the masseurs and masseuses, and the physios – everyone. Day in day out, they have helped me personally, and they have helped the teams, without much recognition. I’d like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all the back-end staff at HPC. They’ve worked extremely hard to keep us fit and keep us in good form.

How hard-hitting batter turned to another sport after injury curtailed his rugby career

Matt Roller16-Sep-2025When Ross Adair walks out to open the batting at Malahide on Wednesday he will complete a rare sporting double.The last time Adair pulled on a green Ireland shirt to face England, his opponents included the future England rugby union captain, Maro Itoje; this time, his opposite number at the top of the order will be Jos Buttler. Even if his encounter with Itoje was an Under-19s fixture, he will surely become the only man to have faced both modern English sporting greats in international competition.The prospect of playing against Buttler makes Adair grin. “I’m a 31-year-old man, and I’m trying not to be too excited about this guy – who is not much older than me – coming over to play cricket against me,” he says, sheltering from the wind on the Sport Ireland campus on the outskirts of Dublin. “To be in the presence of someone who’s done so much in the game will be pretty cool.”It is the latest landmark in a second sporting life that Adair himself admits seemed unlikely when he was recovering from the double hip surgeries that effectively ended his rugby career. “That was life’s way of telling me that I was on the wrong path,” he says. “I didn’t expect to be here, if I’m quite honest. It just sort of happened.”Adair and his younger brother, Mark, juggled both sports as teenagers, but went in different directions. “I got to a stage where there was Ulster Under-20s or the Under-19 Cricket World Cup,” he explains. “Ryan Eagleson (now Ireland’s bowling coach) was the Under-19s coach and he left me out… The cricket door closed, the rugby door was open, so away I went.”Primarily a winger, Adair struggled to break into a strong Ulster backline. “The back three when I was there was [Andrew] Trimble, [Jared] Payne and [Tommy] Bowe – effectively a Lions back three.” He made a single substitute appearance at senior level in the Pro12, scoring a try during his seven-minute cameo, before moving onto Jersey Reds in the English Championship.Ross Adair in action for Ulster’s A team during his rugby union career•Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty ImagesCricket went on the backburner. “We played one-hand, one-bounce in the changing rooms. That kept my eye in… I maybe came back and played a couple of games for Holywood, my local club – [Rory] McIlroy territory. But if I’d gone back to Jersey with a broken finger, they’ve have been like, ‘What are you doing?'”By the time a degenerative hip condition prompted two surgeries in early 2018, he had started to fall out of love with rugby. He returned to play for Ballynahinch and for Ulster’s A team, but recalls clearly when he realised it was time to quit: “The ref blew the first whistle, and I was counting 80 minutes down in my head… I was like, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore.'”Adair took a job in property development and started to play cricket again on the side – though an Ireland call-up was a long way off his radar: “It was just a bit of for me, a bit of fun.” Runs in club cricket earned him opportunities for Northern Knights in the Irish inter-provincial system – initially at No. 7 or 8 – before he blasted a century from the top of the order in 2022.His first Ireland call-up came on a tour to Zimbabwe, with senior players missing playing franchise cricket, and hitting 65 off 47 in his second cap ensured further opportunities would follow. He ran the drinks at last year’s T20 World Cup but marked his arrival at international level in September, launching nine sixes in a 57-ball hundred against South Africa.A combination of injury, bad weather and Ireland’s sparse fixture list means that he has only batted once since in T20Is, scoring 48 against West Indies in June. “I’ve had to watch the highlights of my hundred a couple of times, just to [remind myself], ‘You can still do this, you’re fine.’ Sometimes you second-guess yourself, but that’s all part of sport. It’s very normal.”By his own admission, Adair is a “raw” batter who relies more on temperament than technique. “I’m just glad I’m not one of the guys that go, ‘My head was a millimetre out of position there.’ You’d go insane… I like going with the flow. I could always strike a cricket ball, but I was just very, very raw. That helped me a lot when I came back.”He finds cricket more “mentally challenging” than rugby, particularly given the high-variance nature of his role as an attacking opener: “You could go five or six games in a row without getting any runs and you think you’re shit, but that’s not the case. There’s a score around the corner… It’s live by the sword, die by the sword. For me, it’s an amazing way to live.”Adair was inspired by England’s record-breaking hitting on Friday night, when they racked up 304 for 2 against South Africa: “That’s my kind of cricket. It always has been: see ball, hit ball.” He saw Phil Salt’s series – a first-baller, followed by an unbeaten 141 off 60 balls – as emblematic of the life of a modern T20 opener. “It’s scary… But that’s just the way it is.”When I went back to cricket, once I finished playing rugby, I could just go back and blast it. I wasn’t worried about the consequences… When it did take off a bit, I was trying to keep that mindset: don’t worry about it. If you get out, you get out. It’s fine. You could be 90 off 40, you could also be 0 off 1… That sense of freedom makes it a bit easier for me.”Related

• Ross Adair's 47-ball 65 helps Ireland level series

• Adair brothers star as Ireland level series

• Jordan Cox earns belated call-up for Ireland T20Is

• Ireland call up Calitz for England T20Is; Little, Mark Adair absent with injury

• Saqib Mahmood ruled out of T20Is as Scott Currie earns maiden call-up

He believes there are more transferable skills between cricket and rugby than might be obvious – “being in front of a crowd, blocking out the noise… and I’ve taken a lot of high balls” – and sees T20 as the “closest thing” between the two. “It’s just such a good, explosive, aggressive version of cricket… That’s maybe why I love it the best.”Adair won his first central contract last year, shelving his day job to become a professional cricketer aged 30, and has one eye on next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. “Hopefully with these games coming up, I can put my foot down for that opening role… They’re proper cricketing countries – the people there are mad for it – so it’s a very exciting time.”Facing England will be the biggest challenge of his career so far, but he will not be changing his approach. “I respect them so much because of what they do, and the cricket they play, but you have to park that sometimes… I’ll keep coming and trying to take them on, no matter who they are. I’ll park the respect once it comes to the game.”The two nations’ cricketing rivalry is not as deep as in rugby, but Adair is still “incredibly” excited ahead of Wednesday’s series opener. “I love playing England. I’ve had my experience with England before and even then, as an 18-year-old in the rugby sphere, you just want to get stuck in. It’s a bit different in cricket because it’s not as confrontational – but it still means a lot to us.”

At just 23, the Pakistan women’s captain has turned personal tragedy into resolve, leading her side while elevating her own game

Firdose Moonda30-Sep-2025Fatima Sana’s last conversation with her father was during the 2024 T20 World Cup and it was about cricket.”We had a video call. He watched our match against Sri Lanka and also our game against India and we discussed everything. But then suddenly…” Her voice trails off.Three days after that conversation, her father had a heart attack and passed away in a Karachi hospital. Sana left the T20 World Cup to be at his funeral and grieve with her family, with no intention of returning to the tournament. “But my mother told me that when my father was in hospital, he told the doctors, ‘My daughter is playing for Pakistan’ and that it was his wish for me to go back and play the next match,” Sana says. “I said to her, ‘No mom, I can’t do that’, but she told me, ‘It was your father’s wish, so you have to go.’ My mother supported me at that time, so I think she is braver than me.”With Pakistan already knocked out of the competition, Sana returned to Dubai and led the team in their final match, against New Zealand. She was stoic as she lined up alongside her team-mates for the national anthems but as soon as the first notes of “” started, tears streamed down her face. Her father was a pilot in the country’s air force and a patriot. The pain of losing him was too much to bear.Related

Evenly matched Bangladesh and Pakistan aim to hit the ground running in Colombo

Form vs Spirit: Australia's world champions take on New Zealand's game raisers

Nida Dar, Aliya Riaz lose PCB central contracts; Fatima Sana promoted to Category A

Fatima Sana: 'The new approach we have taken makes me hopeful for ICC events'

Fatima Sana named Pakistan captain for Women's T20 World Cup

But already she had proven her age was no barrier to her willingness to take on responsibility, and her returning to the field underlined the commitment she made when she had agreed to lead Pakistan, just weeks before.Sana was named Pakistan’s captain in August 2024 (she had captained in two ODIs before), a little over a month before the T20 World Cup. She replaced the vastly experienced Nida Dar, who was removed following Pakistan’s loss to Sri Lanka in the semi-final of the Asia Cup and has since taken an indefinite break from cricket. “I was very shocked when our coach told me,” Sana says. “I just went back home, and discussed it with my family and they all told me they thought I could do it. I didn’t have time to talk about it to anyone else. But I was a little bit nervous at that time, because it was so sudden.”Having accepted the role, she wanted to step up and do it as well as she could, and might have bitten off more than she could chew. “The coaches told me that I have to manage my workload,” she says.In her seven matches since being appointed captain, Sana has taken a four-for and consecutive three-wicket hauls•Getty ImagesHer numbers reflect how seriously she took the role. Before the recent series against South Africa, where she went wicketless, Sana captained Pakistan in seven ODIs, took 14 wickets at an average of 17.71 significantly better than her 63 wickets overall at 29.74. She has also led in nine T20Is, where she has ten wickets at 20.20 (also an improvement on her overall average of 25.40, though her economy rate is fractionally worse as captain). She’s currently the second most prolific fast bowler for Pakistan, just seven short of Asmavia Iqbal at the top, a gap she could close during the upcoming World Cup.But it’s the batting stats that really stand out. Two of her three ODI fifties have come after she was appointed captain, and almost half her T20I career runs, at a strike rate of 146.37, compared to an overall strike rate of 118.46.Her improved performances have brought calls for her to put herself permanently at No. 5 to stabilise the middle order, and she’s hoping she can soon make the role her own. “I am still working on my batting a lot,” she says. “When I started playing in the Pakistan team, I was at No. 8, then I moved up to seventh, then sixth and then fifth, so hopefully I will be able to bat higher.”If she’s looking for a role model, she need go no further than a woman she looks up to already: Sana Mir, who, though she was moved up and down the order, started and ended her career at No. 5. Mir has been a sounding board for Sana since the earliest days of her career.