England Test Squad - (Source: AFP)
England and its players are very serious and committed when it comes to Test cricket. As seen recently, Ben Duckett left his IPL commitment to focus on Test cricket and prepare for the upcoming WTC cycle. However, in a shocking development, England players are all set to boycott Test cricket for a massive world tournament.
At present, the players are playing the County Championship and toiling hard to make a mark in the upcoming red-ball summer.
England Cricket Struggling In Latest WTC Cycle
WTC remains one of the tournaments where England have not made any mark. The Ben Stokes-led side are still looking for a World Test Championship Mace and are not quite on the right track even in the ongoing cycle.
Talking about WTC 2025-27, England are placed 7th on the table with 31.67 PCT. Notably, the Ben Stokes-led side have won 3, lost 6 and drawn 1 Test in the current cycle. The Three Lions have a crucial series lined up going forward.
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After IPL 2026, England will host New Zealand and Pakistan at home. Further, they will travel to South Africa and Bangladesh to conclude their cycle.
Given their performance in the present cycle, a section of fans have already given up hope and are looking for the 2027-2029 WTC cycle. However, in the latest events, they have been handed a big blow as most of the stars might not be available for the key West Indies series in 2028.
England Stars To Miss Tests For Olympics
A recent report from The Telegraph reported that England’s Test series against West Indies will overlap with the LA Olympics in 2028. Notably, the players are now preferring the global sports event over red-ball cricket.
Therefore, the report mentioned that the likes of Harry Brook, Jacob Bethell and Jofra Archer might not be there as they prefer playing the Olympics. It is not an usual sight in England cricket where red-ball cricket is not given the paramount attention.
Hence, it will be interesting to see how the management and fans will handle this situation in future.
England Hopeful For Olympics Medal
One of the reasons why England cricket board might not object to the players preferring Olympics ahead of Test series is because of the fact that the Three Lions have been doing well so far in T20 World Cups.
Talking about T20 World Cup 2026, England got off to an unpleasent start and were on the brink of an early exit. However, they regained their lost mojo and crashed out of the tournament fighting in the semi-final against India.
Also, England reached the semis in T20 World Cup 2024 and won the prestigious T20 tournament in 2022, their second in the history of the competition, becoming then the most-successful team.
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