Stokes

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame confirmed on Wednesday that 6-foot-7 Tyran Stokes, considered the No. 1 high school basketball player from the class of 2026, has withdrawn from school.

Stokes arrived last season from a Northern California prep school and helped the Knights reach the Southern Section Open Division championship game and the Southern California Regional final.

His departure could produce changes in national TV game plans for Notre Dame. The Knights are still expected to be one of the top teams in Southern California with San Diego State commit Zachary White and top junior NaVorro Bowman.

Stokes leaving Notre Dame makes Sierra Canyon the Mission League preseason favorite.

Captain Ben Stokes has extended his England central contract through to the end of the next home Ashes series in 2027.

Stokes, whose previous deal was due to expire at the end of next summer, is one of 14 players to sign on for two years.

They include pace bowler Jofra Archer, who has signed an extended contract following his return to Test cricket.

England said the contracts reward performances in the past year, while also looking ahead to the upcoming schedule. The home Ashes in 2027 is followed by a 50-over World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

All of the 16 players in the squad for the upcoming Ashes in Australia have been handed a contract of at least one year.

Eleven of the Ashes squad – including Stokes, Archer, Joe Root and Harry Brook – have signed two-year deals.

Four of the five with one-year contracts – batters Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope, spinner Shoaib Bashir and seamer Matthew Potts – are not multi-format players, while 35-year-old pace bowler Mark Wood is entering the final part of a three-year contract he signed in 2023.

The extension of Stokes’ contract is particularly eye-catching.

The 34-year-old all-rounder has a chequered injury record and is currently recovering from a shoulder problem.

However, he is on track to be fit for the first Ashes Test in Perth on 21 November, which would be his first action since July.

In signing a longer deal, it indicates the potential for him to lead England into the 2027 Ashes and also aligns his future with head coach Brendon McCullum, who is contracted to England until the end of the World Cup that year.

Ben Stokes and Mark Wood will be “raring to go” in time for the Ashes, according to England pace bowler Brydon Carse.

Talismanic England skipper Stokes missed the final Test against India in July because of a shoulder injury, while express paceman Wood has not played a Test since August 2024 as a result of elbow and knee problems.

Both are looking to be fit for the first Test in Perth on 21 November, a series opener that Australia captain Pat Cummins has said he is “less likely than likely” to feature in because of a back injury.

Carse, a Durham team-mate of Stokes and Wood, said: “Ben and Woody are going well.

“I’ve been down to Loughborough in the past couple of weeks, had a couple of nights with them. Ben is looking near enough 100% fit and so is Mark. I’ve been bowling with them.

“It’s exciting to see where they have got to after their setbacks during the summer. They will be raring to go come Australia time.”

Pace bowling and the durability of the respective attacks could be a decisive factor in the outcome of a five-Test Ashes series crammed into the space of seven weeks.

With Aussie spearhead Cummins a huge doubt for Perth and possibly beyond, the home side will rely on Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland, all in their mid-30s. Beyond that, their other seamers are inexperienced or untried at Test level.

The group of fast bowlers named by England is set to be their fastest and most hostile to tour Australia in more than 50 years, albeit with some fitness doubts among them.

By the time of the first Test, Wood will not have played any competitive cricket since February. Despite that lack of action, the 35-year-old – probably the fastest bowler in the world – often claims he is at his best when fresh.

All-rounder Stokes, 34, is vital to England’s Ashes hopes, but has a history of pushing himself to breaking point. He has not completed any of England’s past four Test series and in the home summer against India his large bowling workload resulted in the shoulder injury.

Stokes and Wood are also the only pace bowlers in the England squad to have played in a Test down under before, but Carse believes the touring seamers will not suffer for their lack of time in Australian conditions.

“You can look at it two ways,” said Carse, speaking at the Toyota Professional Cricketers’ Association awards.

“Stokesy and Woody have played in Ashes series down in Australia, so they have the experience to fall back on.

“A couple of the other seamers have played in A trips out there. Hopefully that experience will allow them to feel a level of confidence going into the Ashes.”

He stood taller than any other player on the field. His wingspan likely stretches far beyond any other wideout in the Mission League or, possibly, the Southern Section.

Tyran Stokes appeared as a man among men as he stretched and worked his way through pregame drills, cameras lined up along the sideline aimed at the senior as if he was back on the AAU basketball circuit — and for good reason.

The comparison was hard not to make during Sherman Oaks Notre Dame’s 57-14 victory over Culver City (3-2) on Friday night.

Is this what LeBron James looked like on the football field?

James, who played at St. Vincent–St. Mary High in Akron, Ohio, during his sophomore and junior yearsin 2000 and 2001, used his 6-foot-7 frame to earn all-state honors, the future four-time NBA most valuable player even garnering attention from Notre Dame and Urban Meyer, then a wide receivers coach for the Fighting Irish, according to ESPN. At 6-foot-8 and 250 pounds, Stokes is larger — and already plays for Notre Dame; well, the Knights of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (3-2).

The No. 1 high school senior in the nation — according to multiple college basketball recruiting sites — wanted more. Stokes jostled his love of a second sport, football, becoming a wide receiver and defensive end on the football team earlier in September, just months before his final season of basketball at begins.

Basketball standout Tyran Stokes of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame comes up short an attempt to make his first catch Friday against Culver City.

(Craig Weston)

“He improves our practice atmosphere, he improves our game atmosphere, he improves our mindset and our competitive spirit in the room,” Notre Dame coach Evan Yabu said, noting Stokes has been a “pleasure” to have on the team.

Towering over defensive backs, Stokes was a go-to target for senior quarterback Wyatt Brown — who put the game out of reach in the first half with a three-touchdown effort — anytime he appeared on the field. Brown finished 21-for-33 passing with 301 yards and five touchdowns. On the ground, he tallied 79 yards and one touchdown.

His final pass was the one that Notre Dame will remember.

Matched up on 5-foot-8 Culver City defensive back Derrick Huezo Jr., Stokes burst forward and created 15 yards of separation. Huezo could only shrug as he trailed Stokes.

The now-two=sport star took the ball 45 yards to the house to cement the final score.

On Stokes’ first play, in Notre Dame’s second drive of the first quarter, Brown caught Stokes across the middle of the field.

The ball slipped through Stokes’ hands.

He wouldn’t let that happen when it mattered most, the clock ticking on his first game. Stokes finishes with two receptions for 57 yards (he was targeted eight times).

“I know he’s a big-time hooper,” Brown said. “But when he came over here, he was very humble and open about learning — which is a testament to him.”

Stokes politely declined all interview requests following the game — so it goes being the most-sought-after basketball recruit in the nation.

But any kid — or fan — who asked for a picture, he waited and obliged.

The moment wasn’t just big for him, but for the whole school — Stokes, one of the last to trot to the locker room to get ready for a bus ride back to Sherman Oaks.

England Test captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum make new players feel “on top of the world”, says all-rounder Will Jacks after receiving a surprise recall for this winter’s Ashes in Australia.

Off-spinner Jacks has played only two Tests, in 2022, but returns as cover for Shoaib Bashir ahead of Rehan Ahmed, Liam Dawson and Jack Leach.

“The leadership group make you feel like you can take anyone on,” Jacks told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“For someone who comes into the team making your debut, that builds you up quickly and makes you feel like you belong there straight away.

“He (Stokes) leads with his own actions, which makes him really easy to follow. He would never ask you do something he’s not willing to do.”

“Is he actually coming?”

A Sherman Oaks Notre Dame football player had heard the rumors of a new student joining the football team on Monday at practice.

Sure enough, 6-foot-8 Tyran Stokes, the No. 1 high school basketball player in the country from the class of 2026, showed up wearing practice jersey No. 67. He’ll need 10 days of practices before he can play in a football game, but coach Evan Yabu was excited to have him.

He’s supposed to play receiver and Yabu observed, “We don’t have anyone 6-8, 245 pounds.”

Notre Dame’s Tyran Stokes celebrates after a slam dunk in the closing seconds of a 68-61 victory at Harvard-Westlake last season.

( Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Stokes could use a break from basketball after a busy offseason of traveling and games. Notre Dame basketball coach Matt Sargeant is fine with Stokes trying football. He has three other players on the football team.

USC basketball coach Eric Musselman looked like a genius when he went out to the football field to watch Stokes. He had come to Notre Dame to watch basketball practice, then heard about Stokes missing basketball practice.

Basketball player Zach White said of Stokes trying football, “He’ll do great if he puts his mind to it.”

Durham head coach Ryan Campbell says England captain Ben Stokes “is back in training” after a shoulder injury and “will be ready” for this winter’s Ashes in Australia.

Stokes, 34, missed the fifth and final Test against India at The Oval with the shoulder problem he sustained during the draw at Old Trafford in July.

The all-rounder expected to be sidelined for about six or seven weeks and has now started batting in the nets again with his county side.

With the first Ashes Test to begin in Perth on 21 November, Campbell also confirmed fast bowler Mark Wood is “extremely close to playing” for Durham again after having surgery on a knee injury.

“Stokes is back in training,” Campbell told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“Over the last week, he’s started to hit balls and had a really good session. Scott Borthwick was throwing to him with [coach] Will Gidman for nearly two hours.

“The batting side of things is going very well but the bowling will take a lot longer. He is being treated very steadily.”

Wood, meanwhile, has not played since February after an injury sustained at the Champions Trophy in Pakistan.

The 35-year-old had hoped to return for the fifth Test against India before a setback and was also left out for white-ball matches against South Africa and Ireland.

“I’ve got my fingers crossed that Wood plays for us next week,” said Campbell.

“If that happens, it’s not only great for Durham but also for England. He is extremely close to playing.”

BBC Sport pundit Phil Tufnell believes Ben Stokes’ ability to “break partnerships” was missed as England failed to take a wicket in the final two sessions of day four at Old Trafford.

MATCH REPORT: England v India fourth Test – day four

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England’s magnificent win came six years to the day since Eoin Morgan’s white-ball side memorably lifted the World Cup at the same venue, with Jofra Archer bowling the hosts to victory against New Zealand in the super over.

Stokes said he felt Archer – in his first Test match since 2021 – would produce another special performance on day five against India.

“He cracked the game open with those two wickets,” said Stokes of Archer’s dismissals of Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar in the morning session.

“I just had this gut feeling something was going to happen, with it being Jofra’s first time back.

“It’s been awesome to have him back out there, every time he gets announced you hear the whole ground erupt. When he turns it on, the speeds come up on the screen, and the feeling in the game just changes.”

With two Tests remaining, the on-field tensions during the Lord’s encounter have added a little extra heat to the series, which will motivate both sets of players.

India seamer Mohammed Siraj was fined 15% of his match fee and given one demerit point by the match referee for his celebration after dismissing Ben Duckett on day four, which followed an altercation between Zak Crawley and Shubman Gill the preceding evening.

On the final day, there was a collision between Ravindra Jadeja and Brydon Carse in the middle of the pitch as the batter set off for a run, with Stokes eventually separating the pair.

“It’s a massive series, emotions are going,” added Stokes. “All 22 players are playing for their country and I don’t think anyone in the either dressing room is going to be complaining about what was said.

“A bit of niggle out in the middle gets over-egged from people watching.

“I’m all for it. I don’t think it went over the line whatsoever. It adds to the theatre.”

England captain Ben Stokes produces a stunning throw to run out Rishabh Pant for 74 in the last ball of the morning session on day three of the second Test at Lord’s, to leave India 248-4 at lunch, 139 runs behind England’s first innings score of 387.

FOLLOW LIVE: England v India third Test – day three

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That leads nicely to England’s pace bowlers. Having opted to pick an unchanged side for Edgbaston, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue have now bowled 82, 77 and 81 overs respectively.

Mohammed Siraj is the only India quick to have bowled more than 62.

All three of England’s pacemen struggled at times in Birmingham. Woakes was not as threatening after his new-ball spell while Tongue has been played well by India’s top order and was not as successful against the tail as in the first Test.

Change will surely come at Lord’s given three days off is little time to recover and Jofra Archer is waiting in the wings.

Could England conceivably leave out all three?

Gus Atkinson, who has not played since May because of a hamstring injury, is back in the squad but it would be a risk to play Atkinson and Archer, who has bowled in two innings in a match once in four years, in the same XI.

Woakes, 36, may need a rest but England like variety in their attack and he averages 12.9 at Lord’s – the best of any bowler in Test history.

England would also need to replace his batting at number eight if he is left out – even more so if Carse, an able batter, was also absent at number nine.

Sam Cook is the Woakes replacement in England’s squad but does not offer that same batting depth.

Do not rule out bowling all-rounder Jamie Overton adding to his one Test cap, which was earned in 2022.

Helmets, padding and the ability to practice better has made everyone fair game and you’re acutely aware that you’ll receive a bouncer when you walk out there, especially as you’ll be tasked to do the same when you have the ball in your hand.

Your palms get sweaty, you need a nervous trip to the toilet every five minutes and you can’t take your eyes off who the opposition captain is gesturing at to bowl next.

I made the mistake of bouncing Jofra Archer in a County Championship match in 2018, hitting him on the head.

As soon as it was my turn to bat, I knew who’d have the ball in his hand.

The index finger on my right hand is still swollen from where the first ball I faced from him squeezed in against my bat handle in front of my face. He got me out next ball for nought.

The psychological lift a wagging tail gives to a dressing room is also huge.

It lightens the mood, it gives players the confidence that the momentum in the game is in their favour and you can physically see the frustration in the opposition as they toy with how to extract the last few wickets.

The top order batters’ minds are distracted from facing the opening overs of the following innings and if the tail really wags it can descend into chaos.

England were the sixth worst at removing the tail in the previous cycle of the World Test Championship, with the opposition averaging 87.04 after the sixth wicket fell in that period.

With the best in the world, New Zealand, conceding an average of 61.92, that is a significant 50.24-run swing across a Test.

Cast your mind back to the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston in 2023 that Australia won by two wickets.

In a chase of 282, Scott Boland as nightwatchman scored 20 from 40 balls, Pat Cummins 44 not out from 73 and Nathan Lyon a 28-ball unbeaten 16.

More was made of the Stokes declaration on day one, but fundamentally, the inability to blow the tail away in the second innings was where the game was lost.

Killing the tail is going to be imperative to England’s success not only in this series, but in this winter’s Ashes too. Tongue has shown he has the skills. The likes of Carse, Archer or Gus Atkinson could do it too.

Gobbling up rabbit pie could be more important than anyone thinks.

India has a 96-run lead over England with eight wickets remaining heading into day four of the first cricket Test at Headingly.

India led England by 96 runs on the second innings after three days of an enthralling Test series opener at Headingley.

India bowled out the hosts for 465 at tea on Sunday to eke out a six-run first-innings lead, and was 90-2 in its second bat when rain stopped play a half-hour early.

Opener Lokesh Rahul was 47 not out with captain Shubman Gill beside him on 6.

Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was nipped out by Brydon Carse for 4, and not long before play ended for the day, Sai Sudharsan fell to Ben Stokes for the second time in the match, on 30.

Harry Brook led England’s batting effort on the day, riding his luck from 0 to 99 when he was out hooking straight to the fielder at deep backward square leg.

Brook was in control of partnerships of 51 with Stokes, 73 with Jamie Smith and 49 with Chris Woakes. But when he was out at 398-7, England trailed India by 73. India would have expected to wrap up the tail with the new ball only five overs old.

But fast bowling allrounder Woakes and batter Carse smashed India for 55 runs off 44 balls, and India needed to give star pacer Jasprit Bumrah a fifth spell to finally end England’s innings.

Bumrah took the last two wickets to finish with 5-83, his 14th Test five-for and 12th five-for away from home, tying Kapil Dev’s India record.

England Test captain Ben Stokes tells Jonathan Agnew that they “can be the best Test team in the world” but admits “we have been guilty in the past of being too stuck in our ways”.

England play a one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge from Thursday, before marquee series at home to India and away in Australia.

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