PAUL NEWMAN: If cricket returns this summer, one key proposal by the ECB is for the Test and white-ball sides to play at the same time to enable as much action as possible to take place. 

PAUL NEWMAN: It is not without irony that Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, spoke of rewarding cricket's 'core audience' if the game can squeeze a truncated season into this summer.

EXCLUSIVE BY MATT HUGHES: Sky Sports have given their blessing to the ECB postponing The Hundred for 12 months - despite the competition's importance to their £1.1bn television deal.

Ben Stokes, the hero of England's dramatic World Cup triumph and the miracle of Headingley last summer, has been named the leading cricketer in the world.

Wisden is published on Thursday for the 157th time. It is full of joy, and staring into the abyss. The Almanack's arrival usually coincides with a spring in cricket's step. But this year, not so much.

The ECB are considering a re-draft of players if they postpone the Hundred for 12 months - due to changes in status of Kolpak cricketers and the availability of overseas stars.

Ashley Giles says England's players will have 'no excuses' for not being fully fit to start a truncated cricket season he still believes can take place later this summer.

Joe Root believes David Warner was better behaved in the last Ashes series than the previous one. The Australian batsman is known to be a lively character and Root thought he was calmer.

With no cricket to fill the live schedules as a result of the coronavirus lockdown, Ben Stokes rewatched his 'miracle of Headlingley' for the first time with his epic 135 not out performance.

Coco Cuhna made the mistake of suggesting to her cricket coach boyfriend that it might be fun to see if he could show her how to bat when she saw him whacking a few tennis balls into a net.

Cricket's county champions are still planning for a truncated season and believe a Twenty20 Blast-dominated schedule will help the game avoid the financial black hole facing football.

The dream of becoming the first brothers to play Test cricket together for England since the Hollioakes is sustaining Tom and Sam Curran as they endure being apart during lockdown.

Phil Neville played alongside former all-rounder Andrew Flintoff for Lancashire's age-group sides, and also went on to make an appearance for their second XI before turning to football.

EXCLUSIVE BY DAVID COVERDALE: Eight months on and the noise of that unforgiving Edgbaston crowd is still ringing in Cameron Bancroft's ears. 'It was loud, it was intimidating.'

EXCLUSIVE: The ECB are preparing to postpone England's Test series against West Indies, put back the Twenty20 Blast until later in the summer and cancel the inaugural Hundred.

Fears over international teams getting stuck at this year's Twenty20 World Cup will feature prominently in the ICC's teleconference talks between chief executives next Thursday.

Sportsmail columnists Nasser Hussain and David Lloyd answer your questions including who were the hardest batsmen to plan for and will England lift the T20 World Cup?

LAWRENCE BOOTH: Rashid will turn 35 during the next World Cup in 2023 but with the tournament set for the spin-friendly pitches of India, he says he'd love to be involved.

Former Australia captain Mark Taylor and wicket-keeping great Adam Gilchrist believe pay cuts are inevitable for the country's cricketers as the sport gears up to deal with the financial crisis.

Can you guess the England cricket star who posted a throwback picture of himself alongside his sister on Instagram? He's wearing his first Nottingham Forest shirt in the photo.

If cricket returns while Covid-19 is still a threat, bowlers will be asked to throw clothing and other things such as sunglasses beyond the boundary rope instead of handing to officials.

EXCLUSIVE BY DAVID COVERDALE: Eoin Morgan's side are scheduled to face the Aussies in three Twenty20s and three one-day internationals from July 3-16.

EXCLUSIVE: Ian Watmore quit his leading Football League role in November 2018 citing poor health. But it can be revealed a week earlier the EFL had commissioned an independent inquiry.

EXCLUSIVE BY DAVID COVERDALE: The ECB are under pressure to save counties by paying them their full instalments for the Hundred despite the competition's imminent postponement.

England cricket legend Andrew Flintoff has recalled how Newcastle boss Steve Bruce once bailed him out of a sticky situation at a restaurant after his credit card had maxed out.

There are fears that the current restrictions put in place by their federal government preventing Australians flying abroad in all but essential circumstances will last into final quarter of this year.

EXCLUSIVE BY MATT HUGHES: Sportsmail has learned that the ECB are insured for the value of all tickets sold up until April 1 if the Tests do not take place as planned.

The four-week tournament remains in its scheduled slot of an October 18 start, although Cricket Australia have reserved the right in the circumstances to reassess the situation as late as August.

SPECIAL REPORT: There are growing concerns that the new franchise-based tournament is unaffordable given the challenges facing cricket amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The ECB had initially announced that no cricket would be played in the UK until May 28 at the earliest, but - as expected - the pandemic has caused a further delay.

The ECB have delayed the 2020 season until at least July 1, leaving just three months to complete the remaining nine County Championship rounds, the Twenty20 Blast and the new Hundred competition.

English cricket supremo Tom Harrison has warned of dire financial consequences for the sport amid fears that the new season will not take place at all because of the coronavirus.

The prospect of the sanctioned use of artificial substances to alter the condition of the red ball, under the supervision of umpires, has been debated this week by the ICC's medical committee.

Next month is the 10th anniversary of England's first global title with the World T20 which they won with a resounding victory over the Australians at Kensington Oval, Barbados.

Lockdown has offered extended periods of reflection for sports people and Joe Denly has had a lot to ponder. Not least how spectacularly things have transformed for him in the last decade.

MIKE KEEGAN - SPORTS AGENDA: It would appear that the England and Wales Cricket Board can do no wrong at the moment when it comes to dealing with the Press.

In a report seen by Sportsmail, consultants Oakwell Sports Advisory recommend selling a stake in each of the eight franchises to private equity as a potential solution to the financial issues.

The Hundred's inaugural season is set to be formally delayed at a board meeting of the England and Wales Board Cricket Board.

LAWRENCE BOOTH: Hampshire are willing to host more than one Test this summer, with chief Rod Bransgrove confident club can help get cricket up and running again in a biosecure environment.

EXCLUSIVE BY DAVID COVERDALE: Durham chief executive Tim Bostock no longer expects him to come over as he is needed back Down Under in September ahead of the Sheffield Shield.

One of the deepest thinkers in the England squad has concerns over the safety of players and concerns about playing cricket while so many people are losing their lives.

EXCLUSIVE BY MATT HUGHES: The ECB instigated a review into Watmore's appointment last week after revelations that he had been subject of an independent whistleblowing report.

EXCLUSIVE BY MATT HUGHES: The ECB will become the first governing body or league in the country to lose domestic television income as a result of the coronavirus lockdown.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY RICHARD GIBSON: Stuart Broad will be ready to play for England in any situation that the ECB's medical experts deem appropriate.

Joe Root has been involved in talks to reschedule England's Test series amid news that the recently-abandoned tour of Sri Lanka is inked in for next January.

We still don't know for sure when we will start playing again but I'm going to assume that it will be July 1. That's my target date, and that means I am aiming to be in the best shape possible to bowl.

EXCLUSIVE By MATT HUGHES: The ECB will face opposition from MCC and counties who play at major Test venues if they seek to sell stakes in Hundred franchises to private equity,

Cricket manufacturer Kookaburra have developed a wax applicator that would allow balls to be shined without using sweat or saliva during the coronavirus crisis.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY PAUL NEWMAN: Key winces at the revelation that his close friend Andrew Flintoff believes he was one of the great English batsmen against fast bowling.

Morgan insists 'the door is still open' for Hales to return to England's white-ball cricket - but says he has yet to rebuild the trust lost when he was dropped from last year's World Cup squad.