IMAGES from Day 1 of the 2nd Test played between England and West Indies at Old Trafford in Manchester on Thursday.
Steve Smith celebrated his return at the helm with a captain's innings that powered Rajasthan Royals to a five-wicket victory over a formidable Mumbai Indians.
'If you want to know how to beat anybody as an England team, you pick Stuart Broad and James Anderson, together. While they are still working, still walking, pick them together for goodness sake.'
Superb centuries from Alex Carey and Glenn Maxwell lifted Australia to a dramatic three-wicket victory over England on Wednesday as the visitors clinched the one-day international series 2-1.
Cricket can be a game of some complexity and nuance but as England showed in their dismantling of Australia in Thursday's World Cup semi-final, it can also be a remarkably straightforward sport.
England ended day four with a 170-run lead over West Indies as Zak Crawley and Dom Sibley notched up half-centuries in the second innings of the first Test at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton on Saturday. Images from Day 4 of the first Test between England and West Indies.
Mumbai get the money-spinning tournament rolling in Chennai on Friday, just four months after claiming their second successive title, with a match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, led by India captain Virat Kohli.
Mumbai Indians lock horns with an out-of-sorts Rajasthan Royals in an IPL match in which home skipper Rohit Sharma's return from injury will also be awaited, in Mumbai, on Saturday.
'If you're able to raise awareness in the game, where every person, every human being is treated equally, regardless of the colour of their skin, I think that is the way the world should be.'
Only three Black players have made their England debut since 2000 - the most recent being Jofra Archer who is in England's squad to face the West Indies this week in the first test.
While a draw always seems a safe option in a game like this but Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri wouldn't like to play a defensive game which at times can be counter-productive.
England fast bowler James Anderson has been ruled out for the rest of the Ashes series against Australia due to a niggling calf injury.
Pakistan left England with their heads held high after their last two tours, drawing both, most recently under Misbah in 2018.
'There aren't too many guys... that have averaged higher than Steve in Test cricket. Clearly they are huge shoes to fill and we don't put all that pressure on Marnus'
'He (Smith) will be so excited to turn up and play cricket. That's what he loves doing and that's what he is very, very good at. Smith and Warner are two of the best players in world cricket, I think Smith will be giving a lot and integrate with the team'
Struggling opener Shikhar Dhawan will be the focus in a spoilt-for-choice Indian team when it takes on world champion England in a three-match ODI series starting in Pune on Tuesday.
Royal Challengers head coach Simon Katich was all praise for the South African after he single-handedly won the IPL game against Rajasthan Royals for them, in Dubai on Saturday.
Bolstered by the arrival of Ben Stokes, Rajasthan Royals will hope for a better showing from its misfiring top order as they try to settle scores against second-placed Delhi Capitals in their return leg IPL match, in Dubai, on Wednesday.
Jofra Archer showed why England could not leave him out of their final ICC Men's Cricket World Cup squad as he bowled them to opening win against South Africa.
Wicket-taking is going to play a crucial role in deciding this World Cup.
England 'want to stamp authority over Australia from Day 1', says Ben Stokes
The four-match series will mark England's first away games in the ICC World Test Championship.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has handpicked Jos Buttler as the dangerman for the hosts in the showpiece, stating May 30.
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli said his teammates' good showing gave him enough time to come out of a short, lean patch in the ongoing Indian Premier League.
England all-rounder Ben Stokes was baffled by India's run-chasing strategy during their World Cup game last year in which he found Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's approach 'mystifying' and saw 'no intent' from Mahendra Singh Dhoni during the run chase. It was the game at Birmingham, where India were comprehensively beaten by 31 runs after they failed to chase England's massive score of 337/7 last year.
Images from Sunday's IPL match between Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals in Sharjah.
Rishabh Pant said it "felt special" when Sourav Ganguly lifted him to celebrate the youngster's blistering 78 that steered Delhi Capitals to a six-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals and the pole position in the IPL.
Ollie Pope scored an unbeaten 91 and Jos Buttler contributed a half century as England took advantage of a tired West Indies attack to move to 258 for four on Friday when bad light brought play to a premature end on the opening day of the final Test in Manchester.
Images from the World Cup final between England and New Zealand, at Lord's on Sunday.
From a lower order batsman to one of Australia's prolific Test run-getters, Marnus Labuschange has carved his spot in the Australian line-up. The highest run-scorer in a calendar year in Test cricket in 2019, 'mind-blowing' Labuschange is now looking to break into the one-day team for the tour of India.
The R Ashwin-led Kings XI slipped to the fifth spot after suffering back-to-back losses against Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore respectively. Overall, the hosts have registered four wins from eight matches this season.
Australia have their own speedsters in Mitchell Starc, who is level with Archer with 15 wickets, and Pat Cummins (11).
A ruthless India, sporting its new flaming orange and blue colours, will be eyeing pole position with a solid knock-out punch on an already disintegrated England in Sunday's high-profile World Cup encounter. With an unbeaten record in six encounters so far, Virat Kohli's men are all but through to the semi-finals with 11 points, but victory over England will tighten their grip at the top and, in the process, oust the world's No 1 ODI team from the global event.
In-form Jos Buttler hit a record fifth successive IPL half-century as Rajasthan Royals thrashed Mumbai Indians by seven wickets to keep their play-off hopes alive, in Mumbai, on Sunday.
After a 117-day absence, international cricket returned in familiar fashion on Wednesday as rain and bad light restricted the first Test between England and West Indies to 17.4 overs and the hosts closed a frustrating day on 35-1.
'It is hard (to leave Anderson out), he is a class act, you'll have to wait and see... But I'm not reluctant to change the winning team,' Chris Silverwood said on Wednesday.
Images from Monday's IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, in Abu Dhabi.
Tim Southee and Matt Henry removed both England openers as New Zealand reduced the tourists to 39-2 and took control of the second Test by the close of play on the second day at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Saturday.
Images from the fifth Twenty20 International between India and England, in Ahmedabad, on Saturday.
Images from Saturday's IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Abu Dhabi.
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