England captain Joe Root said they want to conjure up a perfect send-off for Alastair Cook in the fifth and final Test starting at the Oval on Friday, where a win will also send out a strong statement to the cricketing world.
Following is a factbox on the first Test match between Australia and England, which starts on Thursday:
Australian cricket captain George Bailey was fined 20 per cent of his match fee, while his teammates were docked 10 per cent of their earnings for maintaining a slow over-rate during their ICC Champions Trophy opener against England in Birmingham.
The fast bowler's beguiling mix of aggression, control and intellect may make him the most feared of the Australian pace trio with the Dukes ball in hand.
When Roy teamed up with Rory Burns against Ireland last week, they were England's eighth different opening partnership in the past three years and the 16th since Andrew Strauss retired in 2012.
England captain Alastair Cook confirmed that Anderson is yet to resume bowling and might not even be in India at the start of the first match.
England's star batsman Kevin Pietersen clashed with his skipper Alastair Cook on the eve of the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney.
Captain Joe Root was dismissed off the last ball of the fourth day moments after he had been struck on the hand by a Trent Boult bouncer to put New Zealand firmly in the driving seat to win the rain-affected first Test at Eden Park.
Spinners Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali made a comeback to Test cricket as they were included in England's 13-man squad for the first Test against India, starting in Edgbaston, on August 1.
England coach Andy Flower has dismissed reports that he had issued an ultimatum to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) over misfiring star batsman Kevin Pietersen as 'totally inaccurate'.
Former India star batsman VVS Laxman prefers all-rounder Hardik Pandya over Karun Nair in the playing XI for the first Test match against England, considering his all-round skill sets. Laxman is a firm believer of the "five bowler theory" and wants Pandya to open the bowling with Mohammed Shami, with Amit Mishra playing as the third specialist spinner.
India's spinners have been a handful at home in recent years.
India last won a Test series in England in 2007 under Rahul Dravid, and it will be no easy task ahead of the Virat Kohli-led side to replicate that feat.
South Africa will hope the new year brings about a change in luck as they seek to put behind them a disappointing 2015 and get back to winning ways against England in the second Test at Newlands starting on Saturday.
James Taylor and Nick Compton compiled gritty half-centuries to lead England to 179 for four on a rain-disrupted first day of the opening Test against South Africa at Kingsmead in Durban, on Saturday.
The Indian board (BCCI) will consider a further increase in salaries for its contracted players after leading cricketers expressed dissatisfaction with the pay raise announced last month.
England made a poor start to their Australia tour on Thursday with their fancied bowling attack forced to toil by a second-string Western Australia Chairman's XI at Perth.
Australia has conceded its number-one ranking to India after Sri Lanka made a clean sweep of the three-Test series in Colombo on Wednesday. Australia had arrived in Colombo in number-one position on 118 points. But following loses by 106 runs in Pallekele, 229 runs in Galle and 163 runs in Colombo, Australia has joined England on 108 points but is ranked above Alastair Cook's side, while Sri Lanka has jumped to 95 points. Australia's drop means India has become the number-one ranked side on the MR ICC Test Team Rankings, while Pakistan has moved into second position - just one point behind.
Australia's David Warner, on Friday, completed 1000 runs in 2014 en route his century in the second innings of the first cricket Test against India in Adelaide, becoming the first opener to achieve the feat since England skipper Alastair Cook in 2012.
There will be no room for sentiment when it comes to selecting the team for this week's potentially decisive third Ashes Test against Australia, England captain Alastair Cook said on Thursday.
Sri Lanka's bowlers bundled out England for 185 before the hosts chased down the target with eight wickets to spare in the rain-hit second One-day international on Saturday to take a 2-0 lead in the seven-match series.
Jonathan Trott believes everything is coming together for England a week before they embark on their bid for a fourth successive Ashes triumph in Brisbane.
Former England captain Andrew Strauss admitted that he didn't handle Kevin Pietersen well during his time at the helm as the flamboyant batsman should have been given some space despite not exactly adhering to the team ethos. However, Strauss maintained that while he understands why IPL is necessary for players, he still doesn't agree that one should play the cash-rich T20 league at the cost of Test cricket as it would set a dangerous precedent.
India moved up a rung to second spot, ahead of England, in the latest ICC Test rankings, issued on Monday, while South Africa strengthened its position as the numero uno side after the annual update of the championship table.
Former England captain Graham Gooch has rubbished Kevin Pietersen's views in his controversial autobiography about former coach Andy Flower and wicketkeeper Matt Prior and also urged England players led by Alastair Cook to break their silence on the issue in a broader manner.
India ended 2016 as the number-one ranked Test side on the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings after registering a 4-0 victory over England in the five-match series which culminated with an innings and 75 runs win for the home side in Chennai on Tuesday.
Struggling England batsman Ian Bell is backing himself to come good at number three in this week's third Ashes Test against Australia at Edgbaston.
Dumped England batsman Kevin Pietersen has slammed his former team managers for allegedly allowing a culture of 'bullying' to develop and claimed coach Andy Flower and wicketkeeper Matt Prior were behind an orchestrated campaign to oust him.
England's unlikely bowling hero in the Tests, all-rounder Moeen Ali also made an impact with the bat at Edgbaston while playing his first ODI of the series and has admitted that he learnt a lot by watching Indian batsmen from the sidelines.
The visiting England cricket team paid tribute to their nation's war dead on Armistice Day, wearing the red flower symbol 'poppy' and observing a minute's silence before the start of the third day's play in the first Test against India in Rajkot on Friday.
Interim England coach Paul Farbrace emphasised the fun factor after leading his team to a thrilling 124-run victory over New Zealand in the first Test on Monday.
England have named an unchanged squad for their tour of India with their all-time leading wicket-taker James Anderson not included in the initial 16-man list for the five-Test series, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Tuesday.
Australia captain Michael Clarke said the way his side bounced back at the World Cup after their defeat by New Zealand should encourage them following a crushing loss in the first Ashes Test.
Graham Gooch has been sacked as England's batting coach with immediate effect, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Thursday, as the fallout from the Ashes drubbing continued.
Anderson was close to tears after finishing the series as the leading wicket-taker with 24 in five Tests.
England all-rounder Moeen Ali says India's bowlers bowled consistently in the right areas to suffocate the home batsmen for runs.
England battled back into contention on the third day of the second Test against West Indies as Mark Stoneman's first half century and captain Joe Root's unbeaten 45 helped wipe out a sizeable first-innings deficit on Sunday.
England openers Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott made a solid start in reply to West Indies' total of 299 by reaching 74 without loss on the second day of the second Test on Wednesday.
Sacked England batsman Kevin Pietersen's carefree attitude during the recent Ashes series had reportedly infuriated the management so much that it led to a bust-up between captain Alastair Cook and batting coach Graham Gooch on the balcony.
Right from the moment England captain Alastair Cook won the toss, his team did no wrong. The hosts humiliated South Africa as they handed them a crushing seven-wicket-defeat with 75 balls to spare in the first semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy, in London, on Wednesday.
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