Since 2011, England have managed to eke out just a single draw in 13 Ashes Tests over three tours and their last two Tests in Sydney have resulted in humiliating defeats.
England skipper Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower received OBEs at Windsor Castle for guiding the team to Ashes victory in Australia.
England edged past the West Indies by 18 runs in their final Group B match at the M A Chidambaram stadium in Chennai on Thursday to keep their hopes of a place in the knock-out stage of the World Cup alive.
Having lost seemingly innocuous contests to minnows Ireland and Bangladesh, and only managing a tie against India, the three-time finalists have to beat the West Indies at all costs in their final group game on Thursday. A loss will send Bangladesh to the last eight.
England's opening batsmen safely negotiated the final hour's play to close the third day of the third Test with Pakistan on 36 without loss, chasing 324 to win, after Azhar Ali's mammoth innings of 157 put the hosts in a dominant position in Dubai.
Other captains have had their fair share of sleepless nights but following Kevin Pietersen's sudden exit, England skipper Andrew Strauss can be forgiven for wondering what he has done to be denied a moment of tranquility.
Spinner Abdur Rehman took six wickets as Pakistan beat England by 72 runs in the second Test on Saturday to clinch the three-match series, bowling out the tourists for 72 in their second innings after another abject batting display.
Andrew Strauss reignited the Indian Premier League loyalty debate by saying skipping the lucrative T20 tournament helped his side in the Test series against India.
England would be keen to end the summer on a high note by remaining unbeaten in the upcoming ODI series against world champions India, said Test skipper Andrew Strauss after handing out the visitors a 4-0 whitewash.
Ireland's Kevin O'Brien, who plays his cricket for the Railway Union Club, on Wednesday, stood head and shoulders above some of the sport's greatest names after guiding his country to one of the biggest World Cup shocks with victory over the old enemy England.
Amidst blows, Manu and Abhishek take a look at the India-England match.
Spin legend Shane Warne feels that the world number one side England have the capability to surpass the outstanding bunch of Australian players of the late 1990s and early 2000s and dominate the world.
Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower have become the toast of the nation following England's ascendancy to the top in Test cricket but a media report said it was now-India coach Duncan Fletcher, who actually kick started their journey to the pinnacle.
Coming into the series, Andrew Strauss's men needed to beat India by a margin of two or more Tests to usurp the No.1 ICC Test ranking from India.
Former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has ranked the current English side under Andrew Strauss above the Michael Vaughan-led team that won the Ashes back, after 16 years, in 2005.
England will be without all-rounder Tim Bresnan for Saturday's opening match of their tour of the United Arab Emirates.
Former Pakistan players demanded ouster of wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal after his poor performance behind the wickets during the ongoing first Test against England in Nottingham.
India can inch towards regaining the top spot by narrowing the gap with current numero uno England in the ICC rankings if they manage to beat Australia in the four-Test series starting on Monday.
Australian spin legend Shane Warne foresees England beating India 1-0 in the upcoming four-Test series as he feels Andrew Strauss' men will manage to do just enough to upstage their world number one rivals.
England skipper Andrew Strauss does not believe that India is a weak side when it comes to facing pace bowling, but feels if Chris Tremlett is at his best, the lanky bowler can trouble the visiting batsmen in the upcoming Test series.
He has been dismissed five times by Zaheer Khan in Test cricket but England captain Andrew Strauss feels there was nothing wrong in his technique to be worried about going into the first Test against world No 1 side India on July 21 at the Lord's.
Captain Andrew Strauss saluted his players for an "outstanding" tour after England completed a crushing innings and 83-run victory on Friday to win their first Ashes series on Australian soil in 24 years.
Cricket Australia have signed a four-year agreement with energy provider Alinta Energy, potentially laying to rest concerns over a financial fallout from the ball-tampering scandal in March.
Australia vice-captain Michael Clarke lamented another top order batting collapse that sent the hosts crashing to a record low first innings on day one of the fourth Ashes Test against England in Melbourne on Sunday.
England selected Craig Kieswetter instead of Matt Prior on Thursday in a one-day squad captained by the returning Andrew Strauss for next week's match against Scotland and the series which follows against Australia. South African-born wicketkeeper-batsman Kieswetter, who completed his four-year qualification process in February, was in explosive form in England's recent Twenty20 World Cup triumph.
England fought back after losing their first three wickets in the space of half an hour to reach 342 for six on the opening day of the second Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's on Friday.
England skipper Andrew Strauss presented a straight bat to questions about batsman Kevin Pietersen's undiplomatic tweeting on Thursday, saying it was a good thing all his players were not as boring as their captain.
England must keep their feet firmly on the ground despite having effectively batted Australian paceman Mitchell Johnson out of the Ashes series, skipper Andrew Strauss said on Thursday.
Former fast bowler Steve Harmison, believes that with Andrew strauss in charge, England will stay on top of world cricket for a long time to come.
Alastair Cook has insisted that England players would not go on strike over their busy schedule but said international calendar needs to be trimmed as the team is playing 'too much cricket'.
England captain Andrew Strauss has advised his Australian counterpart Ricky Ponting that their usual Ashes mind games would be futile this time around.
Indian opener Virender Sehwag was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year for the second time in a row.
Pakistan's chaotic tour of England degenerated into near anarchy on the morning of the fourth One-Day International at Lord's on Monday, a match the visitors went on to win by 38 runs.
Former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has predicted that Andrew Strauss's men will have no trouble in winning the Ashes in Australia without him.
Bangladesh will be looking to get their own fickle fans back on side and salvage their battered World Cup dreams when they face injury-hit England in a Group B clash in Chittagong on Friday.
In the end Andrew Strauss was a relieved man. The 34-year-old led England to a comprehensive innings and eight-run win over India in the fourth and final Test at The Oval.
England captain Andrew Strauss was a delighted man after his team defeated South Africa by six runs in a thrilling low-scoring World Cup encounter at the Chepauk on Sunday.
Former India coach Gary Kirsten is a bit surprised and sad after watching India's abject capitulation in England that led to the team surrendering the No 1 rank in Tests to Andrew Strauss's men.
Former England captain Alec Stewart said that India will leave the shores of his country with bruised ego and reputation after their stunning defeats in the ongoing Test series.
India's batting was phenomenal in their first two games at the World Cup, but the bowling a disappointment, writes Harish Kotian.