India will, in all likelihood, go into the second Test against England at Trent Bridge, beginning Friday, with two of their crucial players missing from the line-up. While Zaheer Khan is certain to miss the Test (and maybe the third in Edgbaston as well), Gautam Gambhir also appears heading in the same direction, having suffered an elbow injury while fielding at short leg during the opening Test.
England players deserve criticism for poor performances but questioning the team's desire is uncalled for, vice-captain Ben Stokes has said ahead of the third of the four-test series against South Africa at The Oval on Thursday.
"We have three days, but I am not 100 per cent sure whether he will play or not," skipper M S Dhoni said, adding, "It is a long series and we don't want to risk any individual."
'These are elementary things you do not do against any decent swing bowler in English conditions. To try to do it to James Anderson, who is one of the great master craftsmen in those conditions, tells me the Indian batsmen have not done their homework'
West Indies great Michael Holding slammed what he saw as "atrocious" umpiring during his country's 15-run defeat by Australia in the Cricket World Cup at Nottingham's Trent Bridge.
England thumped South Africa in their World Cup opener but fell 14 runs short of Pakistan in their second game of the tournament at Trent Bridge on Monday.
Pakistan may have lost their last 11 One-day Internationals
Mahendra Singh Dhoni winning the Spirit of Cricket trophy was the lone highlight for India at the ICC Annual Awards where English cricketers walked away with the top honours in a glittering ceremony in London.
India goes into the fourth Test against England on a track that is batsman-friendly, swing-less, as compared to other English grounds, and will assist spinners as the game progresses, says Bikash Mohapatra.
The decision on whether to appeal or not against judicial commissioner Gordon Lewis' verdict pronouncing both James Anderson and Ravindra Jadeja 'not guilty' in the Trent Bridge altercation lies entirely on International Cricket Council CEO Dave Richardson, who has six days to do so.
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.
England must chase down a world-record 474 to win the second Test while South Africa have two full days to bowl them out after the tourists' batsmen provided the strongest possible platform for victory on the third day in Nottingham on Sunday.
The trio will replace Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan and Abid Ali after selectors spoke with skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed and coach Mickey Arthur following Pakistan's 4-0 defeat by England in their recent ODI series.
Having never won a Test at the venue and with a tinge of grass on the wicket, India could well be in for a big challenge. Bikash Mohapatra reports from Edgbaston.
Nathan Coulter-Nile slammed 92 from 60 deliveries to register the highest score by a No 8 batsman in a World Cup.
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat feels that India's No 1 ranking in Test cricket is certainly on line after back-to-back defeats against England at Lord's and Trent Bridge, but the quality of the contest is pretty enthralling.
England batsman Jonathan Trott's participation in the third Test against India at Edgbaston is doubtful after he suffered a shoulder injury in the second Test.
India were miserably thrashed by England by a whopping 319 runs in under four days during the 2nd Test at Trent Bridge on Monday. Can India comeback in the third Test at Edgbaston? Have your say.
Ian Bell's controversial "non dismissal" during the second Test between England and India subverted the laws of the game and had nothing to do with the Spirit of Cricket, former England captain Michael Atherton said on Monday.
Rahul Dravid brushed aside comparisons after equaling Sunil Gavaskar's record of 34 Test hundreds, saying the first batsman to surpass 10,000 Test runs had influenced him as a cricketer.
Stuart Broad will celebrate his hat-trick, and career-best figures of six for 46 in India's first innings, only if England wins the second Test.
England, replying to India's 288, were 24 for 1 in their second innings, still 43 runs adrift, at stumps on the second day of the second Test.
Images from Day 2 in the second Test between India and England, at Trent Bridge.
Images from Day 1 in the second Test between India and England, at Trent Bridge.
Praveen Kumar has been fined 20 per cent of his match fee for arguing with the umpire on the opening day of the second Test against England at Trent Bridge on Friday.
More often than not, in recent times, MS Dhoni's men have successfully been able to put an opening Test defeat behind them and come back strong in the series.
Stuart Broad overcame frustrations by staying 'calm' during the Lord's Test and reaped rewards for patience by taking seven wickets and the young England fast bowler want to continue the good work in the second Test against India, starting in at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on Friday.
Virat the batsman wins, Virat the captain loses
Yuvraj Singh, who has been ruled out of the upcoming ODI series against England due a broken finger, is in no mood to rush his comeback in the Indian team and prefers a "wait and watch" policy.
India opener Rohit Sharma has revealed that he has made some technical changes in his batting, like staying steady at the crease and playing the ball closer to his body, in his bid to be successful in the challenging English conditions.
England raced to a series win over West Indies with a nine-wicket victory on the fourth day of the second Test at Trent Bridge on Monday after being set a modest target of 108.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the interesting numbers from the first day of the India-England Test at Trent Bridge.
For the Indian team, the Trent Bridge Test will be their last chance to save the series after being outplayed in the first two Test matches -- by 31 runs Edgbaston and then by an innings and 159 runs at the Lord's.
England batsmen Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott, Hashim Amla of South Africa and last year's ICC Cricketer of the Year Sachin Tendulkar have all been short-listed for the top honour at the LG ICC Awards 2011. Check out the nominees.
Just like India did at home earlier this year, the seasoned James Anderson says, England must make most of the home conditions by preparing pitches with 'pace and bounce' in the upcoming five-match Test series against the visitors.
'We have had some exceptional cricket in the last 18 to 24 months and it would be a shame to ruin it. So we look to make it a good five days,' said England spin ace Graeme Swann, ahead of the final Test against India.
England pacer Tim Bresnan said the wicket at Edgbaston didn't help much but his team still managed to dismiss India for a modest 224 in the ongoing third Test due to the "hunt in the pack mentality" of its bowlers.
England pacer Chris Tremlett was ruled out of the third Test against India, starting Wednesday, having failed to recover from a back injury.
India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been drawing flak for his captaincy after the back-to-back Test defeats to England but his admirers for calling Ian Bell back from being ruled run-out has only been swelling, with veteran Australian batsman Ricky Ponting joining the list.
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