Ben Stokes took five wickets to put England on the verge of a famous victory that would win back the Ashes as Australia finished on 241 for seven after a compelling second day of the fourth Test at Trent Bridge on Friday.
Another insipid display by a once great cricketer as his side slumped to an embarrassing defeat to go 2-1 down in the Ashes series had Australian pundits questioning whether captain Michael Clarke was in terminal decline on Saturday.
The Lions from South Africa will look ride on the performance of their captain Alviro Petersen to guide them to a better finish.
Check out the head to head record between the World Cup finalists.
In white-ball cricket things are different -- over there you outsmart the batsman, and over here in Test cricket it's all about patience and consistency. That was my main focus today. You can't blast the batsmen out. I was looking to bowl good lengths and always challenge the batsmen with good lengths and good line. So in the end it was a good day.'
Hardik Pandya has said that comparisons with Indian legend Kapil Dev are unwarranted
20 years ago this week, India and Australia played one of the greatest Test matches in cricket history. Sreehari Nair relives the sound and the fury of that unforgettable game at the Eden Gardens.
Exasperated at England's consecutive defeats, former captain Alec Stewart said the hosts must learn from India how to play One Day cricket.
Retired English cricketer Kevin Pietersen says blaming the Indian Premier League for India's shambolic performance in the recently-concluded five-Test series against England is a 'cheap shot'. India were twice beaten by an innings as England won the five-Test series 1-3.
India's batting maestro Virat Kohli held on to the number two position in the latest ICC ODI rankings for batsmen released on Monday, while Rohit Sharma dropped a place to seventh.
The England-India series has brought the bowler back into what has been turned into a batsman's game, says Aakar Patel.
Former captain Mohammad Azharuddin believes it is time the Board of Control for Cricket in India starts thinking about a new captain for the Test team following its disastrous showing overseas in the last couple of years.
Alastair Cook, who has scored just 246 runs in 10 innings during the Ashes, and was dismissed for four as England were beaten by Australia in the first of five one-day internationals, has been able to retain his place in the squad just because of captaincy.
"As far as my comeback is concerned, I am enjoying the journey at the moment without worrying too much about the destination."
Statistical highlights of the second ODI between India and Sri Lanka, on Mohali on Wednesday.
All-rounder Ben Stokes has been recalled to the England squad for the first Test against India, starting at TrentBridge next Wednesday.
Jacques Kallis became the fourth South African to score a hundred in his last Test, emulating Pieter van der Bijl, Lee Irvine and Barry Richards.
"This will probably be the biggest World Cup, so there will be great expectations and I know we will do very well for the people of the West Indies," he added.
Former India speedster Venkatesh Prasad says Ishant Sharma needs to focus on his skill and focus on getting the batsman out rather than getting over-aggressive.
England skittled out shell-shocked Australia for 60 and piled up 274 for four in reply to take control of the fourth Ashes Test on a dramatic first day at Trent Bridge on Thursday.
Centurion Michael Clarke played a true captain's innings as Australia shrugged off another umpiring controversy to produce an Ashes fightback and rack up 303 for three on the first day of the third Test on Thursday.
Former England skipper Andrew Strauss says sacking Alastair Cook as captain before the 2015 World Cup is not the answer to the English cricket team's one-day woes.
Indian batsmen and bowlers warmed up with a morale-boosting five-wicket win against Derbyshire in their second three-day tour game on Thursday, ahead of the first Test against England in Nottingham starting July 9.
Just 54 people turned up on the first day of an England-Pakistan Test a few weeks ago.
An angry India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Saturday lambasted the International Cricket Council's decision to impose a fine on all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja for his altercation with England's James Anderson during the first Test in Nottingham.
Kevin Pietersen defiantly struck a mature century but England were staring down the barrel at 294 for seven at stumps on the third day of the third Ashes Test on Saturday, still 233 adrift on first innings.
India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin hit back at criticism of the pitch for the ongoing third Test between India and South Africa in Nagpur, saying it needs to be taken out of the equation since both teams have to deal with the same conditions. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com reports
Former England paceman Mathew Hoggard urges England cricket to have shift in mindset
A venomous spell of fast bowling from Stuart Broad led England to an emphatic seven- wicket win over South Africa in the third on Saturday to clinch the series. Broad's brilliant return of 6-17 on a lively wicket skittled the Proteas for 83 in their second innings on the third day. England reached their modest victory-target of 74 with relative ease as captain Alastair Cook (43) top-scored in guiding them to 77 for three from 22,4 overs under gloomy skies. The tourists now have an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series, with the final game to be played in Pretoria. South Africa bowled out England for 323 in the morning session for a slender first-innings deficit of 10 runs, but were no match for the bounce and movement of a rampant Broad as they crumbled to their second lowest score since returning to international cricket in 1991.
'A player need to have T20 skills otherwise he is not going to survive.'
'No matter how much runs you score in the Ranji Trophy or Duleep Trophy or Irani Trophy, if you don't have T20 skills in batting or bowling you are not going to go too far.'
Anderson becomes number-one ranked Test bowler
In terms of days, Dale Steyn has spent 2,320 days at the top of the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers, the most by any bowler since World War II.
Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara eye top 10 places while Ravindra Jadeja jumps to career-best third position among Test all-rounders.
Aggressive off-spin bowling from Graeme Swann and indifferent Australian batting allowed England to seize control of the second Ashes Test at Lord's on Friday.
Australian legend Glenn McGrath has said the Indian fast bowlers did a good job in the recent World Cup after a dismal show in the preceding tri-series.
Series already in their pocket, a rampaging India would look to keep the foot on the pedal and press for a clean sweep when they take on England in the fifth and final cricket one-dayer in Leeds on Friday.
India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin surged to the top of the MRF Tyres ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers after a superb outing in the first Test against the West Indies in Antigua which the visiting side won by an innings and 92 runs.
World champions India have consolidated their top rank on the ICC ODI Team Rankings after sweeping the series against Sri Lanka, which concluded in Ranchi on Sunday.
'Before Shastri's induction, things were sketchy and it was not known who was responsible for taking cricketing decisions around the team. The selectors chose a squad of players, the captain ran the show on the field and the coaches helped draft plans, or sort of tried to. There needed to be one man who could coordinate all elements around the squad -- someone who had the backing of the Board, the respect of the players and that of the support staff.'
Statistical highlights on associate member countries defeating Test-playing nations at the 50-over World Cup after Ireland beat West Indies by four wickets in the Pool B match at Nelson, New Zealand on Monday.
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