England's hard-earned Test series wins over the summer with a blend of youth and experience show the side's drive to be the number one team in the world, according to captain Joe Root. England beat the West Indies 2-1 and Pakistan 1-0 in a rain-hit series which, coupled with their success in South Africa at the start of the year, continue an upward trajectory with new players in the team.
IMAGES from Day 5 of the 3rd and final Test played between England and Pakistan played at the Rose Bowl on Tuesday.
India will welcome back regular skipper Virat Kohli, who missed the last three Tests in Australia to attend the birth of his daughter.
India 21 for no loss at stumps on Day 1 after bowling out England for 183 in the first Test, in Nottingham, on Wednesday.
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.
Usman Khawaja will replace Travis Head in Australia's middle order for this week's fourth Ashes Test against England in the only change to the side that wrapped up the series in Melbourne last week.
England's makeshift one-day international team put the COVID-19 issues that hit the previous squad behind them to bowl out Pakistan for 141 runs before cruising to a clinical nine-wicket win in the series opener in Cardiff on Thursday.
Joe Root ended a poor run of form when he scored his 17th Test century and led England to 269-5 before rain ended play early on the third day of the second Test against New Zealand, at Seddon Park in Hamilton, on Sunday.
Team combination a worry for India
The competition at the top promises to gain momentum as World No 2 Ben Stokes has also made huge gains to attain a career-best tally of 431 points, narrowing the lead from 66 to 54 points.
'I don't think I have ever been a part of such a Test match where things have happened so quickly.'
Who do you think should be part of England's playing XI for the first Test?
Former captain Geoffrey Boycott slammed the England batsmen for showing lack of patience and technique in the rain-hit first Test against India, which finished in a draw.
The four-match series will mark England's first away games in the ICC World Test Championship.
India captain Virat Kohli and his deputy Rohit Sharma maintained their supremacy at the top of the ICC ODI rankings for batsmen, occupying the first and second spots respectively in the latest list released on Wednesday.
James Anderson claimed his fifth wicket as England enforced the follow-on against Pakistan on the third day of the third and final Test at the Rose Bowl on Sunday, despite a battling century by visiting skipper Azhar Ali.
England have lost the away series in India 1-3 before suffering a 1-0 defeat against New Zealand earlier this month.
It will also be a milestone in the career of England's talisman Ben Stokes as he captains the side for the first time.
Former Australia captain Ian Chappell reckons India will start as favourites in the Test series against England owing to a quality pace attack with plenty of depth and a top order that is more consistent than the visitors'.
Images from Day 3 of the 4th Test played between South Africa and England in Johannesburg on Sunday.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 2nd Test played between England and West Indies at Old Trafford in Manchester on Thursday.
The famous win on Sunday was West Indies' first in the opening Test of an away series in almost 13 years. Jason Holder led from the front, taking a career-best six wicket-haul in the first innings.
Sibley put on 116 for the third wicket with captain Joe Root (61), before the latter steered Dwaine Pretorius to Faf du Plessis at slip late on.
Pakistan left England with their heads held high after their last two tours, drawing both, most recently under Misbah in 2018.
The Motera pitch came in for sharp criticism from some former players after England were bowled out for 112 and 81 in the two innings as India crushed them by 10 wickets to grab a 2-1 lead
England on Thursday suffered an embarrassing 10-wicket defeat in the third Test against India on a spin-friendly Motera track to go down 1-2 in the four-match series and the result garnered varied reactions from the British media.
'I expect a bit more seam in this game and for the seamers to have more of a chance than perhaps they did in the last couple of Tests'
Despite the chastening defeat, Root said they were still in the series.
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'I think there's going to be a very interesting story that's going to run through this series -- Kohli comes back as captain after Ajinkya Rahane was so good in Australia'
South Africa's Anrich Nortje took the vital wickets of captain Joe Root and talisman Ben Stokes as England struggled to 262 for nine at stumps on the first day of the second Test on Friday. Pace bowler Nortje, playing his fourth Test, finished with 2-54 off 17 overs as the home side restricted the tourists on a Newlands wicket that was expected to be full of runs. Images from the opening day of the second Test at Newlands on Friday.
Ravichandran Ashwin, who was left out of the first Test, is back in the mix as Shardul Thakur seems to have done his hamstring some damage during the training session at Lord's on Monday.
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.
India captain Virat Kohli said poor batting and not the pitch was responsible for the day-night third Test against England winding up inside two days, and described the performance of batsmen on both sides as "bizarre".
'You have to be careful how you use an advantage because, with Root not being there, you have some youngster who wants to make a name for himself.'
Young England batsman Zak Crawley believes Ben Stokes will have no trouble filling the captain's shoe in the absence if Joe Root as the all-rounder is already a "big leader" of the team. Root will miss the Test series opener against West Indies, which starts on Wednesday at the Ageas Bowl to attend the birth of his second child, handing over the captaincy duties to England's World Cup hero Stokes.
Ben Stokes survived several scares but featured in a 76-run late afternoon partnership with Ollie Pope as England reached 224 for four wickets at close on the opening day of the third Test against South Africa on Thursday.
India's quality pace attack, comprising a world-class operator in Jasprit Bumrah, could prompt the hosts to prepare seamer-friendly pitches instead of the traditional sub-continental spinning tracks in their upcoming Test series against England, said opener Rory Burns.
Images from Day 3 of the fourth Test between India and England, at the Narendra Modi stadium, in Motera, Ahmedabad.
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