Jonathan Trott followed Graeme Swann, Kevin Pietersen and Matt Prior into the international wilderness on Monday to leave England desperately short of experience ahead of this year's Ashes series against Australia.
Ravichandran Ashwin may have had a huge role in instilling self doubt in the England batsmen but his spin partner Ravindra Jadeja reckons that is has also got a lot to do with which team is dominating the proceedings.
Stuart Broad's five-wicket burst after David Warner's counter-punched put England in sight of victory on the fourth day of the fourth Ashes Test against Australia in County Durham on Monday.
Australia captain Michael Clarke was left to thank his bowlers and centurion Chris Rogers for the hosts' escape in the fourth Ashes Test on Sunday, having risked his team's winning streak by opting to bowl first after winning the toss.
Australia thrashed Pakistan 3-0 at home but the Aussies know what to expect from their tour to India.
Claiming that England had proved a few doubters wrong with their performance in the ICC Champions Trophy, batsman Jonathan Trot said he was "excited" and the team was looking to "seize the opportunity" in the title clash against India in Birmingham on Sunday.
Australia moved within six wickets of reclaiming the Ashes at the close of a rain-hit day four of the third Ashes Test on Sunday, with England still 127 runs short of making the hosts bat again.
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.
England leg spinner Mason Crane will make his debut in the fifth and final Ashes Test against Australia this week after all-rounder Chris Woakes was ruled out of the match by injury, captain Joe Root said on Wednesday.
England captain Joe Root is under no illusions about his batting slump and recognises if his side are going to win the second match in Hamilton and level the two-Test series against New Zealand then he needs to make a substantial contribution.
'They have tried too hard to be that stereotypical Australian team that are aggressive and go hard at people.'
India captain Virat Kohli remained in second spot behind Steve Smith while Alastair Cook jumped nine places to be eighth in the latest ICC Test rankings after his unbeaten double century in the ongoing Ashes.
England's new Test captain Joe Root said he will try to put his "own stamp" on the team, but will seek advice from former skipper Alastair Cook and the other senior players whenever he needs to.
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.
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.
Ben Stokes took two wickets in two balls to inspire England to victory over New Zealand in the first Test at Lord's.
Test cricket must adapt to survive in the face of the ever-tightening squeeze from shorter, more lucrative, forms of the game, both England and South Africa's captains said on Wednesday.
Ben Stokes struck a sparkling unbeaten 74 to help England finish the opening day of the second Test against South Africa on a healthy 317 for five at Newlands on Saturday.
India's spinners have been a handful at home in recent years.
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.
Debutant Haseeb Hameed struck his maiden fifty and shared an unbroken century partnership with captain Alastair Cook to push England's lead over India to 163 runs on day four of the first Test in Rajkot, on Saturday.
Former England paceman Mathew Hoggard urges England cricket to have shift in mindset
Pakistan left England with their heads held high after their last two tours, drawing both, most recently under Misbah in 2018.
Kumar Sangakkara, playing his final one-day international on home soil, set a record for the most runs in a calendar year as Sri Lanka thumped England by 87 runs in the last match of the series in Colombo on Tuesday.
Virat Kohli is aware of his rather modest batting record against England but the India captain is not putting himself under any pressure against them in the five-Test series beginning at Rajkot on Wednesday. Considered one of the premier batsmen of his generation, Kohli averages close to 46 with the bat but it drops drastically to just 20 from 17 innings against the English bowlers. In the five-Test series in England in 2014, he managed only 134 runs at an average of 13.4 with a highest score of 39. Of his 13 Test centuries, only one came against England at Nagpur in 2012.
Virat Kohli took a giant stride towards exorcising the ghosts of 2014 with a masterful century as he single-handedly pulled India out of the woods against England on an eventful second day of the first Test, in Birmingham, on Thursday.
South Africa fought back in the afternoon session on the third day of the fourth Test on Sunday, reducing England to 138 for six in their second innings and restricting the hosts to a lead of 274.
Kevin Pietersen wants to hug Andrew Strauss and resolve his differences with his former captain, the controversial ex-England batsman said on Thursday.
Vernon Philander is becoming the 'new Jacques Kallis', said South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis.
A brief verbal spat broke out between Indian batsman Virat Kohli and England pacer Ben Stokes during the third one-dayer, leading to the umpires calling the home side captain and the bowler before the match continued.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the numbers from the first Test in Rajkot.
Kagiso Rabada became the youngest South Africa bowler to take seven wickets in an innings as the hosts took charge of the fourth and final Test against England on Sunday.
England, with a series win already secured, can complete South Africa's ignominious fall from the top of the rankings when the final Test of the four-match series starts at Centurion Park in Pretoria on Friday.
Asserts he has 'performed well abroad in the last 18 months'.
Wicketkeeper Jos Buttler is set to make his Test debut after being named to replace Matt Prior in England's 13-man squad to play India in the third Test starting at Southampton on Sunday.
The International Cricket Council appointed Gordon Lewis AM as the Judicial Commissioner to hear the misconduct case against England paceman James Anderson and the preliminary hearing will be conducted on July 22, a day after the Lord's Test concludes.
An unbeaten half century from Joe Root helped England into a commanding position on the third day of the first Test as they opened up a 261-run lead over South Africa on Monday.
Opener Sam Robson hit his maiden Test century before Sri Lanka fought back with four late wickets on the second day of the second Test at Headingley, on Saturday.
Sri Lanka held their nerve after a brilliant century by Jos Buttler to beat England by seven runs in the fourth one-day international at Lord's on Saturday and level the series at 2-2.
England made a bright start to their second Test against Pakistan at Headingley on Friday, after being hammered at Lord's last week, with Stuart Broad taking two early wickets and the visitors reduced to 68-4 at lunchtime.
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