Australian skipper Ricky Ponting believes all rounder Shane Watson has the capability to become the world's premier all-rounder in the coming years.
The England pace bowler believes increased competition for places prevents him from taking his place for granted.
Wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose was the only uncapped one-day international player named in England's 14-man squad on Friday for a five-match series and a Twenty20 international against New Zealand.
With England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff gearing up for his swansong Test, pace bowler James Anderson wants to give his outgoing teammate a fitting farewell by winning the Ashes series.
England called up uncapped Kent opening batsman Joe Denly in their one-day squad for the seven-match 50 overs series against Australia and the Champions Trophy in South Africa. Denly has also been included in the squad for two Twenty20 internationals against Australia following the fifth and final Ashes Test at the Oval starting on Thursday.
Uncapped batsman Jonathan Trott will make his England debut in the Ashes decider against Australia next week, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Sunday. The ECB also included all-rounder Andrew Flintoff in a 14-man squad for the fifth and final Test, which starts at The Oval on Thursday, but Essex batsman Ravi Bopara was left out after struggling for runs throughout the series.
Andrew Flintoff fears Kevin Pietersen's absence for the remaining three Tests against Australia could wreck England's chances of regaining the Ashes.
England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has been named 2005's top cricketer in the 143rd edition of Wisden
Recently retired England cricketer Michael Vaughan watches from a balcony during the first Ashes Test at Cardiff, Wales, on Wednesday.
Fast bowling coach Troy Cooley says Australia have the superior pacemen going into this year's Ashes series.
Out of the game for more than a year because of injury, all-rounder Andrew Flintoff is on the comeback trail with the England Lions in India.
Captain Ricky Ponting has dismissed talks of Australia being underprepared for the World Twenty20 Championships by missing the Indian Premier League (IPL) and said his side is instead "in the best shape" following the break before the big event. Ponting along with Michael Clarke and Mike Hussey, deliberately skipped IPL preferring rest ahead of a busy summer for them.
Ireland's dashing all-rounder Kevin O'Brien says he was disappointed at not being picked by any of the franchises at the auction for the fifth edition of the IPL.
Yorkshire pace bowler Tim Bresnan was a surprise inclusion in the England squad announced on Wednesday for the first Test against West Indies starting at Lord's in a week's time. Essex all-rounder Ravi Bopara was also named in the 12-man squad and is likely to bat at number three after the selectors omitted former captain Michael Vaughan, Ian Bell and Owais Shah.
With the shifting of second edition of multi-million dollar Indian Premier League cricket tournament to South Africa, government may lose revenue as the law leaves room for not paying tax deduction on payments to foreign players for an event outside India.
Steve Smith was suspended for a year along with David Warner and Cameron Bancroft after being indicted in the sandpaper-gate during a Test match against South Africa in Cape Town. Smith was also banned from taking any leadership roles for two years - a suspension which has now expired.
Players around the world are getting jittery about playing in the Indian Premier League in the wake of the Lahore terror attack on the Sri Lankan team but Cricket South Africa on Monday said it has no objection in sending it's players for the Twenty20 tournament. The second edition of the cash-rich event is scheduled to kick off on April 10 in Mumbai.
And despite a slowdown, media planners say advertisers are pouring in over Rs 600 crore (nearly half the ad budget for cricket in 2009). This represents a more than 10 per cent increase over last year's spends on television, co-branding of teams and marketing, among others.
Top England stars, including Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, will be available for the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) both this year and the next season after the Indian Cricket Board and their English counterparts reached an agreement on Tuesday.
Indian team made one change in their side as Robin Uthappa replaced Dinesh Karthik.
Former captain David Gower is impressed by the persuasion skills of England captain Kevin Pietersen, who convinced his scared teammates to land in Abu Dhabi for the preparation of the Test series against India.
India went into the first Test with one spinner in Anil Kumble, while Yuvraj Singh lost the battle for a No 6 or 7 slot to VVS Laxman and M S Dhoni.
English Royal Mail unveiled designs for a range of stamps celebrating England's Ashes series victory
The English cricketers will be the first living people outside the Royal Family to have their likenesses clearly identifiable on British stamps.
South Africa dismissed England for 231 on the first day of the third Test on Wednesday after further failures for captain Michael Vaughan and Paul Collingwood.
'The cynic in me wonders whether the Speaker's defiance wasn't assisted by the knowledge that he cannot possibly be re-elected from Bolpur.'
Spinner Graeme Swann reckons that the current England team would not be able to make it to the top honours of the upcoming Champions Trophy, and the maximum that they hope to achieve is to reach the semi-finals.
Coach Andy Flower is confident of a boost in England's batting line-up with the return of Kevin Pietersen for the tour of South Africa in November, but has raised doubts over the comeback of Andrew Flintoff into the national team.
He is not the most professional cricketer around, but former England captain Michael Vaughan says talismanic all-rounder Andrew Flintoff is second only to Sachin Tendulkar when it comes to lifting his team and the fans.
When play ended, South Australia were 164 for 2 in their second innings, trailling England by four runs, after the tourists had made 415 in their first innings.
India included two spinners in Harbhajan Singh and Ramesh Powar for their opening Champions Trophy match against England.
England face severely depleted Zimbabwe, while New Zealand take on the United States in the ICC Champions Trophy on Friday.
England slumped to a humiliating defeat, by an innings and 23 runs, after being skittled for 51 by West Indies on the fourth day of the first Test on Saturday. Jerome Taylor ripped the heart out of England, a superb spell of pace bowling earning figures of five for 11 at Sabina Park while spinner Sulieman Benn took four for 31.
The players' auction for the Indian Premier League's second season got underway in Goa on Friday. A look the price list.
Sri Lanka picked a four-man pace attack with all rounder Farveez Maharoof taking the place of injured spinner Muttiah Muralitharan.
Dimitri Mascarenhas was drafted into England's Twenty20 World Cup squad in place of injured Ryan Sidebottom.
Wright was called up for Wednesday's sixth match at The Oval and Saturday's finale at Lord's because of injuries to Ravi Bopara, Andrew Flintoff and Chris Tremlett, the England and Wales Cricket Board said in a statement on Monday.
India made one change, including Gautam Gambhir in place of seamer R P Singh.
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