A superb 75 from Harry Brook and some big hitting from tailender Mark Wood earned England a pulsating three-wicket victory in the third Ashes Test.
England looked all but beaten when they stumbled to 117-5 in their pursuit of a 277-run target set by Pakistan in the first Test at Old Trafford but captain Joe Root felt confident about his team's battling qualities.
England face fellow strugglers Sri Lanka in a must-win World Cup match on Thursday.
Ben Stokes will play as a batsman only after injuring his shoulder at Old Trafford.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the fourth Ashes Test between England and Australia at Old Trafford in Manchester on Wednesday.
Afghanistan dismissed England for 215 to create one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history.
England clinched the series 4-3 in a major boost ahead of the World Cup.
Alam played his last Test in 2009.
The Ashes rivalry between the Australian and English cricket teams escalated to new levels, with the prime ministers of both countries jumping into the fray, again.
Josh Hazlewood, who was released by RCB, has been bracketed in the top-of-the-line Rs 2 crore base price in Tuesday's IPL auction.
'He's already thinking about going back in the nets and working hard at his game and that's a good sign for me that he's still got that hunger. He's, what, 10 wickets away from 700 (Test wickets), and that will keep him going for a while yet.'
IMAGES from Day 2 of the fourth Ashes Test between England and Australia at Old Trafford in Manchester on Thursday.
IMAGES from the T20 World Cup semi-final match played between India and England in Adelaide on Thursday.
A resurgent Royal Challengers Bengaluru will look for their fourth consecutive victory when they face an unpredictable Punjab Kings as the two sides fight for survival in the Indian Premier League, in Dharamsala on Thursday.
Images from Day 2 of the third Ashes Test on Friday.
England have also included seamer Reece Topley, who they hope will have recovered from an ankle injury in time to play.
Images from Day 1 of the fifth and final Ashes Test between England and Australia at The Oval in London on Thursday.
He, along with teammate Alex Hales, could yet be fined and suspended, however it will be some time before that conclusion can be reached.
There are also doubts over the presence of England all-rounder Chris Woakes, who plays for Delhi Capitals in the IPL.
Australia's Steve Smith struck a superb 144 on his return to the side as they recovered from 122-8 to reach 284 all out against England in the first innings of the first Ashes Test before the hosts saw out two overs unscathed at Edgbaston on Thursday.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan predicted the hosts will sweep the three-Test series against Pakistan despite the absence of talismanic all-rounder Ben Stokes for the last two matches. Stokes was part of the England team which pulled off a thrilling three-wicket victory in the series opener at Old Trafford but is now missing for family reasons.
Pakistan opener Abid Ali scored a half-century but England's seam bowlers used the muggy conditions to their advantage to restrict the tourists to 126 for five at the close of a rain-hit opening day of the second Test at the Rose Bowl on Thursday.
IMAGES from Day 5 of the 5th Ashes Test played between England and Australia at The Oval, London, on Sunday.
Images from Day 1 of the fourth Test between England and India, at The Oval, on Thursday.
Archer was released by the franchise last week. His name doesn't figure in the list of players who have registered for the IPL auction, set to be held on December 19 in Dubai.
Rajasthan Royals take on Punjab Kings aiming to seal their IPL play-offs berth, in their penultimate league match.
Images from the T20 World Cup match between Sri Lanka and England at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday.
Afghan, who retired from all formats on Sunday after the match against Namibia in the ongoing T20 World Cup, had captained Afghanistan to 42 wins out of 52 games.
Stokes ton helps England beat Netherlands, end World Cup losing run
KKR CEO Venky Mysore justifies Mitchell Starc's huge pay check from skill-set standpoint
Images from the second ODI between England and Australia, at Old Trafford in Manchester, on Sunday
Ball will be thrown into the Gabba cauldron in just his fourth test after recovering from a sprained ankle that saw him scratched from the tour match in Adelaide and rested for the final warm-up in Townsville last week, where Overton bowled.
England hammered India by an innings and 159 runs in the second Test at Lord's on Day 4 to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the five-match series, on Sunday.
Daryl Mitchell and Matthew Wade were the heroes for their respective teams as New Zealand and Australia set up a Trans-Tasman final in the T20 World Cup.
Faltering Punjab Kings, Mumbai Indians desperate to resurrect IPL campaign
England's stuttering title defence at the 50-overs World Cup eventually crumbled on Saturday
The IPL is slated to begin from April 9 with the final scheduled to be played on May 30, while the opening Test against New Zealand begins on June 2.
Moeen cautioned that the team cannot solely rely on him, especially when there are other talented players in the squad.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 1st Ashes Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham, on Saturday
Both SRH and PBKS have two wins and two losses from their four matches to be tied with two other teams in the middle with four points