Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews weathered a fiery spell of reverse swing bowling from Dayle Steyn to take his team past the follow-on mark on the third day of the first Test against South Africa on Friday.
South Africa recalled hard-hitting all-rounder Albie Morkel on Monday in their squad for the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh starting next month.
South African bowling great Allan Donald believes the pace attack of Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel which will take on Australia in a three-Test series next month is the best the country has ever produced.
Dale Steyn became South Africa's second highest wicket taker as West Indies reached 276 for six on the first day of the third Test on Friday.
Dale Steyn became the second South African bowler to join the 400 club as his team took five wickets in the final session to reduce Bangladesh to 246 for eight on the first day of the second Test in Mirpur on Thursday.
Australia won the third and final Test against South Africa by 245 runs at Newlands in a nailbiting finish with just 27 balls to spare after a day of epic home resistance.
England, replying to South Africa's 291, were 241 for seven at close on the second day of the third Test thanks to battling innings by Alastair Cook, Ian Bell and Matt Prior.
Australia skipper Ricky Ponting on Tuesday backed Brett Lee to come good against South Africa and said the speedster was still quicker than South Africa's Dale Steyn.
A change from spin-friendly wickets in India to ones favouring seamers means South Africa's pace attack are keenly looking forward to the Test series against England, which starts on Saturday.
South Africa's pacemen routed Australia's batsmen with five late wickets to leave the hosts reeling at 111-5 at the close of day three on Saturday and buoy the tourists' hopes of pulling off an unlikely victory in the second Test.
South Africa's celebrated pace attack took a hammering in the first Test against Australia and has much to prove in next week's second but batsman Hashim Amla still believes it is the best in the world.
When Ryan Harris hobbled into Newlands for the final day of the third Test against South Africa on Wednesday, it seemed unlikely he would end up being the man to clinch the series for Australia.
Images from Day 3 of the first Test between India and South Africa in Nagpur on Sunday.
Former South Africa captain Clive Rice rates the India bowling attack higher than South Africa's and said the home bowlers would struggle to take 20 wickets against a batting line-up, which boasts of the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag, in the Test series starting next week.
New Zealand's nine-wicket loss to South Africa in the second Test was a closer match than the result suggests and the hosts' captain Ross Taylor believes his team is not far away from being competitive in the third Test in Wellington.
Experienced South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis will not be able to bowl in the first Test against England, captain Graeme Smith said on Tuesday.
A century stand between skipper Ricky Ponting and vice-captain Michael Clarke kept Australia afloat as they reached 194 for five at tea on the first day of the first Test against South Africa Thursday.
After a week of action at the Cricket World Cup, with each team now playing at least one match, here's an analysis of how the main contenders are shaping up.
He's been one of the most consistent players in the last six months, and even towered above other Indian batsmen in the recently-concluded series in South Africa. While India's leading batsmen struggled to cope with the pace and bounce of Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn, Virat Kohli was rock-solid and unyielding.
Yusuf Pathan's blistering century proved in vain for India as South Africa won the fifth and decisive one-day international by 33 runs on Sunday to take the series 3-2.
Steyn bowled one of the great final overs in the history of T20 International cricket to earn South Africa their first victory of the ICC World Twenty20 by a nail-biting two runs against New Zealand.
South Africa won the fourth and final Test by an innings and 74 runs on Sunday, bowling England out for 169 just before lunch on the fourth day at the Wanderers to level the series at 1-1.
South Africa have named an unchanged squad for the remaining two Tests against England as AB de Villiers prepares to lead the five-day team for the first time in Johannesburg on Thursday.
India rung in two changes, Munaf Patel and Dinesh Kaarthick coming in place of VRV Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni respectively, for the third Test against South Africa.
Fiery paceman Andre Nel returns to the squad as South Africa announced a battery of fast bowlers for their tour of England on Friday. The 30-year-old, who has played 34 tests, is the only addition to the squad that toured India in March and April, from which he was controversially omitted. Nel joins a six-man pace attack that includes the in-form Dale Steyn, the experienced Makhaya Ntini, the up-and-coming Morne Morkel, as well as Monde Zondeki.
The veteran left-hander played a vital knock of 87 as India ended day two of the third Test against South Africa on 288 for nine, taking a first innings lead of 23 runs. VVS Laxman (50) was the major contributors in the Indian innings while Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel were the most successful South African bowlers with figures of three for 60 and three for 57 respectively.
Bangladesh reduced South Africa to 76 for four after being bowled out for 192 on the opening day of the first Test.
Virat Kohli is the lone Indian batsman to be figuring in the top-10 in the ICC Test batsmen rankings.
The hosts have suffered a body blow with Jacques Kallis pulling out of the squad because of a back strain.
Rabada reaches new milestone as Proteas take control over Bangladesh, on the opening day of the first Test against Bangladesh.
With no team as yet assured of a last four play-off berth, Kolkata Knight Riders mentor Wasim Akram described this Indian Premier League (IPL) season as the most interesting in its eight-year history.
Paceman Dale Steyn returned from a brief vacation to inspire South Africa and spinner Imran Tahir took four wickets as they throttled Pakistan's batsmen to win the third one-day international in Abu Dhabi by 68 runs on Wednesday.
Their morale on the upswing after back-to-back victories, defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders will aim to continue the winning run when they take on the inconsistent Sunrisers Hyderabad in their fifth IPL cricket match in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.
A look at how South Africa's fast bowlers have performed at home and their record against Indian batsmen.
South Africa pacer Morne Morkel feels that the post-tea sessions will hold the key with the Proteas bowlers looking to inflict maximum damage on the Indian batsmen late in the day.
Team India faces an uphill task in the upcoming Test series against South Africa, beginning at the Wanderers on Wednesday, and no one is more pragmatic about it than MS Dhoni, the team captain.
With India being outplayed in the Twenty20s, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will face added pressure to perform and lead India from the front against a formidable South African unit in the five-match ODI cricket series starting in Kanpur on Sunday.
A look back at a few memorable showdowns in the last decade and half that had the quintessential crests and troughs of Test cricket.
AB de Villiers has been ruled out of South Africa's two-test home series against New Zealand this month with an injured elbow and Faf du Plessis will take over the captaincy.
South Africa seamer Dale Steyn grabbed his first Test wicket after an injury absence of 14 months as the hosts fought back against a fired-up India on an enthralling first day of cut-and-thrust cricket in the opening Test at Newlands in Cape Town on Friday.
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