Australia captured three quick wickets in England's second innings after collapsing to 160 all out on the second day of the fifth Ashes Test.
Australia retained off-colour Matthew Hayden and replaced the injured trio of Brett Lee, Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson with three uncapped players for the third and final Test against South Africa. Having already conceded the three-match series to Graeme Smith's men, the selectors on Tuesday drafted in three uncapped players -- pacemen Doug Bollinger and Ben Hilfenhaus and all-rounder Andrew McDonald -- in the 12-man squad.
Spunky England off-spinner Graeme Swann rates the ball with which he castled Ricky Ponting in the Edgbaston Test as the most satisfying delivery of his career, something he can tell his grandchildren about with considerable pride.
Harbhajan Singh, with three wickets in England's innings, took his tally of wickets this year to 58. Only South Africa's Dale Steyn (60) has claimed more wickets than Harbhajan in 2008.
Craig Ervine scored a maiden Test century to help Zimbabwe hold up New Zealand's victory charge on day three of the second Test and steer the home side to 305 for six in their first innings by stumps on Monday.
Australia made a confident start in the third Ashes Test against England as Shane Watson's unbeaten fifty lifted them to 126 for one on a rain-disrupted first day on Thursday.
Andrew Flintoff said his decision to tour India for the Test series has nothing to do with his Indian Premier League ambitions and asserted security would not be a distraction for his teammates in the two-Test series starting in Chennai on Thursday.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the numbers from the first Test.
Durham pace bowler Graham Onions has been added to England's squad as they bid to win the Ashes series outright in the fourth Test at his Chester-le-Street home ground from Friday.
His side lost the battle for number one Test spot with India with their innings defeat in the second match but captain Graeme Smith said they were proud to have troubled the home side in their own backyard in the drawn series.
Western Australia cricketers are eager to travel to India for the Champions Twenty20 League even as Australia skipper Ricky Ponting suggested shifting the tournament to some other country in the wake of the terror strikes in Mumbai. The players have voted unanimously to go, if cleared to do so by Cricket Australia, which at present has banned its members from travelling to the sub-continent.
After enacting one of the great escapes in Test cricket in Cardiff, Monty Panesar said he had been working on his batting which paid off but did not bat like Indian swashbuckler Yuvraj Singh in England's drawn Ashes opener.
England captain Kevin Pietersen is considering changes to his line up for the third one-day international against India on Thursday, with bowlers Graeme Swann and Ryan Sidebottom both in contention.
Kevin Pietersen was included in a 14-man squad for next week's third Ashes Test against Australia at Old Trafford despite concerns over his calf injury, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Sunday.
South Africa will pin much of their batting hopes on a new opening pair in the third and final Test against Australia which starts on Thursday. Imraan Khan has been brought in for his debut and opens with the recalled Ashwell Prince, who normally operates in the middle-order. They come in for captain Graeme Smith (broken finger) and Neil McKenzie (dropped).
Australia battled hard against some accurate England bowling on Thursday to reach 142 for one at tea in their first innings on the second day of the first Ashes Test.
Rookie batsman Imraan Khan joined Hashim Amla as the second Indian-Origin player in the South African team which will be without regular skipper Graeme Smith in the third and final Test against Australia starting March 19 in Cape Town.
Ashwell Prince has been recalled to replace the injured Graeme Smith as South Africa captain for the third Test against Australia where he will open the batting alongside debutant Imraan Khan.
Neil Wagner claimed a five-wicket haul from a fiery spell of fast bowling as New Zealand reduced hosts Zimbabwe to 120 for eight at tea on day one of the first Test at Queen's Sports Club on Thursday.
England have omitted fast bowler James Anderson from the team to face the Stanford Superstars in Saturday's US $20 million match in Antigua. Anderson joins Alastair Cook, Ravi Bopara and Ryan Sidebottom as the players to miss out, with captain Kevin Pietersen opting to include spinner Graeme Swann alongside Nottinghamshire team mate Samit Patel.
Graeme Smith hit a sprightly half-century as South Africa, bidding to complete the highest successful run chase in Tests, reached 178 for two after the fourth day of the first Test against Australia on Sunday.
England named an unchanged 13-man squad for the second Ashes Test against Australia starting at Lord's on Thursday.
Jacques Kallis, the top run-scorer in the Twenty20 World Cup, will miss South Africa's final second round match against India on Tuesday because of injury. Captain Graeme Smith told a news conference on Monday that Kallis, who has scored 174 runs in four matches at opener, is suffering from a minor back injury.
Sri Lanka coach Mickey Arthur believes that international cricket teams can learn from India on how to nurture young players and empower them with responsibilities at critical junctures. Be it in the bowling or batting department, cricketing powerhouse India has built a solid bench strength for all formats under Virat Kohli's leadership, which has left Arthur impressed.
Impressed with South Africa's performance in the ongoing Twenty20 World Cup, former fast bowler Alan Donald has rated Graeme Smith's men as the favourites to clinch the title in second edition of the tournament.
England were skittled for 180 on the stroke of tea, having no answer to the pace of Dale Steyn on the first day of the fourth and final Test against South Africa on Thursday.
After putting up just 128 for 7, the Proteas restricted the Kiwis to 127 for 5.
South Africa captain Graeme Smith will play in the three-Test series against Australia starting this month after missing the two teams' recent one-day series through injury.
Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty and her business partner Raj Kundra on Tuesday bought a 12 per cent stake in the Indian Premier League team Rajasthan Royals, the inaugural champions of the Twenty20 event.
AB de Villiers, called time on his illustrious international career, claiming to be 'out of gas' after 14 years in the top league.
Shane Warne, Shane Watson and Graeme Smith are considering quitting the IPL after the serial blasts in Jaipur.
Ian Bell and Ryan Sidebottom have been recalled to the England squad for the second Test against West Indies in Durham starting on Thursday.
An unbeaten 62 off only 30 balls by the dashing all-rounder enabled Rajasthan Royals recover from a bad start and score a five-wicket victory in the Indian Premier League match in Centurion on Tuesday.
Here is a list of cricketers who are not offering value for money so far in the second season of the Indian Premier League. We must note, however, that a couple of good knocks or good spells can quickly change numbers.
Peter Siddle took three wickets to give Australia the upperhand as South Africa were reduced to 198 for seven at stumps on day two of the second Test at the MCG in Melbourne on Saturday. Captain Graeme Smith scored a fine 62 but kept losing wickets at regular intervals in reply to Australia's first innings score of 394.
The continuing form slump coupled with Australia's overall decline may prompt opener Matthew Hayden to retire from cricket after the ongoing Test series against South Africa. Hayden, who has been woefully out of touch all through the season, may end his career after the third Test in Sydney.
The opening Test between Australia and South Africa at Perth is interestingly poised at the end of fourth day's play on Saturday.
Restricting India to 453 is a job well done and Kevin Pietersen and his men are now very much back into the final Test, asserts England off-spinner Graeme Swann.
India were all out for 453 in their first innings on the second day of the second Test against England in Mohali on Saturday
Graeme Smith may have led South Africa to the pinnacle in the limited overs cricket but he is still comfortable with Shane Warne in the forefront of the Rajasthan Royals team in the Indian Premier League.
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