'We've shown throughout the two games in periods we can outperform Australia, just not over five days'
Former Pakistan captain Muhammad Yousuf has declared England's Joe Root as currently the best batsman in the world. Overlooking India's run machine Virat Kohli and South African Ab de Villiers, Yousuf said that he believed Root was the the best in the world at the moment after his monumental 254 against Pakistan in the second Test at Manchester.
After England's loss in the 2nd Test against India on Wednesday, Root had told the media that Moeen Ali 'has chosen to go home.'
Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope scored centuries to take England to a massive 498/3 at the close on the first day of their one-off Test against Zimbabwe.
Virat Kohli and Steve Smith will be "dangerous" and "hungry" for runs in the remaining two Tests
Jasprit Bumrah was on Monday named ICC men's Test Cricketer of the Year for excelling in both home and away conditions
England batsman Joe Root has identified the need to be more assertive to convert his half-centuries to three figure scores, starting with the third test against Sri Lanka at Lord's on Thursday. The 25-year-old has been dismissed 13 times between the scores of 50 and 98 since 2015, and was most recently caught on 80 against Sri Lanka in the second test, which he described as a "car crash". Root, who is ranked second in the world test rankings behind Australia's Steven Smith, said he should have doubled the nine test centuries he has amassed in his career. "Probably double (number of centuries) if you look at the amount of fifties. You are always striving to get better. Over the last couple of months it has been very frustrating," Root told British media.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the 1st Test between England and India at Headingley in Leeds on Saturday.
Ben Stokes added 91 runs with the last 3 wickets to help England post 246.
England lead 2-1 in the series and victory at Old Trafford would seal it.
'There's definitely no need to panic and I think the temptation is to get a little bit tense. One of our great strengths as a side is that we never waver from what we do'
Joe Root's unbeaten half-century helped stuttering England reach 182 for three at the close on the second day of the second Test on Friday after Pakistan's seam and spin attack ran through the tourists' top order.
India's historic first-ever Test win at Edgbaston by a massive 336 runs after losing the first Test was a triumph of Grit, Resilience, Excellence, Aggressiveness, and Tactfulness, a truly GREAT performance that will be remembered for years, asserts veteran cricket correspondent K R Nayar.
We don't do team meetings anymore: Joe Root on 'Bazball' culture
Former all-rounder and head coach Ravi Shastri has thrown his weight behind young Washington Sundar to be a 'genuine all-rounder for many, many years for India'.
India face an embarrassing defeat after Alastair Cook's fairytale farewell knock and Joe Root's classy hundred enabled England to pile more misery on the visitors on Monday, the penultimate day of the fifth Test.
ECB rotation policy became a hot topic in world cricket when they did not travel to India with their full strength squad earlier this year
Images from Day 4 of the second Test between England and India at Edgbaston, in Birmingham, on Saturday.
England's new Test captain Joe Root will seek to bolster his leadership skills with big scores and has promised to ensure the side are better prepared to defend the Ashes in Australia than they were on the previous trip.
England skipper Joe Root said it is up to the International Cricket Council, and not the players, to decide whether the "difficult" Motera pitch is suitable for Test cricket after his side was crushed inside two days by India in a low-scoring day-night encounter.
Root and all-rounder Moeen Ali (28) stitched together a patient 91-run partnership to steady the ship.
'...when they feel that they need me for any format, they would summon. My job is to perform and be ready for call ups.'
With 20 points in their kitty, the Royals are within touching distance of becoming the first team to qualify for the play-offs.
'I personally think we've got to be very calm about how we approach the next couple of games. The games themselves might get quite emotional, especially the atmosphere at Edgbaston against India'
England captain Ben Stokes went on to call Jofra Archer an 'incredibly gifted cricketer', irrespective of the colour of the ball in his hand.
Ahead of England's five-match Test series against India at home, head coach Brendon McCullum hailed young all-rounder Jacob Bethell
'We have got to look and try and get as many as we can -- 600-700 if we can, really trying to make the most of the first innings.'
India is facing form concerns and selection dilemmas as they enter the final phase of their Champions Trophy preparations.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the 2nd Ashes Test played at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide on Tuesday
England fast bowler Mark Wood has been ruled out of the Test series against Sri Lanka due to a thigh injury.
'There's always some calculated thinking behind it.'
'Shubman Gill did not look as technically tight or calm as usual when he came out to bat on the fourth evening, but his team fought so hard on Monday in a fabulous Test.'
The major difference between the two sides was the Super Kings' start with du Plessis and Devon Conway (20 off 25 balls) compiling a solid 54-run stand for the first wicket to set up the run chase.
Joe Root is willing to bat anywhere in the order to help England claw their way back from a 1-0 deficit in the Ashes series against Australia, the youngster said on Sunday.
As a traditional innings by Joe Root turned it around for England, Jonny Bairstow lauded his 'talented' teammate following Day 1's play.
England were caught out by Australia's aggression during the ill-fated 2013/14 Ashes campaign but captain Joe Root says they are fully prepared for short-pitched bowling and on-field chatter when the series kicks off in Brisbane next week.
India equal England's first-innings score of 387 with Test in balance
Joe Root said that while Ben Stokes would play, he might not be able to contribute much with the ball.
England batsman Joe Root will not be available to play in the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) this year as he is eager to spend time at home with his newborn son.
England captain Joe Root admitted his team had been comprehensively outplayed by an inexperienced Pakistan side in their nine-wicket loss to the tourists in the first Test at Lord's.
