England Cricket Board (ECB) on Wednesday named the playing eleven for the third Test match against India in Rajkot, with pacer Mark Wood replacing Shoaib Bashir in the playing squad.
It was a godsend for both Burns and Italy, who qualified for their maiden ICC World Cup by making the cut for next year's T20 showpiece India and Sri Lanka on Friday.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 1st Test between England and India at Headingley in Leeds on Friday
New Zealand took charge on the second day of the third Test by dismissing England for 143 and making 136/3 at close of play for an overall lead of 340.
England batted with positive intent to take control of the final Ashes Test at The Oval on Saturday, moving on to 389-9 at the close on the third day with a 377-run lead over Australia.
Indian bowlers were made to toil as England began their campaign on a promising note, riding on star batsman Joe Root's 11th century to finish the opening day of the first cricket Test at a solid 311/4 in Rajkot on Wednesday. - Scorecard England's leading batsman in recent years, Root was his customary elegant self and made 124 off 180 balls, while Moeen Ali was one short of his fourth Test hundred when the stumps were drawn after 93 overs at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
A win against Sri Lanka will put them firmly in contention for a semi-final berth but England's best batsman Joe Root was forthright in his assessment that his team has not been able to play "best cricket" in the tournament so far. "If we're being honest, we've not done one part of our game consistently well. Times we've bowled extremely well and when we've batted well. The exciting thing for me is, when that comes together we'll be a very hard side to beat," Root told mediapersons ahead of their final group league game against Sri Lanka on Saturday. But he also admitted that finding ways to win is the key, which they have done in the last two matches. "We have not performed at our best throughout the competition, which in a way is quite exciting because we know that's still to come. The really pleasing thing for me is we're finding ways of winning games of cricket. As long as we can continue to do that, all we can worry about is making sure we get that win on Saturday and give ourselves the best chance of qualifying," said Root. Even if England win, they need to keep a track of other matches and Root said that they are keeping a tab of what's happening in the group.
IMAGES from the World Cup match played between England and Afghanistan in Delhi on Sunday.
India skipper Virat Kohli mocked at Joe Root's 'mic drop' celebration with his own version of the gesture but the England captain took it sportingly, saying 'it adds to the spectacle of Test cricket'.
England captain Joe Root hit a brilliant century to put his team in a strong position in their quest for a series-clinching victory on the third day of the second Test against Sri Lanka on Friday.
England must win the fourth Test in Manchester to keep the series alive ahead of the fifth Test at the Oval in London.
After taking a first innings lead of 233 on Friday before conceding three quick wickets, England batted throughout the day to reach 333 for five at the close with Joe Root unbeaten on 178, his second Test hundred.
Joe Root plundered a superb century to defy Australia as England recovered from a poor start to post 343 for seven on the first day of the first Ashes Test on Wednesday.
England captain Joe Root, on Tuesday, said his team has strong plans in place for Indian skipper Virat Kohli
Brearley rated Kohli as the best batsman in world cricket and his success is largely due to his 'ruthless streak'.
England captain Joe Root is confident any positive COVID-19 Tests in the squad would not force the cancellation of their two-test tour of Sri Lanka this month, but said his side would have to keep a close watch on their physical and mental wellbeing.
England cricket director Andrew Strauss gave his full backing to Test captain Alastair Cook on Tuesday and appointed Joe Root as his deputy in a significant move for the future.
Kane Williamson scored a magisterial 156 at his most productive venue to drive New Zealand to the brink of a consolation victory over England at the end of the third day of the third Test.
An unbeaten half century from Joe Root helped England into a commanding position on the third day of the first Test as they opened up a 261-run lead over South Africa on Monday.
Images from Day 2 of the first Test between India and England, at the M A Chidambaram stadium, in Chennai.
Root shared a 106-run partnership with Jonny Bairstow, who was standing in for injured wicketkeeper Matt Prior and fell just two run short of his half century before the tourists were bowled out for 418. England's bowlers initially struggled to impose themselves on the Invitational XI, who had reached 153 for four by close of play for a lead of 39 after their first innings 304.
Smith needs just 315 runs to become the fourth Australian batter after Ricky Ponting (13378), Allan Border (11174), and Steve Waugh (10927) to reach the landmark of 10,000 Test runs.
England became the first team to win a Test by an innings after conceding more than 500 runs in their first innings.
Shubman Gill once again failed to convert a decent start as he was dismissed for 34 off 46 balls on Day 1 of the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam.
Wood has so far played two matches in the ongoing series
Joe Root admitted that Pant was a big factor in his side not declaring in their second innings even after the lead crossed the 400-run mark.
Australia will be without their premier pacers but their envious pedigree in ICC tournaments make them favourites to progress to the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy from Group B.
Virat Kohli: The one who forced Gen-Z to fall in love with Red and Whites
Pakistan captain Shan Masood said his team showed tremendous character to register back-to-back victories against England and win their first Test series on home soil since 2021.
In the absence of the injured Ollie Pope, big-hitting Harry Brook has been promoted to No 3 in what is a must-win Test for the hosts.
Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra smashed rapid unbeaten centuries to set up New Zealand's successful pursuit of a 283-run victory target, which came with 13.4 overs to spare.
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.
'Let's see what you're really made of.'
Ollie Pope reckons England can make 600 Test runs in a day's play
'A year ago, if you told me we were coming here I would have been very confident, they were struggling a fair bit, the batting looked like they weren't really sure how to go about it.'
Brook's average of 62.54 is the second highest in Test history among players with a minimum of 20 Test innings. His average is only second to the incpmparable Australian batter Sir Don Bradman, who scored 6,996 runs in 52 Tests at an average of 99.94, with 29 centuries and 13 fifties.
The waiting ends for England's new Test captain Joe Root on Thursday when he leads his side out for the start of a four-match series against South Africa at Lord's on Thursday, nearly four months after his appointment.
Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali and Joe Root caught up befpre the CSK-RR game.
'We had very narrow negotiations that were quite useful.'
Pakistan captain Babar Azam was named the International Cricket Council's ODI Cricketer of the Year following his exploits in 2021 when he scored 405 runs in six games at an average of 67.50.
