Former captain Michael Vaughan, who stood down during this year's series defeat by South Africa, is among 12 players given central contracts, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Tuesday.
The English cricketers will be the first living people outside the Royal Family to have their likenesses clearly identifiable on British stamps.
AB de Villiers scored 97 on Sunday to give South Africa an outside chance of winning the fourth and final Test against England at the Oval. South Africa, who have already clinched the series 2-0, were dismissed for 316 in their second innings, leaving England 197 to win their first Test with Kevin Pietersen in charge.
Steve Harmison and Stuart Broad have been recalled to the England team for the final Test against South Africa starting on Thursday at The Oval.
Spinner Graeme Swann reckons that the current England team would not be able to make it to the top honours of the upcoming Champions Trophy, and the maximum that they hope to achieve is to reach the semi-finals.
Former England skipper Kevin Pietersen revealed that spinner Rashid Khan is worried about the situation in Afghanistan and he is not able to get his family out of the country.
England struggled to impose themselves on the Australian bowlers during the third day of the second Ashes Test at Lord's on Saturday after opting to bat again rather than enforce the follow-on. At tea England were 130 for two, an overall lead of 340, following a slow post-lunch period during which both Ravi Bopara (19 not out) and Kevin Pietersen (28 not out) were restricted by thoughtful pace bowling.
England fought their way into the ascendancy on the opening day of the first Ashes Test on Wednesday before two late wickets put Australia firmly back in the match.
England's ODI captain Paul Collingwood wants the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to relax its stance and let the country's top players turn out in the multi-million dollar Indian Premier League. Collingwood came out in support of views expressed by Test captain Michael Vaughan and star batsman Kevin Pietersen who argued there is no reason for England stars to miss out on the Twenty20 extravaganza.
"This is totally unacceptable and I'll talk to my colleague in Australia about the incident," said Britain's Minister for Sport Richard Caborn.
Riding on Jonathan Trott's double hundred (203) and Ian Bell's 98 (not out), England reached 491 for five in reply to Sri Lanka's 400 all out at stumps on Day 4 of the first Test on Sunday.
The Worcestershire batsman has been called for the fourth international against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
England captain Andrew Strauss and his team did all they could do pull off a series-saving victory over West Indies on Tuesday but had to watch as the Wisden Trophy was handed to their rivals for the first time in 11 years. The 1-0 defeat in the series came down to a batting collapse for 51 that resulted in an innings and 23 run defeat in the first Test in Jamaica.
England captain Michael Vaughan criticised umpire Darryl Harper's decision not to use technology on a crucial slip catch of Kevin Pietersen on the first day of the second test against Sri Lanka on Sunday. He said common sense should have prompted Harper to use technology to examine whether Chamara Silva at second slip had scooped up the ball before it touched the ground.
Western Australia coach Tom Moody said on Thursday he had rejected an offer to apply for the job of England head coach.
The players' auction for the Indian Premier League's second season got underway in Goa on Friday. A look the price list.
Former England skipper Michael Vaughan, the man in the centre of a storm that apparently cost two persons their job, says he wants to train for quite a few month with his county side before staking a claim to the national side.
England included Kevin Pietersen, Mathew Hoggard and Gareth Batty in place of Owais Shah, Lian Plunkett and Sajid Mohammed for the fourth ODI.
Tipped to be the next England cricket coach, Graham Ford will have no problem leaving his current employers county side Kent, which has promised not to come in the way if its director of cricket gets the high-profile job. The South African is the bookies' favourite to replace current England coach Peter Moores, who has fallen out with skipper Kevin Pietersen.
With a new-found aura of invincibility around them, a domineering India will seek to plot a second whitewash of England when the two teams clash in the second and final Test in Mohali on Friday. Apart from hearts -- by defying terror and continuing with the tour -- the team under Kevin Pietersen has not won anything in India. An Indian win in Mohali would be a double blow for the Englishmen who were blanked 5-0 in the ODI series on the other side of the Mumbai attacks.
Former captain Michael Vaughan backed England to bounce back from the bitter loss in Chennai, saying that Kevin Pietersen and his men have the "bulldog spirit" to square the Test series against India in Mohali. Vaughan admitted that the six-wicket loss in Chennai was a bitter pill to swallow, considering the way England dominated most part of the match.
Yuvraj Singh returned to the Indian side for the first Test after an eight-month hiatus.
Former England batsman Mike Atherton felt Kevin Pietersen and his team was in all probability being benefitted more than affected by the Mumbai terror attack as it save them from lot of criticism and gave them a chance to visit home in the middle of a series.
With no match practice at all and the the fact that none in the England squad has played first-class cricket in last four months, former England batsman Mark Butcher warned Kevin Pietersen's team to be prepared for tricky readjustments to a Test mind-set. The England team, who were not released to play for their counties at the end of the summer, have played only limited-overs matches since the final Test against South Africa, four months ago.
England's decision to tour India within a fortnight of the Mumbai mayhem was not driven by their urge to stand by a terror-stricken country but by a business deal, according to media reports in London. Apparently, it took lot of deliberation and persuasion on England and Wales Cricket Board's part to convince Kevin Pietersen and his men to tour India for the two-Test series.
Kevin Pietersen and his men should call off their tour of India because the situation there is far from safe, former England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Lord MacLaurin said on Tuesday. MacLaurin said it would be sad if the ECB, which is awaiting a report from its security adviser Reg Dickason, eventually gives its go-ahead for the two-match Test series.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan feels it will be tough for Kevin Pietersen and his men to return to India for next month's Test series as playing there would be like being in a "military camp" after the ghastly Mumbai terror attacks. Vaughan said it is hard to say whether the Indians would be prepared to play after the mayhem that left close to 200 dead.
England captain Kevin Pietersen says his team may have to play the Test series against India in blue. That's because its kit was left behind at the Taj hotel, in Mumbai, which came under the just-ended terrorist attack. The English players had left their Test kits at the hotel before the seven-match ODI series, which they abandoned while trailing 0-5 because of the mayhem in Mumbai.
Kevin Pietersen and his men should not be forced into returning to India for next month's Test series if their security fears don't subside, said former England captain Nasser Hussain as he urged the ECB to take a call on the matter without delay.
England captain Kevin Pietersen won the toss and elected to field in the fourth one-dayer against India in Bangalore on Sunday. India made one change to the side that won the third one-dayer in Kanpur, bringing in Sachin Tendulkar in place of Rohit Sharma.
England skipper Kevin Pietersen won the toss and chose to bat first against India in the third one-day international in Kanpur on Thursday. The start was delayed by 45 minutes due to hazy conditions, reducing play to 49-overs per side.
Delighted with the perfect start to the seven-match series against England, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said losing the toss was a blessing in disguise, for he too would have opted to field first in the first ODI against England.
The India wicketkeeper trails third-placed Michael Hussey of Australia by 10 points in the ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen.
England captain Michael Vaughan, playing his first test in 18 months, described his comeback century on Friday as one of the best moments of his career.
England named an unchanged 12-man squad for the second Ashes Test starting at Edgbaston, Birmingham on August 4.
New Zealand clinched a 3-1 win in the series by cruising to a 51-run victory over England in the fifth and final one-dayer at Lord's on Saturday, ensuring Kevin Pietersen's debut as captain ended in defeat.
England opener Ian Bell scored 60 not out on Friday to help subject New Zealand to their seventh straight defeat in Twenty20 internationals. Bell's fluent innings was the highlight of a day in which England won a one-sided contest by nine wickets with 15 balls to spare at Old Trafford in Manchester. The home side, replying to New Zealand's below-par 123 for nine on a pitch encouraging both pace and spin, reached 127 for one.
Ross Taylor's scintillating unbeaten 154 put New Zealand in control of the second Test on the second day against England on Saturday. At the close England had limped to 152 for four in reply to New Zealand's 381 for nine after the injured Daniel Flynn did not return to the crease.
England were 234 for four at close on the opening day of the final Test.
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