The newly-appointed England captain said he had to think carefully about his decision to take over when approached by England and Wales Cricket Board chiefs on Wednesday.
England skipper Kevin Pietersen disclosed that he will go into the first Test against India at Chennai with a two-pronged spin attack comprising Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann.
Hard-pressed to squeeze in some practice ahead of the two-Test series against India, Kevin Pietersen and his men lost precious little time and headed for the nets at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Friday. The 38-strong English contingent, including 24 cricketers, which reached Abu Dhabi via Dubai, though is still waiting wait for a final go ahead from security adviser Reg Dickason before heading to India.
England captain Kevin Pietersen has made it clear that his side will not return to India for next month's cricket Test series unless their safety is guaranteed.
Former opener Geoffrey Boycott feels English cricket has become a laughing stock, thanks to the "appalling" way in which the ECB forced Kevin Pietersen to step down from captaincy.
England paceman Steve Harmison has urged captain Kevin Pietersen and coach Peter Moores to settle their differences for the sake of the team. The pair's fractious relationship since Pietersen took over the captaincy in August has come to a head in recent days and a poor series of results since Moores became coach nearly two years ago have not helped the situation.
As if losing the Test series against India was not enough, England's cricket team was on Wednesday fined five per cent of its match fee while skipper Kevin Pietersen was docked 10 per cent of his earnings for maintaining a slow over-rate during the first match in Chennai.
Recalled England fast bowler Steve Harmison took two wickets in two balls and James Anderson captured three to help dismiss South Africa for 194 on Kevin Pietersen's first outing as Test captain on Thursday.
Ravi Bopara has replaced Michael Vaughan in the England squad for the fourth and final Test against South Africa, the ECB said on Monday.
Alastair Cook was never the most innovative England cricket captain, his batting was designed to soothe rather than stir the blood and his personality was so cautious that it was little wonder he never featured when flashy sports awards were being handed out.
Kalra was banned from Ranji Trophy as well as U-23 tournaments on a complaint filed by former Delhi captain Kirti Azad's faction, alleging that the left-handed opener has fudged his age since the U-16 level.
Australia wrested control of the third Test back from England for the second day in a row on Saturday, reducing the tourists to 180 for four at the close of play and taking another major step towards reclaiming the Ashes.
Gujarat Lions defeated Rising Pune Supergiants by seven wickets to register their second win in the Indian Premier League.
Kevin Pietersen smashed 79 from just 37 balls to inspire England to a 50-run victory in the Twenty20 World Cup match.
Mitchell Johnson believes England's batsmen repeatedly pulling away just before the ball is delivered during the Ashes series is a deliberate ruse to unsettle Australia's pace bowlers.
It is an perfect stage for India's mercurial skipper Virat Kohli, who loves to bring his A game to the fore when the chips are down.
A look at the newly-laid dark coloured Chepauk track is an indication that unlike the strip used during the first Test, this one will offer turn earlier than expected.
England clinched the one-day international series against India with a seven-wicket victory in the seventh and final match at Lord's.
India captain Virat Kohli along with the other nine skippers of the participating teams at the ICC World Cup on Wednesday met Queen Elizabeth and Prince Harry at Buckingham Palace in London.
With a new cricket director, coach and chairman, England return to the field of play in the first Test against New Zealand on Thursday following an extraordinary period of upheaval.
The visitors finished the day 240 runs ahead with England needing to bat for most of the remaining two days if they are to save the match and prevent a 1-0 deficit in the three-match series.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be eager to break the sequence of reverses and get Rising Pune Supergiants' campaign back on track when they lock horns with in-form Kolkata Knight Riders.
Following Rising Pune Supergiants batsman Faf du Plessis's exit, Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com takes stock of the players forced out of the cash-rich Twenty20 extravaganza by injury.
In a rare occurrence on the cricket field, Mumbai Indians replaced injured medium pacer Praveen Kumar with left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha after the toss, in their match against Delhi Daredevils, at the Wankhede stadium, on Friday.
Kevin Pietersen failed to fire in his first match for Delhi Daredevils, as Sunrisers Hyderabad rode on brilliant batting by Aaron Finch and David Warner to notch a four-run victory in Friday's IPL match in Dubai.
The Sprinkboks beat the defending champions 36-0 in their pivotal World Cup Pool A match.
India batsman Yuvraj Singh will hold a charity auction in London on July 14 to raise money for cancer patients.
England aim to avoid a third consecutive series defeat and ease the pressure on captain Alastair Cook when they host India in a five-Test series for the first time since 1959, starting in Nottingham on Wednesday.
Images from the Friday's IPL match between Delhi Daredevils and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Dubai.
After a disastrous start to their campaign with two successive defeats, bottom-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad will be eager to bounce back against an inconsistent Delhi Daredevils.
Failure to secure a suitable broadcast package and a title sponsor meant Cricket South Africa stood to lose about $25 million, representing roughly half of the organisation's cash reserves.
Delhi Daredevils are gearing up to get their campaign back on track amid uncertainty over the availability of their best batsman Kevin Pietersen for the Indian Premier League match against Kolkata Knight Riders who will look to continue their winning momentum on Saturday.
40 must know nuggets about the legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
As the legend turns 40, we take a look at his journey in cricket and life.
Gilchrist, 34, the leading one-day stumper, caught Kevin Pietersen off left-arm paceman Mitchell Johnson for one run to reach the milestone.
Captain Michael Vaughan scored a fluent 103 on his return to Test action after 18 months on the sidelines on the opening day of the second Test against West Indies at Headingley on Friday.
Delhi Daredevils captain Kevin Pietersen attributed batting collapse towards the end of his side's innings for their four-wicket loss in their IPL match against table toppers Kings XI Punjab in New Delhi on Monday night.
England declared their first innings on 551-6.
Kevin Pietersen was unbeaten on 92 as England ended day 4 on 293 for 5 in their second innings of the first Ashes Test.
He was among the key plotters of England's historic 2012 Test triumph in India and former coach Andy Flower sees no reason why an encore is not possible this year as he believes the visitors have enough 'formidable players' to challenge the upbeat hosts.
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