South Africa completed a 2-0 series win over New Zealand on Monday after thumping the visitors by an innings and 193 runs on the fourth day of the second Test.
New Zealand collapsed again against the South Africa pace attack when they staggered to 47 for six in their first innings in reply to the hosts' 525 for eight declared on the second day of the second Test at St. George's Park on Saturday.
Handicapped by the absence of key strike bowler Dale Steyn, South Africa will need to dig deep into their reserves if they are to beat England in the third Test and bring parity to the series.
Half-centuries from Kraigg Brathwaite and Marlon Samuels steered a battling West Indies to 147 for two at the close on day three of the second Test against South Africa on Sunday.
Former captain Mahela Jayawardene hit a classy unbeaten century to help Sri Lanka close on 305 for five on the first day of the second Test against South Africa in Colombo on Thursday. In a chanceless six hours at the crease, Jayawardene finished on 140 not out off 225 balls, including one six and 16 fours, to give Sri Lanka a solid start in their bid to level the two-match series.
Dale Steyn, the world's most feared pacer, has backed his country, South Africa, to emerge triumphant in the three-Test series against India at the end of the year.
Vernon Philander took five wickets as South Africa closed in on victory having reduced West Indies to 76 for two in their follow-on innings at the close of play on day three of the opening Test on Friday.
Ben Stokes struck a sparkling unbeaten 74 to help England finish the opening day of the second Test against South Africa on a healthy 317 for five at Newlands on Saturday.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore team for the Champions League T20, which kicks-off in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Friday, September 10.
England's Steven Finn took three wickets as South Africa, chasing an unlikely 416 for victory, struggled to 136 for four on the fourth day of the first Test.
'We are at this stage where we have lost almost all of our experience'
South Africa, fired by a devastating spell of bowling from Dale Steyn and sustained by the batting of Hashim Amla, took a firm grip on the third and final Test against Australia on Saturday to end day two with an imposing lead of 292.
Australia dismissed South Africa for 225 despite another dogged rearguard action from Faf du Plessis before moving shakily to 33-2 at the close of play on a thrilling first day of the third Test at the WACA on Friday.
Bangladesh's Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah scored half-centuries to give their team hope of taking a first-innings lead over South Africa on the second day of their opening Test at Chittagong on Wednesday.
Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott shared a second-wicket partnership of 141 to lift England to a comfortable six-wicket win over South Africa in the fourth One-day International at Lord's on Sunday.
South Africa will need their bowlers to step up to keep their World Cup hopes alive.
India retained the No 1 spot in the latest Reliance ODI team rankings while Virat Kohli maintained the number two position with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni static at the seventh place in the batting chart released in Dubai.
"This will probably be the biggest World Cup, so there will be great expectations and I know we will do very well for the people of the West Indies," he added.
There is a definite spring in Ajinkya Rahane's steps after he ended a 17-Test run of not scoring a hundred, a number which has proved to be lucky for him.
'We are known as a team who starts slow, so this time around we have to start well. There is a lot of pressure on players, (but then) it's international cricket and you want to keep it that way.'
AB de Villiers made this offer in May, barely 24 hours before the final squad for this ongoing showpiece in the UK was to be announced by Cricket South Africa.
South Africa captain AB de Villiers anchored his side to a six-wicket victory over New Zealand, whose bowling and fielding was far superior to a poor batting performance in the first game of their three match one-day series on Tuesday.
Following his return to form in the abruptly-ended West Indies series, Indian batsman Virat Kohli claimed the number two slot in the ICC rankings while swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar broke into the top-10 for the first time in his career.
The pacer injures ankle during warm-up session; Kyle Abbott has been called up as replacement
Opener Reeza Hendricks, wicketkeeper Dane Vilas, spinner Aaron Phangiso and fast bowler Kagiso Rabada, who have all previously represented the country in the limited overs formats, picked for Bangladesh Tests
Rajneesh Gupta presents statistical summary of Sunrisers Hyderabad and much more.
South Africa paceman Kagiso Rabada bagged another five-wicket haul to take his Test match tally past 100 as his side wrapped up a comprehensive innings and 254-run victory over Bangladesh in Bloemfontein on Sunday.
battling half-century from JP Duminy and a test best 46 not out from tailender Vernon Philander led South Africa's fightback as they closed on 262 for seven on the first day of the third and final test on Thursday.
Geoffrey Boycott has criticised England's batsmen after their first-Test defeat to South Africa, saying they forgot about defence in the pursuit of their ambition to score runs.
England captain Andrew Strauss was left with a 'sour taste in the mouth' after his team suffered a crushing innings and 12-run defeat by South Africa in the first Test on Monday.
Brad Hodge played an excellent cameo to guide Rajasthan Royals to their fourth victory in the Indian Premier League, pipping Deccan Chargers by five wickets in a thrilling finish.
Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor VVS Laxman pointed out that Ishant's no-ball problem is one of the reasons for his exclusion from the side.
South Africa wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock has been fined 75 per cent of his match fee for nudging Bangladesh opening batsman Tamim Iqbal.
Spinner Amit Mishra and pacer Dale Steyn scalped two wickets each as Deccan Chargers knocked Rajasthan Royals out of the Indian Premier League by inflicting on them an upset five-wicket defeat in a must-win match in Hyderabad.
Iconic Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has bagged the fifth ESPNcricinfo best batting performance award in Tests, beating the likes of compatriot Rahul Dravid and Australia skipper Michael Clarke. Tendulkar, whose 146 at Cape Town in 2011 came under testing conditions and in the face of sublime swing bowling by Dale Steyn, was the No 1 choice of seven jurors of 11 who had him in their top three.
Indian batsman Ajinkya Rahane jumped three places to enter the top-10 in batsman's list while Ravichandran Ashwin maintained his pole position among all-rounders in the latest Test rankings released by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The two were recalled to Australia's team for the 2019 World Cup, starting in England and Wales from May 30.
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly, who is a member of the Marylebone Cricket Club World Cricket Committee, will skip its upcoming meeting at Lord's on August 11-12.
Legendary South African batsman Barry Richards feels Virat Kohli is a few notches above his contemporaries in the Indian team but still has some way to go before one can compare him with the iconic Sachin Tendulkar.
New Zealand's nine-wicket loss to South Africa in the second Test was a closer match than the result suggests and the hosts' captain Ross Taylor believes his team is not far away from being competitive in the third Test in Wellington.
