England batsmen Jonathan Trott and Eoin Morgan have backed controversial teammate Kevin Pietersen to make a comeback in the national team.
Kevin Pietersen has taken the first step to mend his damaged relations with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) by sending an apology through his agent on Tuesday.
Alastair Cook stepped down from his role after 59 Tests as England Test captain followed his team's disappointing showing in India recently.
Alastair Cook scored his 20th Test century as England emerged on top on day one of the first Test against South Africa, finishing on 267 for three at close at The Oval on Thursday. Cook was 114 not out, his chanceless effort coming after he lost captain and opening partner Andrew Strauss to the fourth ball of the morning, following an impressive second-wicket stand of 170 with Jonathan Trott, who scored 71.
Ignored for the tour of India, controversial batsman Kevin Pietersen expects to be picked for England's next assignment in New Zealand even as former captain Andrew Strauss confirmed receiving an apology from him for the infamous text messages episode.
The retired England batsman was convicted in France in 1998 of hitting his ex-girlfriend; he maintains his innocence and said he "couldn't give a toss" about the criticism.
England's 2005 Ashes-winning side were better than the team that sealed a series victory over Australia with a game to spare in Nottingham on Saturday, according to Kevin Pietersen.
South Africa dethroned England as the top team in the Reliance ICC Test Championship table following its 2-0 victory over Andrew Strauss' men in the three-match series which ended at Lord's Cricket Ground on Monday.
Alviro Petersen scored 182, his highest in a Test match, to steer South Africa to a commanding 419 all out on day two of the second Test at Headingley on Friday. England safely reached 48 without loss when bad light and rain ended play with 22 overs still to be bowled.
Former England and Wales Cricket Board ( ECB) boss Lord MacLaurin has endorsed the move not to include Kevin Pietersen in the national squad, saying he was never a ' team-man '.
Cricket SA (CSA) has praised the Proteas' squad for back-to back Test series victories in England to become the No 1 ranked Test side and retain the Basil d'Oliveira Trophy.
England lost early wickets to slump to 16 for two at close of play against South Africa at Lord's on Sunday, as their pursuit of 346 to win the third and final Test and square the series started badly.
Alastair Cook was always destined to break batting records and it was no surprise that he became England's Test run-scorer on Saturday, beating the record of his mentor and great friend Graham Gooch.
South Africa fought back against England on the second day of the first Test on Friday, first with the ball and then the bat, to close on 86 for one after bowling England out for 385. Captain Graeme Smith, playing his 100th Test match, was 37 not out and Hashim Amla was on 47 after being dropped on 40 by first slip Andrew Strauss off Ravi Bopara.
England pace bowler Graham Onions may be ruled out of the opening match of the three-Test series against South Africa starting at the Oval on Thursday after a hamstring strain forced him to miss training on Wednesday.
When he was the England coach, Flower was often skeptical of English players' participation in the IPL at the expense of their performance in Test cricket, which put him at loggerheads with stars such as Kevin Pietersen.
Apart from Lagarde, Mexican central bank governor Agustin Carstens and Kazakhstan's central bank governor Grigory Marchenkois are in the fray for the IMF managing director's post which fell vacant after the ignominious exit of Dominique Strauss-Kahn last month.
Amidst talks that he may be rested for the third Test against the West Indies, young England paceman Stuart Broad has said categorically that he does not want to be rested since he is in the 'best nick' of his life.
Trailing by 58 on first innings, West Indies limped to 61 for six, a lead of just three runs with two days left.
England finally bowled out a determined West Indies for 345 and limped to 10 for two in the evening gloom chasing 191 for victory after an absorbing fourth day of the first Test at Lord's on Sunday.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is getting the applause but it was actually Sachin Tendulkar's intervention that led to Ian Bell's reinstatement after his bizarre run out in the just-concluded India-England second cricket Test at Trent Bridge, a media report has claimed.
India, replying to England's 221, were 24 for 1 at close on Day 1 of the second Test, on Friday.
England captain Andrew Strauss said there would be no knee-jerk reaction to the 3-0 series defeat by Pakistan that has seen his team's lead at the top of the Test rankings slashed to one point.
England do not need distractions days before their crucial Test series against India but that could be just the case as controversial batsman Kevin Pietersen has rekindled the debate over the prevalence of South African-born cricketers in English cricket set-up.
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde on Tuesday became the first woman to head the International Monetary Fund after its executive board chose her over Mexican central bank governor Agustin Carstens.
In a statement, the IMF said French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde and the Mexican economist Agustin Carstens were interviewed by its Executive Board this week.
International Monetary Fund and World Bank are top global financial institutions.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said India supports the "best" available candidate, regardless of nationality, as the next International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief.
It was during his stay at this Sofitel hotel that Kahn, who was appointed IMF managing director in 2007 with a salary in excess of $5,00,000 per year, was accused of indulging in sexual assault on a chambermaid.
England are optimistic that Andrew Flintoff will be fit for the second Ashes test starting at Lord's on Thursday following the all-rounder's latest injury scare.
England captain Andrew Strauss and his team were presented the ICC Test Mace by Haroon Lorgat, the ICC Chief Executive and Rod Riley, Executive Senior Vice-President - Reliance Communications, after England completed a 4-0 series victory over India in the fourth Test at The Oval and confirmed their position as the number-one team in the Reliance ICC Test Rankings.
England's opening batsmen safely negotiated the final hour's play to close the third day of the third Test with Pakistan on 36 without loss, chasing 324 to win, after Azhar Ali's mammoth innings of 157 put the hosts in a dominant position in Dubai.
Spinner Abdur Rehman took six wickets as Pakistan beat England by 72 runs in the second Test on Saturday to clinch the three-match series, bowling out the tourists for 72 in their second innings after another abject batting display.
India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni preferred to sit out of the three-day match against Somerset, and in his absence Gautam Gambhir is leading the side. Another notable absentee is VVS Laxman, but pace spearhead Zaheeer Khan is playing and his clash with Andrew Strauss is eagerly anticipated.
A day after England's Test captain Andrew Strauss raised concern over the future of the classical format of the game, former Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan said that Test cricket will continue to struggle unless backed by more number of ODIs and Twenty20s.
England will be without all-rounder Tim Bresnan for Saturday's opening match of their tour of the United Arab Emirates.
India can inch towards regaining the top spot by narrowing the gap with current numero uno England in the ICC rankings if they manage to beat Australia in the four-Test series starting on Monday.
England raced to a series win over West Indies with a nine-wicket victory on the fourth day of the second Test at Trent Bridge on Monday after being set a modest target of 108.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund, who has been charged with a criminal sex act and is under arrest in the United States, has resigned from his position, leaving the global financial body to hunt for a new chief.
A US judge on Tuesday dismissed all sex crime charges against former International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a move that could bolster his plans to contest the next French presidential elections in 2012.
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