The England-India series has brought the bowler back into what has been turned into a batsman's game, says Aakar Patel.
Assistant coach Ricky Ponting, 10 rooms down the hotel corridor, has heard him shadow practising in England and coach Justin Langer said Smith hones his cover drives in shower.
The West Indies used plenty of short-pitched deliveries to dismantle Pakistan in their Cricket World Cup opener, but the Caribbean batsmen will get a taste of their own medicine when they face champions Australia, fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile has said.
India was able to finish Day 1 of third Test on 307 for six because their batsmen capitalised well on the conditions at Trent Bridge and did not offer any chances in the middle session, said England pacer Chris Woakes.
Alastair Cook marked The Oval's 100th Test match with a familiarly stubborn unbeaten half-century, standing firm as the home side battled to 149 for four against South Africa at tea on an absorbing first day of the third Test on Thursday.
India 21 for no loss at stumps on Day 1 after bowling out England for 183 in the first Test, in Nottingham, on Wednesday.
England must chase down a world-record 474 to win the second Test while South Africa have two full days to bowl them out after the tourists' batsmen provided the strongest possible platform for victory on the third day in Nottingham on Sunday.
Murali Vijay will be playing three matches for Essex in the final phase of the division one of English County Championship, the BCCI announced on Saturday.
Australia coach Justin Langer said that England are obviously the red-hot favourites going into the World Cup and said the team deserves to be the number one team in the world.
"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.
England showed glimpses of their best in last two games, says Morgan
England held their nerve to end Australia's last-wicket partnership of 65 and seal a dramatic 14-run victory in an extraordinary first Ashes Test at TrentBridge on Sunday.
With India tottering on 98 for 5 on Day 1 of the rescheduled fifth Test against England at Edgbaston on Friday, Rishabh Pant showed that he loves playing against England by registering his third century against them, his second in their backyard.
Australian fast bowler James Faulkner has said that he was picked in the Ashes squad not only because of his good all-round record at first-class level but also because of his aggressive temperament.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index of T20 World Cup 2024 after Game 48.
The fond memories of 2015 came rolling back for Mitchell Starc after beginning his World Cup campaign in near-identical fashion to his crowning moment.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant is glad that he has seen a lot of 'ups and downs' and evolved as a player, having learnt from his 'mistakes' in his short but eventful international career.
The veteran opener remains a dangerous batsman capable of single-handedly destroying any bowling attack with his trademark power-hitting which makes him one of the sought-after players in Twenty20 leagues across the cricketing world.
'It won't be easy like the other matches but confidence is the main thing... If we took that confidence into the ground and deliver to our best, you never know'
Stuart Broad has been backed by captain Alastair Cook to lead the attack in the absence of James Anderson as England try to show they can win a major Test match without their all-time leading wicket-taker.
New England batsman Tom Westley has been promised a debut to remember when he makes his first test appearance in Thursday's third Test against South Africa at The Oval.
Ashes aspirant Fawad Ahmed is to join Australia 'A' on their tour of England after legislation designed to fast-track immigration applications passed through Australia's parliament on Wednesday.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the interesting numbers from Day 4 of the India-England Test at Trent Bridge.
The record books were rewritten twice in an astonishing run spree at Nottinghamshire's Trent Bridge ground on Monday which saw a record English one-day partnership and the most aggregate runs scored in a List A match. By the close in the Royal London One-Day Cup game between Notts and Northamptonshire, statisticians were checking to see if there had ever been a day like it anywhere in the world. The big hitting began from the start with Nottinghamshire's Riki Wessels and Michael Lumb sharing a record one-day partnership in England of 342 from 39.2 overs. Wessels eventually departed for a career-best 146, from 97 balls, while Lumb went on to make 184, also his best and a record for the county, as Nottinghamshire posted 445 for 8, the second highest score for a List A match in the world. The runs continued to flow when Northamptonshire chased down what would have been another record for a team batting second. But they fell short despite 128 from Rory Kleinveldt.
Stokes took three quick wickets late in the afternoon session to quash a brief Australian fightback and two more victims late in the day helped England restrict the touring side to 241 for seven at the close, still 90 runs behind the hosts.
If the Windies can 'replicate' the stunning form they displayed against England recently, they may go all the way in the 2019 World Cup, star all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite believes.
How will young batsmen brought up on T20 learn to build an innings? What about the technique to patiently negotiate hostile seam bowling conditions or the skill to play on difficult dusty turners? What about leaving the swinging ball outside off stump?
It took him 15 Tests over four tours but James Anderson, England's most prolific Test wicket-taker, finally claimed his first five-wicket haul on Australian soil in the second Ashes Test on Tuesday.
He will become the seventh bowler overall and only the second England bowler, after James Anderson, to reach the landmark figure.
There were close matches, acrobatic fielding, some sharp bowling and big runs scored in the round-robin phase. Here are some memorable moments from the World Cup so far
Ian Bell joined an elite trio on Thursday with his third Ashes century in successive Tests after England had lost three cheap wickets on the opening day of the second Test against Australia at Lord's.
Factbox on the 12th edition of the Cricket World Cup
Kohli lauded the effort of his bowlers to come back at the back end and restrict England to a sub-par score while praising Hardik Pandya and centurion Rohit Sharma for their efforts with the bat.
Images from the Australia-Bangladesh World Cup match in Nottingham, on Thursday.
Centurion Michael Clarke played a true captain's innings as Australia shrugged off another umpiring controversy to produce an Ashes fightback and rack up 303 for three on the first day of the third Test on Thursday.
Australian legend Glenn McGrath has said the Indian fast bowlers did a good job in the recent World Cup after a dismal show in the preceding tri-series.
Retired English cricketer Kevin Pietersen says blaming the Indian Premier League for India's shambolic performance in the recently-concluded five-Test series against England is a 'cheap shot'. India were twice beaten by an innings as England won the five-Test series 1-3.
'They have a belief that they can go and win anywhere.'
England will have to set a record for the highest successful fourth-innings chase if they are to win the third Test against India after the dominant tourists declared at 352 for seven with Virat Kohli making 103.
With India and England set to face-off on Wednesday in the first Test at Trent Bridge with an eye on the Pataudi Trophy, Rajneesh Gupta presents the history of their famed rivalry in numbers...
