England face an uphill battle to save the second Test at Lord's after slumping to 105 for four at the close of Sunday's fourth day in pursuit of 319 to beat India.
'Their batting line-up is more vulnerable to both pace and spin, and they look weak. Some of their first-choice batsmen have an ordinary record in domestic cricket, averaging 30-35 at best.'
India need one more wicket to thrash England in the third Test at Trent Bridge after the hosts ended the fourth day on 311 for nine, 210 runs short of their target.
England batsman Jos Buttler has lamented that they should have done better after being placed at 54 for no loss at one point of the third Test against India.
Three wins from three is a major confidence boost for New Zealand - but the next game against India is simply massive, says Daniel Vettori.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India is likely to pose a few questions to chief coach Ravi Shastri and captain Virat Kohli depending on how the third Test against England pans out after being left disappointed by the team's meek surrender in the first two games.
England amassed a world record One-Day International total of 444 for three as they crushed Pakistan by 169 runs at Trent Bridge on Tuesday to take an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. Jos Buttler struck the last ball of the innings for four to take Eoin Morgan's men past Sri Lanka's 443 for nine against Netherlands in July 2006.
Australia captain Michael Clarke has hit out at critics who have questioned his desire in the wake of his poor run of form during the current Ashes Test series.
Michael Clarke conceded his side's middle-order woes were down to his poor form with the bat and vowed to get among the runs in the last two Ashes Tests after Australia lost the third match to trail England 2-1.
The all-rounder captained South Africa at the age of 42 on their historic post-isolation limited overs tour of India in 1991, but was then controversially left out of the squad for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand the following year.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the numbers from the T20 series against England.
A new city-based Twenty20 tournament for English cricket intended to rival the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Australia's Big Bash moved a step closer on Monday following a key presentation by the sport's governing body.
The Lions from South Africa will look ride on the performance of their captain Alviro Petersen to guide them to a better finish.
India's batting maestro Virat Kohli held on to the number two position in the latest ICC ODI rankings for batsmen released on Monday, while Rohit Sharma dropped a place to seventh.
England coach Trevor Bayliss has dubbed his team's performance in the drawn first Test against India as "the best since he had been with the Alastair Cook-led team". Chasing an improbable target of 310 runs, Indian skipper Virat Kohli and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja hung in as they remained unbeaten on 49 and 32 respectively in a tense final session to deny England victory at the Saurashtra Cricket Stadium on Sunday. Despite the outcome of the opening Test of the five-match series, Bayliss was impressed by the commitment his side had shown in gruelling conditions as well as on surfaces where England players generally struggle.
Reflecting on his infamous altercation with India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, England pace spearhead James Anderson said the matter that brought a great deal of stress to him "went too far" and could have been dealt with on the day of the incident itself.
Bairstow replaces jaded Buttler in England squad while Australia rope in Hastings, and call-up Handscomb after injury glut
Ian Bell guided England to an eight-wicket victory over Australia in the third test at Edgbaston on Friday to put the hosts 2-1 up in the series with two matches to play.
Jonny Bairstow smashed a career-best unbeaten 141 and Jason Roy hit 96 as England thrashed West Indies by nine wickets in Southampton to complete a 4-0 series rout on Friday.
Barty too hot for Kenin as Aussie's French Open run continues
India are a flexible side with enough ammunition in their arsenal going into the World Cup, says head coach Ravi Shastri, making it clear that combinations would depend on conditions.
The more he has been dropped down the order - for this Test the former opener came in at number eight - the more he has accepted that his primary role is to take wickets.
Images from Day 2 of the second Test between England and India, at Lord's, on Friday.
England have by far been the best team in the tournament.
Exasperated at England's consecutive defeats, former captain Alec Stewart said the hosts must learn from India how to play One Day cricket.
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.
Sarfraz Ahmed will continue as Pakistan captain at the World Cup in May despite serving a suspension for breaching the anti-racism code, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ehsan Mani said on Tuesday.
England crumbled meekly to 107 for eight in reply to Australia's 481 to put the touring side firmly on course for victory in the final Ashes Test after a dramatic second day at The Oval on Friday.
Cricket Australia's high performance director Pat Howard has taken the blame for the Ashes capitulation and put himself forward as the first person to be held to account in a post-series review.
Ben Stokes took five wickets to put England on the verge of a famous victory that would win back the Ashes as Australia finished on 241 for seven after a compelling second day of the fourth Test at Trent Bridge on Friday.
Another insipid display by a once great cricketer as his side slumped to an embarrassing defeat to go 2-1 down in the Ashes series had Australian pundits questioning whether captain Michael Clarke was in terminal decline on Saturday.
Alastair Cook, who has scored just 246 runs in 10 innings during the Ashes, and was dismissed for four as England were beaten by Australia in the first of five one-day internationals, has been able to retain his place in the squad just because of captaincy.
Virat Kohli, who amassed 593 runs at an average of 59.3 in the series which the visitors lost by 1-4 margin, had started the series 27 points behind Australia's Steve Smith and finished one point ahead of his closest rival.
Former captain Mohammad Azharuddin believes it is time the Board of Control for Cricket in India starts thinking about a new captain for the Test team following its disastrous showing overseas in the last couple of years.
England assistant coach Paul Farbrace has asked his top batsmen to take a cue from Indian skipper Virat Kohli and show guts and gumption in the third Test in Nottingham.
In the battle for bragging rights as the best ODI side currently, England have come out on top and are now ranked favourites for the 2019 World Cup
All-rounder Ben Stokes has been recalled to the England squad for the first Test against India, starting at TrentBridge next Wednesday.
Jacques Kallis became the fourth South African to score a hundred in his last Test, emulating Pieter van der Bijl, Lee Irvine and Barry Richards.
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.
Rajneesh Gupta highlights all the important numbers of the Pakistan team from cricket World Cups.
