England men will begin their 2022 home summer with a three-match Test series against world champions New Zealand.
All teams now have one wild card pick each to fill their final slots in June.
After a successful but controversial career, off-spinner Ajmal finished with 178 wickets in 35 Tests, the last of which was at Galle in Sri Lanka in 2014, where his bowling action was reported for a second time.
While England failed miserably on the field under his watch, Thorpe's departure was also expedited after reports emerged that police had to be called in to the team hotel in Hobart after he had lit a cigar inside the premise following a drinking session that lasted till 6 a.m.
ECB will review his progress next month
'Until we get more information about what it (the Australia tour) might look like, it's impossible to know what decision you're making.'
The West Indies had originally been scheduled to play the three Tests in June but the series has been pushed back due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
England fast bowler Jofra Archer was on Thursday ruled out of this year's Indian Premier League due to a stress fracture. The England and Wales Cricket Board confirmed that Archer, who plays for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, will also miss England's Test tour of Sri Lanka.
Pakistan's banned leg spinner Danish Kaneria has slammed the Pakistani and English cricket authorities after it was announced on Thursday that fast bowler Mervyn Westfield has been allowed to play lower-level cricket with one year of his spot-fixing ban remaining. "If anything, the permission by the England and Wales Cricket Board to allow special treatment to Westfield, confirms their bias and discrimination towards me throughout this case," Kaneria told PTI in Karachi. The ECB anti-corruption tribunal had banned Kaneria for life in 2012 and Westfield was jailed the same year and banned from professional cricket for five years and club cricket for three years on spot fixing charges. Both were banned after they played together for Essex in the English county championship. Westfield claimed in his testimony that he accepted a 6000 pounds to under-perform in a 40-over pro match between Essex and Durham in September 2009. The paceman claimed Kaneria had groomed him to indulge in spot fixing.
'We're going to have to work with the Health Department and Government authorities to find out a way in which even if a player tests positive, the whole tournament isn't cancelled'
Factbox on major ball-tampering incidents in cricket
One of the most exciting players of his era, Ben Stokes has battled a spate of injuries in recent times and took a break from the game last year to focus on his mental well-being.
Kolkata Knight Riders CEO Venky Mysore did not entirely rule out the possibility of the popular IPL franchise "evaluating" investment opportunities in England and Wales Cricket Board's ambitious franchise league 'The Hundred', which had to be shelved this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. British newspaper The Telegraph on Tuesday quoted Mysore saying that they would surely be keen to "explore" investment opportunities in The Hundred.
The decision needs to be ratified by Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) members and follows a bidding process which included a joint presentation by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
An extended 21-man Australian squad is in England for the three Twenty20 matches, which start on Sept. 4 in Southampton, before three one-day internationals in Manchester from Sept. 11.
Alastair Cook stepped down from his role after 59 Tests as England Test captain followed his team's disappointing showing in India recently.
The new Twenty20 tournament being planned by the England and Wales Cricket Board will not hurt the existing 18 counties, England's limited overs captain Eoin Morgan has said.
The ECB said that after the conclusion of play on the first day, the match referee, groundstaff and ECB Match Manager would discuss the start times for the next day and if the forecast looked good, play could begin at 1030.
Australia's Fox Sports reported that Bairstow was involved in a clash, in a hotel bar, with Australian player Cameron Bancroft in Perth during England's warm-up for the series.
England's limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan says giving fans the chance to watch live cricket on television, even if the matches took place without spectators, would help boost morale during the coronavirus pandemic. The England and Wales Cricket Board has suspended all professional cricket until May 28 but is looking at the possibility of playing internationals behind closed doors.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced a provisional home schedule for 2021, on Wednesday, with a five-match Test series against India set to headline the English summer.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) showed it was willing to welcome back top players on Thursday when it cleared Darren Bravo to play in all forms of cricket after the batsman apologised to the board and its president, Dave Cameron, for a Twitter outburst.
England's troubled spinner Monty Panesar has been given a suspended one-match ban for threatening and intimidating behaviour towards an opponent, the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Friday.
England on Sunday named their strongest available squad for the Ashes tour to Australia as all-rounders Ben Stokes and Sam Curran missed out but seamer Stuart Broad was included despite the calf injury he picked up in the Test series against India.
Pace legend Michael Holding questioned the England and Wales Cricket Board's bio-secure protocol to tackle the COVID-19 threat after England pacer Jofra Archer breached it ahead of the ongoing second Test against the West Indies in Manchester.
Jos Buttler will captain England in Morgan's absence.
Pakistan plan to send a 25-man squad to England in July to meet the demands of playing an entire tour in a 'bio-secure' bubble, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief executive Wasim Khan said. Pakistan are scheduled to play three Tests in August followed by an equal number of Twenty20 Internationals, with the matches taking place behind closed doors as part of measures to combat coronavirus.
Bangladesh is hopeful England will go ahead with their planned tour of the South Asian country later this year despite Friday's attack by gunmen at an upmarket Dhaka restaurant that left 20 dead.
Former England Test cricketer Steve Harmison has claimed that sacked batsman Kevin Pietersen 'does not have a cat in hell's chance' of a recall to the national squad.
Disgraced spinner Danish Kaneria's career seems all but over with the Pakistan Cricket Board imposing a life ban on him on Friday for indulging in spot-fixing during the 2009 English county season.
A proposal to abolish the pre-match toss deciding which team bats first will be discussed at a meeting of the England and Wales Cricket Board on Thursday.
England must tour Pakistan in 2022 reciprocating the visit of Azhar Ali and his men despite the coronavirus pandemic, Pakistan pace great Wasim Akram said.
Was called 'Steve', a racist reference to people of colour, reveals former staff
Uncertainty arose following reports that the Afghanistan Premier League would be played in UAE in October, coinciding with Pakistan's home series against Australia and New Zealand.
'It takes you out of your comfort zone. It is completely beneficial to play in IPL. That was a big mindset shift for us. And I hope Indian cricket is alright with us because we are using it as a vehicle to try and grow players'
From Australian captain Michael Clarke to other big names, tributes flew in for former Australian cricket captain and commentator Richie Benaud, who died of skin cancer late on Thursday aged 84. Here are some reactions...
The ICC launched the WTC last year to lend context to bilateral Test series, giving the format its standalone showpiece like the World Cup in other formats.
According to ESPNCricinfo, Stokes, who has played for Rajasthan Royals and Rising Pune Supergiant in the past, will likely play as a specialist batter initially to manage his knee injury, for which he has been administered cortisone shots -- an anti-inflammation injection.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has said the season will not start before May 28 and speculation has been mounting over how their leading players would respond to the situation. The ECB's centrally contracted women players have volunteered to take a salary reduction for the months of April, May and June in line with their coaches and support staff.
