England opener Michael Carberry looks set to make his Ashes debut next week after being included in the team to face an Invitational XI in a warm-up match at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday.
Sachin's Blasters suffered their third successive defeat against Warne's Warriors, going down by four wickets in a last-over thriller, to lose the Cricket All-Stars T20 Series 0-3 at the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
Australia's three most talented players made significant contributions to take their team to a 49-run victory in the deciding final one-dayer against England on a chilly evening at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on Monday.
Battle commences at Edgbaston on Thursday and the last time Australia won there was the opening match of the 2001 series which they ended up dominating 4-1.
'The trick is that in England you've to get people on the front foot, because the wicket's slightly slow, so as soon as you're slightly short, you get murdered around the ground. Why Yasir did really well for Pakistan is that he bowled quick leg spin...didn't allow batsmen to go on the backfoot'
England's humiliating series defeat in India painfully exposed an alarming paucity in the side's slow bowling options and drove home the fact they will continue to struggle in South Asia until they unearth some world class spinners. Retired off-spinner Graeme Swann had bemoaned England's indifferent approach towards slow bowling before the five-match series started and his fears were confirmed after the touring side were handed a 4-0 drubbing.
Former Pakistan leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed feels the categorisation of Test and limited overs spinners is the need of the hour. According to Mushtaq, skill-wise, Lyon and Ashwin are on par with greats like Saqlain Mushtaq and Muttiah Muralitharan but not best suited for the one-day game.
England captain Alastair Cook declined on Saturday to offer any assurances to mercurial batsman Kevin Pietersen about his Test future.
Australia coach Daren Lehmann has called on his top order to hammer home the Ashes pain for a dispirited and depleted England in the fourth Test starting on Thursday as they chase a 5-0 whitewash.
Andrew Strauss has said English cricket could be damaged by the "madness" surrounding the publication of Kevin Pietersen's autobiography.
The Indian captain insists his side will have to keep winning consistently for the next seven to eight years to leave a mark on the world stage.
England batsman Joe Root has said that his side hasn't lost the momentum gained in the triumphant Test series as it prepares to take on India in the second ODI on Wednesday.
Reaction after England beat New Zealand on number of boundaries hit in the Cricket World Cup final at Lord's on Sunday.
Australia batsman Steven Smith revealed English county side Surrey once tried to push him into the country's national set-up by virtue of his mother's British heritage.
Feisty, positive and quietly efficient, Matt Prior was one of England's finest wicketkeeper batsmen in seven years behind the stumps during which he helped his country to three Ashes victories.
Root shared a 106-run partnership with Jonny Bairstow, who was standing in for injured wicketkeeper Matt Prior and fell just two run short of his half century before the tourists were bowled out for 418. England's bowlers initially struggled to impose themselves on the Invitational XI, who had reached 153 for four by close of play for a lead of 39 after their first innings 304.
England will head into this year's Ashes series against Australia heartened by their performances against New Zealand but with nagging doubts about key areas in the team.
Nathan Lyon's wish to see the end of some England careers after another Ashes whitewash could easily come true if the tourists' struggling senior players fail to lift quickly, former Australia paceman Mitchell Johnson said.
James Anderson became England's highest wicket-taker in Test cricket when he claimed his 384th victim in the drawn first Test against the West Indies in Antigua on Friday.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting says England's only hope of winning a Test in the upcoming Ashes series is the day/night match in Adelaide and has predicted a 4-0 victory for the hosts.
Alastair Cook's England seem to have neither the form nor the resources to repeat their 2012 heroics against an Indian team determined to cement their top Test rankings in a five-match series starting at Rajkot on Wednesday.
England have concerns over the fitness of spinner Monty Panesar but wicketkeeper Matt Prior will not return to the team for the fifth Ashes Test against Australia, captain Alastair Cook said on Thursday.
The former England opener says Cook, Bell and Root shouldn't be in the One-day squad and is unimpressed with the team's bowling line-up.
Kevin Pietersen felt like a "clown" after getting out in the first innings of the second Test but maintained he has been in prime form during England's heavy defeats in the opening three Ashes matches.
Alastair Cook was never the most innovative England cricket captain, his batting was designed to soothe rather than stir the blood and his personality was so cautious that it was little wonder he never featured when flashy sports awards were being handed out.
An unassailable lead in their pocket, India would look to clinch the one-day series against England by putting up another dominating display when the two sides square off in the fourth one-dayer in Birmingham on Tuesday.
Vanquished England skipper Alastair Cook blamed missed chances and lack of spin-bowling options for losing the fourth Test by an innings and 36 runs and with that the five-match series, in Mumbai on Monday.
Steve Smith reached his maiden Test century with a six as Australia, trailing 3-0 in the series, took control of the fifth and final Ashes Test against England at the Oval on Thursday.
All-rounder Ben Stokes has been recalled to the England squad for the first Test against India, starting at TrentBridge next Wednesday.
Speaking of spinners, former England spinner Graeme Swann said Kuldeep Yadav should play in the first Test ahead of either Ravichandran Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja.
Wrecking ball Mitchell Johnson laid further scars on England's battered psyche with a stunning seven-wicket haul that skittled the tourists for 172 and put Australia in complete control of the second Ashes Test after the third day on Saturday.
A disciplined England attack shrugged off the challenge of a bland Adelaide Oval wicket to limit Australia to 273-5 and leave the second Ashes Test delicately poised after the opening day on Thursday.
Rookie off-spinner Jayant Yadav, who is set for his maiden India tour of Zimbabwe next month, says he will never attempt to bowl a 'doosra' since it cannot be done without a bit of elbow kink.
Rain frustrated Australia's bid to win the third Test against England at Old Trafford on Sunday and keep alive their slender hopes of regaining the Ashes. At the premature close of the fourth day, Australia led England by 331 with three second innings wickets remaining.
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.
Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen claims Andy Flower was a power-crazy coach, who presided over a regime of bullying and 'had it in for me' throughout his five-year reign in charge of the national side.
With the teams entering the final phase of their preparations for next year's World Cup, former batting great Ian Chappell said defending champions India, Australia and South Africa are the favourites to win the game's showpiece event.
England's comprehensive Ashes victory over Australia was built on a purposeful and well-drilled team that combined the perfect blend of youth and experience.
England's sorry tour of Australia finally ended with a whimper -- a crushing 84-run defeat to give the hosts a clean sweep of the three-game Twenty20 series in Sydney on Sunday.
Australia reclaimed the Ashes by dismissing England's last five batsmen after lunch on Tuesday for a 150-run victory in the third Test to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
