James Anderson joined an elite band of bowlers with 500 test wickets and Ben Stokes plundered a vital half century as England took command of a low-scoring third Test against West Indies at Lord's on Friday.
England have recalled batsman Kevin Pietersen and rested their senior fast bowler James Anderson for a four-week tour of India next month including five One-day internationals and a Twenty20 international.
He is the first Indian player since Sachin Tendulkar in June 2011 to lead the rankings and ends Steve Smith's 32-month spell at the top.
Durham paceman Graham Onions has been called into the England squad as bowling cover ahead of the fourth and final test against India starting at The Oval on Thursday.
In no way it could have changed the course of the match. However, it could very much have prolonged it, taking it into a fifth day.
The decision on whether to appeal or not against judicial commissioner Gordon Lewis' verdict pronouncing both James Anderson and Ravindra Jadeja 'not guilty' in the Trent Bridge altercation lies entirely on International Cricket Council CEO Dave Richardson, who has six days to do so.
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.
Images from Day 1 of the fourth Test between England and India, at The Oval, on Thursday.
England crushed India by an innings and 76 runs in the third Test which gave Joe Root his 27th win as captain in 55 Tests.
Images from Day 4 of the 4th Test at MCG in Melbourne on Friday
England pacer James Anderson concedes sledging never really distracts Sachin Tendulkar but what might have a "detrimental effect" on him and India during the Test series starting next week is the massive hype around the veteran batsman's impending 100th ton.
Anticipating that they will be tested with short-pitched stuff in the upcoming Test series against England, the Indian batsmen, on Thursday, spent time finding ways to handle the James Anderson-led pace battery.
'I see it as an opportunity to move on. I am not thinking too much about pressure as at the end of the day, everyone is thinking good for the team. So we need to take everything on our chin rather than thinking about pressure.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is planning to ban English cricketers from social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook while on national duty.
'These are elementary things you do not do against any decent swing bowler in English conditions. To try to do it to James Anderson, who is one of the great master craftsmen in those conditions, tells me the Indian batsmen have not done their homework'
England's hard-earned Test series wins over the summer with a blend of youth and experience show the side's drive to be the number one team in the world, according to captain Joe Root. England beat the West Indies 2-1 and Pakistan 1-0 in a rain-hit series which, coupled with their success in South Africa at the start of the year, continue an upward trajectory with new players in the team.
'It is just a case of trying to put a real focus on the cricket rather than the noise that comes with it.'
India lost the second Test by an innings and 159 runs on Day 4 at Lord's as a dominant England took a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Images from Day 3 of the third Test between England and India, at Headingley, Leeds, on Friday.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the 2nd Test played between England and India at Lord's in London on Friday
England pace spearhead James Anderson is not keen to participate in domestic Twenty20 leagues like the Indian Premier League, saying that whatever he has left in his career is dedicated to playing Test cricket for his country.
England's pace bowlers excelled on a rain-disrupted first day to reduce Sri Lanka to 81 for four in the third and final Test on Thursday.
England finished day two on 111-2 and trail New Zealand by 267 runs in the first innings of the first Test after Devon Conway's double ton took the game away from the home side on Thursday.
Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott shared a double century partnership to frustrate Sri Lanka on another rain-affected day in the first Test as England reached 287 for two on Saturday.
England claimed two late wickets to reduce Sri Lanka to 133 for two at the close of a rain-shortened first day in the first test on Thursday.
Pakistan speedster Umar Gul is set to kick up a storm as he has claimed that he saw English pacer James Anderson tamper with the ball last year during a Test match.
England pace spearhead James Anderson is disappointed to miss out on the upcoming tour of India as he wanted to prove his worth in the sub-continent wickets after his below-par performance in the World Cup earlier this year.
It is usually a sign of a day with few redeeming features when a coach rather than a player faces the media after play and Sunday's appearance of England's Trevor Bayliss was no exception.
Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has picked Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar as the toughest bowler he has faced in his illustrious international career.
Rajneesh Gupta presents the interesting numbers from Day 5 of the India-England Test at Lord's.
England paceman James Anderson raised concerns about potentially 'dangerous' short-pitched bowling at the tourists' tail-enders during the first Ashes Test, but his captain Joe Root said the lower order would just need to learn to 'deal with it'.
An altercation between England's players and tail-enders Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah spurred India during the 60 available overs on the final day of the second Test, according to captain Virat Kohli. The visitors eventually got the job done in 51.5 overs as their pacers producing a high quality show to dismiss England for 120.
England face a rejuvenated Australian team who have turned day-night cricket into a competitive advantage, winning all eight of their Tests under lights dating back to the format's 2015 debut.
Former Australian wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist is anticipating another tight Ashes series between Australia and England, and believes that either team can win the urn.
England captain Joe Root lamented his team's failure to exploit their "good positions" in the first Ashes Test in Brisbane but is confident they would bounce back from their stinging 10-wicket defeat on Monday.
Praveen Kumar, who has claimed 15 wickets (@ 29.53) in the ongoing series, is a doubtful starter for the fourth and final Test against England, starting at The Oval, on Thursday, having not full recovered from the injury he sustained in the Edgbaston Test.
Root said rotation policy is the best they could have asked for under the current circumstances, brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Panesar also expects the ICC to prepare a neutral wicket and not a green top as the WTC is supposed to be a good advert for the five-day game.
Bikash Mohapatra believes that South Africa's Dale Steyn's secret of success lies in him bowling in short spells.
Pat Cummins took a five-wicket haul in a dream start to his Australia captaincy as England were skittled for 147 by tea at the Gabba before rain brought the opening day of the Ashes to an early close.
