Michael Vaughan and Steve Harmison saw their hopes of playing in this year's Test series against Australia fade when they were left out of a 16-man pre-Ashes squad named by England on Monday. As expected, recovering all-rounder Andrew Flintoff was included in the squad, along with bowler Ryan Sidebottom.
Yorkshire pace bowler Tim Bresnan was a surprise inclusion in the England squad announced on Wednesday for the first Test against West Indies starting at Lord's in a week's time. Essex all-rounder Ravi Bopara was also named in the 12-man squad and is likely to bat at number three after the selectors omitted former captain Michael Vaughan, Ian Bell and Owais Shah.
England head coach Chris Silverwood on Sunday said "controlled aggression" contributed immensely to their series-levelling win against India in the third Test, days after the players had let their emotions get the better of them at the Lord's.
England team will not fall into the same Ashes trap that snared Michael Vaughan's men four years ago, claims current skipper Andrew Strauss.
Interestingly, Kevin Pietersen's debut as England captain comes against South Africa -- the country of his birth.
Here is a list of players captaining Test teams despite being born in a different country.
England appointed Kevin Pietersen as their new captain on Monday following Michael Vaughan's resignation after the series loss to South Africa. Pietersen, 28, will lead England against his native country in the fourth Test against the South Africans starting at The Oval on Thursday.
He is not the most professional cricketer around, but former England captain Michael Vaughan says talismanic all-rounder Andrew Flintoff is second only to Sachin Tendulkar when it comes to lifting his team and the fans.
England's county clubs are preparing to cash in on the rapid explosion of Twenty20 in the wake of the successful launch of the Indian Premier League.
England's selectors will meet on Friday to discuss the squad and captain for their one-day and Twenty20 games against West Indies after confirming that Andrew Strauss would captain the Test team. Coach Peter Moores was sacked on Thursday and England have yet to decide on his replacement for the West Indies tour or the return home series against them and the subsequent Ashes clash with Australia.
England cricket skipper Kevin Pietersen has resigned, Sky News reported on Wednesday. Pietersen, who was appointed last year, had been in dispute over the running of the team with England coach Peter Moores according to British media reports.
Former skipper Michael Vaughan is convinced that Jonny Bairstow's days are numbered in the England Test team after his dismal show in the recently-concluded Test series against India.
Virat's captaincy may have come of age in this competition.
England's most successful Test captain Michael Vaughan retired from the game after failing to regain his place in the team for next month's Ashes series against Australia.
England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff said he was not thinking about revenge for the humiliating 5-0 Ashes defeat by Australia in 2006-07.
Several former players, including India's Harbhajan Singh and VVS Laxman, on Thursday said that the turning Motera pitch, on which India defeated England by 10 wickets inside two days, was not ideal for Test cricket, an opinion that was not shared by the legendary Sunil Gavaskar.
Uncapped off-spinner Graeme Swann, batsman Owais Shah were named in England's 15-man squad to play two Tests in India.
Paul Collingwood, who stepped down as England one-day captain last year, was on Friday named to lead the Twenty20 side in next month's World Cup. Collingwood resigned the captaincy at the same time as Test skipper Michael Vaughan because he felt it was affecting his Test form. The tournament starts on June 5 and ends with the final at Lord's on July 21.
"Michael has not been selected for the tour of India because his place in the Test squad cannot be justified based on recent form," National selector Geoff Miller said in a statement.
Former captain Michael Vaughan, who stood down during this year's series defeat by South Africa, is among 12 players given central contracts, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Tuesday.
Former captain Michael Vaughan expects he will have to regain his place in the England team by next month if he is to make the Ashes squad.
Ravi Bopara has replaced Michael Vaughan in the England squad for the fourth and final Test against South Africa, the ECB said on Monday.
England will name a new captain on Monday after Michael Vaughan decided to step down following his team's series loss to South Africa.
South Africa dismissed England for 231 on the first day of the third Test on Wednesday after further failures for captain Michael Vaughan and Paul Collingwood.
'The cynic in me wonders whether the Speaker's defiance wasn't assisted by the knowledge that he cannot possibly be re-elected from Bolpur.'
Ian Botham says the criticism around the inclusion of spinner Adil Rashid in the home team's squad for the first Test against India is 'unnecessary'.
AB de Villiers' sixth Test century put South Africa on the verge of winning the second Test at Headingley after England ended the third day 269 runs behind the visitors on Sunday.
Ian Bell came of age as an England batsman on Friday with a monumental 199 on the second day of the first Test against South Africa at Lord's.
South Africa leapfrogged India to second place, pushing Anil Kumble's men to third, in the annual update of the ICC Test Championship. England too lost a place and slipped to fourth. Australia continues to be atop the table, thanks to their 2-0 victory against the West Indies in the Caribbeans.
In a moral victory for Pakistan cricket, the International Cricket Council agreed in principle to alter the result of the 2006 controversial Oval Test between England and Pakistan into a draw from a forfeited win for Michael Vaughan's men. The decision, said PCB sources, was taken at the board meeting on Wednesday.
Former captain Michael Vaughan missed out on a test return when England named their squad for their tour of the West Indies on Monday but uncapped leg-spinner Adil Rashid and seamer Ryan Sidebottom were included.
Former captain Michael Vaughan backed England to bounce back from the bitter loss in Chennai, saying that Kevin Pietersen and his men have the "bulldog spirit" to square the Test series against India in Mohali. Vaughan admitted that the six-wicket loss in Chennai was a bitter pill to swallow, considering the way England dominated most part of the match.
Vaughan said it was not a good precedent set by Australia.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan feels it will be tough for Kevin Pietersen and his men to return to India for next month's Test series as playing there would be like being in a "military camp" after the ghastly Mumbai terror attacks. Vaughan said it is hard to say whether the Indians would be prepared to play after the mayhem that left close to 200 dead.
England's ODI captain Paul Collingwood wants the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to relax its stance and let the country's top players turn out in the multi-million dollar Indian Premier League. Collingwood came out in support of views expressed by Test captain Michael Vaughan and star batsman Kevin Pietersen who argued there is no reason for England stars to miss out on the Twenty20 extravaganza.
Shaken by the terrorist attack in Mumbai, former England captain Michael Vaughan thanked his lucky stars as he revealed that but for a last-minute change of practice venue he could have been at one of the hotels that were targeted.
India's bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad said Tendulkar had advised Zaheer to keep bowling to the England captain round the stumps.
India went into the first Test with one spinner in Anil Kumble, while Yuvraj Singh lost the battle for a No 6 or 7 slot to VVS Laxman and M S Dhoni.
England captain Michael Vaughan does not believe the memory of his most prolific home series, against India in 2002, will have any bearing when the teams open their three-Test series at Lord's on Thursday.
