India skipper Virat Kohli was pushed to the fifth spot by his English counterpart Joe Root, who rose two rungs to third in the latest ICC Test rankings for batsmen, even as Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin moved up in the bowlers' chart.
He is seen as potential replacement of just retired all rounder Andrew Flintoff but England's emerging star Stuart Broad wants to emulate his 'role model' Glenn McGrath.
Potent England pace bowling after an unbeaten 155 from Moeen Ali put Alastair Cook's side in complete control on a one-sided second day of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Durham on Saturday.
England fast bowler James Anderson will not play in the final Ashes test against Australia at The Oval due to a side strain, captain Alastair Cook said on Wednesday.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the 3rd Test played at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Sunday
England captain Andrew Strauss described his team's crushing innings victory over South Africa on Wednesday as one of the best away wins he had experienced.
England beat South Africa by and innings and 98 runs in the second Test to go one-up in the four-match series.
Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad ripped through South Africa's top order to put England on the brink of victory on the fourth day of the second Test on Tuesday.
Former Australia skipper Greg Chappell has said that the saliva ban will not favour batsmen as much as people are expecting it too.
Glenn Maxwell produced a stellar all-round performance and Mitchell Johnson returned to terrorize England as Australia clinched the one-day tri-series with an emphatic 112-run victory over their Ashes rivals on Sunday.
Refusing to succumb to the lure of the cash-awash Indian Premier League (IPL), England pace duo of Stuart Broad and James Anderson on Monday opted out of the Twenty20 extravaganza, saying they want to keep themselves in prime condition for national duty. Broad said, through his management agency, that he would love to play in the IPL at some point of time but as of now international cricket topped his priority list.
Former Australia captain Ian Chappell reckons India will start as favourites in the Test series against England owing to a quality pace attack with plenty of depth and a top order that is more consistent than the visitors'.
Seasoned off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin on Monday went past Harbhajan Singh to become the third highest wicket-taker for India in Test cricket, reaching the mark in his 80th match.
After showing splendid skills with both bat and ball during the Ashes, Stuart Broad was being touted as Andrew Flintoff's natural heir, but England skipper Andrew Strauss doesn't think so.
England will have to make some tough decisions about the futures of some of their most decorated senior players after they were ruthlessly exposed by Australia in a 15-day Ashes capitulation.
'In cold weather conditions, when you are not sweating at all, how do you use sweat?'
England seamer Stuart Broad has criticised the Caribbean wickets in the current series against West Indies, saying they have created an unfair battle between bat and ball.
Australia secured a consolation victory in the final Test by an innings and 46 runs on Sunday before England captain Alastair Cook lifted the Ashes urn at the end of a dramatic and fluctuating series.
Paceman Stuart Broad, who set the stage for England's win in the fifth Test with his five-for, felt his decision to turn down a lucrative Indian Premier League offer helped him to concentrate on the Ashes series.
Australia captured three quick wickets in England's second innings after collapsing to 160 all out on the second day of the fifth Ashes Test.
England's Joe Root has moved to the top of the world Test batting rankings after scoring two centuries and two fifties in the first four Ashes Tests against Australia.
The four-match series will mark England's first away games in the ICC World Test Championship.
A captain's century hewn from granite and two wickets in a fiery pace assault after tea saw Australia wrest the momentum away from England on day three of the series-opening Ashes Test in Brisbane on Saturday.
England will miss the skill and energy of leading wicket-taker James Anderson in the fourth Ashes Test against Australia at Trent Bridge, former batsman Kevin Pietersen said on Wednesday.
The Stuart Broad show in Johannesburg not only destroyed South Africa but also dethroned the Proteas from the No.1 Test rankings. Now India, with 110 rating points, are the No. 1 team in ICC Test rankings, with Australia one rating point shy in second place. India had defeated South Africa 0-3 at home in December, which saw the lead enjoyed by the Proteas cut to just four points. Thus South Africa had to either draw or win the four-Test home series to retain the No. 1 position. Even if the hosts win the last Test, a 2-1 series defeat will mean they will slip to 109 points, behind India and Australia, who are both on 110 points.
England would love to regain the Ashes in the next Test at Trent Bridge but the loss of leading bowler James Anderson to injury is a disappointment they must overcome, captain Alastair Cook said.
Stuart Broad, as befits the son of former England opener Chris, has always looked a cricketer of the highest pedigree.
India went in with the same side that won the opening Test by six wickets in Chennai. For England, Stuart Broad, who missed the first Test due to a hamstring injury, replaced Steve Harmison.
It's sad and somewhat embarrassing to watch Ghai try valiantly to sculpt a magnificent innings -- and miss his target rather spectacularly.
England pacer Stuart Broad is glad that he sat out of the IPL to rest his tired body and says being fresh at the Twenty20 World Cup in Gros Islet has helped him produce match-winning spells for his team, which is in the finals.
England eased to a six-wicket victory over the West Indies in the second one-day international in Bristol on Sunday. Fast bowler Stuart Broad took four wickets and medium-pacer Paul Collingwood three as West Indies struggled to 160 all out in 38.3 overs after being put into bat. Owais Shah struck 38 and Collingwood made an unbeaten 47 to see England home with 14 overs to spare.
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.
Fast bowler Jofra Archer got his maiden Test call up as he was included in England's squad for the Ashes series opener against Australia.
Rajneesh Gupta picks instances of sledging which backfired spectacularly.
Steve Harmison and Stuart Broad have been recalled to the England team for the final Test against South Africa starting on Thursday at The Oval.
Paul Collingwood, without a Test century in more than a year, was recalled to the England side along with fit-again bowler Ryan Sidebottom for the third Test against South Africa starting on Wednesday.
England have already announced their 11-man team for the match against Ireland. Pacer James Anderson has been ruled out of the match as he was unable to recover from his calf injury.
West Indies edged into a lead of 34 runs with three first innings wickets in hand on an attritional third day of the first Test against England at Sabina Park on Friday. The hosts had hoped to create an imposing total from the foundations built by centurions Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan, who shared a 202-run partnership for the second wicket. West Indies finished the day on 352 for seven in reply to England's first innings total of 318.
It will also be a milestone in the career of England's talisman Ben Stokes as he captains the side for the first time.
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.
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