Ian Bell made 88 as England beat South Africa by six wickets in the fourth one-day international to go 2-1 up with one match to play in the series.
England declared their first innings closed at 591 for six on the third day of the fourth and final test against India at the Oval.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni turned fans’ jeers to cheers after a bizarre runout of England batsman Ian Bell in the second Test.
Centuries by Alastair Cook and Ian Bell put England within sight of their first series victory in Australia for 24 years.
Ian Bell made a century and Alastair Cook and Paul Collingwood half centuries as England continued its impressive Ashes build-up.
Ian Bell has promised to do things his way after being given the task of replacing Kevin Pietersen for the third Ashes Test against Australia.
Ian Bell fell agonisingly short of a double century at Lord’s but his Test-best 199 left England in a commanding position against South Africa.
Ian Bell completed his eighth Test century on Friday in a significant innings for himself and his team on the second day of the first Test against SA.
Andrew Strauss struck his 12th Test century on Monday to help England complete a remarkable six-wicket victory over New Zealand on the fourth day of the second Test at Old Trafford. England, who trailed New Zealand by 179 runs on the first innings, reached their victory target of 294 in the final over before tea with four wickets to spare.
South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis was on Wednesday named as the Leading Cricketer in the World for 2007 by the 2008 edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, cricket’s major annual reference work. He became the fifth recipient of the award, introduced in 2004.
Monty Panesar returned Test-best figures of six for 126 as England beat New Zealand by 121 runs in the third cricket Test on Wednesday and clinched the three-match series 2-1. Off-spinner Panesar completed his seventh five-wicket haul in Tests, claiming three of the five wickets to fall on the final day, hastening New Zealand’s dismissal for 431 as it chased 553 for victory.
Monty Panesar took England to the brink of a series victory as New Zealand slumped to 222-5, 330 runs in arrears at stumps on the fourth day of the third cricket Test on Tuesday. With New Zealand set a record target of 553 to win, Stephen Fleming and Matthew Bell provided stout resistance for the second wicket before Panesar removed both batsmen.
New Zealand’s momentum, picked up from a convincing one-day series victory and first Test win in Hamilton, came to a screeching halt on Monday with a crushing 126-run defeat to England in the second Test. Chasing 438 to win the match, New Zealand flirted with pulling off the impossible when they reached 242 for five late on the fourth day.
Tim Ambrose and Paul Collingwood rescued England’s innings after New Zealand’s Jacob Oram had inspired a top-order collapse to ensure the second Test was evenly poised at the end of the first day’s play on Thursday. Ambrose and Collingwood came together with their side teetering at 136 for five during the middle session to combine for an unbeaten 155-run sixth wicket partnership.
New Zealand thrashed England by 189 runs in the first cricket Test on Sunday when England’s second innings disintegrated after Kyle Mills ripped through the top order. Set a tempting target of 300 to win in 81 overs, England were all out for 110 with 26 overs and a full session of play remaining.
The prized wicket of New Zealand’s big-hitting Brendon McCullum just before stumps gave England a slight edge on the opening day of the first cricket Test on Wednesday. New Zealand ended the day at 282-6 after an 86-run partnership between McCullum and Ross Taylor had lifted them out of a middle-order hole.
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/ 15 February 2008
England kept the five-match series alive by beating New Zealand by six wickets in the third one-dayer in Auckland on Friday. The visitors, chasing an adjusted victory target, cruised to victory with three overs to spare to cut their series deficit to 2-1.
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/ 12 February 2008
A dominant batting performance by openers Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder powered New Zealand to a 10-wicket win over England in the second one-day cricket international on Tuesday. The overwhelming victory, completed with 17.5 overs to spare in the rain-shortened game, lifted New Zealand to 2-0 in the five-match series.
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/ 22 December 2007
Opener Alastair Cook hit a defiant century before rain washed out the last session to help England draw the final cricket Test against Sri Lanka in Galle on Saturday. Left-handed Cook made 118 as England groped to 251-6 in their second innings when a heavy downpour ruined Sri Lanka’s hopes of victory.
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/ 20 December 2007
Alastair Cook scored an unbeaten fifty to help England reach 102 for one before heavy rain washed out the final two sessions on the fourth day of the third Test against Sri Lanka on Friday. Battling to avoid a second loss of the series, England resumed on 2-0, having been asked to follow-on the previous evening.
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/ 5 December 2007
Muttiah Muralitharan bowled two magical deliveries when it mattered most to hand Sri Lanka an 88-run win over a fighting England in the first Test on Wednesday. The off-spinner, who became Test cricket’s most successful bowler in the first innings, got out Matt Prior and Ian Bell in the space of three deliveries with the second new ball to end England’s spirited challenge.
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/ 4 December 2007
Kumar Sangakkara became the first batsman to hit 150-plus scores in four consecutive Tests as Sri Lanka pressed for victory in the first Test against England on Tuesday. The left-hander made 152 as Sri Lanka piled up 442-8 in their second innings when they declared 30 minutes before stumps on the fourth day to leave England an imposing victory target of 350.
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/ 2 December 2007
Muttiah Muralitharan equalled Shane Warne’s world-record tally of 708 wickets as Sri Lanka sent England crashing in the first cricket Test on Sunday. The off-spinner grabbed 4-30 in 23 overs as England, replying to Sri Lanka’s modest 188, slumped to 186-6 by tea before heavy rain washed out the rest of the day’s play.
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/ 1 December 2007
England’s pace-spin duo of Matthew Hoggard and Monty Panesar combined to destroy Sri Lanka for 188 on the opening day of the first cricket Test on Saturday. England replied with 49-1 by stumps after losing opener Alastair Cook to the third ball of the innings when he was trapped leg-before by 100-Test veteran Chaminda Vaas.
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/ 11 October 2007
Alastair Cook hit a masterly 80 as England thrashed Sri Lanka by five wickets in the fourth one-day international on Wednesday to clinch their first series win on the subcontinent for 20 years. The 22-year-old left-hander shared a 110-run stand for the third wicket with Kevin Pietersen (63 not out) to give England a memorable win in the day-night game.
Little-known Graeme Swann put in a superb all-round performance to help England pull off a tense two-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the third one-day international on Sunday. The off-spinner grabbed four wickets in a disciplined spell and then made a crucial 25 as England achieved the revised target of 164 in a game reduced to 48 overs a side due to rain.
All-rounder Farveez Maharoof grabbed four wickets to propel Sri Lanka to an emphatic 119-run run victory over England in the first one-day international on Monday. Maharoof ripped through the top order after a positive start by England’s batsmen.
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/ 8 September 2007
England beat India by seven wickets to win the seventh one-day international at Lord’s on Saturday and complete a 4-3 series win. England, chasing a modest 188 for victory, collapsed to 10-2, but Ian Bell (36) and Kevin Pietersen (71 not-out) led the recovery.
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/ 3 September 2007
Sachin Tendulkar returned in style to the Headingley ground where he was Yorkshire’s first overseas player as he set up India’s 38-run win against England under the Duckworth/Lewis method in the fifth one-day international on Sunday. India’s victory reduced England’s lead in the seven-match series to 3-2.
Stuart Broad returned career best figures with both bat and ball as England beat India by three wickets in the fourth one-day international at Old Trafford on Thursday. When Broad, who’d earlier taken 4-51 as India were dismissed for 212, came to the crease England were in dire straits at 114-7. But they still needed fewer than a run-a-ball to win.
Ian Bell’s third 50 in as many matches was the cornerstone of England’s 42-run win against India at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Monday as they took a 2-1 lead in the seven-match series. Bell, on his Warwickshire home ground, made 79 in England’s total of 281 for eight.