“As we begin a new cycle, we know how important it is to win our home series and grab every available point. This is a great opportunity to start strong.”
The former Proteas pace ace boldly predicted that India’s upcoming five-Test series in England will be a result-heavy thriller, with the hosts edging it 3-2.
"It's very hard for the average cricket fan to understand who's the best team in the world and how exactly the top two teams make it to the final," said former England captain Michael Vaughan, now a television pundit.
If there were still doubters of Test cricket's enduring magic in the age of T20 fireworks, South Africa’s thrilling five-wicket victory over defending champions Australia offered the most poetic rebuttal.
"If you want to earn respect in world cricket all over, take up Test cricket, give your heart and soul to it, and earn the respect from legends."
“We're not trying to pick this team up any more. It's a matter of taking this team from a good team into being something English people are really proud of,” McCullum told the BBC Radio 5 Live Cricket show.
The hosts were left searching for answers after a dismal batting collapse saw them bowled out for 191 runs in the first innings -- a setback from which they never recovered.
The latest slip-up came courtesy of Zimbabwe, who secured a gripping three-wicket win in fading light -- an outcome that, in truth, should never have been on the cards.
Heavy rain and a storm hit Sylhet last night, leaving the outfield damp and unfit for play at the scheduled start time of 9:45 am.
Australia has named a 13-player squad to face the West Indies, with the two-match series beginning on 17 January.
Australia beat Pakistan by eight wickets with David Warner scoring a pulsating 57 in his farewell Test match in Sydney on Saturday to sweep the series 3-0.
David Warner fell for 34 in his farewell Test as Pakistan kept the clamps on Australia's batting on the second day of the third Test in Sydney on Thursday.
South Africa have been victors in seven of India’s eight visits since the first in 1992 with one series drawn in 2010/11, but six of those successes have been by a single win margin.
Pakistan suffered a setback Thursday with pace bowler Khurram Shahzad ruled out of their series against Australia after pulling up sore following a heavy defeat in the first Test.
Pakistan's unlikely bid to win their first Test in Australia since 1995 was left in tatters by the spin king and the home side's formidable pace attack, who wrapped up the game inside four days.
The left-hander, in his 110th Test, responded in typical swashbuckling fashion, crashing 15 fours and one giant six in his 149-ball knock.
With only 2.2 overs left before the Tea break on the opening day of the first Test against New Zealand, Bangladesh were on the verge of going for a satisfying recess with an impressive score of 180-2 on the board.
Wagner, who returned to domestic first class cricket action this week with Northern Districts, joins a three-man pace attack which includes captain Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson - himself missing from Test duty for 18 months because of back problems.
Starc has learned to manage his body and has been deliberate in choosing which cricket he plays – or doesn't – as his career wears on
