Smith showed immense composure, versatility and class across both the innings as his century in first innings and a quick cameo in the run-chase proved to be vital in England's five wicket win over Lankan Lions in the first Test at Manchester.
Sri Lankan batters fought hard, with contributions from Kamindu Mendis, Angelo Matthews, Dinesh Chandimal, Silva and Milan Rathnayake standing out. But it still was not enough to overcome England, who were powered by contributions of their middle order in absence of their injured opener Zak
Root starred with a calm half-century during a tense run-chase while Smith smashed his maiden Test ton in the first innings to hand England a massive lead of 122 runs in the first innings, which proved to be instrumental in team's win.
Coming in at 125/4 while aiming to overcome Sri Lanka's first innings total of 236 runs, Brook displayed immense maturity, toning down a bit on his naturally aggressive game to amass 56 runs in 73 balls, with four boundaries. His runs came at a strike rate of just over 76, way below his care
England captain Ben Stokes is in doubt for his side's three-match Test series against Sri Lanka after he suffered a suspected hamstring injury while playing in a domestic match on Sunday.
Brook was one of the stars of England's 241-run win over the West Indies in the second Test at Nottingham, managing scores of 36 and 109, with the latter being his first century in UK in front of home fans. His consistent performances have taken him to the career-best third ranking in the IC
England's dominant performance in the second Test against the West Indies has seen a host of their star players make big gains on the latest ICC Men's Test Player Rankings.
A fifer from Bashir crushed the West Indies' dream of a comeback as they were skittled out for 143 runs during a run-chase of 385 runs after a glorious fightback during the second Test at Nottingham. WI had gained a first-inning lead of 41 runs, scoring 457 in reply to England's first-inning
A fifer from Bashir crushed the West Indies' dream of a comeback as they were skittled out for 143 runs during a run-chase of 385 runs after a glorious fightback during the second Test at Nottingham. WI had gained a first-inning lead of 41 runs, scoring 457 in reply to England's first-inning
Root (11,940 runs) moved up to eighth place on the list of leading run-scorers in Test cricket when he scored his 32nd Test century against the West Indies in Nottingham over the weekend and Vaughan thinks the 33-year-old can continue to reach even greater heights, as per the ICC.