Andy Flower has made it clear in the early days of his official reign that only those with strong character and a big heart need apply to take on the Australians later this summer. Those with suspect temperaments will not be considered. James Anderson is

Andrew McGlashan presents the plays of the day from Chester-le-Street

As the rain fell on a miserable second day at Chester-le-Street it provided an apt backdrop to a game that has reignited the debate about Test cricket's future. Even if the sun had shone, it's unlikely the ground would have been even half full with punter

Chris Gayle is not enthralled by Test cricket, but for Ravi Bopara it holds a special place - and that's coming from a player who can also be assured of making a fortune in the Twenty20 game

Andrew McGlashan presents the plays of the day from Chester-le-Street

England's home season was launched in the most emphatic of styles at Lord's with a 10-wicket win, but now that Chris Gayle has confirmed the impression that West Indies were not entirely at the races, the value of that victory has been somewhat diminished

Chris Gayle has said that he wasn't looking to remain the West Indies captain for a long period of time and would be "giving it up shortly" because of the pressure the job entailed

With more than two days to spare, England began a Test series on a winning note for the first time in 15 attempts and won at Lord's for the first time since 2005 as they wrapped up a convincing 10-wicket win against West Indies

The sweat and toil of Barbados and Trinidad felt a world away as England made home advantage count to bundle out West Indies for 152 and still had time to remove two more in the follow-on

When Courtney Walsh walked off The Oval arm-in-arm with his fellow fast-bowling destroyer Curtly Ambrose in 2000, West Indies had all but relinquished their long hold on the Wisden Trophy

Ravi Bopara hits an unbeaten 118 as England reached 289 for 7 on the opening day at Lord's after Fidel Edwards also stars with four wickets

These two teams have been apart for barely a month but lock horns once again as England's international season makes its earliest ever start

Chris Gayle finally arrived in England two days before the first Test at Lord's and will face huge pressure to perform with coach John Dyson clearly far from pleased about his captain's timing

Tim Bresnan is ready to banish the memories of his first spell in international cricket if he is handed a Test debut against West Indies at Lord's

For the second match running Durham couldn't force home a victory chance on the final day as Somerset's strong batting order resisted impressively at Taunton

Somerset were given a helping hand in their quest to secure a face-saving draw against Durham as rain allowed just 24 overs on the third day

England's selectors are having a busy time of it and two days after naming a new-look Test squad the ICC World Twenty20 party will be unveiled at Lord's on Friday with all eyes on who will take the captaincy

Graham Onions had one of those days cricketers dream of as he celebrated his England call-up with 6 for 31 as Somerset were skittled for 69 on the second day at Taunton

For Graham Onions it was one of those moments when he didn't mind being woken up by a phone call

For the neutral it would have been ideal to watch Steve Harmison bowl on a green-tinged Taunton surface, but there was no final opportunity for him to nudge the England selectors as Durham reached 372 for 6