Rob Smyth

This World Cup classic was bursting with drama. Then it went and added a heap more

As ever, the Wisden Almanack flies the flag for quality cricket writing

England were coasting one minute, in tatters the next: a look back at how Adelaide 2006 reduced Flintoff and Co to gibbering wrecks

Each had to overcome very different hurdles from the other to become a top Test side

Massive, huge, monstrous - and did we mention really massive? Here's a handful of the biggest hits you've ever seen

Stuart Broad is one of England's finest. Yet he is baited abroad and only grudgingly admired back home

Root has reached a pinnacle achieved by few Englishmen in modern times, and he has done it with a charming and infectious joy that belies his innate toughness

Not every great innings needs to be a big innings - as these five great sub-50 scores prove

England could further exploit his worth as a batsman by relieving him of wicketkeeping duties in Tests

Plus debutant brothers, a man who paid for the honour of captaining England, champagne to celebrate a first wicket, and more fun Ashes facts

Ten years ago, one of cricket's all-time great matches played itself out in Birmingham

It's easy to think of him as a boorish oaf who makes easy runs. Not that David Warner gives a toss

If England are going to win nothing, history suggests it might be worth their while to win nothing with kids

The build-up to the Sri Lanka series has recalled the bad old days of inconsistent England selection - and provided some fantasy for fans once again

England are in a position where failure is nothing to be afraid of and they must realise his potential impact as an aggressor in the middle order

England's coach is so influential, you have to wonder if he has brought the role of football's all-powerful manager to cricket

Few England players in the modern era have been booed to the extent Broad will be. Will he rise to the occasion?

They're playing fine cricket, but they're a way off the 2011 pace, and as the expectations pile up, their goals have been shrinking

He has less than 100 runs in four Ashes innings - bringing to mind a number of England captains whose batting suffered when in charge

The balance between England and Australia changed at Lord's, when victory became a formality - the pursuit of a whitewash might be the only thing that stops the series descending into anti-climax