News Analysis

Graeme Swann will be remembered as England's finest spinner since Derek Underwood and their finest off-spinner since Jim Laker. The fact that he had a bowling average of 22 in the Tests he won underlines his colossal value to the side

It used to be said that a player never recovers from the disappointment of a poor Ashes tour. What are the prospects for the senior England players who failed to deliver?

The fact that Shane Shillingford has been suspended a second time raises questions about the set-up in the Caribbean. If they could not fix him the first time, what chance of it working now?

A key bowler suspended, the other bowlers struggling to take wickets and batsmen unable to cope with swing. Can any of West Indies' reserves make a difference?

The home is where the heart is, and it's also where the runs have been for New Zealand this year

Although Trent Johnston ended a seemingly eternal career with another title for a bulging associate CV, it was not the romantic swansong he must have fantasised about

Duncan Flethcer hardly interacts with anyone except his bosses and the players, and the players have always been full of praise for him without being able to articulate how exactly he helps

Even if India do not win in Centurion, they have to prove to themselves - even more than the opposition - that they are up for a fight

Dale Steyn doesn't aim to just hit the "right areas" in one-day cricket, he goes out there to attack the batsmen, and the results are there for all to see

The South Africa thinktank is involved in a discussion around three areas of the team composition - the opening berth, a specialist wicketkeeper and what type of spinner to use

Form and injury have combined to give Graeme Smith a forgettable time of late in the one-day game, and it looks like it will be a long road back for him in ODI cricket should he choose to keep at it

With Jacques Kallis being part of South Africa's plans for World Cup 2015, they have to work out the best way to build their eleven around the veteran allrounder - no easy task at the moment

MS Dhoni's half hour against the red ball in the nets, two days ahead of the South Africa ODI series, suggests he is thinking hard about his Test-match technique and team combination

Shikhar Dhawan has the uncanny knack of appearing dominant while, the stats show, facing as few balls as possible. Perhaps his ability to deftly manoeuvre the strike during tricky periods is something that has contributed to his fine run

Cricketers often face demoralising periods of failure which they are resilient enough to survive. Matt Prior needs to arrest a prolonged batting decline to lift England's Ashes challenge

Former India mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton, and former Test cricketers Dilip Vengsarkar and Chetan Chauhan on whether Virender Sehwag can break out of his rut

A joyous debut century is now a world away for Jonathan Trott as the complexities of international cricket catch up with him

While Dinesh Chandimal has shown the aptitude to captain Sri Lanka, he seems to be shackled by it, and this has badly affected in his limited-overs batting of late

There have been fall-outs and controversies along the way, but Kevin Pietersen has been a central part of one of the most successful periods of English cricket

One-day form does not make George Bailey certain of Test success, but a decade of solid state cricket means he is a viable Ashes campaigner.