Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis hit gritty half-centuries on Saturday to lead a strong Sri Lankan reply on day two of the second Test against Australia.

Steve Smith said England's new attacking approach to Test cricket was exciting but expressed doubts over whether it could stand up to the heat of Australian bowling.

Joe Root said England captain Ben Stokes had urged the side to play like "rock stars" following a record-breaking win over India.

England are out to rewrite how Test cricket is played in the country, skipper Ben Stokes said after leading the side to a memorable seven-wicket victory in the fifth Test against India on Tuesday.

Cricketers and pundits slammed India's batting in the second innings as England batsmen Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root hit hundreds to thrash the tourists in the fifth Test on Tuesday.

Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow took the attack to India as England closed in on a fourth successive winning run chase under their new Test leadership duo of captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum.

England great Stuart Broad set a new if unwanted record by conceding 35 runs in a Test over, against India at Edgbaston on Saturday.

England's new red-ball head coach Brendon McCullum insisted he had nothing on the aggression of captain Ben Stokes after overseeing a 3-0 whitewash of his native New Zealand during his first series in charge.

Jack Leach took 10 wickets in a Test for the first time in his career before Ollie Pope and Joe Root set about leading England's charge to a series whitewash of New Zealand at Headingley on Sunday.

Kyle Mayers’ brilliant innings finally ended as play resumed following rain delay and Lunch interval on day three of the Gros Islet Test today.

Jamie Overton hit a stunning 97 on his England debut and then starred with the ball as the hosts closed in on a series clean sweep against World Test champions New Zealand at Headingley.

Jonny Bairstow was a hundred hero for England once again as debutant Jamie Overton more than played his part in an astounding fightback against New Zealand on Friday.

New Zealand collapsed to 224-7 as England gave themselves a chance to chase a dramatic series victory by close of play on the fourth day of the second Test.

The Daily Star (DS): Another away tour is approaching. How’s your preparation for the West Indies series?

Shoriful Islam (SI): It’s much better now. I feel a lot better. Hopefully the plaster will be removed by May 9 and then let’s see what happens.

Bangladesh are set to embark on a month-long tour in the West Indies this month to test their skills in all three formats against the home side, once an undisputed powerhouse of the game.

England’s Joe Root came off a match-winning innings yesterday, having scaled the 10,000-run mark in his Test career during an incredible unbeaten 115 in the fourth innings against New Zealand.

Yasir Ali Chowdhury has shown great potential in his fledgling Test career and the right-hander is expected to play a big role in Bangladesh's middle-order on the tour of the West Indies as he fills a vacancy left by the absence of the experienced Mushfiqur Rahim. The 26-year-old, who will travel to the Caribbean today, spoke to The Daily Star's Mazhar Uddin before boarding a flight, discussing his plans and some other topics during an exclusive interview. The excerpts are below:

Former Australia captain Mark Taylor has backed Joe Root to surpass Sachin Tendulkar as Test cricket's leading run scorer even though the England batter is still nearly 6,000 short of the Indian great's haul.

England captain Ben Stokes and predecessor Joe Root led a thrilling rally on Saturday to set up a dramatic finish to the first Test against New Zealand at Lord's.