England all-rounder Ben Stokes has slammed the "stupid" size of boundary marking sponges at stadiums after seamer Reece Topley was ruled out of the Twenty20 World Cup having suffered a leg injury by stepping on one during a fielding drill.

England's aggressive approach to Test cricket under skipper Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum has paid rich dividends at home and batsman Joe Root is keen to see how it fares abroad in different conditions.

England were set a target of 130 to win the third Test against South Africa, and with it the series, at The Oval on Sunday.

England and South Africa go into Thursday’s final Test at The Oval without key batsmen as each looks to secure a series that is intriguingly poised at 1-1 after emphatic victories by both sides.

Bangladesh cricket team’s newly hired technical consultant, Sridharan Sriram, heaped praises on the Bangladesh Test and T20I captain Shakib Al Hasan.   

England Test captain Ben Stokes set an example and showed great leadership by opening up about his struggles with mental health, former skipper Joe Root said on Tuesday.

England Test captain Ben Stokes told the Telegraph on Monday that he felt deep resentment towards cricket because he had been unable to visit his dying father as much as he wanted.

England Test captain Ben Stokes kept the dialogue on mental health going as the all-rounder revealed he was still on anxiety medication after returning from a six-month break to focus on his wellbeing.

England captain Ben Stokes said his side "can't be great every day" following a crushing defeat by a "relentless" South Africa in the first Test at Lord's.

South Africa skittled England out for 149 on Friday to win the first Test by an innings and 12 runs inside three days at Lord's and go 1-0 up in the three-match series.

Spinner Jack Leach says England will continue to play their positive brand of cricket despite a late flurry of runs from South Africa that moved the touring side into a commanding position on the second day of the first Test at Lord’s.

England all-rounder Moeen Ali has warned that other players could follow teammate Ben Stokes in quitting one-day internationals and that the format could become completely obsolete if nothing is done to fix the game's hectic calendar.

Rassie van der Dussen's century helped South Africa spoil Ben Stokes's farewell to one-day international cricket as the Proteas won by 62 runs on the England star's Durham home ground to go 1-0 up in a three-match series.

Rassie van der Dussen's century helped South Africa spoil Ben Stokes's farewell to one-day international cricket as the Proteas won by 62 runs on the England star's Durham home ground to go 1-0 up in a three-match series.

Ben Stokes said on Tuesday he hopes his retirement from one-day internationals will serve as a warning to cricket chiefs over an increasingly congested global schedule, with the all-rounder insisting players "are not cars, you can't just fill us up".

The number of games being crammed into the global cricket schedule is "madness" and more players could follow Ben Stokes in quitting the one-day format, said former England captain Nasser Hussain.

England Test captain Ben Stokes will miss the upcoming three-match Twenty20 international series against South Africa and the Hundred to manage his workload and fitness, the country's cricket board (ECB) said.

The Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes era of England cricket is off to a perfect start with the team winning all four of their Tests so far under the new regime.

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.