England captain Andrew Strauss saluted the "sensible batting" of Alastair Cook and Ian Bell after the duo steered the hosts to a five-wicket win over the West Indies in the first Test here at Lord's.

England announced an unchanged 13-man squad for the second Test against the West Indies at Trent Bridge starting Friday after a five-wicket win in the series opener at Lord's here on Monday.

Alastair Cook and Ian Bell led England to victory in the first Test against the West Indies at Lord's here on Monday.

Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara has been adjudged the Leading Cricketer in the World for the year 2011 by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack - often referred to as the 'Bible of Cricket'.

England retained the number one spot in the ICC Test rankings after their eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka here resulted in the two-match series ending in a 1-1 draw.

Graeme Swann claimed a match haul of 10 wickets as England roared to a series-levelling win over Sri Lanka in the second and final Test on Saturday to retain their number one ranking.

Alastair Cook hammered an unbeaten 163 on the second day of England's three-day practice match against Sri Lanka Board XI in Colombo on Friday.

Andy Flower has challenged his England players to prove they can cope with the demands of playing in the sub-continent during their forthcoming series against Sri Lanka.

Rival captains Alastair Cook and Misbah-ul Haq on Tuesday agreed that England staged a valiant fightback after their Test rout by Pakistan to register a clean sweep in the one-day series.

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq heaped praise on England for their superb comeback to clinch the one-day series after being routed in the preceding Tests, saying they showed character and discipline.