England’s Ashes heroes angry and frustrated over playing against Ireland

October 12th, 2009 LONDON - England team will not fall into the same Ashes trap that snared Michael Vaughan's men four years ago, claims current skipper Andrew Strauss. Recalling the Ashes glory over Australia in 2005, which was celebrated long and hard for weeks, Strauss said that it was followed by a massive fall from grace in which Vaughan's side lost 11 Tests out of 14 away from home and, rather than fulfil their dream of being the world's No.1 side they dropped down the ranks like a brick.

September 20th, 2009 LONDON - Spinner Graeme Swann reckons that the current England team would not be able to make it to the top honours of the upcoming Champions Trophy, and the maximum that they hope to achieve is to reach the semi-finals. England team has been looking out of sorts after the historic Ashes win, and in the absence of experienced players like Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen, they have not been able to prevent a 6-0 drubbing in the seven match ODI series, with one game still left to be played at Chester-le-Street.

August 25th, 2009 LONDON - Brit cricketer Jimmy Anderson has revealed that the gee-up song that had been sung at the Ashes, where England won, had been sung by an Australian. 'Time For Heroes' by Juliet The Sun is a song frequently played in the home side's dressing room.

August 25th, 2009 LONDON - England's victorious cricketers went on a marathon drinking session after their Ashes triumph, with man of the match Stuart Broad and his teammates drying the hotel bar twice during the party which went on till 5 in the morning. The heroes ran up a bill of more than 10,000 pounds after piling into the booze still dressed in cricket whites.

August 24th, 2009 LONDON - England's Ashes-winning cricketers are now hot commercial properties. According to John Taylor, chairman of Sports Impact, a leading consultancy, "Brands want to be associated with winners and the whole country will see England's cricketers in that category again now." When England won the Ashes in 2005, the stars were Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen.

August 17th, 2009 LONDON - England's battle plan for the Ashes finale at The Oval was allegedly uncovered when it was retrieved from a waste paper bin, reports The Mirror. Australia sources claim screwed-up paper discarded in a conference room at Trent Bridge on Friday contained the 14 names unveiled yesterday by national selector Geoff Miller.

July 14th, 2009 LONDON - Former England captain Nasser Hussain has slammed the home team's time-wasting tactics during the first Ashes Test against Australia, calling it "amateur and embarrassing to watch". England were on the brink of defeat on the final day of the first Test but the last-wicket duo of James Anderson and Monty Panesar held out for the final 40 minutes to salvage an unlikely draw.

July 7th, 2009 LONDON - In the absence of an injured Brett Lee, Australian captain Ricky Ponting has asked his inexperienced fast bowlers to become Ashes heroes. Australia's Ashes defence campaign suffered a major blow as Lee, making a comeback from an ankle injury, was ruled out of the first Test at Cardiff starting Wednesday after he pulled an abdominal muscle.

June 15th, 2009 LONDON - Pakistan captain Younis Khan won the toss and decided to bat against Ireland in the Group F Super Eights match of World Twenty20 at Kennington Oval here Monday.

June 15th, 2009 LONDON - Pakistan made 159 for five in 20 overs against Ireland in a Group F match of the Super Eight stage in the World Twenty20 at The Oval here Monday. Brief scores: Pakistan 159/5 in 20 overs (Kamran Akmal 57, Shahid Afridi 24; Kyle McCallan 2/26).

June 15th, 2009 LONDON - Pakistan beat Ireland by 39 runs in a World Twenty20 Group F Super Eights match here Monday. Brief scores: Pakistan 159/5 in 20 overs (Kamran Akmal 57, Kyle McCallan 2-26).

June 14th, 2009 LONDON - Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara won the toss and opted to bat against Ireland in a Group F match in the Super Eight stage of the World Twenty20 at the Lord's here Sunday.

June 14th, 2009 LONDON - Sri Lanka defeated Ireland by nine runs in a World Twenty20 Group F Super Eights match at Lord's here Sunday. Brief scores: Sri Lanka 144/9 in 20 overs (Mahela Jayawardene 78, Sanath Jayasuriya 27; Alex Cusack 4-18, Boyd Rankin 2-27).

June 12th, 2009 LONDON - Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo looks likely to make his Real Madrid debut next month ... in Ireland. The Spanish giants have confirmed he will be part of their squad travelling to Ireland for a 10-day training camp that will include one friendly match, The Sun reports.

May 31st, 2009 LONDON - Unlike his captain Ricky Ponting and vice-captain Michael Clarke, who refused to predict the outcome of the Ashes series, Australian fast bowler Brett Lee feels it would be pretty close. Its going to be tight again and its going to be played in the same spirit as 2005, said Lee who has returned to the squad after surgery to his injured left ankle in January.