Australia's Travis Head says he is prepared to open the batting once more against England during the ongoing Ashes series after his second innings display in the first Test in Perth last week led the home side to an eight-wicket victory over the tourists.
England have not won the Ashes in Australia after losing the first Test since the 1950s but McCullum and Stokes will remain convinced they can turn the series around, just as they did against South Africa in 2022 when they won 2-1 after losing the opener at Lord's.
England are unlikely to tinker with their side for the second Ashes Test against Australia starting in Brisbane next week despite being thumped in the opening match, their former fast bowler James Anderson said.
Gill, who donned the opener's role during India's unbeaten run to the Asia Cup trophy, mustered up 127 runs in seven appearances.
Dropped Australia opener Sam Konstas will face England in a two-day tour match between the first and second Ashes Tests as part of the Prime Minister's XI squad.
So far in the T20I series, Bumrah has taken three wickets in three matches at an average of 26.33, with best figures of 2/26 and an economy rate of 6.58.
India clinched the five-match T20I series against Australia 2-1 after the fifth and final game was abandoned due to rain, in Brisbane, on Saturday.
India has now won each of the seven T20I series it has been part of since winning the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Australia captain Pat Cummins has eased back into bowling in his rehabilitation from a lower-back injury.
India's spinners took six wickets in a stunning fight back to rout Australia by 48 runs in the fourth T20I on the Gold Coast on Thursday.
England must look to stamp their authority on the Ashes series in Australia early or risk succumbing to yet another defeat Down Under, former England bowler Stuart Broad has warned.
Team India skipper Shubman Gill is unlikely to feature in the second Test against South Africa, with Cricket Association of Bengal sources confirming that he is not travelling to Guwahati with the team on Wednesday.
England's Stokes praises Australia's Head, supports his own errant batters
The aura of home advantage -- long regarded as a hallmark of India's Test side -- seemed secure. But in barely over a year, that fortress has not just cracked, it has collapsed, raising uncomfortable questions about strategy, selection, and temperament.
'We are ready to deliver a Brisbane 2032 games that will leave the same incredible legacy for Queensland.'
With skipper Pat Cummins already out of the series opener because of a back injury, Australia are expected to send out Hazlewood with Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland as their pace attack.
Kotian took four wickets as India A restricted South Africa A to 299 for 9 on the first day of the opening four-day match at the BCCI CoE grounds in Bengaluru on Thursday.
Indian men's junior hockey team chief coach PR Sreejesh on Friday advised his wards to consider the upcoming World Cup as a stepping stone in their careers, keeping their sights firmly set on the 2028 Los Angeles and 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
Axar Patel's 11-ball 21, laced with a four and a six in the last over off Marcus Stoinis, was instrumental in India's 48-run victory in the fourth T20I.
This was India's fourth defeat in the last six Tests at home and in all four Tests -- including three against New Zealand -- their batters have flopped against spin.
14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, the youngest centurion in men's T20 cricket, will once again be the player to watch out for in the Rising Stars Asia Cup.
IMAGES from the fourth T20I between Australia and India played in Carrara, Gold Coast on Thursday
Kazakhstan's Gennady Golovkin will run as a candidate in the election for President of World Boxing, the former middleweight world champion said in a statement on Friday.
Konstas, 20, misses out after a poor tour with the bat in the West Indies, while Weatherald has been included after topping the Sheffield Shield runs list
Ashwin has clarified that his decision to retire from the game was a personal call
India will look to overcome batting inconsistencies and finish the tour of Australia with authority when the two sides clash in the fifth and final T20 International in Brisbane on Saturday.
India Under-19 stamped their superiority over Australia Under-19 in the first Youth Test, winning by an innings and 58 runs in Brisbane on Thursday.
All-rounder Max Maxwell, who has been sidelined by a wrist injury, will come in for the last three games, while Test certainty Josh Hazlewood will skip the last three games.
Cummins is also unlikely to feature in the first Ashes Test, starting November 21 in Perth, and in that scenario former skipper Smith will captain Australia.
He has since returned for key assignments, including the 2022 T20 World Cup victory and both the Ashes and ODI World Cup campaigns in 2023.
Australia are confident that captain Pat Cummins will play a significant part in the Ashes series, head selector George Bailey said, as questions remain over the paceman's fitness for the opening Test in Perth.
McDonald also said the selectors would consider a Test recall for Mitch Marsh, even if Australia's white-ball captain said last week he would be watching the Ashes series beer in hand.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi smashed a T20-style 86-ball 113, while Vedant Trivedi made a patient 140 as India Under-19 took a commanding 185-run lead against Australia Under-19 on Day 2 of the first Youth Test.
Seamer Deepesh Devendran impressed with a five-wicket haul to help India Under-19 bowl out Australia U-19 for 243, on Day 1 of the first Youth Test.
Speaking ahead of the first Test from June 25 onwards at Barbados, Joseph said as quoted by Sydney Morning Herald, "To take 13 wickets across the series was a good feeling. A lot has changed. There were a lot of opportunities that came my way."
England last won the Ashes in 2015 and have not won a series in Australia since 2011 but Root was optimistic about their chances this time around.
England batter Harry Brook has cautioned against underestimating Australia in the Ashes series, even as doubts linger over the availability of their captain and fast bowler, Pat Cummins, for the opener in Perth.
'...the guys who are just part of Test cricket, I think for them to prepare and play domestic cricket is very, very important.'
Australia captain Pat Cummins said on Monday he was more likely than not to miss the first Ashes Test in Perth next month and is not absolutely certain of being fit for the second in Brisbane.
Aryan Sharma, a 17-year-old inspired by Virat Kohli, saw his 2018 message to the Indian batting great to 'watch him play for Australia in 2025' come to life.
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