Mark Wood, who was one of England's standout bowlers in the 2021-22 series when he claimed 17 wickets, had been sidelined since February due to a knee injury and was hoping to build up match fitness in this week's warm-up match ahead of the Ashes.
Expect nothing less than hostility, fire and close contests as Ben Stokes' England come armed with their Bazball philosophy to try and get the better of a depleted Australia.
Smith will lead the Aussies for the Ashes opener in Perth.
'The body is holding together, and it's a great group to be a part of.'
Can the young trio of Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Akash Deep leave a mark in the Border Gavaskar Trophy series?
Pratika Rawal along with left-arm spinner Vaishnavi Sharma and seamer Kranti Gaud received their maiden long-format call-ups for the one-off Test against Australia.
England opener Zak Crawley said Australia had shown why they were favourites coming into the Ashes after a tough day four at Adelaide Oval left the tourists staring down the barrel of a series defeat on Saturday.
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.
Opening batter Jake Weatherald and pace bowler Brendan Doggett will make their Test debuts for Australia in the first Ashes Test against England in Perth on Friday.
Khawaja pulled no punches, taking aim at former players and sections of the media over what he described as blatant double standards
The Indian cricket team began practice in right earnest on Wednesday, ahead of their five-match Test series starting in Perth on November 22.
Australia opener Usman Khawaja has been ruled out of the second Ashes Test against in England in Brisbane later this week by a back problem.
Surrey seamer Matthew Fisher has been added to the squad and will link up with the group this week, having been in Australia with the England Lions.
England captain Ben Stokes dismissed claims his team was "arrogant" following their capitulation in the first Ashes Test against Australia in Perth last week as preparations for the second game in the five-match series continued on Saturday.
Cricket Australia are bracing for a massive loss of around Aus $10m ($7.72 million), according to media reports in Australia.
Ricky Ponting and his longtime teammate Justin Langer could potentially miss out commentating on the opening Test against India at Perth
Ravichandran Ashwin hails Travis Head after his 69-ball century, the second-fastest in Ashes history, helped Australia easily chase down 205 runs on Day 2 of first Ashes Test.
Taking his 17th Test five-wicket haul, he finished with 7 for 58 off 12.5 overs.
Less than two weeks after being dismissed as a "dud" Down Under, Joe Root finally shrugged the monkey off his back with a first Test century in Australia on Thursday to breathe life into England's Ashes campaign.
Australia may opt to continue with a four-prong pace attack at Adelaide and even add another part-time seamer in all-rounder Beau Webster, who could replace batter Josh Inglis in the lower middle order.
England lost both matches by eight wickets and will relinquish all hopes of regaining the Ashes if they are unable to win the third Test, which begins at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday.
It was a wild ride while it lasted but the 'Bazball' revolution that enlivened English cricket for three years collapsed in 11 days on Australian soil in an Ashes defeat as harrowing as any in the modern era.
Batting great Alistair Cook says England's 2-2 home series draw against Shubman Gill-led India was against "not a great Indian side", flagging concerns over the team's preparation for the Ashes.
'We've just got to stand up in them certain situations, read the game slightly better (and) just have a little bit of grit and determination about you.'
Usman Khawaja picked as Australia announce squad for Sydney Test against England
England's Joe Root conquered his final frontier with a first Ashes century in Australia as the tourists pushed past 300 on day one of the second Test in Brisbane on Thursday despite a six-wicket haul from pace spearhead Mitchell Starc.
Mitchell Starc and Ben Stokes set the scene for a dramatic Ashes series.
Swiatek rejects 'Battle of the Sexes' and backs mixed team events
The stand-in Australia captain was asked about Panesar's recent comments that England should shame Smith over his involvement in "Sandpapergate" to get a psychological edge in the series, which starts in Perth on Friday.
Australia paceman Josh Hazlewood's hopes of playing in the third Ashes Test in Adelaide have dimmed after he suffered a new injury setback during his recovery from a hamstring strain.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the first Test against Australia in Perth?
England did not have their full squad in Perth until last Sunday and will play one internal match before the first Ashes Test on November 21.
Travis Head said he was loving life as a Test opener after recording his third century of the Ashes series to help put Australia in a strong position after day three of the fifth Test on Tuesday.
'My body feels great right now, I am very confident of getting through all five (Tests) without any dramas.'
A versatile and dynamic Australian unit, without key pacer Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, who is likely to miss the early stages of the tournament, will be going into the T20 World Cup with hopes of going deep in the tournament.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has urged Australia's Usman Khawaja to retire on his own terms
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.
Even with the pressure of planning the Rajasthan Royals' IPL auction strategy in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, former Team India head coach Rahul Dravid couldn't resist keeping an eye on the enthralling opening of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth.
Statistically, Head's series stands apart. Among all players to score more than 600 runs in a single Ashes, he is the only one to do so at a strike rate north of 75 -- a reflection of how decisively he altered the tempo of games.
'They're those little moments as a squad that I think have got us across the line to four wins this series.'
