Cricket Australia assured fans over security arrangements for the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan on Friday after police foiled a plot to attack prominent sites in Melbourne with a series of bombs on Christmas Day.
Virat Kohli strengthened his position at the top of ICC ODI rankings for batsmen by touching a career-high 911 points, while Kuldeep Yadav broke into the top-10 of the bowlers' chart at sixth, on Wednesday.
Australia may have made batting look easy while chasing 300-plus totals against India successfully twice, but opener Aaron Finch credited the team's inexperienced bowlers for it, pointing out that the current attack combined has played less ODIs than the now retired Mitchell Johnson.
Frustrated by the performance of his bowlers in the second One-Day International against Australia in Brisbane on Friday, India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni declared that given the attack at his disposal right now even 300-plus scores are not enough against the home side.
Damien Martyn smashed 96 off 56 balls to guide Australia to a 95-run victory over in the first full international Twenty20 game.
A final decision on the winning bidder will be made at the IAAF council meeting later this year.
Shane Watson's international future looked bleak on Monday after the all-rounder was left out of Australia's 13-man squad for this month's one-day series against India on Monday.
The world champions had collapsed to 45 for five in reply to West Indies' total of 263 for nine when the match was abandoned because of thunderstorms.
Australia have named Michael Clarke in a 12-man squad for the first Test against India starting in Brisbane next week, but the hamstrung captain must prove his fitness in a tour match starting on Friday.
Australia beat New Zealand by 17 runs in the second ODI to square the best-of-three series at 1-1.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Naman Ojha has been named in the squad for India's Test tour of Australia for just one match. He will return after the opening game at Brisbane.
Sourav Ganguly emphasised the need for playing day/night Tests to attract more spectators to stadiums.
The World No. 1 tennis player edged out swimmer Ian Thorpe for the men's athlete of the year award.
England's top order fired in unison to give them a four-wicket win in the second one-day international against Australia
Australia have left no stones unturned in their preparation as they chase their first Test series win in over a year, captain Tim Paine said.
A look at the records of Czech Republic's Karolina Pliskova and Japan's Naomi Osaka before their semi-final match at the Australian Open on Thursday (prefix number denotes seeding):
Factbox on Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, who announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Tuesday
Pakistan's suspended off-spinners Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez have decided to go for informal tests to the ICC accredited bowling centre in Chennai.
The golden girls of world tennis, Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis continued their dominance in the WTA doubles circuit, as they clinched their second title of 2016 by winning the Sydney International. The Indo-Swiss pair, who had won in Brisbane last week, edged out Kristina Mladenovic and Caroline Garcia 1-6, 7-5, 10-5 in the final, which was also their 30th victory in a row. However, it wasn't an easy win for the top seeds, as they showed some character to make a comeback from the verge of losing the game. "At 6-1, 5-2 the only thing we could say to each other was that it was only one break," Sania said. "That's the only positive you can find from a situation like that. We tried to hold our serve for 5-3 to give ourselves another chance, then we had a huge game at 5-3 and the momentum went in our favor," World No.1 Sania said after the win.
A PCB official said the suspended off-spinner has been named in the preliminary squad as he was in the process of correcting his action and would soon appear for an ICC biomechanics test.
The ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 will be staged in Australia and New Zealand from February 14 to March 29, and India will begin its title defence against traditional rivals Pakistan in Adelaide on February 15, the International Cricket Council announced on Tuesday.
Leg-spinner Adam Zampa bowled a sensational spell with the ball to help Australia register a narrow four-run victory against India in the rain-hit first T20 International in Brisbane on Wednesday.
Captain Steven Smith is looking forward to Hazlewood making full use of the 'traditionally fast and bouncy Gabba wicket'.
'Like Nehru, too, Modi has found dealing with Beijing more and more difficult and has adopted an increasingly assertive approach towards managing India's northern neighbour.'
Ben Stokes' participation in the Ashes would be an "absolute bonus" but England are preparing contingency plans after writing off the all-rounder for the series, coach Trevor Bayliss said.
Coach Misbah-ul-Haq and his fellow selectors have been criticised by Pakistan media for placing too much expectation on such young shoulders, particularly against an ascendant team that thrives on home pitches.
Opener David Warner put New Zealand's bowlers to the sword with a masterful 163 and Usman Khawaja scored his maiden Test century as Australia dominated the opening day of the first Test at the Gabba in Brisbane, on Thursday.
The G20 in 2013 had unanimously agreed to a 15 point action plan to check BEPS
Fast bowler Mitchell Starc expects to need a couple of games to get up to express pace but is looking forward to coming back from injury on Australia's Caribbean tour next month.
Adam Zampa picked up two wickets in a miserly spell of leg spin bowling as Australia edged India by four runs in an enthralling rain-shortened Twenty20 International in Brisbane on Wednesday.
Retired Test batsman Michael Hussey has said after looking at the struggles of the Brisbane Heat batsmen against top-quality Indian spinners that Australia not only has a problem with producing international standard spinners, but has one in facing them as well.
Collingwood, who came to the crease at 39 for 3, hit his maiden century as England beat Sri Lanka by 95 runs.
PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan, on Saturday, said that the West Indies cricket board has agreed to play a day and night Test in the 'home' series planned in the UAE in September-October.
Pink-coloured cricket balls are ready to be used if the inaugural day-night Test match goes ahead in Australia in November, manufacturer Kookaburra said on Tuesday.
Kevin Pietersen's test future may be in doubt but the mercurial batsman was hailed as a "million pound asset" when named in England's provisional 30-member squad for this year's Twenty20 World Cup in Bangladesh on Wednesday.
England Lions cricketer Ben Duckett was suspended for pouring a drink on a senior England player reported to be paceman James Anderson after an argument in a Perth bar.
Pakistani cricket authorities have turned to former top spinner, Saqlain Mushtaq to help Saeed Ajmal change his bowling action and make a comeback to international cricket.
The abundance of talent is complemented by a confident approach which the likes of Manu Bhaker, Mehuli Ghosh, Anish Bhanwala and Anjum Moudgil will display at the Games.
