The overwhelmingly bowler-friendly Melbourne pitch on which 20 wickets fell on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test has prompted Kevin Pietersen and Dinesh Kartik to point out the selective criticism of Indian tracks when spinners get wickets in a heap.
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday
The Perth Stadium curator has promised the wicket will be green, fast and bouncy but Stokes offered no thoughts on whether England would attack with four quicks or pick the specialist spinner, Shoaib Bashir, in their 11.
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.
'Dad played the biggest role in my cricket, coached me all the way through and sort of let me go as I got into my older teenage years, but (he) would always shoot a message (like) 'put the reverse sweep away'.'
The Trump administration has expanded its travel ban and restrictions to 20 additional nations as well as the Palestinian Authority, citing national security concerns.
The Ashes could be decided within days at an Adelaide Oval furnace where England's hopes of wresting back the urn will fire anew or flame out entirely against a strengthened Australia.
'That so many have reached such an advanced stage of their careers without obvious replacements is certainly a reflection of their quality, but will be a matter of concern in the case of more injuries during the series.'
Kane Williamson was included in the New Zealand squad for December's three-Test series against West Indies.
'We know we're behind the game again, in the situation we currently stand.'
IMAGES from Day 5 of the 3rd Ashes Test in Adelaide on Sunday.
West Indies pace puts New Zealand on the ropes in Christchurch
From Royal Challengers Bengaluru's historic first IPL title to star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra finally breaking the iconic 90-meter mark to India women winning their first cricket World Cup, this was the year of long-awaited victories and record-breaking feats.
Justin Greaves struck an epic unbeaten 202 against a depleted New Zealand attack to help the West Indies snatch a memorable draw in the opening Test at Christchurch's Hagley Oval on Saturday.
Australia will take on England in the opening fixtures of the Ashes on November 21 in Perth. Steve Smith will lead the side as Pat Cummins is not in the team due to injury.
'Non-compatible with Western Civilization' is about as vague and jingoistic as it gets and Trump saying this gives full license to his acolytes to go full throttle on making life as difficult and scary as possible for as many non-white people as possible,' notes Sree Sreenivasan.
'They are up their own backsides convinced that Test cricket has changed so much that only they know anything about the modern game.'
The Aussies also named a 14-player group for the first two T20I matches against India, with Nathan Ellis and Josh Inglis earning recalls after they missed the recent T20I series with South Africa.
Australia captain Steve Smith has declined to rule out a surprise return for fast bowler Pat Cummins for the second Ashes Test against England.
IMAGES from the Premier League matches played on Sunday
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 3rd Ashes Test played in Adelaide on Wednesday
Christensen, Rashford on target as Barcelona beat Guadalajara in Copa del Rey
Formidable India have their tails up as they head to the gargantuan MCG for the second T20I against Australia here on Friday, thanks to the influx of young talent and the return to form of skipper Suryakumar Yadav.
Australia stormed to an eight-wicket victory in the second Ashes Test on Sunday to take a 2-0 series lead as England succumbed on day four to a pace blitz from unlikely hero Michael Neser.
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.
Virat Kohli was dismissed for an eight-ball duck -- the first time he had fallen without scoring in an ODI in Australia.
Bazball is in the firing line, with former players and pundits decrying the high-risk game on Australia's spicy pitches.
Daryl Mitchell becomes only the second player from New Zealand to hold the top the ICC ranking for ODI batters.
Paceman Josh Hazlewood has brushed off worries about Australia's ageing attack for the Ashes, saying he personally feels as good as he has in a long time and that the unit's experience of bowling together is a major advantage for the team.
Expect some fireworks for the highly-versatile Cameron Green along with Quinton de Kock, Matheesha Pathirana, Venkatesh Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi.
Fighting India beat Belgium in shoot-out to enter FIH Jr WC semifinals
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.
The Bellerive Oval is one ground where the side boundaries are smaller in size, hence hitting the right lengths would be paramount considering anything short would be flying over cover, point, square leg or mid-wicket on either side of the fence.
US President Donald Trump warned India about potential tariffs for continuing to purchase oil from Russia, claiming he received assurances from Prime Minister Narendra Modi that India would halt such purchases.
Kane Williamson has decided to skip the three-match ODI series to focus on the Test series against the West Indies next month.
Shubman Gill said the masterly innings of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli helped him register his maiden win as India's ODI skipper.
In a rain-marred contest at Canberra, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav lit up the night with a couple of towering sixes - enough to take him into an elite club of T20I power-hitters, becoming only the second Indian after Rohit Sharma to reach 150 sixes in the format.
Players including Josh Hazlewood, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, and Alyssa Healy highlighted the controversy in a playful, teasing manner.
Australia's selectors chairman George Bailey defended sticking with the Test side's veteran core for the Ashes on Wednesday following criticism from former captain Steve Waugh about the team's ageing profile.
Scott Boland will step up and uncapped Brendan Doggett is tipped for a high-stakes debut to try to shore up the loss of a combined 604 Test wickets of experience.
