An injury-ravaged Michael Clarke may have raised doubts about his future by stating that he may never play again, but Australian cricket coach Darren Lehmann is confident that the inspirational skipper will be back sooner or later.
'It won't be easy like the other matches but confidence is the main thing... If we took that confidence into the ground and deliver to our best, you never know'
England still blinking after perfect Ashes start.
Test captain Michael Clarke labelled Ryan Harris 'as good as anyone who has played for Australia' after the fast bowler announced his retirement on Saturday because of injury.
Images from Day 2 of the third Test between Australia and India, at the SCG, on Friday.
With pacer Mohammed Shami in menacing form, India holds the edge in the bowling department against Australia, reckons batting great Gundappa Viswanath, who wants skipper Rohit Sharma to convert his aggressive starts to a big hundred in the World Cup final.
A look at the key players to watch out for in Thursday's match between India and New Zealand.
Younis Khan hit a stellar double hundred while skipper Misbah-ul-Haq also joined the run-feast with his sixth Test century as Pakistan tightened their grip on the second and final test against Australia on Friday.
The countries will pin their hopes of victory on their quicks with seamer friendly wickets on order for the Tests in Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Johannesburg, and the contests set to be dominated by fiery exchanges of fast bowling.
The speculation around the mood inside India's dressing room became a subject of ridicule for Australian skipper Steve Smith, who said the home team does not need to sedge the tourists as they are busy "whingeing among themselves".
The return of all-rounder Ben Stokes will be a welcome boost to the England squad as he provides much-needed balance and lifts morale, team mate Moeen Ali said ahead of the two-match test series in New Zealand.
Rajneesh Gupta presents some interesting numbers from Day 5:
Pace bowler Billy , who stands 2.04 metres tall and has been in fine form in the Big Bash League (BBL) for the Adelaide Strikers, is likely to make his debut if Australia opt to play three pacemen at the Gabba.
Australia look to make statement a year ahead of T20 World Cup
The four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy is locked at 1-1 and the match at Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA), which is organising it's first-ever Test, is set to be a make-or-break affair for both teams.
Wins in Adelaide and Melbourne had given Virat Kohli's side a 2-1 lead going into the final Test and a draw was enough to secure a breakthrough that had eluded all previous Indian touring parties for 71 years.
The 30-year-old Holland played two Tests in Sri Lanka in 2016 but has not appeared for his country in any format since.
Virat Kohli (fourth), Shikhar Dhawan (seventh) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (ninth) have also maintained their respective positions in the ICC ODI batting chart.
India retained the Border-Gavaskar trophy with a historic three-wicket win over Australia in the fourth and final Test, in Brisbane, successfully chasing a 328-run target to seal the four-match series 2-1.
How will young batsmen brought up on T20 learn to build an innings? What about the technique to patiently negotiate hostile seam bowling conditions or the skill to play on difficult dusty turners? What about leaving the swinging ball outside off stump?
Nathan Coulter-Nile slammed 92 from 60 deliveries to register the highest score by a No 8 batsman in a World Cup.
Manjrekar agreed that match referee David Boon had no option but to allow India a concussion substitute.
Australia concluded their World Cup preparation on an emphatic note, beating a struggling Sri Lanka by five wickets in their final warm-up game, in Southampton, on Monday. Usman Khawaja, who opened alongside skipper Aaron Finch in place of a rested David Warner, anchored the chase with 89 off 105 balls.
The death of Phillip Hughes less than six weeks ago still hung thick in the air at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Monday as Australia began preparations to play their first Test match at the ground since.
Australian coach Darren Lehmann praised his team for enduring a tough opening day of the second cricket Test at the Gabba but said he expects them to come up with a better showing against India on Thursday.
Bowling coach Craig McDermott, who rejuvenated Australia's pace attack before resigning last year, will return to the role for the Test team in a major boost for the hosts ahead of the Ashes series against England.
Ponting shrugged off Australia's injury worries and the idea of there being risk in rushing Smith and Warner into the team.
David Warner struck a scintillating hundred to guide Australia to a comfortable three-wicket victory over England in the opening match of the tri-nation One-day series in Sydney. Images the match.
Following untimely injuries to Mitchell Starc and Adam Milne, Royal Challengers Bangalore pacer Varun Aaron is ready to step up and believes that the extra responsibility would act as motivation.
'I think our bowlers' efforts were really good. If they can do the same thing tomorrow, get a couple edges first up, it could be totally different'
'I think there'll be a huge fallout from this (defeat). There's not too many times that you lose to the second or third (choice) side.'
Sri Lanka set Australia a stiff 268-run victory target before claiming three wickets in a truncated afternoon session to take the upper hand on the penultimate day of the first Test in Pallekele on Friday.
Brett Lee is putting patriotism aside, admitting it would be 'great' if England won the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.
Resurgent Australia completed a 5-0 whitewash of Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday, with all top four batsmen posting half-centuries in a commanding 20-run win, the team's eighth in succession.
'If you had have told me then (he would captain Australia), I certainly wouldn't have believed you, but this game moves fast and sometimes things happen that are quite unexpected and that's exactly what's happened in this scenario.'
The squad also sees the return of proven Test and one-day bowler James Pattinson, who joined Australia A in India after recovering from a string of injuries
Australia repelled a brief England fightback led by Alastair Cook and Ben Stokes to remain firmly in control of the second Ashes Test on the third day at Lord's on Saturday.
India will look to make the most of their only warm-up game, beginning, in Sydney, on Wednesday against Cricket Australia XI.
The second Test between Australia and New Zealand fizzled out in a draw on Tuesday but not before Mitchell Johnson gave one last reminder of his bowling prowess on the day he announced his retirement from international cricket.
Wearing Australian colours for the first time since the ball-tampering scandal erupted in Cape Town in March, 2018, Steve Smith and David Warner were greeted warmly by a small crowd in Brisbane, where Aaron Finch's team took a one-wicket win.
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