Former captain Tim Paine has been appointed coach of the Australia 'A' team for this season with the country approaching a transition to a new generation of players as a handful of Test stalwarts near retirement.
Sources close to the development indicated that Khawaja's decision stems from SEN's controversial dismissal of Lalor earlier this year, a move that has continued to raise eyebrows within the cricketing community.
Glenn McGrath said his prediction this time is based on how England were held to a 2-2 series draw by India in the recent Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy five-Test series.
Australia took the upper hand in the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord's, ending day two on 144-8 in their second innings with a lead of 218 runs after wickets tumbled freely again on Thursday.
Top order batsman Usman Khawaja has suffered a setback in his bid to return to the Australia team for the second Test against West Indies after being ruled out of a domestic Twenty20 match by his Sydney Thunder side on Monday.
Captain Pat Cummins reflected on the significance of this Christmas gathering, highlighting the strong bond within the Australian cricket team.
'The prospect of Konstas facing Jofra Archer with the first ball of the Ashes on November 21 -- potentially delivered at 155km/h -- doesn't feel like a fair fight.'
The Aussie cricketers were joined by their families on the field as they savoured a series win that came after a decade.
The West Indies produced another dominant day with the ball against Australia and then survived a tense final hour Saturday to take the honours after the first day of the day-night third Test.
Steve Smith's magnificent 71 guided Australia to 221 for seven at stumps on Day 3 of the second Test against the West Indies in Grenada on Saturday, helping the tourists to build a commanding 254-run lead despite late wickets and persistent rain interruptions.
Australia had South Africa reeling at 43-4 at the close on Wednesday after being put in to bat first and scoring 212.
Alex Carey scored 63 and Beau Webster 60 as Australia were bowled out for 286. West Indies pacer Alzarri Joseph took 4 wickets for 61 runs on Day 1 of the second Test.
Australia batsman Usman Khawaja is likely to replace injured Kevin Pietersen in the squad of Rising Pune Supergiants in season 9 of Indian Premier League. Pietersen was ruled out of the IPL on Sunday, leaving the subcontinent with a hole in his calf muscle and in Pune's batting order. If picked, this will be Khawaja's maiden IPL stint. The left-handed top-order batsman had gone unsold at IPL auctions in February despite scoring heavily in Australia's domestic circuit. Pune have not named a replacement for KP, but Khawaja is the one of the frontrunners, according to Supergiants coach Stephen Fleming. "He (Khawaja) is a guy we are surely looking at," Fleming said after the two-wicket loss to Kolkata on Sunday.
'I don't see an end date with the way he's training, the way he's preparing, the way he's moving.'
Hazlewood was initially named in the squad for South Africa, will also return home following the Test series. Xavier Bartlett has been drafted in as his replacement.
Throughout the series, Konstas had altercations with Indian players. His first major incident occurred at the iconic MCG during the Boxing Day Test when he was involved in a bumping exchange with Virat Kohli. Usman Khawaja, who was batting at the other end, was seen trying to calm things down.
Gillespie said that he feels that either one of Labuschagne or Usman Khawaja, the 38-year-old who failed to touch double-digits in both WTC final innings, will miss out on West Indies tour, which comprises three Tests, starting June 25.
West Indies' fearsome bowling attacks of old, Jayden Seales and Shamar Joseph tore through Australia on Wednesday
Australia carved out an 82-run lead over West Indies on day two of the first Test in Barbados on Thursday, with the hosts frustrated by several close umpiring calls that went against them.
South Africa's dream start to the World Test Championship final quickly turned into a nightmare at Lord's, as their batters failed to back up Kagiso Rabada's five-wicket masterclass.
Australia's Usman Khawaja struck a maiden double hundred and Josh Inglis got a century on his Test debut against Sri Lanka to power the tourists to a mammoth 654/6.
Former No. 1-ranked Test batter Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja would open the innings for Australia in the WTC final against South Africa while the fit-again Cameron Green would bat at the No. 3 position.
Steve Smith became the 15th member of Test cricket's 10,000-run club as he and opener Usman Khawaja smashed hundreds to help Australia rack up 330/2 on the opening day of the first Test against Sri Lanka.
Skipper Pat Cummins, who missed the tour of Sri Lanka due to the birth of his second child in February and was also ruled out of the Champions Trophy campaign with an ankle injury, will take the reins against South Africa.
Change will be a key theme for both the West Indies and Australia in their upcoming three-Test series in the Caribbean with the visitors set to field a remodelled batting line-up and the hosts being led out for the first time by Roston Chase.
Usman Khawaja has condemned a radio station's decision to drop cricket journalist Peter Lalor from its coverage of the Sri Lanka Test series over social media posts related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
'I think it have seen the side-ons (bowlers) but he delivers the ball from about a foot or even a bit more closer to the batsman than the average bowler so the ball feels quicker even than the pace he is actually bowling at.'
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."
Taking aim at senior players like Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, captain Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon, among others, he said that if their aim was to prolong their send-offs till after the Ashes, it was a wrong mindset.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the WTC Final between Australia and South Africa at Lord's on Wednesday
A "devastating" omission after below-par performances in the Border-Gavaskar series notwithstanding, opener Nathan McSweeney has not given up hope of returning to Australia's Test setup, saying he will try his luck as a long-term replacement for Usman Khawaja once the batting stalwart retires.
Pat Cummins tore through South Africa before a Proteas fightback left the ICC World Test Championship Final 2025 on a knife-edge at the end of an absorbing second day at Lord's.
Australia bowled out Sri Lanka for 231 in the hosts' second innings and then chased down the target of 75 losing the lone wicket of opener Travis Head.
Michael Clarke feels the Australian selectors have erred by dropping Nathan McSweeney mid-series against India
Australia must avoid defeat in Melbourne to keep their hopes alive of taking back the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Despite the overcast conditions seemingly favouring the bowlers, the decision proved to be a gamble that didn't pay off immediately.
Mahmood has played two Tests, 9 ODIs and 18 T20s for England.
Australia, who have already secured their place in the final of the World Test Championship against South Africa, won the opening Test, also in Galle, by an innings and 242 runs.
Nathan McSweeney, who opened in the first three Tests with little success, has been dropped.
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