Bowling 33 overs without success in England's second Test defeat by Australia at Lord's knocked the confidence of paceman James Anderson who returned to form with a bang on Wednesday.
Australia bundled out England for a paltry 103 in their second innings to win the second Test match at Lord's on Sunday by a massive margin of 405 runs on the fourth day.
Australia regained the prestigious ICC Test mace and also won a cash award of $1million after beating New Zealand in the Christchurch Test by seven wickets and winning the series 2-0 on Wednesday. Australia finished two points ahead of India with 112 points in the final series before the April 1 cut-off date.
Australian pace bowler Josh Hazlewood pleaded guilty to a dissent charge after launching an expletive-laden tirade when a decision went against him in the second Test versus New Zealand on Tuesday.
Former Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has entered into the Decision Review System debate, saying that he'd be happy with the controversial review system to be scrapped altogether. Johnson, who retired last year with 590 wickets in international cricket, echoed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) opinion on the issue, saying decisions made by on-field umpires should stand until the technology improves and becomes accurate. "In my mind, we need to decide if we want to use technology properly or not use it at all," he wrote in a column for News Corp. "To be honest, I'd be happy if they left everything to the on-field umpires. "I'm happy to have no DRS - cricket worked pretty well without it for over 100 years. I tend to agree with India's perspective on the DRS debate - it's either got to be spot on, or not used at all. "If we can make sure that technology is used to get the right decision every time, then that's great. But until then, I'm not so sure." India has mainly opposed the use of DRS system in international cricket and the BCCI has shown no signs of changing their stance in recent years.
New Zealand's cricket team have run a gamut of emotions this week after they slumped to a heavy first Test loss to Australia then won three awards at their country's premier sports awards on Thursday.
Stuart Broad and Moeen Ali led England's charge to a 169-run victory over Australia with a day to spare in the first Test in Cardiff, on Saturday to make a flying start in their bid to regain the Ashes
Chris Rogers fell for 95, failing to turn a half-century into a hundred for the seventh Test innings in a row as Australia ended the second day of the first Test on 264 for five, 166 behind England on Thursday.
After registering a win against Dolphins in the last encounter, Pakistan champions Lahore Lions will go a for the kill to qualify for the semi-final when they lock horns against a formidable Perth Scorchers in the Oppo Champions League T20 in Bangalore.
Steve Smith continued his sizzling form with an unbeaten century as Australia laid a strong foundation on the first day of the second Test .
Players with the maximum work load in 2015.
The Lions from South Africa will look ride on the performance of their captain Alviro Petersen to guide them to a better finish.
Be ready to be amazed as Rediff.com encapsulates all the sporting action from the past week in this super photo feature.
New Zealand's pacemen struck back with two late wickets under the floodlights at Adelaide Oval but Australia's bowlers basked in the sun as the inaugural day-night Test opened on Friday.
Joe Burns is determined to avoid membership of the burgeoning club of Australian batsmen who have made brief cameos.
Australia will resist the temptation to tinker with their team on tour against West Indies and plan to field their best 11 in a bid to sweep the two-Test series and build momentum for the Ashes, selector Rod Marsh has said.
Bangladesh teenage spin sensation Mehedi Hasan rocketed into the 33rd position in the rankings for Test bowlers after bowling Bangladesh to their first-ever victory over England on Sunday
Australia have cut opening batsman Ed Cowan and wicketkeeper Matthew Wade from their list of 18 centrally-contracted players, but handed opener Phillip Hughes another chance to establish himself in the national set-up.
England crumbled meekly to 107 for eight in reply to Australia's 481 to put the touring side firmly on course for victory in the final Ashes Test after a dramatic second day at The Oval on Friday.
Australia railed at suggestions their team resembled a 'Dad's Army' but the evidence supplied by the first four Ashes Tests against England suggests it was not an unfair moniker.
Ben Stokes took five wickets to put England on the verge of a famous victory that would win back the Ashes as Australia finished on 241 for seven after a compelling second day of the fourth Test at Trent Bridge on Friday.
Another insipid display by a once great cricketer as his side slumped to an embarrassing defeat to go 2-1 down in the Ashes series had Australian pundits questioning whether captain Michael Clarke was in terminal decline on Saturday.
Images from Day 3 of the first Test between Australia and South Africa in Perth on Saturday.
Left disappointed after their Group A match of the Champions League Twenty20 was washed off without a single ball being bowled against Lahore Lions, Chennai Super Kings would be looking to shut out Perth Scorchers on Saturday to book their last-four spot.
Kane Williamson staged a fight-back along with opener Tom Latham (36), and Ross Taylor (26) as New Zealand reached 140 for 2 (42 overs) at close of play on Day 2 of the 2nd Test at the WACA in Perth on Saturday.
Josh Hazlewood will be Australia's third pace bowler in this week's first Test against New Zealand after Peter Siddle was named 12th man on Wednesday.
Opener Neil Broom produced a hurricane 117-run knock off just 56 balls as Otago Volts recorded a comprehensive 62-run win over Perth Scorchers in the Champions League Twenty20 tournament in Jaipur on Wednesday.
Paceman Steven Finn's five-wicket haul put England on the brink of a 2-1 Ashes series lead over Australia on Thursday with the tourists facing a desperate battle to avoid a humiliating third Test defeat.
Australia's Steven Smith has become the second youngest batsman after India's Sachin Tendulkar to achieve the number-one ranking in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen following stellar batting in the Kingston Test, which Australia won by 277 runs to win the series 2-0.
Australia can take the top Test ranking from India with a series victory
Rajasthan Royals produced a disciplined all-round performance to notch up a convincing nine-wicket victory over Perth Scorchers and seal their semi-final berth in the Champions League Twenty20 in Jaipur.
Paceman James Pattinson took five for 27 to fire Australia to a thumping innings and 121-run victory with more than two days to spare in the first Test against West Indies in Hobart on Saturday.
West Indies have lost their last four Tests, two to Australia and two to Sri Lanka, and have not enjoyed a single win in Australia since the 1996-97 tour.
Check out the lowest totals in Ashes history after England bowled Australia out for 60 in the fourth Test at Trent Bridge on Thursday.
South Africa's success in Australia is often put down to their comfort on the hard local tracks, which can be similar to those at home, but they could face some unfamiliar conditions this year.
Australia returned to the top of the Test world rankings on Wednesday after Steve Smith and Adam Voges steered the tourists to victory in the second Test against New Zealand to seal a comprehensive 2-0 series win.
Adam Voges and Shaun Marsh drove Australia to within 74 runs of a series-winning victory at the dinner-break in the third and final Test in Adelaide on Sunday after New Zealand's pacemen captured three early wickets.
Captain Michael Clarke blasted a magnificent 105 as Australia outplayed England in all departments to beat the hosts by 88 runs in the second One-Day International at Old Trafford on Sunday and go 1-0 up in the series.
A disciplined Chennai Super Kings produced an all-round effort to defeat Perth Scorchers by 13 runs in Bangalore and brighten their hopes of earning a semi-final berth in the Champions League Twenty20.
Australia ripped out England's top order to take a vice-like grip on the second Ashes Test after completely dominating the second day at Lord's on Friday.
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