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.
Australia grabbed a handy 86-run lead in the first innings over Sri Lanka and dealt an early blow with the new ball before rain washed out the entire final session for the second consecutive day in the first Test at Pallekele on Wednesday.
It is a mark of the standards Ben Stokes sets that his first reaction to the wonder catch that dismissed to Andile Phehlukwayo was that he had got into the wrong position.
Australia's selectors sprung a major surprise on Friday by naming uncapped fast bowler Joe Mennie in a 12-man squad for the first two matches of a three-test series against South Africa beginning in Perth next week. Mennie was part of an inexperienced bowling attack that was humbled by the Proteas batsmen in the recent one-day series in South Africa, which the hosts won 5-0. Despite accumulating figures of 0-82 on debut, the 27-year-old was preferred to Jackson Bird, who toured New Zealand and Sri Lanka as part of the Australian test squad.
Following their 11-match winning streak, Kolkata Knight Riders will be aiming to keep their juggernaut rolling as they meet Perth Scorchers in their third Group A league match of the Champions League T20 in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
Stuart Broad took eight wickets as England skittled out Australia for 60 in a historically quick 111 balls and moved within sight of an Ashes-clinching win on the first day of the fourth Test at Trent Bridge.
An unstoppable Kolkata Knight Riders stretched their winning streak to a record 12 after the reigning IPL champions edged past Perth Scorchers by 3 wickets to all but confirm their semi-final spot in the Champions League Twenty20 in Hyderabad.
Swing and seam friendly conditions, a lack of truly scary Australian bowlers and New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum's retirement are all themes that will resonate when the first Test gets underway in Wellington on Friday.
Australia captain Steve Smith will sit out domestic Twenty 20 matches because of knee and hip niggles but has "no doubt" he will be fit to face West Indies in the second Test in Melbourne on Dec. 26.
Sri Lanka beat Australia by 163 runs in the final test in Colombo on Wednesday to complete a 3-0 sweep in the three-match series. Chasing 324 for victory, Australia were all out for 160 half-an-hour before the tea break, succumbing to their third successive defeat against the hosts.
Rangana Herath claimed his maiden Test hat-trick as 21 wickets tumbled on a frantic second day with hosts Sri Lanka closing in on a series-clinching victory against Australia in the second Test in Galle on Friday.
Jos Buttler made an unbeaten half-century as England shrugged off Clint McKay's hat-trick to win the fourth one-day international against Australia by three wickets on Saturday to set up a series decider on Monday.
Batsman David Warner has been dropped from Australia's one-day international squad while paceman Mitchell Starc will fly back home because of lower back soreness, the country's cricket board said on Sunday.
England have edge in first Ashes Test.
Former Australian paceman Mitchell Johnson has labelled the Decision Review System (DRS) as a `failure` after all-rounder Mitchell Marsh's controversial leg before dismissal during the opening Test of the three-match series against South Africa at the WACA Ground in Perth. The incident took place on the fifth day of the first Test when Marsh was originally given not out after he was struck low on the pads of a Kagiso Rabada delivery. However, the decision was over-turned when the ball-tracking technology showed it to be hitting more than 50 per cent of Marsh's leg stump and he was sent back to the pavilion.
Clarke hopeful of Australia finding right mix between youth and experience after the team was described as a "Dad's Army" by former fast bowler and present Yorkshire coach, Jason Gillespie.
Both Australia and New Zealand played down any significance of the umpires warning the visitors for throwing the ball to wicketkeeper Peter Nevill on the bounce in order to aid its deterioration during the third day of the second Test on Monday.
Mitchell Marsh's spot in a rebuilding Australia side is assured for at least the Boxing Day Test against West Indies but the all-rounder is feeling some heat to score runs to shore up his place.
James Pattinson will replace fellow-quick Mitchell Starc in the Australia team for this week's opening test against West Indies, captain Steve Smith said on Wednesday, reviving a promising career that had stalled because of injury.
Australia called up uncapped paceman Nathan Coulter-Nile for the first Test against West Indies on Tuesday as a replacement for left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc, who was ruled out of the series due to a broken foot.
Top order batsman Shaun Marsh was called into the Australia squad for the third Test against New Zealand on Wednesday along with pace bowler James Pattinson and left arm spinner Steve O'Keefe.
England ripped out the last three Australia wickets for 12 runs to win the fourth test by a crushing innings and 78 runs at Trent Bridge on Saturday and regain the Ashes.
Be it the jam-packed stadiums at the UEFA Champions League, the intense trans-Tasman rivalry in cricket, there are certain events that enthralls fans. Brendon McCullum blasting into history with the fastest Test hundred in his farewell Test; but that wasn't enough as Australia completed a 2-0 clean sweep of the Kiwis. Rohit Sharma, yet again showing why is considered to be a special talent in limited-overs cricket as India thrashed host Bangladesh in the Asia Cup opener. In Champions League football, Lionel Messi's Barcelona proving too hot for old-rivals Arsenal. Be ready to be amazed as Rediff.com encapsulates all the sporting action from the past week in this super photo feature.
Snubbed Maxwell eyes county cricket to fuel Test bid.
Having spent much of the home summer suffering 'pad rash' from waiting to bat, Australia all-rounder Mitchell Marsh has put the pent-up energy to good use when thrown the ball.
Top-order batsman Shaun Marsh has been dropped from Australia's side for their second Test against West Indies, despite scoring 182 in the comprehensive first Test victory in Hobart.
Opener Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb and Nic Maddinson will all play their first Tests at Adelaide Oval after selectors wielded the axe following the Hobart humiliation, which gave South Africa an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
Injuries worries to in-form opener David Warner and allrounder Mitch Marsh may affect Australia's plans.
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis lauded his "relentless" bowlers for their match-winning performance against Australia in Hobart on Tuesday and dedicated the series win to absent Proteas Dale Steyn and AB De Villiers.
A mis-firing Australia head into the second Test against South Africa in Hobart under pressure to save the series and avert a full-blown crisis which would almost certainly be triggered by a fifth consecutive Test defeat.
Images from Day 2 of the first Test between Australia and South Africa in Perth, on Friday.
Michael Clarke conceded his side's middle-order woes were down to his poor form with the bat and vowed to get among the runs in the last two Ashes Tests after Australia lost the third match to trail England 2-1.
Rediff.com has the best sports images from the events in the week gone by snapped right here...
Pace bowler Jackson Bird has been recalled by Australia for the first Test against New Zealand after James Pattinson was deemed not quite ready to stand up to the rigours of a full workload, captain Steve Smith said on Thursday.
Pakistan-born Fawad Ahmed is likely to make his full Australia debut over the next month after being named as the specialist spinner in the squad for six one-day and two Twenty20 internationals against England on Thursday.
Rangana Herath picked four wickets in the second innings to spin Sri Lanka to a 106 win over Australia in the first Test in Pallekele on Saturday.
The West Indies batsmen crumbled late on Sunday to leave their team teetering at 91-6 and staring at another humiliating defeat at the close of day two of the second Test against Australia.
Having recovered from a hamstring strain, Usman Khawaja celebrated his recall with a glittering 144, with Queensland team mate Joe Burns making 128 in front of a festive Melbourne Cricket Ground crowd to drive Australia to 345-3 at stumps.
Steve Smith and Adam Voges scored the fifth and sixth centuries of the second Test to give Australia a lead of 193 after Ross Taylor's epic 290 brought New Zealand back into the contest on day four on Monday.
Joe Burns scored his maiden Test century and his opening partner David Warner his 14th as Australia finished the third day of the first Test against New Zealand in a dominant position on 264 for four with a lead of 503 runs on Saturday.
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