Beau Webster is just the second player in the Sheffield Shield competition's 132-year history to score more than 900 runs and take 30 wickets in a season. The legendary Gary Sobers was the first to achieve the feat.
England captain Ben Stokes was forced off the field because of injury on Day 4 of the fifth and final Ashes Test against Australia on Wednesday.
Spinner Todd Murphy has been called into the Australia squad in place of the injured Nathan Lyon for this week's fourth Ashes Test, while captain Pat Cummins will skip the rest of the series as his back issue is managed.
England's young batter Jacob Bethell joined an elite list after scoring his maiden Test century against Australia on Day 4 of the fifth and final Ashes Test.
Jacob Bethell scored his maiden Test century to lead an England rearguard action on the fourth day of the fifth Test on Wednesday but Australia still looked firmly set for victory.
The legendary Ricky Pointing has advised Australia all-rounder Cameron Green to keep things simple and not over analyse or tinker with his game in order to find the right approach in Tests.
Australia batter Travis Head has endorsed Jake Weatherald as an opening partner following the South Australian's rough start as a Test cricketer in the Ashes.
Usman Khawaja picked as Australia announce squad for Sydney Test against England
Opening batter Jake Weatherald and pace bowler Brendan Doggett will make their Test debuts for Australia in the first Ashes Test against England in Perth on Friday.
Statistically, Head's series stands apart. Among all players to score more than 600 runs in a single Ashes, he is the only one to do so at a strike rate north of 75 -- a reflection of how decisively he altered the tempo of games.
Steve Smith and Travis Head hit centuries to help Australia dominate the third day's play by stretching their lead against England in the fifth and final Ashes Test.
Regular captain Pat Cummins was named in the Australia squad on Wednesday for the third Ashes Test against England, a strong indication that the inspirational fast bowler will see his first action of the series in Adelaide next week.
Cummins has been sidelined with a lumbar stress injury since Australia swept West Indies in the Caribbean in July.
Konstas, 20, misses out after a poor tour with the bat in the West Indies, while Weatherald has been included after topping the Sheffield Shield runs list
Reeling from injuries to captain Pat Cummins and paceman Josh Hazlewood, Australia have received a boost ahead of the first Ashes Test in Perth starting Friday, with Cameron Green telling reporters he is ready to bowl free of any restrictions.
Australia may opt to continue with a four-prong pace attack at Adelaide and even add another part-time seamer in all-rounder Beau Webster, who could replace batter Josh Inglis in the lower middle order.
Bazball is in the firing line, with former players and pundits decrying the high-risk game on Australia's spicy pitches.
The contest between England's dialled-down "Bazball" approach and Australia's more methodical batting could determine who prevails in the Ashes series beginning in Perth on Friday.
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.
Their last eight Tests in Perth have all been defeats, with the most recent setback a bitter innings and 41-run capitulation in 2017 that saw Joe Root's team surrender the urn.
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.
Delhi-born cricketer Nikhil Chaudhary set for Sheffield Shield debut for Tasmania in season 2025-26
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.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the WTC Final between Australia and South Africa at Lord's on Wednesday
Returning to the bowling crease would mark the final stage of Green's carefully looked-after return to cricket after a spinal fusion operation in Christchurch.
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 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.
Smith dislocated his right little finger in last month's World Test Championship final and will be required to wear a splint for five weeks, Cricket Australia said.
Australia overwhelmed the West Indies by 133 runs in the second Test in Grenada on Sunday to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series with one match remaining.
Kagiso Rabada etched another milestone into his illustrious career on Day 1 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord's
Australia ruthlessly completed a 159-run victory over West Indies in the first Test in Barbados on Friday after Josh Hazlewood's five-wicket masterclass broke the hosts' resistance on a pitch that deteriorated into a bowler's paradise.
Sam Konstas has been added to Australia's list of contracted players in a huge vote of confidence for the two-Test opener.
Seales played down the incident when quizzed for more information at stumps on the first day.
Former No. 1-ranked Test batter Marnus Labuschagne will be pushed up in the order to open alongside Usman Khawaja.
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.
Nathan McSweeney, who opened in the first three Tests with little success, has been dropped.
West Indies' fearsome bowling attacks of old, Jayden Seales and Shamar Joseph tore through Australia on Wednesday
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.
Glenn Maxwell's hopes of reviving his Test career may be over after the all-rounder missed out on selection in Australia's much-changed squad for the Sri Lanka tour.
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