Australia's grip on the first Ashes Test has been tempered by injuries to captain Ricky Ponting and fast bowler Glenn McGrath.
Mathew Hayden also overtook Sachin Tendulkar as the year's leading run scorer with 1,481 to his name.
Anil Kumble surpassed Glenn McGrath to become the world's third highest wicket-taker in Tests.
Australian captain Ricky Ponting and leg-spinner Shane Warne took top honours in the latest ICC Test batting and bowling rankings.
The Indian vice-captain and the Australian pace spearhead lead the newly-introduced ICC player rankings.
"They've almost signed," Kapil Dev, a board member of the Indian Cricket League, told Reuters.
Ricky Ponting will captain the side and fast bowler Brett Lee, who missed the World Cup through injury, returns in place of the retired Glenn McGrath.
Australian coach John Buchanan said the pacer is progressing in the right direction.
Was the left-hander the right man for the job or simply in the right place at the right time?
Australia won the toss and elected to bat against the West Indies in the fourth ODI of the DLF Cup tri-series.
Fast bowler Michael Kasprowicz was dropped for the second ODI against New Zealand on Wednesday.
Australian captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to bat against the West Indies in the first ODI of the DLF Cup.
Australia's senior cricketers are playing down suggestions they might retire en masse if they win back the Ashes.
Matthew Hayden thinks Muralitharan accusing the Australian pace trio of chucking will not get him any favours in world cricket.
Both sides made one change from Wednesday's first match, won convincingly by Australia by 93 runs.
Glenn McGrath was named in Australia's provisional 30-man squad for the Champions Trophy.
The master spinner took his total to 533 as he moved ahead of Walsh's 519 wickets.
Australia have delayed naming their side for the match at Lord's until just before play begins.
Top teams need to find young players to replace their retiring big names, says ICC chief Malcolm Speed.
The England opener escaped with nothing more than a few stitches after being struck in the face on Friday.
After winning the toss and racing to 52 without loss in the 11th over, England's batting collapsed with all 10 wickets tumbling for 103 runs as the innings came to abrupt end in the 42nd over.
His six-wicket haul in the second innings of the Durban Test has lifted him one notch in the Test rankings.
Following is a fact box on the final Test of the four-match series between Australia and India
Former India fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad discusses the current national side and the plethora of seam bowlers who have turned out for Team India in the recent past.
New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said England batsman Kevin Pietersen's absence from the one-day tri-series in Australia was a major blow to the tournament.
Uncapped Essex batsman Ravi Bopara has been called into the England one-day squad in Australia as a replacement for the injured Kevin Pietersen.
England batsman Kevin Pietersen has been ruled out of the rest of the one-day tri-series after breaking a rib when he was struck by a Glenn McGrath delivery in the first match against Australia on Friday.
Australia beat England by 10 wickets to win the fifth Test and complete their first Ashes series whitewash in 86 years.
The playing future of Australian opener Justin Langer is attracting fresh speculation after his father hinted his son may be close to retirement.
The 31-year-old pacer has been a model of consistency in his first Ashes series, taking 21 wickets to equal Shane Warne.
Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq believes Australia will be a much weaker team when Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath retire next year.
Australia stormed to an innings and 99 runs victory, wrapping up a fourth straight win in the series with more than two days remaining.
The Australian fast bowler said he would end his Test career in next month's final Ashes Test against England in Sydney.
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