James Sutherland said Darren Lehmann has not resigned and will continue to coach the Australia men's team
Australia named five uncapped players in a raw tour squad to play Pakistan in a Test series in the United Arab Emirates, while recalling pace veteran Peter Siddle for the first time in two years and dropping middle order batsman Peter Handscomb.
After resuming on 384-4, the hosts declared their first innings closed after lunch. Kurtis Patterson, in just his second Test innings, was unbeaten on 114 after posting his maiden century and captain Tim Paine was 45 not out.
Pat Cummins took a career-best 6-23 to help Australia crush Sri Lanka by an innings and 40 runs inside three days in the series opening day-night Test.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 1st Test between Australia and Sri Lanka on Thursday
Left-arm spinner Ashton Agar will join Australia's squad for the fourth and final Test against India in Sydney, captain Steven Smith said on Tuesday.
With Australia taking a 2-0 lead in the four-match Test series against India, the scales are titled highly in favour of the hosts. History also shows that the Melbourne Cricket Ground has been a happy hunting ground for the hosts. With the Boxing Day Test around the corner, here is a quick look at how the teams stand.
In a bizarre turn of events, India 'A' will replace South Africa 'A' in Monday's tri-series match against Australia 'A' after six of the cricketers were left indisposed owing to the sapping Chennai heat and stomach ailments.
All-rounder Mitchell Marsh leads a 14-man squad packed with international experience, a group featuring Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Peter Handscomb, Head, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Joel Paris, Matthew Renshaw and Chris Tremain.
James Pattinson has been recalled to Australia' starting side for the second Test against New Zealand on Saturday, replacing his injured Victorian team mate Peter Siddle.
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.
The weather-ravaged, dead rubber third Test between Australia and the West Indies petered out in a draw at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Thursday.
IMAGES from Day 4 of the fourth Test between South Africa and Australia in Johannesburg on Monday
Opener Aiden Markram led the way with a career-best 152 as South Africa had the better of the opening day of the fourth Test against a much-changed Australia, reaching the close on 313 for six on Friday.
This provided only the sixth such instance in Test cricket of the first six batsmen getting the past the half-century in an innings and four of them have have come against India.
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.
Australian bowler Sean Abbott returned to action with New South Wales.
Australia thumped England by 64 runs to go 2-0 ahead in the five-match series of one-day internationals although victory came with a large slice of controversy at Lord's on Saturday.
Kusal Mendis excelled under pressure again, hitting a sparkling 86 and featuring in two important partnerships to help Sri Lanka overcome a shaky start and post 281 all out on the opening day of the second Test against Australia on Thursday.
'I got pulled out of that series to prepare for India and then not playing was a bit hard'
Batting great and current Mumbai Indians head coach Ricky Ponting has expressed his desire to be involved with the Australian national cricket team in a coaching role and hinted that he could be ready for such a job after the 2019 World Cup. Ponting said the possibility of being involved with the Australian team down the track was certainly something that appealed to him. "I would love to be working with (David) Warner and (Steve) Smith along with some of the young guns like (Usman) Khawaja and (Joe) Burns -- that will be a lot of fun," the three-time World Cup winner, who retired in 2012, said.
Australia will be forced to blood an entirely new opening partnership in Bangladesh next month after David Warner was ruled out of the two-Test series with a broken finger on Friday.
It will be difficult for Australia's besmirched cricketers to reclaim their reputations when the dust settles on the ball-tampering scandal but the episode is nonetheless a chance for the team to reclaim some of its lost principles and values, feels former batsman Michael Hussey.
New Zealand quick bowler Neil Wagner defended his use of the bouncer but admitted to feeling "shaky" when he felled Steve Smith with a blow to the head in the second Test in Christchurch on Sunday.
Dhananjaya de Silva hit a maiden century and combined with Dinesh Chandimal to resurrect Sri Lanka's innings after a poor start against Australia on the opening day of the third and final Test on Saturday.
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.
Quinton de Kock shone on a gloomy day in Hobart with a sparkling century that propelled South Africa to a commanding 203-run lead over Australia at lunch on day three of the second Test on Monday. - Scorecard: The wicketkeeper-batsman's 104, in a defiant 144-run partnership with Temba Bavuma, frustrated Australia's bowlers for nearly the entire session at Bellerive Oval before he was bowled by Josh Hazlewood. Bavuma was 74 not out at the break, with paceman Vernon Philander on three, the Proteas having taken full advantage of a bloodless bowling display to push to 288 for six.
The second Test between Australia and New Zealand ended in a draw on Tuesday, with the tourists 217 runs short of their victory target of 321 on a rain-disrupted fifth and final day at the WACA.
Australia's head cricket coach Darren Lehmann hopes the test team can avenge the Wallabies' Rugby World Cup final defeat by the All Blacks with a victory in the series opener in Brisbane starting this week.
Australia have employed former India all-rounder Sridharan Sriram as a coaching consultant to help with their troubles playing spin bowling in the leadup to their tour of Bangladesh.
Australia captain Steve Smith shook off a sickening blow to the back of his head and notched up his 14th test century, earning the praise of his team mates and New Zealand opponents at the end of the second day of the second test on Sunday. Smith was on 78 shortly before tea when he was hit by a Neil Wagner bouncer and dropped to his knees, immediately prompting gasps from the crowd at Hagley Oval. Australia are still mindful of the death of their team mate Phillip Hughes, who was killed in late 2014 after being hit by a bouncer in a first class match, and fellow centurion Joe Burns said there was real concern when his captain dropped to the pitch. "It certainly always a concern when you see someone get hit in the head, it got him quite flush as well," Burns told reporters after Australia finished the second day on 363 for four, just seven runs adrift of New Zealand. "Fortunately the medical staff was out there very quickly, they gave him the all clear. Luckily the tea break was around the corner so he could sit down for 20 minutes and let the shock settle."
Australia batsman Michael Clarke has said his recovery from surgery on his torn hamstring was progressing as expected and he still hoped to lead his country at next year's World Cup.
South Africa's Temba Bavuma was left stranded on 95 not out as they tightened their grip over scandal-hit Australia after reducing the hapless visitors to 110 for six at the close on the second day of the fourth and final Test on Saturday.
It was not long ago that Australia wicketkeeper Tim Paine was considering giving up the game entirely. Now he is set to captain the team as they look to pick up the pieces following the ball-tampering scandal.
Sacked Australia captain Steve Smith and David Warner have both been banned for 12 months for their roles in the ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town.
Australia's David Warner breathed life into the rain-ruined final Test with a pulsating ton as the match meandered to a draw against the West Indies on Thursday. Warner, determined to finish an undistinguished series on a high, reached his 16th Test century off 82 balls before a small Sydney crowd. The buccaneering opener had a highest score of 64 in the two previous Tests as team-mates helped themselves to six centuries against the tourists' innocuous bowling attack.
Under fire from all quarters after an abysmal start to their tour, West Indies have pledged to be more competitive at the traditional Boxing Day Test but will struggle to prevent hosts Australia from taking an unassailable 2-0 series lead.
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.
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.
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.
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