South Africa routed Australia for 85 and then weathered a batting crisis of their own before pushing to a lead of 86 runs after a bowler-dominated opening day of the second Test in Hobart on Saturday.
A two-division league system for Test cricket could be established in three years in a bid to improve standards in the longest form of the game, International Cricket Council chief executive Dave Richardson said on Wednesday.
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.
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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.
Steve Smith continued his sizzling form with an unbeaten century as Australia laid a strong foundation on the first day of the second Test .
New Zealand seamer Doug Bracewell has been ruled out of this week's second Test against Australia with a shoulder injury but will not be replaced in the squad, New Zealand Cricket said on Wednesday.
India's Ravichandran Ashwin continued to hold on to the top spot in the all-rounders' table and also retained his second position in the bowling list in the latest ICC Test rankings. Premier off-spinner Ashwin stood out with 31 wickets in four Tests in India's 3-0 triumph over South Africa in the home series, and has a Test batting average of 31.68 with a highest score of 124. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, who picked up 23 wickets in four Tests against South Africa, is the only other Indian bowler to be figuring in the top-10 list, which is still headed by England's Stuart Broad.
Dhawal Kulkarni restricted Australia A to 82 for three with a fine spell of two wickets for 22 runs on the first day of the three day unofficial Test match against India A in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
VVS Laxman will join English county Nottinghamshire next month as a replacement for Adam Voges of Australia.
Joe Burns is determined to avoid membership of the burgeoning club of Australian batsmen who have made brief cameos.
Australia reduced England to 203 for six to move to the brink of a consolation victory on the third day of the final Ashes Test at The Oval on Saturday.
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.
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.
Replacement paceman Kyle Abbott took 6-77 as South Africa completed an innings and 80-run humiliation of Australia the second Test in Hobart on Tuesday to seal the three-match series with a game to spare.
Sri Lanka beat Australia by 229 runs on day three of the second Test to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series at Galle on Saturday.
Australia named all-rounder Andrew Symonds in place of the retired Damien Martyn in their team for the third Ashes Test against England.
Steady rain forced the umpires to call off Wednesday's third One-Day International between England and Australia at Edgbaston in Birmingham after only 15.1 overs.
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.
Former Indian cricketer Atul Wassan on Sunday said that the idea of experimenting with the pink ball and the day and night Test would be a flop from the perspective of attracting more spectators to the stadium to watch the game in real time.
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.
Australia can take the top Test ranking from India with a series victory
The second Test between Australia and New Zealand fizzled out in a draw on Tuesday but not before Mitchell Johnson gave one last reminder of his bowling prowess on the day he announced his retirement from international cricket.
England discard Kevin Pietersen led the congratulatory messages for the triumphant England squad, posting his wishes on Twitter.
England reclaimed the Ashes urn after hammering Australia by an innings and ... runs when the tourists were bowled out for ... on Day 3 of the fourth Ashes Test at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Saturday.
England skittled out shell-shocked Australia for 60 and piled up 274 for four in reply to take control of the fourth Ashes Test on a dramatic first day at Trent Bridge on Thursday.
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.
Sri Lanka's Kaushal Silva roared back into form with a century in the final Test against Australia on Tuesday, boosting the hosts' hopes of a 3-0 sweep against the world number one team at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo.
David Warner won the 2016 Allan Border Medal- an award given to Australia's cricketer of the year. The opening batsman polled an overall 240 votes (split evenly between those awarded by his teammates and those from umpires and media representatives) in the AB Medal count, 21 more than Steve Smith and 57 ahead of third-placed Mitchell Starc. Also named Australia's Test Player of the Year, Warner (30 votes) polled six more than Smith with Starc again placed third with 18 votes, while Josh Hazlewood was also a contender for the Tests honour. "My heart is racing. I honestly thought Smudge (Smith) had a terrific year and he would have taken this out," Warner said on stage at the Allan Border Medal event.
Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja reduced Australia's victory target to 131 runs with nine wickets in hand at the end of the fourth day of the second Test against New Zealand at Hagley Oval on Tuesday.
Australia have chosen the experience of Peter Siddle over the potential of the uncapped Joe Mennie as their third seamer for the opening Test against South Africa, which starts on Thursday.
Joe Burns and Steve Smith capitalised on perfect batting conditions to score centuries as Australia reduced New Zealand's lead to just seven runs at the end of day two of the second test on Sunday. Neil Wagner dismissed both batsmen in identical fashion in the final half-hour to give his side some late reward for a day of toil under a cloudless Christchurch sky. Burns, who had been dismissed early in his innings only to have the decision overturned on review, was well caught low down by Martin Guptill at square leg for 170, his highest test score and third century. Smith also fell to a short ball in Wagner's next over for 138, his 14th test century, caught by the same fielder. Adam Voges was on two with nightwatchman Nathan Lyon on four as the visitors ended the day 363 for four, having all but mowed down New Zealand's first innings 370.
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.
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.
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'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.
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.
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.
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