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.
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.
Rediff.com has the best sports images from the events in the week gone by snapped right here...
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.
The Lions from South Africa will look ride on the performance of their captain Alviro Petersen to guide them to a better finish.
England have edge in first Ashes Test.
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.
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.
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.
New Zealand's cricket team have run a gamut of emotions this week after they slumped to a heavy first Test loss to Australia then won three awards at their country's premier sports awards on Thursday.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Australia returned to the top of the Test world rankings on Wednesday after Steve Smith and Adam Voges steered the tourists to victory in the second Test against New Zealand to seal a comprehensive 2-0 series win.
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.
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.
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.
Steve Smith continued his sizzling form with an unbeaten century as Australia laid a strong foundation on the first day of the second Test .
Joe Burns is determined to avoid membership of the burgeoning club of Australian batsmen who have made brief cameos.
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.
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.
Be ready to be amazed as Rediff.com encapsulates all the sporting action from the past week in this super photo feature.
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.
Adam Voges and Shaun Marsh drove Australia to within 74 runs of a series-winning victory at the dinner-break in the third and final Test in Adelaide on Sunday after New Zealand's pacemen captured three early wickets.
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.
Paceman James Pattinson took five for 27 to fire Australia to a thumping innings and 121-run victory with more than two days to spare in the first Test against West Indies in Hobart on Saturday.
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 bundled out England for a paltry 103 in their second innings to win the second Test match at Lord's on Sunday by a massive margin of 405 runs on the fourth day.
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.
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.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances