Alastair Cook continued to defy Australia's bowlers with a clinical unbeaten 136 to help drive England to a first-innings lead of 72 with eight wickets in hand after second day of the second Ashes Test in Adelaide on Saturday.
'The actual three quicks of India out-bowled the three quicks of Australia. They were outstanding. It's a big, big risk that Australia are taking'
A defiant 155 not out by captain Chris Gayle helped West Indies take their overall lead to 296 with two second innings wickets left in the second Test against Australia in Adelaide on Monday.
Australian batsman Steve Smith feels skipper Michael Clarke has shown "unbelievable" courage in the wake of the tragic death of Phillip Hughes and played "beautifully" battling severe back pain to score a century on Day Two of the first Test against India.
Under-pressure Alastair Cook called on his demoralised England team to search their 'souls' after their second straight Ashes Test defeat to Australia on Monday, with the skipper among those conducting the deepest introspection.
'No one was able to beat South Africa but Pakistan have shown they are beatable'
'No more red ball... it doesn't swing, it doesn't do anything, goes soft after 25 overs. It has been pathetic for so long now. Except for the Dukes ball in England, it has been rubbish.'
Jadeja, who suffered a concussion during the first T20 international, also sustained a hamstring injury which ruled him out of the first Test.
The 30-year-old will now have the chance to soak up a first Test in front of family and friends as Australia look to push for a 2-0 series lead.
Factbox on the second Test between Australia and South Africa, which begins on Thursday.
The 50-year-old former Australia batsman opined that India have a potent bowling attack and if their batsmen cope with the bounce well, then the tourists could stage a comeback in the series.
Reader Himanshu Gupta sent us these pictures from Adelaide.
But the man known as "Gazza" to his team mates has become much more than a sum of his statistics, and seems to add a new string to his bow every season.
'I'm pretty sure all the fans across various teams are quite excited and looking forward to this tournament. And also as players (we) can't wait to get started.'
Nine months on from the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal, fans will turn up to Adelaide Oval as always, some having ducked out early from their workplaces in a city that loves the sport like few others.
England's Ben Stokes said the knee issue that hampered him in the Ashes opener was a flare-up of an older injury and the all-rounder is confident he can manage it going into the second match in Adelaide this week.
Dashing England batsman Kevin Pietersen named Kanpur's Green Park and Ahmedabad's Motera among the 10 worst stadiums where he has played cricket in all these years. Green Park and Motera does have company from other notable venues like Guyana and Manchester's Old Trafford to name a few. Pietersen also termed Gabba as the "11th worst ground" after being asked name 10 by his followers on Twitter. The other grounds that did not find favour with Pietersen are Chelmsford, Colwyn Bay, Canberra, Multan, Leicester and St Kitts. However he rated Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium as one of the 10 best venues that he has played cricket on.
IMAGES from the T20 World Cup semi-final match played between India and England in Adelaide on Thursday.
Joe Root and Ian Bell are the two candidates to replace Jonathan Trott at No 3 in the England batting order for this week's second Ashes Test in Adelaide, batting coach Graham Gooch said on Monday.
The two-wicket victory revived India's hopes of making it to the finals of the CB tri-series.
It turned out to be a lop-sided contest as India were thoroughly outplayed in both batting and bowling by a dominant England.
Sachin Tendulkar said he too was disappointed at India's humiliating loss against England in the T20 World Cup semi-final but urged the critics not to "judge" the side on the basis of one defeat.
Ashwin doesn't have the best record overseas -- in Australia alone he's got 27 wickets from 7 matches at an average of 48 and a best of 4 for 105.
Pacer Jhye Richardson picked up five wickets as Australia beat England by 275 runs in the day-night second Ashes Test at the Adelaide Oval on Monday to go 2-0 up in the five-match series.
Australia's stunning turnaround from Ashes joke to juggernaut in a few months has been the culmination of good, hard grind and paceman Mitchell Johnson finding himself in a supportive attack, according to captain Michael Clarke.
For someone who has experienced the dizziest of heights and endured the bleakest of lows in a topsy-turvy career, Mitchell Johnson's ability to torture England for a second straight Ashes Test propelled the paceman to a higher plain on Saturday.
Michael Clarke's stylish 148 on day two of the second Ashes Test against England on Friday was another glorious consummation of his love affair with Adelaide Oval, and moved his deputy Brad Haddin to rate him the world's best batsman.
England will not be "pointing fingers" after dropping three catches to let Australia off the hook on the opening day of the second Ashes Test and should be satisfied with five wickets on a lifeless pitch, spinner Graeme Swann said on Thursday.
Off-spinner Nathan Lyon is aiming for a five-wicket haul against a demoralised India as the fourth and final Test at the Adelaide Oval heads into the fifth day.
Bumrah removed Australia openers Joe Burns and Matthew Wade for eight runs apiece in quick succession before tea, however, and Ashwin (4-55) drove home the advantage after the break.
Photos of the fifth One Day International between Australia and England being played at Adelaide Oval.
Discussions over whether Australia will host England in a first day-night Ashes cricket Test next year are taking place but nothing has been decided yet, Cricket Australia (CA) said on Thursday. England head Down Under next November for the 2017-18 series and local media reported on Thursday that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had agreed in principle to play one of the matches under lights.
Stand-in skipper, Rahane's patient 112 paved the way for India taking a substantial 131-run first innings lead against Australia, who were reduced to 133 for six by the end of the third day's play on Monday.
Australia captain Michael Clarke is licking his lips at the prospect of seeing how much damage his confident pace attack can wreak on a teetering England when the teams clash in the third Ashes Test in Perth.
Both players had a forgettable outing at Brisbane as Australia went 1-0 up in the series.
Ricky Ponting advised star batters Virat Kohli and Steve Smith to stop trying hard to rediscover their best and pushing themselves too hard and just focus on watching the ball and scoring runs.
The Australia captain moved up to joint-third in the all-time ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen.
Pakistan have soaked up stories from the landmark 1992 Cricket World Cup final win over England in the lead up to Sunday's Twenty20 decider and hope to share their own tales of triumph in years to come, team mentor Matthew Hayden said on Friday.
England failed to make the inroads into the Australian batting order they needed after gambling on bowling first in the inaugural day-night Ashes Test on Saturday and the hosts reached the second break on 138 for two.
