Pat Cummins will not play the third Test against India in Indore starting March 1
With their backs to the wall after conceding a big first innings lead, the top-order faltered again as India 'A' scored 265 for 6 against Australia 'A' by the end of third day's play in the second unofficial 'Test', in Chennai, on Friday.
Australia will want to steer clear of another defeat at the hands of India when the teams lock horns in the 4th ODI in Bengaluru, so it will only be prudent if they bring in Faulkner for the faltering Richardson and give Agar the boot, says Norma Godinho.
Batting first after losing the toss, Sri Lanka started sluggishly and were reduced to 51-4 at the halfway mark of their innings after Richardson claimed two early wickets.
The two teams last met in the ODI World Cup in 2023. It was in Mumbai where Glenn Maxwell had played a once-in-a-generation knock to notch up a sensational double hundred while battling cramps all over his body, with Pat Cummins in tow who provided sturdy support from the other end.
Australia's opener Matt Renshaw tests positive for COVID-19, will feature in Sydney Test against South Africa
Cummins said the injury was "nothing major at all."
Speculation is rife over who would lead Australia should Finch fail to regain his fitness.
Australia will aim to secure a Super Eight berth when they face lower-ranked Namibia
Will Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa both play the 1st ODI in Chennai on Sunday?
Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah found his mojo as India got back to winning ways with a morale-lifting 13-run triumph over Australia in the third and final ODI in Canberra on Wednesday, salvaging some of the lost pride in a 1-2 series defeat.
Tanveer Sangha, the son of Indian immigrants, shot into the World Cup selection frame with a stellar, four-wicket debut for Australia.
The Indian team, set to play the second Test against Australia from Friday, had to switch hotels in New Delhi.
Australia eased to a six-wicket victory against Sri Lanka in the fourth Twenty20 international in Melbourne on Friday, barely needing to shift out of first gear as they heaped misery on the tourists who have yet to register a win in the five-game series.
Australia fast bowler Jackson Bird is returning home for treatment on a lower back injury, Cricket Australia said on Thursday.
India go into the game 0-1 down after Australia registered a 10-wicket win in the lung-opener at Mumbai
Australia on Tuesday named Steve Smith and David Warner in their Twenty20 squad for home series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan as selectors firm up plans for next year's World Cup on home soil.
A disappointed Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa feels he may need to look beyond revival of his red ball career after being ignored for the four-Test series in India.
Smith said he did not regard his injury as a major issue.
Australia 'A' batsmen again showed their prowess in tackling spin on a difficult track as they comfortably beat India by three wickets to enter the final of the tri-series tournament, in Chennai, on Monday.
Glenn Maxwell and Steve Smith struck half-centuries as Australia beat Sri Lanka by two wickets in a thrilling finish to the rain-affected first One-Day International on Tuesday for a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Singapore-born all-rounder Tim David has been named in Australia's Twenty20 World Cup squad, while leg spinner Mitchell Swepson was omitted, Cricket Australia said on Thursday.
Australian batter Usman Khawaja believes the 50-over format needs to be reduced to 40-overs-a-side game to make it more interesting in the wake of ever-growing popularity of T20 cricket.
Uncapped leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson , 23, joins lead spinner Nathan Lyon and left-arm orthodox Ashton Agar and Steve O'Keefe.
A washout in England-Namibia game in the same group will see Scotland go through.
Batting great Greg Chappell believes Australia can win the upcoming high-profile four-match Test series as India are "vulnerable" this time with injuries to key players like Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah.
Images from the third ODI between India and Australia in Chennai on Wednesday.
Aaron Finch has been dumped as Australia's captain in the shorTest form of the game and replaced by Test skipper Steve Smith just a month before the start of the World Twenty20.
Hardik Pandya's leadership skills and India's overall World Cup preparedness will be under focus
Australia warmed up for the limited-overs series against India in style by crushing Board President's (BP) XI by 103 runs in the lone practice match, in Chennai, on Tuesday.
Australian coach Darren Lehmann is reportedly considering playing reserve wicket-keeper Matthew Wade as a specialist batsman in the third Ashes Test at Old Trafford if he manages to make a good score in the tour game against county side Sussex, beginning on Friday.
'It was a surreal experience to represent the country. Thanks to everyone for your wishes. Looking forward for more challenges.'
Australia made heavy weather of a modest chase before beating Sri Lanka by three wickets in the second Twenty20 International on Wednesday to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Left arm quick Mitchell Starc will replace injured seamer Mitchell Johnson in Australia's lineup for the fourth and final dead rubber Test against India starting on Tuesday.
Skipper Matthew Wade led from the front with a sparkling century as Australia A cruised to a 108-run victory over South Africa A and maintained a clean slate in the tri-series cricket tournament, in Chennai, on Wednesday.
Australia at least on paper, can't be rated ahead of India and England during this edition of the tournament.
The skipper is also counting on the likes of part-time spinners Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith to pitch in the slow bowling department.
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.
Australia's left-arm spinner Ashton Agar on Friday said wrist spinners will have a big role to play in the five-match ODI series against India starting on Sunday.
Steve Smith will lead Australia against India in the upcoming three-match ODI series as regular captain Pat Cummins, who lost his mother recently, will not return for the white-ball contest.
