Less than two weeks after being dismissed as a "dud" Down Under, Joe Root finally shrugged the monkey off his back with a first Test century in Australia on Thursday to breathe life into England's Ashes campaign.
Harry Brook could be in contention to replace Ollie Pope as Ben Stokes' deputy when England travel to Australia this winter.
The pitch used for the India vs South Africa first Test at Eden Gardens in Kolkata in November has received a "satisfactory" rating from International Cricket Council.
Shubman Gill's form in the series is a concern for India as he has now gone six games without a half-century.
'He's a good competitor, he comes hard at you so it was good fun.'
Having hit Western Australia's golf links before being beaten by eight wickets in Perth, England's enthusiasts will have access to a selection of championship courses to play a round before a refreshing dip in the Pacific Ocean.
Australia Test captain Pat Cummins has set himself a tentative 4-6 week time to recover from a lumbar bone stress injury.
The Aussies also named a 14-player group for the first two T20I matches against India, with Nathan Ellis and Josh Inglis earning recalls after they missed the recent T20I series with South Africa.
Australia's Lyon angry at being dropped for second Ashes Test
Australia stormed to an eight-wicket victory in the second Ashes Test on Sunday to take a 2-0 series lead as England succumbed on day four to a pace blitz from unlikely hero Michael Neser.
Smith will lead the Aussies for the Ashes opener in Perth.
Starc also pointed out that the wicket did not assist pacers that much with the new ball and expressed concerns over Nathan Lyon's injury on the final day of the Test and the setback to Hazlewood.
Enjoyment is a huge part of why I'm still playing: Jonny Bairstow
England have not won the Ashes in Australia after losing the first Test since the 1950s but McCullum and Stokes will remain convinced they can turn the series around, just as they did against South Africa in 2022 when they won 2-1 after losing the opener at Lord's.
Ian Botham and Greg Chappell came together in Melbourne on Tuesday to announce celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of the first-ever Test between Australia and England.
Joe Root looks on course not only to break Sachin Tendulkar's century record in Tests but could also overtake his record run-scoring tally.
Green has so far played 29 matches in the IPL to aggregate 707 runs and take 16 wickets.
'He's a quality player, it was a matter of time for him to score.'
Bazball is in the firing line, with former players and pundits decrying the high-risk game on Australia's spicy pitches.
Starc further commented that Doggett could handle the pressure of the Ashes series, as he seemed to be the third pacer in Australia's attack.
'We just need to chisel away at some of the things we haven't got quite right and make sure that we still have that conviction of what we're trying to achieve.'
Starc eclipsed Pakistan legend Wasim Akram's tally of 414 wickets to become the most successful left-arm pacer in the longest format.
The T20 series is tied at 1-1 ahead of the fourth match on the Gold Coast on Thursday, with the series-opener in Canberra washed out by rain.
Australia captain Pat Cummins will be ready to return from injury for the third Ashes Test against England in Adelaide.
The Indian men ruled white-ball cricket, while South Africa ended decades of hurt by winning the World Test Championship at Lord's. Royal Challengers Bengaluru finally lifted their maiden IPL title, though the celebrations were dimmed by a deadly stampede. Above all, it was India's women who won a billion hearts by finally adding an ICC World Cup trophy to the cabinet.
'If opener is where I need to bat to be playing in the Test team, that's fine.'
England all-rounder Chris Woakes said rehabilitation is a risk he is willing to take to be fit for the Ashes rather than undergoing surgery on the shoulder injury he sustained during last week's fifth Test loss to India.
Travis Head smashed a blistering century at the top of the order to set up an eight-wicket win in the Ashes series opener in Perth.
'They are up their own backsides convinced that Test cricket has changed so much that only they know anything about the modern game.'
England opener Zak Crawley said Australia had shown why they were favourites coming into the Ashes after a tough day four at Adelaide Oval left the tourists staring down the barrel of a series defeat on Saturday.
Kasprowicz recalls being thanked "for saving Test cricket" for his Ashes 2005 Birmingham dismissal
The England players have come in for heavy criticism since Australia wrapped up an 82-run win in the third Test in Adelaide on Sunday to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series.
'To be able to take over or equal Glenn, or however you want to put it, it's pretty humbling to be honest with you, and it's something that I'll look back at the end of my career, or even tonight, and sit back and try and have a moment.'
The 35-year-old left-armer retires with 79 wickets from 65 T20Is, second on the all-time list for Australia, behind spinner Adam Zampa.
Shreyas Iyer will take centre stage for Punjab Kings at next week's IPL auction in Abu Dhabi, stepping in as the franchise's lead decision-maker at the table as PBKS plot their final moves for the 2026 season.
Australia pace spearhead Cummins to lead SRH for 3rd consecutive season in IPL
Mitchell Starc and Ben Stokes set the scene for a dramatic Ashes series.
Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan feels Australia all-rounder Cameron Green will attract strong interest from teams like Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings at Tuesday's Indian Premier League 2026 auction in Abu Dhabi.
Steve Smith said the decision to drop Nathan Lyonwas taken to strengthen the pace-bowling department.
England's Stokes praises Australia's Head, supports his own errant batters
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