Ahead of the Ashes, Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon urged his teammates to remain calm in the face of the 'Bazball' threat.
Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood claimed the Men's Test Player-of-the-Year award. It marked his first Australian Cricket Award, with Hazlewood taking 30 wickets at just 13.16 in Tests against the West Indies, New Zealand, and India.
World champions Australia will hope to round off one of the nation's most successful seasons in cricket with victory in a rare Test series in New Zealand starting at Wellington's Basin Reserve on Thursday.
Jonny Bairstow slammed four sixes as he helped England post 592 all out in their first innings on Day 3, their highest Ashes innings total on home soil since 1985, giving the hosts a first innings lead of 275.
The inaugural edition's winner Mumbai Indians will bank on their core group of players while two-time finalists Delhi Capitals will expect fireworks from Shafali Verma when they face-off in the second game of the Women's Premier League here on Saturday. The finalists of the first WPL in 2023, both Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals made it to the knockouts in the second edition last year but lost to the eventual champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the eliminator and the final respectively. Those defeats were certainly not reflective of how well MI and DC had fared until the knockouts stage, with Harmanpreet Kaur's side finishing second in the points table with five wins in eight matches and Meg Lanning's team topping it with six wins in as many outings. The winners of WPL 2023, Mumbai Indians tend to lean on their core group of players both overseas and Indian and a similar approach can be expected this year, with only a few changes taking place in terms of squad composition. India pacer Pooja Vastrakar, who was grappling with an unspecified injury, was ruled out of the competition and has been replaced by slow left-arm orthodox bowler Parunika Sisodia, who was one of the main performers in India's title-winning campaign in the U-19 Women's T20 World Cup recently. Mumbai Indians have let go of England's Issy Wong, who took the first-ever WPL hat-trick in 2023, after the player lost form and the franchise found the leader of their attack in South Africa's Shabnim Ismail. Among domestic talents, another member of the U-19 T20 World Cup winning squad G Kamalini would be one to watch out for, having finished as the third highest scorer in the competition with 143 runs in seven matches. Apart from a strong leader in Harmanpreet, MI have strong figures from other international sides such as Nat Sciver-Brunt (England), Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), as well as South Africans Nadine de Klerk, Shabnim Ismail and Chloe Tryon. While Yastika Bhatia is MI's No 1 wicketkeeper-batter, other Indian players in Saika Ishaque, Sajana Sajeevan, uncapped Akshita Maheshwari and Amanjot Kaur will be expected to play their roles to perfection. On their part, Delhi Capitals will be keen to do one better after finishing as runner-up for two times in a row ever since the competition began. One of the most consistent teams in the competition, the Lanning-led Delhi have strong talent base across departments but the key will be to deliver in crucial matches. All eyes will be on the explosive Indian batter Shafali who has responded to her exclusion from the Indian side with runs in domestic cricket. She forms a lethal opening pair with Lanning at the top, while the likes of Australia's Annabel Sutherland, England's Alice Capsey and India's Jemimah Rodrigues form the core of their middle order. All-rounder Sutherland will hope to draw inspiration from her recent success of having struck 163 in the only Test of the women's Ashes followed by winning the highest individual honour in Australian cricket. While Delhi boasts of three wicketkeeper-batters in India's Taniyaa Bhatia, Nandini Kashyap and Scotland's Sarah Bryce, their bowling looks settled with Marizanne Kapp as the leader of the attack, backed by Australia's Jess Jonassen, India's Radha Yadav and Shikha Pandey as well as Titas Sadhu.
"One stat stands out: 375,000 people coming through the gates in that Melbourne Test match, beating the record set 90 years ago of 350,000," Shastri said.
Rain can be an ally for England, says Stokes ahead of decisive fourth Ashes Test
Australia have brought back former captain Steve Waugh to help the squad prepare for the final stretch of the Ashes series against England as the tourists look to rebound from the painful third Test defeat at Headingley. Waugh had left the squad after the first two Tests as scheduled but has rejoined the group ahead of the fourth Test at Old Trafford, starting on Wednesday.
Ricky Ponting said Australia's Ashes whitewash over England was his sweetest moment since taking over the captaincy but insisted revenge was never a factor in his team's ruthless display.
Australia paceman Mitchell Starc is in doubt for the return Ashes series against England after suffering a stress fracture in his lower back.
Hazlewood has been replaced in the squad by Riley Meredith
Moeen made his Test debut in 2014 and played his last Test against India at the Oval in September 2021. He scored 2,914 runs in 64 Tests at an average of 28.29, and picked up 195 wickets with his off-spin.
Former India spinner R Ashwin has called for a shift away from the superstar culture prevalent in Indian cricket, urging for a more grounded approach.
Matthew Wade's defiant century proved in vain as England bowled Australia out for 263 to win the final Test at The Oval by 135 runs on Sunday and ensure the first drawn Ashes series since 1972.
Images from the 5th day's play of the 3rd Ashes Test played at the WACA in Perth on Tuesday.
Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen berated the England team for their performance on the first day of the second Test match of the Ashes.
'It is about finding ways to score runs and contribute to the side in as many games as I can.'
England will not change their attacking philosophy in the second Ashes Test against Australia at Lord's this week.
In a setback for England, Moeen Ali was penalised for applying spray on his finger towards the end of day two.
Usman Khawaja will replace Travis Head in Australia's middle order for this week's fourth Ashes Test against England in the only change to the side that wrapped up the series in Melbourne last week.
Hazlewood termed England batsman Joe Root as a 'class player' and said that the 28-year-old does not have any weakness in his game.
The fifth Test could be David Warner's final outing, says McGrath
Steve Smith made a brave unbeaten 78 to lift Australia to 287 for three on the first day of the fifth and final Test against England at The Oval on Thursday.
India won their seventh ICC trophy, while registering their third Champions Trophy triumph.
Labuschagne said he is focused on winning matches for Australia, not on convincing anyone about his return to form.
India wicketkeeper batter Richa Ghosh on Friday said playing as per merit of the ball and being judicious helped the hosts gain advantage over Australia in the ongoing one-off Test in Mumbai.
The Australian team spoke about the challenges of playing in India.
On Wednesday, Australia selector Tony Dodemaide refused to comment on Warner's Test future.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting is confident his team is heading in the right direction to win back the Ashes from England later this year.
Former West Indies batsman Chris Gayle has come out in support of Virat Kohli, who has been struggling for runs in recent times, saying the Indian batter is still the "best player in the world". Gayle said that Kohli's current form is just a "patch" and that the Indian captain will "pick himself up" and come back stronger.
'I know we've got a big series but we can worry about that in a couple days' time. You only get a few of these moments in your career where you can sit back, acknowledge a pretty special achievement and that's one of these times.'
"I will be walking out with you to bat at the MCG," R Ashwin told Virat Kohli in a short note on X Friday, a subtle and endearing demonstration of their closeness in the team.
Pat Cummins has never been part of a victorious Test series campaign against India, and the Australian captain wants to erase that blemish from his CV
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.
Australia retained the urn after rain washed out the final day of the fourth Test at Old Trafford, leaving England trailing 2-1 in the series.
India's assistant coach also Ryan ten Doeschate also lauded Starc for his excellent display with the pink ball.
Warner's place looked uncertain after his double failure in the third Test at Headingley where the opener managed a total of five runs and fell to Stuart Broad in both innings.
England captain Ben Stokes suffered a left hamstring injury during the third Test against New Zealand in Hamilton on Monday and will not field again for the remainder of the match, the team said.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the second ODI against England on Sunday?
AB de Villiers feels the criticism that has come South Africa's way is unwarranted and they have rather done well to reach the WTC final despite experiencing "so many changes" in the last three to five years.
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