Australia's number 11 Ashton Agar made an astonishing record 98 on debut as the tourists seized control of the first Ashes Test against England on a wildly fluctuating second day at Trent Bridge on Thursday.
Day one of the third Ashes Test saw fortunes fluctuate. But it was Australia captain, Michael Clarke, who had the privilege of ending the day on a high after hitting a superb century to put Australia on top on Thursday.
Australia should focus on the form of Steve Smith and Brad Haddin rather than blame Shane Watson for their first Ashes Test defeat, according to former England batsman Kevin Pietersen.
Australia face a selection headache with Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland and Josh Hazlewood vying for two slots in the pace attack.
A revitalised England gave notice they would not be giving up the Ashes without a fight and reduced Australia to 220 for five at tea on a sweltering opening day of the third Test at the WACA on Friday.
If Labuschagne's pride was wounded, the 27-year-old hid it well when asked about the snub in Brisbane on Friday.
Australia's phoenix-like rise from Ashes oblivion at Perth teased a grateful nation with the smell of English blood and will draw a big crowd to Melbourne's sporting coliseum when the fourth Test starts on Sunday.
"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.
Australia named five fast bowlers in a 13-man squad for next week's first Ashes Test against England.
Following Chris Silverwood's exit, England are now on the hunt for their third head coach since 2019
Pat Cummins is looking at the upcoming five-Test series against India as a chance to 'make amends' for the successive defeats at home against their fierce rivals.
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
'People tell me you know when you know and I felt like this is the right time'
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.
Rain denied England's batsmen a chance to inflict further misery on Australia A's hapless bowlers, washing out the entire second day's play in the four-day Ashes tour match in Hobart on Thursday.
Brendon McCullum wants James Anderson and Stuart Broad to be in his Ashes squad
Images from the second day's play of the fifth Ashes Test between Australia and England at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Saturday.
Images from Day 2 of the second Ashes Test between Australia and England in London, on Thursday.
Ben Stokes played another magnificent innings, but the England skipper wasn't able to finish the job as Australian won the second Ashes Test at Lord's.
Labuschagne said he is focused on winning matches for Australia, not on convincing anyone about his return to form.
Hobart will stage the fifth Ashes Test between Australia and England in place of Perth, which was stripped of the hosting rights on Monday because of Western Australia border controls, Cricket Australia said on Saturday.
With Green out with injury, Bancroft's chances have brightened.
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.
Stuart Broad and Moeen Ali led England's charge to a 169-run victory over Australia with a day to spare in the first Test in Cardiff, on Saturday to make a flying start in their bid to regain the Ashes
Former Australia Test skipper Tim Paine reckons England lack the depth to go toe to toe with Pat Cummins and Co in the ongoing Ashes series.
England's style validated despite defeat to Australia, says McCullum
England skittled out shell-shocked Australia for 60 and piled up 274 for four in reply to take control of the fourth Ashes Test on a dramatic first day at Trent Bridge on Thursday.
Mitchell Johnson's seven-wicket haul skittled England for 172 and put Australia in complete control.
Joe Root has yet to score a century in Australia and in his two previous away Ashes series averages 38 from nine Tests.
Monty Panesar is hoping a change of county will help his chances of gaining selection for England's Ashes tour to Australia later in the year.
India's assistant coach also Ryan ten Doeschate also lauded Starc for his excellent display with the pink ball.
Cameron Green's injury could open up the door for Cameron Bancroft's Test recall in the marquee Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India next month.
The retirements of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer have added an emotional incentive to Australia's bid to win the fifth Ashes Test against England.
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.
Images from Day 5 of the 3rd Ashes Test played at the WACA in Perth on Monday
Former Australia captains Allan Border, Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh will join a review panel charged with finding ways to make the national team more competitive following their humbling Ashes defeat to bitter rivals England.
"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.
CA said it had built quarantine periods for touring squads into the schedule but it is unlikely at this stage that England fans will be able to travel
Chris Rogers struck a sparkling century to fire Australia to a dominant eight-wicket win in the fourth Ashes Test on Sunday, leaving an insipid England staring down the barrel of a humiliating series whitewash.
The southpaw became the first to score a hundred in a session at the Gabba, propelling Australia to a 196-run lead over England.
