Having been the cricket world's unremitting bully-boy for nearly two decades, Australia was brought down to earth with an almighty thud on Sunday, losing the Ashes to old enemy England, and their number one status to boot.
Cricket Australia has confirmed it will use Dukes balls, which are used in England, instead of the locally produced Kookaburra brand for the second half of the domestic Sheffield Shield in a bid to better prepare for the away Ashes series next year. The balls behave differently through the air and off the pitch, with Australia's inability to play the moving ball seen as one of the reasons why they have failed to win an Ashes series in England since 2001.
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.
Australia reclaimed the Ashes by dismissing England's last five batsmen after lunch on Tuesday for a 150-run victory in the third Test to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
IMAGES from the women's T20I played between Australia and India, at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Friday.
'I had a break to prioritise my mental wellbeing and I got my finger sorted.'
Hazlewood makes the cut as Australia confirm WTC final squad
'Siraj is now getting flak from the same 'saints' of Australian cricket who once prided themselves on their on-field aggression.'
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.
At the grassroots level, CA reported an increase in registered participation in community cricket from 627,793 to 661,161, although there was a 3% drop in the number of junior cricketers.
India, who have returned victorious in both their previous Test assignments Down Under with identical margins of 2-1, will take on the world No.1 Australia in a five-Test series starting on November 22.
Both India and Australia will not play a warm-up game ahead of the final beginning at the Oval from June 7.
England's leading players could boycott the high-profile Ashes series against Australia, later this year, as they do not want to be confined to their hotel rooms close to four months due to strict quarantine rules in the country.
Australia might have thrashed England 5-0 in their previous Ashes contest Down Under but key batsman Steve Smith feels their arch-rivals in Test cricket would be a force to reckon with in the July-August return series in England.
Cricket Australia's hopes of staging the fifth Ashes Test in Perth appear in jeopardy, with the Western Australia (WA) state government reiterating its "very strict rules" on quarantine and restrictions on players' family members.
However, David Warner plans to continue playing white-ball cricket at least until the 2024 Twenty20 World Cup.
Images from the Day 3 of the 2nd Ashes Test played between Australia and England in Adelaide on Monday
Australia's dramatic turnaround to dominate England and win back the Ashes just months after a 3-0 series defeat to their traditional rivals has largely been attributed to the man (Darren Lehmann) they call "Boof".
The likes of Yashaswi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sarfaraz Khan, Nitish Reddy, Harshit Rana, Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna are on their maiden Test tour of Australia.
'I was rooting for you to break my record.'
England paceman James Anderson raised concerns about potentially 'dangerous' short-pitched bowling at the tourists' tail-enders during the first Ashes Test, but his captain Joe Root said the lower order would just need to learn to 'deal with it'.
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.
Images from Day One of the third Ashes Test between England and Australia at Old Trafford, in Manchester, on Thursday.
England and Australia are slated to lock horns against each other in the Ashes later this year. England would be squaring off against New Zealand and India in the longest format before the Ashes.
Ryan 'Ryno' Harris made a crucial contribution to Australian cricket at a critical time.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting backed Labuschagne to return to his best.
What we seek is a good contest between bat and ball and pitches that are likely to produce a result.
Under-pressure England batsman Kevin Pietersen stood tall on the opening day of the fourth Ashes Test against Australia on Thursday even as his teammates crumbled around him.
Not so long ago, the Australian cricketers would announce their arrival in London by telling everyone within earshot how easily they would win the Ashes. Not this time.
The documentary, which premieres on Prime Video this week, charts the success and failure of Cummins' team
Sunil Gavaskar called out the double standards of the Australian cricket pundits for their criticism of Mohammed Siraj's aggressive send-off to Travis Head.
England fast bowler Jofra Archer will play his first One-day International for 18 months in Thursday's clash with Australia at Trent Bridge, stand-in captain Harry Brook said on Wednesday.
England's Pope will play on after shoulder injury, coach says
Australia completed a dominant eight-wicket victory in the fourth Ashes Test before tea on day four, swatting away a toothless England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday to take a 4-0 lead in the five-Test series.
England paceman James Anderson will be rested for the first Ashes Test against Australia but he is fit to play, wicketkeeper Jos Buttler said.
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.
Paceman Mitchell Starc took pain-killing injections for his strained ankle to bowl through Australia's opening Ashes defeat in Cardiff but is confident he will be fit for the second match at Lord's, captain Michael Clarke has said.
Cricket Australia is negotiating with authorities and England's board over travel conditions and whether players' families can come.
Joe Root's decision to bat backfired on England, who were bowled out for just 147 on a rain-hit first day.
