Wicketkeeper-batsman Naman Ojha has been named in the squad for India's Test tour of Australia for just one match. He will return after the opening game at Brisbane.
The selection of opener Cameron Bancroft, wicketkeeper Tim Paine and number six Shaun Marsh all looked to have backfired early in the series-opener but all three finished strongly in Brisbane to help Australia to victory and boost their confidence ahead of the second test in Adelaide starting on Saturday.
Australia fast bowler James Pattinson is recovering from his back injury ahead of schedule and is targeting the third Test in Perth in a boost for the hosts' hopes of wresting the Ashes back from England.
'To a person, full member countries and their CEOs stated their absolute support of Test cricket being played under lights'
Jhye Richardson will replace injured paceman Josh Hazlewood but opener David Warner has been cleared to play against England in the second day-night Ashes Test.
Australia's top players have swapped traditional white cricket clothing for Army greens as they step up their preparations for the Ashes series.
Australia's World Cup squad will stop at Gallipoli in Turkey on the way to England to draw inspiration at the World War One battle site where thousands of Australian soldiers died in the ill-fated campaign.
Australia coach Darren Lehmann will have a 'private chat' with Usman Khawaja after the top order batsman publicly criticised selectors for dropping him during the Sri Lanka tour. Khawaja and opener Joe Burns were omitted for the third and final test in Colombo, which Australia lost to slump to a 3-0 series whitewash. Although both the Queenslanders struggled for runs, Khawaja told local media over the weekend he felt they were unfairly singled out.
Ireland's win against England threw the Super 12s wide open and issued a warning to the cricket powers who have largely snubbed them in competition.
Legends Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Matthew Hayden will return to the field to launch the 2009-10 season in an All Star Twenty20 match at the Gabba in Brisbane, Cricket Australia and the Australia Cricketers' Association announced on Wednesday.
The Australian all-rounder will be given more time to prove his fitness to play in the first Test against England.
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is under pressure to produce a pitch that delivers a fairer contest between bat and ball in the Boxing Day Test
India and Australia might be sworn enemies on the cricket field but the two nations have been united in mourning the shocking death of Phillip Hughes.
Usman Khawaja found his scoring touch and fast bowler Mitchell Starc returned to his fiery best as Australia moved within sight of victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka at the Manuka Oval on Sunday.
Australia fought back with two late wickets to restrict England to 196 for four and leave the Ashes series-opener in Brisbane delicately poised on Thursday after the tourists' unheralded batsmen threatened to dominate an intriguing first day.
Up-and-coming Karnataka batsman Lokesh Rahul and Uttar Pradesh leg-spinner Karn Sharma were named in India's 19-man Test squad for the tour of Australia, which was announced after the selection committee of the Board for Control of Cricket in India met in Mumbai on Monday morning. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni will miss the opening Test, from December 4, at the Gabba in Brisbane, because of an injury and Virat Kohli will stand in for him.
Simon Katich stayed unbeaten on a well made 67 even though he felt short of partners during Australia's second innings in the first Test against New Zealand at Brisbane on Friday. Australian batsmen struggled to stay at the wicket for long as they ended day two at a score of 131 for the loss of six wickets, scoring at an average of 3.44 runs per over.
18-year-old opener Kumar Sarna has been named in the team that will take on Pakistan Under-19 in a five-ODI series.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Smith's selection was mostly influenced by Australia's emphasis on having bowling options in their top six.
Steve Smith and David Warner's first batting partnership on home soil since their ball-tampering suspensions helped Australia to a series-sealing nine-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in Brisbane.
Australia finally got back to winning ways 18 days before the start of the Ashes with a comprehensive eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the third One-Day International in Brisbane on Sunday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday night left for Australia on the second leg of his three-nation tour during which he will attend the annual summit of the Group of 20 of the world's developed and emerging economies.
Former Australia captain Richie Benaud, the voice of cricket for millions of television viewers, has been injured in a car accident and will remain in hospital for the next few days, Channel Nine said on Thursday.
Factbox on Saturday's World Cup match between Australia and Bangladesh.
India have tasted a lot of success recently in Australia including back-to-back Test series wins and veteran spinner Ashwin said the team will draw confidence from that.
Langer said Smith and Warner's experience made them natural authority figures and that their leadership would be 'crucial' for success on and off the field.
Naman Ojha and Ambati Rayudu hit unbeaten centuries each to rescue India A to 285 for five in their second innings on the fourth and final day as the unofficial Test match against Australia A ended in a draw at Allan Border Field in Brisbane.
Since being dropped by his Indian Premier League side Sunrisers Hyderabad in September, 35-year-old Warner rebounded to take Player of the Tournament honours during Australia's T20 World Cup triumph. He now sits third on the runs list in the ongoing Ashes series, with 240 at an average of 60.
Madhya Pradesh wicketkeeper-batsman Naman ojha is "not surprised" by his inclusion in India's 19-member Test squad for the tour of Australia. After all, he's been in his stupendous form with the bat in the past 12 months.
Australia captain Steve Smith was fined 60 perc ent of his match fee for a slow over rate in his first Test as skipper in a four-wicket victory in the second Test against India in Brisbane.
Australia will be without five players for next week's first Test against New Zealand after they failed to overcome injuries, Cricket Australia said, on Friday.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 2nd Ashes Test played in Adelaide on Thursday.
Erskine said he had told Warner to keep quiet so that everyone could move on from the scandal.
Factbox on the four-Test series between India and Australia, which starts at Pune on Thursday:
Lyon is confident that there will be a result with two days left in the game.
The itinerary for the Indian cricket team's 82-day tour of Australia.
Usman Khawaja hit a mammoth 171 and Shaun Marsh approached his sixth Test century as Australia eased 133 runs ahead of England on 479 for four after the third day of the fifth Ashes Test on Saturday.
Publicly labelled 'soft' by former Test bowler Shane Warne only a few months ago, paceman Mitchell Starc has come of age.
Explosive opening batsman David Warner is set to earn his first Test cap after he was named in the Australia squad, on Saturday, to face New Zealand in the first Test starting at the Gabba in Brisbane, on Thursday.
