Australia's blockbuster four-Test series against India will be the greatest challenge Pat Cummins has faced in his young captaincy as he looks to conquer the "final frontier".
India started well as opener Shikhar Dhawan scored 79 from 84 balls and former captain Virat Kohli 51 from 63, but when they were dismissed the touring side struggled to keep up with the required run-rate and finished on 265 for eight.
Heinrich Klaasen smashed an unbeaten century as South Africa claimed a 74-run victory over Australia in their first one-dayer played on a slow Boland Park wicket on Saturday. After winning the toss, South Africa overcame an early wobble to post 291 for seven in their 50 overs, a total boosted by the maiden ODI ton from middle-order batsman Klaasen, who crashed 123 from 114 balls. Australia were up with the run-rate for much of their reply, but South Africa then strangled the scoring with intelligent use of the slow pitch as the visitors slumped to 217 all out from 45.1 overs.
'I grew up watching Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, those guys winning Ashes series. It felt a million miles away from me playing cricket in the backyard and here I am a decade later in this position.'
IMAGES from Day 5 of the 4th Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday
Among his many achievements, his 49 ODI centuries stand out as a testament to his mastery of the format.
Images from the first One-Day International between South Africa and India, in Paarl, on Wednesday.
'It's a tough gig, opening in Test cricket, but we're really confident Marcus has got what it takes to be a successful Australian opening batsman.'
A sixth bowler, preferably seam or pace option, has been India's major headache for past two and half years due to Pandya's injury and now the team management is "excited" looking at what Venkatesh brings to the table with his multiple skill-sets.
I'm against the whole resting rule. I don't like bowlers resting: Brett Lee
Images from the second One-Day International between South Africa and India, in Paarl, on Friday.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 3rd Ashes Test played in Melbourne on Sunday.
A fragile middle-order and lack of wickets in the middle overs are obvious areas of improvement needed for the Indian team, skipper K L Rahul admitted after an embarrassing ODI series defeat against South Africa in Paarl on Friday.
'We are all servants of the game, but sometimes when milestone are reached, we are recognised, which is really nice.'
England will lock horns with South Africa in the T20I series slated to begin on November 27. The second T20I will be played on November 29 at Boland Park where Malan made his first-class debut in 2006.
Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews was badly shaken on Wednesday after a bouncer smashed into his helmet during a match against Australia and broke a protective strap designed to safeguard the back of his skull. Play was stopped for several minutes while Mathews recovered from the impact of the ball from fast bowler Scott Boland which evoked memories of the on-field death of the Australian batsman Phillip Hughes in 2014.
The Indian team's strategy is expected to undergo paradigm shift with some players getting a subtle yet stern message to lift their games as they face an embarrassing possibility of a clean sweep against South Africa in the third ODI, in Cape Town on Sunday.
Hazlewood to miss out again as Australia announce unchanged playing XI for final Test
Australia qualified for the final of the triangular one-day international series (ODI) with a six-wicket win over West Indies in Barbados on Tuesday.
While India and South Africa have identical points (120) against their name, India are placed second on the basis of decimal points.
Spinner Nathan Lyon, top order batsman Usman Khawaja and all-rounder Moises Henriques have been omitted after being selected in the squad that defeated Sri Lanka 4-1 away
Cyber espionage operations dated back to at least 2005
Brendon McCullum's final one-day international innings ended as spectacularly as it began when the New Zealand captain was dismissed for 47 in the series finale against Australia in Hamilton on Monday.
Shane Watson's international future looked bleak on Monday after the all-rounder was left out of Australia's 13-man squad for this month's one-day series against India on Monday.
The Indians have instead, as per CSA, opted for training sessions on those days.
Australia fast bowler John Hastings has been withdrawn from a one-day tri-series against West Indies and South Africa in the Caribbean after undergoing surgery on his ankle.
Uncapped pacemen Joel Paris and Scott Boland will make their international debuts for Australia in the first one-day match against India in Perth on Tuesday.
Ajinkya Rahane steered Rising Pune Supergiants home with an unbeaten half-century as the visitors outclassed Delhi Daredevils by seven wickets to keep their hopes alive, in the Indian Premier League in Delhi, on Thursday.
Shane Watson also named in T20 squad to be captained by Aaron Finch
Sri Lanka collapsed to their lowest one-day score of 43 on Wednesday when they lost by 258 runs to South Africa in the first one-day international at Boland Park.
Australia called up uncapped paceman Nathan Coulter-Nile for the first Test against West Indies on Tuesday as a replacement for left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc, who was ruled out of the series due to a broken foot.
Bollywood actress and IPL Kings XI Punjab team co-owner, Preity Zinta, has been confirmed as the owner of the Stellenbosch franchise team in the South African T20 Global League.
Opener Glenn Maxwell fired a blistering 145 not out as Australia posted a world record 263 against a hapless Sri Lankan attack in the first Twenty20 international in Pallekele on Tuesday. Maxwell struck 14 fours and nine sixes during his 65-ball stay to help Australia break a nine-year record held by Sri Lanka, who scored 260/6 against Kenya in 2007. Skipper David Warner gave the visitors a fiery start with his 28 runs off 12 balls as he put on a 57-run opening partnership with Maxwell to lay a solid foundation.
Mumbai Indians assistant coach Praveen Amre on the challenge of the second Indian Premier League season and his team's chances.
South Africa opener Quinton de Kock hit a masterful 178 runs in a comfortable six-wicket victory over top-ranked Australia on Friday in the first one-day international of the five-match series. After Australia posted 294 for nine in their innings, South Africa reached their victory target with more than 13 overs remaining.
Australia's rookie pacer Joel Paris is set to don Glenn McGrath's No.11 jersey when he makes his likely international debut in the first cricket ODI against India on January 12.
AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn make their long-awaited return to the South Africa Test squad for the day-night four-day Test match against Zimbabwe to be played at St. George's Park, Port Elizabeth, from December 26 to 29.
The hard-hitting 27-year-old becomes the fifth Australia player to leave the Indian Twenty20 tournament early following the departures of captain Steve Smith, John Hastings and Mitchell and Shaun Marsh
Australia batsman Usman Khawaja is likely to replace injured Kevin Pietersen in the squad of Rising Pune Supergiants in season 9 of Indian Premier League. Pietersen was ruled out of the IPL on Sunday, leaving the subcontinent with a hole in his calf muscle and in Pune's batting order. If picked, this will be Khawaja's maiden IPL stint. The left-handed top-order batsman had gone unsold at IPL auctions in February despite scoring heavily in Australia's domestic circuit. Pune have not named a replacement for KP, but Khawaja is the one of the frontrunners, according to Supergiants coach Stephen Fleming. "He (Khawaja) is a guy we are surely looking at," Fleming said after the two-wicket loss to Kolkata on Sunday.
Not only is this hidden from the user, it's often unrelated to the app's purpose.
