The Australian ball-tampering scandal continues to ripple far beyond cricket circles, with captain Steve Smith portrayed as arch-villain in the sorry saga.
Seamer Morne Morkel claimed his 300th career wicket as South Africa edged ahead in the third Test on Friday when they reduced Australia to 245 for nine at the close on the second day, still 66 runs behind their hosts' first innings score at Newlands.
After condemning Steve Smith's conduct during the Cape Town Test on Sunday, Shane Warne struck a more supportive tone on Wednesday.
David Warner was out of sight but not out of mind through Sunrisers Hyderabad's journey to the final of the Indian Premier League last year, with the returning Australian saying he was part of their chat group, getting encouraging messages.
Australia remain optimistic about their Twenty20 World Cup campaign despite being shown up in all facets by India in the opening two matches of their current series. With Steve Smith leading an advanced party to New Zealand for the forthcoming ODI series, the Australians have made more changes to their XI, with Shane Watson to lead the side after skipper Aaron Finch suffered a hamstring injury in Friday night's second T20 defeat. In-form top-order batsman Usman Khawaja comes into the squad as Finch's replacement, and will likely open the batting alongside Shaun Marsh. Finch is awaiting scan results and the Australia camp is bullish he will be able to return before the start of the World Cup in India on March 8.
England captain Joe Root sought to draw a line under the litany of off-field incidents that have dogged the team throughout the Ashes on Wednesday, even as a senior player admitted they would continue to haunt the side during the third Test in Perth.
Virat Kohli's woeful form continued as India 'A' were shot out for a paltry 135 by Australia 'A' in the second unofficial 'Test' in Chennai on Wednesday.
'Everyone is different, every board is different, and the way they deal with certain issues'
Former Australia captain Steve Smith said he is desperate to recover lost ground ahead of next year's World Cup by competing in the IPL after being left so deflated by the ball-tampering scandal that getting out of bed became a struggle.
The prospect of a depleted Australia team struggling on home pitches against India in the coming summer could add further heat from broadcasters
Australia's hopes of winning back respect and moving on from a ball-tampering scandal that plunged the team into disgrace face their first test on Sunday when Tim Paine's rebuilding side meet Pakistan in the series-opener in Dubai.
A former pace bowler, James Sutherland helped turn the game into a commercial powerhouse in Australia's crowded sports market.
On the upcoming ODI series in India, Steve Waugh feels the home team starts favourites despite Australia winning the five-match series 12 months ago.
'There are lots of positives and messages that we can take out of it (the series) and it'll be good to get home, have a rest and think about it' 'A lot of us have to step up and take the slack, but I think Australia has got the talent, we just have to harness it properly and if we do we will be OK'
Ashish Nehra concedes that Steve Smith was wrong in orchestrating ball-tampering but it will be sad if the under-fire Australian captain is barred from participating in the Indian Premier League.
Factbox on the fifth Ashes Test match between Australia and England, which starts on Thursday:
England captain Joe Root's impatience to resume hostilities with Australia at Adelaide Oval after a week of off-field distractions was palpable on the eve of the first day-night Ashes Test on Friday.
With their backs to the wall after conceding a big first innings lead, the top-order faltered again as India 'A' scored 265 for 6 against Australia 'A' by the end of third day's play in the second unofficial 'Test', in Chennai, on Friday.
...it won't be a cakewalk Former England opener Mark Butcher says a series win in Australia will seal India's greatness
Despite his achievements with the bat, Virat Kohli has failed to achieve the success he craves as captain.
Battle commences at Edgbaston on Thursday and the last time Australia won there was the opening match of the 2001 series which they ended up dominating 4-1.
Dawid Malan hit an unbeaten century to lead England's superb fightback on Day 1 of the third Ashes Test against Australia in Perth on Thursday.
Smith, playing for the Toronto Nationals, showed few signs of rust in his 41-ball innings of 61, which included eight fours and a six, before being stumped and leaving the field to a standing ovation.
Some of the big moments of the sporting world from 2010-2019!
Factbox on major ball-tampering incidents in cricket
South Africa's Temba Bavuma was left stranded on 95 not out as they tightened their grip over scandal-hit Australia after reducing the hapless visitors to 110 for six at the close on the second day of the fourth and final Test on Saturday.
It was not long ago that Australia wicketkeeper Tim Paine was considering giving up the game entirely. Now he is set to captain the team as they look to pick up the pieces following the ball-tampering scandal.
Mitchell Marsh not only prevented Lahore Lions from making it to the semi-finals of the Champions League Twenty20, but also paved the way for Chennai Super Kings' entry into the last-four stage.
Images from Day 1 of the 5th and final opening Test between Australia and England at the SCG in Sydney on Thursday
'I don't think he (Karthik) will be under pressure. First and foremost thing will be to give guidance to this group. He has got a lot of experienced players around him, particularly in overseas group, and there's the likes of Piyush Chawala, Vinay Kumar and Robin Uthappa.'
Disgraced Australian cricketer Steve Smith will be much stronger mentally when he returns to international cricket after serving a one-year ban for his involvement in ball tampering, former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith said.
The disgraced Australian duo of Steve Smith and David Warner is not just staring at an ouster from IPL but is also also facing the prospect of missing the India series later this year, as speculations over a length ban for ball tampering gained credence.
Ponting compared the spell with the one England's Steve Harmison bowled during the famous 2005 Ashes series, in which he hit Australian openers Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer before leaving the former skipper with a bloodied cheek.
The 29-year-old, who got married this week, received a warm welcome from an unusually large crowd at the Glenn McGrath Oval and looked his usual twitchy self at the crease as he rattled off a half century in 62 balls.
The brand value of Indian Premier League will not get affected by the recent ball tampering scandal that rocked the cricketing world, feels Royal Challengers Bangalore wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel.
Virat Kohli continued his day job of mesmerising fans with a magical willow
Newly-appointed captain Tim Paine wants to prove that Australia have learned valuable lessons from the fall-out over the ball-tampering scandal and began the process on Friday by instructing his players to radically tone down their toxic sledging culture.
'The key for India winning this series will be the batsmen around Kohli.'
'When cricketers, coaches, captains, managers, franchise owners focus on the prize, they forget the process.' 'You can't win every game. Getting better is all about making mistakes.'
This was not the first time that Steve Smith and the Australian team resorted to unfair measures in a Test match to gain advantage over their opponents.
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