South Africa beat Australia by five wickets to win World Test Championship
IMAGES from Day 1 of the WTC Final between Australia and South Africa at Lord's on Wednesday
IMAGES from the Group B Champions Trophy match between Australia and England in Lahore on Saturday
Captain Pat Cummins reflected on the significance of this Christmas gathering, highlighting the strong bond within the Australian cricket team.
Australia wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey was mesmerized by the way young opener Sam Konstas scored an audacious half-century in the Boxing Day Test against India, but insisted that it was unlikely to become a "blueprint" for future matches.
Australia's winning streak in day-night Tests was ended in January by the West Indies, who won a cliffhanger by eight runs at the Gabba.
They will meet the winner of Wednesday's second semi-final between South Africa and New Zealand in the final in Dubai on Sunday.
Jasprit Bumrah dismantled Australia's batting in both innings with eight wickets in the match to bowl India to a huge 295-run victory in the first Test in Perth.
Australia and South Africa, two teams renowned for their batting prowess, will go head-to-head in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, aiming to secure a place in the Champions Trophy semifinals.
Spinners Dunith Wellalage (3-42) and Maheesh Theekshana (2-26) kept Sri Lanka in the hunt but Dasun Shanaka's side were left to rue a limp performance with the bat.
The 30-year-old will now have the chance to soak up a first Test in front of family and friends as Australia look to push for a 2-0 series lead.
Australia bowled out Sri Lanka for 231 in the hosts' second innings and then chased down the target of 75 losing the lone wicket of opener Travis Head.
Young spin-bowling all-rounder Cooper Connolly will replace injured Matthew Short in the Australian squad for the knock-out stages of the ongoing Champions Trophy.
Dimuth Karunaratne's Test career ended in a whimper as Sri Lanka's most prolific Test opener fell caught behind to Kuhnemann after making 14.
Usman Khawaja's marathon 160 and Alex Carey's career-best 93 helped Australia rack up 505 for eight against Pakistan on Day 2 of the second Test in Karachi on Sunday.
Josh Inglis smashed a maiden ODI century (120 not out) to lead Australia to a thrilling five-wicket victory over England in a high-scoring Champions Trophy match.
Alex Carey is content being Australia's preferred white-ball wicketkeeper but hopes to be 'good enough' one day to break into the Test squad. His limited-overs duty has somewhat restricted his first class experience and Carey said shifting from one format to another was not easy.
In the bowling rankings, Keshav Maharaj and Matt Henry have broken into the top five
'It was a test of character, a true pressure situation, and you responded with a phenomenal team performance.'
Australia, without a number of key players who skipped the tour, were thrashed 4-1 in the T20 series by the Caribbeans.
Sri Lanka are still 518 runs behind and will need a Herculean effort to avoid the follow-on even though more rain is forecast for Saturday.
Australia, who have already secured their place in the final of the World Test Championship against South Africa, won the opening Test, also in Galle, by an innings and 242 runs.
IMAGES from the 2nd ODI played between England and Australia at the Headingley Cricket Ground, Leeds, Britain, on Saturday.
At Stumps on Day 3, the visitors are struggling at 51/4 with right-hand batter KL Rahul (33*) and team skipper Rohit Sharma (0*) unbeaten at the crease.
Both Pant, who played a key role in India's series victory last time, and Carey are known for their aggressive brand of cricket.
With recent matches indicating that chasing teams have fared slightly better, the toss-winning captain may opt to bowl first.
The Indian batters' inability to grind it out against a relentless Australian pace attack in testing conditions left the team precariously placed at 51/4 at the end of a rain-marred day three.
Images from Day 4 of the fourth Test between Australia and India at the MCG on Sunday.
Former Australia wicket-keeping great Ian Healy has questioned the tactical acumen of Cooper Connolly, saying he was "angry" with the way the opener handled India's pace spearhead Mohammed Shami in the Champions Trophy semi-final in Dubai.
Starc's withdrawal comes after pace stalwarts Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood were ruled out due to injuries.
According to current regulations, the ball used in women's cricket is fractionally smaller and lighter than that used in the men's game.
A miscommunication between Maxwell and Carey sent the latter back to the pavilion as the wicketkeeper-batsman fell short of his crease. India got the crucial wicket after the duo added 52 runs for the sixth wicket.
Alex Carey has yet to play a Test match. Indeed, he has played many fewer matches with a red ball than he has with white and made his name in the T20 Big Bash League. But the 27-year-old left-hander is proving to be mature, adaptable and dependable for side.
Rahul played a scintillating knock of 77, with some eye-catching drives and peak Test match batting, before getting out to Mitchell Starc in the first session on Day 3.
Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka led by example and smashed a belligerent hundred to set up a 49-run victory over a depleted Australia.
Pat Cummins said it's tough to repose full "confidence" on ultra-edge technology but maintained that India batter Yashasvi Jaiswal had clearly edged him
Australian captain Pat Cummins expressed disappointment over the rain interruptions that prevented a decisive result.
The captain, who had switched positions to number six, once again fell prey to Pat Cummins, edging a delivery to Alex Carey for just 10 off 27 balls in another unconvincing innings.
Pat Cummins will captain Australia at the Champions Trophy after being named in a preliminary 15-man squad also featuring fellow quick Josh Hazlewood on Tuesday.
It was a frustrating day for the loyal crowd of 16,180 but perhaps more so for the home team, whose chances of forcing a result were progressively eroded.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances