Australian attempts at mind games ahead of the test series against South Africa were at worst irrelevant and at best a motivation to the tourists, captain Graeme Smith said on Thursday.
'Virat has been helping me a lot on different occasions'
David Warner failed to take field against India in the ongoing Boxing Day cricket Test after the Australian opener suffered a nasty blow on his right forearm at the MCG nets.
When he had Jonny Bairstow (5) caught behind on the second day of the third Test at Edgbaston, the 33-year-old reached the milestone, in what is his 69th Test.
Australia fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile could miss the Ashes series against England after breaking down with another back injury.
Pace bowler Billy , who stands 2.04 metres tall and has been in fine form in the Big Bash League (BBL) for the Adelaide Strikers, is likely to make his debut if Australia opt to play three pacemen at the Gabba.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) today thanked Cricket Australia (CA) for their rapid and effective response to deal with the racist remarks made by former Australian Test player Greg Ritchie, on the first day of the Brisbane Test match at the Gabba last week.
Australia have added left-handed batsman Rob Quiney to their squad as cover for all-rounder Shane Watson for the first test against South Africa.
Fresh from his impressive debut at the Gabba in the second cricket match against India, Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood has advised young Joe Burns, who is set to play his first Test at the MCG on Boxing Day, to keep things simple.
Mitchell Starc claimed his second hat-trick of the match to lead New South Wales to a 171-run victory over Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield on Tuesday.
Smith stood down from his post as captain and was banned for one Test match by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Sunday after admitting conspiring to tamper with the ball during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town.
Stuart Broad saw the funny side of things after being struck by a stray golf ball during a day off at the Brisbane Golf Club on Monday as his team eased fears that it would affect his Ashes preparation.
'There is pent-up demand for cricket after last year when no tournaments were played on Indian soil due to the pandemic.'
South Africa battled through an uncomfortable day at the Gabba to reach 166 for five and earn a draw in the first Test against Australia, who declared on 565-5 half-way through Tuesday's first session to try and force a result. Australia captain Michael Clarke, who scored 259 not out, declared with a first innings lead of 115 over South Africa's 450, but his bowlers were unable to claim enough wickets to force a result in a Test which lost a whole day to rain.
"This will probably be the biggest World Cup, so there will be great expectations and I know we will do very well for the people of the West Indies," he added.
Images from the opening day of the second Test between Australia and Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval on Friday.
Shami said the success of the current group boils down to the joy they share in each other's success.
Australia's pace spearhead Mitchell Starc has been under fire for his lacklustre form during the home summer.
Photographs of the Day 4 play of the second Test between India and Australia being played in Brisbane.
Australia coach Darren Lehmann has no plans to meet Andy Flower to defuse any lingering tension from the spiteful first Ashes Test in Brisbane and says the England team director needs to worry about his own players rather than his opponents.
New Zealand's hopes of recording their first victory over Australia in almost 20 years have been boosted after a raft of injuries forced their trans-Tasman neighbours to pick a rookie trio of pace bowlers and an opener untried in Test cricket.
'I do work on my batting in the nets. We wait for these moments, these opportunities, to contribute with the bat.'
'...there is a process I like to follow. Sometimes you get out and sometimes it goes over the ropes. Unfortunate and sad dismissal in the end, to be honest. Like I said, those are my shots and I will keep playing them'
England pace bowler Jake Ball has sent an injury scare through his team in their Ashes run-up after injuring his ankle.
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.
Master batsman Steve Smith is consulting experts on how to get a better night's sleep before cricket matches.
England will be begin their defence of the Ashes in Brisbane in November next year in the first Test of a five-match series, the England and Wales Cricket Board and Cricket Australia said on Wednesday.
Captain Steve Smith frustrated England with a fighting half-century and pushed Australia to 165 for four at the close of a see-sawing day two, rescuing the hosts after a top order collapse in the series-opening Ashes Test in Brisbane on Friday.
India will usher in 2016 with a three-week tour of Australia, comprising five ODIs and three T20 Internationals, starting January 12.
Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne missed individual centuries but forged Australia's highest partnership of the summer to earn the hosts a handy first innings lead against Sri Lanka on day two of the series opening day-night Test on Friday.
Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur heaped lavish praise on his batsman Asad Shafiq and also compared him with India's legend Sachin Tendulkar. Shafiq, 30, posted a crucial century in the fourth Test against England at The Oval, a result that secured Pakistan a historic 2-2 draw and catapulted them to the top of the ICC's rankings for the first time. Arthur, who has coached Australia and South Africa in the past, has called Shafiq Pakistan's best batsman and said that the diminutive right-hander is so technically correct that he reminds him of Tendulkar.
Brad Haddin equalled the record for most dismissals in a Test innings by an Australian wicketkeeper during India's first innings score of 408 in the ongoing second cricket Test at the Gabba in Brisbane on Thursday.
Bolstered by the return of regular captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India will look to regroup and fight their way back into the four-match series when they face Australia on a lively Gabba wicket in the second cricket Test starting in Brisbane on Wednesday.
England cricketers -- both men and women -- will undergo anti-racism training courses this year after a survey revealed that more than one-third of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) players have faced the prejudice in the game.
'India's resilience has got to give up at some stage. They can't keep doing what they've been doing, being so resilient, and tomorrow it might be that day. The last day of the series, potentially playing for another draw, I've just got a feeling that something's got to give. And Australia on the other hand, they know they have to go flat out and give everything to win the series.'
Former captain Ian Chappell feels the Indian team will be quite a handful for World champions Australia in the upcoming One-Day International series but the hosts will still be the favourites to win the five-game series as the visitors are short of one specialist batsman.
Australia made a meal of it but successfully chased down 128 for a four-wicket victory and an unassailable 2-0 series lead after dismissing India for 224 on the fourth day of the second Test.
Rohit says Team India ready to accept challenge posed by conditions Down Under
Australia were two wickets from victory at the end of day four of the first day-night test against Pakistan on Sunday, but the tourists were buoyed by a feisty fourth innings chase and a brilliant unbeaten century from Asad Shafiq.
South African fast bowler Makhaya Ntini has lashed out at his team over the alleged preference of 'white' bowlers in the Test squad as the Proteas squad consider a replacement for injured JP Duminy.
