Here we encapsulate all the sporting action from last week in this stunning photo feature.
Smith is banned from leadership roles until March because of his involvement in a Cape Town ball-tampering scandal last year but he is tipped by some former players and leading cricket writers to regain the captaincy from wicketkeeper Paine after his batting heroics in England.
IMAGES from the US Open matches played on Day 1 at the Flushing Meadows in New York on Monday.
Aseem Chhabra highlights 10 films that moved him, films that may show up in theatres near you.
Australia's chief selector John Inverarity admitted they were struggling for batting depth ahead of this year's Ashes as he announced the list of centrally contracted players for the 2013-14 season on Wednesday.
Opportunity knocks for Serena Williams on the grass courts of Wimbledon next week when she faces a diminished field on her best surface at the famous All England Club.
Former Australian skipper Michael Clarke has stood by his criticism for former coach John Buchanan, but has admitted that his 'dog' reference for the coach was a step 'too far'.
England wrapped up a comprehensive 232-run victory over West Indies in the third Test in St Lucia on Tuesday after home batsman Roston Chase made a century but got little help.
Big names and young guns turn up the heat at US Open
Serena Williams returns to the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday
Ricky Ponting has expressed his disappointment over a barrage of criticism levelled against retiring captain Michael Clarke following Australia's Ashes series defeat against England.
'Almost three hours. It's midnight now. Credit to John for putting up a great battle'
Denis Shapovalov may not be old enough to drink in New York but is quickly becoming the toast of the Big Apple and the 18-year-old Canadian will again have a chance to light up the U.S. Open when he takes on Briton Kyle Edmund.
Images from Day 3 of the 2022 Australian Open in Melbourne on Wednesday.
List of Australian Open men's singles champions since the event began in 1905 (Australian unless stated):
Images from Day 1 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Monday.
Images from Day 6 of the 2021 French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on Friday.
Millman advanced to a quarter-final match-up against sixth seed Novak Djokovic.
Unthinkable to an ordinary Australian, John Buchanan has revealed that he has shared with England coach Andy Flower some of the secrets of his long association with Ricky Ponting's men which could be used in the home team's advantage in the Ashes beginning July 8.
Former Australia coach John Buchanan has rubbished media reports that he is all set to help England in their bid to wrest next month's Ashes from Ricky Ponting's men.
Australia will take the same 12-man squad to Perth for the third Ashes Test this week after humbling England by 218 runs to win the second match in Adelaide on Monday.
More shocking than his departure was the manner of the 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7), 7-6,(3) loss to the Australian, with Federer simply wilting in the suffocating humidity and exiting a Grand Slam before the quarter-finals for just the fifth time since 2004.
They have been drawn in Group Ashe-Smith along with John Peers/Jamie Murray and Simone Bolelli/Fabio Fognini.
A summary of Wednesday's action at the US Open on Day 3.
The pair will face England in their World Cup match at Lord's on June 25 and are also likely to endure hostile reception during the Ashes, which begins at Edgbaston on August 1.
Tournament officials said there was no heat rule in effect on Friday for the first time in three days, with cloud cover expected to bring cooler temperatures.
List of Australian Open men's singles champions since the event began in 1905 (Australian unless stated):
List of US Open men's singles champions since the Open Era began in 1968:
Second seed Dominic Thiem edged a first-set tiebreak before turning up the heat to romp into the US Open quarter-finals with a resounding 7-6(4), 6-1, 6-1 victory over Canadian youngster Felix Augur-Aliassime at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday.
The 31-year-old, who played for Australia during the Champions Trophy team in June, suffered the injury during Worcestershire's four-day match against Sussex.
A former Special Forces soldier, who was involved in John Buchanan's controversial 2006 boot camp, has offered to help the current Australian wayward team before the Ashes series, to be held in England in July.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the 1st Test between England and Pakistan at Lord's on Day 2
Former Australia coach John Buchanan believes that the sacking of four players was a hardline strategy, which could either make Mickey Arthur an Ashes hero or finish his career as an Aussie coach.
A high-ranking Pentagon official on apologised to the Afghan leadership for the burning of the Quran by United States military personnel and also discussed the reconciliation process in the war-torn country.
Bravo, 29, has not played a Test for West Indies since 2016, when his contract was suspended for a social media post criticising board president Dave Cameron.
IMAGES from Day 9 of the US Open matches played on Tuesday
Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka will join Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in playing a pre-Australian Open warm-up exhibition
Former Australian coach John Buchanan has reacted to the criticism by recently retired skipper Michael Clarke, saying that the captaincy role is quite demanding and the former needs to work on it.
The contrast in the fates of Arthur Conan Doyle's and Satyajit Ray's super sleuths is a study in despair, says Sumit Bhattacharya.
