Former England fast bowler Stuart Broad said the second Ashes Test starting Thursday next week will be a lottery and the toss is a key factor in Brisbane with the pink ball.
England's Joe Root conquered his final frontier with a first Ashes century in Australia as the tourists pushed past 300 on day one of the second Test in Brisbane on Thursday despite a six-wicket haul from pace spearhead Mitchell Starc.
Australia will take on England in the opening fixtures of the Ashes on November 21 in Perth. Steve Smith will lead the side as Pat Cummins is not in the team due to injury.
It was a wild ride while it lasted but the 'Bazball' revolution that enlivened English cricket for three years collapsed in 11 days on Australian soil in an Ashes defeat as harrowing as any in the modern era.
Smith's unbeaten 120 is his second successive hundred of the series while Carey made a career-best 139 not out hitting 22 fours and three sixes between them.
Glenn Maxwell's hopes of reviving his Test career may be over after the all-rounder missed out on selection in Australia's much-changed squad for the Sri Lanka tour.
The Perth Stadium curator has promised the wicket will be green, fast and bouncy but Stokes offered no thoughts on whether England would attack with four quicks or pick the specialist spinner, Shoaib Bashir, in their 11.
Australian opener Matthew Short suffered an injury while fielding but he returned to open the batting and Smith said he could take a few days to recover.
Four-Test-old all-rounder Jacob Bethell was awarded his maiden central contract by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) which offered two-year deals to 14 multi-format cricketers, including Test captain Ben Stokes and injury-plagued pacer Jofra Archer.
Scott Boland will step up and uncapped Brendan Doggett is tipped for a high-stakes debut to try to shore up the loss of a combined 604 Test wickets of experience.
Taking his 17th Test five-wicket haul, he finished with 7 for 58 off 12.5 overs.
McDonald also said the selectors would consider a Test recall for Mitch Marsh, even if Australia's white-ball captain said last week he would be watching the Ashes series beer in hand.
Starc further commented that Doggett could handle the pressure of the Ashes series, as he seemed to be the third pacer in Australia's attack.
England on Tuesday named a 16-man squad for the Ashes series starting in Australia in November with Ben Stokes, who is currently nursing a shoulder injury, set to return to lead the side.
Australia may opt to continue with a four-prong pace attack at Adelaide and even add another part-time seamer in all-rounder Beau Webster, who could replace batter Josh Inglis in the lower middle order.
Australia's stand-in captain Steve Smith hailed his side's resounding innings and 242-run victory over Sri Lanka in Galle on Saturday as "near flawless" after the visitors retained the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy.
Australia captain Pat Cummins is back bowling multiple overs on a reduced run-up and has targeted returning to the team for the second Ashes Test against England, a day-nighter in Brisbane starting on December 4.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the 1st Ashes Test in Perth on Saturday.
Bazball is in the firing line, with former players and pundits decrying the high-risk game on Australia's spicy pitches.
Manchester City's Erling Haaland became the fastest player to reach 100 Premier League goals to ignite their charge on Tuesday.
Smith needs just 315 runs to become the fourth Australian batter after Ricky Ponting (13378), Allan Border (11174), and Steve Waugh (10927) to reach the landmark of 10,000 Test runs.
Cummins, who was previously optimistic of taking part in a significant chunk of the series, appears to have no chance of playing the series opener in Perth from November 21 and could even miss all five Tests, leaving superstar batter Steve Smith as his stand-in captain.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting advised struggling batters Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith to trust their game akin to star India batter Virat Kohli.
Mitchell Starc and Ben Stokes set the scene for a dramatic Ashes series.
'I'm worried. We're going to wander in and have a little game with the 'A' team. (It will be) 'Alright mate, how are you? Good on ya' and we're going to go and perform?'
Mitch Owen has been rewarded for his fine form in his first five Twenty20 internationals by being named in both of Australia's squads for short-format series against South Africa in the far north of the country next month.
'That so many have reached such an advanced stage of their careers without obvious replacements is certainly a reflection of their quality, but will be a matter of concern in the case of more injuries during the series.'
Expect some fireworks for the highly-versatile Cameron Green along with Quinton de Kock, Matheesha Pathirana, Venkatesh Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi.
England on Wednesday announced their playing XI for the opening Test of the five-match series against India, which will kickstart at Headingley on Friday.
All-rounder Jamie Overton, who played the only Test match of his career back in 2022, has been recalled to the 15-member England squad
Since going missing from red-ball action in 2021, the 30-year-old endured a period during which injuries constantly plagued him, especially a recurring stress fracture in his right elbow.
Fast bowler Gus Atkinson and wicketkeeper Jamie Smith will make their red-ball debuts for England in the first of the three-match home series
Siraj's six-wicket haul helps India stay ahead on bizarre day three of the second Test against England at Edgbaston.
"Came here to give myself every chance to play just as batter": Stokes after being ruled out of Oval Test
Australia have dropped Marnus Labuschagne for next week's first Test against West Indies in Barbados
Key players, such as pacer Mitchell Starc, are hitting form at the right time, while star batter Steve Smith is facing early setbacks in his preparations.
The duo is followed by a former Sri Lanka icon, Mahela Jayawardene, with 205 outfield catches in 149 appearances.
England go unchanged at Edgbaston
Siraj dismissed Jamie Smith and Jamie Overton before bowling Gus Atkinson to end the match.
Archer, who has taken 42 wickets in 13 Tests, made his first appearance in a first-class match in four years on Sunday in the County Championship with Sussex.
