West Indies have said they are embracing their underdog status for the three-Test series against Australia, which starts in Hobart on Thursday, but the reality is they have very little choice in the matter.
Dirk Nannes (3 for 21) and Shaun Tait (3 for 30) ripped through the West Indies batting line-up to help Australia to a comfortable 38-run victory in the opening Twenty20 international at Hobart.
'England against Australia at Lord's, it doesn't get much bigger than that.'
In the cold light of defeat and without Smith's large shadow, Australia's batsmen have nowhere to hide and most head to Old Trafford in dire form.
Australia fought back with two late wickets to restrict England to 196 for four and leave the Ashes series-opener in Brisbane delicately poised on Thursday after the tourists' unheralded batsmen threatened to dominate an intriguing first day.
Putting up an all-round show, Kolkata Knight Riders consolidated their fourth position in the points table with a comfortable seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL match in Hyderabad on Sunday.
Swing and seam friendly conditions, a lack of truly scary Australian bowlers and New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum's retirement are all themes that will resonate when the first Test gets underway in Wellington on Friday.
The last session of play on Day 3 of the 2nd Test in Bengaluru gave India a slight edge over the Aussies. However, the DRS continues to rankle the Indians - Kohli once again failing to use the technology thoughtfully.
Unbeaten in all the three games they have played so far in the tournament, Gujarat Lions would look to continue with their impressive winning run when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL match in Rajkot on Thursday. The Lions have been in red-hot form in their debut season with convincing wins in all the three games and they would seek to maintain a clean slate tomorrow at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium. The home side will also be bolstered by the return of all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja who did not play in the Lion's seven-wicket thrashing of defending champions Mumbai Indians in Mumbai due to his wedding.
Chris Rogers fell for 95, failing to turn a half-century into a hundred for the seventh Test innings in a row as Australia ended the second day of the first Test on 264 for five, 166 behind England on Thursday.
Captain Steven Smith was well-entrenched for his third century in successive Tests even though India restricted Australia to 259 for five on the opening day of the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday. Electing to bat, he again was the visitors' main tormentor, anchoring the innings with an undefeated 72 at stumps. Check out some photos from the day's play.
Though Smith is absolutely free to make a return to the national team for next year's World Cup and Ashes series in England, he can only fill back the leadership role in March 2020.
Cricket can be a game of some complexity and nuance but as England showed in their dismantling of Australia in Thursday's World Cup semi-final, it can also be a remarkably straightforward sport.
England still top team in ODIs, but only just
India and Australia play their opening T20 match In Ranchi on Saturday. And, although the visitors have added fresh faces to their squad for the three-match series, India are clearly the dominant side in this match-up.
India sailed into the ICC World Cup semi-finals and eliminated opponents Bangladesh after Rohit Sharma's century and Jasprit Bumrah's four-wicket haul secured a 28-run victory over their neighbours on Tuesday.
Rising Pune Supergiants brought their stuttering IPL campaign back on track with a convincing 34-run win over hosts Sunrisers Hyderabad via Duckowrth Lewis method in a rain-affected match.
Australia will be desperately hoping to play a full game under clear skies when they face arch-rivals England in their must-win Champions Trophy clash in Birmingham on Saturday.
Glenn McGrath cautioned that an in-form Jimmy Anderson could make things tougher for the Indian captain this time too.
Trump had come under fire from both Republicans and Democrats for his muted response to the violence unleashed by white supremacists during a rally in Charlottesville.
Images from Monday's World Cup match between Bangladesh and Afghanistan, in Southampton.
Images from the Day 3 of the 2nd Ashes Test played between Australia and England in Adelaide on Monday
Following the retirements of Chris Rogers, captain Michael Clarke and all-rounder Shane Watson, Smith will lead a team in transition into the three-match series which wraps up with cricket's first day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval.
Their path to the semi-finals looking relatively easier in comparison, Australia will fancy their chances when they lock horns with a struggling Pakistan side whose hopes hangs by a thread in the ICC World Twenty20, in Mohali, on Friday.
Rajneesh Gupta picks instances of sledging which backfired spectacularly.
Jermain Defoe scored twice to lift England to a 3-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago in a one-sided friendly.
The overseas market for Indian films continues to be growing rapidly.
Batsmen Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb and all-rounder Mitchell Marsh were all dropped from the squad that lost a home Test series against India for the first time.
The gunman was killed when police responded to the shooting in the southeastern coastal city of Virginia Beach.
IMAGES from the match played between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals on Monday
Mumbai Indians' star bowler Mitchell McClenaghan said his side is fully prepared for the IPL play-off match.
According to AFP, Clarke said the six-and-a-half weeks he had spent recuperating from hamstring surgery had not driven a wedge between him and the squad.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the fourth Test between South Africa and Australia in Johannesburg on Sunday.
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.
James Pattinson has been recalled to Australia' starting side for the second Test against New Zealand on Saturday, replacing his injured Victorian team mate Peter Siddle.
Australia captain Steve Smith won the toss and opted to bat against an Indian side missing their inspirational skipper Virat Kohli through injury in the fourth and final Test in Dharamsala on Saturday.
Rohit Sharma's sizzling century went in vain as Australia survived a few anxious moments before pulling off a tense four-wicket win over India in a cricket tri-series ODI match in Melbourne.
590 cricketers -- including 370 Indian players and 220 overseas players -- will go under the hammer during the two-day mega auction in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
The fast bowler's beguiling mix of aggression, control and intellect may make him the most feared of the Australian pace trio with the Dukes ball in hand.
Finch and Khawaja put on 209, a record opening stand for Australia while chasing in ODIs, bettering Mark Waugh and Adam Gilchrist's 206 against West Indies in 2001.
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