In a bid to save its New Year fixture between India and Australia, the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust has offered to host the Brisbane Test too, if the Queensland government refuse to grant exemptions to the teams returning from New South Wales.
Two members of the Haas Formula One team and one from McLaren were quarantined in Melbourne on Wednesday as a precaution amid coronavirus fears ahead of Sunday's season-opening Australian Grand Prix. McLaren said one team member had self-isolated in the team hotel as a precaution for showing 'coronavirus-like symptoms'.
Officials said they were projecting a crowd in excess of 78,000 on the opening day of the traditional Boxing Day fixture, the largest attendance at the ground for a non-Ashes Test.
Cricket Australia is open to the idea of shifting the Boxing Day Test to Perth, where the situation is under control.
Pacer Umesh Yadav was on Thursday ruled out of the remainder of the series against Australia due to the calf injury he sustained during the second match in Melbourne and the Indian team management is likely to prefer Shardul Thakur over left-arm pace sensation Thangarasu Natarajan for the third Test.
Despite his and South Africa's poor showing in Australia, Elgar said he still wanted to continue as captain.
The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) has received an official warning after the pitch for the fourth Ashes Test was rated 'poor' by the International Cricket Council (ICC) earlier this month.
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the numbers you need to know about Virat Kohli in Test cricket.
'I am heartbroken at his dismissal, but I a happy Mayank has almost cemented his place in the team. Look at his consistency. He has now two half-centuries and a good 42 in the three innings he had played so far Down Under'
The last time Team India won an ICC World Cup was in 2011 in India. It was a 50-over ODI format that was won under the astute leadership of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
The spin legend was on a three-month holiday in Thailand.
The McLaren Racing team has withdrawn from this weekend's season-opening Australian Grand Prix after a team member tested positive for coronavirus, the team said on Thursday. The positive test at McLaren follows four crew members of fellow Formula One team Haas being quarantined due to the outbreak.
'Given that they are playing at home and will have full crowd support, India, who are in peak form and whose morale is high, will be the favourites.'
So prior to their Melbourne Park rematch, former champion Sharapova said she was primed and ready for another drawn out dog-fight against the 14th seed.
The 31-year-old also led Australia to a Commonwealth Games gold medal last year and is the country's leading run getter across formats
Aaron Finch bows out as one of his country's greatest limited-overs players and as the captain who delivered Australia a first global T20 title in the United Arab Emirates in 2021.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the Boxing Day Test played between Australia and New Zealand at the MCG on Saturday.
Melbourne will host the traditional Boxing Day Test before the final match is played at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3.
Five Indian players to watch in the Test series against Australia, which begins in Adelaide on December 17:
At the close, after 75 overs were squeezed in around two lengthy rain interruptions, the West Indies were 207 for six with Denesh Ramdin on 23 and Carlos Brathwaite not out 35 after winning the toss.
Mayank Agarwal will make his debut in the Boxing Day Test.
India's batsmen must step up and help their bowlers if the world's top-ranked Test side are to win more consistently away from home, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane said.
The last time India won a Test inside two days was in 2018, beating Afghanistan in Bengaluru.
Injured New Zealand pace bowlers Trent Boult and Lockie Ferguson are "tracking nicely" as the side begin their preparations for the Test series against India, according to captain Kane Williamson. Both missed the Twenty20 and One-Day International series against India but Williamson said there are hopes they could be available for the first match against the world's top ranked Test team that starts on February 21 in Wellington.
A rejuvenated David Warner said he has "parked" the acrimony over his permanent leadership ban and is focused on helping Australia take series wins in India and the Ashes next year.
The rapid molecular test is highly accurate and easy to use, making it a prime candidate for use in settings with limited testing capabilities, according to the researchers.
Riding on his stupendous performance in the series against South Africa, India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, on Thursday, rose to a career-high first in the International Cricket Council's Test rankings for bowlers.
Third Test will be played in front of a crowd of some 10,000 to allow social distancing in a ground that can hold 48,00
Australia bowling coach Daniel Vettori was asked by reporters whether a trip to the Indonesian tourist destination was the ideal preparation for the second Test against South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq, who had hinted at calling it quits after his side's crushing defeat by an innings and 18 runs in the second Test against Australia in Melbourne, will play in the third and final Test in Sydney and will lead the team, an official confirmed on Sunday.
Opening batsman Prithvi Shaw, who had suffered a left ankle injury while attempting a catch in the practice game against Cricket Australia XI has been ruled out of the ongoing four-Test series against Australia.
Australia completed victory at the Gabba in two days, batting marginally better than the Proteas on a perilous, grassy pitch that South Africa captain Dean Elgar complained was unfair to the batters. T
Number of Tests won by India outside Asia in 2018 now stands at 4 -- the most they have ever won in a calendar year, points out Rajneesh Gupta.
Ravichandran Ashwin, who was left out of the first Test, is back in the mix as Shardul Thakur seems to have done his hamstring some damage during the training session at Lord's on Monday.
India's 2-0 series sweep over Bangladesh in Mirpur on Sunday consolidated their position at the No 2 spot behind leaders Australia in the ICC World Test Championship standings.
'The pink ball Test is probably going to be a bit more challenging in terms of conditions and how the ball moves around in the evening and stuff like that.'
The Melbourne Cricket Ground was kept on standby to host back-to back matches against India, who won the traditional Boxing Day Test at the MCG by eight wickets on Tuesday.
Rajneesh Gupta surveys the bowling landscape in India-Australia Tests.
"There was extra bounce and occasional excessive seam movement. The odd delivery also kept low on the second day, making it very difficult for batters to build partnerships."
'... at times when I see the aftermath of things, I do tend to ask myself if I should just sit back and enjoy my benefits instead of paying attention to other people's struggles.'
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