Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital, reintroduced the compulsory wearing of masks in indoor public places from Thursday while private gatherings were reduced from 30 people to 15.
India's opener Shikhar Dhawan and vice-captain Virat Kohli have recovered from their injuries sustained during the second Test against Australia and are fit to play the third match beginning in Melbourne on December 26.
Broad missed the opening Test in Brisbane and the most recent encounter in Melbourne
Australia named an unchanged 12-man squad for the fourth Test in Melbourne following the team's dominant 267-run win over England in Perth on Sunday.
Karnataka pacer R Vinay Kumar was named as his replacement for the four-match Test series beginning in Melbourne on December 26.
Test cricketers from England and South Africa paid tributes to Queen Elizabeth II as they wore black armbands and observed a minute's silence ahead of start of Day 3 of the third and final Test match at The Oval in London.
Test cricket returned to Pakistan for the first time in ten years with the Sri Lankan team playing two matches in Rawalpindi and Karachi, with the hosts winning the second match to clinch the series 1-0 after the rain-curtailed first game ended in a draw.
For the much-awaited 10th 'Pink Test', the Australian and English cricket teams on Tuesday donned pink caps at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) alongside veteran cricketer and McGrath Foundation founder, Glenn McGrath.
The Indian Weightlifting Federation is likely to face a ban after two of it's lifters tested positive at the Commonwealth Games.
Left-arm spinner Ashton Agar will join Australia's squad for the fourth and final Test against India in Sydney, captain Steven Smith said on Tuesday.
Indian wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha was, on Tuesday, ruled out of the third and final Test against South Africa due to a hamstring injury and will be replaced by Dinesh Karthik in the squad.
Ajinkya Rahane made it very clear that the undisputed leader of this side is Virat Kohli and he is happy filling in when required.
'India's strength is batting and it is under attack right now. It is time to stand up and be counted.'
Jennifer Brady spent two weeks in hard quarantine gathering mental strength for her tilt at a maiden Grand Slam title and will hope there is plenty in reserve when she takes on Naomi Osaka in Saturday's Australian Open final.
Following is a factbox on the first Test match between Australia and England, which starts on Thursday:
Novak Djokovic blamed "human error" on Wednesday for a mistake in his Australian immigration paperwork and apologised for breaking isolation for a photoshoot when he had COVID-19 last month.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 3rd Ashes Test played between Australia and England at the MCG on Tuesday.
Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has been ruled out of next week's fourth Test against India because of the injury he sustained to his right hamstring during the third game in Melbourne.
England resumed their first innings on 491 for nine but Cook was unable to add to his overnight total, with Pat Cummins dismissing tail-ender James Anderson for a duck with the first ball of the morning.
Injured Australian speedster Jackson Bird has been ruled out of the remaining three Test matches against India due to a bone stress injury on his back sustained during the first warm-up game of the ongoing series.
Top order batsman Usman Khawaja has suffered a setback in his bid to return to the Australia team for the second Test against West Indies after being ruled out of a domestic Twenty20 match by his Sydney Thunder side on Monday.
Virat Kohli urged his batsmen to complement the superb effort of his bowling unit in the upcoming Boxing Day Test against Australia starting on Wednesday.
Images from Day 2 of the third Test between Australia and South Africa at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday
'(And) we've got a fourth guy who's a regular opener for India who's not fit (Vijay). We've got all four openers firing now. Shikhar was supposed to go (home) to Melbourne, now he's got a 190 in Galle. So, anything can happen in life'
Lewis Hamilton wrapped up his pre-season testing with Mercedes in eye-catching style on Saturday with a lap that was easily the fastest seen so far this year in Barcelona.
Mark Webber was fastest for champions Red Bull in Formula One testing in Barcelona on Thursday with the Australian becoming the ninth driver to top the timesheets in as many test days so far this year.
Finch bristled when asked to address Border's comments, saying his slow knock was an anomaly and he was still 100% confident in his game.
Australia completed a six-wicket victory within two days in the first Test against South Africa on Sunday as the Proteas crumbled on a green Gabba wicket that played straight into the home bowlers' hands.
Spain's Paula Badosa, the women's world number 67, was the only player to contract the coronavirus. She was released from hotel quarantine on Wednesday.
In-form Pakistan batsman Mohammad Hafeez returned to Pakistan's 15-member squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka, starting in the United Arab Emirates, next week. Hafeez scored three centuries in four One-Day Internationals in the ongoing series against Sri Lanka.
Australian top order batsman Shaun Marsh was unable to fulfill a media engagement ahead of the third Test against India in Perth because of illness on Monday.
Joe Burns will bat at number six when he makes his debut for Australia in the third Test against India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, starting on Friday. The 25-year-old, regarded as one Australia's most promising young batsmen, replaced injured all-rounder Mitch Marsh in one of two changes to the Australian team that won last week's second Test in Brisbane. Paceman Ryan Harris, who missed the second Test because of a thigh problem, returns at the expense of Mitchell Starc.
'I think the Indigenous community in AFL and rugby are so big and hopefully one day Aboriginals in cricket can be just as big.'
India end 2016 atop ICC Test Team rankings
In the ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers, Australia's Ryan Harris has moved up two places to second following his six wickets against India in the fourth Test at MCG.
Factbox on the four-Test series between Australia and India, which begins on Thursday
Defending champions India will get an early feel of the Australian conditions ahead of next year's 50-overs World Cup after agreeing to play a Test series against the hosts and a triangular one-day series, also featuring England, between December 4 and February 1.
Heavy rain washed out play in the third Test between Australia and West Indies for the second successive day on Wednesday, further reducing the already slim chance of a result in the dead rubber match.
Australian paceman Josh Hazlewood feels that had they bowled the last four overs in the Boxing Day Test against India, a win for the home side would have been possible at MCG.
