IMAGES from Day 1 of the WTC Final between Australia and South Africa at Lord's on Wednesday
As Australia fell to two straight losses against hosts India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Geoff Lawson held skipper Pat Cummins accountable.
Warner was slapped with a lifetime ban from any leadership role for his involvement in a ball-tampering scandal four years ago but Cricket Australia has initiated the process to revoke it.
Venkatesh Iyer silenced his critics with a match-winning 60 off 29 balls, propelling Kolkata Knight Riders to a convincing 80-run win against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Pat Cummins will not play the third Test against India in Indore starting March 1
Pat Cummins defends team behaviour, terms Travis Head 'a big boy' who can speak for himself
Cummins won an important toss but Australia could not quite vindicate his decision to bat
'There will be guys that get opportunities. We've obviously got a few guys missing for this series (for) a well-earned rest.'
Former skipper Ian Chappell backed premier fast bowler Pat Cummins over batting maestro Steve Smith for the Australian captaincy after incumbent Tim Paine retires.
Sunrisers Hyderabad opener Travis Head admitted that the hosts "didn't expect" to end the night at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium with a victory against Rajasthan Royals in the ongoing Indian Premier League.
'We have lots of experience around our squad, like Daniel Vetori. So, you need to balance between the objective data that you gather and what you are feeling out there.'
South Africa's dream start to the World Test Championship final quickly turned into a nightmare at Lord's, as their batters failed to back up Kagiso Rabada's five-wicket masterclass.
The Aussie cricketers were joined by their families on the field as they savoured a series win that came after a decade.
Allocates donation to UNICEF Australia's India COVID-19 Crisis appeal instead.
Australia captain Pat Cummins doesn't mind staying a bit undercooked going into the high-octane WTC final against India.
Australia ruthlessly completed a 159-run victory over West Indies in the first Test in Barbados on Friday after Josh Hazlewood's five-wicket masterclass broke the hosts' resistance on a pitch that deteriorated into a bowler's paradise.
Australia are on the cusp of a series victory in Sri Lanka and captain Pat Cummins believes the exposure to sub-continental conditions augurs well for their next big target of winning a Test series in India next year.
Delhi Capitals skipper Axar Patel would like to quickly forget the underwhelming performances of his side in home conditions and get their stuttering campaign back on track when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad, who are teetering on the edge of elimination, in the IPL match in Hyderabad on Monday.
Joe Root scored his 37th Test hundred on Friday to go past the tally of former India skipper Rahul Dravid and contemporary Steve Smith.
Despite the challenging build-up, Gambhir said he is "extremely confident" of retaining the Border Gavaskar Trophy. The players will hope to be as confident as they prepare for the fight to keep their World Test Final chances alive.
The legendary Allan Border feels Pat Cummins had a lot to worry about as the series against India was his "first real test as captain".
'I feel like as long as I prepare as well as possible, I tick all the boxes ... and then just let my reactions do the talking. Just try and keep it simple, see ball hit ball.'
Australia are hosting West Indies for three T20s between Feb. 9-13 as part of their preparations for the T20 World Cup, which will be held in the Caribbean and U.S. in June.
Australian great Allan Border is mighty impressed with Pat Cummins' captaincy but said the upcoming four-Test series against India will be his real "acid test and the final frontier".
The cricketing ecosystem has learned to survive the prolonged absence of Kohli and Rohit -- at least in two formats -- in this interim period.
Alex Carey scored 63 and Beau Webster 60 as Australia were bowled out for 286. West Indies pacer Alzarri Joseph took 4 wickets for 61 runs on Day 1 of the second Test.
'One odd day doesn't mean much to us and he (Pat Cummins) bowled really well in this game, said opener Shubman Gill, after helping KKR beat SRH by seven wickets and register their first win in IPL 2020.
The 2025 final will be played between Australia and South Africa at Lord's from June 11.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction saw some foreign names earning big bucks, headlined by Aussie all-rounder Cameron Green
Australia captain Pat Cummins ensured Usman Khawaja, the first Muslim cricketer to play for Australia, was not showered by champagne amid the celebrations after winning the Ashes series.
Australia's capitulation in Perth triggered damning assessments of the team's performance in home media.
Mitchell Starc said Australia had left the Perth debacle behind by shutting the "outside noise" following their heavy defeat in the series-opener.
Josh Hazlewood took five for eight as Australia romped to an emphatic victory by eight wickets inside three days in the first Test at Adelaide Oval on Saturday after skittling India for 36, their lowest innings score in 88 years of Test cricket.
With a heavy downpour preventing the resumption of play after the break, the match was abandoned and the series remains locked at 1-1.
Gujarat Titans opener B Sai Sudharsan continued his red-hot form in the Indian Premier League to lead the Orange Cap race for IPL's top scorer and stake his claim for a Test debut in India's tour of England later this year.
Bavuma said his hamstring was 'feeling good' ahead of his return, and the South African skipper also confirmed he would bat at number three for the opening match of the three-game series behind openers Ryan Rickelton and Aiden Markram.
2016 champions SRH are banking on a power-packed batting line-up and a revamped bowling attack to end their nine-year title drought.
With South Africa's seam attack featuring Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, and Marco Jansen and Australia having Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and the ever-dependable Josh Hazlewood in their lineup, the battle between the two sides' fast bowlers is likely to be critical in determining the outcome of the World Test Championship final, as per ICC website.
Despite the impressive record that the WTC finalists are in possession of, Bangar doesn't believe the Proteas or the Baggy Greens will receive an edge over the other in the Ultimate Test, which is scheduled to kick off on Wednesday.
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