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.
Sri Lanka's Kaushal Silva roared back into form with a century in the final Test against Australia on Tuesday, boosting the hosts' hopes of a 3-0 sweep against the world number one team at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo.
Australia's selectors sprung a major surprise on Friday by naming uncapped fast bowler Joe Mennie in a 12-man squad for the first two matches of a three-test series against South Africa beginning in Perth next week. Mennie was part of an inexperienced bowling attack that was humbled by the Proteas batsmen in the recent one-day series in South Africa, which the hosts won 5-0. Despite accumulating figures of 0-82 on debut, the 27-year-old was preferred to Jackson Bird, who toured New Zealand and Sri Lanka as part of the Australian test squad.
Australia called up uncapped paceman Nathan Coulter-Nile for the first Test against West Indies on Tuesday as a replacement for left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc, who was ruled out of the series due to a broken foot.
Top order batsman Shaun Marsh was called into the Australia squad for the third Test against New Zealand on Wednesday along with pace bowler James Pattinson and left arm spinner Steve O'Keefe.
Ben Stokes took five wickets to put England on the verge of a famous victory that would win back the Ashes as Australia finished on 241 for seven after a compelling second day of the fourth Test at Trent Bridge on Friday.
The uncapped pair are the newcomers in captain Steven Smith's 15-man squad, which includes 10 players with less than 10 Tests, as Australia look to rebuild following a string of retirements after the Ashes defeat in England.
Australia secured a consolation victory in the final Test by an innings and 46 runs on Sunday before England captain Alastair Cook lifted the Ashes urn at the end of a dramatic and fluctuating series.
A match referee had warned of disgraced Australian cricketers Steve Smith and David Warner "being involved in a ball-tampering incident" in the domestic Sheffield Shield in 2016, a media report said on Friday.
Shane Watson has been dropped from the Australia team for this week's second Ashes Test against England and will be replaced by fellow all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Wednesday.
Opener Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb and Nic Maddinson will all play their first Tests at Adelaide Oval after selectors wielded the axe following the Hobart humiliation, which gave South Africa an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
Australia appear confused by picking wicketkeeper Tim Paine for the Ashes squad against England as he is not even the first choice selection for his state side, retired leg-spinning great Shane Warne said.
A security delegation sent by Cricket Australia to Bangladesh over the weekend has since returned home and was to report to local authorities on Wednesday, prompting speculation the tour will be cancelled. The security concerns in Bangladesh could also impact on Australia's qualifying campaign for the soccer World Cup.
Australia captain Steve Smith said the players drafted in for the third-Test victory over South Africa had energised the team and contributed to a "good start" to the new era of Test cricket in the country.
Ian Bell guided England to an eight-wicket victory over Australia in the third test at Edgbaston on Friday to put the hosts 2-1 up in the series with two matches to play.
Australia bundled out England for a paltry 103 in their second innings to win the second Test match at Lord's on Sunday by a massive margin of 405 runs on the fourth day.
Top-order batsman Shaun Marsh has been dropped from Australia's side for their second Test against West Indies, despite scoring 182 in the comprehensive first Test victory in Hobart.
James Pattinson grabbed three wickets to brighten Australia's prospects of a comprehensive victory in the second Test against New Zealand with the hosts reeling at 121 for four by the end of the third day on Monday.
The second Test between Australia and New Zealand ended in a draw on Tuesday, with the tourists 217 runs short of their victory target of 321 on a rain-disrupted fifth and final day at the WACA.
England opener Michael Carberry looks set to make his Ashes debut next week after being included in the team to face an Invitational XI in a warm-up match at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday.
Images from Day 3 of the first Test between Australia and South Africa in Perth on Saturday.
Mitchell Johnson has set his sights on equalling the record of mentor Dennis Lillee after becoming just the fifth Australian to take 300 Test wickets last week.
Brendon McCullum's dismissal in the final over of the day put Australia firmly in control of the first Test in Wellington on Sunday, as New Zealand were reduced to 178-4, still 201 runs behind the tourists' mammoth first innings of 562.
Rangana Herath claimed his maiden Test hat-trick as 21 wickets tumbled on a frantic second day with hosts Sri Lanka closing in on a series-clinching victory against Australia in the second Test in Galle on Friday.
Left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Starc will return from a broken foot during Australia's limited-overs triangular series in the West Indies in June.
Images from Day 2 of the first Test between Australia and South Africa in Perth, on Friday.
Australia's David Warner breathed life into the rain-ruined final Test with a pulsating ton as the match meandered to a draw against the West Indies on Thursday. Warner, determined to finish an undistinguished series on a high, reached his 16th Test century off 82 balls before a small Sydney crowd. The buccaneering opener had a highest score of 64 in the two previous Tests as team-mates helped themselves to six centuries against the tourists' innocuous bowling attack.
The Australian media were united in their view that the Mitchell Johnson-inspired humiliation of England at Lord's marked a decisive shift in the balance of power in the Ashes series.
Australia went down as victors of the first floodlit test after sealing a nerve-jangling, three-wicket victory late on Sunday but organisers will also claim a win, with 120,000 fans flocking to Adelaide Oval through the match.
Josh Hazlewood will be Australia's third pace bowler in this week's first Test against New Zealand after Peter Siddle was named 12th man on Wednesday.
Quinton de Kock shone on a gloomy day in Hobart with a sparkling century that propelled South Africa to a commanding 203-run lead over Australia at lunch on day three of the second Test on Monday. - Scorecard: The wicketkeeper-batsman's 104, in a defiant 144-run partnership with Temba Bavuma, frustrated Australia's bowlers for nearly the entire session at Bellerive Oval before he was bowled by Josh Hazlewood. Bavuma was 74 not out at the break, with paceman Vernon Philander on three, the Proteas having taken full advantage of a bloodless bowling display to push to 288 for six.
New Zealand's cricket team have run a gamut of emotions this week after they slumped to a heavy first Test loss to Australia then won three awards at their country's premier sports awards on Thursday.
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.
Australia recalled wicketkeeper Tim Paine for the first time in seven years in a selection bombshell while dropping opening batsman Matt Renshaw in a surprising Ashes squad for the series against England.
The selectors have much to ponder after England slumped to a crushing 405-run defeat by Australia in the second Ashes Test at Lord's with calls for change in the top order coming a week after the team were lauded for their first-test victory.
Australia reduced England to 203 for six to move to the brink of a consolation victory on the third day of the final Ashes Test at The Oval on Saturday.
Former Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin feels trusting one's technique will be the key for wicketkeepers when they are put under pressure during the four-Test series beginning later this month.
Jake Lehmann's strong form could force an awkward decision at the selectors table where his father sits.
Rediff.com has the best sports images from the events in the week gone by snapped right here...
Australia defeated West Indies by a massive 177 runs to win the second Test match in Melbourne and claim the series 2-0.
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