David Warner punished a depleted and dispirited England with a brilliant century to help drive Australia to 235 for three and a dominant lead of 369 after the third day of the third Ashes Test on Sunday.
Australian captain George Bailey is not surprised that India did not qualify for the tri-series final and said that concentrating on Test cricket before heading into the ODI event might have been the reason for their below-par showing.
Barring Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, all players have declared their allegiances to IPL franchises over their respective countries' domestic sides ahead of the upcoming Champions League Twenty20.
Ryan Harris sent shudders through the home dressing room by grabbing three early wickets but Bell weathered the storm with a majestic unbeaten 105 that led England to 234 for five in their second innings at the close, an overall lead of 202 runs.
Injured Australia captain Michael Clarke will arrive in the United Arab Emirates five days ahead of the rest of the Test squad as he races to be fit for the two-match series against Pakistan.
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.
Australia captain Michael Clarke has declared himself fit to play England in the second Ashes test in Adelaide after suffering an injury scare when he rolled his ankle on Monday.
Ian Bell joined an elite trio on Thursday with his third Ashes century in successive Tests after England had lost three cheap wickets on the opening day of the second Test against Australia at Lord's.
A resurgent England attack tore through Australia's batting lineup with six wickets in the final session to leave the hosts reeling at 164 for nine at the close of the second day of the fourth Ashes Test on Friday.
Aggressive off-spin bowling from Graeme Swann and indifferent Australian batting allowed England to seize control of the second Ashes Test at Lord's on Friday.
India captain Virat Kohli and opener Lokesh Rahul led India to safer shores, scoring centuries as Australia dropped catches -- Joe Burns and captain Steven Smith the culprits -- on Day 3 of the fourth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday. Check out some images from the day's play.
Nathan Lyon grabbed four wickets and Jackson Bird claimed his first victim of the series as Australia restricted England to 238 for nine at stumps on Day 1 of the fourth Ashes Test on Friday.
'The man who never knows when he is beaten deserved, on the day he played what will be his last World Cup game, mates who were not beaten in the mind before they were beaten on the field.' Prem Panicker salutes 'India's best one day captain by a long margin who led superbly throughout the tournament.'
India's T20 World Cup challenge has ended. But it is likely that Virat Kohli (MVPI of 338) will go on to become the tournament's most valuable player because he enjoys a lead of 109 runs over second-placed Joe Root (229).
A B de Villiers still heads Rediff.com's Most Valuable Players ratings for the World Cup.
Indian cricket's fortunes ebbed and flowed in 2015 with Virat Kohli successfully leading the national side in Tests and Mahendra Singh Dhoni appearing to be losing his midas touch, while in off the field drama Shashank Manohar returned as the president of Board of Control for Cricket in India.
After what at one stage earlier this month looked like a vast game of musical chairs, reigning champions India ended up topping the world rankings when the five-month countdown to the 2015 World Cup started on Sunday.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player ratings for the ongoing IPL 8
With a MVPI of 619, David Warner is currently IPL 8's most successful player. A B de Villiers (603), after his recent magic at Wankhede stadium, is just behind, and could still be this IPL's top player if Royal Challengers Bangalore can make it to the semi-finals.
A look at the squads for the seventh season of the Indian Premier League at the conclusion of the two-day auction in Bangalore.
IPL 8 is past the half-way mark, and Andre Russell of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is emerging.
Dwayne Bravo edges past A B de Villers in IPL8.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player ratings for the ongoing IPL 8.
'That was the key to a game where, on paper, there is nothing to separate the two sides: Intensity. From the first ball of the innings to the run out of Southee, the Australian bowlers and fielders buzzed around like predatory yellow-jacketed wasps.' 'Adding teeth to the bowling and relentless fielding is the captaincy of Michael Clarke, leading in his last one day international. His body may require an entire college of medical specialists to maintain, but his mind is scalpel-sharp, cutting through the complexities of the game to hit on simple solutions.'
