Australia finished marginally on top at the end of a chaotic opening day of the fourth Ashes Test after an extraordinary 20 wickets fell in front of a record crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.
Joe Root's Australian hoodoo is over. The England batter scored his first Test century in Australia, an unbeaten 135 off 202 balls, rescuing his side after a shaky start in the second Ashes Test at Brisbane's Gabba and steering England to 325 for nine following captain Ben Stokes' decision to bat first.
Joe Root and Harry Brook hit half-centuries to put England in control before bad light ended play early on the opening day of the fifth Ashes Test.
Faheem Ashraf saved Pakistan the blushes, smashing a blistering 29 from 11 balls, as they registered a tense three-wicket victory against the Netherlands in the opening match of the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Australia captain Alyssa Healy admitted that she was poor with her glovework but more than made up with her batting masterclass as she orchestrated a 10-wicket crushing win over Bangladesh in their women's World Cup match, in Visakhapatnam, on Thursday.
'He's a quality player, it was a matter of time for him to score.'
England's Joe Root conquered his final frontier with a first Ashes century in Australia as the tourists pushed past 300 on day one of the second Test in Brisbane on Thursday despite a six-wicket haul from pace spearhead Mitchell Starc.
Travis Head proved England's nemesis once again as he scored his second century of the Ashes to carry Australia toward a seemingly inevitable series triumph on day three at Adelaide Oval on Friday.
'We know we're behind the game again, in the situation we currently stand.'
Images from Day 2 of the 3rd Ashes Test in Adelaide on Thursday
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 3rd Ashes Test played in Adelaide on Wednesday
Australia stormed to an eight-wicket victory in the second Ashes Test on Sunday to take a 2-0 series lead as England succumbed on day four to a pace blitz from unlikely hero Michael Neser.
Ben Stokes' defiant resistance in the third Ashes Test ended in visible fury on Friday as Mitchell Starc once again got the better of England's captain on Day 3 in Adelaide.
Leading international cricketers, including Laura Wolvaardt and India's World Cup hero Deepti Sharma, will go under the hammer at the Women's Premier League auction in Delhi on Thursday, with bidding wars also expected for homegrown Kranti Gaud and Shree Charani.
The overwhelmingly bowler-friendly Melbourne pitch on which 20 wickets fell on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test has prompted Kevin Pietersen and Dinesh Kartik to point out the selective criticism of Indian tracks when spinners get wickets in a heap.
Less than two weeks after being dismissed as a "dud" Down Under, Joe Root finally shrugged the monkey off his back with a first Test century in Australia on Thursday to breathe life into England's Ashes campaign.
Fast bowler Jacob Duffy and spinner Ajaz Patel routed West Indies as New Zealand won the third and final Test by 323 runs to complete a 2-0 series victory
India clinched the five-match T20I series against Australia 2-1 after the fifth and final game was abandoned due to rain, in Brisbane, on Saturday.
India's spinners took six wickets in a stunning fight back to rout Australia by 48 runs in the fourth T20I on the Gold Coast on Thursday.
Ravichandran Ashwin hails Travis Head after his 69-ball century, the second-fastest in Ashes history, helped Australia easily chase down 205 runs on Day 2 of first Ashes Test.
Taking his 17th Test five-wicket haul, he finished with 7 for 58 off 12.5 overs.
England's Stokes praises Australia's Head, supports his own errant batters
Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur led the way with a doughty 68 as a dominant India outclassed Sri Lanka by 15 runs in the fifth T20I to complete a 5-0 series sweep.
Patel stayed unbeaten on the crease in India's innings, scoring 21 off 11 balls to power his side to 167 and then took two wickets, removing Matthew Short and Josh Inglis.
Deepti Sharma created a new record in women's cricket, while Shafali Verma smashed a blistering half-century as India thrashed Sri Lanka by eight wickets to seal the five-match T20I series 3-0.
'He is not changing it anymore and hopefully he sticks to it and plays many more knocks like this for us.'
This is the first time in nearly seven decades that India have suffered two successive series whitewashes at home.
India won their maiden Women's World Cup title with a 52-run victory over South Africa at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday.
Arshdeep Singh, who took three wickets for 35 runs in the third T20I against Australia, in Hobart on Sunday, said he's been working on his process, trusting his skills, and executing the plans he practised.
IMAGES from the fourth T20I between Australia and India played in Carrara, Gold Coast on Thursday
India skipper Suryakumar Yadav did not use Washington mainly because there were too many right-handers in the Australian line-up, but during chase the Tamil Nadu man showed his hitting prowess with four sixes and three fours making a tricky chase look very easy.
'I try to give my best in each and every format... Rest, question-answer sessions -- whoever wants to play, they can play. I'm happy as far as I'm able to contribute and try to learn new things.'
Australia's stand-in captain Mitchell Marsh continued his fine run of form on Sunday, scoring 46 not out and leading his side to a seven-wicket triumph over India in the weather-affected first one-day international at Perth Stadium.
'It was just put the ball in the right areas, don't try too much and see what happens.'
What we saw was not just a player finding form; it was a young woman reclaiming belief. Every shot, every sprint between the wickets, every moment of composure was rebellion. A fierce rebellion against doubt, against erasure, against the quiet cruelty of being left out, points out Prem Panicker.
Skipper Steve Smith said the opener, who suffered the quad injury while fielding but struggled on to scored 20 runs from 15 balls before the game was washed out, is unlikely to be fit to face India or New Zealand on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Mitchell Starc and Ben Stokes set the scene for a dramatic Ashes series.
England captain Harry Brook smashes records with blistering 135 against New Zealand
Star batter Beth Mooney struck a magnificent hundred and led a remarkable Australian fightback along with tailender Alana King to set up a crushing 107-run win over Pakistan in their ICC World Cup match, in Colombo, on Wednesday.
Now 29, Renshaw is hopeful of having another run in Test whites and believes being father to two young children has helped give him a sense of perspective.
