New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum refused to blame third umpire Nigel Llong's controversial review decision for his team's loss in the third and final Test against Australia but said the "frustrating" ruling had a major bearing on the game.
Australia have cut opening batsman Ed Cowan and wicketkeeper Matthew Wade from their list of 18 centrally-contracted players, but handed opener Phillip Hughes another chance to establish himself in the national set-up.
Spinner Nathan Lyon is likely to retain his place in the Australia side for the third Ashes Test despite the attractions of going with a four-pronged pace attack in Perth this week, coach Darren Lehmann said on Wednesday.
Australia captain Steven Smith said he was embarrassed by his team's performance against South Africa and accused his players of lacking pride in their wickets after another batting collapse paved the way to a crushing 2-0 series defeat.
A fired-up Mitchell Johnson dismissed England captain Alastair Cook cheaply in a hammer blow for the tourists after Australia declared for a mammoth first innings of 570 to be firmly in control after day two of the second Ashes Test on Friday.
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.
Pakistan coach Waqar Younis has warned his team to beware a backlash from a wounded Australia in the second and final Test in Abu Dhabi starting on Thursday.
The Men in Blue have never won a bilateral ODI contest on Australian soil.
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.
Factbox on major ball-tampering incidents in cricket
Australia were dealt a blow as their all-rounder Mitchell Marsh will not bowl again in the remainder of the second cricket Test against India due to a hamstring injury on the first day at the Gabba.
Despite the weeks of debate about the make-up of the Australia team for next week's first Ashes Test, captain Michael Clarke is of the opinion that 11 of the 12 players are "no-brainer" selections.
Australia moved within 201 runs of victory in the fourth Ashes Test with all 10 wickets in hand after routing England's second innings for 179 to wrest back the momentum on a roller-coaster fourth day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday.
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.
Sri Lanka's victory in the first Test at Galle will rank among the greatest comebacks of all time.
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