Pakistan-born leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed was named an Australian citizen on Tuesday, clearing the final procedural hurdle for his selection for the Ashes series against England starting on July 10.
Paine's batting lineup has been rated the worst Australia has ever, so the bowlers could well be under pressure
A disappointed Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa feels he may need to look beyond revival of his red ball career after being ignored for the four-Test series in India.
India's premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has revealed that he felt like he was being "thrown under the bus" after a remark by former head coach Ravi Shastri left him crushed during a torrid phase in his career when he contemplated retirement multiple times.
Though Australia are still undecided about the composition of their team for the second Test, captain Michael Clarke says if they go with one spinner, it doesn't necessarily have to be Nathan Lyon.
Having finally bowled India out for 336, Australia finished Day 3 on 21 for no loss, an overall lead of 54 runs in the final match of a see-saw series which remains level at 1-1.
Australia pick two uncapped players for first two Tests
Sri Lankan Kusal Mendis struck a majestic maiden century on day three of the first Test against Australia to leave the bowler-dominated contest evenly poised at Pallekele on Thursday.
The Australians still managed to score at a fair pace and will resume on Monday on 77-4 with Mitch Marsh, who was 27 not out, and Travis Head, unbeaten on 17, looking to cut deeper into their 279-run victory target.
Sydneysider Warner went into the current series with question marks over his form due to a lack of test runs, but a rapidfire 164 in the first innings of the opening test in Perth erased any doubts over his position in the team.
'England were playing with nine and a half men'
News of all that transpired on and off the cricket field
Australia repelled a brief England fightback led by Alastair Cook and Ben Stokes to remain firmly in control of the second Ashes Test on the third day at Lord's on Saturday.
Australia bowled out Bangladesh for 260 and then suffered a spectacular top-order collapse of their own to leave them reeling at 18 for three after the spin-dominated opening day of the first Test on Sunday.
'And I think Pat really hit that home. Let's be calm. Let's go do the basics really well and when our chance comes let's be ruthless.'
Babar Azam's glorious unbeaten 102 kept Pakistan alive but Australia remained on course for victory in the second Test in Karachi on Tuesday.
Babar Azam fell one run short of his maiden century as Pakistan set Australia a mammoth victory target of 538 on day three of the second and final Test.
India captain Virat Kohli says the world's top batsmen will have reason to fear Jasprit Bumrah after the talented young paceman put Australia to the sword in the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
After Australia resumed on 59-2, West Indies made frequent inroads to stay in the contest.
The Australian captain also said that Bancroft's comments won't be held against him during future team selections.
In the ODI rankings, Sri Lanka's two ODI matches at home against Zimbabwe =saw a number of movers, most notably on the bowling side through spinner Maheesh Theekshana, who moved to a career high rating (634) and rank (11th) with four wickets across the matches.
'Last night we talked quite heavily about the day, more because we thought it was a really disappointing day and we just wanted to get our point across'
Australia's selectors have responded to the threat of a first ever Test series sweep on home soil by dropping five players from their squad for the third match against South Africa, which begins in Adelaide on Thursday. Joe Burns, Adam Voges and Callum Ferguson, as well as wicketkeeper Peter Nevill, paid the price for a string of batting collapses, while seamer Joe Mennie was also axed after the innings defeat in the second Test in Hobart.
Pakistan's spinners scythed through Australia's top order in the second innings to get them close to victory in the first Test after twin centuries from Younus Khan and youngster Ajmal Shehzad helped the hosts set an improbable target.
India will eye revenge for their defeat in one-day series as they meet fierce rivals Australia in three Twenty20 Internationals, starting on Tuesday, January 26 at Adelaide Oval. Games will also be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (January 29) and Sydney Cricket Ground (January 31). The matches will see some of the world's explosive batsmen in action, while the series is also tipped as a much-needed preparatory ground ahead of the crucial World T20 scheduled to be held in March in India.
West Indies were bowled out for 271 in their first innings after Australia pacer James Pattison ended Darren Bravo's stubborn resistance at tea on Day 3 of the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Monday.
Asserts he has 'performed well abroad in the last 18 months'.
Following the conclusion of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Australia's stand-in skipper Steve Smith lauded his team while adding that the series was played in really good spirit.
Images of the fourth and final Test between India and Australia being played at the Feroz Shah Kotla
Images from the ICC World Cup match between Australia and South Africa at Old Trafford on Saturday
Opener Murali Vijay hit a half-century as India's batsmen survived some intense pressure from Australia's bowlers on the last day to draw the fourth and final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday.
Team India got off to a slow start on the third morning, adding only 14 runs to their overnight total (182-3) in the first 11 overs of the day.
Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc along with spinner Nathan Lyon played all four Tests against India. While Cummins and Hazlewood starred with the ball, Starc and Lyon had to toil hard for wickets.
Opening batsman Chris Rogers wants an unchanged Australian team for the fifth and final Ashes Test as a reward for the eleven players who beat England in the first four matches to emphatically wrest back the urn.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI in the second Test against Australia?
India head into the third Test with momentum after dampening Australia's Christmas cheer with a dominant eight-wicket win in the second match in Melbourne.
Apart from Kohli, four other Indians who were picked in the ICC's Test and ODI Teams of the Year.
Images from Day 4 of the third Test between Australia and New Zealand in Sydney on Monday.
Todd Murphy wants to learn R Ashwin's carrom ball to enhance his skills.
Dinesh Chandimal smashed 118 not out and Kamindu Mendis produced a half-century in his debut Test to help Sri Lanka eclipse Australia's first innings 364 on day three of the second Test in Galle on Sunday.
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