Australia closed in on a victory that will see them retain the Ashes after ending an incredible second day of the third Test with a lead of 283 runs, having bowled out England for an embarrassing 67 in their first innings.
Iceland's Eyjafjallajoekull volcano has once again started emitting ash, with the latest eruptions casting a 1,600 km-wide ash cloud over the Atlantic.Previous eruptions from Eyjafjallajoekull brought Europe's aviation industry to a grinding halt due to fears about visibility and the possibility of ash entering the engines of airplanes. This had left thousands of travelers stranded across Europe.Authorities are closely monitoring the position and height of the ash cloud.
England have retained old warhorse James Anderson who is seven shy of reaching the landmark 700 wickets and become the first pacer to achieve the feat.
Steve Smith is back in the Test squad along with David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, the other two players hit with long bans for their involvement in the Cape Town scandal in March, 2018.
Spinner Nathan Lyon believes Australia have enough time to chase the 412 victory target and win the first Ashes Test against England at Cardiff
England head coach Trevor Bayliss reckons his team cannot win the upcoming Ashes series unless their catching improves.
Michael Vaughan called on Stokes to forgo the IPL to boost his chances of being fully fit for the Ashes
Djokovic will need to win in Tokyo and then the US Open later this year to achieve the feat that has so far only been accomplished by Steffi Graf in 1988.
Tactician par excellence Gautam Gambhir couldn't have envisaged a battle of brains with a more different kind of adversary than the smiling yet ruthless Pat Cummins as Kolkata Knight Riders face a spirited Sunrisers Hyderabad in a mega IPL final in Chennai on Sunday.
Denly fell six runs short of his maiden Test century and Ben Stokes made a sparkling 67 in bright sunshine at The Oval to put England in a strong position to level the series at 2-2.
England all-rounder Moeen Ali said he will not travel to India next year for the Test series.
Australia coach Mickey Arthur considers the ongoing four-match Test series against India as a stepping stone for regaining the Ashes next year, which he says remains the team's ultimate goal.
The man of the series award for the Ashes has been named after Dennis Compton and Keith Miller
World champions Australia will hope to round off one of the nation's most successful seasons in cricket with victory in a rare Test series in New Zealand starting at Wellington's Basin Reserve on Thursday.
England 'want to stamp authority over Australia from Day 1', says Ben Stokes
There was no fan fare at the airport as the players quietly departed for their homes from the airport.
England Test captain Andrew Strauss considers the upcoming series against India as tough as the historic Ashes but is banking on home advantage to upstage the world's number one side.
Australia will start as favourites to reclaim the Ashes over the next seven weeks if only because of their home advantage but picking the winners in cricket's oldest Test rivalry has become a fool's game in recent years
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran shared an opening stand of 118 to drive Afghanistan to a stunning 21-run win over Australia.
England captain Alastair Cook believes winning this summer's Ashes series would be his "best achievement".
'I don't think the target was a lot. It was just 10 over-par. We bowled well in patches. Just made a few mistakes.'
Factbox on the fifth Ashes Test match between Australia and England, which starts on Thursday:
Stokes, who is still recovering from a knee surgery, hasn't bowled since the second Ashes Test in June last year.
England were left to reflect on a tough day in the field after Australia piled up 337 for one at the start of the second Ashes Test at Lord's on Thursday.
Lyon finished the last cycle of the World Test Championship in 2021-23 as its leading wicket-taker with 88 scalps, but Brook in undeterred.
Leg-spinner Adil Rashid and paceman Steven Finn were included in England's 13-man squad named on Wednesday for next week's first Ashes Test against Australia.
The controversial decision review system has had a last-minute update for the start of the Ashes this week, with a real-time Snickometer set to be added to the technology available to match umpires.
England head coach Trevor Bayliss expects Alastair Cook, who has captained his country more times than anyone else, to lead them into next winter's Ashes. Cook had recently admitted he did not know how long he would remain in the job, suggesting it could be as little as two months. However, he played down that speculation of stepping down as skipper post the ongoing Test series against India before the start of the first Test itself.
England pace bowler Tim Bresnan has been ruled out for the remainder of the English season, including the final Ashes Test, with a stress fracture in his lower back.
Warner is poised to wrap up his Test cricket journey with the upcoming third Test against Pakistan at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).
The Czech was a player transformed after a medical timeout in the second set and rallied to secure a place in her first Grand Slam semi-final, where she will meet the winner of the clash between Americans Jennifer Brady and Jessica Pegula.
Australia, England fined for slow over-rate after first Ashes Test
At The Oval were Broad's father former England cricketer and ICC Referee Chris Broad (he scored three hundreds in consecutive Ashes Tests in the 1986 series), his sister Gemma, who once worked as performance analyst for the England cricket team, his partner Mollie King (a singer who is part of the girl band The Saturdays) and infant daughter Anabella (born last November).
The left-arm pacer is expected to join Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris in the Australian attack for the first Test against England starting at Gabba on November 21 after missing out on the Ashes tour of England earlier this year.
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.
Australia sealed a dominant 10-wicket victory over England before lunch on day five of the series-opening Ashes Test on Monday, having chased 170 runs without loss in a blow to the tourists' pride.
Big test for India, Eng; minnows likely to shake applecart
Australian media hailed Pat Cummins' batting heroics as the final blow of a "rope-a-dope" strategy that delivered a thrilling two-wicket win over England
Australia coach Tim Nielsen says the three-match ODI series is a mere formality for his team and an opportunity to try out youngsters.
Dravid praised Rohit's growth as leader, Virat Kohli's dedication
