Since his return from a one-year ban, Steve Smith has been in incredible form, amassing runs also in the just-concluded three-match ODI series, giving strong competition to India skipper Virat Kohli, who scored 183 runs in the tournament to secure his spot as a top ODI batsmen in the ICC rankings.
Australia captain Steve Smith won his second Allan Border Medal on Monday, becoming the fifth player to claim the country's highest individual cricket honour more than once.
Virat Kohli imitates Cameron Bancroft's infamous sandpaper gate incident.
Smith was miffed after the umpire's decision to term the delivery of New Zealand paceman Neil Wagner as 'dead ball'
Taylor also ridiculed another Australian payer, Mumbai Indians' Chris Lynn, for suggesting that Cricket Australia should arrange a chartered flight to bring back players at the end of the tournament.
Except in the IPL, the Australians have not had a good look at Varun Chakravarthy's bowling and that could spell trouble for Steve Smith and Co.
Steve Smith scored an unbeaten 85 to guide Australia to 339/5 as England wasted favourable bowling conditions on the first day of the second Ashes Test.
Virat Kohli top-scored with a fluent 84 as India overpowered Australia by five wickets to storm into the ICC Champions Trophy final, in Dubai, on Tuesday.
This is Sri Lanka's biggest victory over Australia in ODIs in terms of runs.
Smith, considered one of the best batsmen in international cricket, could managed just 10 runs in the four innings he has played so far in the series and Moody said he is overdue for a big score.
Former skipper Mark Taylor has backed the appointment of Steve Smith as Australia's vice-captain more than three years after he was stripped of the captaincy for his involvement in the Newlands ball-tampering scandal.
'That is as far as a human being can go with the dive. Sensational.'
'It's been nice to score some runs in that time and we're always looking for perfection, and for me (Thursday) was as close to perfection as I will get.'
The Australian media summed up their team's 295-run hammering by India in the opening Test with strong headlines such as 'Perth-etic Humiliation' and 'Monster Loss', former players called for some tough decisions, including sacking Marnus Labuschagne.
'India is much stronger in white ball than the red ball. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli... they know that these youngsters are pushing them.'
Batting under lights on a lively track, Australia then suffered a collapse of their own and finished day two on 99-6 for an overall lead of 181 as they look to complete a series sweep.
In the next cycle, the Aussies are scheduled to play four games in India, two in Pakistan and two in Sri Lanka, besides 10 Tests at home.
Speaking ahead of the first Test from June 25 onwards at Barbados, Joseph said as quoted by Sydney Morning Herald, "To take 13 wickets across the series was a good feeling. A lot has changed. There were a lot of opportunities that came my way."
Australia batsman Steve Smith scored a half-century before pacer Mitchell Starc bagged a hat-trick to rip through the Netherlands top order in a rain-affected warm-up game in Thiruvananthapuram
Mitch Owen has been rewarded for his fine form in his first five Twenty20 internationals by being named in both of Australia's squads for short-format series against South Africa in the far north of the country next month.
Steve Smith is understood to have subsequently undergone a concussion test and was omitted from the first ODI side 'as a precautionary measure'.
Joe Root is the leading run-scorer at Lord's across all international formats, amassing 2,526 runs in 33 matches at the Home of Cricket.
Former captain Tim Paine has been appointed coach of the Australia 'A' team for this season with the country approaching a transition to a new generation of players as a handful of Test stalwarts near retirement.
Images from Day 4 of the first Ashes Test between England and Australia in Edgbaston, on Sunday.
The Aussie skipper joins the Don and Sir Gary. Rajneesh Gupta has all the numbers on the Fastest to 6,000 Tests club.
Steven Smith is confident that Royals will get off to a good start.
Smith is currently the number one ranked batsman in the ICC Test batsmen rankings and he has a lead of 34 points over Indian skipper Virat Kohli.
Australian batter Steve Smith on Thursday said his bowlers reaped the benefits of relentlessly targeting the off stump.
The Australian skipper further said that he is really excited to play against New Zealand in the summit clash and even called them a 'great team'.
Former Australia captain Steve Smith will continue his return to competitive cricket in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) next month after signing up to replace Shakib Al Hasan in the Twenty20 league.
After Australia were reduced to 75 for 3, Steve Smith steadied the innings, providing much-needed runs, while Head powered his way to a second consecutive Test century, continuing his prolific form against India.
Spin legend Shane Warne has rated Steve Smith as a better Test batsman than India captain Virat Kohli, saying when it comes to five day game the Australia skipper "is the man".
'For him to go away for an eight-week tournament and quarantine before the tournament starts - call it 11 weeks. I don't think he is going to give up 11 weeks away from his family and his partner for US$ 380,000.'
Showing an insatiable hunger to learn and succeed, Shubman Gill turned to senior players and former greats for insights, embodying the ethos of a student of the game.
Root reached the milestone during his 69th WTC appearance - a single pushed to deep backward square leg brought up yet another half-century and sealed his place in the record books.
Australia, with Steve Smith back in their line-up, will retain the Ashes with victory in the fourth Test, while a win for England would set up a decider at the Oval next week.
Dimuth Karunaratne's Test career ended in a whimper as Sri Lanka's most prolific Test opener fell caught behind to Kuhnemann after making 14.
'He knows exactly what he's trying to do, exactly what the opposition are trying to do and he analyses every ball -- it's like a computer, he spits out the answer'
Shamar Joseph dismissed the formidable Steve Smith with his very first delivery in Test cricket.
The right-hander feels he can now play his natural game in the shortest format without any hesitation.
