Australian captain Steve Smith was, on Saturday, ruled out of the Twenty20 series against India due to a shoulder injury, a massive setback for the already struggling visitors.
Steve Smith is in the middle of a challenging phase as captain and he must define the way for the Australian team's comeback in the ongoing One-Day International series against India, feels his former skipper Michael Clarke.
Rajasthan Royals skipper Steve Smith wants to end his IPL 2019 campaign on a winning note against Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 30 before leaving for home to prepare for the upcoming ODI World Cup.
Following their emphatic nine-wicket win in the Indore Test, Australia will be looking to continue the momentum as they seek a series-levelling victory in the fourth and final Test, starting in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
Spin twins Matthew Kuhnemann and Nathan Lyon combined to dismantle Sri Lanka and bowl Australia to a crushing victory by an innings and 242 runs in the opening Test in Galle on Saturday.
Victory in the fourth Test at Old Trafford meant the Australians could not lose the series and the 2-2 scoreline meant they retained the urn.
Steve Smith's joy at leading Australia to a Test series win over New Zealand that took them back to the top of the world rankings on Wednesday was tempered by the news he had been charged with dissent for his role in a confrontation with an umpire.
Australia announced a 16-member squad on Thursday with several fresh faces added to the group that played India in the fifth and final Test at Sydney last week. Australia won the marquee series 3-1.
The selectors have decided to rest David Warner for the five-match T20 series in India following Australia's ODI World Cup triumph.
Australian players will not travel to Bangladesh for a two-test tour starting this month until the pay dispute between them and the sport's national governing body is resolved, captain Steve Smith said on Tuesday.
Gautam Gambhir termed sanctions imposed on Steve Smith and David Warner 'harsh' and raised questions whether the errant duo paid the price for revolting against Cricket Australia on pay hike issue.
India captain Virat Kohli remained in second spot behind Steve Smith while Alastair Cook jumped nine places to be eighth in the latest ICC Test rankings after his unbeaten double century in the ongoing Ashes.
As the battle for semi-final berths intensifies in Group B, top-ranked South Africa will aim to assert their dominance and secure a spot in the final four when they face a struggling England in a high-stakes Champions Trophy clash in Karachi on Saturday.
The former Australia captain declined to name the players involved but reiterated that he had told them, "I don't want to know about it", and then walked away.
Pakistan's ODI series victory in Australia showcased the raw pace and skill of their fast bowling attack, spearheaded by Haris Rauf.
'So whatever runs he might not have gotten (against Ireland), you know, he wants to score double the runs.'
Former skipper Steve Waugh has heaped praise on the current Australia captain Steven Smith, labeling him 'the gap hitter I've ever seen'. A guest speaker at the India Today Conclave 2016 in New Delhi, Waugh was asked to describe the prototype for his perfect batsmen, which involved him cherry-picking the greatest strengths from the best players he's seen. Waugh praised Smith's ability to pierce the field with his 'strong and subtle wrist'. "I think Steve Smith would be in there purely because he's the best gap hitter I've ever seen of any cricketer," he said. "If you watch him bat, he rarely hits the ball to the fieldsmen. That's why he scores so many runs. "Even though his technique is not great, he finds the gaps incredibly well." Smith had recently accepted that it's timing and form that he relies on when looking to go big. "For me, hitting sixes is about trying to keep my shape as much as possible," Smith said last week.
Images from Day 3 of the fifth Test between Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday.
Cricket Australia will not reconsider reducing the ban on Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft in the ball-tampering case despite a series against a full-strength India awaiting them next month.
Nathan McSweeney, who opened in the first three Tests with little success, has been dropped.
'I said before the game that if they bowl a lot at my head then they're not bowling at my stumps and trying to get me out lbw and caught behind the wicket. And I think that perhaps played into our favour a little bit in this innings'.
David Warner joined former captain Steve Smith and batsman Cameron Bancroft in deciding not to contest the sanctions imposed on him by his cricket board for his role in last month's ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.
Cummins had no qualms in admitting that his team was thoroughly outplayed in the series opener but he promised to bounce back in Adelaide
Australia dominated the proceedings on the opening day of the ICC World Test Championship final at the Oval.
Kohli trails Smith by 26 points and will have to produce a string of strong performances to leapfrog the Australian.
England skipper Jos Buttler expressed delight in Ben Duckett's record-breaking knock even as he hailed Australia for chasing down a massive total of 352 runs in the ICC Champions Trophy Group B match in Lahore on Saturday.
Australian batsman Steve Smith reckons that with the Gabba track starting to play a few tricks, an engrossing final day is in store in the fourth and deciding Test against India.
Australia captain Steve Smith brushed off concerns about his fitness on the eve of the fifth and final Ashes Test against England on Wednesday before Mitchell Starc's return to spearhead the pace attack was confirmed as the only change to his team.
India's Abhishek Sharma has surged to the second spot in the ICC Men's T20I Player Rankings for batters after a stunning 135-run innings in the fifth and final T20I against England.
Pakistan look to be positive against strong Australia team
Australia spinner Nathan Lyon has nothing but respect for India's batting great Virat Kohli.
Former India opener Shikhar Dhawan believes India has a strong chance to win the Champions Trophy despite the absence of Jasprit Bumrah.
Australia's Steve Smith is back on top of the list of batsmen in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Player Rankings after India captain Virat Kohli could manage only 21 runs in his two innings in the first Test against New Zealand in Wellington, which his side lost by 10 wickets to concede a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. This is the eighth time that Smith is on top of the rankings after first occupying the top position in June 2015.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has criticised the International Cricket Committee (ICC) for not taking any action against Australia captain Steve Smith over a decision review controversy in this week's Bengaluru Test.
Australia make solid start to Boxing Day Test in rainy Melbourne
Not since the golden era of the West Indies in the 1970s has a touring pace bowler struck fear into the hearts of Australians as much as Jasprit Bumrah.
Head blasted a match-winning, unbeaten 154 from 129 balls at Trent Bridge as world champions Australia stormed to a seven-wicket win over England in the first ODI on Thursday.
Steve Smith continued his sizzling form with an unbeaten century as Australia laid a strong foundation on the first day of the second Test .
Australia buried India under an avalanche of runs for a 51-run drubbing in the second ODI and an unassailable 2-0 series lead after the majestic Steve Smith produced another master-class in the form of a 64-ball 104, in Sydney, on Sunday.
Smith was handed a one-year ban along with his then deputy David Warner exactly a year ago for their roles in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.
