Veteran Smith, IPL sensation Fraser-McGurk ignored; Marsh to lead Aus at T20 WC
India aim to seal series as Tilak Varma looks for quality batting time
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.
'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'.
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.
The blockbuster series will be a survival of the fittest as Australia look to avenge successive losses on home soil when they go head-to-head from Friday.
Rohit is on a paternity break and will miss the series-opener. Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is captaining the Indian team in his absence.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The 37-year-old spat blood and was feeling his jaw before leaving the ground.
Steve Smith has branded India favourites to win the T20 World Cup after Virat Kohli's side outclassed Australia in a warm-up match on Wednesday.
Pat Cummins, 28, becomes only the second specialist fast bowler to take the captaincy after Ray Lindwall, who led for one Test against India in the mid-1950s.
Steve Smith and Travis Head join top-ranked Marnus Labuschagne following their centuries in the ICC World Test Championship Final against India.
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.
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.
Kohli trails Smith by 26 points and will have to produce a string of strong performances to leapfrog the Australian.
Will India drop Rohit for the Sydney Test and put Kohli on notice? Or will the team management grant the senior pros a final chance to redeem themselves?
Ahead of the third Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Tophy, Australia's stand-in skipper Steve Smith opened up on the mistakes made by the visitors in the first two Tests.
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.
In-form Sri Lanka right-hander Kamindu Mendis is another player on the move, with the 26-year-old improving five places to 11th and reaching a new career-high rating after he scored another century in the second Test of his side's recent series with New Zealand.
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.
Once in a while, everyone is allowed a bit of slump in form and Steve Smith is no exception, stated David Warner, who can relate to his former skipper's woes against India having endured a similarly wretched run during the 2019 Ashes in England.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the WTC Final played between Australia and India at The Oval in London on Thursday.
The Australia team has come in for criticism from former players over various issues including their approach and selection.
Joe Root became England's most successful batter after he became the first batter from his nation to go past the 19,000-run mark
Smith's (28) ODI haul of 568 runs at 63.11 from 10 innings were enough to pip Finch (23) who scored 673 runs at 56.08 from 13 innings.
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.
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.
'Any time Smith and Stoinis are there there's a chance. They are both quality players and given the opportunity, they would have taken the match closer.'
Australia's batting star Steve Smith on Monday said he would be willing to take part in the IPL if the T20 World Cup scheduled in his country for October-November is postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The BCCI is eyeing the September-October window for the indefinitely postponed IPL with the T20 World Cup unlikely to take place.
Kohli's reponse came via a cryptic Instagram Story and urged individuals to develop the ability to be disliked in order to free themselves from the influence of others' opinions.
Former captain Smith, who has endured boos from the home crowds for his role in last year's ball-tampering scandal but has responded by piling up 671 runs in five innings, said it was incredibly special to retain the Ashes in England, something Australia have not done for 18 years.
The Australian Cricketers' Association have always contested the bans were overly-harsh and have continued to push for all three to be able to return to representative cricket immediately.
For Shastri, India's recent successes in Test cricket have often been defined by the stubbornness and resilience of the tail-enders.
Steve Smith continued his sizzling form with an unbeaten century as Australia laid a strong foundation on the first day of the second Test .
India mounted a positive reply after Steve Smith's unbeaten 178 and Glenn Maxwell's maiden century powered Australia to a series-high 451 on day two of the third Test in Ranchi on Friday.
Rain is expected early on Tuesday before drier conditions and, with Australia requiring a further 174 runs and England needing seven wickets, a classic is brewing.
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