Australia spinner Nathan Lyon said there is no room for racial abuse in sport and hailed India pacer Mohammad Siraj for calling out racial abuse during the recently-concluded third Test in Sydney.
Australia medium-pacer Peter Siddle said his team is keen to put up a fine show in the Sydney Test against India in memory of late Phillip Hughes, who succumbed to a fatal bouncer on this venue five weeks back.
Steve Smith scored a brilliant century to help Australia knock out defending champions India and set up a mouth-watering final against neighbours New Zealand, at the Sydney Cricket Ground, on Thursday.
'He showed what Test cricket is all about.'< 'It is not about hitting the ball and looking fancy out in the middle, it is about showing grit.'
Factbox on the four-Test series between Australia and India, which begins on Thursday
Rauf said had Hardik Pandya or Dinesh Karthik hit him like that, he would have felt 'hurt'.
Boxing Day Test will witness a special tribute to former Australia batsman Dean Jones
There's been no place like home for Australia and New Zealand on their respective paths to the World Cup final but just one of the co-hosts will enjoy that particular advantage when they meet in Sunday's title decider.
Former pacer Laxmipathy Balaji feels the Indian fast-bowling attack has been in impressive form in the run-up to the ICC World Twenty20 especially veteran Ashish Nehra, who has made a fine comeback into the squad. "India has prepared well for the ICC World Twenty20 and have got the combinations right in the last three tournaments against Australia, Sri Lanka and the Asia Cup. The seniors as well as the juniors are doing well. The fast bowling department has been looking great especially in the death overs," said Balaji. "Ashish Nehra and Bumrah are bowling very well now. Ashish has made a very good comeback. It's not easy to do coming back after six years to a new Indian team. He has had his ups and downs. I rate Ashish very high," he added in praise of Nehra, who was out of the team for a long period after being part of the victorious 2011 World Cup squad.
Younis, who was recently appointed as batting coach for Pakistan's tour of England, has amassed 10,099 runs in 118 Tests for Pakistan at an average of 52.05.
Following is a factbox on the first Test match between Australia and England, which starts on Thursday:
Former Australia captain Richie Benaud, the celebrated 'voice of cricket' in the commentary box, has died at the age of 84 after battling skin cancer.
The two groups will unite late on Thursday night and with the opening ODI slated for Friday, the players will have no scope to wriggle in a practice session as one unit.
Pitch talk has been a constant feature of India's four-Test series against Australia and the trend continued on the eve of the final match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Virat Kohli's tourists are the second ranked ODI side in the world and will be looking to get into their groove in the three 50-over and three Twenty20 matches that precede the four-match Test series around the new year.
All-rounder JP Duminy claimed a hat-trick as South Africa stormed into the World Cup semi-finals with a comprehensive nine-wicket victory over Sri Lanka at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday.
India needed 14 runs from the last over and Pandya delivered with sixes off the second and fourth deliveries
Steve Smith scored a sparkling century and put on 128 for the sixth wicket with Brad Haddin to rescue Australia and push the hosts to 326 all out shortly before close of play on the first day of the fifth Ashes Test against England on Friday.
Sri Lanka were expected to win, but South Africa had other plans.
'I will be fine to play the T20Is. I have been working hard to play for my country, happy that I've got the opportunity'
Sri Lanka batsman Dinesh Chandimal has been ruled out of the rest of the World Cup due to a hamstring injury and replaced in the squad by Kusal Perera.
Australia's Chris Rogers finally scored the big hundred he so craved in a brilliant innings of 158 not out against England in the second Ashes Test at Lord's on Thursday.
Mohammed Siraj was in Australia for his first Test tour when his father Mohammed Ghaus passed away and had to tackle the emotional phase to concentrate on cricket on that trip.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the third Test?
Quinton de Kock's return to form in South Africa's World Cup quarter-final rout of Sri Lanka was one of the most pleasing aspects of a convincing victory for the Proteas.
Strict health protocols are in place during the first England-West Indies Test.
"India's task is yet to be completed. The journey has just begun. Even teams like the Netherlands are not weak teams. In T20, it's anybody's game. If you win the tournament then only you can say the mission is complete and as an Indian team we have done the job," he said.
Pakistan will join India, England and New Zealand in the semi-finals
BCCI president and former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Tuesday revealed that he underwent as many as 22 COVID-19 tests in the past four and a half months while trying to navigate his professional commitments amid the raging pandemic.
Australia captain Steve Smith slammed a half-century to break Don Bradman's record for the most runs in a Test series against India and put the hosts in control on Day 4 of the fourth and final Test in Sydney.
Cricket has few examples of players calling it quits when very much at the top their game. It is anything but coincidence that most of them happen to be from the most successful nation in the history of the sport.
Watson pulled up sore after bowling on day one at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and although he went on to score 83 with the bat, the all-rounder was spared from bowling duties during Sri Lanka's brief second innings on Friday.
Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur has heaped praise on right-handed batsman Babar Azam, saying he is as good as swashbuckling Indian batsman Virat Kohli. During the recently concluded Hamilton Test against New Zealand which Pakistan lost by eight wickets, Azam scored an unbeaten 90 and Arthur says the former deserves the high praise.
'It does not matter even if you are the world's best, because if you have tired legs, obviously you cannot execute your plans as well you would want to. So, it's great learning for workload management for all of us,' said India's fielding coach R Sridhar.
Cricketers at the elite level will simply need time to process the death of Phillip Hughes before they would be able to play again, according to a psychologist who works with New Zealand's high performance athletes.
Images from the T20 world Cup Super 12 match between India and the Netherlands, at Sydney Cricket Ground, on Thursday.
Among his many achievements, his 49 ODI centuries stand out as a testament to his mastery of the format.
The first day of inaugural day-night Test match also marks the first death anniversary of Phil Hughes, who had died after being hit on the cricket field
Mohit Sharma to replace the lanky pacer
Floored by the praise showered on him by Brian Lara, pacer Wahab Riaz has invited the West Indian legend to Pakistan.
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