Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff and Tim Puetz pulled off a shock 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(4), 7-5 win over Spain's Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez to give Germany a 2-1 lead in their Davis Cup quarter-final on Saturday.
Smith was forced to skip Tuesday's training session but Paine said he thought his predecessor as captain would be ready to go
New Zealand Cricket has indicated that it may not block its players from fully participating in the upcoming IPL if the knock-out phase matches of the lucrative league clash with the Test series opener in England beginning on June 2.
James Sutherland said Darren Lehmann has not resigned and will continue to coach the Australia men's team
Former champions Kolkata Knight Riders will look to strike a perfect balance under the astute leadership of Eoin Morgan when they open their IPL campaign against a consistent Sunrisers Hyderabad in Chennai on Sunday.
Chappell questioned why Smith is eligible to captain Australia again while David Warner has a lifetime leadership ban. He said Smith's "crime" in the ball-tampering scandal was greater than that of Warner, his deputy at that time.
With the return of Smith and Warner, and the presence of the solid Labuschagne, the Australian captain reckons 'we'll be a different kettle of fish'.
Australia have left masterblaster batsman Glenn Maxwell out of their squad for the five-match one-day international series against England that follows this week's fifth Ashes Test.
Ajinkya Rahane's India have a mountain to climb, even if a draw would be enough to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy two years after their breakthrough 2-1 win in the 2018/19 series in Australia.
The skies were clear of the bushfire smoke that has shrouded the city on several occasions over the last few months and has organisers prepared for delays during the match.
Matthew Wade said he would be happy to remain at the top of Australia's order for the rest of the series
Embattled Cricket Australia (CA) Chairman David Peever is set to step down in the wake of a review into the board's governance and culture, local media reported on Thursday.
Earllier, Smith and Warner were reportedly banned for one year, ruling them out of the home series against India, while Cameron Bancroft was handed a nine-month suspension as Cricket Australia came down heavily on the errant trio which disgraced itself in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.
Pat Cummins said the Adelaide wicket had played a part in the humbling of India in the first test and the Australia paceman is hoping for another good track when the teams meet again in the second Test in Melbourne on December 26.
Earl Eddings was named the new permanent chairman of Cricket Australia (CA) by the board, on Wednesday, four weeks after taking up the post on a temporary basis when David Peever was forced to resign.
Cameron Green is made for Test cricket and will make his debut in the pink ball match against India, Australia captain Tim Paine announced
CCTV footage from the players' tunnel at Kingsmead showed Australia vice-captain David Warner and South African wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock involved in a fiery exchange as players climbed the stairwell to their dressing rooms during the tea break.
Two-time World Cup-winning Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has no doubt that wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will be a 'successful' India captain if he is handed the responsibility in the future.
Cricket Australia is open to the idea of shifting the Boxing Day Test to Perth, where the situation is under control.
IMAGES from the Day-Night Test, the first played between New Zealand and England at Auckland on Thursday
'Last night we talked quite heavily about the day, more because we thought it was a really disappointing day and we just wanted to get our point across'
Australians can expect a backlash from the top ranked Test side in the world, according to former captain Ricky Ponting.
Enduring a forgettable outing in the first half of this year's IPL, two-time former champions Kolkata Knight Riders would look for reversal of fortunes when they resume their campaign against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the second phase of T20 league in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
New South Wales paceman Abbott and Queensland veteran Neser are the reserve quicks behind regulars Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and James Pattinson.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Australia offie Nathan Lyon reckons the Indian captain 'will be able to adapt to any climate that we are able to play in'.
The Most Valuable Player Index table is telling another (worrying?) story: Performance from players in teams that are not going to make the top four is dropping somewhat alarmingly. The IPL is gruelling and cruel. It can do wonders to your career, but can also seriously hurt your international prospects if you get injured in a match that is essentially inconsequential. Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index after Game 63.
Top order batsman Usman Khawaja has been omitted from Australia's annual list of 20 elite, contracted players in 2020 after falling out of favour with selectors midway through last year's Ashes. The 33-year-old lefthander has not played for the Test side since being dropped after the third match against England in Leeds last August.
'Right now I think Finchy (Aaron Finch) is doing a great job, Painey is doing a great job. So, that gives Pat Cummins the opportunity to learn and watch and sit back and see how he feels about that role and experience a few different things'
Australian batsmen David Warner and Cameron Bancroft signed up for a limited overs tournament in Northern Territory in July as they look to return to cricket in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal which saw them banned from the national team.
On the back of some great all-round performance, Australia thumped New Zealand by 247 runs to win the Boxing Day Test and take a 2-0 series lead. Images from Day 4 of the Boxing Day Test played at the MCG on Sunday.
The trio, stripped of their positions, will discover the full extent of their punishment in the next "24 hours" with Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland promising "significant sanctions" at a news conference in Johannesburg.
Manchester United manager David Moyes criticised referee Howard Webb for not giving his side a late penalty as their revival ended in a 2-1 home defeat by Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Wednesday.
The 12th edition of the tournament will feature Robert Bailey, Gregory Brathwaite, Anil Chaudhary, Nigel Duguid, Shaun George, Shaun Haig, Mark Hawthorne, Ranmore Martinesz, C.K. Nandan, Ahsan Raza, Shozab Raza, Timothy Robert Robinson, Langton Rusere and Paul Wilson in umpiring role.
Australia pick two uncapped players for first two Tests
Signed playing shirts from the Boxing Day Test will be auctioned online from Thursday, with all proceeds also going to the Australian Red Cross.
Rediff.com presents the best catches from the eighth edition of the IPL.
Australia opener David Warner believes India's Rohit Sharma has the firepower to surpass West Indies great Brian Lara's record 400 not out in a Test match.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
'It'll test us out, no doubt, against a good Indian outfit .... They beat us out here last time and they're a very good side'
