Steve Smith's magnificent 71 guided Australia to 221 for seven at stumps on Day 3 of the second Test against the West Indies in Grenada on Saturday, helping the tourists to build a commanding 254-run lead despite late wickets and persistent rain interruptions.
'The prospect of Konstas facing Jofra Archer with the first ball of the Ashes on November 21 -- potentially delivered at 155km/h -- doesn't feel like a fair fight.'
West Indies' fearsome bowling attacks of old, Jayden Seales and Shamar Joseph tore through Australia on Wednesday
Skipper Pat Cummins, who missed the tour of Sri Lanka due to the birth of his second child in February and was also ruled out of the Champions Trophy campaign with an ankle injury, will take the reins against South Africa.
The West Indies produced another dominant day with the ball against Australia and then survived a tense final hour Saturday to take the honours after the first day of the day-night third Test.
Australia's historic pedigree in cricket's biggest tournaments will count for nothing when they run into an Afghanistan side that is fast cementing its place in the game's top table in the Champions Trophy match in Lahore on Friday.
Despite a few flashes of brilliance in the field, LSG's missed opportunities proved costly in a game where the bat did most of the talking.
With a heavy downpour preventing the resumption of play after the break, the match was abandoned and the series remains locked at 1-1.
A consistent performer, Pooran's last five scores in the IPL read -- 48*(26), 61(27), 75(29), 75(30), 70(26).
Shardul Thakur, who starred in Lucknow Super Giants' victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, called for fair pitches in the tournament to provide balance between bat and ball
A B de Villiers described South Africa's squad as a well-balanced unit and backed them to pull off an upset against defending champions Australia.
Australia sailed into the Champions Trophy semi-finals after their final Group B match against Afghanistan was abandoned at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday.
'Going into Brisbane, India need a tight strategy for Travis Head and they need to get Akash Deep in and maybe Ravindra Jadeja for Ashwin.'
The opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Perth marked a big moment for two young Indian talents, Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy, who made their Test debuts.
With his parents watching from the stands, there was all the more reason to give a sterling performance.
Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne described wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant as the most "amusing" player in the Indian team, ahead of the upcoming five-match Test series between the fierce rivals.
'There will be an extended period of time out and we're just going to weigh whether that time falls potentially with an option to carry him through the front half of the World Cup.'
Ahead of the mini-auction, scheduled to be held in Doha on December 26, the 10 franchises have released their list of retained and released players.
Will Jacks took 2/14 in three overs before he hit 36 from 26 balls, setting up a comfortable chase, and was rightly adjudged Player of the Match.
Finishing with 2/34 on a batting-friendly pitch, Harshal Patel played a key role in stifling Royals' momentum in the middle overs.
Mohammed Siraj charges down the wicket towards his teammates, without checking the umpire's decision when he thinks that he has got a batter out, said former Australia captain Mark Taylor.
Head smashed a swashbuckling hundred to fetch Australia a first innings lead of 157 at his home ground the Adelaide Oval.
MI will hope Jasprit Bumrah returns to his menacing best, which is essential for them to stop an explosive Sunrisers Hyderabad batting unit in its tracks.
Australia's Mitchell Marsh is ready to move down to number three as and when Travis Head returns.
Images from Day 4 of the first Test between Australia and India in Perth on Monday.
A dominant Australia hammered India by 10 wickets in the day-night second Test on Sunday to level the five-match series 1-1.
The 3rd Test match in Kingston, Jamaica, will mark Australia's first day-night Test away from home and if they opt for a pace-heavy attack, Scott Boland could come into the side.
Man of the match Abhishek Sharma cut a cake at the team hotel as SRH enjoyed a Super Sunday in Hyderabad.
Both teams have struggled in the ODI format recently. World champions Australia lost to Sri Lanka (0-2) and Pakistan (1-2) in their last two series, while England, now coached by Brendon McCullum in all formats, haven't won an ODI series since their disastrous 2023 World Cup campaign.
Australia's chairman of selectors George Bailey has defended the omission of explosive batter Jake Fraser-McGurk from their T20 World Cup squad, saying he is an exciting option going forward but their top-three, including David Warner, have been doing well.
Former Australia cricketer Matthew Hayden feels that David Warner and Travis Head are the ideal duo to open for Australia at the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup which is set to begin on October 5.
Kolkata Knight Riders have discovered a surprise hero in Vaibhav Arora in the post Mitchell Starc era. The team management trusts the pacer so much now that they are not hesitant to pick him ahead of more reputed international names, assistant coach Ottis Gibson said on Monday.
Young spin-bowling all-rounder Cooper Connolly will replace injured Matthew Short in the Australian squad for the knock-out stages of the ongoing Champions Trophy.
A sprightly Mumbai Indians continued their ascent in IPL 2025 with a four-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Australia reduced West Indies to 102-4 to tighten their grip on the day-night second Test at the Adelaide
Fresh from their morale-boosting win over LSG, and bolstered by the return of India wicketkeeper-batter K L Rahul, Delhi Capitals will look to build on the momentum when they take on formidable Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL match in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has stirred up fresh controversy with his latest IPL 2025 rankings, leaving fans fuming after snubbing two of the tournament's top run-scorers.
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.
Former No. 1-ranked Test batter Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja would open the innings for Australia in the WTC final against South Africa while the fit-again Cameron Green would bat at the No. 3 position.
'It's about (match) situation as well. If there is a risk percentage in certain situation of the game, do you want to take that risk? Do you want to let the opposition come back into the game? Those are the things he needs to figure out himself.'
