Opener Glenn Maxwell fired a blistering 145 not out as Australia posted a world record 263 against a hapless Sri Lankan attack in the first Twenty20 international in Pallekele on Tuesday. Maxwell struck 14 fours and nine sixes during his 65-ball stay to help Australia break a nine-year record held by Sri Lanka, who scored 260/6 against Kenya in 2007. Skipper David Warner gave the visitors a fiery start with his 28 runs off 12 balls as he put on a 57-run opening partnership with Maxwell to lay a solid foundation.
Smith and Warner have returned from year-long bans following a ball-tampering scandal in South Africa which also prompted Lehmann to step down as coach of the side in March last year.
The 30-year-old will now have the chance to soak up a first Test in front of family and friends as Australia look to push for a 2-0 series lead.
Warner has been in excellent touch as he scored lot of runs at the top of the order for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL
Tennis legend Serena Williams spent her first Christmas with her 3-month-old daughter, Alexis Olympia.
Former Australia captain Ian Chappell feels the potency of Australia's pace attack in English conditions gives them the edge in next month's World Test Championship final against India, who could be "badly affected" by the absence of injured Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant.
Australia have named the unchanged 12-man squad for the second Test of the three-match series against Pakistan beginning at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Boxing Day. The Steve Smith-led side are going with the same side that clinched a nail-biting 39-run win after Pakistan's epic run chase in the opening day and night Test at the Gabba, cricket.com.au reported.
India would be pressing for a decisive first-innings lead in the contest when play resumes on Friday.
The 26-year-old would be expected to offer a fourth pace option to back up the strike trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, who secured Australia a 120-run victory to give them a 2-0 lead in the series on Wednesday.
JP Duminy says Australia could trump the hosts 2-1 in the much anticipated Test series
Uncapped all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius has been named in the South Africa's squad as a replacement for injured Dale Steyn for the remaining Tests of the three-match series against Australia. The 33-year-old ruled out of the tour after fracturing his right shoulder during Australia's first innings of the opening Test, which the Proteas went on to win by massive 177 runs at the WACA Ground in Perth.
Australia captain Finch willing to demote himself when Smith, Warner return
The four-Test Border Gavaskar Trophy that promises a lot of twists and turns, engrossing sub-plots and probably career-defining performances.
Aaron Finch and his men arrived in India as clear underdogs, having endured a wretched couple of years in the format during which they lost six ODI series in a row and were ravaged by a ball-tampering scandal.
Australia declared their first innings on 556 for nine and then skittled out Pakistan for 148 to seize control of the second Test in Karachi on Monday.
Images from Day 4 of the 4th Test at MCG in Melbourne on Friday
Batsman Shaun Marsh and all-rounder James Faulkner have been ruled out of Australia's limited overs tour of South Africa, Cricket Australia said on Thursday.
A lot of focus is on how Australia will cope with the dangerous Ravichandran Ashwin on turning tracks in India.
Australian explosive batsman David Warner has become the second player of his country and fourth overall to enter cricket's most exclusive 6000 runs club in Twenty20 format.
India's bowlers once again exposed the chinks in jittery Australian batting line-up leaving the hosts tottering at 104 for four in pursuit of a tough target of 323 on the fourth day of the first Test.
Australia's selectors have responded to the threat of a first ever Test series sweep on home soil by dropping five players from their squad for the third match against South Africa, which begins in Adelaide on Thursday. Joe Burns, Adam Voges and Callum Ferguson, as well as wicketkeeper Peter Nevill, paid the price for a string of batting collapses, while seamer Joe Mennie was also axed after the innings defeat in the second Test in Hobart.
With the Ashes set to get underway, Australian players reflected on the prestigious series and their aim for the upcoming tournament.
Their path to the semi-finals looking relatively easier in comparison, Australia will fancy their chances when they lock horns with a struggling Pakistan side whose hopes hangs by a thread in the ICC World Twenty20, in Mohali, on Friday.
The Queensland all-rounder offers another slow bowling option with his leg-spin at the Sydney Cricket Ground, traditionally Australia's most spin-friendly wicket.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 2nd Test at Perth on Sunday
Concerns that senior players would pull out of the tour due to security issues after both England and New Zealand withdrew from tours of Pakistan late last year have proven unfounded.
Australia, who have 10 points from six games, are steadily inching closer towards the semi-finals. The reigning champions have won all their matches apart from the loss against tournament favourites India.
South Africa in trouble at 58-4 in 'Boxing Day' Test
India's quest to find the right combination for the upcoming World Cup ended with a 35-run defeat in the decisive fifth ODI against Australia as they lost the series 2-3.
It was only a fourth win in 20 one-dayers going back to June 2017 for world champions Australia and came at the same Sydney Cricket Ground where their first home Test series loss to India was sealed on Monday.
Debutant Pakistan off-spinner Bilal Asif ripped through the Australian middle-order with six wickets as the visitors were bowled out for 202 on the third day of the first Test, in Dubai, on Tuesday.
Picking up where he left off in the first Test in Brisbane, the opener scored 244 not out for his third century in three innings as the hosts dominated New Zealand's bowlers as ruthlessly as they had in the 208-run victory at the Gabba.
India moved within two wickets of an emphatic victory in the third Test after reducing Australia to 258 for eight at the close of day four.
Shane Watson feels that the faltering Indian batsmen will fare much better against Australia later this year compared to how they performed against England in the ongoing five-match series.
Playing against India behind closed doors in the much-anticipated Test series at the end of the year might end up being an advantage for the home side, according to Australia batsman Usman Khawaja. Cricket Australia are desperate for the tour, scheduled for December and January, to go ahead as the lucrative Indian TV rights for the series would go a long way to easing a financial crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.
Mitchell Marsh kept calm after New Zealand got the sniff of an unlikely victory and scored his sixth one-day international half century to guide Australia to a four-wicket win in the second match of their one-day series on Saturday.
Di Venuto said Australia's batting plans were working well till a dramatic collapse saw them lose eight wickets for 28 runs.
The southpaw became the first to score a hundred in a session at the Gabba, propelling Australia to a 196-run lead over England.
The pitch offered some variable bounce but did not pose too many problems for the batters till the final hour of play.
Images from Day 3 of the 2nd Ashes Test played at Lord's Cricket Ground, London, on Friday.
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