'I am sure I will smile and enjoy it, and will try to get the best out of myself'
While modern greats like Shubman Gill and Joe Root shy away from batting at No. 3, Nasser Hussain says Cheteshwar Pujara embraced the challenge and carried forward Rahul Dravid's legacy with distinction.
England did not have their full squad in Perth until last Sunday and will play one internal match before the first Ashes Test on November 21.
Bazball is in the firing line, with former players and pundits decrying the high-risk game on Australia's spicy pitches.
Joe Root was presented with a silver bat to commemorate his 10,000 runs in the longest format.
Traditionally carved from top-quality willow, famous bat-makers, source the bulk of their willow wood from Kashmir.
Steve Smith cut a relaxed figure when he named the Australia team for the opening clash in his ninth and possibly final Ashes series on Thursday.
The legendary B S Chandrasekhar and Brian Lara on Tuesday won the Lifetime Achievement awards.
England's Stokes praises Australia's Head, supports his own errant batters
The contest between England's dialled-down "Bazball" approach and Australia's more methodical batting could determine who prevails in the Ashes series beginning in Perth on Friday.
England on Tuesday named a 16-man squad for the Ashes series starting in Australia in November with Ben Stokes, who is currently nursing a shoulder injury, set to return to lead the side.
'But I think that the manner in which they play is part of the reason why I think they've got their best chance in 15 years of regaining the Ashes Down Under, because in 2010-11 when we went down there and won, we pushed back against Australia.'
Australia dominated day two of the second Ashes Test on Friday with a punishing batting assault on a lifeless Gabba pitch as England fumbled their chances in the field.
Mitchell Starc and Ben Stokes set the scene for a dramatic Ashes series.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 1st Ashes Test played in Perth on Friday.
Expect nothing less than hostility, fire and close contests as Ben Stokes' England come armed with their Bazball philosophy to try and get the better of a depleted Australia.
Root reached into his pocket, pulled out a white headband, and placed it on his forehead. Then, he looked skyward - a powerful and poignant tribute to Graham Thorpe, his late mentor and one of England's most cherished cricketers.
England's Ashes hopes rest largely on the all-round performance of talismanic captain Ben Stokes, who took 17 wickets against India in the recent home series.
Harry Brook disagreed with India coach Gautam Gambhir's decision to name him as Player of the Series, saying the honour should have gone to Joe Root
Blair Tickner took 4/34 and Daryl Mitchell hit 56 not out as New Zealand beat England by five wickets in the second one-day international in Hamilton on Wednesday to seal the three-match series 2-0.
The duo is followed by a former Sri Lanka icon, Mahela Jayawardene, with 205 outfield catches in 149 appearances.
Joe Root picked an easy single off Mohammed Siraj in the 58th over to take his score to 31, which also took his overall Test tally to 13290 runs.
Root reached the milestone during his 69th WTC appearance - a single pushed to deep backward square leg brought up yet another half-century and sealed his place in the record books.
Noman collected a 10-wicket haul during Pakistan's 93-run triumph over South Africa in Lahore recently and moved up four places.
IMAGES from Day 2 of the 1st Ashes Test in Perth on Saturday.
Joe Root is keen to see how it fares abroad in different conditions.
Root enjoyed the utmost respect of players in the dressing room and that there was no clear 'natural successor'.
Daryl Mitchell's runs had steered the hosts to their victories in Tauranga and Hamilton and when he departed for 44 to leave his team still 27 runs from their target on 196-8, the English scented an unlikely victory.
One of the standout performers in the recent Test series against England, India pacer Prasidh Krishna has opened up about his on-field exchange with Joe Root during the fifth and final Test at The Oval, saying he did not understand why the senior batter reacted in am extreme manner.
While ever more hostage to Twenty20's global carve-up, cricket will take a breath from next week to indulge its most time-honoured rivalry as Australia and England battle in the Ashes.
With two days still to play, England are firm favourites to secure the win in Manchester, one that would seal victory in the five-match series with one test still to come.
In mounting tension, Jamie Smith and Jamie Overton struggled to get bat on ball, surviving several frenzied appeals before the umpires decided it was too dark to continue.
England's scoring rate of 2.91 runs per over during the second session was the second-slowest in a home Test in the Bazball era, only behind their 2.72 per over effort against New Zealand at Lord's in 2022.
Roger Federer, accompanied by his wife Mirka, was spotted in the Royal Box during the fourth-round match between Novak Djokovic and Alex de Minaur.
Star England batter Joe Root has surpassed Sachin Tendulkar to become the second-highest run-scorer in home conditions in Test cricket.
Root's patient unbeaten 99 led England to 251-4 on a compelling first day of the Lord's Test.
England batter Joe Root advocated for more flexibility in playing regulations and questioned for stopping the game early in the evening.
England had moved to within 35 runs of securing a famous victory over India when bad light and torrential rain ended an extraordinary fourth day of the final Test at The Oval on Sunday.
Joe Root scored his 37th Test hundred on Friday to go past the tally of former India skipper Rahul Dravid and contemporary Steve Smith.
'I'm worried. We're going to wander in and have a little game with the 'A' team. (It will be) 'Alright mate, how are you? Good on ya' and we're going to go and perform?'
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