Australia have suffered another blow ahead of the Ashes opener against England after fast bowler Josh Hazlewood was ruled out due to a hamstring injury on Saturday, further weakening their bowling attack after the loss of captain Pat Cummins.
Less than two weeks after being dismissed as a "dud" Down Under, Joe Root finally shrugged the monkey off his back with a first Test century in Australia on Thursday to breathe life into England's Ashes campaign.
Thumb injury forces England's Archer out of West Indies ODI series
As England and India gear up for the final showdown in the five-match series for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval, former England speedster Stuart Broad feels the hosts should make some changes to their Playing XI and rest tearaway Jofra Archer.
Moeen Ali revealed that Jofra Archer is the fastest bowler he has ever faced after watching the England newcomer rip South Africa apart at The Oval.
As India weigh their options ahead of the second innings, all eyes remain on Pant
Pant equals Sehwag's six-hitting record, surpasses Rohit Sharma in WTC Test runs
Images from Day 5 of the third Test between England and India at Lord's on Monday.
'With the slope here, you always feel there is something to work with. We have to be creative and smart, and understand sometimes you do not need to exaggerate things.'
Jofra Archer will play his first Test in more than four years as he replaces fellow seamer Josh Tongue for the third Test at Lord's.
'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.'
Injuries prevented Archer appearing in subsequent Ashes series but the 30-year-old is now fit and firing and will be part of England's high-octane pace attack that many think could power them to a first series win in Australia since 2010-11.
Starc also pointed out that the wicket did not assist pacers that much with the new ball and expressed concerns over Nathan Lyon's injury on the final day of the Test and the setback to Hazlewood.
Captain Ben Stokes brushed off concerns about England's Ashes preparations on Wednesday, saying there was no way the squad could prepare in the same way touring teams of the past had, given the demands of the modern game.
'KL was excellent in nullifying that early threat and played very straight.'
Scott Boland will step up and uncapped Brendan Doggett is tipped for a high-stakes debut to try to shore up the loss of a combined 604 Test wickets of experience.
England captain Ben Stokes went on to call Jofra Archer an 'incredibly gifted cricketer', irrespective of the colour of the ball in his hand.
Jofra Archer made his first appearance in a first-class match in four years on Sunday in the County Championship as the 30-year-old quick continues his comeback from a spate of injuries
'We all know what he's capable of achieving in Test cricket and we hope that when the opportunity does arrive for him, he's able to recapture, and also improve on, what he's been able to do already in that form of the game.'
Travis Head proved England's nemesis once again as he scored his second century of the Ashes to carry Australia toward a seemingly inevitable series triumph on day three at Adelaide Oval on Friday.
All-rounder Jamie Overton, who played the only Test match of his career back in 2022, has been recalled to the 15-member England squad
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.
Mitchell Starc and Ben Stokes set the scene for a dramatic Ashes series.
Their last eight Tests in Perth have all been defeats, with the most recent setback a bitter innings and 41-run capitulation in 2017 that saw Joe Root's team surrender the urn.
'The name on the Honours board feels good. It is something I can tell my son about when he is grown up.'
Jasprit Bumrah takes a fifer at Lord's and goes past Kapil Dev for most five wicket hauls in away Tests.
Archer played in his first first-class match in four years during Sussex's County Championship game against Durham at Chester-le-Street on Sunday and took one wicket for 32 from 18 overs.
India's Bumrah produced a devastating spell in the morning, dismissing Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Chris Woakes before Archer struck with his third delivery to remove Yashasvi Jaiswal in his first test for four years.
After a cautious start, Crawley and Duckett punished the straying Indian bowlers with an array of crisp boundaries. The pair blunted the new ball and raced to 77 without loss at tea.
"Just Rishabh being Rishabh": Pant's grit wins hearts as he returns to bat in Manchester Test
India equal England's first-innings score of 387 with Test in balance
England tearaway Jofra Archer is willing to do everything in his power to secure a ticket on the plane that will fly to Australia
England pacer Jofra Archer is glad to have silenced the 'keyboard warriors' who went after him during his long rehabilitation from multiple injury setbacks.
The T20I series against South Africa will be played from 10-14 September, following the ongoing ODI series where the Proteas hold an unassailable 2-0 lead heading into the final match on Sunday.
While former Australian opener Matthew Hayden reckons series will go India's way, two former India players believe otherwise.
England go unchanged at Edgbaston
Archer has not picked up a red cricket ball since May 2021 for Sussex after a series of injuries kept delaying his return.
England were comfortably placed at 225 for two at stumps after bowling out India for 358 on the second day of the fourth Test in Manchester on Thursday.
Jadeja consolidates as world No 1 Test all-rounder, Abhishek Sharma is top ranked T20I batter
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction saw some foreign names earning big bucks, headlined by Aussie all-rounder Cameron Green
