Michael Clarke's stylish 148 on day two of the second Ashes Test against England on Friday was another glorious consummation of his love affair with Adelaide Oval, and moved his deputy Brad Haddin to rate him the world's best batsman.
Resurgent Australia had enigmatic paceman Mitchell Johnson to thank for their crushing win over England in Brisbane and will put their hopes on another unknown quantity when the coin is tossed for the second Ashes Test in Adelaide.
The panic surrounding Australian captain Michael Clarke's fitness is showing no sign of subsiding as he still remains in doubt for Australia's ICC Champions Trophy opener against England on Saturday, with teammates beginning preparations without him in Birmingham.
Injured fast bowler James Pattinson has returned to the Australia set-up when he was named on Tuesday for the One-day series against England in January.
Australian captain Michael Clarke has reportedly become the country's highest paid sports star with almost six million dollars, thanks to a half-billion dollar deal television deal finalised between Cricket Australia (CA) Channels Nine and Ten.
Australia coach Darren Lehmann added fuel to the fiery Ashes series by urging Australia fans to keep the heat on England and said he wants his own team to continue playing "aggressive, in-your-face" cricket.
Former Australian Test captain Michael Clarke is set to return to first-class cricket six months after he announced international retirement and the lucrative India Premier League is on his radar, according to reports in the Australian media. The 34-year-old, who retired from international cricket following Australia's Ashes defeat last August, has also refused to rule out wearing the baggy green once more, insisting he was in good shape ahead of a grade cricket comeback. Clarke is likely to make his return for grade team Western Suburbs against Randwick-Petersham in a Sydney club match on February 20-21. "I'll start with playing this grade game for Western Suburbs and see if I miss it as much as I feel like I'm going to. If I do, the option is there to train the entire winter and then we'll see what happens," local media reported Clarke as having told 'News Corp'.
Michael Clarke is giving nothing away on the eve of the Ashes. Not his starting XI, not comparisons between this and the previous series, not praise nor predictions, not even observations on England.
Australia captain Michael Clarke backed his players on Wednesday, stating that none of his teammates used silicone tapes on their bats to beat the controversial Decision Review System.
Pace legend Glenn McGrath feels sacked Australian cricket coach Mickey Arthur's allegations of facing racial discrimination and having to deal with a divided team are "pretty poor" and show that he is "not too concerned" about the side he mentored.
Factbox on the third Test between Australia and South Africa, which begins on Friday.
A controversial incident involving England's Stuart Broad was played down by players from both sides after a gripping third day of the first Ashes Test at Trent Bridge on Friday.
Factbox on the second Test between Australia and South Africa, which begins on Thursday.
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Australia Test skipper Michael Clarke's will captain the Melbourne Stars in Australia's Big Bash League for the next two seasons after not playing Twenty20 for three years.
Photos of the fifth One Day International between Australia and England being played at Adelaide Oval.
As Michael Clarke gets ready to play the final Test of his career, what will be remembered -- like his predecessor Ricky Ponting -- will not be their many triumphs, but the failure to win the Ashes on English soil.
Australian skipper Michael Clarke says the disrespectful attitude of the four players was "the straw that broke the camel's back" but believes that Shane Watson can still comeback to the side as vice-captain.
Ricky Ponting once harboured doubts over the suitability of Michael Clarke to succeed him as captain of Australia.
Australian captain Michael Clarke has been selected to play in the first Ashes tour warm-up game against Somerset on Wednesday, giving a much-needed boost to Australia's Ashes campaign.
According to AFP, Clarke said the six-and-a-half weeks he had spent recuperating from hamstring surgery had not driven a wedge between him and the squad.
Rubbishing those claims, Clarke said 'The players are as tight as any team I've been a part of'
Former Australia captain Ian Chappell believes struggling Alastair Cook is not good enough to lead the England team.
Troubled opener David Warner has risked his place in Australia's Ashes team after his late night bar-room fracas with England player Joe Root, captain Michael Clarke said on Monday.
# Sachin Tendulkar (71 not out) has registered his 16th fifty against Australia -- his 67th in Tests, extending his record.
Australia's problems in the lead-up to the Ashes has stemmed from captain Michael Clarke's absence as he is in a major way accountable for the general manner in which the team conducts itself and the general direction in which it is travelling, according to the Australian media.
England skipper Alastair Cook admits to feeling less than 100 percent as he contemplates a possible 5-0 Ashes drubbing but he could look to the experience of his opposite number for an object lesson in how quickly fortunes can turn around.
Former Australian coach John Buchanan has backed Michael Clarke's side to beat India.
Defending champions Australia look more vulnerable than ever as they brace up against a confident England in their Champions Trophy Group A opener in Birmingham on Thursday.
Australia captain Michael Clarke has been ruled out of the side's first Champions Trophy group match against England on Saturday due to injury, Cricket Australia said on Friday.
A look the squads of the eight participating teams in the ICC Champions Trophy.
Australia's transformation over the last three months came about because the players simply got fed up with losing and decided to put in the hard work to turn their fortunes around, captain Michael Clarke said after they won the Ashes on Tuesday.
Legendary leg-spinner Shane Warne has slammed Cricket Australia (CA) for hiring 'muppets' from other sports such as high-performance chief Pat Howard instead of people with cricketing backgrounds to help captain Michael Clarke.
Australia captain Michael Clarke is licking his lips at the prospect of seeing how much damage his confident pace attack can wreak on a teetering England when the teams clash in the third Ashes Test in Perth.
England coach Andy Flower has called on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to change the regulations regarding bad light after his side narrowly missed out on a dramatic victory in the final Ashes Test on Sunday.
Alastair Cook and Michael Clarke both have particular reasons for wanting to win the upcoming Ashes series that begins with the first cricket Test in Cardiff starting on Wednesday.
Australia coach Darren Lehmann has accused England's Stuart Broad of "blatant cheating" and called on fans to send the fast bowler home from the return Ashes series in tears.
Australia recalled all-rounder Mitchell Marsh to the squad for their Champions Trophy defence and named George Bailey as vice-captain on Wednesday.
Australian middle-order batsman, Usman Khawaja received an Ashes berth, and, opener Phillip Hughes was also lucky to retain his spot in the squad, after a poor performance in India.
Alastair Cook has said England were not intimidated by Australia's invincibility at the Gabba and were looking for a big first innings total to set up a breakthrough win at the Brisbane ground.
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