Australia start their Ashes defence on Wednesday without a single frontline bowler who has previous Test experience in England.
Australia's bowlers will not shy away from sending down a barrage of short deliveries in the first Test against India, paceman Mitchell Johnson has said.
Australia opener David Warner will miss the first two one-day internationals against the West Indies with a fractured thumb and has been replaced in the squad by Usman Khawaja, Cricket Australia said on Wednesday. Warner was struck by a Mitchell Johnson delivery while batting in the nets at Perth, suffering a minor left thumb fracture and ruling him out of the matches on Friday and Sunday at the WACA.
Michael Hussey ended his Test career on a high when Australia beat Sri Lanka by five wickets with a day to spare in the third Test on Sunday to sweep the series 3-0.
Pacer Mitchell Johnson, one of Australia's greatest fast bowlers, announced his retirement from international cricket on Tuesday, saying he felt this was the 'right time' to do so.
A rejuvenated Mitchell Johnson needs only one victim to become Australia's third-highest Test wicket-taker but will hope for a bigger haul at his home ground in Perth, where New Zealand will be fighting to keep the three-match series alive.
Australia will be without five players for next week's first Test against New Zealand after they failed to overcome injuries, Cricket Australia said, on Friday.
Australia have resisted the temptation to go with four seamers for this week's first Test against Sri Lanka on what is expected to be a lively wicket at the Bellerive Oval.
Australian captain Michael Clarke made his expected declaration overnight and then his bowlers worked their way through the South African batting line-up to dismiss them for 287 and claim an overall lead of 207 runs.
Mitchell Johnson still has a future in Test cricket and the 30-year-old could be in line for a recall, Australia's new fast-bowling coach has said.
Australian skipper Michael Clarke is backing left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Johnson's selection for the South Africa tour saying that he remains an integral part of the Test side despite his dreadful form in recent months.
As India go in to the four-match Test series against Australia that commences in Adelaide on Tuesday, here is a factbox.
As many as 144 players, including Indian Test batsman VVS Laxman, pacer S Sreesanth and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, will go under the hammer at the players' auction for the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League in Bangalore on February 4.
Australia's fast bowlers Mitchell Johnson, Doug Bollinger and Brett Lee, as well as Lasith Malinga of Sri Lanka, are the biggest movers in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI bowlers after stellar performances in the series which Australia won by 3-2 while Bangladesh's fast bowler Rubel Hossain has a achieved personal best in the series which his side lost 3-2 to Zimbabwe.
A toe injury that kept Mitchell Johnson out of cricket for the entire Australian summer might have saved his career, the paceman said on Friday.
Clearly he didn't get the length of contract extension offer that he was after so it hasn't been ideal, but I don't subscribe to the fact that it was individuals that were key to making the decision, said selection chief, George Bailey.
Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming said the way Dwayne Smith won the match for Mumbai Indians, it shows the unpredictability of the Twenty20 format, in which one individual could change the result of a match with his performance.
Out of the Test team for a year now, pacer Doug Bollinger is hoping that Australia's bowling woes would fetch him a place in the side for the much-awaited series against India starting December 26.
Paceman Mitchell Johnson is likely to be sidelined for up to five months with a foot injury, Cricket Australia said on Wednesday, almost certainly ruling him out of upcoming Test series against New Zealand and India.
Australia beat South Africa by two wickets in the second and final Test to draw the series after a gripping fifth day at the Wanderers on Monday.
Former Australian speedster Mitchell Johnson has criticised Virat Kohli's comments, when he had announced that the hosts are "favourites in our (Indian players) own minds" to win the tournament ahead of their defeat to the Black Caps. With the hopes of a billion expectant fans already weighing on India, Johnson, a key member of last year's ODI World Cup-winning team for Australia, suggested Kohli's 'over-confident' comments will only heap extra pressure on the home-nation. "From our experience playing in the one-day World Cup at home last year, we just wanted to enjoy every moment and saviour the experience but we still tried to take the focus off ourselves, rather than adding to it," he said. "Going into a big tournament like that, there's pressure on every team. Putting even more pressure on your side is just setting yourself up for disaster.
Australian pace spearhead Mitchell Starc described Virat Kohli as a 'fantastic captain', having shared the dressing room with the India captain while representing Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League.
Adam Gilchrist broke South African Mark Boucher's world record for the most Test dismissals by a wicketkeeper.
Australia shone with bat and ball to beat South Africa by three wickets and claim a 2-1 series victory after the third one-day international at Kingsmead on Friday.
Australia have named 18-year-old paceman Patrick Cummins in their 15-man Test squad for their two-match series in South Africa, while retaining Mitchell Johnson despite the mercurial paceman's struggles in Sri Lanka.
Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson married his girl friend Jessica Bratich last week in a secret ceremony but did not invite his mother on the occasion, media reports said in Melbourne on Thursday.
Paceman Mitchell Johnson has been ruled out of the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh with a toe infection, Cricket Australia (CA) said on Sunday.
Captain George Bailey believes the forthcoming Champions League Twenty20 tournament is a new start for his team Kings XI Punjab but the Indian Premier League runners up are ready for the challenge and hoping to win their first major title.
Australia's pace bowlers took eight quick wickets to skittle out Sri Lanka for 174 runs on day one of the second Test in Kandy on Thursday, as the home team struggled against fast bowling from the start of the innings. Australia were 60 without loss at stumps. Shane Watson was unbeaten on 36, and Phil Hughes on 23.
Lasith Malinga became the first bowler to take three One-day international hat-tricks as Sri Lanka beat Australia by four wickets in the fifth and final match of their series on Monday.
Australia vice-captain Shane Watson has signed up with Sydney Sixers in the Twenty20 Big Bash League and will take part in the tournament during the gap between the home Test series against New Zealand and India.
Not impressed by Australia's dominance in the summer of 2015 with Test wins against New Zealand and a lackluster West Indies, former pacer Geoff Lawson believes that India will make "tougher opponents" in the upcoming ODI series starting January 12.
The murky saga of bookies making approaches to cricketers widened with revelations that two more Australians, fast bowlers Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson, had confronted an alleged Indian bookmaker during the Ashes in England last year.
Explosive opening batsman David Warner is set to earn his first Test cap after he was named in the Australia squad, on Saturday, to face New Zealand in the first Test starting at the Gabba in Brisbane, on Thursday.
Chasing 310 to level the two-match series, the tourists, aided by fine knocks from Brad Haddin (55) and Mitchell Johnson (40 not out), were home courtesy a four by Pat Cummins.
Virender Sehwag credits Axar Patel and Mitchell Johnson for the victory.
England were blindsided by the intensity of paceman Mitchell Johnson's swing during their third Test defeat to Australia in Perth, but would not be caught out again in Melbourne, batsman Kevin Pietersen warned on Wednesday.
Legendary West Indian batsman Brian Lara and dashing Australian wicketkeeper batsman Adam Gilchrist are among overseas players who have been put in the top bracket base price for the upcoming auctions of the fourth edition of Indian Premier League.
A defiant Australia regained their traditional Ashes swagger in Perth on Sunday, routing England by 267 runs to level the series while hailing the momentum-swinging return of their mercurial pace bowler Mitchell Johnson.
Former Australia skipper Kim Hughes has slammed selectors for being 'too precious' with Australia's bowlers and said resting dropped paceman Mitchell Johnson before a likely recall for the third Ashes Test would be lunacy.
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