Australia's backup wicketkeeper and top order batsman Tim Paine has been ruled out of the entire four-Test series against India after being forced to undergo surgery on an injured finger.
Australian all-rounder Shane Watson hit a blistering unbeaten 90 as Rajasthan Royals thrashed Pune Warriors by seven wickets in a thoroughly one-sided IPL contest to keep their hopes of qualifying for the knock-out stage alive.
Embattled opener Phil Hughes retained his spot in Australia's unchanged team for the second Test against New Zealand which starts on Friday in Hobart.
The dearth of genuine Test all-rounders is a stark reality, a worrying fact as not many cricketers offer consistent all-round quality these days, notes Shashi Tharoor.
Eliminating the inconsistent bowling South Africa produced while Australia openers Shane Watson and Phil Hughes were batting was the key to their fightback in the second and final Test, paceman Dale Steyn said on Friday.
Since joining Rajasthan Royals, Watson is the team's best all-rounder, notching 1,785 runs in 55 matches, scoring one century and 11 half-centuries at a strike rate of 145.59. In bowling, he claimed 48 wickets with best figures of 3-10.
Opening batsman Chris Rogers wants an unchanged Australian team for the fifth and final Ashes Test as a reward for the eleven players who beat England in the first four matches to emphatically wrest back the urn.
Shane Watson and Mike Hussey smashed half centuries to lead Australia to a convincing eight-wicket win over West Indies in the first Twenty20 international at St Lucia on Tuesday.
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 beat West Indies by 30 runs in the fifth and final one-day international at the Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia on Sunday to level their series at 2-2.
Top international cricketers have thrown their weight behind the ICC T20I team and player rankings, which were officially launched, on Monday, saying it will give more meaning to one-off matches and also provide the players a good chance to assess their game.
Australia were too sharp for rusty South Africa as the touring side won the first Twenty20 international by five wickets with three balls to spare on Thursday. South Africa, playing their first match in seven months, struggled to 146 for seven thanks to JP Duminy's brilliant 67, but Shane Watson's 52 off 39 balls laid the platform for a comfortable run chase by the Australians.
Clint McKay took five wickets as Australia's bowlers suffocated Sri Lanka's normally free-scoring batsmen to wrap up the One-day International Tri-series with a 16-run victory in the third and deciding final at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday.
Australia captain Michael Clarke will miss the first part of the upcoming tour of West Indies because of a hamstring injury.
Australia captain Michael Clarke has confirmed his deputy Shane Watson will continue to open the batting in South Africa, despite media reports claiming the all-rounder was contemplating a move down the order to revive his form.
The visitors begun well through Praveen Kumar, who immediately made his presence felt after being given a game on account of Vinay Kumar's hamstring injury. Praveen's first spell read 7-1-22-2.
Australia's Shane Watson has become the top-ranked ODI all-rounder and also achieved a career-best ranking to date in the Reliance ICC ODI Rankings, at the end of Bangladesh and Australia series which finished on Wednesday.
After guiding Australia to a 3-0 whitewash over Bangladesh, Shane Watson and Brett Lee will be in action for Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders respectively when the teams clash in the IPL on Friday.
Most Australian players are heading off to join their India Premier League sides after beating Bangladesh 3-0 in just concluded ODI series.
Rising Pune Supergiant beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 27 runs in an IPL encounter.
Shane Watson hopes to be fit to bat but will not be able bowl if selected to play in this week's second Test against South Africa, the Australian all-rounder said on Monday.
If you have a question relating to cricket and did not know who to ask, bounce them off to Rajneesh Gupta.
Images from Day 4 in the first Test between India and Australia in Mohali.
Coach Mickey Arthur is hopeful of Shane Watson returning to the Australian One-day fold in the latter part of the ongoing tri-series, but he is hesitant to put a definitive time frame on the all-rounder's return to the national team.
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.
Australia opener Brad Haddin on Tuesday rubbished reports that the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) is investigating their World Cup match against Zimbabwe for slow batting, dismissing the claims as 'laughable'.
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.
Australian cricketers Shane Watson and Brad Haddin confirmed they were approached by a suspected Mumbai gangster, linked with bookmakers in India, during the tour of England last year.
Australian cricketers Shane Watson and Brad Haddin were approached by a suspected Mumbai-based gangster with links to illegal bookmakers during their tour of England last year, it was reported on Tuesday.
Injury-prone Australian all-rounder Shane Watson may have to pick the formats he wants to play as part of the Cricket Board's plan to ensure his longevity on the field.
Big burly Australian all-rounder Shane Watson was the top run getter in T20s in 2011 with 195 runs in five matches, while Pakistan's Mohammad Hafeez scalped the most number of wickets (10 in five matches) in the year.
Indian youngster Virat Kohli emerged as the top batsman in One-Day Internationals in 2011, while Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga took home the bowling honours.
Criticism continues to dog Australia's selectors in the run-up to the World Cup despite a comprehensive 6-1 one-day drubbing of England being wrapped up at the weekend.
The speculation around the mood inside India's dressing room became a subject of ridicule for Australian skipper Steve Smith, who said the home team does not need to sedge the tourists as they are busy "whingeing among themselves".
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.
Shane Watson's pads have never tired of planting themselves between ball and stumps but on Monday in Cardiff their failure to do so delivered the ultimate punchline at the Australian's expense.
Rajneesh Gupta highlights all the important numbers of the Australian team from World Cups.
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.
Dale Steyn was the architect of another Australian batting collapse as South Africa ended the second day of the second Test on Friday trailing by just 30 runs with all 10 second-innings wickets intact. Steyn took four for 64 in 18 overs to help bowl out Australia for 296 in reply to South Africa's first innings of 266.
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli said that his match-winning unbeaten ton in the Indian Premier League match against Rising Pune Supergiants was 'sweeter' than the first one he hammered.
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