Australia

Perth Scorchers 178 for 5 (Turner 53, Kuhnemann 1-28) beat Brisbane Heat 175 for 7 (McSweeney 41, Behrendorff 2-26) by five wickets Teenager Cooper Connolly and Nick Hobson kept their cool in a nerve-jangling chase as Perth Scorchers ended Brisbane Heat’s remarkable revival with an epic five-wicket victory to win their fifth BBL title. Chasing

By the end of an unforgettable BBL final, inexperienced Cooper Connolly and unheralded Nick Hobson etched their names into Perth Scorchers’ lore to become unexpected heroes at a febrile Perth Stadium. It wasn’t in the script when ice cool skipper Ashton Turner appeared set to once again rescue defending champions Scorchers in a nerve-jangling instant

Australia allrounder Cameron Green has shown encouraging signs in his recovery from a broken finger as he makes a late bid to be fit for the opening Test against India in Nagpur, although it remains highly unlikely that he will be able to bowl. Green got the all-clear to resume training shortly before leaving for

Australia are prepared for moments where batting could become chaotic against India, but will also enter the series with an open mind amid all the talk about the role spin could play. The squad are currently in Bengaluru for a four-day training camp before heading to Nagpur where the first Test will take place from

A number of the squad members, although not Khawaja and other batters involved in the BBL, underwent a two-day camp in Sydney last week. Australia will not have a tour match before the series, preferring to prepare at home in conditions they could control, and then the centre-wicket time in Bengaluru where they have been

Steven Smith has defended Australia’s decision to not play a tour game ahead of their upcoming four-match Test series in India. He pointed out that during their last Test tour of the country in 2017, the only tour game was played on a “green top”, which did not help them prepare for the kind of

Australia hope that specially prepared pitches at home will help them achieve one of the biggest overseas challenges: winning a Test series in India which they have not done since 2004. The squad has traded off a longer build-up on the ground in India – and there won’t be a warm-up match – in favour

Cameron Green faces a race against time to be ready for the opening Test against India on February 9 with a build-up of his bowling workloads the biggest challenge as he recovers from the broken finger suffered against South Africa at the MCG. Green has been part of the Australia training camp in Sydney over

David Warner is feeling exhausted ahead of next month’s Test tour of India and admits he would have preferred the night off from the Cricket Australia awards this Monday to recover from a busy home summer. Starting in August, Warner played in the white-ball series against Zimbabwe, New Zealand, England and the West Indies, in

Brisbane Heat 203 for 5 (Khawaja 94, Labuschagne 73, Green 2-29) beat Sydney Thunder 52 for 1 (Warner 36*, Bazley 1-3) by eight runs (DLS method) Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne emerged from T20 droughts with spectacular half-centuries before rain thwarted Sydney Thunder’s hopes of chasing down Brisbane Heat’s massive total in the BBL elimination

It was heartbreak and ecstasy in equal measures in Potchefstroom as India and England made the final of the inaugural Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup to be played on Sunday. While India comfortably beat New Zealand in the first semi-final, tensions swayed one way and then the other before England edged Australia out by three

Usman Khawaja believes this Australia men’s Test team will be remembered as a great side if they can sweep the three major challenges ahead of them in the next six months. The squad flies to India next week for the first of a trio of overseas assignments that will shape where the team sits in

Sean Abbott, the Australia seamer, has signed to play for Surrey in the LV= Insurance County Championship and Vitality T20 Blast this summer. Abbott, 30, who had an injury-affected spell at the club in 2021, will join for the start of the season and be available until the end of July. Surrey have previously announced

After 36 matches, four teams remain in the inaugural Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup. Both semi-finals will be played on Friday, January 27, with India vs New Zealand in the afternoon followed by Australia vs England in the evening. Here’s a look at what the four semi-finalists – and their key players – have done

Sydney Thunder 120 for 7 (Sams 28, Zampa 3-26) beat Melbourne Stars 119 for 7 (Cartwright 36, Qadir 3-24) by 3 wickets Sydney Thunder survived a wobbly chase to secure a BBL finals berth after a tense three-wicket victory over Melbourne Stars at the MCG. The finals positioning came down to the last match of

The annual ICC teams for 2022 are out, in five categories: men’s Tests, ODIs and T20Is, and women’s ODIs and T20Is. Some of the usual suspects, the cream of the crop in each format, are there, of course, but there are a few names in each XI that might make you want to turn to

Australia vice-captain and wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy has said that the emergence of the Women’s IPL will put a lot of pressure on other global organisations and countries around the world to promote women’s cricket. “[The Women’s IPL] is going to change women’s cricket for the better,” Healy told ESPNcricinfo in long-ranging conversation during Australia’s five-match

Grace Harris has been praised for having added “another dimension” to Australia’s T20I batting line-up since returning to the side last year as she shapes up as a key figure in the upcoming T20 World Cup. Harris, who made her international debut in 2015, was recalled for the T20 leg of the Ashes last January,

Dan Christian, one of the most decorated T20 cricketers in history, has announced he will retire at the conclusion of the ongoing BBL with Sydney Sixers. Currently Christian, 39, has played 405 T20s amassing 5809 runs and taking 280 wickets. Selection permitting, he will have at least four more matches with Sixers guaranteed two shots

Touted for Test selection by Ricky Ponting, West Australian allrounder Aaron Hardie looms as a multi-format star in the making after continuing a superb BBL season. Hardie’s imperious form since being promoted to No. 3 has been a key factor in Perth Scorchers making yet another run at the title. The 24-year-old again starred in

Australia could have a ready-made replacement for Aaron Finch in T20 cricket, with Steven Smith declaring his desire to open more often in the shortest format. Smith was left out of Australia’s team for the majority of their home T20 World Cup disappointment last year, featuring in the middle order in only the final group

Sussex have confirmed the signing of Australia’s Steven Smith on a short-term deal that will see him play three LV= Insurance County Championship matches in May. The move, as previously reported by ESPNcricinfo, will give Smith a chance to prepare for Australia’s likely appearance in the World Test Championship final, as well as the Ashes

Cricket Australia has withdrawn their men’s team from a scheduled three-match ODI series against Afghanistan to be played in the UAE in March following consultation with the Australian government. Australia were scheduled to play Afghanistan as part of the ICC Super League following the tour of India. But CA released a statement on Thursday stating

Melbourne Stars 109 for 1 (Rogers 51*) beat Adelaide Strikers 108 (Nielsen 40, Coulter-Nile 3-17) by nine wickets Melbourne Stars made light work of their 109-run chase in a nine-wicket thumping of Adelaide Strikers that keeps their slim BBL finals hopes alive. Strikers’ high-powered batting line-up crumbled at the MCG on Thursday night as they

Marnus Labuschagne is excited by the “game of chess” with R Ashwin during the Test series next month with his mind turning to the challenge since the last meeting between the teams finished. The contest between the pair was one of the fascinating duels during the epic 2020-21 series in Australia which India famously won

Australia wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy has been ruled out of the three-match T20I series against Pakistan at home as she continues to recover from a calf injury sustained during the recent tour of India. According to a Cricket Australia statement, Healy is expected to be available for the upcoming T20 World Cup in South Africa in

Adam Zampa will reassess his future in red-ball cricket after being left “flat” by his omission from the Australia Test squad to tour India next month. Zampa had been told he was a strong chance of making the trip but the selectors opted to retain Mitchell Swepson as the legspinner after he toured Pakistan and

Cricket Australia has hit back at criticism of its decision to pull out of an ODI series against Afghanistan, with chief executive Nick Hockley declaring “basic human rights is not politics”. Australia’s decision to withdraw from the three-ODI series against Afghanistan in UAE this March has been met with fierce condemnation, including a threat from

Steven Smith is moving closer to a County Championship deal with Sussex in pole position to acquire the Australia batter on a short-term deal for the start of the 2023 season. A report in the Sydney Morning Herald on Thursday cited Hove as the likeliest destination for Smith, who has spent the last few months

Peter Handscomb is in a race against the clock to go on his first Australian Test tour in four years after scans confirmed a hip injury. Handscomb was hurt on Tuesday night while playing club cricket in Victoria, when he was hit attempting to play a pull shot. He continued batting, but collapsed in pain