Australia

England’s remarkable performances against New Zealand and India have certainly been noted around the cricket world, so much so that “Bazball” made an appearance at Australia’s net session in Galle on Wednesday. Steven Smith, who is among the Australians to have kept an eye on the matches in England, was heard shouting the term after

Until now on their tours of Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Australia have not felt the need to go out of the box with their selections, although both trips have included plenty of talk of the potential to do so. The second Test in Galle may see that change, however, with Glenn Maxwell a chance to

It’s not just about sweeping, surely? There’s more to batting on turning surfaces than that. Sweeping is how Australia got to their last victory. And perhaps how Joe Root did it against Sri Lanka in Galle last year. Sure. But there’s more to life on turning pitches than that. Especially when you have a world

Steven Smith insists there is no lingering fallout from his mid-wicket mix-up with Usman Khawaja after his fiery first Test dismissal against Sri Lanka. Smith created headlines last week when he gestured back at Khawaja and stormed off the field after being run out for six in Galle. The incident drew criticism back home in Australia,

Mitchell Swepson has frankly admitted doubts crept into his mind during his 514-ball wait for a third Test wicket. Swepson justified his selection as Australia’s second spinner in the team’s series-opening win over Sri Lanka, taking five wickets for the match in Galle. But it wasn’t before a harsh introduction to Test cricket. “I’m not

Australia’s coaches have turned an eye to next year’s tour of India as they prepare for the possibility of pulling off a rare hat-trick on the subcontinent. Andrew McDonald’s men were set to return to training on Monday after two days off, as they begin to ramp up preparations for Friday’s second Test against Sri

Mitchell Starc has become the first Australian star to confirm he won’t play in this summer’s Big Bash League as negotiations loom on future player availability. This summer shapes as crucial for the competition out of the Covid-19 pandemic, with Cricket Australia desperate to have as much top-line talent playing as often as possible. Australia’s

Ashton Agar‘s hopes of an Australian Test recall in Sri Lanka are over after failing to recover from a side strain. Agar was ruled out of the second Test on Saturday morning with Australia bringing Jon Holland into their 17-man squad. He had been considered a serious chance of playing in the series in Sri

Dimuth Karunaratne: c Carey b Lyon 235.3 Bottom edge, given! Went for the sweep from outside off and gets a thin tickle. Neatly done from Carey who has done well in tough conditions behind the stumps. Australia have their first | 37 for 1 Pathum Nissanka: lbw b Swepson 146.5 Big appeal and given lbw!

Sri Lanka crashed and burned in the second innings, nosediving to 113 all out in 22.5 overs. Four of their top seven fell attempting sweeps or reverse sweeps. And of that top seven, only Dhananjaya de Silva was out not playing and attacking stroke – he left a ball that would have hit leg stump.

Australia 321 (Green 77, Khawaja 71, Ramesh 4-112) and 10 for 0 beat Sri Lanka 212 (Dickwella 58, Lyon 5-90) and 113 (Head 4-10, Lyon 4-31) by 10 wickets Australia’s spinners tore through Sri Lanka’s line-up as they lost 10 wickets inside 23 overs in a staggering collapse to lose the opening Test in Galle

Australia 313 for 8 (Green 77, Khawaja 71, Ramesh 4-107) lead Sri Lanka 212 by 101 runs Two sensational seventies from Cameron Green and Usman Khawaja gave Australia a vital lead over Sri Lanka on a weather-affected second day in Galle as the pitch continued to deteriorate quickly. Green made 77, his fifth Test half-century,

Cricket Australia’s free-to-air television broadcaster Channel Seven has filed proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia to terminate their A$82 million-a-year broadcasting agreement which has two years to run citing “multiple quality and standards breaches.” The move by the network continues a long-running battle between Seven and CA that began in 2020 following the onset

Surrey have signed uncapped Australian allrounder Aaron Hardie for the rest of the Vitality Blast, after losing Kieron Pollard to injury. Hardie, who has been in Sri Lanka with Australia A, has joined up with the squad and will be available for Surrey’s Blast game against Kent on Friday. Surrey are top of the South

Western Australia will begin their Sheffield Shield title defence against New South Wales at the WACA, while the details of the expanded WNCL have been locked in with the announcement of the domestic fixtures for the Australian summer. There will be a full men’s domestic programme for the first time since 2018-19 following two disrupted

Who’s still in contention, who isn’t, and who needs to do what to face off for the coveted Test mace in the World Test Championship (WTC) final next year? Here’s the lowdown. How does England’s 3-0 win over New Zealand affect the WTC table? England were already so far behind that even their whitewash of

Hilton Cartwright, the Australia allrounder, has signed on a one-month deal with Derbyshire. He will provide cover for Shan Masood for the remainder of the Vitality Blast and up to three LV= Insurance Championship matches in July. Masood was recently called up for Pakistan’s tour of Sri Lanka next month, having been in prolific form

Sri Lanka’s success on Australia’s previous trip to the island had been driven by the prowess of Herath, who took 28 wickets at an average of 12.75 in a 3-0 whitewash. Australia had at times been woeful against spin in that series, but Karunaratne expects them to be much improved this time. Australia’s most recent

Jon Holland has bolted into contention for a shock Test recall if he can overcome a finger injury in time for Australia’s series opener against Sri Lanka in Galle on Wednesday. Australia received a major boost on Monday, with Mitchell Starc cleared to return from a cut finger after a lengthy centre-wicket training session. Bowling

Stick to your plans. That will be the message to Australia’s batters as they head to Sri Lanka for their biggest batting examination in three years of Test cricket. Pakistan did not quite throw up the batting challenges against spin that were anticipated in March, particularly in the first two Tests, where Australia secured a

Steven Smith has dispelled doubts about his fitness ahead of Australia’s first Test against Sri Lanka, but Mitchell Starc but still faces a crucial lead-in to overcome a finger injury. The two stars of Australia’s last tour to Sri Lanka, Smith and Starc, headline a long injury list for the tourists ahead of the opening

Glenn Maxwell had always held out hope, if not always complete belief, that he would get another chance in Test cricket. But he did not want to tempt fate in Sri Lanka, so did not pack his baggy green. And as it turns out, he’ll need a new one in Galle with the original having

Australia A 254 (Peirson 67*, Rasanjana 5-82) and 370 for 5 (Peirson 128*, Hunt 107, Hardie 78*) beat Sri Lanka A 330 for 9 dec (Dananjaya 92, Udara 63, Arachchige 61, Boland 4-38, Steketee 4-69) and 290 (Dananjaya 77, Arachchige 58, Boland 3-51, Sangha 3-53) by five wickets Queensland wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson completed an outstanding

Innings break Sri Lanka 160 all out (Chamika 75, Hazlewood 2-22, Cummins 2-22) vs Australia Sri Lanka’s rolling collapse ate up the top order, decimated the middle, and threatened to wipe out the tail, until Chamika Karunaratne intervened with 75 off 74. He lifted Sri Lanka from an embarrassing 85 for 8, to 160 all

Australia have been handed another injury concern ahead of the Test series against Sri Lanka with Travis Head ruled out of the final ODI in Colombo due to a hamstring problem. Head sustained the injury late in the fourth match and has just six days to recover before the first Test in Galle. If he

After two years of planning and delays caused by Covid-19 the BBL has finally unveiled an overseas player draft for the upcoming season. Here is everything you need to know. What is the overseas draft?BBL teams will no longer go out and search for their three overseas players privately. They will select a minimum of

Lisa Sthalekar has become the first woman to be appointed president of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Association (FICA). The former Australia captain was confirmed at the FICA Executive Committee meeting held in Nyon, Switzerland. She will take up a position that has previously been held by former South Africa batter Barry Richards, former West

Australia won the toss and decided to bowl against Sri Lanka Australia have won the toss and chosen to bowl first in the fourth ODI at Khettarama. This is an unusual choice at a venue on which chases are historically difficult. They had lost the third ODI batting first, however, and are down 2-1 in

Travis Head claims he is already feeling comfortable on Sri Lanka’s wickets after working his way to a second big score of Australia’s tour in their six-wicket ODI loss in Colombo. Head played a starring role in Australia’s innings of 291 for 6 on Sunday, hitting an unbeaten 70 from 65 balls as he anchored

Big Picture Other than the opening T20I which was a very one-sided affair, Sri Lanka have heaped the pressure on Australia during this tour. They nearly stole a low-scoring clash in the second T20I, thrillingly won the third game off the bat of captain Dasun Shanaka, were only beaten by a Glenn Maxwell special at