Australia

An ICC working group has recommended that no more than four overseas players, including those retired from international cricket, should feature in playing XIs in T20 franchise leagues. It has also recommended that playing XIs include a minimum of four local players, and that boards be paid a 10% release fee for allowing their players

Australia 469 (Head 163, Smith 121, Siraj 4-108) and 270 for 8 dec (Carey 66, Jadeja 3-58) beat India 296 (Rahane 89, Thakur 51, Cummins 3-83) and 234 (Kohli 49, Lyon 3-41, Boland 3-46) by 209 runs India fought hard for six sessions starting with the third day to give themselves some hope on the

Pat Cummins, Australia captain: “We made the most of [losing the toss]. We were certainly going to have a bowl. But yeah, the way Travis [Head] and Smithy [Steven Smith] put on the partnership, we saw a little bit of comfort after a pretty nervy morning. He [Head] has been brilliant throughout this whole campaign.

Moeen Ali‘s return to Test cricket as a late-notice injury replacement for Jack Leach will present England and Ben Stokes with “a challenge” in the Ashes, according to Australia’s coach Andrew McDonald. Leach’s lower-back stress fracture, diagnosed last Sunday, prompted England to ask Moeen if he would consider reversing his retirement from Test cricket. He

Unlike the two white-ball trophies which, although built towards in the years beforehand, happen entirely over a month or six weeks, the World Test Championship is a two-year marathon towards the final. Rohit Sharma said he would like a best-of-three series while admitting the schedule would not allow it, but unsurprisingly Cummins was quite happy

India captain Rohit Sharma is disappointed at the process followed by third umpire Richard Kettleborough in deciding to rule Shubman Gill out in the final innings of the WTC final on Saturday. Rohit feels the third umpire could have taken more time and looked at more angles before arriving at his decision. “I just felt

There is surely nothing more Scott Boland can do to become one of the first-choice names in Australia’s attack. So far throughout his stellar eight-match career, which has brought 33 wickets at 14.57, Boland’s opportunities have all come because of the absence of others. However, in the aftermath of securing the World Test Championship final

Tweeting a front-on angle photograph of Cameron Green taking the catch down to his left at gully, Gill captioned it with two magnifying glass emojis followed by a facepalm emoji. That sentiment was echoed somewhat by Mohammed Shami later, who suggested the occasion of this final warranted more rigour in the decision-making. Gill was on

India 296 and 164 for 3 (Kohli 44*, Rohit 43) need another 280 runs to beat Australia 469 and 270 for 8 dec (Carey 66, Labuschagne 41, Starc 41, Jadeja 3-58, Shami 2-39, Umesh 2-54) Under bright skies and on an Oval pitch that seemed to ease out against all expectations, India’s batters set up

Steve Waugh has warned England they are set to be exposed by Australia in the Ashes if they don’t have a back-up plan for when all-out attack doesn’t come off. England’s ‘Bazball’ revolution in the past 12 months has revived Test cricket in the country, and prompted the most anticipated Ashes series in 17 years.

Hazlewood was withdrawn from Australia’s World Test Championship (WTC) squad after it was decided he was not quite ready following his truncated IPL, from which he returned home with some side soreness although he was later cleared of any injury. He was said to be “very close” to being available and is on track for

Australia 123 for 4 (Labuschagne 41*, Jadeja 2-25) and 469 lead India 296 (Rahane 89, Shardul 51, Cummins 3-83) by 296 runs India hung in admirably on the third day of the WTC final through fighting runs from Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul Thakur and a better bowling effort than in the first innings, but by

As Steven Smith struck his 31st Test hundred against India on day two of the World Test Championship final at The Oval, England vice-captain Ollie Pope could only but admire the Australian’s class. Ominous signs ahead of the Ashes? No doubt. But for a player with a Test average of 59.55 in these conditions –

This World Test Championship final is Australia’s 20th Test match in the two-year cycle. Four of their players have appeared in all the games. Travis Head has been part of 18 of them. One of his absences was due to Covid in Sydney during the 2021-22 Ashes, but the other was when he was dropped.

Australia 327 for 3 (Head 146*, Smith 95*) vs India Travis Head and Steven Smith feasted on India’s wayward attack in what weren’t easy batting conditions to put Australia in the box seat of the WTC final by the end of day one at The Oval. Head scored his first century outside Australia, and Smith

Australia hope to become the first team since England in 2010-11 to win an away Ashes series this summer, and have ramped up their attempts to do so by adding Andy Flower – the mastermind of that success – to their backroom staff. Flower, a three-time Ashes-winning coach with England, has joined the Australia squad

The ICC has been preparing a back-up pitch at The Oval for the World Test Championship final, as a precaution against the threat of potential disruptions by activists from Just Stop Oil. The move to prepare another pitch is to guard against a worst-case scenario and the strip that will be used for the Test,

Big picture – final flourish for Warner, Starc, Ashwin, Kohli, Pujara? Is it world cricket’s most prestigious match? Or is it a final that should be more than a one-off contest but cannot be, thanks to the constraints of a calendar that is squeezing Test cricket to the margins, awkwardly positioned between two events that

There were times when Pat Cummins thought playing one more Test was beyond him, but as he prepares for his 50th game, the Australia captain hopes he can double that tally before his career finishes and aims to feature in all six on this tour of England. In the World Test Championship final against India,

Fourteen out of the 15 India players who feature in the World Test Championship (WTC) final were active in the IPL, which coursed through April and May at high intensity. Only two of the Australians – David Warner and Cameron Green – featured in the IPL, while Michael Neser, Steven Smith, Marcus Harris and Marnus

Josh Hazlewood has lost his race to be fit for Australia’s World Test Championship final against India. He has been replaced in the squad by Michael Neser. This makes Scott Boland a favourite to make the XI for the match, which starts on June 7 at The Oval. Hazlewood, who picked up side soreness at

David Warner wants to bid farewell to Test cricket on his homeground at the SCG next year, in the New Year’s Test against Pakistan. That will be one staging post towards a complete exit from the international game, with Warner hoping his final game in Australia colours is at the 2024 T20 World Cup. That

David Warner would like to see the World Test Championship (WTC) final played as a three-Test series instead of a one-off game. Australia take on India at The Oval from June 7, the first step in a big six months for them as they challenge for the Test title, the Ashes and then the ODI

Who should keep wicket for India during the World Test Championship final against Australia? India have a call to make between two inexperienced candidates, with KS Bharat having played only four Tests and Ishan Kishan yet to debut in the format, and Ravi Shastri feels the choice could come down to conditions at The Oval.

Australia quick Josh Hazlewood believes he is a chance to play in the World Test Championship final against India provided he can get through some heavy training loads over the next week after leaving the IPL early due to some soreness in his side. Hazlewood played just three matches in the IPL for Royal Challengers

The squad gathered in Brisbane on June 29 for a training camp ahead of their departure to England but will travel without their skipper Lanning, who has withdrawn from the series to remain at home to manage an undisclosed medical issue. Nitschke could not shed any light on what Lanning was dealing with but admitted

Ricky Ponting wants India to play as many X-factor players as possible if they want to have an edge over Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) final. Like Ishan Kishan, who, Ponting feels, is a stronger bet than KS Bharat to play as the wicketkeeper-batter in the absence of Rishabh Pant, and Suryakumar Yadav.

Australia have pushed Mitchell Marsh and Matt Renshaw into their reserves for the upcoming WTC final against India, trimming their squad to 15 members in the process. Josh Hazlewood, meanwhile, has been retained after scans had revealed no substantial damage – he left the IPL early after complaining of side soreness. Josh Inglis, who is

Glamorgan have signed Australian legspinner Peter Hatzoglou on a short-term contract as cover for Michael Neser, who is currently with Australia for their pre-World Test Championship final and Ashes camp. Hatzoglou, who gave up a career as an accountant after getting his chance in the Big Bash League aged 22, had been playing club cricket

Australia appear to have avoided a significant injury concern after Cameron Green was able to resume his innings in the IPL Qualifier against Gujarat Titans having been forced to retire hurt from a blow on the arm. Green left the field in the second over of Mumbai Indians’ chase when he was struck just below