Australia

Mitchell Marsh did not realise how much he was being hampered by his ankle injury until he made the decision to have surgery and is now feeling rejuvenated as he sets out with twin ambitions for the months ahead. Most immediately is the ODI series against India, a stepping stone to the World Cup later

During a Rolling Stones tour of Australia, legendary drummer and noted cricket enthusiast Charlie Watts followed the well-worn trail of many tourists in Perth. He had his photo taken in front of the WACA ground. “He was on the corner outside of the ground taking a photo because he didn’t think he would be allowed

In future Border-Gavaskar series there will be a fifth Test. However, in a way, we get one this time too. Australia and India will meet again in early June to decide the World Test Championship title. There will be precious little time for either side to prepare given the IPL runs until late May, but

Steven Smith will captain Australia in the ODI series against India with Pat Cummins remaining at home following the death of his mother Maria last week. Cummins left the tour after the second Test in Delhi with Smith taking over as Australia clawed the scoreline back to 2-1. “Our thoughts are with Pat and his

The anguish of knowing their chances of regaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Indian soil were potentially scuppered by one horrific session of batting will continue to linger for Australia, but they were able to finish the series with a ringing endorsement of their spin attack which was termed the best to visit the country in

India are planning to equip their Test bowlers with the Dukes ball during the IPL so they have a chance to practice with it ahead of the World Test Championship with the crammed schedule providing challenges of how to prepare to face Australia at the Oval. The final will take place from June 7 for

Australia and India are the only teams which have won at least twice as many Tests as they have lost in the current WTC cycle (in Tests which counted towards the WTC). Australia have been stellar with a 11-3 win-loss record so far, with series wins against England, West Indies and South Africa (home), and

Usman Khawaja will be assessed ahead of the final day’s play in Ahmedabad to determine how much of a role he is able to play after suffering an injury to his left leg with Australia facing a fight to save the game. Khawaja appeared to jar his left knee attempting to take a boundary catch

Jhye Richardson will miss the IPL and is all but sure to be out of contention for the Ashes after undergoing surgery to overcome his hamstring issues. Richardson suffered a recurrence of the injury playing club cricket last week as he attempted a return to action after initially pulling up in the BBL. He was

India 289 for 3 (Gill 128, Kohli 59*) trail Australia 480 (Khawaja 180, Green 114, Ashwin 6-91) by 191 runs Second week into the third month, Shubman Gill scored his fifth international century of the year to lead India’s response to Australia’s 480. For long periods, Australia did well to keep a lid on the

Shaun Marsh has retired from first-class cricket after 22 years of service for Western Australia at Sheffield Shield level, and 38 Test matches for Australia. Marsh made his first-class debut at the age of 17 for WA in 2001, and achieved a career-long ambition to win a Sheffield Shield title last season where he captained

Cameron Green admitted his relief at crossing three figures for the first time in Test cricket while he was lauded as a “once in a generation” cricketer by R Ashwin. Five times, Green had fallen between 74 and 84 in his embryonic Test career but shortly after lunch on the second day in Ahmedabad –

Surreal. Daunting. As good as it gets. Those are just three ways Todd Murphy described his first experience of Test cricket amid the series in India, where he has been lauded for his maturity and ability to slot into the side despite limited experience. Murphy had played seven first-class matches when he was called in

South Australia left-arm quick Spencer Johnson has vaulted onto Australia’s Ashes radar after being named in a 14-man Australia A squad to tour New Zealand in April alongside a mix of current Test squad members and long-term Test hopefuls with the mid-year England tour in mind. Peter Handscomb, who is currently in Australia’s Test XI

Australia 255 for 4 (Khawaja 104*, Green 49*, Shami 2-65) vs India Australia managed only the fourth opening stand of 50 or more for a visiting side in India in the last five years. Usman Khawaja and Steven Smith batted through the middle session, the first wicketless session of the series, the most comfortable any

With Western Australia on the verge of defending their Marsh Cup title successfully, left-arm spinner Ashton Agar was back in his element as the rowdy WACA faithful willed him on to take a five-wicket haul in the final against South Australia. He was unable to remove Wes Agar, his brother, but sealed the 181-run win

Big picture: Huge stadium, huge stakes The world’s largest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad is an apt venue given the large stakes on offer for the final Test of a fascinating Border-Gavaskar series. The pomp and ceremony surrounding the arrival of the respective Prime Ministers might bolster the crowd to record levels, but the cricket should

Western Australia 387 for 7 (Inglis 138, Bancroft 90, Marsh 56, W Agar 2-56) beat South Australia 206 (Hunt 50, Smith 44, Agar 5-64) by 181 runs Josh Inglis tuned up for the India ODI tour with a blistering century as Western Australia capped a flawless Marsh Cup season by thrashing South Australia in a

Steven Smith could not remember another occasion where he had been unsure which pitch he would be playing on for a Test match two days out from it starting. That was the situation which emerged on Tuesday in Ahmedabad with Australia leaving the ground still in the dark over which of the two surfaces would

A cushion of over 200 runs to defend in a T20 game can be a double-edged sword. While it certainly puts the chasing team under pressure, it could also induce bowlers into taking it easy – or the opposition taking the game head on with little to lose. Alyssa Healy did just that, giving UP

Australia’s bid for a series-levelling victory in Ahmedabad, which would go down as one of their finest results, could begin in front of a world record Test match crowd amid further intrigue over what the pitch will offer with India seeking to bounce back from a rare home defeat. The opening day of the final

Jhye Richardson has been ruled out of Australia’s ODI tour of India, and his IPL stint with Mumbai Indians is also unlikely, after he suffered a hamstring injury recurrence in his first grade game back since the initial injury occurred during the BBL. Richardson had not played any cricket since straining his hamstring on January

Indore. India’s first innings. Todd Murphy to Virat Kohli. 19.5 Beaten as this skids through. Kohli plays for turn from around the stumps but there’s none there. 21.4 Big appeal and Kohli has been given! He has reviewed after a brief chat with KS Bharat. This one’s fired full and fast, keeps a touch low

Ricky Ponting believes David Warner missed the ideal time to retire from Test cricket after his double-century against South Africa at the MCG and suggested the World Test Championship final might be a one-off chance for him to prove he should play the Ashes. His double hundred in his 100th Test at the MCG came

Alex Carey admitted he feared the worst after Rohit Sharma was given two lives in the first over of the Indore Test when Australia opted not to review for a nick and an lbw, but was delighted to play his part in ensuring the India captain did not inflict major damage. Carey’s stumping of Rohit

New South Wales stalwart and Australia three-Test seamer Trent Copeland has announced his retirement from first-class cricket. Copeland has been a mainstay of Sheffield Shield cricket over the past 14 years having taken 410 first-class wickets at 25.65 including 21 five-wicket hauls and three 10-wicket hauls. Copeland, who turns 37 on March 14, said it

Australia head coach Andrew McDonald believes the team’s success in the Indore Test shows there is a core group of players who are learning what it takes to win in the subcontinent and can set the side up for greater success in the future. “One hour of chaos” in Delhi, as McDonald termed it, cost

The ICC rates a pitch as poor if any of the following criteria apply The pitch offers excessive seam movement at any stage of the match The pitch displays excessive unevenness of bounce for any bowler at any stage of the match The pitch offers excessive assistance to spin bowlers, especially early in the match

Australia 197 (Khawaja 60, Jadeja 4-78, Umesh 3-12) and 78 for 1 (Head 49*) beat India 109 (Kuhnemann 5-16, Lyon 3-35) and 163 (Pujara 59, Lyon 8-64) by nine wickets Australia sealed their place in the final of the World Test Championship with an emphatic nine-wicket win over India in the third Test in Indore.

There is no one Nathan Lyon would rather have stood at slip to him than Steven Smith after Australia’s stand-in captain pulled off a spectacular catch to remove Cheteshwar Pujara and leave the visitors in a position where they can be confident of victory in Indore. As Australia, and mostly Lyon, worked their way through