Australia Cricket News

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) _ Former India cricket coach John Wright is about to take up a senior coaching position in Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Tuesday. Wright, a former New Zealand opening batsman who stepped down as India coach two years ago, will become head coach at Cricket Australia's Brisbane-based Center of Excellence, the newspaper said. He will replace Tim Nielsen who has been appointed coach of the world champion Australian national team. Wright, 52, has been ...

ST JOHN'S, Antigua (AP) _ Australian skipper Ricky Ponting feels the defending World Cup champion team will improve further by playing challenging games like Sunday's Super 8s contest against England. Seeking to become the first country to score a hat-trick of World Cup wins, Australia continued its impressive form to defeat England by seven wickets in what Ponting described as the stiffest test faced in the tournament by the reigning ...

Andrew Symonds posted his maiden test hundred and shared a 279-run sixth-wicket stand with Matthew Hayden that prolonged both his test career and England's Ashes woes. Having already relinquished the Ashes with three straight losses, England had a rare spell of domination Wednesday when the pacemen had Australia reeling at 84 for five on the second morning of the fourth test. Enter Symonds. His place in doubt and with an ...

Monty Panesar's arrival on an Ashes stage and Steve Harmison's return in a familiar role lent England renewed credibility on the first day of the third cricket Test against Australia. Panesar took five for 92 on his Ashes debut Thursday and Harmison snared 4-48 as England dismissed Australia for 244 in 71 overs, after Australian captain Ricky Ponting had won the toss and confidently batted. The belief that the five-match ...

Alastair Cook made an unbeaten 106 and his test opening partner Andrew Strauss 88 as England took full advantage of an opportunity for batting practice on the second day of a two-day cricket match against Western Australia on Sunday. Cook and Strauss shared a 183-run partnership in England's total of 356 for four as the match, designed to give the tourists experience of Perth's WACA ground ahead of the third Ashes test which starts there on Thursday, ...

Australian men would go without sex to see their national team beat England in the current Ashes cricket series in Australia, a survey has found. The survey by men's magazine Zoo Weekly found 41 per cent of its 20,000 respondents would forego sex for a month if it meant Australia regained the Ashes. Four per cent were willing to go without sex for a year if it ensured an Australian win. Australia leads the five-Test Ashes series ...

England spinner Monty Panesar struggled to justify a growing clamor for his Test call up when he took just two wickets for 63 runs in a limited overs cricket match between England A and an Australian Chairman's XI on Friday. While Panesar performed unimpressively, Australia's newest Test recruit, Adam Voges, scored a classy 71 as the Australian selection beat its English rivals by seven wickets. Voges was called into the ...

England coach Duncan Fletcher has defended the decision to pick Ashley Giles over Monty Panesar in the first two Ashes Tests. Fletcher said selection issues weren't only up to him. British newspapers have widely panned the choice of Giles, who had spent an entire season out of the game, instead of Panesar as England's spinner. England lost the opener in Brisbane and then collapsed at the end of the second ...

Australia's bid to regain the Ashes had a setback Friday by the retirement of senior batsman Damien Martyn, six days before the third cricket Test against England. Martyn, 35, informed Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland of his decision to quit from all international and first class cricket, shortly before the announcement of Australia's third Test squad. Uncapped West Australian batsman Adam Voges was named to replace Martyn in the ...

The situation is similar enough for Andrew Flintoff to remain confident his England lineup can retain the Ashes. England lost the first Test in 2005 by 239 runs before coming back for a 2-1 series upset that snapped Australia's eight-series grip on the old urn. That series turned when Australian strike bowler Glenn McGrath hurt his ankle trodding on a ball while practising in the hour before the second Test ...

Ricky Ponting is prepared to apologize for his team's behaviour at this week's Champions Trophy presentation at Mumbai if India's cricket board believes one is warranted, the Australia cricket captain said Wednesday. Ponting told a Sydney news conference he would contact the Indian board to discuss the incident in which board president Sharad Pawar appeared to be pushed from the presentation stage Monday by Australian players. Indian newspapers expressed outrage ...

Australian batsman Michael Clarke will put all friendships aside Sunday when he lines up against the defending champion West Indies in the ICC Champions Trophy final. Clarke counts West Indies skipper Brian Lara and fellow batsman Chris Gayle among his close friends, but sentimentality will be pushed aside if Australia is to win its first Champions Trophy limited-overs cricket title. ``He's (Lara) been a great friend of mine. Obviously you ...

World champion Australia overcame early batting hiccups Saturday to defeat Ashes rival England by six wickets in a crucial Group A match of the ICC Champions Trophy tournament. Led by fast bowlers Shane Watson (3-16) and Mitchell Johnson (3-40), Australia bowled out England for 169 in 45 overs. The world champion wobbled in its run-chase before Damien Martyn (78 off 91 balls) celebrated his 35th birthday with a blistering half century, leading Australia to 170 for four in ...

Rival captains played down the hype of next month's Ashes as world champion Australia and England geared up for Saturday's must-win match of the ICC Champions Trophy tournament. ``I don't see this having a lot to do with the Ashes,'' Australian captain Ricky Ponting said Friday. England and Australia both lost its opening Group A games and another defeat Saturday would throw the loser out of the biennial tournament. England would begin its Ashes defence when the ...