Tag: australia

Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood were, on Thursday, named in a spin-heavy provisional squad of Australia for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 after their Ashes campaign was ruined by injury.

Test skipper Cummins only played one of the five Ashes Tests against England, in Adelaide, as he slowly recovers from a lower back issue, while Hazlewood (Achilles) missed the entire series.

Cummins will have another scan on his back later this month to determine whether he will be fit for the tournament in India and Sri Lanka beginning on February 7.

Hazlewood and big-hitter Tim David (hamstring) are also on the comeback trail, but are expected to be ready.

“Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Tim David are tracking well, and we are confident they will be available for the World Cup,” chief selector George Bailey said.

“This is a preliminary squad, so should changes need to be made, they will be made ahead of the support period.”

Left-arm spinners Matt Kuhnemann and Cooper Connolly were additions to a largely settled 15-man squad, alongside chief tweaker Adam Zampa and part-timer Glenn Maxwell.

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Australia’s group-stage matches are all being played in Sri Lanka, with the expectation of spin-friendly surfaces.

In a surprise, Australia opted against a back-up wicketkeeper for Josh Inglis and no left-arm pace replacement for Mitchell Starc, who has retired from the 20-over game.

The fast-bowling attack is led by Cummins and Hazlewood, along with Nathan Ellis and Xavier Bartlett, plus all-rounders Cameron Green and Marcus Stoinis. All are right-handers.

“The T20 side has enjoyed a long run of recent success, which enabled the panel to choose a balance of players across the variety of conditions Sri Lanka and India may present,” Bailey added.

Australia open their account on February 11 in Colombo against Ireland.

They will name a separate squad for a T20I series against Pakistan that precedes the World Cup 2026.

Australia squad for T20 World Cup 2026

Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Pat Cummins, Tim David, Cameron Green, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa.

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Former Australian Test batter Damien Martyn has been rushed to hospital in an induced coma after being diagnosed with meningitis, media reports said Wednesday.

The 54-year-old, who played 67 Tests between 1992 and 2006 and 208 one-day internationals, was admitted on Boxing Day last week after falling ill while lying down.

Australian media said he was being treated for meningitis, which can be deadly.

Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

“He is getting the best of treatment,” Test great and close friend Adam Gilchrist told The Australian newspaper.

“Amanda (his partner) and his family know that a lot of people are sending their prayers and best wishes.”

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Former Australian coach Darren Lehmann, a long-time teammate of Martyn’s, also sent support.

“Lots of love and prayers… keep strong and fighting, legend. Love to the family,” he wrote on X.

Known as one of the game’s great strokemakers, Damien Martyn became a key figure in Steve Waugh’s all-powerful Australian side, hitting 13 centuries and averaging 46.37.

He was also part of the Australia team that won the 2003 ODI World Cup, cracking 88 not out in the final against India in a match-winning partnership with Ricky Ponting.

He retired in 2006 during the Ashes series and had kept a low profile since.

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MELBOURNE: A fighting England won their first Test in Australia since 2011 on Saturday, restoring their battered pride with a gutsy four-wicket victory to clinch a chaotic fourth Ashes clash that was all over inside two days.

The pumped-up tourists dismissed Australia for 132 soon after lunch in front of a bumper 92,045 crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), following the 20 wickets that tumbled on day one.

It left them chasing 175 to win, with Harry Brook (18) and Jamie Smith (three) seeing them home for the loss of six wickets to huge roars from their travelling “Barmy Army” of fans. Jacob Bethell contributed 40 and Zak Crawley 37.

England crashed in the first three Tests and arrived in Melbourne under enormous pressure, amid questions about their limited preparations and allegations of excessive drinking during a mid-series beach break.

But they finally came good and will head to Sydney for the fifth and final Test, brimming with confidence.

England had not won a Test in Australia since January 2011 at Sydney, losing 16 and drawing two since, and openers Crawley and Ben Duckett had a clear objective to snap the streak, play ultra-aggressive “Bazball” style.

Duckett hit a boundary off Mitchell Starc in his first over, while Crawley slammed Michael Neser for a six and a four in successive balls.

They brought up a whirlwind fifty opening partnership, but next ball, Duckett was bowled by a Starc yorker for 34.

Fast bowler Brydon Carse then strode to the middle as a surprise number three in place of Bethell.

But England’s pinch-hitting experiment failed as Carse lasted only eight balls before skying Jhye Richardson to Cameron Green.

Crawley fell lbw to Scott Boland after a gritty knock, and Bethell was caught by Usman Khawaja from the same bowler.

Richardson trapped Joe Root (15) lbw, and Starc accounted for Ben Stokes (2), but by then only 10 runs were needed, and Brook and Smith completed the job.

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Australia resumed on 4-0 in their second innings after an explosive opening day of searing pace saw 20 wickets fall with the hosts dismissed for 152 and England just 110.

It was the most wickets to tumble on the first day of an Ashes Test since 1909, and eclipsed the 19 on day one of the series opener in Perth.

With 10 millimetres of grass on the track, it was a bowler’s dream, but a host of former greats criticised the pitch for “doing too much” and being “unfair for the batters”.

Nightwatchman Boland added two to his overnight four, but his time was always going to be limited, and he edged Gus Atkinson to wicketkeeper Smith.

Atkinson left the field soon after clutching what appeared to be his left hamstring.

Josh Tongue came into the attack on a hat-trick after bagging the last two Australia wickets on day one, but Jake Weatherald whipped his full ball for three.

Weatherald needed a decent knock to cement his spot at the top of the order, but he failed again, bowled by Stokes for five, leaving a delivery that nipped back.

Travis Head was joined by Marnus Labuschagne, but he only made eight, caught by Root in the slips off Tongue.

Head was in good touch before being bowled on 46 by a peach of a delivery from Carse that beat the outside edge, and when Khawaja (0) and Alex Carey (4) departed in the space of nine balls, the momentum was back with England.

After reaching lunch at 98-6, Green (19) became the seventh wicket to fall with the score on 119, edging a rising Stokes ball to Harry Brook at slip.

Carse bagged Neser and Starc without scoring, and Richardson fell to Stokes with the last four wickets tumbling for 13 runs, leaving Steve Smith unbeaten on 24.

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MELBOURNE: Australia will take an all-pace attack into the Boxing Day Ashes Test, skipper Steve Smith said Thursday, while Josh Inglis was dropped from the squad with selectors preferring Usman Khawaja.

The hosts head into the Boxing Day Test with an unassailable 3-0 lead over England, but are without pace spearhead Pat Cummins and veteran spinner Nathan Lyon.

Cummins is being managed after his return in the third Adelaide Test after a lengthy lay off with a lower back injury and will play no further part in the Ashes.

Lyon had surgery this week for a torn hamstring and faces a long recovery.

Todd Murphy was called up as cover for Lyon, but Smith said they had opted for a pace attack given the “quite furry” surface at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

“We’re going to be playing four quicks and no spinner. (The pitch) has 10 millimetres of grass, quite furry, quite green,” he said.

“I dare say it’s going to offer quite a bit, particularly if (day one) is similar conditions to today, quite cold and overcast, so I dare say there’s going to be quite a bit of movement.

“You just got to play what surface you’re presented with,” he added.

“This one looks like it’s going to offer a fair bit of assistance for the seam bowlers, and the weather throughout the week looks conducive for that too.”

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Australia named a 12-man squad, with a final decision on who leads the attack alongside Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland being made at the toss.

One of Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, or Brendan Doggett will miss out.

Doggett and Neser played in the second Test in Brisbane, but made way in Adelaide when Cummins and Lyon returned.

Richardson is in his first squad for four years after three shoulder surgeries.

Smith missed the third Test with vertigo symptoms and will slot back in at number four.

Khawaja filled his role in Adelaide, hitting 82 and 40, and slides down to five ahead of Alex Carey and Cameron Green, with Inglis missing out.

Smith, who captained Australia in the first two Tests during Cummins’ absence, said he was fully recovered and feeling “100 percent” fit.

“I was watching in the hotel those first two days (in Adelaide) and wished I could have been out there, but it was the right call at that stage because I was struggling,” he said of his vertigo, an issue that has plagued him before.

Australia squad for fourth Ashes Test

Travis Head, Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (c), Usman Khawaja, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Brendan Doggett, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson

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England head coach Brendon McCullum is unsure about his future but maintained that the Three Lions are not a ‘finished article’ with two Tests left in the Ashes against Australia.

This comes after England’s 3-0 drubbing in the Ashes series, despite two matches still remaining.

England were unable to put up a fight in the opening three matches, resulting in their fourth series loss down under since their 2011 triumph.

The head coach is unsure about his future ahead of the 2026 England summer, in which they will face New Zealand and Pakistan.

“I don’t know,” he said when questioned about his future with the Three Lions.  “It’s not really up to me, is it?

“I’ll just keep trying to do the job, try to learn the lessons that [we] haven’t quite got right here and try to make some adjustments. Those questions are for someone else, not for me,” he added.

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He emphasized the goals and fun that come with a bunch of England players, noting that he aims to bring out the best in them.

“It’s a pretty good gig. It’s good fun. You travel the world with the lads and try to play some exciting cricket and try to achieve some things … For me, it’s a matter of trying to just get the very best out of the people and try to achieve what you can with them.”

The 44-year-old mentioned the side’s progress since taking over and stressed that England should play the kind of cricket they have been known for over the past couple of years.

“Those other decisions are up to other people. But from my point of view, I’m enjoying the time that I’ve got with these guys, and I think we’ve made some progress from when I took over to where we are,” McCullum reiterated.

“We’re not the finished article, but I think we’ve definitely improved as a cricket team.

We’ve had an identity about us. Now’s the time for us in the last two Tests to really show that identity and try to salvage something from it,” the head coach concluded.

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A dominant Australia collected the last four wickets they needed Sunday to win the third Test and retain the Ashes in just 11 days of cricket, crushing the dreams of an England side who finally showed some fight.

England’s dogged resistance on day five at Adelaide Oval lasted into the second session before Scott Boland removed Josh Tongue for an 82-run victory to ensure the famous urn remains in Australian hands.

The tourists needed a win to keep the five-match series alive after being crushed by eight wickets at Perth and Brisbane, with two more Tests still to play at Melbourne and Sydney.

But despite showing more grit, they were again outplayed by an Australian team who suffered a setback with spin wizard Nathan Lyon hurting his hamstring and hobbling off.

Chasing 435 was always going to be a huge challenge, with no side ever reeling in more than 418 to win in Test history, but England at least gave it a crack as they scored 352 all out.

Their demise in just 11 days is the joint-second quickest in more than a century since the 1921 series was completed in eight days, with their “Bazball” style of ultra-attacking cricket exposed.

England’s capitulation over three Tests is a far cry from the pre-Ashes hype where they were touted as having their best chance in a generation to win a series in Australia.

And it made a mockery of former fast bowler Stuart Broad’s claim that the hosts had their weakest side in 15 years, written off by others as a “Dad’s Army”.

The reality for Ben Stokes’s men is that England have now gone 18 Tests since winning in Australia, dating back to their last series victory there in 2010-11.

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Their last three trips yielded one-sided scorelines of 5-0, 4-0 and 4-0, with more of the same on the cards unless there is a dramatic shift in their fortunes.

They resumed on 207-6 with Will Jacks on 11 and Jamie Smith two.

Smith showed early intent by slog-sweeping Lyon over deep midwicket for six, then banged another off Cameron Green as the Barmy Army fans broke into Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer”.

After four days of searing heat and sunshine, the lights were on with dark clouds looming, and after 40 minutes, the players went off as fine rain returned.

It was a passing shower, and they were back out 40 minutes later with lunch pushed back by half an hour.

Lyon limped off soon after the restart after pulling a hamstring in sliding to save a boundary.

He was sent for scans and ruled out of the rest of the Test, later seen on crutches with rest of the series for him in peril.

When Mitchell Starc took the new ball, Smith began hitting out, crunching two fours in a row, and it proved his downfall when he skied to Pat Cummins at midwicket.

Will Jacks produced his highest Test score of 47 and steered England’s chase below 100.

But he fell to another spectacular catch from Marnus Labuschagne, diving to his left in front of wicketkeeper Alex Carey after an edge off Starc.

Starc struck again to send Jofra Archer packing before Boland took out Tongue, sparking huge celebrations.

England took six wickets before lunch on Saturday to wrap up Australia’s second innings for 349 with Travis Head slamming 170.

They then survived for two sessions, but the wheels came off courtesy of Lyon.

He bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes before tempting Zak Crawley down the wicket to be stumped by Alex Carey for 85, with Cummins accounting for danger man Joe Root on 39.

It was left to Smith and Jacks to ensure it would go to a fifth day.

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ADELAIDE: Opener Zak Crawley said the mood in the England dressing room was “flat” on Saturday as they stared down the barrel of losing the Ashes 2025 within three Tests, admitting Australia were the better side.

England are still 228 runs adrift from the mammoth 435 the hosts set them to win in Adelaide, with just four wickets left and a daunting task ahead on day five.

Should they lose, the five-match series will be decided with Tests in Melbourne and Sydney, still to come, after Australia won the opening two clashes in Perth and Brisbane by eight wickets.

“They’re just flat,” said Crawley, who hit a composed 85, of his teammates. “We came here to win the Ashes, we’re always an optimistic team, an upbeat team, and we’ll try and put up as much fight as we can.”

“Obviously very disappointing,” he added. “It’s an uphill battle from here, but the boys are going to give it a good crack tomorrow.”

Zak Crawley at least found form with the grittiest of knocks, adding 78 with Joe Root, then 68 with Harry Brook, defending well and attacking loose balls.

He was undone when spin wizard Nathan Lyon tempted him down the wicket to be stumped by Alex Carey.

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Crawley said while he was at the crease, he always believed England had a chance.

“When you’re at the crease, you never consider that the game’s over, you always think like that as long as you’re there,” he said.

“When you get out, obviously, those feelings change. But when I was out there, I felt like we had great players at the crease and coming in.”

England headed to Australia with high hopes, but it has been mostly one-way traffic despite the series being hyped beforehand as having the hallmarks of being a classic.

Crawley admitted England had been outplayed by a better side.

“They’re a very, very good side. I feel like it was always going to be tough coming here, against them,” he said. “They were the favourites going into it, and they’ve proven why.”

“Obviously, we’ve been slightly short of our best, but a lot of credit has to go to them. They’ve not allowed us to be our best.”

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ADELAIDE: An unrelenting Australia were four wickets from retaining the Ashes at the close of play in the third Test on Saturday as England clung to a dying hope that they could chase a record 435 to save the series.

England had clawed their way to 207-6 at the end of play in Adelaide with Will Jacks on 11 and Jamie Smith two, still 228 runs from their target.

They lost big guns Zak Crawley (85), Joe Root (39), Harry Brook (30), and Ben Stokes (5) in the final session, with Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins doing the damage.

England must win to keep the five-match series alive after being crushed by eight wickets at Perth and Brisbane. Australia, as holders, only need a draw to retain the urn.

With attendance over the first four days swelling to more than 200,000, a record for the Adelaide Oval, which has been hosting Tests since 1884, they faced a daunting task.

No team has ever chased down more than 316 at the venue, while the biggest successful run chase in Test history was 418 by the West Indies against Australia at St. Johns in 2003.

England took six wickets before lunch to wrap up Australia’s second innings for 349, with Travis Head slamming 170 and Alex Carey 72.

It left them with 10 minutes to bat before the break, but disaster struck in the second over when Ben Duckett, on four, edged Cummins to Marnus Labuschagne at second slip.

Number three, Ollie Pope, has struggled all series and was widely seen as on his last chance with Jacob Bethell waiting in the wings.

He failed to deliver again, gone for 17 with Labuschagne taking a stunning one-handed catch at full stretch in the slips, again off Cummins.

Watchful opener Crawley built a 78-run stand with Root, who needed a big score to save his side but had no answer to Cummins again.

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The Australian skipper removed him for a 13th time in Tests, more than any other bowler, with a furious Root berating himself after prodding at a full delivery and feathering to Carey.

Crawley brought up a well-deserved 50, and with an uncharacteristically subdued Brook began a rebuild before his partner badly mistimed a reverse sweep and was bowled by a classic Lyon off-break.

With the pitch deteriorating, Lyon unleashed another trademark delivery to bowl Stokes, then tempted Crawley down the wicket to be stumped by Carey, leaving England’s Ashes campaign in tatters.

Australia resumed at 271-4 with Head on 142 and Carey 52, and they feasted early on some mediocre bowling.

Stokes didn’t turn over his arm on Friday, with assistant coach Jeetan Patel saying he was “knackered” after a stoic 83 with the bat.

The England captain opened the attack on Saturday, but Head quickly got to work and reached his 150 with a boundary through backward point, earning a standing ovation from his home fans.

Targeting a maiden double-century, Head pulled a short ball from Josh Tongue with Crawley in the deep, doing well to get underneath it in glaring sun.

Carey added 20 as he set his sights on back-to-back centuries after an emotional first innings 106.

But he was taken at slip by Brook off Stokes, with Josh Inglis (10) following soon after, caught behind by Smith off Tongue.

With the new ball taken, Brook collected another slip catch to remove Cummins (6), this time off Brydon Carse, who trapped Lyon lbw next ball.

Scott Boland was the last man out, caught and bowled by Jofra Archer with Tongue taking 4-70.

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ADELAIDE: Danger man Travis Head crunched his fourth century in as many Tests at Adelaide Oval on Friday as Australia built a 356-run lead over England to stand on the brink of retaining the Ashes.

The hosts were 271-4 at stumps on day three of the third Test with Head on 142 and first-innings century-maker Alex Carey not out 52, taking the five-match series out of England’s reach.

England must win after crashing inside two days at the first Test in Perth and inside four in Brisbane, both by eight wickets.

But it appears to be an impossible task with the highest run chase at the ground, 316 by Australia against England in 1902.

Head’s crucial ton, his 11th, came off a composed 146 balls, although he almost didn’t get there, dropped on 99 by Harry Brook as impatience got the better of him.

He has now scored a century in four consecutive Tests on his home ground, following 140 against India last year and 119 and 175 against the West Indies.

Australia suffered an early setback in a tense 20 minutes before lunch after England were all out for 286 on the back of Ben Stokes’ gritty 83 in response to Australia’s first innings 371.

Bryson Carse trapped Jake Weatherald lbw for one, and he walked without reviewing after the umpire lifted his finger, although replays showed the ball was pitching outside leg stump.

It gave England a glimmer of hope, but after the break, Travis Head slammed the door shut, cutting and chopping boundaries to all corners of the ground.

Marnus Labuschagne went for 13 when he edged Josh Tongue to Harry Brook at slip, with reviews showing it carried.

Usman Khawaja, who hit a defiant 82 in the first innings after his last-minute call-up for the ill Steve Smith, was a perfect foil for the more aggressive Head.

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But on 40, he was undone by the spin of Will Jacks, caught behind, and Cameron Green followed soon after for seven, edging Tongue to Brook.

After getting through the nervous 90s, Head finally brought up his century with a four off Joe Root, taking off his helmet and kissing the turf before pumping his fists.

While not in the same vein as his match-winning 69-ball century in Perth, it was a critical knock, supported by Carey and aided by Stokes not bowling after his exploits with the bat.

After a woeful batting display on Thursday, Stokes and Jofra Archer kept England’s dreams alive with a stirring 106-run ninth-wicket stand. They resumed at 213-8 in muggy conditions with Stokes not out 45 and Archer on 30.

Stokes, who suffered leg cramps and dehydration during his gutsy rearguard action in sweltering 40 Celsius heat on Thursday, brought up his slowest ever 50 in Tests, off 159 balls.

He kept plugging away but finally fell when Mitchell Starc took the new ball and bowled him, with Stokes one of the few players who showed the fight he had demanded before the game.

Archer was another, ably helping his captain. The fast bowler was the last man out when caught by Labuschagne off Scott Boland for 51, his highest Test score and a maiden half-century

Boland ended with 3-45 while Pat Cummins took 3-69 in his first Test since July.

England’s woes began when openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, along with the under-performing Ollie Pope, departed in a 15-ball blitz on Thursday at the hands of Cummins and Nathan Lyon.

Harry Brook showed some resistance with 45, but the Australian attack was relentless.

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ADELAIDE: Australia’s ace spinner Nathan Lyon opened up after surpassing his childhood hero Glenn McGrath during the third Ashes Test against England here on Thursday.

Lyon claimed his 564th Test wicket, moving past McGrath and sitting behind only Shane Warne among Australian bowlers.

The landmark came in memorable fashion as the 38-year-old struck twice in his very first over after returning to the Test side, removing Ollie Pope before clean-bowling Ben Duckett to reach the milestone.

The achievement came on day two of Lyon’s 141st Test and underlined his enduring value to Australia’s red-ball setup.

Speaking after the day’s play, Lyon talked about his ideals and expressed pride in the achievement.

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“I grew up idolising Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath and these guys in my childhood were my heroes,” he said.

“And to think of being able to overtake Glenn … it’s pretty humbling to be honest with you, and it’s something that I’ll look back on at the end of my career, or even tonight,” Nathan Lyon added.

The 38-year-old thanked teammates for standing by his side, noting that he would take time to reflect on what he described as an ‘extremely special’ moment in his long career.

“I’ll sit back and try and have a moment because it is an extremely special moment for myself. “But I haven’t been able to do that without the guys at the other end, my teammates.”

“I’ve been around this group long enough to understand my role inside, and it’s an amazing group to be a part of,” he explained.

“I’ll continue to enjoy that while I can, it’s a pretty special group, and just extremely grateful for that opportunity, I guess. “Same emotions as usual, nervous, but that’s me,” the veteran spinner concluded.

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