McSweeney call shows Australian selectors backed themselves into a corner:Hayden
Cricket Briefing
Australian cricket

McSweeney call shows Australian selectors backed themselves into a corner:Hayden

Batting great Matthew Hayden says Australia was forced to pick a non-specialist opener to face India in next week’s first Test.

  • byTom Decent andAndrew Wu

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Afghanistan women’s refugee team to play in Melbourne after three-year fight

Afghanistan women’s refugee team to play in Melbourne after three-year fight

Pleas for a refugee Afghanistan women’s cricket team to get to play together have finally been answered by Australian cricket.

  • byDaniel Brettig
‘Going to be opportunities’:Comeback quick relishes chance to enter Test debate

‘Going to be opportunities’:Comeback quick relishes chance to enter Test debate

A breakout fast bowler will return from injury for Australia,but he’s not content to remain a short-form specialist.

  • byNick Wright
Gillespie played ODIs in front of packed houses in Australia. An invisible Pakistan series shocked him

Gillespie played ODIs in front of packed houses in Australia. An invisible Pakistan series shocked him

Jason Gillespie believes the hot pace of Haris Rauf “exposed some flaws” in Australia’s batting ahead of an India series he says was prioritised well above the ODI matches that provided Pakistan’s first win over the hosts in two decades.

  • byDaniel Brettig
Why Cummins was at Coldplay while Australia were smashed
Analysis
ODI

Why Cummins was at Coldplay while Australia were smashed

Australia’s cricketers can’t please everyone all the time. But a Pakistan thrashing risks upsetting fans and the broadcaster.

  • byDaniel Brettig
Harshly dropped:How Australia’s selectors ended up with a battle of the openers

Harshly dropped:How Australia’s selectors ended up with a battle of the openers

Matt Renshaw averaged nearly 37 from his first 10 Tests as a 20-year-old. His 2017 omission started the road to the fight for a top-order spot this year.

  • byDaniel Brettig
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Howzat? Merv Hughes saves old foe Sir Ian ‘Beefy’ Botham from the crocodiles

Howzat? Merv Hughes saves old foe Sir Ian ‘Beefy’ Botham from the crocodiles

Botham got his thongs caught in some roping while transferring to another boat and plunged head-first into the Moyle River,hundreds of kilometres southwest of Darwin.

  • byIan Chadband
David Warner’s new captaincy shows few serve life any more

David Warner’s new captaincy shows few serve life any more

The disgraced cricketer will lead the Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash.

  • The Herald's View
A ball-tampering conspiracy was born in Mackay. Here’s what actually happened

A ball-tampering conspiracy was born in Mackay. Here’s what actually happened

The scenes flashed around the world,as stump microphones captured the increasingly terse exchanges between the umpire and India A players.

  • byDaniel Brettig andTom Decent
Test stars pulled out of ODIs,as selectors show hand with batting switch

Test stars pulled out of ODIs,as selectors show hand with batting switch

Several of Australia’s Test stars will all miss the third one-day international in Perth to focus on Test preparations,as Nathan McSweeney firms for a baggy green against India.

  • byAndrew Wu andDaniel Brettig
‘You scratch it,we change the ball’:Indians upset after umpires make switch

‘You scratch it,we change the ball’:Indians upset after umpires make switch

The umpire was heard explaining to the India A players why he’d changed the damaged ball,but authorities later said the swap was made because of “deterioration”.

  • byDaniel Brettig