Ireland are contemplating postponing their first ever men’s bilateral series against Australia due to financial and logistical pressures. Under the Future Tours Programme, Australia are scheduled to tour Ireland for three ODIs and a one-off T20I in August and September before journeying to England for further white-ball series. But the likely strains of a hectic

Australia are set to field an unchanged side for the fourth Test in a row and an unchanged bowling quartet for the seventh match of the summer with back-up quick Scott Boland likely to be sent home to play Sheffield Shield cricket for Victoria on Monday. Captain Pat Cummins confirmed Australia’s expected line-up for the

Joe Root has moved up to No. 2 in the ICC’s Test batting rankings, behind New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, after Steven Smith’s fallow run of scores caused him to slip below 800 points for the first time since 2014. Root, who himself returned to form with a century against India in Ranchi last month, is

Mitchell Starc has the strong words of former Australia coach Tim Nielsen still ringing in his ears as he stands on the brink of a remarkable achievement. As impressive as that is, Starc is arguably prouder of the fact he is set to play his seventh straight Test of a southern hemisphere summer. It is

Western Australia 310 (Goodwin 115, Whiteman 79, Bartlett 5-64) and 307 for 7 dec (Inglis 136*) beat Queensland 170 (Rocchiccioli 4-54) and 301 (Wildermuth 91, McDermott 59, Rocchiccioli 4-109, Gannon 3-49) by 146 runs Defending champions Western Australia lifted to second on the ladder with one round of the Sheffield Shield remaining after a pivotal

Cameron Green could be kept out of Australia’s limited-overs series against Pakistan at the start of the next home summer, ahead of a five-match Test series against India, to play Sheffield Shield cricket after the selectors were immediately rewarded for keeping him red-ball focussed before the Wellington Test where he delivered a match-winning 174 not

South Australia 287 (Manenti 71, Kelly 54, McSweeney 53) and 259 for 9 (Kelly 69, McSweeney 67, Lehmann 56, Edwards 4-59) drew with New South Wales 510 for 8 dec (Davies 116, Hughes 114, Green 63*, Gilkes 54) New South Wales had to settle for a dramatic draw in their crucial Sheffield Shield clash with

Tasmania 240 (Sutherland 5-73) and 307 (Webster 167*) beat Victoria 106 (Bell 4-21) and 384 (Maddinson 109, Harris 76, Handscomb 71, Carlisle 4-58) Tasmania all but assured they will appear in their first Sheffield Shield final in six years, after defeating Victoria by 57 runs in a thrilling match in Hobart. They are in the

Pat Cummins is adamant that Marnus Labuschagne is under no pressure for his place despite a lean run of form, but Australia’s batting order is facing increasing scrutiny after letting an opportunity slip to bury New Zealand at the Basin Reserve. Australia started their second innings 204 runs in front and even with the double

Queensland 170 and 56 for 1 need 392 more to beat Western Australia 310 and 307 for 7 dec (Inglis 136*) Josh Inglis came to Western Australia’s rescue with a sparkling century to put his team on track for victory in the Sheffield Shield match against Queensland at the WACA Ground. Chasing a mammoth 448

Victoria 106 and 373 for 8 (Maddinson 109, Harris 76, Handscomb 71, Carlisle 3-63) need 69 more runs to beat Tasmania 240 and 307 Victoria coach Chris Rogers was pinning his hopes on a Will Sutherland masterclass after his side suffered a costly late collapse in their Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania in Hobart. Nic

New South Wales 465 for 8 (Davies 116, Hughes 114, Gilkes 54) lead South Australia 287 by 178 runs Daniel Hughes and Oliver Davies struck fighting centuries to give New South Wales a chance to secure victory in their Sheffield Shield encounter with South Australia in Sydney. NSW went to stumps on day three with

New Zealand captain Tim Southee did not rule out the potential of Neil Wagner being called out of retirement for the second Test against Australia in Christchurch if required with Will O’Rourke‘s hamstring to be assessed in the next 24 hours. O’Rourke walked off the field five balls into his eighth over on the third

Western Australia 310 (Goodwin 115, Whiteman 79, Bartlett 5-64) and 16 for 0 lead Queensland 170 (Wildermuth 41, Rocchiccioli 4-54) by 156 runs Western Australia’s bid for a hat-trick of Sheffield Shield titles was back on track after producing a sizzling bowling display against Queensland at the WACA Ground. In reply to WA’s competitive 310,

Victoria 106 (Bell 4-21) and 18 for 0 need 424 more runs to beat Tasmania 240 and 307 (Webster 167*) Beau Webster plundered a magnificent century amid a record-breaking final-wicket stand to put Tasmania in the box seat for victory in their top-of-the-table Sheffield Shield clash with Victoria. It left Victoria chasing a whopping 442

Lunch Australia 383 and 113 for 4 (Green 17*, Head 24*) lead New Zealand Nathan Lyon fell short of a maiden Test half-century, but Australia’s lead grew past 300 after Cameron Green held firm and Travis Head counterattacked to thwart New Zealand’s attempts at a comeback early on day three at Basin Reserve. In windy

South Australia 257 for 8 (Kelly 54, McSweeney 53, Manenti 50*) vs New South Wales South Australia and NSW were both been left satisfied but not fully content following an even opening day of their Sheffield Shield clash in Sydney. But NSW hit back to limit the damage, ensuring their hunt for a spot in

Victoria 81 for 7 trail Tasmania 240 (Doran 47, Jewell 40, Sutherland 5-73) by 159 runs Matthew Wade pulled off arguably the best catch of his glittering career as Victoria’s star-studded batting line-up imploded against Tasmania on a day of Sheffield Shield carnage at Blundstone Arena. A total of 17 wickets fell across the opening

Cameron Green was sheepish on the evening of day one when he admitted he did not know how to bat with the lower order. “I’m still trying to work out how best to play with a tail,” he said. “It’s still a fine balance between still trying to score runs but then [not] making the

Wade has been named to open the batting for ladder-leading Tasmania against Victoria while Short has been included in Victoria’s side on return from the New Zealand series. Johnson and Inglis will also play their first Shield matches of the season for South Australia and Western Australia respectively but Aaron Hardie has been ruled out

Lunch Australia 62 for 1 (Khawaja 28*, Labuschagne 1*, Henry 1-17) vs New Zealand Australia opener Steven Smith fell just before lunch, but Usman Khawaja navigated an all-out New Zealand pace attack on a green surface at Basin Reserve to bat through the opening session of the first Test. In their first Test in New

Big picture: Australia look to improve overseas record, NZ eye rare victory It’s little wonder anticipation is feverish for Australia’s Test return to New Zealand after eight years with matches in Wellington and Christchurch to be played in front of capacity crowds. Even though they are neighbours, sharing a long history on the field, the

Jess Jonassen has been omitted from the squad for Australia’s white-ball tour of Bangladesh, but chief selector Shawn Flegler insists the out-of-favour spinner could still feature in future international fixtures. Injury-plagued Tayla Vlaeminck is a chance to play her first match for Australia in more than two years after being included in the 15-player squad

New Zealand won the toss and decided to bowl against Australia Captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and elected to bowl as New Zealand seeks a consolation victory against Australia in the T20I series finale at a gloomy Eden Park. Both teams have made numerous changes with New Zealand wicketkeeper-batter Devon Conway ruled out after

David Warner has been ruled out of the final T20I against New Zealand in Auckland with an adductor injury but is expected to be fit for the start of the IPL next month. Warner sat out the second match on Friday although that was always due to be a game he would rest from as

Toss New Zealand chose to bowl vs Australia Experienced seamer Trent Boult returned to international cricket while Steven Smith got his chance to impress, as New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner elected to bowl against Australia in the second T20I in Auckland. Both teams made several changes from Australia’s thrilling victory in the series-opener in Wellington

Western Australia have suffered a blow to their hopes of a hat-trick of 50-over domestic titles with Australia allrounder Aaron Hardie has been ruled out of the Marsh Cup final against New South Wales due to his calf injury. Hardie suffered calf tightness during WA’s last Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania. He only bowled four

New Zealand chose to bat against Australia Big-hitting Josh Clarkson will make his T20I debut as New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner won the toss and elected to bat against a near full-strength Australia in the series-opener at Sky Stadium. Steven Smith was overlooked for Australia with allrounder Matthew Short selected and listed to bat at

The Chappell-Hadlee trophy, earlier awarded to the winner of bilateral ODI series between Australia and New Zealand, will now also be played for in T20I series between the trans-Tasman rivals, starting with the three-match contest beginning on Wednesday in Wellington. The change will also mean that when the two teams face off in back-to-back ODI

Aaron Hardie has missed out on an opportunity to press his T20 World Cup case after being withdrawn from the New Zealand series with a minor calf issue as Australia’s revolving door of white-ball selections continues with Spencer Johnson called in at short notice. Hardie was not originally selected for the three-match series starting in