Australia’s captain believes his team had Pietersen’s measure during the first two Tests, but wonders how England will cope without its batting star now he has been ruled out of the series following achilles tendon surgery. “If you look at the way we’ve bowled to him and the way he’s played, he’s been one [...]

What a topsy-turvy game cricket is. At Cardiff in the first Test England just about scraped home with a draw after its time wasting tactics brought a howl of protest from the Australians. At Lord’s, where England have a poor record against the old enemy, they went on to win by a handsome margin of [...]

After outbatting the faltering Phillip Hughes here yesterday, the all-rounder Shane Watson insisted he would be happy to face Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison with the new ball should England’s most potent pace bowlers be reunited at Edgbaston for the third Ashes Test this week. Watson’s 84 doubly underlined his credentials to open for [...]

Ricky Ponting’s Australia were on the receiving end of four dodgy decisions in the recent Ashes Test, including one which claimed his own wicket in the first innings. Ricky was taunted and baited throughout – and saw his side go one down after deliberate time wasting tactics helped England escape with a draw from [...]

The swine-flu pandemic is hitting Australia particularly hard this summer as the former slave colony works to prepare the first vaccine to treat the deadly virus. Over 10,000 Australians have been infected and 48 have died, and major Australian hospitals have canceled elective surgeries that would take up much-needed beds in intensive care units. [...]

Like any good Test match, Lord’s was great theatre. It was also passable pantomime, with Andrew Flintoff in fee-fi-fo-fum form, smelling the blood of an Aus-tray-ly-un. Of course, every panto needs a villain, and one arrived ready-made in Ricky Ponting. When his praise for England in a gracious post-match concession speech was applauded, Ponting [...]

Matthew Hayden is one guy Ricky Ponting would love to see standing beside him when the third Ashes Test starts in Nottingham. But the burly Aussie has better plans. Firmly seeing himself as a Team Chennai man now, the big-hitting opener is busy planning an academy of his own in the city, which he [...]

I’d hate to think Australia would abandon Mitchell Johnson after one bad game. That’s all it was at Lord’s: one bad game. Every international bowler has been there and it’s not the end of the world. He’ll be back – and Australia know it. They’ll give him the county match against Northamptonshire from Friday [...]

Speaking after Australia’s 115-run loss to England in the second Test at Lord’s, Ponting said the tourists were optimistic about their chances of turning around a 1-0 deficit in the five-match series. Johnson, despite a battling 63 on the final day, and Hughes (4, 17) have struggled for form in the first two Tests, [...]

WA cricketing greats Adam Gilchrist and Dennis Lillee have been named in influential website Cricinfo’s Australian all-time XI – but current captain Ricky Ponting has missed out. Selected by a prominent panel of cricket historians, and print and media journalists, Gilchrist was a clear choice for the best Australian wicketkeeper in history – while fast [...]