Nathan McSweeney was recalled to Australia’s test squad on Thursday to tour Sri Lanka, less than three weeks after being dropped from the top order. Australia’s selectors announced their squad Thursday for the two-test tour, with several fresh faces added to the group that played India in Sydney last week. Australia won the five-test series 3-1 a nd clinched a spot in the World Test Championship against South Africa at Lord's in June. Steve Smith will lead the squad to Sri Lanka while regular skipper Pat Cummins is on leave as his wife awaits the birth of the couple’s second child. Australia’s selectors concentrated on spin for the two Sri Lanka tests, with uncapped 21-year-old Cooper Connolly among the seven full or part-time slow bowling options in the 16-man squad. Connolly, a left-arm allrounder, has represented Australia in limited-overs cricket and has been called up for his maiden test campaign along with specialist spinners Todd Murphy and Matthew Kuhnemann. New Zealand beats Sri Lanka by 113 runs in rain-hit 2nd ODI to win series McSweeney scored 72 runs at an average of 14.4 in his first three tests against India, before being replaced by Sam Konstas for the Melbourne Cricket Ground test starting Dec. 26. The 25-year-old McSweeney has batted at No. 3 for South Australia state this season — averaging 97 — but has previously batted further down the order. Cricket Australia also said Cummins was “focusing on an ankle issue which was managed through the test summer" and fellow paceman Josh Hazlewood was continuing his recovery from a calf injury. Mitchell Marsh was omitted for the tour, joining Hazlewood in focusing on the 50-overs Champion’s Trophy in Pakistan which immediately follows the test tour. The first test begins Jan. 29 and the second Feb. 6, both at spin-friendly Galle International Stadium. A one-off one-day international is scheduled for Feb. 13, also at Galle. “Sri Lanka is a challenging and exciting place to tour given the different conditions players may be presented with," selector George Bailey said. “This squad provides several ways to structure the XI depending on what type of wickets we may encounter in each match.”

Australia has regained the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the first time since in 10 years by winning the fifth and final test by six wickets against an Indian team deprived of their captain and star bowler at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday. The hosts chased down the 162-run target just after lunch on the third day after it had earlier wrapped up India’s second innings in quick time for 157. Australia won the series 3-1 after victories in Adelaide and Melbourne, to go with a nervy, yet successful, run-chase in the final innings in Sydney. India won the first test at Perth and the 3rd test at Brisbane was a draw. Sunday’s victory also means the hosts booked their spot in a second straight World Test Championship final where it will play the already-qualified South Africa at Lord’s in June. In a devastating setback for India’s hopes of bowling out Australia to level the series and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for a record-extending fifth consecutive time, star bowler and captain Jasprit Bumrah did not bowl during Australia's second innings. Bumrah’s injury occurred on Saturday and had only been described as “ back spasms” by the India team after the star seamer had returned from medical scans at a nearby clinic. Bumrah had back surgery to repair a stress fracture in April 2023. Read: Rickelton smashes double ton as South Africa cruises to 429-5 in 2nd test against Pakistan The 31-year-old, who has taken 32 wickets in the series — the highest ever by an Indian bowler in a single series in Australia — to almost single handedly keep India in the contest did not warm up with the other India bowlers prior to play Sunday and looked uncomfortable when he did come out to bat as the tourists tail was quickly swept up by the hosts. Even without its talisman, India’s attack still sent jitters through Australia’s batting as it had the hosts at 71-3 at lunch and then removed Usman Khawaja (41) to seed more doubt. But Travis Head (34 not out) — a frequent thorn in India's side in recent years — and debutant Beau Webster (39 not out) guided Australia home for a landmark series win under captain Pat Cummins.  

Rishabh Pant's blistering counterattack capped a chaotic second day of the fifth and final test between Australia and India where 15 wickets fell on Saturday and the star bowler of the series left the Sydney Cricket Ground with an ambulance escort. Yet the Border-Gavaskar trophy still remains very much in the balance as India reached 141-6, holding a 145-run lead over Australia with three days remaining. Australia was bowled out for 181, giving India a four-run lead on the first innings, and could not take advantage of India captain Jasprit Bumrah leaving the SCG for medical scans on a still unspecified injury. Bumrah later returned to the SCG but there was no confirmation on whether the star bowler would be able to bowl in the remainder of the test — or bat in India's second innings. Beau Webster top-scored for the hosts with 57 and a wicket in a bright debut, while Steve Smith narrowly fell short of bringing up 10,000 career test runs in front of his home crowd. Wickets fall at SCG as Australia 101-5 at lunch on Day 2 of 5th test against India Pant then lit up the SCG with a swashbuckling 61 off 33 balls with six boundaries and four sixes to leave the match evenly poised after the end of just the second day. At stumps, Jadeja was eight not out and Washington Sundar was unbeaten on six. Scott Boland backed up his four wickets in India's first innings with four more on Saturday. First, he bowled two near-unplayable deliveries to bowl opening pair KL Rahul (13) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (22). Boland (4-42) followed that up by yet again tempting Virat Kohli outside off stump which the veteran guided straight to Smith at slip in what may be the 36-year-old Kohli's final test innings in Australia. Webster (1-24) chalked up his first test wicket, having Shubman Gill (13) caught behind after a wild swipe. Earlier, Australia conceded a four-run deficit as it was bowled out at tea. India star bowler Bumrah taken to hospital for scans during 5th test against Australia Steve Smith (33) and Webster appeared to have stabilized the host's innings after its top order was toppled in quick time by Bumrah (2-33) and Mohammad Siraj (3-51). Bumrah took Labuschagne to go with Khawaja's wicket and took his overall series tally to 32 wickets, the highest ever by an Indian bowler in a single series in Australia, passing spinner Bishan Singh Bedi’s 31 during the 1977-78 series. Australia leads the series 2-1 and must avoid defeat to regain the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the first time since 2014-15. A win by India and a drawn series at 2-2 would allow the visitors to retain the trophy for a record-extending fifth consecutive time. A win for Australia at the SCG would book the team’s spot in a second straight World Test Championship final where it would play the already-qualified South Africa at Lord’s in June. Absent Sharma says he was not dropped Former India Rohit Sharma has hit back at suggestions he was dropped from the team ahead of the decisive 5th test, saying he made the decision to stand down. The 37-year-old Sharma said that he had initiated the conversation with selectors. “I had a chat with the coach and the selector was very simple,” Rohit said on India's Star Sports. “I am not making runs at the moment. I am not in form and it’s an important game. We need an in-form player. “This was the simple thing in my mind. It was my understanding that I should tell the coach and the selector and they backed my call.”

Australia's star batter of a generation, Steve Smith, fell just short of an illustrious career milestone and a Jasprit Bumrah-led India took the advantage the second day of the fifth and final test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Smith fell five runs short of passing 10,000 test runs just moments before lunch Saturday and capped a tumble of wickets for the hosts as it slipped to 101-5, trailing India's 185 by 84 runs. New India captain Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj took two wickets each, with Prasidh Krishna picking up the prized wicket of Smith (33). At the break debutant Beau Webster was 28 not out and Alex Carey was unbeaten on four. Resuming Saturday at 9-1, it did not take long for Bumrah (2-27) to again make his influence count as he had Marnus Labuschagne (2) edge behind for his second wicket. The resumption of the burgeoning rivalry between Bumrah and Sam Konstas was what the capacity SCG crowd came to see and it didn't disappoint as the 19-year-old opener charged down the wicket to smash a four straight down the ground past the non-plussed bowler. From Bumrah's next over, Konstas (23) produced a ramp shot — which had featured heavily in his much-hyped debut innings in Melbourne — for another boundary. But the young player's luck ran out in the next over from Siraj (2-28) when a thick edge carried to Yashasvi Jaiswal at gully. Siraj also removed Travis Head (4) in the same over as Australia slid to 39-4. India star bowler Bumrah taken to hospital for scans during 5th test against Australia Smith and Webster combined to stabilize Australia's innings with a 57-run stand but just as the pair looked to have the measure of India's second-line bowlers, a seaming delivery from Krishna (1-21) found the edge and was snaffled by KL Rahul at slip. On Friday, despite the absence of struggling captain Rohit Sharma, India’s batting order again crumbled as it was bowled out for 185 with Scott Boland taking 4-31. Bumrah then struck with the final ball of the to cap a drama-fueled final over which saw Konstas and the new tourist skipper needing to be separated after a terse verbal exchange just two balls prior. Australia leads the series 2-1 and must avoid defeat to regain the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the first time since 2014-15. A win by India and a drawn series at 2-2 would allow the visitors to retain the trophy for a record-extending fifth consecutive time. A win for Australia at the SCG would book the team’s spot in a second straight World Test Championship final where it would play the already-qualified South Africa at Lord’s in June.

India star bowler and new captain Jasprit Burmrah has been taken to a hospital for scans on an unspecified injury during the second day of the fifth and final test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Bumrah, who replaced the rested Rohit Sharma as captain for this test, could be seen on the television broadcast leaving in a car from underneath the SCG grandstands about an hour after the lunch break on Saturday. India team management have not confirmed the injury or whether Bumrah, the standout player of the series, will be able to bowl again in the match. Bumrah bowled during the first session and did not appear hampered by an injury as he picked up yet another wicket for the series by removing Marnus Labuschagne, to go with his wicket of Usman Khawaja in the final over on Friday. Ayub twists right ankle as South Africa reaches 72-3 against Pakistan in 2nd test The 31-year-old has an overall series tally of 32 wickets, which is the highest by an Indian bowler in a single series in Australia. Bumrah passed spinner Bishan Singh Bedi who had 31 wickets from five matches during the 1977-78 series. Veteran Virat Kohli took over the captaincy for India in Bumrah's absence.

Despite the absence of struggling captain Rohit Sharma, India's top order again crumbled as it reached 57-3 at lunch on the first day of the decisive fifth and final test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday. Sharma was replaced as skipper by Jasprit Bumrah, who earlier won the toss and batted on a green-tinged SCG wicket under overcast skies. Bumrah's decision appeared to backfire early on as the tourists lost KL Rahul and Jaiswal Yashasvi in the first eight overs and then very nearly Virat Kohli also, only for a a contentious TV umpire decision to save the star batter. Nathan Lyon saw the hosts go to the break the happier when he snared Shubman Gill with the final ball before lunch. At the break, Kohli was 12 not out. The start of the fifth test mirrored the four previous it as the bowlers dominated early. After several deliveries beat the edge of the bat outside off-stump, Mitchell Starc (1-24) found more joy bowling straighter as Rahul (4) chipped a simple catch to Sam Konstas at square leg in the fifth over when India was 11-1. Scott Boland (1-5) was then introduced into the attack and only needed four balls at Jaiswal (10) to have the young opener edge a ball through to debutant Beau Webster at third slip to reduce the tourists to a shaky 17-2. Read: Taskin’s record-breaking bowling show power Rajshahi to win over Dhaka That brought Kohli, the series' pantomime villain, to the crease. Kohli was greeted by booing from many in the the SCG crowd, stemming from his deliberate shoulder bump on Konstas on the opening morning of the Boxing Day text for which he was later fined. And fittingly, his first ball was the most dramatic of the session. Boland drew the edge and it flew low to Steve Smith's right hand at second slip. Smith appeared to get his hand just under the ball before it hit the ground and the ball popped up for Marnus Labuschagne to complete the catch, sparking wild celebrations for the hosts. The catch was referred to TV umpire Joel Wilson with replays suggesting the ball may have touched the grass as it came out of Smith hand and Kohli survived. As lunch approached, Lyon (1-1) was introduced into the attack and in his second over he had Gill (20) edging through to Smith who took a clean catch at chest-height to end the session. Australia made one change to its team that clinched a dramatic 184-run win at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Monday to take a 2-1 series lead with allrounder Mitch Marsh dropped for Webster to make a test debut. Australia leads the series 2-1 and must avoid defeat to regain the Border-Gavaskar trophy for the first time since 2014-15. A win by India and a drawn series at 2-2 would allow the visitors to retain the trophy for a record-extending fifth consecutive time. Read more: Sri Lanka beats New Zealand by 7 runs in the 3rd T20 but New Zealand wins series 2-1 A win for Australia at the SCG would book the team’s spot in a second straight World Test Championship final. Australia beat India in the 2023 decider. South Africa became the first team to qualify for the WTC final at Lord’s in June by winning a dramatic match at home to Pakistan last weekend. India drop skipper Sharma Intense speculation that Sharma would be dropped for the final test was confirmed shortly before play with Bumrah named as India's captain. With scores of 3, 6, 10, 3 and 9 at an average of 6.2 for the series, Sharma has had a wretched tour since coming back into the side for the second test after he missed India’s comprehensive first-test win in Perth on paternity leave. While the India team said Sharma had been “rested," the 37-year-old's test career would now appear in peril.

India has a new batting hero after 21-year-old Nitish Kumar Reddy showed the poise of a veteran to score his maiden century, leading his team’s comeback against Australia on day three of the fourth test. At stumps on Saturday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, India (358-9) still trailed Australia (474) by 116 runs on the first innings, but it could have been much worse. Reddy, playing in just his fourth test and batting at No. 8, rescued India from a shaky 221-7, sharing a 127-run partnership with Washington Sundar (50). The pair fell two runs shy of equaling the record for an eighth-wicket partnership for India versus Australia of 129 which was set by Harbhajan Singh and Sachin Tendulkar at the Sydney Cricket Ground in January 2008. Spin-bowling allrounder Sundar offered a difficult chance off the back of his bat to second slip on 18, which was dropped by a diving Steve Smith as Mitchell Starc bowled the first over with the second new ball. But chances were few for Australia’s bowlers. Reddy was unbeaten on 85 at tea, with the score on 326-7. With Reddy on 97, Sundar’s 162-ball knock finally ended when he was caught at slip off the bowling of spinner Nathan Lyon (2-88) at 348-8. The patient Sundar struck just one boundary. Reddy played a lofted drive to cover to move to 99 but lost Jasprit Bumrah for a duck, caught at first slip off the bowling for Pat Cummins (3-86), in the following over at 350-9. Australia maintains the advantage over India on the 3rd day of the 4th cricket test The tension was building as Mohammed Siraj survived three deliveries from Cummins, allowing Reddy to seize the moment and make the century in the following over with an on-drive to the boundary, leading to deafening roars from the thousands of India fans in the stands, including his father. Reddy’s hundred came off 171 deliveries and included 10 fours and one six. Only nine more deliveries were bowled before play was delayed and then called off due to bad light and rain, with Reddy unbeaten on 105. Resuming Saturday on 164-5, India had wobbled to 244-7 at lunch, losing the wickets of Rishabh Pant (28) and Ravindra Jadeja (17). Australia’s hopes of quickly skittling India’s tail faded, however, as 82 runs were added without loss in the post-lunch session. Cummins and Scott Boland (3-57) took three wickets each for Australia. Australia’s first-innings total of 474 was highlighted by Steve Smith’s 34th century. Smith’s 140 lifted the 35-year-old to equal-seventh most hundreds in test cricket. The five-match series is level at 1-1 after a rainy draw at Brisbane, The fifth and final test is scheduled to start on January 3 at Sydney.

Australia picked up two wickets in the opening session Saturday to remain in control and leave India wobbling at 244-7 on day three of the fourth test of the five-match series. At lunch Saturday, India trailed Australia by 230 runs on the first innings. Resuming on 164-5, India looked to Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant to show some aggression against Australia’s bowlers. Pant scored an entertaining 28 but took one too many risks. The left-hander was caught on the boundary at 191-6 after top-edging an attempted scoop shot off the bowling of Scott Boland (3-37). Jadeja (17) was lbw to spinner Nathan Lyon at 221-7 with 30 minutes remaining before lunch. Nitish Kumar Reddy scored an unbeaten 40, including three fours and one six, while Washington Sundar was five not out. Australia was dismissed for 474 after lunch on Friday’s second day of play. The formidable total included Steve Smith’s 34th century. Smith’s 140 lifted the 35-year-old to equal-seventh most hundreds in test cricket. Markram leads South Africa to 180-5 in 1st test against Pakistan Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah (4-99) claimed four victims to increase his tally for the series to 25 wickets at an average of 13.12. India reached 153-2 Friday but lost three wickets for six runs in a dramatic collapse. Opener Yashavi Jaiswal (82) and ex-skipper Virat Kohli (36) steadied India’s innings with a 102-run partnership. Jaiswal charged off for a risky single, realizing too late that Kohli had turned his back, leaving Jaiswal stranded alongside Kohli at the non-striker’s end. Boland struck in successive overs to remove Kohli caught behind and Akash Deep (0) caught at leg gully as Australia completely dominated the closing 25 minutes of day two. Kohli has endured a challenging time in the fourth test so far, including the mix-up with Jaiswal and a physical clash with Australia’s 19-year-old debutant Sam Konstas. Match referee Andy Pycroft fined Kohli 20% of his match fee for making “inappropriate physical contact” after he bumped shoulders with Konstas at the end of the 10th over of the match. Kohli was booed as he left the field of play Friday, stopping at one stage to walk back and stare down a fan. The five-match series is level at 1-1 after a rainy draw at Brisbane, The fifth and final test is scheduled to start on Jan. 3 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Steve Smith’s stylish century, his 34th, powered Australia to a strong position against India at lunch Friday on the second day of the fourth test of the five-match series. Australia resumed at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 311-6 and reached 454-7 at lunch, thanks to a 112-run stand between Smith (139 not out) and tailender Pat Cummins (49). Debutant teenager Sam Konstas (60), Usman Khawaja (57), Marnus Labuschagne (72) and Smith all made half-centuries in front of a crowd of over 87,242 on Thursday’s first day’s play. Smith, who was 68 overnight, moved into the 90s in spectacular fashion with a six over fine leg off the bowling of Jasprit Bumrah in the 11th over of the day. The 35-year-old Smith climbed to equal-seventh in test cricket with 34 centuries, reaching his hundred off 167 deliveries with a glorious cover drive to the boundary. Smith, who began the series with scores of 0, 17 and 2 in the first two tests, also hit 101 in the third in Brisbane. Cummins and Smith crushed India’s hopes of an early breakthrough Friday with a century stand for the seventh wicket. Cummins was caught at deep cover off the bowling of spinner Ravindra Jadeja at 411-7. Read: Kohli and Australia teen Konstas provide a fiery start to the 4th cricket test Smith’s unbeaten knock has included 13 fours and three sixes. Mitchell Starc is 15 not out as India’s bowlers struggle to contain Australia’s batters. In an explosive start to the fourth test Thursday, the audacious batting of 19-year-old Konstas, including reverse-scooping India’s pace spearhead Bumrah over slips to the boundary, infuriated India batting great Virat Kohli. At the completion of the 10th over of the match, ex-skipper Kohli collided shoulder to shoulder with Konstas, who had his head down adjusting his batting gloves. Kohli pleaded guilty after play to making “inappropriate physical contact” with Konstas. Match referee Andy Pycroft fined 36-year-old Kohli 20% of his match fee. Kohli also received one demerit point. The five-match series is level at 1-1 after a rainy draw at Brisbane, The fifth and final test is scheduled to start on Jan. 3 at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Australia run-maker Travis Head is questionable for the fourth cricket test against India beginning Thursday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and teenager Sam Konstas was set to make his first test start for the home side. The 30-year-old Head has been in strong form, hitting centuries in Adelaide and Brisbane. Head has made 409 runs at an average of 81.80 across the first three tests of the five-test Border-Gavaskar series, dominating India even as the rest of Australia’s batters have faced significant issues against fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah. The series is level at 1-1 after the third test in Brisbane ended in a rainy draw. Australia coach Andrew McDonald said Tuesday he was “confident” Head would play but still needed to overcome a small calf strain. After not training a day earlier due to a tight quadricep muscle from the Brisbane test, the star left-hander had a short stint in the Melbourne Cricket Ground nets on Tuesday when he received throw downs for about 20 minutes. Mbappé scores again after hitting 'rock bottom' with Madrid McDonald said Tuesday that the 19-year-old Konstas will make his test debut at the MCG. After being called into the squad in place of opener Nathan McSweeney, Konstas will become one of Australia’s youngest test cricketers. The last time Konstas played at the MCG, he made three and 73 not out for Australia A last month against India A.