Osaka ready for Brisbane, but Czech Muchova withdraws on December 30, 2023While new mum Naomi Osaka has ramped up preparations for her tennis return in Brisbane, the Australian Open warm-up tournament will be missing world No.8 Karolina Muchova with a wrist injury. The French Open finalist has also withdrawn from the Open, which gets under way next month in Melbourne. The Czech star, who was seeded […]
Babar’s rut sums up the best of Australia’s quicks on December 30, 2023Australia’s quicks have saved their very best for Babar Azam. The man who started the tour carrying Pakistan’s best hopes of causing an upset this summer on his own bat is now in the biggest rut of his career. Scores of 21, 14, one and 41 have summed up Babar’s tour, who is widely considered […]
Australian Open tennis prize money up by $10 million on December 30, 2023Prize money at next month’s Australian Open has been significantly boosted with the world’s best players sharing a record pool of $86.5 million, with the singles winners receiving more than $3 million each. Tournament organisers announced on Friday prize money at Melbourne Park had been increased by 13 per cent – $10 million – for […]
Warner likely to choose T20 leagues over Australia on December 29, 2023As David Warner prepares to exit Test cricket, the veteran opener is likely to opt out of Australia’s white-ball contests in favour of lucrative Twenty20 tournaments. The 37-year-old will farewell red-ball cricket during next week’s third Benaud-Qadir Test against Pakistan at the SCG. But Warner has no plans to retire from limited-overs cricket after a […]
Old man Andy Murray not thinking of retirement just yet on December 29, 2023Three-time grand slam champion Andy Murray says his body feels old but there are no retirement plans on the horizon as he attempts to pull off an Australian heist. Murray has touched down ahead of the Brisbane International – a tournament he won in 2012 and 2013. But it is a deep run at the […]
Mitch Marsh silences haters, wins over MCG fans on December 28, 2023Four years ago, having candidly revealed he felt like most of Australia hated him, Mitch Marsh famously vowed to keep trying to win over the national team’s fans. It’s now clear he has succeeded, turning the tide of public opinion at even the most hostile of venues. The West Australian allrounder was mercilessly booed at […]
Snapshot of day two of the second Test in Melbourne on December 28, 2023AUSTRALIA v PAKISTAN, Second Benaud-Qadir Trophy Test, MCG, Day Two. SCORE: Australia 318 (Marnus Labuschagne 63, Aamir Jamal 3-64), Pakistan 6-194 (Abdullah Shafique 62, Pat Cummins 3-37) PLAYER OF THE MOMENT: Australian skipper Cummins claimed three important wickets in the final session, starting with a brilliant return catch to remove Shafique. Cummins also clean-bowled Babar […]
Ex-Test selector hits out at Warner’s replacement call on December 28, 2023Former Australian selector Jamie Cox has called out retiring batter David Warner for daring to voice an opinion on who should replace him as opener after the Sydney Test. Marcus Harris, Cameron Bancroft and Matt Renshaw are seemingly locked in a three-way selection battle ahead of a two-Test series against the West Indies in January. […]
Warner, Hussey proud of Khawaja’s humanitarian stance on December 27, 2023Usman Khawaja continues to receive support from Australian cricketers past and present as his humanitarian gestures keep being rejected by higher authorities. The 37-year-old’s opening partner David Warner backed up Australian cricket great Mike Hussey’s sentiments about Khawaja after stumps at the MCG on Boxing Day. Khawaja had hoped to use images of a dove […]
Turning down IPL riches has helped Starc’s Test career on December 25, 2023Mitchell Starc has no regrets about prioritising international cricket and family life ahead of the vast Indian Premier League riches a week after becoming the Twenty20 juggernaut’s highest-paid player. The 33-year-old will quickly return to the IPL next year for the first time since 2015 as Australia prepares for the Twenty20 World Cup in the […]