The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), in consultation with Cricket Australia (CA), has revised the complete schedule of the upcoming Australia tour of Sri Lanka, which is better for Australia.

Previously, it was decided that Sri Lanka would host a two-match Test series against Australia, which would be part of the 2023-2025 ICC World Test Championship. After that, they would play one ODI before Australia participate in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 

See Also: Bed rest for Jasprit Bumrah: No certainty for Champions Trophy selection

An ODI added to the revised schedule

However, the SLC has added one more ODI to the revised schedule as Australia will now tour Sri Lanka for a two-match Test series and another two-match ODI series. The Test series will be part of the 2023-2025 ICC World Test Championship, while Galle will host both Test matches. 

Meanwhile, Colombo will host both the ODIs on February 12 and 14. It is a better schedule for the two-time ICC Champions Trophy winners Australia, as they will get better preparation for the upcoming ICC tournament. 

On the other hand, Sri Lanka failed to qualify for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 due to finishing outside the top seven teams (excluding Pakistan due to direct qualification as the hosts) in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. 

Australia tour of Sri Lanka 2024-25

(Test series)

1st Test: January 29 –  February 2 (Galle)

2nd Test: February 6 – 10 (Galle)

(ODI series)

1st ODI: February 12 (Colombo)

2nd ODI: February 14 (Colombo)

ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Australia will play all group stage matches in Pakistan 

Australia are in Group B in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, where they have the opponents England, South Africa, and Afghanistan. As they are in the opposite group of Team India (Group A), the Aussies will play all their group-stage matches in Pakistan. Except they face India in the semifinals or final of the tournament, which will be played in Dubai, Australia will play all their matches of the tournament in Pakistan. 

Cricket Australia (CA) have finalized their Test squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka which will commence on January 29. Steve Smith will take over the captaincy responsibilities and will lead the side in the absence of Pat Cummins who has opted for a paternity leave. Besides, he is also addressing an ankle issue that came to light during the course of the five-match Border Gavaskar Test series against India. Travis Head has been named as Smith's deputy. 

There is no mention of Australian speedster Josh Hazlewood and bowling all-rounder Mitch Marsh, both of whom were ruled out mid-way through the Border Gavaskar Test series. As the Sri Lankan pitches are predominantly expected to favor spin, Australia have revamped their spin arsenal for all the obvious reasons. Cooper Connolly, Matt Kuhnemann, Nathan Lyon, and Todd Murphy are the four frontline spinners who have been drafted into the squad. 

Beau Webster and Sam Konstas were the two debutants for Australia in the recently concluded BGT series. They have been included in the squad along with the opener Nathan McSweeney who looked a little out of form in that series. Alex Carey will primarily take on the wicket-keeping responsibilities but will also have the services of Josh Inglis as a backup wicketkeeper option.

See also: Young swashbuckling Australian opener in danger of missing out on Sri Lankan tour

A look at the Australian Test Squad 

Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Travis Head (vc), Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster

The leaders in a meeting are encouraged to contemplate groups like the ECB, BCCI, and Cricket Australia, are conversing about changing things in Test cricket. They're planning on splitting it into two leagues, with six teams in each. To make it more exciting, they desire to introduce a way for teams to climb up or fall down between these leagues.Why, it's to keep the games exciting and make sure that the top teams fight it out more frequently.

They're also thinking about setting aside specific times for Test matches so fans can follow the games without breaks and enjoy it more. This entire plan is about making Test cricket more exciting and overtly competitive.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) set up a $15 million fund, at the same time, to keep Test cricket alive, so the best players don't leave it for those games that make a lot of money. The money is there to make sure Test players are excellently paid more for each game and to help cover the costs of tours. They're doing this to keep the traditional methods of playing cricket exciting and going strong.

Cricket's leaders are really working hard to bring new energy to Test Cricket, so it's enjoyable to see and makes money. They're trying their best to keep the antiquated style of the game spectacular for the fans and the players too.

ALSO READ: Rishi Dhawan has officially announced his retirement from Indian limited-overs cricket

ICC Men's Test Team Rankings

As of January 2025, the ICC Men's Test Team Rankings are:

🚨 INDIA, AUSTRALIA AND ENGLAND TO PLAY EACH OTHER OFTEN. 🚨

- Jay Shah, Cricket Australia and ECB are in talks to split Test cricket into two divisions so the big 3 nations can play each other more often. (The Age). pic.twitter.com/6GrBOVJ1Vw

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) January 6, 2025

Top 5 Test cricket series/events with the highest viewership worldwide

Jay Shah, Cricket Australia, and the England and Wales Cricket Board are discussing revamping Test cricket with a new system that has two divisions. They want to change things so that the major teams India, Australia, and England get to face off more, while also attempting to help the other teams move up with a system that allows teams to get promoted or relegated.

By trying different and new options and making teams work hard to keep their place, they're hoping to make Test cricket much more interesting and clearly competitive from top to bottom. The important idea behind all of this is to get more people watching Test cricket bring in more sponsors by setting up big-name matches and, basically, make Test cricket better and more interesting than ever, especially since, today, the shorter T20 games are getting all the attention. They're trying to keep everyone involved and excited about what could be a major change for the better.

As the year 2024, draws to a close, Cricket Australia has handpicked 11 best players across six Test-playing nations from India, Australia, New Zealand, England, Sri Lanka, and South Africa. The team includes two players from India & New Zealand, three from England, one from South Africa and Sri Lanka, and two from Australia. 

The two Indians who have made it to the playing eleven are none other than Jaiswal and Bumrah. The Indian ace pacer has been held in high regard by Cricket Australia and quite rightfully he has been named as the captain of the best Test-playing side for 2024. Bumrah has been breathing fire in the ongoing BGT Test series (2024-25) and is currently sitting at the top of the tree in terms of wickets. He has claimed 30 wickets and three five-wicket hauls in this series with still a match to go. 

Jaiswal has been an absolute powerhouse for Team India with the bat. He has churned a colossal volume of runs for India at the top of the order. The 22-year-old was in prolific form during the England home series in February this year and emerged as the highest run-getter as well. Moreover, Jaiswal also set records for the most sixes (36) in a year worldwide and has bagged the record for scoring the most number of runs as an Indian opener in a calender year.

Australia's best Test playing eleven of the year:

What a year from this XI including Jasprit Bumrah who leads the side 🙌

Full story: https://t.co/zM0nfiRxz9 pic.twitter.com/cn8Zu7zlxw

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 31, 2024

Despite losses against Pakistan, Duckett and Root were among the runs for England in that series. Duckett is predominately known for his aggressive style of play and smashed two swashbuckling centuries in Rajkot (153) and Multan (114) earlier this year. His counterpart Root, slammed six centuries in 2024 including an unbeaten 262 against Pakistan in Multan and twin centuries against Sri Lanka at home which came in a winning cause. 

Rachin Ravindra also made a strong case for himself in the playing eleven and his courageous contributions to a historic series triumph in India, which included a decisive 134 in the opening Test did not go unnoticed. Furthermore, he achieved a remarkable double-century at home against South Africa.

Brook showcased his capacity to perform under pressure with series-defining centuries against New Zealand, culminating in an impressive 317 in Multan. Mendis of Sri Lanka, who began the season as a secondary option, equaled Bradman's record by amassing 1,000 runs in just 13 innings, with four centuries marking an outstanding year.

Australia's Carey excelled behind the stumps with 46 dismissals, and his unbeaten 98 in Christchurch was among the finest fourth-innings performances of the year. Henry's exceptional bowling figures of 5-15 against India underscored his significance to New Zealand's bowling attack.

Cricket Australia's best playing eleven for 2024

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Rachin Ravindra, Harry Brook, Kamindu Mendis, Alex Carey, Matt Henry, Jasprit Bumrah (C), Josh Hazelwood, Keshav Maharaj.

Cricket Australia has confirmed that the young Sam Konstas will make his head in the Boxing Day Test starting in Melbourne on December 26. At 19 years and 45 days old, Konstas will become the fourth youngest Australian player to debut in Test cricket. Only Ian Craig, current Australian captain Pat Cummins, and Tom Garrett made their debuts at an age younger than his. The good news was conveyed to Konstas by Australia's selector on duty Tony Dodemaide on Tuesday morning but advised him to wait till Christmas Day for an official announcement of the rest of the XI after the closure of Cummins' pre-match press conference.

See also: Tanush Kotian added to India's squad for Border Gavaskar Trophy

Australian head coach Andrew McDonald excited to see him in action

Konstas' MCG debut was officially confirmed in a press conference attended by Australian head coach Andrew McDonald post-training on Tuesday. McDonald heaped countless praise on the youngster and believes that he has a wide range of shots in his armory to tackle the impending threat from a quality Indian pace attack. 

"We said from the get go, when leading into the summer, that we wouldn't shy away, and age was no barrier. And what he's shown is an array of shots, the ability to put pressure back on to opponents and he gets his opportunity. We're really excited for him."

Furthermore, McDonald stated that age was never seen as a consideration and indicated that his selection was purely based on merit. The NSW-born Konstas offered promising glimpses of his true batting exploits when he slammed a defiant 107 off 97 in a two-day practice game against India in Canberra. 

Worrying signs for Head and Australia ahead of the MCG Test 

Things haven't been progressing all that well for the star Australian batter Travis Head since his minor quad strain while batting in Australia's second innings in Brisbane. Very recently, Head was seen in action on Tuesday when he took part in some running and fielding drills and also practiced his batting in the nets. 

The Australian head coach confirms that there is some worry surrounding Head's fitness but remains confident of his recovery before the Boxing Day Test. 

"Has he got some things to work through? Yeah, he has, so that's what you would have seen. There's no concern at the moment. Has he been officially ticked off? I'm not sure. I didn't see the sort of back-end of his training session there, but I'm pretty confident he'll play. I think he looked good with the bat in hand so obviously skills are in good order. It'll just be basically what risk is associated with that. He had a small strain on the quad. But no concerns from my end. He's been able to be running, so I think he'll be fully functional come the game time."

Later after the end of his grueling training session on Tuesday, Head engaged in a lengthy debate with McDonald and Australia's physio Nick Jones with the latter reportedly rubbishing concerns surrounding his quad strain injury. In addition, McDonald also confirmed two more changes leading into the fourth Test with Konstas replacing Nathan McSweeney and Scott Boland replacing the injured Josh Hazlewood.

Australia's bowling coach Daniel Vettori will leave the team during the First Test against India in Perth to attend the IPL Auction in Saudi Arabia as Sunrisers Hyderabad Coach.

The Test will start on 22 November at Optus Stadium in Perth meanwhile, IPL Auction is scheduled on November 24-25 in Jeddah which has caused conflict for the three IPL coaches - Vettori, Ricky Ponting, and Justin Langer, who are in Perth for coaching or commentary roles.

Daniel Vettori is one of the few cricket coaches who holds multiple key roles simultaneously. He holds a permanent assistant role with the International team. He is also the full-time head coach of the IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad and the head coach of the Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred.

Vettori has been working as Australia's bowling coach for all three formats since 2022 working under Head Coach Andrew McDonald. Cricket Australia values Daniel Vettori highly and allows him to take on franchise coaching roles alongside his commitments with the men's national team.

Cricket Australia supports Daniel Vettori holding multiple coaching roles at a time

Australia team spokesperson said, "We are very supportive of Dan's role as Head Coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad. Dan will complete the final preparation for the first Test before attending the IPL auction. He will then be with the team for the remainder of the Border Gavaskar Trophy."

Prioritizing the IPL auction over a Test match, along with scheduling it in Saudi Arabia during an Australia-India Test, reflects the changing priorities in modern cricket. Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer who work as commentators for Channel Seven, will also miss the First Test match to attend the IPL auction as head coaches of Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants, respectively.

See Also:- Pakistan’s woeful run in T20I cricket continues as Hardie claims 3-21

Vettori has missed certain series in recent years due to his franchise commitments with temporary coaches brought in to assist the team. This will be the first time Vettori leaves midway through a Test to attend the IPL auction. Last year, he managed to fulfill his duties with Australia against Pakistan before flying to India for the auction between matches.

CA is also looking to hire a full-time national pace bowling coach who will be able to handle the team when Vettori misses some tours.

Daniel Vettori performed his coaching duties before heading to the IPL Auction

Vettori was on deck with Australia's squad on their first day of training at the WACA ground on Monday. He worked with the bowling unit and then bowled left-arm orthodox deliveries to the batters to make them prepare to face Ravindra Jadeja in the Perth Test.

On Monday, Australia had two consultants working with their main coaching team: former Australia batter Michael Hussey and former allrounder Jim Allenby, who has ties with Glamorgan, Leicestershire, and Somerset and is based in Perth. Both worked with the team ahead of last summer's first Test against Pakistan and will stay with the squad throughout the week leading up to the upcoming Test match.

Australia's fielding coach Andre Borovec is currently in charge of the T20I side that is playing the three-match series against Pakistan which will conclude on Monday night. Both he and Josh Inglis, the stand-in T20 captain, will fly from Hobart to Perth tomorrow to join the Test squad.

When Vettori leaves, Cricket Australia's national development coach, Lachlan Stevens, who previously coached Australia A against India A and works with the Under-19 team, will fly into Perth to provide additional support for the squad.

The former Sri Lankan Test player turned coach Dulip Samaraweera finds himself embroiled in a soup as Cricket Australia has slapped yet another ban on him following his allegations of offensive behavior towards another player while coaching.  Samaraweera, who was previously handed a 20-year ban from the governing body due to his inappropriate conduct towards a female player faces another allegation this time around.

Unmasking the details of his second offense as a coach

The second offense that was supposedly committed by him was as a private coach while he was employed by Cricket Victoria. Although Samaraweera dismissed all the claims but refrained from partaking in the investigation. Hence, as a result, a decision was made by Cricket Australia to ban the Sri Lankan coach for another 10 years for violating the game's code of conduct.

The 10-year ban will be cumulatively added to his already-persisting 20-year ban which will effectively exclude Samaraweera from the domestic coaching circuit till 2044 when he will be 72. Australian Associated Press (AAP) acknowledges that neither complainant has chosen to take the matter further and pursue criminal charges at this time.

However, Samaraweera's news on player misconduct drew a strong response from Cricket Victoria chief executive Nick Cummins who deemed his actions "utterly reprehensible" and "a betrayal of everything we stand for". His comments came once Cricket Australia concluded the findings of its initial investigation in September. Cummins stressed that the safety and the psychological well-being of every member at Cricket Victoria is of primary importance. to him.

He further admitted that his administration is committed to helping the affected player in every possible manner and will go to all lengths to help the victim materialize her dreams both on and off the field. 

"From an organization perspective, the safety and well-being of everyone at Cricket Victoria is paramount. We will not tolerate any behavior which compromises that position, or our people, and will always support our culture of speaking up. The victim in this case has demonstrated incredible strength of character and courage in speaking up. She will continue to receive our ongoing support to allow her to achieve her goals on and off the field."

A look into Samaraweera's professional cricketing career

Samaraweera was born in the capital city of Colombo and represented Sri Lanka in seven Tests between 1993 and 1995 before transitioning into coaching. The seven-time Test representative, dedicated nearly 16 years to Cricket Victoria's women's program, serving as a longstanding assistant coach for the Melbourne Stars in the WBBL, prior to her resignation in May. The 42-year-old served as the assistant coach for the Starts from the inaugural WBBL season in 2015 and subsequently went on to serve as Victoria's interim head coach for most of last summer.

Samaraweera was poised to take up a full-time coaching role for Cricket Victoria but resigned in May as the current policies in place barred him from hiring his brother Thilan to the coaching staff.

See also: Injury blow for Sri Lanka as Dushan Hemantha replace Wanindu Hasaranga for NZ ODIs

After narrowly missing out in the first ODI in Melbourne, the Men in Green roared back in form in the second ODI to hammer Australia left, right, and center at the Adelaide Oval. Haris Rauf was the demolition man for Pakistan as his fiery spell of fast bowling decimated the 2023 ODI World Cup champions for a paltry 163. The speedster bagged his best bowling figures of 5-29 against Australia and accounted for the dismissals of  Inglis, Labuschagne, Hardie, Maxwell, and Cummins.

After bamboozling Australia for such a below-par total, the chase was all too easy for the Rizwan-led Pakistan side as Ayub and Shafique smashed a century-plus opening stand for the first wicket to help Pakistan set the tone for a massive victory. In the end, Pakistan got to their required target of 164 with nine wickets and 23 overs to spare. This win was also their first win on Australian shores since 2017 and their first ever at the Adelaide Oval since 1996.

See also: Josh Inglis named as the temporary captain for the white-ball series against Pakistan

So what did Pakistan manage to achieve? 

Following their emphatic nine-wicket win in Adelaide, Pakistan have stumbled upon a prod record. The Green Shirts have left behind the likes of India and Sri Lanka to become the only Asian team with the most number of wins in ODIs against Australia in their own backyard. They have now registered 18 wins in 54 matches against the Kangaroos in their own turf. This was also their 35th ODI against Australia in this format.   

India and Sri Lanka on the other hand have only managed to secure 14 and 16 wins respectively whereas Afghanistan and Bangladesh are yet to feature in an ODI match against Australia down under. 

What does the win mean for the team?

Following their emmphatic nine-wicket win, it goes without saying that the Pakistan team was extremly elated after delivering such a ground-breaking performance against a tough Australian team. Pakistan, under the new leadership of Mohammed Rizwan found a way to play with an attacking approach which took the hosts by storm. 

Rizwan lauded the bowlers for delivering such an impressive win and expressed that such a big win gives his side the confidence to do a lot better in the coming days. 

"Obviously this win gives us confidence. We want to keep that confidence going. All bowlers had plans and they worked well."

With the series now level at 1-1, the stage is set for an intense showdown at Perth where the two sides will lock horns yet again in what appears to be an enthralling decider. 

The troubles for the Indian team have already begun even before the start of the Border Gavaskar Trophy. Controversy erupted when match officials made the decision to change the ball before the start of the play on Sunday in the first unofficial Test. India A players were informed that the ball was changed since the umpires felt that the ball was tampered at some point in the match.  

Umpire Shawn Craig is the man who brought this development to the team’s attention. Understandably so, the decision was not well received by the India A players and they soon began protesting the on-field umpire’s decision. 

Heated conversation between Kishan and the on-field umpires

Once the decision regarding ball change was made, Umpire Craig replied firmly to the Indian players stating that once the ball is scratched it ought to be changed and refrained from getting into further discussion. India A wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan was livid by that call and called it a stupid decision. 

India A accused of Ball Tampering.

Shawn Craig - "When you scratch it, we change the ball. No more discussion, let's play. This is not a discussion."

Ishan Kishan - "So we have to play with this ball?"

S Craig - "You're playing with that ball."

I Kishan - "That's a very… pic.twitter.com/iKDoH0ZVDf

— Cricketopia (@CricketopiaCom) November 3, 2024

Such remarks were not welcomed by the on-field umpire and Kishan was later informed that he will be reported for the same. Surprisingly enough, the officials did not offer any explanation on how the ball was tampered and did not offer a 5-run penalty to Australia A.

See Also: Shai Hope shines in West Indies captain achievements with a century

Players implicated in the ball tampering incident may face suspensions if it is determined that the team deliberately altered the condition of the ball, as outlined in Cricket Australia's code of conduct. However, Kishan ended up on the fortunate side and was spared by the governing body despite his rash remarks against the on-field umpires.

In their quest to explore exotic talent, the Perth Scorchers management stumbled upon a rare cricketing commodity during their visit to Bali earlier this year. Perth Scorchers women's coach Becky Grundy and high performance boss Kade Harvey were mighty impressed by what Ni Made Putri Suwandewi had to offer. Suwandewi, aged 29 is a rookie pacer who made her international debut for Indonesia in 2019. Gifted with a menacing inswinger and deceptive slower delivery, Suwandewi maintains a jaw-dropping economy rate of 2.97 RPO which is by far the best from anyone in the history of women's T20I cricket.

With veteran quick Piepa Cleary forced to wait on the sidelines due to a knee injury, the door was left ajar for the young Indonesian quick to feature in one of Australia's biggest cricketing carnivals. She has been signed in as an Associate rookie for the Scorchers ahead of the upcoming WBBL season. As per the current WBBL guidelines, franchises are allowed to enlist players from the Associate nations and then place them outside the 15-player squad.

More about the Indonesian fast-bowling sensation

Suwandewi has been a standout player for Indonesia and has starred in numerous international fixtures for her country in recent times. Ever since making her T20I debut, Suwandewi has snapped an unbelievable 49 wickets in 40 T20I wickets at a stunning average of 8.18. Moreover, her career-best economy rate also makes her a tough contender with the ball as well. 

The rookie fast-bowling sensation straight away left a lasting impression upon her arrival in Perth on Saturday where she quickly garnered the attention of some of the key members of the coaching personnel during a routine training exercise. Suwandewi also confessed that she had been observing the WBBL closely and expressed her desire to play her part in it someday. Despite being short in stature, Suwandewi is armed with all the necessary traits a premium fast bowler should possess making her a force to reckon with. 

What does the Perth Scorchers team management think of Suwandewi? 

During a conversation with ESPNcricinfo, Harvey, the high performance coach for the Scorchers showered heaps of praises on Suwandewi. Harvey believes that the 26-year-old is truly capable of performing on the big stage and expects her to play a decisive role for their side in the forthcoming WBBL edition. Her natural ability to extract sharp inswing movement coupled with a highly deceptive slower ball were some of the major traits that stood out for Harvey. While observing her closely during the training session, Harvey also learned that Suwandewi has great control over her length and can fire in the yorkers at will. 

Both Grundy and Harvey expressed their gratitude for acquiring the services of this young Associate pacer and truly recognized her importance to the side and what she brings to the table. The duo has acknowledged that the availability of international players through the course of the tournament will certainly be an ongoing challenge which is where Suwandewi's presence could prove quite handy. Despite hailing from an underprivileged cricket background in Indonesia, the depth of Ni Made Putri Suwandewi's skill makes her a rarity in modern-day cricket. 

Scorchers will open their account against Melbourne Starson on October 27 at the WACA where she is expected to work alongside the T20 WC-winning captain Sophie Devine who will take charge of the Perth-based outfit this season.