Cricket News

Michael Clarke is prepared for even more criticism in his latest role, but he knows captaining Australia is about achieving good results rather than winning the popular vote

Michael Clarke is Australia's 43rd Test captain after succeeding the injured Ricky Ponting for Monday's fifth Ashes Test in Sydney

The former Australia captain Ian Chappell has called on Ricky Ponting to resign from the Test captaincy in the wake of England's Ashes-sealing victory in the fourth Test at Melbourne

Ricky Ponting knows his case to hold on to the captaincy is not strong, but he is desperate to retain the job and lift Australia from their lowest period since the mid-1980s

Ricky Ponting was asked before the Ashes series started to consider moving from No.3, but only in the past fortnight has he considered shifting from his home of nine years

England will enjoy their Melbourne celebrations after retaining the Ashes, but Andrew Strauss insisted there was still much work to do to reach their ultimate aim of being the No. 1 side in the world

Ryan Harris was sent for surgery on his injured left ankle on Wednesday and is likely to be out for three to four months, but he hasn't entirely given up hope of being fit for the World Cup

England have retained the Ashes in Australia for the first time in 24 years, after inflicting one of Australia's heaviest losses, with a margin of an innings and 157 runs on the fourth morning at the MCG

The battle for the 2010 Ashes was won on the playing fields of Chittagong. That is the extraordinary conclusion that can be drawn from the performance of Tim Bresnan

Shane Watson says it will be "shattering" and "horrendous" to be part of the first Australian side in 24 years to finish a home Ashes series without the urn

Ryan Harris is expected to undergo surgery for a stress fracture on his left ankle after suffering an injury that threatens to curtail his promising Test career

The fathers in England's team know the excitement that Christmas Eve brought their children four nights ago, and they were feeling a similar anticipation on Tuesday evening after Tim Bresnan bowled them to within sight of an innings victory

Peter Siddle was Australia's everywhere man, including a brief stint as a self-appointed on-field spokesman, as the hosts tried but failed to stay in touch with England at the MCG

Plays of the day from the second day between Australia and England at the MCG

Ricky Ponting finally cracked under the strain of impending Ashes defeat when he picked a series of arguments with the umpires and Kevin Pietersen after the batsman correctly survived a caught-behind referral

On a day when Ricky Ponting lost his cool with the umpires, Jonathan Trott was a picture of composure as his second century of the series kept England on target to retain the Ashes

"What can you do?" Michael Clarke and the Australians are almost out of answers on how to fix Australia's regular batting collapses

Plays of the day as the Boxing Day Test gets underway at the MCG

Within three sessions of complete England dominance at the MCG, they moved to within touching distance of retaining the Ashes by dismissing Australia for 98 and passing their total with no wickets down

ESPNcricinfo's preview of the fourth Test between Australia and England at the MCG