Off-spinner Nathan Lyon says there are no dead rubbers as Australia chases a 5-0 whitewash of England in the 2021-22 Ashes.
Australia leads the series 3-0 after three dominant victories ahead of the fourth Ashes Test starting on Wednesday at the SCG.
There has been speculation about the make-up of the Australian side given they have already secured a series victory with dilemmas on Josh Hazlewood's fitness and Scott Boland's place along with talk of a second spinner in Mitch Swepson.
Lyon, who has taken 12 wickets in the three Tests, insisted Australia were determined to pursue victory and pick the best side possible.
"There's no more dead rubbers - and I've never considered them when you wear a baggy green - firstly because there's the World Test Championship and we want to go 5-0 up," Lyon told reporters on Sunday.
"If the conditions suit then we pick the best team to win that Test to make sure we keep moving forward. The Ashes for me is the pinnacle but I'd love to be part of a Test Championship final to state our case for the number one team in the world."
Australia missed out on the World Test Championship final last year, finishing third behind winners New Zealand and India. The Aussies have won the past two Ashes on home soil 4-0 and 5-0 respectively.
Lyon endorsed fellow spinner Swepson, who is set to get Test opportunities in 2022 with tours of Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India to come.
"I love bowling in partnership with spinners for sure," Lyon said. "I've done it a lot in subcontinent conditions so if the opportunity does come to play two spinners I know we'll really enjoy building that partnership. We've been doing it in the nets but it's a lot different."
Hazlewood, who has missed the past two Tests with a side injury, is expected to train fully with the group on Monday and could replace Boland who took 7-6 in the second innings of the third Test.
Bravo joins Afghanistan as bowling consultant for T20 World Cup
The Afghanistan Cricket Board has appointed former West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo as their bowling consultant for the 2024 T20 World Cup, to be held in the Caribbean and the USA from June 1-29.
Afghanistan have already arrived in St Kitts and Nevis and are expected to begin a ten-day preparatory camp, during which Bravo will join the team.
Bravo, part of the two-time T20 World Cup-winning West Indies side, retired from international cricket after the 2021 T20 World Cup but continues to play in T20 leagues around the world.
Earlier this year, he featured for eventual champions MI Emirates in the IL T20. He is currently the leading wicket-taker in T20 cricket with 625 wickets in 573 games.
Bravo is also the bowling coach of five-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings, a position he took over after retiring from the IPL in December 2022.
Afghanistan play their first warm-up game against Oman on May 29 followed by the second one on May 31 against Scotland.
At the World Cup, Afghanistan are placed in Group C alongside West Indies, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Uganda. They start their campaign against Uganda on June 5 in Providence.
Women's CPL games to feature alongside Windies, SA T20I series in August
For the first time, a women's franchise game will be played alongside a men's international, as Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced the fixtures of this year's Women's Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) to be held in Trinidad and Tobago, in August.
Three WCPL matches will be a part of double-headers along with West Indies men's T20 international series against South Africa.
Johnny Grave, CEO of Cricket West Indies, described the move as an exciting new concept for the second edition of the WCPL, which is scheduled for August 21 to 29.
"Women's cricket continues to be a strategic priority for Cricket West Indies, and this is another exciting new concept for WCPL 2024," Grave said.
"We are certain that there will be huge interest from people in Trinidad in these double headers, as fans will be able to watch world class international Men's cricket, followed by the best female cricketers in the region competing alongside some of the best overseas players in the world,” he added.
All the WCPL games will take place at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, with the double-headers scheduled for August 23, 25 and 27.
Pete Russell, CEO of the Caribbean Premier League, also expressed excitement at the move.
"We are very excited to be able to work with Cricket West Indies to have the WCPL take place at the same time as these Men's T20 Internationals. It is another example of how the two organisations are working in harmony to provide the best outcome for fans, players and cricket in the region. We look forward to another successful WCPL as the tournament continues to grow year on year,” Russell reasoned.
The Hayley Matthews-led Barbados Royals clinched the previous edition of the WCPL, where a total of seven matches were held, including the final, among three teams.
South Africa are scheduled to tour the Caribbean for two Tests in Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana from August 7. This will be followed by the three-match T20I series at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy from August 23 ahead of the CPL.
The two teams will also play a four-day warm-up game ahead of the Test series in Tarouba.
Rashford and Henderson omitted from preliminary England squad for Euro 2024
Marcus Rashford and Jordan Henderson have been omitted from Gareth Southgate's 33-man preliminary squad for England's Euro 2024 campaign.
Rashford scored 30 goals in all competitions for Manchester United in 2022-23 and has been a fixture in Southgate's England squads, but a dismal 2023-24 campaign has led to him being overlooked.
He scored seven goals in 33 Premier League appearances this season, making it his second worst campaign since netting five times as a teenager in 2016-17. He scored just four times under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick in 2021-22.
Newcastle United's Anthony Gordon has benefitted from Rashford's drop-off, receiving the call-up ahead of June's warm-up friendlies against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland.
Henderson, meanwhile, has seen his England place fiercely debated since he left Liverpool to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq last year.
The 33-year-old was booed by some England fans during a friendly win over Australia last October, having suggested his presence in Saudi Arabia could be a "positive" thing for LGBTQ+ rights in the country in a widely criticised interview with The Athletic.
Henderson – who has 81 senior England caps – swapped Al-Ettifaq for Ajax in January in a bid to ensure he made Southgate's squad, but that effort has been unsuccessful.
Henderson made nine Eredivisie appearances for Ajax in 2023-24, failing to prevent them from finishing fifth, their lowest position since 1999-00 (also fifth).
His exclusion, which could spell the end of his international career, has opened the door for a surprise call-up for Adam Wharton, who has excelled since joining Crystal Palace from Blackburn Rovers in January.
The 20-year-old, who has only been capped once at under-21 level, contributed to a stunning upturn under Oliver Glasner as Palace clinched a top-half Premier League finish.
Palace have won 24 points in 13 Premier League games under Glasner. From his first match on February 24 onwards, only Manchester City (35), Arsenal (34) and Chelsea (28) bettered their tally.
Wharton's Palace team-mate Eberechi Eze is also in after scoring 11 goals and registering four assists in 2023-24, while Liverpool's Curtis Jones is another uncapped midfielder to make the squad.
Elsewhere, Southgate has several fitness concerns among his defensive cohort, and Chelsea full-backs Reece James and Ben Chilwell are two big-name omissions after enduring injury-hit campaigns.
Chilwell, who also missed the 2022 World Cup through injury, was limited to just 756 minutes across 13 Premier League appearances this campaign.
James, meanwhile, returned from a long-term hamstring injury in a 3-2 win at Nottingham Forest recently, but saw his season end one game early when he was sent off in a victory over Brighton and Hove Albion.
Liverpool's Jarell Quansah, Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite, Palace's Marc Guehi and Brighton and Hove Albion's Lewis Dunk have all been included at centre-back alongside regular starters Harry Maguire and John Stones, while Luke Shaw is also in despite missing long periods through injury.
Captain Harry Kane is also present after missing the end of Bayern Munich's season with a back issue, which required him to travel back to England to undergo treatment.
Southgate will cut his squad down to 26 players after England face Iceland in their final pre-tournament friendly at Wembley Stadium on June 7.
Full 33-man squad: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal), James Trafford (Burnley), Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), Lewis Dunk (Brighton), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Jarell Quansah (Liverpool), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Curtis Jones (Liverpool), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), James Maddison (Tottenham), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ivan Toney (Brentford), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa).
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