Australian batter Travis Head has laughed off sledging from England during and since the thrilling Ashes opener at Edgbaston – and has sent a word of warning to Ollie Robinson.

Robinson is viewed in some quarters down under as the pantomime villain following his expletive-laden send-off to Usman Khawaja, with Australian greats Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting rounding on the Sussex seamer in the wake of the tourists’ two-wicket win.

It has not deterred Robinson, who – in a column for Wisden.com this week – expressed his surprise at how “defensive” Australia were, and claimed England’s opponents must change their style to come out on top during the five-match series.

England opener Zak Crawley, meanwhile, predicted on Times Radio recently that the hosts would win the upcoming second Test at Lord’s by 150 runs.

“We’re only going for the lunch, apparently,” Head told 9News Sydney. “Yeah, they have got this mantra they’re going at.

“Not just on the field but off the field they are throwing some nice chat out, but this team is truly just worried about what we need to do to win the second Test to go 2-0 up and put some pressure on them.”

Middle-order batter Head hit 50 at Edgbaston and put on 79 for the fourth wicket with Khawaja, who faced plenty of verbals from Robinson in Birmingham.

Robinson ended Khawaja’s marathon knock and claimed five wickets during the first Test, but Head insisted the England bowler will have to improve if he wants to retain his position in Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes’ team.

Head added: “I find it pretty fun. I had a few quiet words, jovial words, to him out there.

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“It all makes for good fun and we’ll see where the next four Tests go.

“It didn’t go his way in the first one but he’s very competitive and he will want to step up. But if he doesn’t, I think they have got a few people at home that might want to get up his back.”

Head trained with his Australian team-mates at Lord’s on Sunday ahead of the second Test getting under way on Wednesday.

Fellow batters Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith were also present, having spent their Saturdays at the Home of Cricket in the nets following their low scores at Edgbaston.

Labuschagne took a painful blow to a finger on his right hand during his Saturday net session, but was fine to carry on after being checked over by team doctor Leigh Golding.

Australia will head into the men’s Ashes series with their players filling the top three slots in the world Test batting rankings.

In the latest weekly update from the International Cricket Council, c retains top spot with team-mates Steve Smith and Travis Head moving up to second and third respectively.

Smith climbs from third after his century in Australia’s World Test Championship final win over India, while Head rises from sixth after his player-of-the-match 163 in the same game at The Oval.

It is the first time since 1984, when the West Indian trio of Gordon Greenidge, Clive Lloyd and Larry Gomes were the occupants, that the top three positions have been provided by the same team.

Joe Root is the highest England batter in sixth.

Australia spinner Nathan Lyon has moved up to sixth in the bowling rankings after taking five wickets in the match against India. His captain Pat Cummins remains third, with England’s James Anderson second.

The first Ashes Test begins at Edgbaston on Friday.

India were scrapping to stay afloat in the World Test Championship final after a top order collapse left Australia in the driving seat on day two of the World Test Championship final.

Australia were all out for 469 in their first innings, Steve Smith following in the footsteps of first day centurion Travis Head to post 121, and then snapped up key wickets to establish a dominant position.

Each of their seam quartet struck as India lurched to 71 for four in the 19th over, before spinner Nathan Lyon joined the party and ended a battling fifth-wicket stand.

Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra Jadeja doubled the score before the latter nicked Lyon to slip for 48. By stumps India were 318 behind on 151 for five, with plenty of work to do retain a realistic chance of succeeding New Zealand as red-ball world champions.

Australia arrived in the morning already boasting a healthy position on 327 for three. At that stage, they were surely hoping to clear 500, but India landed a few handy blows of their own as they took the last seven wickets for 108.

With 10 overs before lunch to work their magic, the Australian seamers made short work of the India openers. Captain Pat Cummins made the initial opening, thumping his opposite number Rohit Sharma halfway up the front pad with one that shaped in towards middle and off.

Scott Boland then joined the fray, seaming one in sharply and rearranging Shubman Gill’s stumps as he paid the price for a poorly judged leave. Boland filled his boots against England Down Under in 2021/22, taking a remarkable six for seven on debut at the MCG, and he made a compelling case for holding his spot at Edgbaston next week with 11 high-quality overs with the Dukes ball.

India survived a potential gut punch when star batter Virat Kohli came close to departing for a duck, withdrawing the bat only to see an inside edge spray off the toe and zip past his stumps, but their struggles continued after the break.

Cheteshwar Pujara belied his years of experience in English climes by aping Gill’s error, shaping to leave all-rounder Cameron Green and paying with the off stump.

Kohli’s exit left India in strife but he was at least guilty only of receiving a brutish delivery from Mitchell Starc.

The left-armer was expensive, shipping 52 from nine overs, but showed off his ability to deliver big moments when he got one to explode off a length at Kohli and rap the thumb of his bottom hand as it sprayed to slip.

India’s position left a lot to be desired but, with Australians sensing blood, Rahane’s perseverance and Jadeja’s counter-attacking nature served them well.

They put on 71 together, parted only when Lyon offered a change of pace. He forced Jadeja into an unusually defence stroke and clipped the outside edge to break the stand.

Smith had earlier brought up his 31st Test century, his seventh in England and his third at the Oval. Resuming on 95, he dispatched his first two balls of the morning from Mohammed Siraj to the boundary to reach three figures with minimal fuss.

India made regular inroads to keep the game moving forwards, Head departing for a classy 163 as Siraj got him brushing to the keeper with a bumper aimed at the ribs and Smith ending a five-and-a-half hour stay with an uncharacteristically loose prod that canoned into his stumps.

Travis Head cracked a rapid-fire half-century as Australia built a solid foundation on the opening day of the World Test Championship final against India.

Head arrived at the crease with his side at 76 for three and bossed an unbroken stand of 94 with Steve Smith, as Australia reached tea on 170 without further loss.

Head was at his counter-punching best, reeling off 10 boundaries in 75 balls to push the pressure back on to the Indian attack.

His lively knock altered the momentum of the afternoon session, which could have turned in India’s favour after Mohammed Shami uprooted Marnus Labuschagne’s off stump shortly after the lunch break.

It was a second well-timed breakthrough, after David Warner’s battling 43 came to end in timid fashion late in the morning’s play, Shardul Thakur brushing his glove with a short ball speared down the leg side.

India had chosen to field after winning the toss and it looked a sound decision during an awkward first hour for the Australian batters.

Mohammed Shami kept Warner honest during a fine opening burst with the new ball, working over the left-hander from round the wicket in a way that will not have escaped the attention of his old nemesis Stuart Broad.

He survived the examination, with a couple of fortuitous moments along the way, but Usman Khawaja banked a 10-ball duck when he nicked the quicker Mohammed Siraj to Srikar Bharat.

There was an early scare for Labuschagne, who dramatically dropped the bat in pain when Umesh Yadav rapped him on the left thumb with a sharp, lifting delivery.

England fans would be forgiven for having the Ashes on their minds as Labuschagne received treatment and popped a couple of painkillers, but he resumed his innings and even wore another blow to the hand to reach lunch on 26 not out.

Warner, having survived his initial trial, began to open up and took a particular liking to Yadav, at one stage lashing the seamer for four boundaries in a single over.

The 36-year-old, who recently announced his plans to retire in the new year, was growing in confidence and will have been annoyed at the manner of his dismissal, well caught by the diving Bharat after getting into a poor position against a modest ball from Thakur.

Labuschagne, who had survived a couple of close lbw appeals, did not kick on in the afternoon – emphatically missing one that was tossed up full and thumped halfway up his off stump.

Steve Smith settled in for a low-key stay, grinding out 33 off 102 balls, leaving the stage for Head (60no) to throw the bat confidently and swing the pendulum in Australia’s favour.

Australia hammered India by 10 wickets with 39 overs to spare in Visakhapatnam to level their three-match ODI series at 1-1.

The Baggy Greens lost badly in the opening match, being bowled all out for 188 runs, but they cruised to victory at YS Raja Reddy Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

India were bowled out for just 117 runs off 26 balls after being sent out to bat first, with Mitchell Starc (5-53) claiming a five-wicket haul in a truly dominant display from the tourists.

Australia's opening batters Mitchell Marsh (66 not out) and Travis Head (51 not out) remained unbeaten to confirm victory inside four hours.

The sides will reconvene in Chennai on Wednesday for the deciding match.

India had lost only one of their nine ODIs at this venue prior to Sunday, but Shubman Gill was sent packing for a duck off the third ball to set the tone for what was to come.

Returning skipper Rohit Sharma (13) started well with a couple of boundaries, but he did not last much longer and India never found any real rhythm.

Only four players reached double figures, with Virat Kohli (31), Ravindra Jadeja (16) and Axar Patel (29 not out) struggling to cause Australia any real problems.

Starc starred with the ball, responsible for the wickets of Mohammed Siraj (0), KL Rahul (9), Suryakumar Yadav (0), Shubman Gill (0) and Rohit.

India's target of 118 for victory was never going to trouble Australia, and so it proved as the explosive pair of Head and Marsh made light work of the hosts' bowlers.

Head smashed Siraj for four successive boundaries in a 50-run stand with Marsh for the first wicket, with the Aussies sealing an emphatic win in just 11 overs.

Marsh and Head blitz completes the job

The best India could hope for after a rather embarrassing batting effort was prolonging this second ODI for as long as possible for the paying spectators.

Marsh and Head clearly had other ideas as they put up an unbeaten partnership of 121 from 66 balls.

That strike rate of 183.33 is the highest for any opening stand in an ODI in India from a minimum of 10 balls.

Sensational Starc leads the way

Take nothing away from Marsh and Head, but the foundations for this incredible victory were laid by Starc, who got five wickets in an ODI for the ninth time.

The defeat was India's first in 10 ODI matches on home soil, ending what was the second-longest active winning streak of any nation in the format.

Australia completed a nine-wicket victory over India early on day three of the third Test in Indore to seal a place in June's World Test Championship final.

The tourists required just 76 runs on Friday at Holkar Cricket Stadium and reached that target before lunch to trim India's lead to 2-1 in the four-match series.

Travis Head made 49 not out and Marnus Labuschagne an unbeaten 28, with Usman Khawaja (0) the only man to fall early on in a routine victory stroll.

Australia, who had lost their past three Tests played in Asia, will now face either India or Sri Lanka in the World Test Championship final at the Oval in London.

India require victory over Australia in next week's fourth and final Test to book their place in the showpiece contest.

Eight wickets from Nathan Lyon, who was named player of the match, left Australia on the verge of victory at the end of day two.

A challenging pitch gave India slim hope of at least dragging out day three, and they started strongly as Khawaja was caught behind by KS Bharat for a second-ball duck.

But Labuschagne saw off some tricky early bowling to keep Australia on course and shared an unbroken stand of 78 with Head to see his side home in just 18.5 overs.

Australia snap losing run

This was a welcome victory for Australia, who avoided losing four Tests in a row against India in the format for the first time ever.

India can have no complaints with the margin of defeat as they missed out on a fourth Test victory in a row for the first time since a seven-game stretch in 2019.

Labuschagne and Head hold firm

After strong work on Thursday from Lyon, whose total of 113 career wickets in Australia versus India Tests is a record in the rivalry between these teams, it was left to Labuschagne and Head to get Australia easily over the line.

Their 78-run partnership ranks as the highest unbeaten stand by a batting pair in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy series between Australia and India, which will go down to the wire.

Australia are set to welcome back Travis Head for the second Test against India starting Friday, while also handing a debut to left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann.

Head, currently ranked as the fourth-best Test batsman in the world, was questionably dropped for the series opener in Nagpur despite an outstanding Australian summer.

He will come back into the side to replace Matt Renshaw after disappointing with two combined runs from his two innings in Nagpur.

Head will bat at number five, slotting in behind Steve Smith and in front of Peter Handscomb.

Meanwhile, fast bowler Scott Boland was replaced by Kuhnemann, leaving captain Pat Cummins as the only quick in the Australian team.

Kuhnemann brings a different aspect to the Australian spin attack as the only left-armer, earning his Test debut after four appearances in the One Day side.

India announced only one change to their team that ran away with a comfortable victory in the series opener, with Shreyas Iyer slotting in at number five in place of Suryakumar Yadav.

Australia XI: D Warner, U Khawaja, S Smith, M Labuschagne, T Head, P Handscomb, A Carey (wk), P Cummins (c), T Murphy, N Lyon, M Kuhnemann.

India XI: KL Rahul, R Sharma (c), C Pujara, V Kohli, S Iyer, S Bharat (wk), A Patel, R Ashwin, R Jadeja, M Shami, M Siraj.

Australia took full control of their second Test against South Africa on day two, racing away to a commanding lead behind David Warner's double century.

After bowling out the South Africans for 189 on Boxing Day, Australia started Tuesday's play at 45-1 and piled on another 341 runs.

They were led by Warner in his 100th Test, as he survived some adversity and went on to post 200 before retiring hurt as his persistent cramps worsened in the blisteringly hot MCG conditions.

He reached his 200 in 254 deliveries, joining Joe Root as the only other player to score a double ton in their 100th Test.

Marnus Labuschagne was run-out for 14 following a mix-up during an overthrow, bringing Steve Smith to the middle, and he made his way to 85 off 161 deliveries before edging to the slips as Australia looked to up the run-rate.

Travis Head continued the high-action style with 48 not out from 48 deliveries, capping a 155-run third session to reach stumps at 386-3, leading by 197 runs.

Anrich Nortje was the visitors' most efficient bowler, with the right-arm quick in taking 1-50 from his 16 overs.

Australia could face some headaches with their bowling stocks in the second innings, with Cameron Green being forced to retire hurt after copping a bouncer on the finger, which immediately swelled up and ended his day on six runs.

Green's status for the second inning is in doubt, while Mitchell Starc's finger injury has already ruled him out of the third Test, implying he will not be able to continue bowling.

Labuschagne gives Warner a lifeline in milestone Test

Warner's day could have looked very different had Labuschagne not opted to fall on his sword.

With Warner on 47, he took an easy single, before calling for a risky second on an overthrow. Labuschagne had run through the crease on the first run, and by taking off for a second, it meant whoever was heading to the bowler's end had no hope.

Luckily for Warner, it was Labuschagne who made the turn and charged back unsuccessfully, departing after only 14 runs.

It was Labuschagne's fifth Test run-out, and since his debut no player has more in the format. Root, Babar Azam and Tim Southee all have four.

Aussies handle the heat

With temperatures in Melbourne hovering around 37 degrees Celsius, it was the Australians who handled the conditions in the draining second session.

In a completely one-sided period of play, the duo of Warner and Smith piled on 97 runs without a wicket from the 27-over session, racing to the lead and building a winning platform.

David Warner is set to make his 100th Test appearance for Australia, and is determined to put his run of poor form behind him.

Warner has gone 10 Test innings without a half century, and is averaging just 26.07 in his last 27 trips to the crease in the longest format.

He was out for a first ball duck in the first innings of the first Test against South Africa at The Gabba before managing just three in the second, albeit on a green pitch where the majority struggled with the bat as Australia won by six wickets inside two days.

Should he score 78 or more in the second Test at the MCG, Warner will become just the eighth player to score 8,000 Test runs for Australia, and he promised to take on the Proteas bowling attack in the Boxing Day Test.

"I know when I'm at my best, I'm taking the bowlers on," he said. "It goes well and it flows with the team and the guy at the other end. Now I've probably gone a bit more responsible and trying to put the team into a good position without playing a bit rash.

"If anything I can probably be a bit more aggressive and go back to the older me, take them on a little bit more. But I think that also is dictated from what wickets you are getting.

"You don't want to have a dig at the curators, but the last two years our wickets have been green. If I go out there play a cover drive and nick one, you guys [the media] will have a feeding frenzy.

"But now I'm in good positions and I'm nicking off, that's the nature of the beast. This might be a wicket where I can go out and play like the old me. So you have to adapt to those conditions that's what I've been doing the last 18 months."

In what will be the 100th men's Test between Australia and South Africa, the hosts' selectors have a tough decision to make on whether to recall Josh Hazlewood, who has recovered from a side strain, or retain Scott Boland, who took a combined 4-42 in the first Test.

Australia must keep their Head in Melbourne

The pitch in the first Test in Brisbane was labelled "below average" by the ICC, though Travis Head was still able to muster 92 from 96 balls in the first innings, a crucial contribution that made a key difference.

Although he was out for a first ball duck in the second innings, it was immaterial as Australia eased to victory shortly after, and the man of the match will be keen to show his worth again in Melbourne.

Landmark looms for Elgar

South Africa captain Dean Elgar was not happy with The Gabba surface, but will be hopeful of scoring more than the combined five runs he managed in the first Test.

Elgar is just 24 away from becoming the eighth player to score 5,000 runs for the Proteas in men's Tests, though his Test batting average in Australia of 18.4 is his lowest in any country.

South Africa were bowled out for less than 200 for the fifth successive Test innings, before an unbeaten 78 from Travis Head helped put Australia in a strong position in the first Test at The Gabba.

Dean Elgar's team were torn apart by Australia's bowling attack on day one as the Proteas were dismissed inside 50 overs for just 152.

The hosts also wobbled initially on a fast pitch, but Head and Steve Smith (36) steadied the ship from 27-3, though a couple of late wickets gave South Africa some hope of getting back into the game.

A tentative start from the tourists saw them reduced to 27-4, and things could have been significantly worse had it not been for a partnership of 98 between Temba Bavuma and Kyle Verreyne, before the former was bowled by Mitchell Starc for 38.

That began another batting collapse, with Verreyne eventually falling to Nathan Lyon for 62 as the tail failed to wag.

South Africa struck immediately in reply though as David Warner struggled with a short delivery from Kagiso Rabada off the first ball of the Australian first innings and was caught well by Khaya Zondo for a golden duck.

Marnus Labuschagne (11) edged Marco Jansen's first ball into the hands of Elgar before Usman Khawaja (11) also nudged an Anrich Nortje delivery to sub Simon Harmer in the slips.

After a reprieve when a review showed an edge had dropped just short of Elgar, Head took full advantage as he brought up his half-century off just 48 balls.

A partnership of 117 with Smith was ended by Nortje before the close as he sent a terrific delivery into Smith's stumps, before Rabada dismissed nightwatchman Scott Boland (1) off the last ball of the day, though Head remained unbeaten on 78 from just 77 balls as Australia closed on 145-5.

Balanced Aussie bowling downs Proteas

The key to a potent bowling attack – especially in Test cricket – is teamwork and variation, and Australia have that in spades.

South Africa's was an innings of two halves, with Starc (3-41), Pat Cummins (2-35) and Boland (2-28) all picking up early wickets, before the consistent spin of Lyon mopped things up, with the 35-year-old ending with figures of 3-14.

Head leads the way

It has been a very interesting innings from Head, looking nervous after scoring just two from his first 16 deliveries, before deciding to just go for it and smashing 51 from his next 32.

He even brought up his 50 with a six down the leg side, making a mockery of the struggles experienced by almost every other batsman on day one, ending with 14 boundaries (13 fours) to his name by the close.

Australia made light work of the West Indies' resistance on day four to claim a dominant 419-run victory at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday and round out a comfortable 2-0 Test series win.

The West Indies collapsed to lose 35-6, with the defeat confirmed within an hour-and-a-half of the resumption of play, as Michael Neser claimed three of the six fourth day wickets in his second Test match.

The tourists had resumed at 38-4, chasing an improbable target of 497, but were all out for 77.

Left-arm Mitchell Starc grabbed the opening two wickets of the fourth day, including an inswinging gem to clean bowl Jason Holder.

Nathan Lyon took his 450th career Test wicket, when he bowled a heaving Alzarri Joseph who had danced down the pitch. Lyon was denied another when Travis Head dropped a chance close in from Marquino Mindley.

Neser, who finished with 3-22, closed out the job with wicketkeeper Alex Carey pulling off an excellent one-handed catch off his bowling to dismiss Mindley for a duck.

Carey took four catches on Sunday, including a brilliant juggling pluck when he stood up at the wicket off Neser's bowling to remove Joshua Da Silva who offered the only real resistance from the tourists on the fourth day with 15 from 40 balls.

Local batsman Head was named Player of the Match after scoring 175 from 219 deliveries in Australia's first innings, which set up the win. Marnus Labuschagne was named Player of the Series after making 502 runs in two Tests, the most-ever by an Australian in a two-match Test series.

Day-night dominance

Australia's win means they have claimed 11 from 11 victories in day-night Tests, relishing the pink ball conditions. Australia are also seven from seven in Adelaide in recent times.

The 419-run victory was also Australia's largest-ever win by runs against the West Indies, who had not lost a Test this calendar year prior to this lopsided series.

Quick turnaround for Aussies

Australia will be delighted to have secured victory with more than a day to spare, given they are due to take on South Africa in a three-match Test series starting Saturday.

Josh Hazlewood is highly unlikely to be available for the first Test against the Proteas due to a side strain, with Neser and Scott Boland vying for that spot, assuming Pat Cummins is fit to return.

Nathan Lyon became the outright most prolific Test wicket-taker at the Adelaide Oval, going past Shane Warne as Australia dominated day two of the second Test against West Indies.

Lyon, who served as a groundsman at the venue before his career took off, had Jermaine Blackwood caught and bowled for three in the evening session as Australia reduced West Indies to 102-4 at stumps, a world away from Australia's 511-7 total. It gave Lyon a 57th wicket in 12 Tests in Adelaide, beating Warne's haul of 56 from 13 matches.

Michael Neser, playing just his second Test match and first since facing England in Adelaide last year, took 2-20 after drawing edges from West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite and Shamarh Brooks. Tagenarine Chanderpaul (47no) was the only West Indies batter to have passed 20 by the close.

Earlier, Marnus Labuschagne advanced from his overnight 120 not out to 163 before edging Devon Thomas through to wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva.

Hometown favourite Travis Head had delighted the Adelaide crowd by reaching 114 on Thursday, and he looked set to convert that to a double century before being run out for 175 after a mix-up with Cameron Green over a second run. Head, crestfallen to miss out, could console himself with what goes down as the best score of his Test career.

In the second of two Tests, Australia look to be on track for a hefty win to match their previous victory in Perth, particularly with their bowlers already firmly on top.

Neser, a 32-year-old Queensland seamer, told Fox: "The boys set it up there with the bat. We took advantage of the night session."

He praised Lyon for going past Warne, saying: "He's been performing for many years now, so it's great to see him getting milestones. I'm sure he has many more years left in him."

Labuschagne and Head go sixth on all-time list

The partnership for Australia's fourth wicket was worth 297 runs before Labuschagne was the first to go, and only five Test pairings have put on more for any wicket at the Adelaide Oval. Labuschagne also featured in the second-highest Test partnership at the ground, putting on 361 with David Warner for Australia's second wicket against Pakistan in November 2019. The highest remains the 386 that Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke shared in against India in January 2012 – both batters making double centuries.

Chanderpaul at it again

West Indies arrived in Australia with high hopes for Test rookie Chanderpaul, son of the great Shivnarine Chanderpaul, and while the team are collectively struggling, he has proven highly capable. Scores of 51 and 45 in the first Test boded well, and he will certainly hope to post a new personal Test best on Saturday.

Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head rattled off punishing centuries as Australia dominated once more against West Indies, racking up 330-3 on day one of the second Test.

Top of the ICC batting rankings, the in-form Labuschagne put on a show as he reached 120 not out, while local hero Head joined him on three figures later in the day, finishing up on 114no at stumps.

They shared in a fourth-wicket partnership worth 199 and will resume on Friday looking to bat West Indies out of the match.

For Labuschagne, a third consecutive century and 10th of his Test career was complete when he cracked a boundary square of the wicket.

He was the more watchful of the hundred-makers, with Head more up front about his intentions, getting stuck into a mostly blunt West Indies attack and reaching three figures in just 125 balls, some 61 fewer than Labuschagne needed to reach his ton.

For Head, getting the job done brought obvious relief, after he was dismissed for 99 in the first match of the series in Perth. He brought up this century with a drive through mid-off for four, removing his helmet and waving to the Adelaide Oval crowd. Born in the South Australia city, this is his home ground and the century earned him the warmest of ovations.

After making 204 and 104no in the first Test, Labuschagne again mastered the West Indies attack. He came in at number three and shared in a stand of 95 with Usman Khawaja, who fell lbw to Devon Thomas for 62 to leave Australia 129-2 during the afternoon.

That soon became 131-3 when stand-in captain Steve Smith went for a duck, caught and bowled by Jason Holder, but from that point on it was all one way in Australia's favour.

Better late than never for Thomas

At the ripe cricketing age of 33, Thomas is a Test wicket-taker for the first time. A wicketkeeper by trade, he is not wearing the gloves in this game, his Test debut. With West Indies seeking to break the second-wicket alliance, Thomas was given a try with the ball by West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite and made the breakthrough.

Thomas made his international debut in the limited-overs formats all the way back in 2009, and lately he has been a familiar face in their T20I side, but this is his first opportunity in the five-day game. He was the seventh bowler used by West Indies on Thursday, finishing the day with 1-43 from nine overs.

Labuschagne does it again

Ten centuries in a batter's 30 Tests is great going by anyone's standards, so hats off to Labuschagne. Taking into account the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle back in July, Labuschagne has made tons in four of his last five innings and his average has shot up to 61.81. He is 33 runs short of reaching 3,000 Test runs, which will be a target for day two.

Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith made double centuries as Australia piled on the runs against West Indies at Perth Stadium, achieving a feat last witnessed over a decade ago.

Not since Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke plundered double tons against India in January 2012 had any pair of batters made 200-plus scores in the same innings of a Test match.

This first Test saw Australia follow up their opening-day dominance with more commanding batting to reach 598-4 on Thursday, before West Indies rallied to reach 74-0 at stumps, with debutant Tagenarine Chanderpaul closing in on a half-century.

Labuschagne had been 154no overnight, and Smith was with him on 59, and they went on to post 204 and 200no respectively, sharing in a third-wicket stand of 251 runs. It was a second Test double century for Labuschagne, and a fourth for Smith.

Australia declared when Travis Head was dismissed on 99, edging the 95th ball of his innings into his stumps to give West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite a second wicket, ending a 196-run alliance with Smith.

In reply, Chanderpaul, son of West Indies great Shivnarine Chanderpaul, powered to 47no as Brathwaite battled to 18no, offering hope the tourists may be able to show sufficient defiance to still take something from this match, the first of two in the series.

Smith joins Bradman

Smith's century, which became a double, was his 29th ton in Tests, moving him level with the great Don Bradman on the all-time list. He and Bradman share fourth place among Australia century-makers, behind Ricky Ponting (41), Steve Waugh (32) and Matthew Hayden (30).

Chanderpaul a chip off the old block

Facing the full assault of Australia's pace attack, Chanderpaul did not always look comfortable against Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, but he found a way to survive to the close.

Dad Shivnarine made 11,867 Test runs for West Indies, so Tagenarine is just 11,820 behind now. More relevantly, perhaps, Shivnarine made 62 in his first Test innings, against England in Georgetown in 1994. After this strong start, West Indies will hope his son can go significantly past that score on Friday.

Travis Head and David Warner plundered stunning centuries as Australia crushed England by 221 runs at the MCG to seal a 3-0 ODI series sweep.

The openers forged an alliance of 269 runs as Australia posted 355-5 in a rain-interrupted match in Melbourne, with England only able to muster 142 all out in reply, suffering a third emphatic defeat.

Australia's innings was trimmed to 48 overs, which meant under the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern calculations England's target was set at 364 for victory, which they got nowhere near. Nine days after winning the T20 World Cup on the same ground, England's response to Australia's total was largely listless.

Head made an ODI career-best 152, while Warner was out for 106, his 19th century in this format. They put on the ninth-highest first-wicket stand in ODI history, second only for Australia to the 284 that Head and Warner themselves amassed in January 2017 against Pakistan.

It was their second 200-plus partnership, and only Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene and Upul Tharanga, who have managed three, have achieved more as a pairing in ODIs.

Olly Stone eventually removed both openers in the same over, the 39th of Australia's innings, on the way to bowling figures of 4-85 from 10 overs.

England's opening partnership, in stark contrast, was worth only 15 runs, with Dawid Malan falling for just two to Josh Hazlewood in the third over. Jason Roy top scored with 33, as Adam Zampa took 4-31 in the rout.

Warner beats Hayden record

Warner now has 6,007 runs from 139 ODI innings, becoming the 10th Australian batter to reach 6,000 runs in the format. He has reached the milestone in the fewest innings of all Australians, beating Matthew Hayden's previous record of 154 innings.

Head rush

Head's 152 goes down as the second-highest score by an Australian player in the history of men's ODIs against England, bettered only by Shane Watson's unbeaten 161 in January 2011. The thrashing gave Australia's men just their second whitewash of England in a multi-game bilateral ODI series, 29 years after the first, also a 3-0 victory.