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Malcolm Turnbull described the cheating crisis in which captain Steve Smith admitted to masterminding a plot to change the ball’s condition during the third Test against South Africa on Saturday as a “shocking affront to Australia”. He demanded Cricket Australia act decisively in investigating the incident. The governing body is expected to provide an update tomorrow. Turnbull added that authorities needed to crack down on sledging – verbal abuse involving players on both sides – if it wanted cricket to “once again (be) held up as a role model”....

“We were hoping to win all games that we played. I thought Sri Lanka tested us at certain stages but we stuck to our guns pretty well, certainly in the last two games we set pretty high standards. “The conditions have been difficult, I guess, from the batting perspective, very different from back home, but the last couple of games we have adjusted very well, we came with our plans and stuck to them,” Lanning said....

All 63 members of Australia’s team were confined to their rooms on Thursday and were forced to undergo tests for COVID less than 24 hours before the track and field events at the games were scheduled to start, a statement from the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) confirmed. The decision for the whole of Australia’s track and field team to isolate came after Kendricks tested positive for COVID, forcing him to withdraw from the games....

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Warner also said he did not regret comments he made during the first Ashes test at the Gabba in 2013 about England having “scared eyes”, adding that he fully expected more words to be exchanged during the coming series. “As soon as you step on that line it’s war,” Warner said on ABC Grandstand. “You try and get into a battle as quick as you can. I try and look in the opposition’s eyes and try and work out ‘how can I dislike this player, how can I get on top of him?...

Australia recorded innings wins in both Tests against Pakistan and opted to name a 13-man squad for their three meetings with the Black Caps. Bancroft has struggled in the Sheffield Shield and his omission was the only change to the squad named to face Pakistan. “As we said prior to the Pakistan series we are striving to maintain a core group of players. The performance of the team against Pakistan was very impressive across all areas, while there is always some room to improve,” Australia national selector Trevor Hohns said in a statement on Tuesday....

Australian Women won the first ODI and retained the Ashes. They arrived at Manuka Oval with a 6-4 lead in the multi-format series and a win ensured they retain the Ashes. It was a good overall performance from them as they continued their impressive record over the England Women in recent times. After electing to bowl first, the English bowlers bowled brilliantly as the hosts got off to a shaky start....

The world No. 1 women’s and men’s players, respectively, were awarded the top seeds Wednesday as tournament officials went strictly by the rankings. MORE: Must-see photos from last year’s tournament | Serena, Djokovic heavy favorites in ‘15 That means Williams and No. 2 Maria Sharapova can’t meet until the women’s final, while Djokovic and No. 2 Roger Federer will be on opposite ends of the men’s bracket. The seeding also means two-time Open women’s champion Victoria Azarenka will have a tough go in the early rounds....

Wawrinka, the tournament's eighth seed, caused the upset of the fortnight by defeating Djokovic, the three-time defending champion, in an epic quarterfinal match. The finals: 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 9-7 in four hours Djokovic had won his previous 25 matches at Melbourne Park, including three consecutive titles, and was triumphant in his previous 14 encounters against Wawrinka. Their past two clashes in grand slams were also five-set marathons that ended in victory for Djokovic....

The 2009 Australian Open champion, who failed to make it past the opening round of the grand slam for the first time in his career, arrived in Melbourne in good form after making the final in Doha earlier this month. MORE: Best photos from the Australian Open | Fan collapses, delays match Nadal’s preparation was in stark contrast to last year, when he suffered a swift first-round exit in his only lead-up tournament to the Australian Open, so he was stunned to bow out so early following a grueling battle on Rod Laver Arena....

The melee started with 15 minutes left in the match when Nice supporters hurled objects in the direction of Marseille player Dimitri Payet, who was getting set to take a corner kick in front of the supporter section. Payet was struck squarely in the back by one of the projectiles and reacted by hurling back the objects in the direction of the Nice supporters. That reaction led to Nice fans storming the field to confront the Marseille players, breaching security and the fieldboard barriers to do it....

Many hardcore fans of the series were likely expecting 2021 to be a big year for the RPG series. However, many were disappointed in the 25th Persona anniversary announcements, as some may have expected the news to center around the mystery of Persona 6. What’s more, western fans are likely feeling left out, with most of the marketing campaigns happening in the game’s home region of Japan. This includes the recent appearance of Lyn during Tokyo Game Show 2021, the upcoming Persona orchestra concert happening this November 2021 in Tokyo Opera City Hall, and currently open cafe collaborations in Tokyo....

Spain is the most successful team in the history of the Davis Cup with six titles. Their most recent triumph came in December where Nadal lead them to yet another title, to once again demonstrate that they have been the nation with the greatest depth of talent over the last decade. Going into the tie, Spain were heavy favourites to beat Belgium, who were one of the weaker teams to feature in the quarter-finals....

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will lock horns at the concluding day of the extravaganza bidding to get their respective sides over the line after a long week of tennis action that saw many dramatic matches and surprising results. The two men will step out on the Ken Roswall Arena on Sunday afternoon as two very battle-hardened opponents face off in a decider and the stakes are going to be very high....

Djokovic, who already owns the record for most weeks at World No. 1 in men’s tennis, begins his 356th week at the top of the ATP rankings. He is followed by Russia’s Danill Medvedev (No. 2), Germany’s Alexander Zverev (No. 3) and Greece’s Stefanos Tsistipas (No. 4). Medvedev and Zverev could both leave Melbourne as World No. 1 by winning the Australian Open. Spain’s Rafael Nadal, the only player with a chance in Melbourne to break a historic three-way tie for most Grand Slam titles in men’s tennis, returns to the top 5 this week....

Djokovic dropped 2,000 points from his ATP rankings tally after points from his 2021 Australian Open title dropped off this week. The Serb did not defend his title after his controversial deportation from Australia. He will make his season debut at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Monday against 19-year-old Lorenzo Musetti. Meanwhile, Medvedev, who reached the final in Melbourne last month, is competing at this week’s Abierto Mexicano Telcel Open in Acapulco....

1-Tommy Haas (Germany) bt Daniel Evans (Britain) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 5-Marin Cilic (Croatia) bt Bjorn Phau (Germany) 6-3, 6-4. 0 votes

The 57-year-old woman, who works as a researcher for the city’s Department of Health, was kicked down the stairs, then struck in the head with a hammer shortly before midnight at the Queens Plaza station in Long Island City, the New York Police Department said in a statement. The assailant fled the scene after taking the woman’s purse. The attack reflects a larger trend of crime on the subway or at subway stations....

UPDATE 2: Pujols told USA Today he doesn’t want the ball now. Hello, Cooperstown? ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Albert Pujols, as you know, notched his 2,000th career RBI on Thursday afternoon, pounding a solo home run over the left-field wall and into the waiting crowd at Detroit’s Comerica Park. Somehow, the biggest news that emerged from that truly historic event — nine players have hit 600 home runs but only five have reached the 2,000-RBI plateau — was that the fan who caught the ball, Ely Hydes, chose to keep the memento instead of giving/trading/selling the ball to Pujols, the Angels slugger who is bound for Cooperstown after he retires....