Australia off-spinner Nathan Hauritz announced his retirement from competitive cricket on Tuesday, bringing the curtain down on a 15-year career during which he represented the national side in all three formats. Hauritz, one of the many spinners Australia turned to after the retirement of bowling great Shane Warne, did not have a state contract for the last two seasons and was used by his Big Bash League side Melbourne Renegades for one match this season. The 34-year-old failed to take a wicket in that clash, against Perth Scorchers, and conceded 29 runs in his two overs. "I was just so shattered after the game," he told reporters. "I realised I hadn't come down here to be that disappointed about a game of cricket anymore. I thought 'I don't need that anymore'. I just want to get away.

Backing Shaun Tait's surprise return to the Australian T20 squad for the three-match series against India, former pacer Jason Gillespie said the tearaway speedster will cause a lot of damage on Indian tracks if he makes the squad for the World T20 starting March 8.

West Indies batsman Chris Gayle smashed fifty from 12 balls for the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League on Monday to match India's Yuvraj Singh's record for the fastest half-century in Twenty20 cricket.

Quentin Tarantino's latest film is his most unpleasant, feels Raja Sen.

Lamine Diack, the former president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), was responsible for organizing and enabling the conspiracy and corruption that took place in athletics' governing body, an independent commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said on Thursday.

'A little bit of banter is okay, because at the end of the day, especially with the T20 format, it is also entertainment.'

Top-order batsman Usman Khawaja has been drafted into the Australia squad for the ongoing ODI series against India in place of opener David Warner whose wife is expecting the couple's second child. Khawaja will join the squad in Brisbane and, at this stage, will remain for matches two and three of the five-game series, at the Gabba on January 15, and at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on January 17 respectively, Cricket Australia said. National selector Rod Marsh said Warner would be welcomed back into the squad when circumstances allow.

The West Indies batting ace, who made headlines after attempting to flirt with Network Ten reporter Mel McLaughlin during a live interview, was savaged by commentators for refusing to take what appeared to be an easy single for his Melbourne Renegades team against Sydney Thunder late Monday.

Somebody needs to tell Adam Zampa that cricket is not a contact sport as the Melbourne Stars bowler was lucky not to lose a few teeth during Saturday's Big Bash clash against Melbourne Renegades.

Looking to exploit the fast and bouncy conditions at the WACA, Australian opener Aaron Finch has said his team would look to corner the Indians early on in the opening ODI on January 12.

Even as Chris Gayle filed a defamation case against a media house for allegations that he indecently exposed himself to a lady last year, an email has emerged hinting the West Indies team management knew of misbehaviour by players towards a woman during the 2015 World Cup here. The development comes a day after Gayle sought the services of a leading Australian lawyer to start defamation proceedings against Fairfax Media over allegations that he indecently exposed himself to a woman in Sydney during last year's World Cup. A report in 'Sydney Morning Herald' on Friday claimed that there was an e-mail written during the 2015 World Cup by West Indies team manager Richie Richardson asking his players 'to treat her in a professional and respectable way'.

Veteran Australia all-rounder Shane Watson has said he was not surprised by Chris Gayle's behaviour, adding that the controversial remarks made by the Jamaican during an interview with a female presenter were 'fairly expected'. Gayle was fined $10,000 by his Big Bash League side Melbourne Renegades for his on-air mid-match comments to Channel 10 journalist Mel McLaughlin during a BBL match. "I have played against Chris for a long time, since I started really, and that behaviour is fairly expected," Watson was quoted as saying by 'Daily Telegraph'. "People who know Chris Gayle will know those are the sort of things he can do at times, and at an inappropriate time, obviously it gets him into a fair bit of trouble," he added.

Australian cricket legend Ian Chappell has called for a worldwide ban on Chris Gayle.

The controversial West Indies star opener Chris Gayle has found his support through a hashtag campaign.

Under-fire Chris Gayle has sought the services of a leading Australian lawyer to start defamation proceedings against Fairfax Media over allegations that the West Indian cricketer indecently exposed himself to a woman in Sydney during the World Cup last year. The allegations came to the fore following Gayle's widely-criticised live interview with Ten Sports' female presenter Mel McLaughlin while playing for Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League.

Big-hitting West Indies batsman Chris Gayle is set to be banned from future Big Bash League tournaments as a fallout of his controversial TV interview with Channel 10 journalist Mel McLaughlin.

West Indies batsman Chris Gayle has said he was joking when he asked an Australian reporter out during a live TV broadcast and said he was sorry if she was offended by the widely condemned remarks.

West Indian batting star Chris Gayle has courted fresh controversy when he made 'inappropriate' remarks to a female television presenter live on air after a Big Bash League cricket match. Gayle, who plays for the Melbourne Renegades in the T20 competition, was speaking to Channel 10 presenter Mel McLaughlin after he made a quick-fire 41 runs of 15 balls in his team's victory against Tasmania.

These and many more stunning photographs are encapsulated in this weekly, striking photo feature put together by Rediiff.com.

Former England captain Kevin Pietersen feels ICC needs to lure cricketers to longer version of the game by creating Test wages that trump what T20 leagues such as IPL and BBL offer to the players.

The perfect platform to grab attention and engage with prospective customers, the 2016 Auto Expo will see over 100 exhibitors displaying some very interesting products. However, our eyes at MotorBeam are keen on some highly awaited launches that will be redefining products for their respective manufacturers.

If Paris really meant to serve as a landmark in recognising equity in climate negotiations, it should have heralded the second phase of the Kyoto protocol. Instead we have all countries, India and China included, all signing up with voluntary commitments in what can only be seen as a race to the bottom, reports Darryl D'Monte.

Indian policymakers must incorporate in their nuclear doctrine a realistic response to tactical nuclear warheads, says Ajai Shukla.

Boozy celebrations have been a part of Australian cricket for decades but Test hopeful Fawad Ahmed will be politely declining when the victory beers are passed around on the tour of the Caribbean and England.

Australia fast bowler Peter Siddle has claimed that it would be a little bit daunting at first to walk out onto the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) for the fourth and final Test against India, as it is the same ground where Phillip Hughes was struck by the deadly bouncer.

The Taiwanese government is investigating whether Xiaomi Inc, China's leading smartphone company by domestic shipments, is a cyber security threat and will make a decision within three months.

Australia have named swashbuckling batsman Aaron Finch captain of the Twenty20 cricket team, replacing George Bailey, Cricket Australia (CA) said on Monday.

George Bailey stepped down as Australia's Twenty20 captain on Sunday, saying that he wants to focus on his Test career.

The recent bouts of violence by suspected Bodo militias that killed over 30 hapless 'Muslims, mostly children and women, and rendered several thousands homeless in lower Assam recently, once again offers a shocking glimpse of the horrendous game of violent communalism being played by the Congress government of Assam in furtherance of its cynical power politics for the last several years.' 'The result is, the state is a simmering communal cauldron that sporadically erupts at the slightest real or imagined provocation,' says R N Ravi.

Vehicles that set the Auto China show on fire.

Former England captain David Gower has joined the list of critics who believe that controversial batsman Kevin Pietersen had allowed his ego to come before the needs of the team in England's 5-0 Ashes hammering by Australia.

World No 1 Serena Williams and her sister Venus tried their hand at cricket with the Melbourne Renegades players on a hotel roof top on Thursday.

In-form Pakistan batsman Mohammad Hafeez returned to Pakistan's 15-member squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka, starting in the United Arab Emirates, next week. Hafeez scored three centuries in four One-Day Internationals in the ongoing series against Sri Lanka.

Despite the strong anti-incumbency sentiment against the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government, the Congress neither had the strategy nor an organisation to cash in, says N D Sharma

In a new twist, a renegade Taliban militia, the Suicide Group of the Islamic Movement of Afghanistan, has taken responsibility for killing Indian author Sushmita Banerjee, claiming she was an "Indian spy".

Pune Warriors have roped in Aaron Finch as replacement for Michael Clarke for the upcoming sixth edition of the Indian Premier League.

Australia's Simon Helmot has been named as the assistant coach of the new IPL franchise Hyderabad Sunrisers for the upcoming edition of the Twenty20 league.

Australia made five changes for next week's one-off Twenty20 international against the West Indies in Brisbane.

Australian all-rounder Cameron White has slammed Cricket Australia for letting off West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels with only a reprimand, following his ugly spat with Shane Warne during a match in the Big Bash League earlier this month.

Days after he was banned for one game for clashing with Marlon Samuels, Australian spin legend Shane Warne was reported for breaching Cricket Australia's Code of Behaviour during Big Bash semi-final at the WACA Ground in Perth.