Australia

The quartet will take a charter flight from Hobart to Melbourne on Sunday to link up with their respective squads. However, Jhye Richardson and Marcus Harris will remain with the Test team in Hobart until the end of the fifth Test as concussion/Covid-19 stand-bys. Swepson and Neser are now set to be available for Brisbane Heat's clash against Melbourne Stars on Sunday night at the MCG.

In a late Friday match, Karatsev demonstrated why he arrived in Australia as an established member of the world's top-20, blasting 49 winners to reach his fourth ATP Tour final. Eleven months ago, the Russian was world No. 114 before bursting onto the scene at the 2021 Australian Open by becoming the first player in the Open Era to reach the semifinals on his Grand Slam main draw debut. He finally lost to Serbia's Novak Djokovic.

The nine-time Australian Open champion, who has won consecutive titles at Melbourne Park since 2019, had initially been granted a medical exemption to compete in the tournament. The 34-year-old Djokovic, winner of 20 Grand Slam titles, had earlier this week won the legal battle in his bid to remain in Australia, with a court ordering his immediate release from immigration detention.

Hosts West Indies lost by big margins to India and South Africa in the build-up and would be hoping to put their indifferent form in the warm-ups behind them when they begin their Group D engagements against Australia at the Providence Stadium. In both the warm-up games, Reifer's side failed to cross the 200-barrier but the coach said he wouldn't put much emphasis on the losses.

The Australian Border Force (ABF) had cancelled the visa of Voracova on January 6. The 38-year-old Voracova, who has already played in a warm-up tournament in Melbourne, has been detained in the same immigration hotel as Serbian world No. 1 Novak Djokovic. She is believed to have entered Australia last month with a vaccine exemption granted by Tennis Australia because she had recently contracted and recovered from Covid-19.

Australia are scheduled to play three Tests, three One-day Internationals and a one-off T20I against Pakistan beginning with the first Test from March 3 at the National Stadium in Karachi. "There may be one or two players who won't be comfortable despite the best advice we (Cricket Australia and ACA) give, and that's OK, we need to respect that," Greenberg told Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday.

Kyrgios withdrew just hours before his scheduled match against Italian world No. 36 Fabio Fognini on Monday evening. "I just want to be open and transparent with everyone, the reason I have had to pull out of Sydney is because I tested positive for COVID," said Kyrgios in a post on social media.

The reigning Australian Open champion on Monday won the legal battle in his bid to remain in Australia, with a court ordering his immediate release from immigration detention. The judge hearing the Serbian player's case ordered Djokovic be released and his passport and other travel documents returned to him, rekindling his chance to win a record 21st Grand Slam title at the upcoming Australian Open.

Thanks to Khawaja's second century in the fourth Test, Australia declared early on 265/6 in 68.5 overs, giving England a 388-run target to win. At stumps on Day 4, England were 30 for no loss. The day again belonged to 35-year-old Khawaja as he joined just five other Australian batters to score twin tons in a single Ashes Test. Hitting 10 fours and two sixes with a mix of touch and occasional force in his 138-ball essay, Khawaja made runs through an array of shots all around the wicket.

Halep will face Veronika Kudermetova of Russia in the final, after top seed Naomi Osaka of Japan withdrew from their semifinal due to an abdominal injury. "I'm really happy that I can play the final for the first tournament of the year," Halep said after her win. "I'm feeling good, and I'm happy with the way I played. I'm really happy with the way I bounced back," Halep, who struggled past Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland in a three-set quarterfinal on January 7, told wtatennis.com.