Pat Cummins has been announced as the 47th Test captain of Australia with former skipper Steve Smith appointed as his deputy on Friday, ahead of the high-voltage Ashes 2021 series, starting next month.

The 28-year-old said he was honored to accept the role. However, this marks a major departure from tradition in that he will become the first fast bowler to lead the country since Ray Lindwall in 1956. He also paid tribute to his predecessor Tim Paine. For Smith, it is a return to a leadership position for the first time. However, the batter was stripped of the captaincy following the ball-tampering scandal of 2018.

Also Read: Ashes 2021: Australia announces their squad for home series

"After an interview process with a five-person selection pane and ratification from the full board of Cricket Australia. Cummins today becomes the first fast bowler to be a full-time skipper of the Australian men's Test team. Also the first bowler of any kind to captain the team since Richie Benaud," said Cricket Australia in a statement.

"His appointment comes after Tim Paine sensationally resigned from the post last week. That's following revelations of a sexting incident from 2017, leaving Australia without a captain less than three weeks out from the first Vodafone Ashes Test against England," a statement further said.

Read Also: Ben Stokes added to the Ashes squad says, "I am ready for Australia"

Pat Cummins opens up about his new role for the Ashes 2021 :

Cummins who is currently the No.1 ranked Test bowler has said he is "honored to accept the role" of the Test captain ahead of the Ashes.

"I am honored to accept this role ahead of what will be a massive Ashes summer," Cummins said in a statement. "I hope I can provide the same leadership Tim (Paine) has given the group in the past few years."

"With Steve and I as captains, a number of very senior players in this squad. And some great young talent coming through we are a strong and tightly-knit group. "This is an unexpected privilege which I am very grateful for and am very much looking forward to."

Read Also: Ashes 2021-22: Joe Root believes this player can be "massive" for England

"Pat is an outstanding player and leader," Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley said. "He has earned enormous respect from his teammates. And from all corners of the game for his attitude and achievements, both on and off the field."

Meanwhile, the first Ashes 2021 Test match between Australia and England will be contested on December 8 at The Gabba in Brisbane.

Hello and welcome to another LIVE coverage of Champions Trophy 2025 on Sportz Point. 

Today, we will cover probably the most important match of the group stage this season. This is Koushik Biswas and Payal Debnath with the Afghanistan vs Australia Champions Trophy 2025 match from the web desk. 

Last time when these two teams met, we saw one of the greatest ODI knocks from Glenn Maxwell in the ICC World Cup 2023. This is a must-win match for Afghanistan. If they lose, they will fail to qualify for the semis. 

Read Also | Champions Trophy 2025: How can Afghanistan qualify for the semi-final? Group B Scenarios

So, sit back and relax as we bring you the stats, LIVE updates, images and free commentary of the match for you. Enjoy the coverage. 

After their sensational victory over England, Afghanistan now have a shot at the semi-final berth in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. This now means we have a three-way battle for the semi-final spot between Afghanistan, Australia and South Africa. 

Group B Points table | ICC Champions Trophy

Here is how the scenarios are currently in Group B. 

We can check from the points table that South Africa are leading the Group B now with 3 points and a positive net run rate of 2.140. Meantime, Australia are following them with the same amount of points but a lesser NRR of 0.475. 

On the other hand, Afghanistan are third with 2 points and a negative NRR of -0.990 with England getting knocked out of the tournament already.

Read Also | England vs Australia ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Inglis and Aussie batters chased down biggest target of ICC ODI events

Matches left in Group B

• Australia vs Afghanistan - 28 February 2025 - Lahore
• England vs South Africa - 1st March 2025 - Karachi

How can Afghanistan qualify for semis of Champions Trophy 2025?

As per the current situation, here are the below things that can happen. 

Australia started their ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign on a winning note as they chased down the highest successful chase in tournament history. Australia chased down England's 352-run target with 15 balls remaining in the match. Jos Inglish was the star of the show with his maiden ODI ton during the chase. 

Ben Duckett dismantled the Australian bowling lineup with a recurrent breaking 165, the highest score by a better in Champions Trophy history. But, Australia ensured they made the highest successful chase in ICC Men's ODI events. Here's everything you need to know from the England vs Australia ICC Champions Trophy 2025 match.

Smith decided to bowl keeping the dew in mind

Steve Smith won the toss and decided to field first keeping the dew in mind. Ben Dwarshuis dismissed Phil Salt early in the second over. Despite a flying start to the innings, Dwarshuis was able to send back Jamie Smith for 15 in the sixth over as England found them at 43/2 after 5.2 overs.

But, then it was the partnership between Ben Duckett and Joe Root that took them to a record-breaking score. They first accumulated well to get their first fifty from 48 balls while Ben Duckett completed his fifty off 49 balls.

Root and Duckett build a solid partnership for England

Joe Root did his part by completing his fifty from 56 balls as they reached the 100-run mark for the third wicket in 94 balls. But, post his fifty, Duckett changed his gear instantly and his skill against the Aussie spinners was a masterclass from the southpaw opener.

But, after Root was trapped in front of the wicket by Adam Zampa, Ben Duckett lost support from the other end and England missed out on maybe 10 or 15 runs at the end.

Duckett's 3rd ODI ton gave England the momentum

Duckett went on to get his 100 off 95 balls, his 3rd ODI ton. Then he changed to fifth gear alongside captain Jos Buttler. Although Buttler was caught in the deep by Nathan Ellis off Glenn Maxwell, Duckett continued his slog and soon reached 150 off 134 balls.

He was finally dismissed by Marnus Labuschagne on 165 off 143 balls. Archer added a quick 21 from 10 balls to take England's total to 351/8 in the first inning.

Australia got off a flyer but lost wickets early

Just like England, Australia got a quick start but lost two wickets early. Travis Head was dismissed on 6 off 5 by Jofra Archer in the 4th over while Steven Smith was dismissed by Mark Wood for 5 in the next over. But, then, Marnus Labuschagne and Matthew Short stitched a 95-run partnership to give others a platform to chase down the total.

With both Labushcagne and Short finding the gaps easily, they reached the 100-run mark in the 15th over and kept themselves in the chase. Meantime, Short reached his fifty in 47 balls but Marnus was outfoxed by Adil Rashid on 47 off 45 balls in the 20th over.

Though it looked a bit tough for the Aussies, who had not won a game in the ICC Champions Trophy in 16 years, they had batters with immense talent in the middle order.

Carey and Inglis steadied the ship

Jos Inglis, born in England, always had the game to win games for Australia, but needed to prove that now. Meantime, they had their most in-form batter in Alex Carey and Glenn Maxwell to come as well.

Livingstone dismissed Short (63) with a sharp caught and bowled chance in the 23rd over and it was then the partnership between Inglis and Carey that took Australia near to home. For the 5th wicket, they put up 100 runs in just 78 balls while Inglis completed his fifty. Australia reached the 250-run mark in the 38th over and Carey also completed his fifty off 49 balls.

Maxwell and Inglis finished things off

However post Carey's (69) dismissal in the 42nd over, things could have gone either way but Glenn Maxwell made sure he made things easier for them. Inglis eased to his maiden ODI ton while Maxwell started hitting the ball powerplay from the other end.

In the end, it was a comfortable win for the Aussies as Inglis remained unbeaten on 120 from 86 balls while Maxwell was undefeated on 32 from 15 balls. All the English bowlers except for Adil Rashid went more than 6 runs an over and that made it hard for Jos Buttler to control the game.

Buttler accepted that the score was good from but the dew affected more than he had expected. "Both sides played well, credit to Australia. fantastic innings from Inglis. 350 is a pretty good score, but it was wet and the dew was a worry," Buttler said.

"The guys were outstanding. Matt Short played beautifully, Travis and I the only two to miss out," Australian captain Steve Smith said in the post-match presentation. 

The International Cricket Council (ICC) awards the best cricketer annually with the prestigious recognition of ICC Men's Cricketer of the year.

The cricketer with the most impactful performance becomes the recipient of the honorary award. ICC started presenting this award in 2004.

Also Read: ICC Men's Cricketer of the year winners of last ten years

ICC Men's Cricketer of the year 2024

Jasprit Bumrah is named the ICC Men's Cricketer of the year 2024. He also became the first Indian pacer to win the award.

Bumrah became the 5th Indian to win the award after Rahul Dravid (2004), Sachin Tendulkar (2010), Ravichandran Ashwin (2016) and Virat Kohli (2017, 2018).

The pacer also won the ICC men's Test Cricketer Of The Year award as well after being the standout performer for India during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, where he picked up 32 wickets.

The Indian pacer started the year with a terrific performance against England at home before he switched his attention to the T20 World Cup. 

Bumrah ended the tournament with 15 wickets and an average of 8.26 as India defeated South Africa in the final to lift the trophy.

He was adjudged as the Player Of the Tournament for his performance.

Bumrah's performance in Tests made him really stand out from the rest of the nominees. The pacer picked up 71 wickets in 13 matches, the highest by any bowler in 2024.

Who was the first player to achieve the award?

In the year 2004, ICC introduced the award and Rahul Dravid became the first cricketer to win the ICC Men's Cricketer Of The Year.

Also Read: Full List: Indians to win ICC Cricketer of the Year Award (Men's and Women's)

ICC Men's Cricketer of the year since 2004

The ICC Awards are an annual set of sports awards for international cricket, which recognize and honor the best international cricket players of the previous 12 months.

The awards were introduced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2004. Moreover, ICC has also awarded the players who have performed throughout the decade (2010-19). 

However, in this particular article, we are going to discuss the players who have won the ICC Men's Cricketer Of The Year in the last ten years.

This list includes some of the outperformers of their country like Ben Stokes, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Ashwin, Pat Cummins, and Jasprit Bumrah, etc.

Also Read: ICC Men's Cricketer of the year since 2004

ICC Men's Cricketer of the year | Last 10 years

Steve Smith | 2015

Australia batsman Steven Smith has been named as the ICC Men's Cricketer Of The Year award in the year 2015 for his phenomenal batting performance in Test cricket. 

Smith has played 13 test matches in that year, in which he aggregated 1474 runs with an impressive average of 73.70. 

The right-handed batsman has smashed 5 half-centuries and 6 centuries including a score of 215. 

Smith has so far played 114 tests, 165 ODIs, and 67 T20Is in his career and has aggregated 16,755 runs. 

For his brilliant run in tests back in the year 2015, he received the Men's Cricketer Of The Year award in that edition.

Ravichandran Ashwin | 2016

Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has named the ICC Men's Cricketer Of The Year award winner in the year 2016. 

Ashwin became only the fifth cricketer to complete 300 plus runs and more than 25 wickets in a Test series in that year.

He has had a sensational year aggregating 612 runs in Tests besides snaring 72 wickets. 

Ashwin has taken 537 Test wickets in his career and also crossed Kapil Dev's 434 wickets in tests. Moreover, Ashwin has also added 4394 runs and took 765 wickets across formats. 

For his brilliant display with both the bat and bowl, he received the award in the year 2016.

Virat Kohli | 2017

Indian former Test skipper Virat Kohli has won the ICC Men's Cricketer Of The Year award first time in 2017 for his brilliant run at international cricket.

Kohli has aggregated 1059 runs in 10 tests, while he smashed 1460 runs in 26 ODIs. 

Kohli has smashed 11 hundred including three double hundreds across formats in the year 2017. 

Meanwhile, with 299 T20I runs, Virat Kohli has aggregated 2818 runs in 2017 across formats. 

He has also registered 27,324 runs so far during his international cricket career. 

Therefore for his brilliant performance throughout the year, he has been rewarded with the ICC Men's Cricketer Of The Year award.

Virat Kohli | 2018

Yes, you read it write it's again Virat Kohli who has won the award back to back in 2017 & 2018. 

Former Indian skipper Kohli has also broken the record of Sachin Tendulkar to become the fastest to score 10000 runs in ODI cricket this year. 

Kohli has aggregated 2735 runs across formats in 2018 including 11 hundred to his name. The former Indian white-ball captain has also retained the Border Gavaskar Trophy in the same year. 

Kohli has ended the year as the number 1 batsman in Tests and ODIs. 

Therefore, he received the award from ICC as the men's cricketer of the year 2018.

Ben Stokes | 2019

England star all-rounder Ben Stokes was the main game-changer in England's maiden ODI World Cup in 2019. 

Ben Stokes in the final of the 2019 World Cup, where he scored 84 runs and helped England to win their maiden World Cup title. 

Stokes scored an unbeaten 135 to steal victory in the third Ashes Test at Headingley in August 2019. 

Moreover, in 2019 Ben Stokes aggregated 719 runs and bagged 12 wickets in 20 ODIs and smashed 821 runs, and took 22 wickets in 11 tests.

Therefore, he received the ICC Men's Cricketer Of The Year award in 2019.

Virat Kohli | 2020

Former India white-ball captain Virat Kohli has won the ICC Men's Cricketer Of The Year award for the third time in 2020. 

He has also won the ICC ODI Player Of The Decade award in the same year for his excellent run at international cricket since 2011. 

Virat has won the cricketer of the year award back in 2017 & 2018 for his brilliant performance in both years. 

He has averaged 46+ in all the forms of the game. Kohli has registered 27,324 runs so far during his international cricket career.

Therefore, he received the award for the third time in just four years.

Shaheen Shah Afridi | 2021

Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi has been named as the ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year for 2021.

The 24-year-old took 78 wickets in 36 matches at an average of 22.20 across all three formats in that year.

In nine Tests, the left-arm quick claimed 47 scalps at 17.06 apiece and picked up career-best figures of 6/51 against West Indies along the way.

In six One-Day Internationals, Afridi picked up eight wickets in six matches with his best return (3/58) coming against South Africa in April.

Afridi had a fantastic 12 months in T20 international cricket, ending the year with 23 wickets in 21 matches, which included a memorable spell against India at the ICC T20 World Cup in the UAE, taking 3/31 from his four overs. 

That performance was officially named as the ICC’s Play of the Tournament.

Despite Afridi’s 3/31, his best figures of the year came against West Indies where he returned 3/26.

Babar Azam | 2022

Former Pakistan all-format captain Babar Azam was named the men’s cricketer of the year by the International Cricket Council in 2022.

Babar led Pakistan to the finals of two T20I tournaments that year, the World Cup and Asia Cup, and scored nearly 2,600 international runs in all formats at an average of 54. Nobody else passed 2,000.

Other highlights included saving a draw in the second test against Australia in Karachi with 196, his highest test score.

Babar also got his second straight ODI men’s award that year, the first to receive consecutive awards since Virat Kohli in 2017-18 for leading Pakistan to wins in all three of its ODI series, and scoring 50 or more in eight of the nine matches.

Pat Cummins | 2023

Pat Cummins was honored with the prestigious ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year for 2023.

Cummins overcame compatriot Travis Head and India duo Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja to take this honour home.

Under Cummins' leadership, which began in late 2021, the Australian team has soared to new heights, achieving a series of significant victories that included retaining the Ashes and captaining Australia to victories in the World Test Championship and ICC Men's Cricket World Cup. 

Cummins' outstanding individual record for the year amassing 422 runs and taking 59 wickets in 24 matches.

Cummins signed off a remarkable year with his second 10-wicket haul in Test cricket. This helped Australia win the Test series against Pakistan.

Also Read: ICC AWARDS 2024: Jasprit Bumrah wins Men's Test Cricketer of the Year while Mandhana wins Women's ODI cricketer of the Year award

Jasprit Bumrah | 2024

Jasprit Bumrah was awarded the ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year in 2024 due to his outstanding performances in all formats of the game.

Bumrah also became the first Indian pacer to win the award and was instrumental in India's success in the home Test series against England and Bangladesh. 

He also played a crucial role in the T20 World Cup win for his side.

Bumrah beat tough competition from Travis Head, Joe Root and Harry Brook to win the prestigious award. 

The pacer became the 5th Indian to win the award after Rahul Dravid (2004), Sachin Tendulkar (2010), Ravichandran Ashwin (2016) and Virat Kohli (2017, 2018).

Bumrah also won the ICC men's Test Cricketer Of The Year award as well after being the standout performer for India during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, where he picked up 32 wickets.

The Indian pacer started the year with a terrific performance against England at home before he switched his attention to the T20 World Cup. 

Bumrah ended the tournament with 15 wickets and an average of 8.26 as India defeated South Africa in the final to lift the trophy.

The Indian pacer was adjudged as the Player Of the Tournament for his performance.

Bumrah's performance in Tests made him really stand out from the rest of the nominees. The pacer picked up 71 wickets in 13 matches, the highest by any bowler in 2024.