Australia captain Pat Cummins is "hugely unlikely" to be fit for the Champions Trophy, leaving the world champions pondering their captaincy options.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Australia captain Pat Cummins is all but ruled out of the Champions Trophy while fellow paceman Josh Hazlewood is also a doubt for the ODI tournament, coach Andrew McDonald said on Wednesday.

Australia captain Pat Cummins is "heavily unlikely" for the Champions Trophy because of his ankle issue. Steven Smith and Travis Head are in the frame to captain, while Josh Hazlewood is also battling to make it on time,

Deadly floodwaters triggered by record rainfall in Australia’s northeast rose for a third day Monday as authorities warned flood-stricken communities to brace themselves for further destruction.

A second woman is confirmed to have died in flooding which has inflicted "incredible" devastation on communities in northern Australia. Police said the 82-year-old woman's body was found in a cane paddock in Queensland on Tuesday, two days after a 63-year-old woman died when a dinghy she was in overturned during a rescue attempt.

Record-breaking floods across north Queensland have now turned deadly, with one woman drowning while being rescued on Sunday morning. And the floodwaters are still rising, with rain set to continue.

The surface for the second Test in Galle appears substantially drier than the track used for the first match, which Australia won by a massive margin

Former Sri Lanka test skipper Dimuth Karunaratne will retire from the format after his 100th match, the final test of Sri Lanka's two-test series against Australia in Galle on Thursday.

Veteran Sri Lanka opener Dimuth Karunaratne is set to retire from Test cricket after his 100th Test match, which starts in Galle vs Australia.