Australia's hopes of quickly rebounding from the disappointment of a losing Ashes campaign and sharing in a heightened pay day have been given a boost, with David Warner's fractured thumb on the mend. 
Warner had a X-ray on the injury on Friday, with the encouraging results meaning he is still on target to resume batting in the nets early next week. The dynamic opener had said earlier in the week that he hoped to have a bat on Monday. He has not been able to do so since he was hurt in the one-day series in England.
Warner needs to prove his fitness before the only round of Sheffield Shield matches, beginning on   October 28, before the Test squad for the series opener against New Zealand is picked. Australian coach Darren Lehmann, also a selector, said Warner would need to line up in NSW's pink-ball clash against South Australia in Adelaide to be considered for the Gabba Test, beginning on   November 5.
Warner will have a new partner for that Test, with Western Australian pair, youngster Cameron Bancroft, and veteran Shaun Marsh, firmly in the running.
A healthy Warner would also help kick-start Australia's plans to regain the world's No.1 ranking this summer - and a share in extra prizemoney.
The International Cricket Council has ratified a move to lift the prizemoney for the No.1-ranked Test team by the   April 1 cut-off to $US1 million. This is an increase of $500,000.
Australia, set to begin afresh under the stewardship of skipper Steve Smith, is ranked No.2 in the world with a rating of 106, behind South Africa (125).
It looms as a tough ask for Australia to usurp the Proteas in time, but it could be done if they secure a clean-sweep of home series against the Black Caps and the West Indies.
The Black Caps are ranked No.6 in the world but are just seven rating points behind Australia, suggesting next month's three-Test series will be a tight contest. The West Indies, however, remain one of the worst-performing nations, as they have been for more than a decade.
However, it appears Australia would also need to rely on India defeating the Proteas by at least a 2-0 margin in their four-Test series, beginning next month on the sub-continent.
England (102) and Pakistan (101), currently battling each other in the United Arab Emirates, are also jostling to lift their ranking, while India (100) is also in the mix.
Australia's hopes of breaching the gap may have been inadvertently hampered by the cancellation of the Bangladesh tour, for a series win there would have closed the gap.
Smith's team also has a Test tour of New Zealand in   February to negotiate before the ICC deadline.
Should Australia reclaim the top spot, 26 per cent of the prizemoney will directly go to the players, with the rest being poured into Australian Cricket revenue.
This differs to the World Cup, where the players alone share in the prizemoney, as they did when they won this year's blue-chip event.