North Melbourne re-emerged as a contender to draft Ben Cousins, only to be thwarted three days ago by the club's major sponsor, Mazda.

Vice-captain the only batsman to overcome his Indian malaise against a committed New Zealand attack on the opening day of the summer.

We are really coming to the tailend of the spring now, with field sizes starting to drop away noticeably.

Australia's key players admit they would have been delighted to have left Bahrain with a draw.

Michael Clarke fell just two runs short of his ninth Test hundred when he was last man out in Australia's first innings of 214 on day one of the opening Test against New Zealand at the Gabba.

Kangaroos winger Brent Tate has been ruled out of Saturday night's Rugby League World Cup final against New Zealand with a hip injury.

Cadel Evans fears the Lance Armstrong factor could derail his chances of finally winning the Tour de France.

NRL star Greg Bird faces a three-day hearing in April next year over an alleged assault on his girlfriend which left her with a fractured eye socket.

Adelaide 36ers coach Scott Ninnis is expecting import Julius Hodge to play a big role against the Spirit in Sydney tomorrow night and against the South Dragons in Adelaide on Saturday night.

The Socceroos have acquired a resilience that sets them apart from Australian teams of the past, according to star midfielder Tim Cahill.

Buyers have put in offers of one million pounds ($2.3 million) for the house where footballer David Beckham lived as a baby, the businessman handling the sale said on Wednesday (local time).

Diego Maradona's first match as head coach of Argentina ended with a 1-0 friendly win over Scotland at Hampden Park in Glasgow this morning.

The coach of triple Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt is prepared to wait a while longer before declaring the Jamaican the world's greatest ever sprinter.

England captain John Terry's header six minutes from time sealed a 2-1 win over Germany in friendly at Berlin's Olympic Stadium this morning as Fabio Capello's weakened team beat the Euro 2008 runners-up.

Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla hit unbeaten centuries as South Africa punished Bangladesh's bowling attack on the first day of the first Test overnight in Bloemfontein.

AFL Players Association (AFLPA) chief executive Brendon Gale says he is disappointed he was not consulted about the drug testing conditions attached to Ben Cousins's return to the game.

Australia pulled off a last-gasp 1-0 victory over Bahrain in a lively Asian Zone Group One clash in Manama this morning to take another huge step closer to the 2010 World Cup finals.

Australia's Greg Inglis has foreshadowed a torrid test of high balls for New Zealand's Lance Hohaia in Saturday night's World Cup decider after the fullback was exposed by England.

Until now, Wallabies prop Ben Alexander has been able to take advantage of being the great unknown.