As it happens: Aus v SA, T3, D1

Final farewell ... Ricky Ponting will play his final Test in Perth. Source: Daniel Wilkins / News Limited

Be part of history as one of Australia's greatest ever cricketers plays in his final Test match at the WACA.

The stakes couldn't be higher as Australia and South Africa lock horns with the number one Test ranking on the line and the great Ricky Ponting to honour.

If you can't get to the ground or to a TV screen you can still stay across every ball by joining us on Friday for day one of the third Test with our live and interactive blog starting from 12.30pm (EDT).

Don't miss a ball - bookmark this page and return at 12.30pm (EDT) Friday for what shapes as an enthralling day one of a pivotal Test match.

23.33 | 0 komentar | Read More

Power post shocking $4mill loss

Financial disaster ... Port Adelaide post an operating loss of $4 million in 2012. Source: Simon Cross / News Limited

Port Adelaide's year from hell in the AFL took a savage financial toll, with the beleaguered club recording a staggering loss of more than $4 million.

The Power blame the consolidated operating loss of $4.12 million on their poor onfield results.

Port's grant of $2 million from the SANFL cut their final operation loss to $2,117,071.

"This result is a long way from where we want to be,'' said Power chief executive Keith Thomas.

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player.

"This year started positively, but early losses - albeit against some very good teams - quickly again impacted on our corporate, membership and game day returns.

"Coming off a very poor 2011, we feared further underperformance would have an adverse effect on the key revenue streams of sponsorship and membership.

"Unfortunately that's how it turned out.''

Port only managed five wins and a draw, finishing 14th, and they sacked their coach Matthew Primus during the season.

There were also several changes at board level, with television personality David Koch taking over as president and former federal senator Amanda Vanstone also becoming a club director.

The club was also rocked by the tragic death of player John McCarthy two months ago in Las Vegas while on an end-of-season trip.

Thomas stressed Port's financial problems were due to revenue issues, adding that they had kept costs under control.

"It is very clear you cannot compete in the AFL without investing in footy and doing everything you can to stay in touch with the bigger clubs,'' he said.

"We have put in place what we believe is an outstanding football structure for next year and beyond, led by our (new) senior coach Ken Hinkley.''

23.33 | 0 komentar | Read More

Aussie sevens teams eye Dubai glory

On the charge ... Pama Fou (C) is one of the few Aussie boys returning from the Gold Coast. Source: AAP

Dubai plays host to the second of nine legs in the men's IRB Sevens World Series this Friday and Saturday, and it's also the start of the Women's World Series.

Australia is represented in both the men's and women's draw as the world's top sevens talent continue the long build-up to the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

Just like his Wallabies counterpart Robbie Deans, Aussie Sevens Coach Michael O'Connor has also had his share of bad luck on the injury front.

Senior players like Captain Ed Jenkins and Jesse Parahi have been ruled out along with playmakers Alan Fa'alava'au, Lewis Holland, Jacob Taylor and league convert Shannon Walker.

In fact 12 of the 22 contracted Sevens players are on the injured list, so O'Connor's job this week in Dubai and next week in Port Elizabeth is not an enviable one as he tries to make a bunch of youngsters competitive.

He has five 19-year-olds in the 12-man touring squad. Just four players, Sean McMahon, Will Miller, Jordan Tuapou and Pama Fou are backing up from the opening event on the Gold Coast in October.

Greg Jeloudev, Damon Anderson and Cameron Clark are returning from injury, while Junior Laloifi, Peter Lee, Nick Malouf and Jack Grant are set to make their debut.

Con Foley will captain the side in Jenkins's absence and while the team has a development feel about it, they do have what appears to be a favourable draw.

Australia are in Pool D with France, Canada and the USA, so if the youngsters can click from the outset they have a good chance of at least advancing through to the top  eight and the Cup quarter-finals on day two.

It will be valuable experience for the young men and hopefully O'Connor will have a full squad to choose from when the series heads to Wellington in February, followed by Las Vegas, Hong Kong, Tokyo, England, Scotland.

Then it's onto Moscow for the Sevens World Cup next June.

Meanwhile, Dubai is the first of four tournaments in the new Women's World Series. Australia coach Chris Lane has also named a new-look side with four uncapped players included. The experienced Rebecca Tavo will captain the team.

12 nations will compete with Australia in the same pool as the Netherlands, France and the United States.

Catch live coverage of the day two action on Fox Sports from 4pm (EDT) Saturday.

23.33 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bottas gets Williams seat

Driver change ... Valtteri Bottas and Pastor Maldonado will pilot Williams cars in 2013. Source: Greg Wood / News Limited

Finalnd's Valtteri Bottas attempted to lower expectation levels after being named as the replacement for Bruno Senna in the Williams Formula One team next season.

Bottas, a test driver for Williams since 2010, will join Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado next season after the British team announced their driver line-up for 2013 on Wednesday.

Driver		Team	Pts
1	Sebastian Vettel (GER)	Red Bull	281
2	Fernando Alonso (ESP)	Ferrari	278
3	Kimi Raikkonen (FIN)	Lotus	207
4	Lewis Hamilton (GBR)	McLaren	190
5	Jenson Button (GBR)	McLaren	188
6	Mark Webber (AUS)	Red Bull	179
7	Felipe Massa (BRA)	Ferrari	122
8	Romain Grosjean (FRA)	Lotus	96
9	Nico Rosberg (GER)	Mercedes	93
10	Sergio Perez (MEX)	Sauber	66
11	Nico Hulkenburg (GER)	Force India	63
12	Kamui Kobayashi (JPN)	Sauber	60
13	Michael Schumacher (GER)	Mercedes	49
14	Paul di Resta (GBR)	Force India	46
15	Pastor Maldonado (VEN)	Williams	45
16	Bruno Senna (BRA)	Williams	31
17	Jean Eric Vergne (FRA)	Toro Rosso	16
18	Daniel Ricciardo (AUS)	Toro Rosso	10
19	Vitaly Petrov (RUS)	Carterham	0
20	Timo Glock (GER)	Marussia F1	0
21	Charles Pic (FRA)	Marussia F1	0
22	Heikki Kovalainen (FIN)	Carterham	0
23	Jerome d'Ambrosio (BEL)	Lotus	0
24	Narain Karthikeyan (IND)	HRT F1	0
25	Pedro de la Rosa (ESP)	HRT F1	0

Williams team principal Frank Williams described the 23-year-old Bottas as "quite simply one of the most talented young racing drivers I have come across" in a team statement, saying he expected "great things" from him in the future.

However, Bottas said it might be the second half of next season when he starts to show what he is capable of.

"I had a little factory talk with Frank and I said to him "thanks for the pressure", Bottas said in a conference call.

"Being successful in the future is my own goal and I want to compete against the best in the world and one day be the world champion.

"Pastor is going to be a really strong team mate. It's his third season in the Williams car. If in the second part of the season I can match him or better him it would be really nice but I have a lot to learn."

While he will be a rookie, Bottas will be no stranger to the Williams set-up, having been given the use of Senna's car on Fridays at most of this season's races.

A protege of McLaren's double world champion Mika Hakkinen, he has been groomed by Williams over the past two years and his lap times during practise sessions have turned heads.

"I have been in most of the Friday sessions and that has been perfect preparation and gave me a chance to prove what I could do in the car," Bottas said.

"I'm really happy the team gave me the opportunity for that."

The accident-prone Maldonado was rewarded for winning this season's Spanish grand prix, the team's first race victory since 2004, with a third year at the team.

"In Pastor and Valtteri we have two of the most exciting talents in motor racing and I am especially excited about what 2013 can bring for Williams," Williams said in a statement.

"Pastor has always demonstrated remarkable pace and this year has seen him mature as a racing driver. Valtteri is quite simply one of the most talented young racing drivers I have come across and we expect great things from him in the future."

Bottas was even being linked to McLaren as a possible replacement for departing 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton.

"It has always been my life-long dream to compete in the Formula One world championship," he said.

"To do so with one of the most legendary teams in the sport is incredibly special."

23.33 | 0 komentar | Read More

Roar's ACL participation in doubt

In doubt ... the Roar don't have an automatic spot in the Asian Champions League. Source: Jono Searle / News Limited

Brisbane Roar's participation in next year's Asian Champion's League is in the balance after the A-League was stripped of one of its automatic allocations in the competition.

The Asian Football Confederation on Wednesday announced the A-League would be left with one automatic spot and a qualifying position - a decision made at an AFC executive committee meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

The 2013 allocation compares to previous years where the A-League was given two automatic spots plus an additional qualifying position.

The Roar secured their spot in the 2013 champions league competition by defeating Perth Glory in the 2011-12 A-League grand final.

However, due to the first allocation being given to the premiers, Central Coast Mariners, the Roar will now be subject to a qualifying campaign to confirm their spot.

The rule change also eliminates the possibility of a fairytale run from the third placed A-League side - a feat accomplished by Adelaide United in the 2012 Champions League, where they were knocked out in a thrilling quarter-final clash with Uzbekistan club side Bunyodkor.

In a statement released by Football Federation Australia on Thursday night, Head of the A-League, Damien de Bohun, said the AFC's decision was disappointing.

"It's important for us to maintain a strong presence in the ACL through the Central Coast Mariners' direct participation and the strong prospect of Brisbane Roar also qualifying," de Bohun said.

"Our real focus and that of our Clubs this year is the Hyundai A-League, the consolidation of the 10-team competition and continuing to build on the exciting start to this season."

23.33 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pup: What will I do without Ricky?

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player.

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player.

Leaders ... Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke have been through a lot together. Source: Phil Hillyard / News Limited

This is one of the toughest days of my cricket career.

To stand in a room at the team hotel with all the players and support staff and listen to Ricky Ponting say this will be his last Test made me feel numb.

Ricky struggled to finish what he was saying and we were all equally emotional.

I felt the same way at my press conference after training and struggled at times to talk about him.

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player.

Ricky is the last player in the team who began before me. He has been such a huge presence in Australian cricket it's going to feel strange walking out to play Sri Lanka next month without him in the team.

I believe that Ricky is one of the greatest players ever to represent Australia and the best batsman I played with.

He has done so much for cricket not only in this country but around the world.

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player.

As far as I'm concerned his greatness is not just measured in statistics and achievements, as magnificent as they are.

Greatness to me is longevity. To be able to ride the highs and the lows and he's certainly done that.

There are so many moments in matches, so many highlights which show what a great player he was, but for me he exemplified the model cricketer with what he did off the field.

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player.

Every day he turned up to training wanting to get better. Ricky Ponting never just went through the motions. Of all the hundreds of training sessions I spent with him I never saw him waste a moment.

He left no stone unturned to be the best player he could be day after day and it showed in his performances.

He did so much the world never saw.

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player.

The time he gives his team mates, the advice he offers, the help he gives you at training, he picks you up when you are down, he gives you a kick up the backside when you need a kick up the backside.

As a leader I learnt a lot from him. The one thing that sticks in the front of my mind is that Punter always said to me you've got to make sure you're leading from the front and scoring plenty of runs.

He made it clear that was the easiest way to earn the respect of your tea mates.

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player.

That's the one thing he did as a captain. He was always one of the best performers.

His dedication to the game of cricket is unbelievable. He loves the game as much as anyone I've played with.

To me Ricky's as much Mr Cricket as Mike Hussey. Not only does he know who's performing well in international cricket, he knows how my club team has gone on the weekend.

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player.

A lot of people has asked me what it was like becoming captain with Ricky still in the team after long and success leadership career.

It's been great. He's supported me like no other.

He's always been there for me whether it's on the field or off the field.

There hasn't been one day where there has been any sort of discomfort. It's been the opposite.

I think our friendship has grown throughout my career. Being vice-captain under him for a couple of years certainly played a big part in that.

He gave me a good insight into what it was like to captain Australia. His door is always open and I think out friendship is well and truly beyond the game of cricket.

Cricket will be the poorer if Ricky does not stay involved somehow.

Cricket Australia must do everything in their power to keep him involved for as long as we can.

For all that he has done Ricky deserves a fairytale finish. It would be great if he walked out and scored a hundred where he made his Test debut 17 years ago, Australia win the Test match and we go back to being the number one team in the world.

Ricky's retirement has given us more inspiration to give him the farewell he deserves.

23.33 | 0 komentar | Read More