CRICKET

Cricket South Africa on Tuesday named two new caps in Gestetner Diamond Eagles all-rounder Ryan McLaren and Nashua Cape Cobras all-rounder Rory Kleinveldt for the opening series of international matches. McLaren has been included in the Standard Bank ODI squad for the MTN series against Kenya and Bangladesh as well as the Standard Bank International Pro20 against Bangladesh while Kleinveldt has been named for the latter match as well. Other surprises included stalwart Makhaya Ntini out of the one-day international (ODI) and Twenty20 (T20) squads, and fast bowler Andre Nel not included in any of the four teams.

CRICKET

Former India captain Saurav Ganguly announced on Tuesday that he will retire after the test series against Australia that starts this week. "This is going to be my last series," the 36-year-old left-hander told a packed news conference two days ahead of the first test.  "I have decided to quit. I have told my team mates before I came here. These four test matches are going to be my last. And hopefully I'll go on a winning note."  Ganguly was named in the squad for the first two tests despite being dropped for a premier domestic game, seen as a selection match, following a poor series in Sri Lanka in August.

RUGBY

Jean de Villiers’s upbringing as captain of the South African rugby team for the 2011 World Cup tournament should start in Britain next month, says former Springbok centre Robbie Fleck. Unlike some other experts, Fleck believes the strongest possible Springbok team should be sent on the three-test tour in November.

FOOTBALL

England were left sweating over captain John Terry's availability for the World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan on Saturday after the Chelsea centreback missed training on Tuesday with a sore back. Terry was one of four players to miss Fabio Capello's first session in the build-up to a match England will be expected to win comfortably before embarking on a more complicated trip to Belarus next week.

RACING

North America will be absent from next year's Formula One world championship after the Canadian Grand Prix was dropped from a revised calendar issued by the sport's governing body on Tuesday. No reason was given by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) but the race at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, a favourite with teams and sponsors, had previously been paired with the US Grand Prix in Indianapolis that was axed this year.