Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - Pace bowler Rosemary Mair has been forced out of the White Ferns tour of England with injury.

The Central Hinds player has a bone stress reaction in her left shin.

She'll be replaced in the 16-player squad by Auckland Hearts seamer Molly Penfold who receives her maiden White Ferns call-up.

Head Coach Bob Carter said the news comes as a blow while the team prepare to depart.

"It's very unfortunate news for Rosemary who's started to form a key part of our bowling attack in recent times," he said.

"Rosemary is naturally gutted she can't tour but we wish her well with the injury and look forward to having her back on the park soon."

The White Ferns leave for England on Friday and will play three T20's and five ODI's against England.

Watene-Zelesniak latest Warrirs suspension

Winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak has become the third Warrior suspended following seperate incidents with the same Sharks player last weekend.

Watene-Zelezniak copped a one-game ban - and 40 carryover points - for grade-one contrary conduct having kneed Sharks centre Will Chambers in the head while fighting to play the ball on Saturday.

He'll miss this weekend's game against Canterbury in Brisbane.

Chambers had been riling up the Warriors with incessant sledging and niggling, but Watene-Zelezniak insisted he did not intend to hurt the veteran centre in the 42nd minute of an 18-16 win.

Warriors prop Kane Evans, who punched Chambers after being incensed by his verbal baiting, has already accepted a one-match ban.

And fellow front-rower Matt Lodge will serve two weeks (due to loading) for a careless high tackle on the Cronulla antagonist.

Bennett changes teams

New Zealand pro cyclist George Bennett has changed teams and now has the job of supporting the world number one ranked rider.

After seven years with the Dutch Jumbo-Visma team, Bennet will join up with UAE Team Emirates in 2022 on a two-year deal.

Bennett has helped Primož Roglič to back-to-back Vuelta a España titles and a Tour de France podium last year. However, he will now switch to the team of Roglič's compatriot and rival, Tadej Pogačar, who has won the past two editions of the Tour de France.

Bennett turned professional with the Radioshack squad in 2012 and spent a year at Cannondale in 2014 before joining Jumbo-Visma, where his development accelerated.

He placed 10th at the 2016 Vuelta and, after winning the 2017 Tour of California, rode an impressive Tour de France before abandoning through illness.

The 31-year-old is the latest in a string of recruits for UAE Team Emirates since the transfer window opened last week, following fellow Grand Tour candidates Joao Almeida from Deceuninck-QuickStep and Marc Soler from Movistar.

Fellow Nelsonian Finn Fisher-Black left Jumbo-Visma for UAE Team Emirates earlier this season.

Cricket at the Olympics?

The International Cricket Council is preparing a bid for the game's inclusion in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Cricket last featured in the 1900 Olympics in Paris and has rarely been played in other multi-sport events, which many believe is essential for the game's growth outside the Commonwealth nations.

"Our sport is united behind this bid, and we see the Olympics as a part of cricket's long-term future," ICC chair Greg Barclay said in a statement.

"We have more than a billion fans globally and almost 90 percent of them want to see cricket at the Olympics."

Cricket's 92% following is from South Asia where it is the dominant sport in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.

Barclay said including the game in the 2028 Games would be welcomed by the 30 million cricket fans in the United States.

"We believe cricket would be a great addition to the Olympic Games, but we know it wonG��t be easy to secure our inclusion as there are so many other great sports out there wanting to do the same," the New Zealander said.

Cricket was played at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and a women's tournament will be held at next year's Games in Birmingham.

-Reuters

Rashford has surgery

Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford has successfully undergone surgery on his shoulder.

The 23-year-old, who was hampered by the injury during the second part of last season, confirmed on Twitter that the procedure went well.

"Thank you for all the well wishes. I had my surgery on Friday morning and everything went very well. A little sore but other than that I'm feeling good..." he tweeted.

Rashford is set to be out for up to 12 weeks and miss a chunk of United's league campaign and the Champions League group stage, with the club saying that it remains to be seen when he will return to action.

The forward initially put off the surgery in order to play for England at Euro 2020, where he made five substitute appearances for the Three Lions, who lost to Italy in the final.

Manchester United, who finished second last season, host Leeds United in their opening Premier League game this weekend.

-Reuters

Boks make 10 changes

South Africa made 10 changes to their side to kick-off the Rugby Championship against Argentina in Port Elizabeth this weekend, with hooker Joseph Dweba to debut and players who did not feature against the British & Irish Lions given a run.

Coach Jacques Nienaber says they do not mean to "disrespect" Argentina with the changes from the team that won the Lions series 2-1, but with five test matches on consecutive weekends, there is a concern over player welfare after the Springboks did not play for 20 months following their 2019 World Cup triumph.

Elton Jantjies has taken over at flyhalf, with the hero from Sunday's 19-16 win over the Lions, Morne Steyn, among the replacements. Cobus Reinach has retained his place at scrumhalf.

Jesse Kriel and Frans Steyn make up the centre-pairing, while the back three contain wings Sbu Nkosi and Aphelele Fassi, and fullback Damian Willemse.

It is all change in the front row of the scrum with Dweba and props Wilco Louw and Ox Nche, but the locks are the same with Lood de Jager and Eben Etzebeth to feature.

The back row is made up of captain Siya Kolisi, fellow flank Kwagga Smith and number eight Jasper Wiese.

Nienaber confirmed that key loose-forward Pieter-Steph du Toit will be out "for some time" after undergoing shoulder surgery following an injury picked up in the second Lions test.

-Reuters

Eriksen comforts girl facing surgery

Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen has recorded a touching video to reassure a nine-year-old girl who is due to undergo the same operation he had after collapsing while playing at Euro 2020.

The Inter Milan player suffered a cardiac arrest during his country's opening game of the tournament, against Finland, and received life-saving treatment on the pitch.

He later had an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) device implanted, a type of pacemaker which can prevent fatal cardiac arrests by discharging a jolt to restore a regular heart rhythm.

The 29-year-old received a letter from Evie before she was due to have an ICD fitted in London, and his response was shared by her mother Nicci Martin on Facebook after a campaign through the platform to reach Eriksen for support after hearing about his operation.

"I am sure you will get back to normal life very quickly afterwards, I know I did. I am sure it will be the same with you."

Martin said on Facebook her daughter, who "has a huge phobia of needles, cannulas and blood", was a fan of Eriksen's former club Tottenham Hotspur and was a keen soccer player herself.

Eriksen returned to the Inter training ground for the first time since his collapse last week, when a club statement said he was "in excellent physical and mental shape".

His playing career remains unclear, though, as he will not be allowed to play in Italy unless the ICD device is removed.

-Reuters