In today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - A host of All Blacks will play for their provincial unions this weekend.

A total of 14 players have been released for round three of the NPC.

Counties Manukau are the biggest winners, with prop Nepo Laulala and loose forwards Dalton Papalii and Hoskins Sotutu all available for the Steelers clash with Waikato on Friday night.

Tasman gain outside back pairing Leicester Fainga'anuku and Sevu Reece, while Northland will have Jack Goodhue and Ofa Tu'ungafasi and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is set to suit up for Auckland.

The others released are Dane Coles (Wellington), Folau Fakatava (Hawke's Bay), Braydon Ennor (Canterbury), Stephen Perofeta (Taranaki), Aidan Ross (Bay of Plenty) and Josh Dickson (Otago).

Experienced stars back for Tall Blacks

Two familiar faces return for the Tall Blacks ahead of a pair of important World Cup qualifying games at the end of this month.

Head coach Pero Cameron has named senior players Isaac Fotu and Reuben Te Rangi in the New Zealand squad for a preparation camp and two friendly games in Japan this week.

Those fixtures would be followed by the World Cup qualifiers against Saudi Arabia in Damman on August 25 and then Jordan in Auckland on August 29.

Classy forward Fotu was set to add plenty to the squad, with 65 international caps to his name.

"My last game for the Tall Blacks was in the 2019 World Cup, just before all this covid stuff happened, which meant I couldn't travel from the country I was in," he said.

"I'm just happy to be back, especially with Reuben also coming back and all these talented young guys I've seen playing this year - I'm just excited to play for the Tall Blacks again."

Along with Fotu and Te Rangi, the squad for Japan represented a blend of players from previous campaigns this year and a trio of athletes new to the national team environment.

Last month, a young Tall Blacks group picked up the bronze medal at the Asia Cup in Jakarta.

The team for the pair of World Cup qualifiers would include players from the Japan tour, alongside others from outside that squad.

Tall Blacks squad: Benjamin Gold, Carlin Davison, Dion Prewster, Ethan Rusbatch, Flynn Cameron, Isaac Fotu, Jordan Hunt, Jordan Ngatai, Nikau McCollough, Reuben Te Rangi, Sam Dempster, Shea Ili, Taki Fahrensohn.

Liverpool draw again

Liverpool forward Luis Diaz cancelled out Wilfried Zaha's opener for Crystal Palace as the teams drew 1-1 in the Premier League at Anfield, with Reds striker Darwin Nunez sent off for a head-butt on his home debut.

Liverpool dominated the opening half but it was Zaha who broke the deadlock, stunning the home crowd with a brilliant finish to a counter-attack in the 32nd minute.

It marked the sixth league game in a row in which Liverpool had conceded the first goal, although they had over 75% possession in the first half and a whopping 17 attempts, albeit with only three on target.

Nunez could have put Liverpool level just before the break, but his scuffed effort came back off the far post and Virgil van Dijk failed to connect properly with the rebound.

Nunez sent off on his home debut in the 57th minute, but they drew level straight afterwards through Luis Diaz.

Liverpool are 12th on the table with 2 points, Palace are 16th with 1 point.

Manchester City and Arsenal are the only 2 teams with maximum points after 2 rounds.

-Reuters

Tuchel and Conte charged

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel and his Tottenham Hotspur counterpart Antonio Conte have been charged by the Football Association following their confrontation after yesterday's heated Premier League draw at Stamford Bridge.

The two managers shook hands after a 2-2 draw where tempers flared but then faced off on the pitch before being separated by players and staff from both teams.

Both managers were also shown red cards by referee Anthony Taylor as a result of the fracas.

The FA is also investigating Tuchel's comments after the German coach slammed Taylor for his decisions.

Tuchel accused Taylor and the Video Assistant Referee of making wrong decisions which ultimately helped Spurs come away from Stamford Bridge with a point.

At his post-match news conference, Tuchel rued the "huge misinterpretation of situations" and said it "would be better" if Taylor was no longer involved in officiating Chelsea's matches.

An online petition calling for Taylor to not be handed Chelsea games in the future was launched by fans shortly after the match and it has already received more than 122,000 signatures.

While Tuchel and Conte were involved in a heated exchange, the two managers were relatively calm after the game and said they had no hard feelings.

-Reuters

All Blacks rise in rankings

The All Blacks climb one spot to fourth, while the Wallabies drop to seventh in the latest world men's rugby rankings.

The All Blacks 35-23 win over the Springboks at Ellis Park has resulted them in overtaking England for fourth spot.

Ireland remain number one from France and South Africa.

The Wallabies record 48-17 loss to Argentina has resulted in them dropping another spot.

Dave Rennie's men were soundly beaten on the day and saw them tie their lowest ever ranking as Scotland leapfrogged the Wallabies, who lost 1.65 rankings points in San Juan.

Despite their impressive win, Los Pumas remain in ninth place.

1 (1) Ireland 90.03

2 (2) France 89.41

3 (3) South Africa 87.78

4 (5) New Zealand 87.76

5 (4) England 86.25

6 (7) Scotland 81.93

7 (6) Australia 81.65

8 (8) Wales 81.28

9 (9) Argentina 80.97

10 (10) Japan 77.74

Another T20 league likely to cause problems

Organisers of a new Twenty20 league in the United Arab Emirates are working with their counterparts in Australia and South Africa to minimise the impact of scheduling clashes with their competitions.

The International League T20, which launches in January, will be the second most lucrative Twenty20 tournament after the trend-setting Indian Premier League in terms of player remuneration.

The inaugural edition of the six-team competition, however, coincides with another new Twenty20 league in South Africa, Cricket Australia's Big Bash League and the Bangladesh Premier League.

Mubashshir Usmani, general secretary of the Emirates Cricket Board, said the Jan. 6 to Feb. 12 window for the tournament had been selected because it presented "optimal playing conditions in the UAE".

Media reports in Australia said Cricket Australia might block Chris Lynn, who was among the first of list of marquee names released by ILT20 last week, from joining the league by denying the big-hitting batsman the necessary clearance.

Among the other marquee players announced by the ILT20 were England internationals Moeen Ali, Dawid Malan and Chris Jordan as well as West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell and Afghan bowler Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

The owners of the Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals teams in the IPL have purchased ILT20 franchises.

-Reuters

Cameron Smith withdraws from BMW Championship

Open Championship golf winner Cameron Smith has withdrawn from this week's BMW Championship with hip discomfort.

The Australian, ranked No. 3 in the FedEx Cup standings, tied for 13th at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis on Sunday, the first of the PGA Tour's three playoff events.

"He has been dealing with some on and off hip discomfort for several months, and thought it best to rest this week in pursuit of the FedEx Cup," Smith's agent, Bud Martin, said in a statement released by the PGA Tour.

Smith, winner at St Andrews last month and ranked No. 3 in the world, will easily qualify for next week's season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta.

He ranks third in the FedEx Cup race behind St. Jude winner Will Zalatoris and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, but will likely fall several spots in the standings by missing the BMW Championship that begins Thursday at Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Del.

Smith is reportedly considering leaving the PGA Tour to sign a nine-figure deal with the rival LIV Golf Invitational series

-Reuters

Griner appeals sentence

Brittney Griner's attorneys are appealing the WNBA star's nine-year prison sentence in Russia.

The Phoenix Mercury center received the sentence on Aug. 4 after being found guilty of drug smuggling and possession charges, six months after her airport arrest with vape cartridges containing cannabis oil.

Russian news services quoted attorney Maria Blagovolina as saying the appeal had been filed. Under Russian law, the defense team had 10 days to do so after the sentencing. Grounds for the appeal were not immediately clear.

Griner's defense team said after her conviction that the sentencing was excessive. Defendants in similar cases received an average sentence of five years and about one-third were granted parole, they argued.

Griner admitted to bringing a small amount of hashish oil into the country in mid-February as she returned to her Russian basketball team. She said she packed the drug, which was medically prescribed for pain, by mistake and didn't try to break Russian laws.

-Reuters

Roglic to ride Vuelta

Three-times winner Primoz Roglic will race the final Grand Tour of the season, the Vuelta a Espana, despite suffering serious injuries in last month's Tour de France.

Roglic suffered a dislocated shoulder and a back injury when he crashed in the fifth stage of the Tour de France and abandoned the race before the 15th stage to focus on his recovery.

The Jumbo-Visma rider will launch a bid to become the first rider to win the Vuelta a Espana four times in a row when it begins in Utrecht on Aug. 19.

Meanwhile the former Tour de France and Giro d'Italia winner Egan Bernal will return to racing in the Tour of Denmark this week, eight months after a training crash in his native Colombia almost left him paralysed.

His Ineos Grenadiers team said the 25-year-old had passed a final fitness assessment over the weekend ahead of the five-stage race.

-Reuters

Australia wants cricket at the Olympics

Cricket Australia have targeted the inclusion of the sport at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics as part of a strategic plan to expand participation and maintain the game's position at the heart of the country's sporting culture.

The ambitious "Where the Game Grows" plan released on Monday aims to double the number of children aged five to 12 playing the game to 210,000 over the next five years, with girls making up 60,000 of that tally.

Another of the targets is to get cricket back into the Olympics for the first time since 1900 - if that goal has not already been achieved at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

Cricket has been shortlisted for possible inclusion at the 2028 Olympics along eight other sports and the International Cricket Council will make a presentation to organisers later this month.

The host city can include any sport but needs the approval of the International Olympic Committee.

Women's Twenty20 cricket made its Commonwealth Games debut in Birmingham last month with Australia beating India by nine runs in the final to claim the inaugural gold medal.

Brisbane has plans to rebuild the city's Gabba cricket ground as a 50,000-seater Olympic Stadium to host the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2032 Games.

-Reuters

Murray to play Davis Cup

Three-times Grand Slam champion Andy Murray has been included in Britain's team for the group stage of the Davis Cup Finals in mid-September.

The British team will be made up of Murray, world number 11 Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans and Joe Salisbury, with a fifth player to be added to the squad later.

Britain will face the United States, Kazakhstan and the Netherlands in Group D of the tournament, with matches scheduled to take place at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow from Sept. 13-18.

Murray, who led Britain to their first Davis Cup title for 79 years in 2015, last played in the competition in 2019 when he beat Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor.

The 35-year-old has lost his opening matches at the Canadian Masters and Citi Open in recent weeks and bowed out in the second round of Wimbledon last month, but finished runner-up at the ATP 250 event in Stuttgart in June.

-Reuters