Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - The Atlanta Braves have won Major League Baseball's World Series for the first time since 1995 after a 7-nil win over the Houston Astros in game six sealed the championship 4-2.

The Braves' run through the postseason included series victories over the Milwaukee Brewers and defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers before beating the favoured Astros in the best-of-seven 'Fall Classic'.

It marked the second Braves World Series title since the team moved to Atlanta from Milwaukee in 1966 and also denied the Astros a second championship in five years.

Atlanta batter Jorge Soler was named World Series MVP.

-Reuters

Covid means more changes for domestic cricket

The current Covid restrictions in the north has forced New Zealand Cricket to make more changes to their domestic schedules.

The Plunket Shield game between Auckland and Otago later this month has been postponed, while the North Districts-Canterbury game in Mt Maunganui will go ahead without Northern players from the Waikato lockdown area.

Auckland and Northern Districts have been involved in the first two rounds of the Plunket Shield.

Meanwhile next week's Hallyburton Johnstone Shield womens games between Otago and Northern Districts and Central and Auckland have been postponed.

Otago will now play the Central on 13 & 14 November at Dunedin's University of Otago Oval.

To account for matches added to the schedules, an average points per game system will be implemented to determine winners of domestic competitions, if teams impacted by Covid-19 restrictions play fewer matches than other teams.

-RNZ

Ronaldo rescues United

Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice, including a stoppage-time equaliser, as Manchester United came from behind twice to earn a 2-2 draw away to Atalanta in the Champions League.

United stay top of their group with seven points ahead of Villarreal on a superior head-to-head record after the Spanish side beat Young Boys 2-0.

Chelsea beat Malmo 1-0 in Sweden to remain second in their group, but well placed to progress.

In the same group Juventus booked their spot in the last 16 with two games to spare after beating Zenit St Petersburg 4-2.

Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick, set up another goal and missed a penalty on his 100th Champions League appearance as they crushed Benfica 5-2 to cruise into the knockout stage.

Barcelona are second in that group after beating Dynamo Kyiv 1-0.

-Reuters

Pakistan into semi-finals

Former champions Pakistan became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals of this year's Twenty20 World Cup after thrashing Namibia by 45 runs for their fourth consecutive victory in the tournament.

The Group II leaders went into the match with a perfect 3-0 record and minnows Namibia had the will but not the wherewithal to halt the Pakistan juggernaut in the one-sided Super 12 contest.

Babar Azam led by example with a classy 70 and Mohammad Rizwan smashed an unbeaten 79 to fire Pakistan to a commanding 189-2.

Namibia managed 144-5 in their reply to slump to their second defeat in three matches.

In the other group South Africa boosted their chances of reaching the semi-finals with a six-wicket rout of Bangladesh, who dropped out of the last-four race after their fourth consecutive defeat.

Fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje set up South Africa's comprehensive win, claiming three wickets apiece to bundle out Bangladesh for 84 in 18.2 overs.

South Africa suffered a mini-collapse but skipper Temba Bavuma made 31 not out to guide his team home with 39 balls to spare.

South Africa are second in Group I, ahead of Australia, after their third win in four matches and face table-toppers England in their final group match on Saturday.

-Reuters

Batters continue to prosper

Canterbury's Tom Latham has scored his second first-class century in as many games, while Otago's Nick Kelly helped keep Central Districts under pressure in their Plunket Shield match in Dunedin.

Latham backed up his century in the opening round with an unbeaten 127 not out at the Basin Reserve yesterday as the visitors declared at 230 for one, setting Wellington 449 runs to win.

Wellington will start the final day on 30 for four.

Kelly registered the third century of the Otago first innings, and the fourth of the match in Dunedin with the hosts becoming the first side to post a 500-plus total this season, having reached 542 for five for a 148-run first-innings lead heading into today's final day.

Conte takes over at Spurs

Tottenham Hotspur have named Antonio Conte as manager until mid 2023, a day after sacking Portuguese coach Nuno Espirito Santo.

Former Chelsea and Inter Milan boss Conte replaces Nuno who was fired after 17 matches in charge, with Saturday's 3-0 home defeat by Manchester United in the league his final game with Spurs.

Conte, 52, had been out of work since May when he terminated his contract at Inter having been unhappy with their plans to reduce investment and cut costs shortly after leading them to their first Serie A title in 11 years.

Spurs had topped the Premier League standings in August under Nuno after winning their opening three games but are now ninth, 10 points behind leaders Chelsea after 10 matches and five points off the Champions League qualifying places.

Conte's first game in charge will be Thursday's Conference League group stage match at home to Vitesse Arnhem.

Conte was linked with the Tottenham job in the close season when the club sought a permanent replacement following the dismissal of Jose Mourinho, but the Italian said it was too soon to take up a new role after leaving Inter.

Tottenham have been poor in attack this season, having scored nine goals in 10 league games, with key striker Harry Kane looking well below his best.

-Reuters

Vink still leads

Michael Vink will take a 34 second lead into today's fourth stage of the Tour of Southland.

Fellow Cantabrian Campbell Pithie scored a solo victory in yesterday's third stage from Riverton to Te Anau.

Vink, a two-time Tour of Southland champion, finished in the pack and now leads

He has a 34 second lead over Logan Currie with today's stage a 108km ride from Mossburn to Queenstown, which finishes with a breathtaking 6km climb up the Remarkables.

Nadal plans his comeback

Rafa Nadal is aiming to return from injury at an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi next month before playing another tournament in his buildup to the Australian Open, the world number five said.

Nadal struggled with back issues at the start of this year and pulled out of Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics. He last competed in August at the Citi Open in Washington.

He announced ahead of the U.S. Open that the injury to his left foot would rule him out for the rest of the year but said on Monday he might return at the Dec. 16-18 Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition event.

Nadal will be bidding for a men's record 21st major title at the Australian Open, which is scheduled to start on Jan. 17.

Meanwhile former world number four, Japan's Kei Nishikori has ended his season due to a back injury.

The 31-year-old, currently ranked 49th in the world, played at last month's ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells, where he lost in the second round to Dan Evans.

-Reuters

Steyn signs on with Bulls

Morne Steyn, who kicked South Africa to success in two separate series against the British & Lions, has extended his contract at Currie Cup champions the Bulls.

The 37-year-old flyhalf signed an extension to his contract until mid-2023, the Bulls said, after last month announcing his retirement from international rugby after 68 Springbok caps.

Steyn began his career at the Pretoria-based Bulls in 2003 and spent a decade there before moving to Stade Francais in Paris. He returned to Pretoria last year.

Steyn kicked a 50 metre penalty to edge the Springboks past the touring Lions in 2009 and repeated the feat in August on his return to the South Africa side for the first time in five years.

He came on as substitute in the decisive third test in Cape Town and kicked two late penalties to help the world champions win the game and the series.

-Reuters

Zlatan in Sweden squad

AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been named in the Sweden squad for their final two World Cup qualifiers away to Georgia and Spain after recovering from injury.

The 40-year-old, who has scored twice in his last three Serie A games, missed Euro 2020 with a knee injury and though he was named by coach Janne Andersson in the last Sweden squad, he was forced to pull out as he continued his rehabilitation.

He returns to a team that top Group B after six games with 15 points, two ahead of Spain. The group winners qualify directly for the finals in Qatar and the runners-up go into a second qualifying phase.

Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof was named in the squad despite picking up a knock in training on Monday.

-Reuters

Umpire stood down

English cricket umpire Michael Gough has been put in isolation for six days for breaching COVID-19 health protocols during the Twenty20 World Cup.

The 41-year-old former first-class cricketer was withdrawn from New Zealand's Super 12 clash against India on Sunday in Dubai and replaced by Marais Erasmus of South Africa.

"The Bio-Security Advisory Committee has instructed umpire Michael Gough to isolate for six days due to a breach of the event bio-security protocols," an ICC spokesperson said in a statement.

Reports in British media said he had breached his hotel 'bubble'.

Players and match officials are staying in designated hotels where their movements are monitored and they are not allowed to mingle with those outside the bubble as part of the protocols.

The world governing body did not clarify if Gough would face any further sanction for the breach.

-Reuters

England rugby players still the best paid

England rugby players will earn $134,000 each if they win all three of their autumn internationals under a revised pay deal with the governing Rugby Football Union.

Eddie Jones' men will receive around $44,000 pounds for victory, with England set to play Tonga on Saturday, Australia on Nov. 13 and world champions South Africa a week later.

The players agreed to a pay cut last season due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic but even then remained the best-paid team in world rugby.

The Telegraph reported that Tonga's players will earn $950 for the game at Twickenham.

-Reuters