Latest - Leicester City moved up to second in the English Premier League after a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Leicester will remain second overnight with Everton, level on points with them, not playing their home match against Manchester City after it was postponed following more positive Covid-19 cases at City.
Leicester dominated the bulk of the game but failed to take their chances and missed a first half penalty while striker Jamie Vardy only came on as a second half substitute.
Palace made it 1-0 just before the hour mark when Andros Townsend floated a cross to the far post for Wilfried Zaha to volley home from an acute angle.
However, Harvey Barnes equalised when he scored his second goal in as many games, driving a low effort from the edge of the box past the outstretched arm of Guaita in the 83rd minute.
Palace's winless run in the league has now extended to five games and they remain 13th.
Aston Villa grabbed a 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Oliver Giroud's first-half header was cancelled out shortly after the break by Anwar El Ghazi.
The result means Villa and Chelsea sit in fifth and sixth place on the table.
Meanwhile the postponement of the Manchester City-Everton game is the second this season after an outbreak at Newcastle United forced the league to call off their match at Aston Villa this month.
City, sixth in the league table, are scheduled to travel to play Chelsea on Sunday.
-Reuters
Kohli and Perry win Decade Awards
India captain Virat Kohli topped two men's categories and Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perry swept the women's honours in the International Cricket Council's "Awards of the Decade."
Ellyse Perry Photo: Photosport
Kohli was declared the best male player of the decade, as well as the top ODI player. Prolific Australia batsman Steve Smith bagged the test award to deny Kohli a clean sweep.
Perry was adjudged the best woman player as well as the premier ODI and Twenty20 player.
Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan was named the best male Twenty20 cricketer of the decade and former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni bagged the spirit of cricket award.
A nomination panel shortlisted the candidates based on their performances between January, 2011 and October, 2020. and the winners were decided by votes from fans and experts.
List of ICC awards:
Male Cricketer of the Decade: Virat Kohli (India)
Female Cricketer of the Decade: Ellyse Perry (Australia)
Men's Test Cricketer of the Decade: Steve Smith (Australia)
Men's ODI Cricketer of the Decade: Virat Kohli (India)
Women's ODI Cricketer of the Decade: Ellyse Perry (Australia)
Men's T20I Cricketer of the Decade: Rashid Khan (Afghanistan)
Women's T20I Cricketer of the Decade: Ellyse Perry (Australia)
Men's Associate Cricketer of the Decade: Kyle Coetzer (Scotland)
Women's Associate Cricketer of the Decade: Kathryn Bryce (Scotland)
Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (India)
-Reuters
Peterson hits form
The Auckland Hearts and Otago Volts have won their respective games in the SuperSmash T20 double-header in Alexandra.
Anna Peterson Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The Hearts sprang back into life after their stinging opening round defeat at the hands of Wellington on Christmas Eve, beating hosts the Otago Sparks by 37 runs.
White Fern Anna Peterson hit form with 68 from just 50 balls for Auckland.
Meanwhile 20 year old Otago batsmant Llew Johnson hit 72 from 44 balls as they beat the Auckland Aces by 45 runs in the men's game.
Matt Bacon took three wickets as Auckland were dismissed in the last over in their chase for 220 runs.
Otago host Canterbury in another double-header in Alexandra today.
Stalemate in A-League opener
The opening game of the new A-League football season between Western United and Adelaide United has ended in a 0-0 draw in Geelong.
Adelaide forwards Tomi Juric and Ben Halloran came closest to breaking the stalemate, watching their shots swiped off the goal-line, while returning Western United captain Alessandro Diamanti thrilled the returning faithful and proved to once again be the home side's danger man.
Five Adelaide players made their first competition starts for the club and six of the starting XI were aged 23 or younger.
Mark Rudan fielded a more familiar line-up, with eight players named that started in the 2020 Semi-Final four months ago.
The Wellington Phoenix play champions Sydney FC in their opening game in Wollongong on Saturday.
-A-League
Proteas fight back
Faf du Plessis made a career-best 199 as South Africa prospered in the first test against Sri Lanka with a massive first-innings score of 621 and a lead of 160 on day three.
Sri Lanka closed on 65 for two in their second innings with Kusal Mendis (33 not out) and Dinesh Chandimal (21 not out) at the crease.
Home seamer Lungi Ngidi (2-28) picked up both wickets to fall, bowling captain Dimuth Karunaratne (6) with a delivery that kept low, before Kusal Mendis (0) edged to slip.
Earlier Sri Lanka had toiled in the field as injuries severely hampered their bowling attack, with seamer Kasun Rajitha managing only 2.1 overs, fellow quick Lahiru Kumara forced off early and Hasaranga limping along after a sliding save on the boundary.
They had started the innings without spinner Dhananjaya de Silva, who suffered a thigh injury while batting and has been ruled out for two weeks.
South Africa had resumed on 317 for four, with Du Plessis and Temba Bavuma (71) sharing a record fifth-wicket stand for the team against Sri Lanka of 179.
-Reuters
Taylor heading to England
The New Zealand rugby league player Elijah Taylor has signed with English SuperLeague club Salford on a two-year contract.
Elijah Taylor of the Kiwis New Zealand Kiwis against Scotland in Christchurch. Photo: Photosport
The 30-year-old was most recently co-captain at Wests Tigers and has made close to 200 NRL appearances.
He started his career with the Warriors in 2011.
The forward has make 11 appearances for the Kiwis.
Taylor will have familiar faces among his teammates in Tui Lolohea, Sebastine Ikahihifo and Krisnan Inu - with the latter extending his stay at the club on Christmas Day.
Red Devils head coach Richard Marshall said: "Elijah has the quality to have a massive impact on this team with his actions on and off the field.
-Reuters
Neymar party to go ahead
A New Year party for 150 people thrown by Brazilian football superstar Neymar will go ahead with strict health rules to try to prevent the spread of Covid-19, organisers say.
The Paris Saint Germain forward has come under heavy criticism since details of the event came to light in a Rio de Janeiro newspaper over the weekend.
But party organisers say reports that 500 friends and celebrities were due to attend were not true and that only 150 people would be at the celebration.
The multi-day event will be held in Mangaratiba, around 105km down the coast from Rio.
Brazil has had nearly 7.5 million confirmed cases of Covid-19, the third highest in the world, and 191,139 deaths, the second highest after the United States, according to health ministry figures.
-Reuters