Today's sports news: what you need to know

Latest - Fast bowler Lockie Ferguson won't be making his test debut in the first cricket test against England in Mount Maunganui tomorrow afterall.

Ferguson and spinner Todd Astle have been released from the squad to return to their provinces for domestic cricket.

That means the Black Caps are set to stick with Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner as their pace bowling lineup with Matt Henry likely to be 12th man.

Injury rules out Robinson from World Cup ski event

The young Queenstown skier Alice Robinson won't compete in next week's World Cup event in the United States because of injury.

Robinson shocked the skiing world with victory in the opening round of the giant slalom in Austria last month.

The 17 year old returned home to complete her school exams and had planned to race the next event in Killington, Vermont next week.

Robinson revealed that she hurt her knee in the leadup to the Austria race and scans showed some bone bruising.

She's currently recovering off the snow in New Zealand but does hope to return to the World Cup circuit at some stage next month.

Robinson says she will be focussing on rehab and strenght training.

She may target a return in France on 17 December.

Venus set to change partners

The next tournament for the New Zealand doubles player Michael Venus is likely to be Auckland's ASB Classic in January and he could be playing there with a new partner.

Venus and South African Raven Klaasen finished runners up at the ATP Finals in London on Monday, but it is understood that could be their last tournament together.

Venus has had a successful run with Klaasen over the past two years, they reached the Wimbledon final in 2018 and this year won two ATP titles and also finished runners up at two tournaments.

With earnings in 2019 of more than $1 million Venus' ranking has moved into the top ten.

However, he's been linked with a switch to the Australian John Peers, who he knows well.

The pair live close to one other in London and have trained together and with Klaasen, 37, spending more time in South Africa the change could be a matter of convenience.

Peers has 20 career doubles title and won Wimbledon in 2017.

Spurs sack Pochettino

Tottenham Hotspur have sacked their manager of the last five years, Mauricio Pochettino.

The Argentine, appointed by the north London Premier League club in 2014, had turned Tottenham into a force in England and took them to the Champions League final in June.

Results have tailed off badly this season, however, and Tottenham have won only three of their opening 12 Premier League games and are in 14th spot. They were also thrashed 7-2 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

Pochettino's assistant Jesus Perez and the rest of his backroom staff have also been relieved of their duties.

Tottenham finished in the top-four of the Premier League for the past four seasons under Pochettino who has become a much-loved figure amongst the fans since joining from Southampton.

-Reuters

Paddon to try racing on tarmac

New Zealand rally driver Hayden Paddon will switch from dirt to the tarmac and compete in the TCR New Zealand Championship, his first major attempt at circuit racing.

Paddon, a winner at the highest level of rallying in the World Rally Championship, will contest the inaugural TCR NZ Championship, driving a Hyundai i30 N for his own team Paddon Rallysport Group (PRG).

TCR racing has taken the world by storm, with over 30 championships around the world using identical regulations using under two litre, turbo-charged, market relevant machines.

Paddon has committed to the opening three rounds of the five round championship that will be held on five consecutive weekends, starting at Highlands on January 17.

Holmes might become a Cowboy

North Queensland Cowboys could be poised to nail a major signing coup by luring Valentine Holmes back from the NFL, according to media reports.

The former Cronulla Sharks star suffered a setback in his bid to cut it in American football after failing to land a berth in the New York Jets' roster for the current season.

But he is now ready to head home and sign a lucrative deal with the Cowboys, worth around $1 million a season, with "only an eleventh-hour change of heart" likely to block his return to Australia, according to News Corp Australia.

The deal could put the block on the Cowboys signing Sydney Roosters' star Latrell Mitchell, who has been heavily linked with a move north to Townsville in recent days.

Salary cap constraints, due to other big contracts for Michael Morgan and Jason Taumalolo, could mean Mitchell is overlooked if the Cowboys do manage to land Holmes.

-AAP

Money Mayweather done in the ring

Boxing great Floyd Mayweather said his time in the ring is finished and that he is focused on other projects including his fast-growing chain of boxing fitness gyms and his high-profile promotion company.

The 42-year-old American, who has retired in the past only to be drawn back for another colossal payday, said he is content to hang up his gloves with an unblemished 50-0 record.

"I've got calls to get back into the ring, but my health is my wealth," Mayweather said.

"Boxing is a very, very brutal sport. In the last few years a lot of fighters have died inside that squared circle."

Mayweather, who won the first of his 12 world titles in 1998, first announced his retirement in 2007 but quickly returned to the ring.

He retired again in 2015 only to come back to defeat mixed martial artist Conor McGregor in 2017. After that battle he said his professional career was truly over.

He is, however, still open to participating in exhibition matches like the one he did in January, where he demolished Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in less than three minutes.

-Reuters

18 majors may be too many for Tiger

Matching or breaking the record for career major titles might just be a bridge too far for Tiger Woods, said his former mentor Mark O'Meara.

With 15 major championships, Woods is three short of the mark held by Jack Nicklaus, and at age 43 is battling 'Father Time' in his quest to catch the Golden Bear.

A decade ago it seemed a formality that Woods would overtake Nicklaus, but injuries and scandals were followed by a decade-long drought that only ended when he won the Masters in April.

"Personally, I don't, but I'd love to see it happen, love to see him win another major, get to 16. But three more majors, with the competition as stiff and as good as these players are, it's going to be very difficult," O'Meara said.

O'Meara, 19 years Woods' senior, took him under his wing when Woods turned pro in 1996 at the age of 20, and still calls him a "kid".

Only six players have won a major at a more advanced age than Woods - who turns 44 next month - will have reached during next year's major campaign.

-Reuters

Pivac picks Kiwis

New Wales coach Wayne Pivac has picked New Zealand-born backs Johnny McNicholl and Willis Halaholo in his first squad to face the Barbarians in Cardiff at the end of the month.

McNicoll and Halaholo, who qualified through the residency rule, are among five uncapped players in the squad alongside Taine Basham, Shane Lewis-Hughes and Ashton Hewitt.

The 35-man group for the non-cap match includes 22 members of the Rugby World Cup squad that finished fourth in Japan earlier this month.

However, captain Alun Wyn Jones was ruled out injured, while England-based players Dan Biggar and Rhys Carre were unavailable for selection as the game falls outside the designated test window.

-Reuters

Black Jacks remain on track for play-offs

The New Zealand men's triple and women's single have qualified for the semi-finals at the Multi Nation Bowls tournament on the Gold Coast while the men's pair and women's four remain in contention.

Gary Lawson and Jamie Hill sit third in their group after a close 19-17 win over Ireland.

They will now face the unbeaten Australia Green in their final group game, with Lawson to become just the 10th bowler to be capped 300 times for New Zealand.

The women's four of Val Smith, Katelyn Inch, Selina Goddard and Tayla Bruce are fourth in their group and meet Australia green in their final game.

City records billion dollar turnover

English Premier League football champions Manchester City drew in record revenue of just over a billion dollars in a fifth consecutive year of profitability in 2018-19.

Record-breaking broadcast revenue was the main driver of City's overall revenue growth, rising 19.7 percent year-on-year, largely due to the club's Champions League participation.

The club reported a profit of $20 million pounds and a wage/revenue ratio of 59%.

It was City's 11th straight year of revenue growth under the ownership of Abu Dhabi royal family, and they continue to close the gap on local rivals Manchester United, the Premier League's richest club.

United in September reported record revenue for 2018-19 of $1.2 billion.

-Reuters

Strong Para Cycling squad named

Three paralympians have been named in a nine strong New Zealand squad to compete at the Para Cycling Track World Championships in Canada in the new year.

The squad includes Rio 2016 silver and bronze medallist Emma Foy, Beijing 2008 silver medallist Kate Horan and Rio 2016 debutant Hannah van Kampen as sighted pilot to Emma Foy.

They will be joined by Sarah Ellington, Nicole Murray, Nick Blincoe, Anna Taylor and the tandem pairing of Mitchell Wilson and Jackson Ogle.

Stu MacDonald (PNZ Para Cycling Head Performance Coach) said, "We are thrilled with the quality and experience of the Team we announced today. Many of the Team will be aiming for podium finishes and gaining valuable UCI points to secure further athlete slots for New Zealand at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games."

NZR compiles shortlist

New Zealand Rugby are compiling their shortlist of head coach candidates to take over from Steve Hansen and will announce his successor in December, chairman Brent Impey said.

Impey said earlier this month that 26 homegrown coaches had been identified to take over from Hansen, who guided the All Blacks to the 2015 World Cup title and a third-place finish at this year's edition in Japan before stepping down.

A number of leading contenders have ruled themselves out of the running for the job, including former Wales coach Warren Gatland and Jamie Joseph, who on Monday renewed his contract with Japan until the 2023 World Cup.

"We congratulate and wish Jamie well as he continues his work coaching the Brave Blossoms," Impey said in a statement.

"The All Blacks head coach selection panel will continue their shortlisting process, with interviews and negotiations to be conducted through November and early December.

"We are looking forward to announcing the next head coach of the All Blacks next month."

Current All Blacks assistant Ian Foster and Crusaders coach Scott Robertson are among the favourites to take over.

-Reuters

Pou-Pou farewelled

Mourners at the funeral of Raymond Poulidor on Tuesday paid tribute to a French cyclist who never achieved his goal of winning the Tour de France but in the process won widespread admiration for his courage and integrity.

Poulidor was given a final send-off in his hometown in the Limoges region of central France, the rural heartland where he grew up as the son of poor farmers and where he died last week aged 83.

Family members and cycling dignitaries crammed into the tiny church in Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat, while several hundred people stood in the town square outside watching the funeral service on a big screen.

Poulidor finished the Tour de France on the podium eight times but never came first.

He was competing in the 1960s and 1970s at the same time as two of cycling's greatest champions - Jacques Anquetil and Eddie Merckx - who each won the tour five times, regularly pushing Poulidor off the top spot.

But his perpetual runner-up status made Poulidor a favourite with the public.

-Reuters

Enrique back with Spain

Luis Enrique has been reappointed Spain football coach, five months after stepping down because of his daughter's illness.

Spanish Football Federation President Luis Rubiales said that Robert Moreno, the former assistant coach who steered Spain to Euro 2020 qualification after Luis Enrique left, wanted to stand down so that he could return.

Enrique's daughter Xana died in September.

Moreno, who led the team to seven victories and two draws as Spain comfortably qualified for next year's tournament, had said when appointed that he would step aside if Luis Enrique wanted to return.

Rubiales confirmed that the 49-year-old Luis Enrique, the former Barcelona coach, has a contract until after the Qatar 2022 World Cup, and will stay on regardless of the team's performance at Euro 2020.

-Reuters

Crusie ships leased to accomodate World Cup fans

Qatar will charter two cruise liners to help accommodate football fans during the 2022 World Cup, as the Gulf nation of about 2.7 million people looks for ways to host an expected 1 million visitors.

Fans of all 32 teams in the tournament will effectively be staying in the same city, raising questions over how the country can accommodate them and keep them entertained.

The local organising committee said it has signed an agreement with MSC Cruises to charter two liners with a combined capacity of 4,000 cabins which will be used as floating hotels for fans.

The committee has promised that there will be enough accommodation for everyone and that alcohol - currently only obtainable at a handful of places at prohibitive prices - would be more made widely available.

The committee said other accommodation options will include apartments and fan villages in the desert as well as hotels.

-Reuters