Latest - New Zealand Cricket has signed a six year broadcast deal with internet giant Amazon Prime to stream live stream New Zealand-based Black Caps and White Ferns matches into India for the next six years.
Black Caps skipper Kane Williamson and his side along with the White Ferns are to become a regular sight for Indian cricket viewers. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The deal is Amazon Prime Video's first foray into live sports in India and will see live coverage of all New Zealand internationals, both men and women, across all three formats the start of the 2021 domestic season.
NZC chief executive David White said the deal was one of his organisation's most significant, coming at a time when the global sports rights market was being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and when technology was transitioning from linear to streaming.
"The future of live sport is streaming....one of NZC's key goals is to extend our teams' global reach and to build closer relationships around the world," said White.
"India has always been an important market for us; no other country follows cricket like India, so it's exciting to be announcing this agreement with India's leading streamer.
Wallabies flanker suspended for four weeks weeks
The Wallabies loose forward Lachlan Swinton will miss the rest of the Tri-Nations after copping a four week ban for his high tackle on the All Blacks lock Sam Whitelock in Australia's 24-22 win in Brisbane last weekend.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
22 year old Swinton, who was making his test debut, pleaded guilty.
The referee sent him off for leading with the shoulder ane endangering his opponent.
The judiciary said the foul play merited a mid-range entry point of six weeks.
Swinton has been suspended from all forms of the game for four weeks, up to and including Saturday 6 February 2021.
The All Blacks prop Ofa Tuungafasi will face the judiciary tonight after he was red carded for his high tackle on the Wallabies wing Tom Wright.
Kohli to miss three tests
India cricket captain Virat Kohli will return home from Australia after the opening test in Adelaide next month to attend the birth of his child.
Photo: RNZ /Dom Thomas
Kohli's deputy Ajinkya Rahane will lead India in the final three tests of the tour which begins in Sydney on Nov. 27 with first of the six short-form internationals.
At the Oct. 26 selection committee meeting, Kohli informed the BCCI of his plans to return home after the day-night test in Adelaide from Dec. 17, board secretary Jay Shah said in a statement.
Kohli's actress wife Anushka Sharma is pregnant with their first child.
Under Kohli, India registered their maiden test series victory in Australia last year.
The BCCI announced several changes to the touring party after several players sustained injuries in the ongoing Indian Premier League.
Opener Rohit Sharma has been added to the test squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after initially being left out of the touring party because of a hamstring niggle.
Quick Ishant Sharma, who was also omitted initially because of a muscle tear, would be added to the test squad should he recover in time.
-Reuters
Sergio Tests positive for Covid
Former Masters champion Sergio Garcia has pulled out of this week's major tournament after testing positive for Covid-19.
Sergio Garcia is presented with his Green Jacket. Photo: Supplied: Augusta National
Garcia said he began experiencing a sore throat and a cough on Saturday while he was driving back from the Houston Open, where he missed the cut, and got tested on Sunday.
"After 21 years of not missing a Major Championship, I will sadly miss @themasters this week," the 40-year-old Spaniard wrote on Twitter.
The 11-time PGA Tour winner said his wife tested negative for the novel coronavirus, which has infected more than 10 million people in the United States, the country with the highest known number of COVID-19 cases.
The Masters was postponed from April to November due to the pandemic, which hit the professional sports calendar and forced the PGA Tour into hiatus for several weeks.
The Masters, which Garcia won in 2017 to claim his only major, begins at Augusta National on Thursday.
-Reuters
Phoenix players in Australian squad
Wellington Phoenix players Reno Piscopo, Cameron Devlin and Joshua Laws have all been named in the 26-player squad that will participate in Australia's U-23 men's national football team training camp in Sydney over the next nine days.
Piscopo returns as one of 11 players from the squad that helped Australia qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in January this year, when Australia secured third place at the AFC U-23 Championship in Thailand.
This will be Piscopo's 13th appearance for Australia across the U-20 and U-23 national teams, where he has scored a pair of goals.
The recently signed Laws has made six combined appearances for the Australian U-17 and U-23 sides, most recently starting for Australia - alongside Piscopo - against Thailand, during the group stage of the UFC U-23 Championship in January.
For Cameron Devlin, this will be his first call-up to the Australian national side, coming on the back of a stellar 2019/20 A-League season for the Phoenix where he led the competition in tackles made and was named the A-League Player of the Month for December 2019.
The Phoenix squad is currently based in Australia preparing for the start of the A-League season next month.
Dovizioso turns down test ride
Italian Andrea Dovizioso has turned down an offer to become a test rider for Yamaha in 2021 and will put his career on hold.
Dovizioso will leave Ducati at the end of the season, bringing an end to his eight-year association with the team and said last month that becoming a test rider was "a big option".
But La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Dovizioso's manager Simone Battistella had communicated the rider's decision to Yamaha Motor Racing managing director Lin Jarvis, adding that the 34-year-old would not ride in 2021.
Yamaha were not immediately available for comment.
Dovizioso has won 13 races since joining Ducati in 2013, finishing runner-up in the championship in the last three seasons.
-Reuters
Actors continue to pursue Wrexham
Wrexham fans can look forward to having a drink with Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney at matches, the duo said after releasing their mission statement ahead off a proposed takeover of the Welsh football club.
The pair said their goal was to grow the club that plays in England's fifth-tier and get them back into the English Football League, while also increasing attendances at an improved Racecourse Ground.
"This is the third-oldest club on the planet and we don't see why it can't have a global appeal," the BBC quoted Reynolds as telling Wrexham supporters during a virtual meeting.
"Our intention is to become part of the Wrexham story rather than Wrexham becoming part of our story."
Founded in 1864, Wrexham has been under the ownership of its fans since 2011 and the BBC reported that a successful takeover could lead to around two million pounds ($3.6 million) being invested in the club.
Reynolds and McElhenney made a big effort to charm fans, promising several times in their mission statement to always beat their biggest rivals Chester.
Wrexham were relegated from the EFL in 2008. They have reached the FA Cup quarter-finals on three occasions.
-Reuters