Australia / Antarctica News Headlines

(Adds play abandoned) LEEDS, England, May 24 (Reuters) - Play was abandoned without a ball being bowled on the opening day of the second and final test between England and New Zealand at Headingley due to persistent rain. The downpours left the outfield saturated on a chilly day. A better forecast is in prospect for the …

(Reuters) - A huge defensive effort helped the Waikato Chiefs overcome the Canterbury Crusaders 28-19 in a ferocious all-New Zealand Super Rugby clash in Hamilton on Friday that had all the hallmarks of an international test. Flyhalf Aaron Cruden and captain Craig Clarke both scored first half tries after charging down …

May 24 (Reuters) - A huge defensive effort helped the Waikato Chiefs overcome the Canterbury Crusaders 28-19 in a ferocious all-New Zealand Super Rugby clash in Hamilton on Friday that had all the hallmarks of an international test. Flyhalf Aaron Cruden and captain Craig Clarke both scored first half tries after charging …

LEEDS, England, May 24 (Reuters) - The start of the second and final test between England and New Zealand at Headingley was delayed by rain on Friday. Play was due to get underway at 1000 GMT but the covers remained across the pitch half an hour before the start with the umpires not due to inspect until the rain stopped. …

May 24 (Reuters) - Waikato Chiefs beat the Canterbury Crusaders 28-19 (halftime 15-13) in an all-New Zealand Super Rugby match at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton on Friday. Scorers: Chiefs - Tries: Aaron Cruden, Craig Clarke, Bundee Aki; Conversions: Cruden (2); Penalties: Cruden (3) Crusaders - Try: Matt Todd; Conversion: Tom …

WELLINGTON, May 24 (Reuters) - New Zealand's second highest-capped lock Ali Williams announced his retirement from international rugby on Friday. The 32-year-old had played 77 tests for the world champion All Blacks in his 10-year international career. Ian Jones played 79 tests for the national side. "Guys, I just want …

By Justin Palmer LEEDS, England, May 23 (Reuters) - England have emerged from a "changing of the guard" with their batting line-up and captain Alastair Cook has backed the likes of Joe Root and Nick Compton to make their names in the test arena. Cook said he had every faith that Root, Compton, along with Jonny Bairstow, …

SYDNEY (AP) — One of two Australians who plunged from a cruise ship in mysterious circumstances two weeks ago was remembered on Thursday as a hero who died attempting to rescue his girlfriend.

* Bracewell in, Vettori will not be risked * New Zealand's all-seamer attack a "gamble" - McCullum (Adds details, quotes) By Justin Palmer LEEDS, England, May 23 (Reuters) - New Zealand will go with a four-seamer attack and will not risk spinner Daniel Vettori for the second and final test against England starting at Headingley …

LEEDS (Reuters) - New Zealand will go with a four-seamer attack and will not risk spinner Daniel Vettori for the second and final test against England starting at Headingley on Friday, captain Brendon McCullum said. Doug Bracewell, who missed the first two drawn tests of the series against England in New Zealand this year …

LEEDS, England, May 23 (Reuters) - New Zealand will go with a four-seamer attack and will not risk spinner Daniel Vettori for the second and final test against England starting at Headingley on Friday, captain Brendon McCullum said. Doug Bracewell, who missed the first two drawn tests of the series against England in New …

New Zealand authorities say exports of frozen lamb, beef and mutton to China should resume next week after a paperwork problem resulted in hundreds of tons of meat getting stranded at Chinese docks. New ...

SYDNEY, May 23 (Reuters) - Australia coach Holger Osieck recalled skipper Lucas Neill to his squad for crunch World Cup qualifiers against Japan, Jordan and Iraq on Thursday. The 35-year-old central defender was suspended for the 2-2 home draw against Oman in March, which left the Socceroos in danger of missing out on direct …

By Justin Palmer LONDON, May 23 (Reuters) - Buoyed by Stuart Broad's match-winning burst at Lord's, England will look to seal a series win over New Zealand in the second and final test starting at Headingley on Friday before turning their attention to Australia in July. Broad's seven-wicket haul in the second innings of …

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Daily vitamin C supplements don't lower uric acid as much as drugs used to treat high levels of the acid that's responsible for gout, says a new study from New Zealand. "It's not that the vitamin C didn't reduce the uric acid level at all, it's just so small that it wouldn't …

LONDON, May 22 (Reuters) - New Zealand wicketkeeper BJ Watling has been ruled out of the second test against England starting at Headingley on Friday because of a knee injury, New Zealand Cricket said on Wednesday. "Watling, who injured his left knee diving for a run out on the third day of the first test, trained with …

By Nick Mulvenney SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia batsman David Warner has been fined A$5,750 for his Twitter outburst against two journalists, the maximum financial penalty for a first offence, Cricket Australia (CA) said on Wednesday. The 26-year-old, who was playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) when he tweeted the …

By Nick Mulvenney SYDNEY, May 22 (Reuters) - Australia batsman David Warner has been fined A$5,750 ($5,600) for his Twitter outburst against two journalists, the maximum financial penalty for a first offence, Cricket Australia (CA) said on Wednesday. The 26-year-old, who was playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) when …

SYDNEY, May 22 (Reuters) - Wallabies winger Digby Ioane is a doubt for the first test against the British and Irish Lions after undergoing a knee operation on Wednesday, the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) said. The New Zealand-born 27-year-old has scored 11 tries in 34 tests since his debut against Wales in Brisbane in 2007 …

By Nick Mulvenney SYDNEY, May 22 (Reuters) - Australia are rightly underdogs for the upcoming Ashes series in England but will do everything they can to bring the coveted urn back home, skipper Michael Clarke said on Wednesday. There was more talk of aspiration than expectation as the Australia squad officially bid farewell …

May 21 (Infostrada Sports) - Results from the Strasbourg International Women's Singles Round 1 matches on Tuesday 4-Hsieh Su-Wei (Taiwan) beat Annika Beck (Germany) 6-7(6) 7-5 6-1 Maria Teresa Torro (Spain) beat 8-Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) 6-3 4-6 7-6(4) 7-Chanelle Scheepers (South Africa) beat Claire Feuerstein (France) …

LONDON, May 21 (Reuters) - England named an unchanged squad for the second test against New Zealand starting on Friday after batsman Ian Bell was declared fit following a bout of tonsillitis. Bell climbed out of his sick bed to take his place at the crease in the first test won in stunning fashion by England on Sunday but …

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp is expanding its services for hosting and processing online data in Australia with the establishment of two new "cloud" computing data centers in the country. The world's biggest software company said on Tuesday it was expanding its Windows Azure business to include a major new region in …