Potchefstroom, Feb. 20 (ANI): Australian cricket vice-captain Michael Clarke is reportedly suffering from a second injury to his back, putting in doubt his chances of playing in the Johannesburg Test next week.

According to The Australian, the team management is said to be extremely worried about the 27-year-old vice-captain injury.

The batsman and nominal successor to Ricky Ponting has suffered from a lower-back injury for his whole career. Now, he has a separate back injury that has the Australian camp holding its breath and hoping, according to coach Tim Nielsen.

Potchefstroom (South Africa), Feb. 20: Former South African captain Kepler Wessels feels that Australia should consider handing batsman-off-spinner Marcus North his Test debut in place of bowling all-rounder Andrew McDonald in next week''s first Test against South Africa in Johannesburg.

Wessels believes it is vital for the tourists to play six specialist batsmen against the much vaunted South African pace attack led by Dale Steyn, as he expects conditions to favour fast bowlers.

"It would be a crazy call not to go into the Wanderers Test match with six specialist batsmen," Fox Sports quoted Wessels as telling AAP on Wednesday.

Potchefstroom, Feb. 20 (ANI): Australia's cricket captain Ricky Ponting has ruled himself out of the Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition this year, saying that he would prefer to devote his time to Australia.

Ponting said that he had conveyed his decision to the management of his IPL franchise Kolkata Knightriders. He said that the latter have accepted his decision and also his commitment to appear for side in the 2010 edition of the tournament.

Johannesburg  - Tickets for the 2010 football World Cup in South Africa go on sale Friday 475 days before kick-off in the opening game on June 11 next year.

The tickets are being sold on the website of world football body FIFA and through South Africa's First National Bank (FNB), a sponsor of the tournament.

Football fans in South Africa can being applying for tickets at FNB branches nationwide at the start of business. Overseas fans can log onto www. fifa. com and begin buying a ticket from 11 am GMT.

Sydney  - New Zealand's race relations watchdog has written to the South African Rugby Union (SARU) in support of a proposed game between a side made up exclusively of Maori players and the Springboks, news reports said Friday.

The June game is in doubt because of South African objections to the "racial" selection of the New Zealand side because it is restricted to ethnic Maori, the Rugby Heaven website reported.

Johannesburg, Feb. 19 : Having waited for four years to be eligible to play for South Africa, Pakistan-born leg-spinner Imran Tahir is likely to make his debut for the national side sooner than later.

Lahorite Tahir is close to acquiring South African citizenship and is married to a South African woman.

He''s a prodigious turner of the ball, and national team coach Micky Arthur, admits that wrist spin is the one missing link in his otherwise powerful unit.

So, there is a possibility of rushing Tahir into the international arena during Australia''s tour of the Rainbow Nation.