Sydney, Jan. 22 : There was a time when star South African batsman Jean-Paul Duminy was not in Cricket South Africa's scheme of things. It has, therefore, been an arduous ride from domestic to international cricket.

South African cricket bigwigs believed Duminy did not possess the will to cut it at the top. So they cut him.

Questions were raised of his commitment to training, and Duminy became the butt of jokes in the team camp when fitness tests were held.

Sydney, Jan. 22 : Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has reportedly told batting sensation David Warner to trust himself and his ability as he gets ready to erupt in front of his hometown fans for the first time at the SCG.

Selectors have stuck with Warner to open the batting for Friday''s third one-dayer against South Africa, and Ponting has no doubts the rookie left-hander can quickly bounce back to form.

Warner made front and back-page headlines when he slammed a whirlwind 89 off 43 balls on his Twenty20 debut for Australia earlier this month.

Sydney, Jan. 22 : Skipper Ricky Ponting believes Australia can no longer afford to pick its best squad for all future one-dayers because of the frantic schedule over the next two years.

According to Fox Sports, there are no significant breaks in Australia''s program until May 2010, which is likely to coincide with another IPL tournament.

Sydney  - With Australians now buying more bicycles than cars, you would think that cycling to work would be accelerating at a similar rate.

It's not.

Of the commuting done in Sydney, only around 1 per cent is by bike. In comparison, in some Scandinavian cities the proportion of those cycling to work is around one-third.

Statistician and avid cyclist Dorothy Robinson has pondered this conundrum. She reckons that repealing laws passed in the 1990s requiring cyclists to wear helmets would get bikes out of garages and onto the roads.

Sydney - Frogs face extinction because humans have developed a taste for their legs, Australian researchers said Wednesday.

Up to 1 billion frogs are dying each year to satisfy a craving for frogs' legs fried with garlic in countries as diverse as Indonesia and France.

"Frogs are already in a bad way throughout most parts of the world," Adelaide University's Corey Bradshaw said.