Sydney, Nov. 13: Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting says the current over-rates controversy ranks with last summer''s Sydney Test turmoil as his toughest time in cricket.

"(Sydney) was probably the most difficult time I''ve had to deal with as an Australian captain and an Australian player and I''m probably confronting the other one right at the moment," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Ponting, as saying.

Melbourne, Nov. 13: Australian opener Mathew Hayden launched a stirring defence of his skipper Ricky Ponting, warning that rival nations would pay for the criticism Punter has copped.

Arriving back home in Brisbane on Wednesday, the veteran opener said Ponting would respond with both his bat and his leadership.

Melbourne, Nov 13: All-rounder Andrew Symonds has been included in the Australian squad ahead of next week’s first Test against New Zealand at the Gabba.

Symonds was included in a 13-man squad along with Victorian fast bowler Peter Siddle as selectors dumped leg-spinning all-rounder Cameron White.

Symonds returns after missing the four-Test tour of India when dropped after going fishing instead of attending a team meeting during the one-day series against Bangladesh in Darwin in September, The Age reported.

London  - Tottenham's dramatic improvement under Harry Redknapp continued Wednesday, as they beat Liverpool 4-2 to reach the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup.

Chelsea, though, were dumped out of the competition on penalties by Championship side Burnley.

Tottenham have won five and drawn one in their six games since Redknapp replaced Juande Ramos as manager two and a half weeks ago.

They had already become the first team to beat Liverpool this season with a 2-1 league victory, but Wednesday night was even more dramatic.

Cologne, Germany - Robert Mueller was on Wednesday picked as reserve goalkeeper for German first division ice hockey team Koelner Haie, after revealing earlier in the week that he is terminally ill.

Mueller is suffering from a fast-growing brain tumor which doctors failed twice, in November 2006 and August 2008, to fully remove.

He went public via his doctor this week with the announcement, with the doctor saying that 70 per cent of the patients die within one year after the diagnosis and only three per cent live another five years.

Hamburg - The English Premier League has the biggest merchandising potential in Europe with an income of 171 million euros (217 million dollars) in the 2007-08 season, a report released on Wednesday said.

According to the European Football Merchandising Report compiled by the German Sport + Markt agency, the Premier League ranks ahead of Spain's Primera Liga (145 million euros), the German Bundesliga (127), France's Ligue 1 (86), Italy's Serie A (64) and the Dutch Eredivisie (22).