Wellington (New Zealand), Mar. 12: Northern Districts fast bowler Brent Arnel has been selected in the Black Caps squad for the first test against India at Hamilton next week.

New Zealand''s cricket selectors have turned to an old hand and a new face in a desperate bid to constrain India''s rampant batting line-up when the teams switch to test mode.

Wellington, Mar. 12: Jesse Ryder should not be hidden in the New Zealand middle order, but should be allowed to open the innings, given his devastating and aggressive style of batting.

According to stuff. co. nz, the time has come to allow Ryder to fulfill his promise.

He is far more comfortable against pace bowling than spin bowling and due to his late hands, is an ideal fit against the swinging ball.

The bowling is also a worry without Chris Martin. Franklin needs to be back to the 140kmh we know he can bowl at to be effective.

Los Angeles  - The Atlanta Hawks - the NBA's latest streak busters - struck again.

Joe Johnson scored 31 points with nine assists, Josh Smith had 22 points with 12 rebounds and the Hawks snapped the season-high 12-game winning streak of the Utah Jazz Wednesday night with a 100-93 home-court victory.

"This shows everybody in the world the Hawks are for real," Smith said. "They have to take the Hawks seriously. Utah is an outstanding team, and we were able to beat them."

Atlanta ended Cleveland's 11-game run on December 13, stopped Detroit's modest four-game string Saturday and severed New Orleans' seven-game success two days ago before halting Utah's fourth-longest streak in franchise history.

Durban, Mar. 12 : Australia's new opener Phil Hughes is already being compared to Sir Donald Bradman after scoring two centuries in the Durban Test.

Though he is not the Don, the similarities are there.

According to Fox Sports, Hughes is small in height as was the Don, has shown a hunger for making runs consistently just as the Don, his technique is highly unusual as was the Don's, he comes from the bush just as the Don, and possesses the kind of unflappable temperament that fast bowlers, opposition captains, coaches and media hype can''t bring down just as the Don.

Durban, Mar. 12 : Ricky Ponting is as happy as he has ever been in his long and successful cricket life, and he credits the new kids on the block for it.

"This is as happy as I''ve been in my whole career as an Australian player," Fox Sports quoted Ponting as saying after completing a series triumph against the South Africans in Durban.

Sydney, Mar. 12 : Australia's series defeat of South Africa on the latter's home turf, has convinced former skipper Mark Taylor that Ponting''s boys will start as favourites for this year''s Ashes series.

Taylor also said that ageing stars such as Brett Lee, Stuart Clark and Andrew Symonds would have a tough time breaking back into a revitalized Test line-up.

"It just shows the value of going with young players," Fox Sports quoted Taylor, as saying after Australia''s 175-run victory in the second Test at Durban.