Melbourne, Dec 23 : Skipper Ricky Ponting, who has been termed Captain Pout for not supporting his young pace attack when it was flayed all over at WACA, has been termed as Australian sport's most marketable star.

Ponting, who might have lost his gloss, should sign up for every luxury watch, vitamin pill and car oil endorsement he can get his hands on, the Courier Mail has said.

The 33-year-old Tasmanian, who took the title from Ian Thorpe last winter, pipped retired swimmer Grant Hackett (No. 2) at the top of a list which includes no fewer than seven retired sports stars in its top 10.

That's seemingly an honour reserved for whoever sits in the Australian cricket team captain's chair.

Sydney, Dec 23: Australian selectors have spared pace bowler Brett Lee and out of form opener Mathew Hayden for the Boxing Day Test against South Africa, but the senior players of the team have been told they are letting down a side in transition.

Two fresh faces have been drafted into a Test squad of 13, with NSW spinner Nathan Hauritz replacing Jason Krejza and Tasmania's Ben Hilfenhaus to be measured alongside Victorian Peter Siddle for the third fast-bowling position.

Selectors' patience is wearing thinner with every passing Test in this period of rebuilding as the roles played by Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Adam Gilchrist has been revealed fully by their absence, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

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Ace cricketer and former Indian Captian Sourav Ganguly bid farewell to first-class cricket a month after retiring from international cricket.

Ganguly had volunteered to play for Bengal in the Ranji Plate semifinal against Goa at the Karnail Singh Stadium here to help the team return to the elite division of domestic cricket.

Mohali, Dec. 22: Indian cricket coach Gary Kirsten is not happy with English captain Kevin Pietersen's `switch hit', and termed the shot disadvantageous for bowlers.

He said that the shot puts the tribe of bowlers in a distinctly disadvantageous position and administrators of the game should bring in change in the laws to right the wrong.

"I think we have to do something about the law of the game, because it's a big advantage for the batsman and a disadvantage for the bowlers," The News quoted Kirsten, as saying.

Pietersen unleashed the much debated shot against Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra in the ongoing Mohali test match.

Islamabad, Dec. 22: Pakistan cricket coach Intikhab Alam has backed Shoaib Malik as captain of the squad and suggested that he should continue as captain of the side.

Alam said that under the captaincy of Malik the team has shown enough improvement and Malik himself has matured enough.

"He should continue as the captain of the team and has improved tremendously as a captain over the years. With the experience he has gained over the years, he is now a much improved captain," The News quoted Alam, as saying.

He predicted with a bit of more experience Malik could prove as one of the best captains, Pakistan has ever produced.