Napier (New Zealand), Mar. 26 : New Zealand''s middle order batsmen Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder put India''s much vaunted pace and spin attack to the sword here on Thursday, the first day of the second Test between the two sides after initial hiccups.

At the draw of stumps, New Zealand were sitting pretty on 351 for four, with Ryder unbeaten on 137 with 17 boundaries and a six and James Franklin on 26 with five boundaries. Taylor had earlier scored a violent 151 with 26 boundaries and a six.

Sydney, Mar 26 : The Indian Premier League (IPL) team, Rajasthan Royals, led by Shane Warne, are in the early running to be nominated for a gong at a Laureus World Sports Awards, which is certain to be dominated by Olympic and soccer teams.

Awards organisers mentioned them on Wednesday in a long list of contenders for nomination in the world team of the year category, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Sydney, Mar. 25 (ANI): Former Australian leg spinner Stuart MacGill has endorsed off-spinner Marcus North as the first-choice spinner against England and said specialist tweaker Bryce McGain was never in contention for the Ashes, even before his horrific debut against South Africa.

MacGill, who took 208 Test wickets for Australia, said he would stick with North given there was enough grunt in the pace attack.

Cape Town (South Africa), Mar. 25 : Australian middle order batsman Michael Hussey is hoping that the selectors will not cast him aside for the upcoming Ashes series because of his current poor form.

Hussey''s disappointing performances across the entire summer, at home and in South Africa, have left room for questions about whether he remains an automatic choice.

London, Mar. 25: Television rights and not the weather, it appears convinced Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi to chose South Africa instead of England for the second edition of the twenty20 tournament.

According to The Independent, Modi did not bother going on to London as initially planned to hear a pitch from the England and Wales Cricket Board for staging the game''s most lucrative competition.

Bridgetown (West Indies)