Adelaide, Dec. 2: Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has warned his team to step up for a heavyweight bout against South Africa later this month.

"We have to play at our optimum and there''s no hiding that fact. Right through India we were a long way below our best and we were a bit off our best in Brisbane. We''ve taken a step closer here. We know the South Africans are a well-balanced side who have a really good fast bowling attack and five of their batters are in the top 10 run-scorers for 2008,” Fox Sports quoted Ponting, as saying.

"They are a good side and we''re not kidding ourselves. We''ve got a long way to go if we want to stay the No1 team in the world," he added.

Adelaide, Dec. 2 : In form Australia fast bowler Brett Lee has said that he is ready for a showdown with Proteas counterpart Dale Steyn.

After taking five wickets for 105 runs against New Zealand and ending up with career-best match figures of 9-171 in the second Test here, Lee said he was looking forward to the contest against the South Africans.

"I lost a lot of strength, it only feels now over the last couple of weeks that the strength has come back. The results show that as far as pace and wickets, I have been improving every match,” Fox Sports quoted Lee, as saying.

NEW YORK, Dec. 1 - The New York Knicks, locked in a dispute with guard Stephon Marbury over playing time, have told him to stay away from the team while a buyout is negotiated.

Marbury is being paid $21.7 million this season, the final year of his contract. He was suspended for one game, without pay, for refusing to play in last Wednesday's game against Detroit.

Marbury and NBA Players' Association representative Hal Biaga met Monday with Knicks President Donnie Walsh, trying to resolve the situation with a possible contract buyout.

Karachi, Dec 2: Pakistani Sports Minister Pir Aftab Shah Jilani has said that Pakistan will welcome India if they opted to come here for a much-awaited cricket series scheduled for January-February next year.

Jilani told reporters that Pakistan will show “sportsman spirit” by hosting India in a friendly environment, and urged the Indian Government to clear the eagerly awaited tour.

“We don’t believe in mixing sports and politics. There may be tensions between the governments but sports shouldn’t suffer,” said Jilani, a senior leader of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

CASPER, W

London, Dec. 2: Manchester United coach-cum manager Alex Ferguson is nowadays plotting to snare his eleventh title in football.

He believes that in the New Year, his team will be perfectly poised to strike.

“You look at the first half of the season and we’ll have played away to almost every team who finished in the top 10 last season. That’s incredible. I have to say having home advantage against those teams at the end of the season should help us,” he was quoted by the Sun, as saying.