Potchefstroom (South Africa), Feb. 19 : Injured Australian cricket vice-captain Michael Clarke is in doubt for the opening tour match against South Africa Board President''s XI beginning on Friday, but is likely to play in the Johannesburg Test.

Clarke, who is suffering from a back injury, was restricted to walking laps with team physio Alex Kountouris while the main group completed warm-up fielding drills at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom, Fox Sports reports.

The team then retreated to the nets for their opening training session for this week''s three-day game ahead of the first Test in Johannesburg from February 26.

Potchestroom (South Africa), Feb. 19 : Australia leg-spinner Bryce McGain appears to have escaped any major punishment for missing a team flight, although coach Tim Nielsen shed little light on the situation.

McGain''s disciplinary lapse has been dealt with "internally" and Nielsen has declared the case closed, without revealing if any penalty was handed out.

The uncapped McGain, 36, missed the Australian cricket team''s flight to Johannesburg for the Test tour of South Africa on Monday, reports Fox Sports.

Brisbane, Feb. 19 : A former high-profile police and emergency services spokesman who received official honors for his work has admitted to masturbating in front of two male backpackers.

Kevin John Loomes, 58, pleaded guilty before a Brisbane Magistrates Court today to two counts of performing an indecent act.

Loomes entered a backpacker''s hostel on Ann Street in Brisbane''s CBD last December, carrying a towel, the court was told.

Melbourne, Feb 19 : Late Aussie actor Heath Ledger's love of chess has been set in stone at a park on Perth''s Swan River, where he played as a child.

In memory of the actor, his family gave the City of Melville, in Perth''s southern suburbs, a polished concrete and marble sculpture, comprising two chess boards and a yin and yang symbol.

As per Ledger''s mother Sally Bell, the site at Heathcote Reserve, overlooking the Swan River, had been chosen because the actor had cared about the environment and spent much of his youth in the Applecross area.

Melbourne, Feb. 19 : Indian students in Melbourne, Victoria, have reportedly been told to keep a low profile as part of a strategy to crack down on violent robberies.

According to The Age, it has often been found that Indians speak too loudly in their native tongue and flaunt their wealth at odd hours of the day.

Robberies in Melbourne''s western suburbs jumped by 27 per cent last financial year. Police estimated almost a third of victims were of Indian appearance.

A special police group has been formed to combat the robberies amid fears that some are racially motivated and that Indian international students are soft targets because they carry iPods and laptops on trains late at night.

Canberra, Feb 19: Scientists have said that Australia is on the verge of a wave of extinction of species, with over 1,500 animals and plants reportedly threatened with a wipe out.

Australia has the worst mammal extinction record in the world, with 22 mammals becoming extinct in the last 200 years.

Now, according to a report carried out in news. com. au, evidence suggests Australia is on the cusp of another wave.