Melbourne, Feb 17 : Australian skipper Ricky Ponting on his arrival in South Africa said that the ICC Test Championship trophy is important, but the team will play to win matches for country.

Ponting faced a packed media conference at Johannesburg Airport, and was quickly on the front foot with the South African media, the Herald Sun reported.

Australia lost 2-1 at home to South Africa in January and must now avoid defeat in the three-Test return series to retain the ICC Test Championship trophy.

Sydney - An Australian firefighter was killed when a tree fell on his vehicle Tuesday, bringing the official death toll from the nation's biggest natural disaster to 201.

Fires were still burning north of Melbourne, where 3,500 volunteer firefighters backed by water-bombing aircraft were engaged in bringing the blazes under control.

The firefighter died near Marysville, where 100 people out of a population of 500 are believed to have perished in the February 7 conflagration.

Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said the heat was so intense that some bodies might never be identified.

Islamabad - Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith on Monday announced a four-fold increase in the numbers of Pakistani government military officers to be trained in Australia.

Speaking at the beginning of a three-day visit to Pakistan, Smith said the decision would "raise the numbers to 40 to 50 officers."

Brisbane (Australia), Feb. 16 : Controversial Indian-born surgeon Dr. Jayant Patel should have considered safer treatment options for a patient who died after an operation, a Brisbane court has heard.

Patel, 58, has been charged with the manslaughter of James Phillips and two other patients.

He was the director of surgery at the Bundaberg Base Hospital in Queensland between 2003 and 2005, and faces an additional 10 charges including fraud and grievous bodily harm, reports news. com. au.

Giving evidence on Monday via video link from Adelaide, renowned oesophagectomy specialist Dr Glyn Jamieson told the court Patel should have considered other, safer treatment options for Mr Phillips.

Melbourne, Feb 16 : A new study has shown that lazy colleagues are hated most at workplaces.

According to management consultant James Adonis, who spoke to 2400 Australian employees, lazy and underperforming colleagues made the top of the hate list.

The next thing on the list that workers did not like was feeling unappreciated and unrecognised, while communication issues came third on the list.

Inconsiderate peers, lack of teamwork, negativity, and gossip and backstabbing also made the top 10.