Sydney, Jan. 22: Australian pace bowler Stuart Clark is one of three star players who will ramp up their South African tour credentials via park cricket this weekend.

According to Fox Sports, Clark will line up for Sydney University on Saturday and test his troublesome elbow, which sidelined him before the Perth Test last month.

The right-arm seamer will clash with Sutherland, who have Aussie opener Phil Jaques ready to test out his back.

Sydney  - The Australian government has supported a request for a royal pardon for Australian author Harry Nicolaides, who was sentenced to three years in prison in Thailand this week for insulting its monarchy with his little-read novel, media reports said Thursday.

Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith said he had written to his Thai counterpart supporting a request for a pardon from Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej for Nicolaides, the Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.

Sydney, Jan. 22 : Skipper Ricky Ponting believes Australia can no longer afford to pick its best squad for all future one-dayers because of the frantic schedule over the next two years.

According to Fox Sports, there are no significant breaks in Australia''s program until May 2010, which is likely to coincide with another IPL tournament.

Melbourne - The Australian Open diet of choice for Marcos Baghdatis certainly breaks a few training rules with the Cypriot currently unable to resist lashings of Greek food.

Team Baghdatis has visited a Greek deli on Melbourne's elite shopping-and-eating Chapel Street at least three times, according to the gossip press.

Local media reported the 2006 finalist and his coach have treated themselves to dishes including spit-roasted lamb and the melted cheese delight of saganaki - hardly the food of champions.

Melbourne  - Hard economic times have not come down too hard on Serena Williams with the second seed making a lightning raid on a Chapel Street boutique.

But the world number two might have tipped her hand that even she might be feeling the heat as she bought a pair of items from a rack filled with merchandise marked down to half-price.