Johannesburg, Feb. 25 : The Australian team has opted for Tasmania swinger Ben Hilfenhaus in place of spinners Nathan Hauritz and Bryce McGain for the first Test against South Africa to be played at the Wanderer's Cricket Ground.

Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting will wait till Thursday morning before making the decision on who will be the 12th man, the Fox Sports reports.

Brisbane, Feb. 25 : Controversial Indian-born surgeon, Dr. Jayant Patel a. k. a `Dr. Death', who is currently facing a committal hearing into allegations of manslaughter over the deaths of two patients, had outdated medical knowledge, and was `erratic' in when things went wrong inside his operation theater, the Brisbane Magistrates Court has learnt.

"If (there were) some problems (he) became a bit erratic," The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Dr Dieter Berens, as saying.

Brisbane, Feb. 25 : Australian all rounder Shane Watson is all set to stage a comeback on the first-class cricketing arena when he takes the field in Queensland’s Sheffield Shield match against New South Wales at the Gabba on Thursday.

Watson will be returning as a ‘batsman only’ in the game after stress fractures in his back forced him to remain out of action for nearly two months.

He is currently training under batting legend, Greg Chappell to improve his chances of making it to the Ashes squad later.

Melbourne, Feb 25 : Troy stars Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom were seen hanging out together at a custom motorcycles store in Sydney on February 24.

They met at Deus Ex Machina in Parramatta Rd, Camperdown, with Bloom riding there on his new customised road bike turned hill climber, the Deus SR400, which cost him
20,000 dollars, reports the Daily Telegraph.

For Bloom, it is the second bike he has bought from the Camperdown store, which is owned by Mambo founder Dare Jennings, his first bike having been bought last May.

Melbourne, Feb. 25 : The International Cricket Council and the MCC have commissioned a research by Cricket Australia, Griffith University and the Australian Institute of Sport into developing a device to detect chuckers.

Once in the pipeline, the device can measure degrees of flex in the bowling arm.

Crucially, the device will be small enough to sit comfortably on a bowler''s arm during delivery in a match, allowing accurate readings when he is straining every sinew.

Melbourne, Feb 25 : Generation X drivers are more likely than their Generation Y counterparts to talk on mobile phones when behind the wheel, according to a new survey.

In a study of New South Wales (NSW) drivers, 52 per cent of Gen Xers admitted using their phones while driving, whether using a handset or hands-free technology.

That figure compared to 37 per cent of Gen Ys, while just 24 per cent of those over 40 were guilty of chatting on their mobiles while driving.

The survey found, conducted by NRMA Insurance, found that men were also bigger offenders than women (36 per cent compared to 29 per cent).

A spokesman for NRMA Insurance, John Hallal, said that the survey figures were a concern.