Melbourne, Feb 24 : At the age of 48, former Aussie opener David Boon was as solid in his defence as he ever was, and made South African net bowlers sweat it out in Potchefstroom on the third day of Australia's tour game against Proteas XI.

Boon is in South Africa as a selector for the Australian team, but during a break in play he decided to borrow a pair of pads and a bat and give the local net bowlers a workout.

He armed himself with Brad Haddin's bat, but did not bother with a helmet or introductions, The Courier Mail reported.

Lackluster fielding and fitness levels that were not up to scratch have let down India's women cricketers, more so during the forgettable tours to England and Australia. The advantage of having some of the best batswomen in their ranks and the fastest bowler in the world was, at times, negated by the undistinguished fielding.

Now, help seems to be at hand. At the Bandra-Kurla Complex grounds, Tushar Arothe is working overtime to hone the fielding skills of these ladies in the run-up to their World Cup campaign to be held in Australia starting March 7. In a first, Arothe, a former Baroda skipper, has been appointed fielding coach of a National women's cricket team.

Sports Minister Dr MS Gill on Monday emphasised the popularity and importance of football while at the same time having at a dig at the quality of the game in the country.

“Football is popular and can be played by anyone, that’s why the government has upgraded it to category A in our priority list of games,” Gill said at a function to honour members of the team that reached the semifinals of the 1956 Melbourne Olympics by beating hosts Australia 4-2 in the quarterfinals.

Melbourne, Feb 24 : Australia's leading software testing consultancy firm, Revolution IT, has reached out to the board of fraud-hit Satyam to acquire its local software testing business.

The Melbourne-based company wrote to Satyam's board of directors last month after the Indian firm revealed its cash reserves had been inflated by one billion dollar, The Australian reported.

Satyam did not respond to the inquiry, Revolution IT chief executive Mike Quill said.

Sydney  - Sydney surgeons said Tuesday it was a miracle that Bondi Beach shark attack victim Glenn Orgias has two hands rather than just one.

"I thought the hopes for the hand were close to zero, but I have hope in time that Glenn will have a working hand," plastic surgeon Kevin Ho said. "We're far from out of the woods, but I think for him to make it to this stage is a minor miracle."

Sydney  - A feud between rival Aboriginal families in the remote Australian town of Tennant Creek sparked a street battle among more than 100 people armed with clubs, boomerangs, axes and knives, Northern Territory police said Tuesday.

A 63-year-old woman was airlifted to Alice Springs Hospital after being clubbed.

"We will not tolerate people, under any circumstances, taking the law into their own hands," Superintendent Bruce Porter said.