Melbourne, Apr 10 : Australian batsman Callum Ferguson has earned plenty of praise for stabilising his team's rocky batting line-up.

The 24-year-old right-hander has quickly become the leading batsman in either team in the one-day series against South Africa, scoring 138 runs at 46.00 in three matches including two half-centuries.

Melbourne, Apr 10 : Wish to see your pet well secured in the car, and having car seats free of dog hair and slobber? Well, then Honda's new `Element' might be the your saviour.

Touted as the "ultimate dog car", Element has many canine-friendly features like cushioned bed, pet-restraint system and a ramp so that a dog doesn't have to jump into the back.

The Japanese carmaker unveiled the boxy-looking Dog Friendly Element at this week's New York motor show.

Melbourne, Apr 10 : Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has asked his teammates to start "putting their hands up" after the top five batsmen let the side down again, giving a 2-1 lead to South Africa in the five match series.

Needing to win their five-game one-day series against South Africa to claim the world No. 1 ODI ranking, Australia lost the third ODI by 25 runs.

Melbourne, Apr 9 : Cricket legend Shane Warne who saw much of Victoria's fire-devastated areas, has opened up about a friendship that he has forged with a young bushfire victim.

Warne has already arranged to fly 13-year-old Aiden Buchanan to Sydney for a cricket match and organised tickets for him to last month's MCG Sound Relief concert. Now the boy has been invited to the Warne family home for a barbecue.

Melbourne, April 9 : Authorities in Colorado have disallowed a Denver woman to express her love for tofu through her 4WD''''''''s number plate.

Kelly Coffman-Lee, 38, wanted to tell the world about her fondness for bean curd through a number plate reading `ILVTOFU'.

However, the Division of Motor Vehicles blocked her plan suggesting that the combination of letters could be interpreted as profane.

"We don''''''''t allow ''''''''FU'''''''' because some people could read that as street language for sex," the Courier Mail quoted Mark Couch, a spokesman for the Department of Revenue, as saying.

Melbourne, Apr 9 : Late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin's bronze statue has failed to interest any buyers in Australia, and it now seems fated to be sold off overseas.

The statue, made by controversial sculptor Mitch Mitchell, will now be offered to Oprah Winfrey and the Discovery Channel to see whether they are interested in buying it.

Mitchell, who is at the centre of an Easter row over his sculpture of a naked young woman on a crucifix, was left bewildered by the lack of Aussie interest in the statue.