Sydney, Nov 18: Australian batsman Andrew Symonds, who was included into his national side after being sacked for having “gone fishing” in Darwin instead of attending an important team meeting, has said that he had lately realized that alcohol played a part in his poor attitude this year and getting axed from the squad.

He said that the Darwin episode was the “wake-up call” for him and that he needed to address his behaviour.

Milan  - Marcello Lippi hasn't said much about it but he certainly won't be pulling any punches when he takes his world champion squad to the Confederations Cup that Italy play for the first time next June.

The event organized by football's ruling body FIFA has gradually evolved into a prestigious warm-up tournament taking place one year before the World Cup in the country that will host it.

From June 14 to 28 in 2009, South Africa will thus test its stadiums and infrastructure in a tournament reserved for eight teams from six continents.

Karachi, Nov 18: PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt has reportedly said that if Team India is not able to tour Pakistan for “Security reasons” early next year, his country’s side might shift the series, including Tests, ODIs and one Twenty20, to India.

He said the PCB had suffered a lot because of the cancellation of a few series in the recent past, after foreign cricket teams, including Australia, England, South Africa, and New Zealand refused to visit the country in the aftermath of suicide blasts and rampant violence killing hundreds of people.

Buenos Aires/Rio de Janeiro - Brazil are in far from their best form, and a divorce is evident between fans in the football- crazy South American country and the low-performance side led by coach Carlos Dunga.

However, the same team won the 2007 Copa America to earn the chance to defend their title at the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa.

Brazil have long failed to display the kind of fantasy game that made their football famous and turned "jogo bonito" into a global trademark.

Hamburg - Adrian Sutil has dismissed speculation that he won't be driving for the

Hamburg - The tie between England and Germany at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin may be the most high-profile international friendly on this week but much attention will also be on Diego Maradona's Argentina, who take on Scotland in his first match in charge.

Maradona arrived in Scotland to a hero's welcome at the weekend with Scottish fans clambering for autographs, many clutching a picture of his "hand of God" goal against England in the 1986 World Cup.