It has been learnt recently that the rest of the one-day international series with South Africa would not be played by Australia batsman Michael Clarke, as he needs to provide rest to his injured thumb.

Though Clarke had an injury, still he played to score 19 and take 1-29 in Friday's first one-dayer.

It has been further learnt that when the ODI series with New Zealand begins on 1 February, he would resume back to the team.

Friday saw South Africa tasting the nectar of success, when it grabbed on half centuries by Neil McKenzie and Jean-Paul Duminy and also by Albie Morkel, thus defeating Australia by three wickets in the opening ODI of the five-match series.

In order to scamper home with three deliveries to spare in a thrilling contest, South Africa survived a middle-order collapse while chasing 272 for victory.

Before Albie came up with a dazzling cameo, smashing 40 off just 18 balls with four fours and a six, the foundation for South Africa was set by Duminy (71) and McKenzie
(63).

An unshaken 51-run stand was shared by Albie for the eighth wicket with skipper Johan Botha (12) to seal the win.

It has been learnt that the first two One-Day Internationals between India and Sri Lanka on January 28 and 30 would be hosted by the historic city of Dambulla.

It was informed by the top Sri Lanka officials, "The Indian team, expected to arrive in Colombo on January 24, is likely to play first two matches -- day fixtures -- in Dambulla, which is 150 kms from the capital city and known for its cave temples and a sprawling lake."

London  - Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was understandably delighted after his side hit the top of the English Premier League for the first time this season thanks to Dimitar Berbatov's late, late winner in a 1-0 victory at Bolton Wanderers.

The Bulgarian headed the winner in the last minute of normal time to lift the champions one point clear of Liverpool, who play Everton on Monday night.

"Being top is not decisive at this stage but it is always nice because it is the best place to be," an elated Ferguson said.

Dada aka the Cricket legend Sourav Ganguly is all set to receive a one-kilogram gold bat at a Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) felicitation programme on Sunday. The cost of the bat is expected to be around Rs 25 lakh. The gold bat has Ganguly's cricketing records embossed on it.

Speaking on this, Jagmohan Dalmiya, CAB President said, “It will be a totally cricket-centric function. So, there will be no cultural programmes.”

A15 minutes film which will portray Ganguly's life from a child till his retirement as a cricketer would also be shown in the programme.

The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has officially announced the dates of India’s tour of Sri Lanka. SLC announced that Team India will land in Sri Lanka on January 26 to play a series of 5 ODIs and a Twenty20 international match – the first ODI will be played on January 28 in Dambulla.

Another ODI will be played at Dambulla on 30 Jan, while the remaining matches will be played in Colombo on February 2, 5 and 8. The Twenty20 international will be played in Colombo on Feb 10.