The countries will pin their hopes of victory on their quicks with seamer friendly wickets on order for the Tests in Durban, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Johannesburg, and the contests set to be dominated by fiery exchanges of fast bowling.
New Zealand will enter the World Cup feeling optimistic of finally winning it after four and half decades of trying.
'If there is one certainty in this visit, it is that Trump does not follow a script. He is unpredictable,' highlights Ambassador B S Prakash.
Former Afghanistan skipper Nawroz Mangal, under whose leadership his side secured an ODI status in the 2009 World Cup Qualifiers and then qualified for the 2010 World T20 event, has announced his retirement from international cricket with immediate effect in order to take up a role of the national chief selector. While confirming the news of Mangal's appointment in the selection panel, Shafiqullah Stanikzai, the Afghanistan Cricket Board's chief executive officer, said it is an honour for Afghanistan cricket that a player like the 32-year-old, who has a big fan following and respect among others, is the chief selector.
Bollywood has dealt with same sex relationships before, but homophobia runs deep.
That Manu wants unite his M3 group is clear, but if he has a hidden agenda, he'll be cheating his fans.
Midfielder Andre broke the deadlock for the Euro 2016 finalists in difficult, wet conditions just after the half hour and Nani, celebrating his 29th birthday, scored direct from a free kick in the 89th minute.
India has a population of 1.3 billion but the nation's obsession with and success on the cricket pitch has left it a massive underachiever on the football field.
'My heart sank when Lokesh's name was announced. It could well have been Rahul Dev, I thought, but no,' says Divya Nair.
Diogo Jota and Joao Felix both scored their first international goals in the second half before Bruno Petkovic pulled one back and Andre Silva then added a fourth.
'I feel so happy. I wanted my career to go like this,' Layanya Tripathy tells Radhika Rajamani.
Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins has been called into the squad for the remainder of the One-day series against South Africa to give Mitchell Johnson time to rest up before next month's Test series against India.
The series should get off to an explosive start when quicks Mitchell Johnson and Dale Steyn face off.
'I am not disappointed with whatever roles come my way. I feel disappointment is a sign of ungratefulness.'
Belgium have retained injured Vincent Kompany in their final World Cup squad but put fellow defender Laurent Ciman on standby in case the Manchester City skipper is not fit for their opening match in Russia.
Xi-Kim meeting took place amid concern in Beijing that the North Korean leader is getting too close to US sidelining China pointing to its declining importance in the Korean Peninsula peace process.
Last night's episode was a reminder that there is nothing in the house that cannot be reversed observes Divya Nair.
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo has urged his team mates not to get carried away by the 7-0 romp over Estonia ahead of their campaign at the Euro 2016. The 31-year-old forward, warming up for his side's Group F opener against Iceland on Tuesday in Saint-Etienne, made his first appearance with Portugal this summer in Lisbon on Wednesday night. "It was just a friendly and even though we won 7-0, it doesn't mean anything," Ronaldo was quoted
Dolgopolov, who advanced to the 2nd round of the US Open on Wednesday, said he could not remember ever being approached to fix a match.
Happy Friendship Day, folks!
As India goes into the four-match Test series against Australia, which commences in Adelaide on Tuesday, an analysis of the team.
Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero struck two goals apiece in Argentina's 7-0 romp against an out-of-sorts Bolivia while Mexico were held 3-3 by Trinidad & Tobago in friendlies in the United States on Friday.
The BJP leadership believes these parties are flexing their muscles in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls for better seat-sharing deals.
Germany will decide on the eve of their Euro 2016 round of 16 match against Slovakia on Sunday whether defender Jerome Boateng can help them to another clean sheet en route to what they hope is their fourth continental crown.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has expressed his delight with Christian Benteke and Roberto Firmino after the forwards made their first-team debuts in the club's final warm-up match before the new Premier League season.
IMAGES from matches played at the BNP Paribas tennis tournament played in Indian Well, California, on Thursday
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
When Russia and Saudi Arabia meet on Thursday form will be irrelevant as the world's biggest sporting festival explodes into life in Moscow.
Argentine referee Nestor Pitana will take charge of Thursday's opening World Cup match between hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia in Moscow, FIFA said on Tuesday.
Day 1 of Ireland's inaugural Test vs Pakistan rained off.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Saturday.
Images from the Nations League matches.
With Modi's international image seriously damaged -- perhaps, irrecoverably -- and Indian foreign policy finding itself in drift, we move on to the New Year in a depressing scenario, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
From cutting melons on a stomach to gold ice-cream, here's the weirdest, funniest stories from the world around.
Victory for the Netherlands in Friday's Euro 2016 qualifier in Latvia would have been seen as practically guaranteed after a successful World Cup in Brazil but a faltering qualifying campaign has precipitated a confidence crisis.
Albania are unlikely to pose much of a threat to France but Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann will be expected to produce sharper performances in Wednesday's Group A match when victory should assure the hosts a last 16 spot in Euro 2016.
Olivier Giroud said he had breathed a sigh of relief after scoring the first goal in Euro 2016 and wished the boos he has faced throughout his career would now go away. The France striker, who opened the scoring with a brave header in Friday's 2-1 win over Romania on Friday, now has eight goals from his last eight games for the national team. Giroud, who has scored 18 goals for France, is the team's most prolific striker since Didiers Deschamps took over as coach in 2012. "My statistics speak for themselves," Giroud told a news conference at France's training camp outside Paris on Saturday. "People say I get better through adversity but I'd be happy to live without all the mudslingers," he added.
Spain are among the favourites to win the European Championship this summer but the team's 1-0 home defeat to Georgia on Tuesday has set alarm bells ringing. In their last warm-up game before the tournament and nearly two years on from their first-round exit at the World Cup in Brazil, Spain lost to a team ranked number 137 by FIFA. "Gatillazo" (Damp squib) was the headline in Wednesday's AS newspaper after the team's loss in Getafe.
England defender Chris Smalling headed the only goal with five minutes left as they beat 10-man Portugal 1-0 in a turgid Euro 2016 warm-up match at Wembley in London, on Thursday.
