Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - All Black Sam Whitelock will turn out for Canterbury tomorrow night in their NPC clash with Wellington.

Whitelock didn't travel to Australia for the Rugby Championship as he went on parental leave.

He didn't join up with the squad last month when it was decided the late allocation of a quarantine spot in Australia wouldn't allow him to prepare properly for the second Test against South Africa.

Whitelock will pack down with Luke Romano in the Canterbury second row for the game in the capital.

"It's great to have Sam available," said Co Coach Reuben Thorne. "Unfortunately, we had a bye last week so couldn't get him on the park then, but he's been training with the group for a few weeks, and he's been great, sharing his knowledge, especially with the young guys."

Whitelock, Sam Cane, Dane Coles, Shannon Frizell and Josh Lord will fly out next week to join up with the All Blacks in the USA.

Win for Williamson

Black Caps captain Kane Williamson has led Sunrisers Hyderabad to just their third win of the Indian Premier League season.

Williamson has scored 31 runs, taken two catches and run out Australian batsman Glenn Maxwell as Hyderabad have beaten Royal Challengers Bangalore by four runs in Abu Dhabi.

They have successfully defended their total of 141 for seven after being sent into bat.

Williamson's knock of 31 from 29 deliveries is his second best score since the IPL resumed in the United Arab Emirates.

He will lead the Sunrisers in their final round match against the Mumbai Indians on Saturday morning (NZT) before joining up with the Black Caps for the Twenty20 World Cup.

Sunrisers Hyderabad are four points adrift at the bottom of the table and are guaranteed the wooden spoon.

Italy runs ends

Spain ended European champions Italy's world record 37-match unbeaten run as Ferran Torres scored twice in a 2-1 win at the San Siro stadium in their Nations League semi-final.

Spain will face the winners of tomorrow's other semi-final between France and Belgium, in the decider.

Roberto Mancini's side, who beat Spain on penalties in the Euro 2020 semi-final in July, found themselves down to 10 men in the 42nd minute when Leonardo Bonucci was sent off for a second yellow card after elbowing Sergio Busquets.

-Reuters

No tension between Black caps and Pakistan

Black Caps coach Gary Stead played down suggestions of any tension around their Twenty20 World Cup opener against Pakistan after the Black Caps recently abandoned their limited-overs tour of the south Asian country citing a security alert.

New Zealand's withdrawal dealt a massive blow to Pakistan's hopes of staging regular international cricket, with England subsequently calling off their men's and women's tours.

New Zealand face former champions Pakistan in their opening Group 2 match on Oct. 26 in Sharjah and Stead said his side were focused only on that.

"I'm not sure if there's any more tension on it from our perspective," he told reporters on Tuesday.

"Obviously, what happened in Pakistan was sad for Pakistan cricket, their players and also our players, who missed out on that opportunity as well.

"We can't change what has happened there. All we can do is prepare for the tournament and we face Pakistan first up."

New Zealand are bidding to win a second world title this year after claiming the inaugural World Test Championship in June by beating India in the final.

-Reuters

Ainslie buys SailGP team

Sir Ben Ainslie has taken a majority ownership in the franchise for the Great Britain SailGP Team he leads, the first such move by one of the crews in the $1 million prize competition.

SailGP, established and bankrolled by Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison, is run by veteran New Zealand yachtsman Sir Russell Coutts who is working to turn it into a self-sustaining circuit which appeals to a far wider audience than sailing has previously.

Ainslie, who is the most successful Olympic sailor and is separately embarking on his third attempt to win the America's Cup for Britain, said he had exercised an option to own the franchise with the help of private investor Chris Bake.

SailGP's second season is due to resume in Cadiz, Spain, for the final event of its European leg this weekend, with eight teams in F50 catamarans which "fly" above the water on hydrofoils and have hit nearly 100 kilometres per hour.

Japan leads the SailGP standings with Great Britain fourth and New Zealand sixth.

-Reuters

India withdraws from CG hockey tournament

India has withdrawn its hockey teams from next year's Commonwealth Games in Birmingham citing concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic and a short turnaround before the Asian Games in China, a qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The Commonwealth Games are scheduled for July 28 to Aug. 8, with the Asian Games in Hangzhou starting on Sept. 10.

In a letter addressed to Indian Olympic Association President Narinder Batra, the hockey federation said the Asian Games were the priority.

India and Britain have also been involved in a row over quarantine measures for international arrivals.

The Indian men's and women's teams both made the semi-finals at this year's Olympics.

-Reuters

Sainz penalised for Turkish grand prix

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz will start from the back of the grid in this weekend's Turkish Grand Prix as a result of penalties for exceeding his engine allocation.

Team mate Charles Leclerc started at the back for the previous race in Russia for the same reason. Spaniard Sainz started on the front row and finished third in Sochi.

Ferrari said also that team boss Mattia Binotto would not be attending the race but would remain at the Maranello factory to focus on the development of next year's car.

Meanwhile Red Bull and sister team AlphaTauri will race with a special Honda tribute livery this weekend on what would have been their departing engine supplier's last home race.

The Japanese Grand Prix was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and replaced by Turkey's Istanbul Park circuit.

The Red Bull cars will be predominantly white, the colour used by the Japanese manufacturer when it won the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix, while the AlphaTauri rear wings will say 'arigato' (Thank You).

Honda are leaving Formula One as an engine supplier at the end of the season, with Red Bull setting up their own powertrain company using the Japanese company's intellectual property.

-Reuters

Boone's future in doubt

In the wake of a 6-2 loss to the Boston Red Sox in Major League Bseball's American League wild-card game, manager Aaron Boone said he is unsure of his future with the New York Yankees.

"Obviously, my contract's up and I haven't had any conversations with anyone about that," Boone said. "We'll see. I love being here. I love going to work with this group."

Boone has led the Yankees to the playoffs in each of his four years as manager, but they have advanced beyond their opening round just once. He is 328-218 (.601) in the regular season, but just 11-11 in the postseason.

Boone and general manager Brian Cashman have both taken heat for not going further in the playoffs.

In June, when the Yankees were six games behind in the wild-card chase, Cashman said, "This is not an Aaron Boone problem. This is not a coaching staff problem. We're not getting the results, and I'm the head of baseball operations, so that falls more on me."

Cashman then traded for Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo, who helped Boone get the Yankees back to the postseason.

-Reuters

Football player charged

A Brazilian football player has been charged with attempted murder after he brutally kicked a referee in the head during a lower league game in the south of the country.

The player, William Ribeiro of Sport Club Sao Paulo, attacked the referee after he awarded a foul against him during a league game away to Guarani on Monday.

The game was halted 14 minutes into the second half while referee Rodrigo Crivellaro was taken to hospital. He was later released.

The club called the incident "one of the saddest in its history" and said it had summarily fired Ribeiro and was examining what further action it might take.

The small club from Rio Grande, a city of around 200,000 people approximately 320km south of the state capital Porto Alegre, play in the second division of the Rio Grande do Sul state championship.

Monday's match was halted and restarted a day later with Guarani winning 1-0.

-Reuters

Rahm chases history

World number one Jon Rahm is hopeful that he can emulate compatriot Seve Ballesteros by becoming only the second three-times winner of the Spanish Open when he tees off on home soil tonight.

Rahm is after a hat-trick of titles at Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, having previously won in 2018 and 2019. The 2020 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It would be very unique. I know names like Ollie (Jose Maria Olazabal), he couldn't win it... I would hope to be able to get to a third not only to tie Seve but to win it three times in a row," said Rahm.

Ballesteros lifted the trophy in 1981, 1985 and 1995, the latter being the last of his 50 European Tour titles.

Rahm, who won the U.S. Open this year but missed the Tokyo Olympics due to COVID-19, was part of the European team that was defeated by the Americans in the Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits last month.

New Zealander Ryan Fox is also playing in Spain this weekend.

-Reuters