Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - Mixed results for New Zealand drivers Marcus Armstrong and Liam Lawson in the two Formula 2 sprint races in Jeddah.

Armstrong broke through for his maiden F2 win in race one, leading home Lawson in a Kiwi one-two.

"It feels fantastic because it's been sort of a tough 18 months in general so to finally get a trophy, let alone a first place one, it feels good definitely," Armstrong said post race.

"Also to see the smiles on a lot of my engineers' faces, and my mechanics as well, it's a great reward for a lot of work that hasn't really been rewarded so far this season."

His delight was shortlived though as he spun out of the second sprint race at the opening corner.

Lawson too failed to finish. He crashed into a wall late in the race when he was sitting in eighth place.

The third and final F2 race in Jeddah is tomorrow morning.

Mercedes lock out front row in Jeddah

Lewis Hamilton put Mercedes on pole position for the first Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as Red Bull rival and Formula One leader Max Verstappen hit the wall at the last corner on his final flying lap.

Hamilton, eight points behind with two races to go, was joined on the front row by team-mate Valtteri Bottas after the floodlit qualifying session on the new super-fast Jeddah Corniche street circuit.

Verstappen qualified third but with a question mark over his car's gearbox and whether he risks a possible grid penalty.

Hamilton, chasing a hat-trick of wins after victories in Brazil and Qatar narrowed the gap to Verstappen, was delighted to be leading a front row lockout.

"For us to get a one-two, I'm really proud of Valtteri and the men and women in our team who have just been working so hard," Hamilton said. "This is a great result."

- Reuters

Mostert on pole at Mount Panorama

Chaz Mostert has claimed pole position for today's Bathurst 1000 after recording the fastest ever lap in a Supercar around Mount Panorama.

The 2014 champion recorded a time of 2:03.373 mins in the top 10 shootout, edging the previous lap record held by Scott McLaughlin.

"I don't have the words," Mostert said.

"The car was just so enjoyable to drive, it's been awesome all weekend."

Mostert will share the front row of the grid with Anton De Pasquale.

Reigning champion Shane van Gisbergen will start from fifth on the grid, with Andre Heimgartner qualifying the next best of the New Zealanders in 17th.

Chelsea drop to third in the Premier League

Reigning champions Manchester City have claimed top spot in the Premier League for the first time this season after Bernardo Silva scored twice in a 3-1 victory at Watford.

Raheem Sterling's early header paved the way to a comfortable win for Pep Guardiola's side who made the most of morning leaders Chelsea's 3-2 defeat at West Ham United.

City's fifth successive league win lifted them to 35 points from 15 games, one point ahead of Liverpool and two ahead of Chelsea in what is shaping up to be a three-way title tussle.

Liverpool momentarily sat atop the table after Divock Origi scored deep into stoppage time to secure them a 1-0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

In other results, Newcastle United have moved off the bottom of the ladder with a 1-0 win over Burnley and Brighton & Hove Albion have been held to 1-1 draw at Southampton.

- Reuters

Langer not sure they've seen the end of Paine

Australia coach Justin Langer has not ruled out a return to international cricket for Tim Paine despite the wicketkeeper resigning from the captaincy following his involvement in a "sexting" scandal.

Paine threw Australia's Ashes preparations into turmoil three weeks before the start of the series against England when he quit the role before it was announced he would be taking an indefinite mental health break from the game.

"When I saw him he's obviously shattered with what's happened because he's been such an exemplary figure in Australian cricket, for the last four years particularly," Langer told reporters on Saturday.

"His life's changed, obviously.

"But I'm not sure we've seen the end of him. We'll wait and see, but that will be his decision."

- Reuters

India will send hockey teams to Birmingham after all

India's hockey teams will compete at next year's Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) president Louise Martin said, reversing their decision to skip the 2022 event.

In October, India had withdrawn its hockey teams from next year's Games citing COVID-19 concerns and Hockey India's decision to prioritise the Asian Games in China, a qualifier for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Martin said India's teams would take part in the tournament should they secure qualification, a decision that came about after talks with Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Narinder Batra.

"India's hockey men and women, if they are invited and qualify, will be here. I am delighted," Martin told Olympics news website Insidethegames.

"India is the biggest country in the Commonwealth. We need all their teams in every sport that they qualify for at these Games."

- Reuters

Taranaki claim maiden interprovincial club title

It's been a long wait, but Taranaki can finally call themselves the New Zealand interprovincial men's golf champions.

Taranaki has won its first New Zealand interprovincial title by defeating Hawke's Bay in the final at Ashburton Golf Club by a margin of 3-2, completing an unbeaten week in Aorangi.

Hawke's Bay earlier beat the top seeds Waikato 4-1 in their semi-final, while Taranaki edged Wellington 3-2.

The player of the tournament award went to Taranaki number one Sam Jones who's only stumble came in the final. He won seven from eight matches.

"We had a few close matches early that we managed to pull through and we performed better against the tougher sides. I think we were taking after the Taranaki rugby side, who went 10 zip this year, and we managed to go through eight zip," Jones said.

"Between us and them, it's been a pretty good year for Taranaki sport."