Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - Quade Cooper will play his first test for more than four years on Sunday after being named as Wallabies flyhalf for the Rugby Championship test against South Africa on Australia's Gold Coast.

The 33-year-old playmaker, whose last international start was against Argentina in October 2016, comes in for youngster Noah Lolesio, who has worn the number 10 shirt for Australia's six tests this year.

Coach Dave Rennie has rolled the dice on Cooper after three successive losses to the All Blacks over the last couple of months, the last two giving the Wallabies the worst possible start to their Rugby Championship campaign.

With James O'Connor back in the squad after injury but not yet fit enough to play, and Matt Toomua no longer considered an option at flyhalf, Rennie is banking on Cooper to get his backline moving.

The backs remained otherwise unchanged with Rennie choosing to give error-prone fullback Tom Banks another chance.

In the forwards, Angus Bell will make his first test start at loosehead prop, while Izack Rodda also steps up from the bench to partner Matt Philip in the second row.

Hooker Feleti Kaitu'u and flanker Rob Leota look set to make their test debuts after being named on the bench.

World champions South Africa named their team on Wednesday, recalling number eight Duane Vermeulen for his first test since his Man of the Match performance in the 2019 World Cup final.

- Reuters

Afghan captain stands down

Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan has stepped down from his position with immediate effect, shortly after the country's cricket board named him in their squad for the Twenty20 World Cup in October-November.

The 22-year-old leg-spinner said on social media that he was not consulted by the ACB, who earlier named an 18-member squad and two reserve players for the tournament in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

"As captain and responsible person for the nation I reserve the right to be part of the selection of the team," Khan said on Twitter.

"The selection committee and ACB has not obtained my consent for the team which has been announced... I'm taking the decision of stepping down from the role as the captain of Afghanistan T20 side effective immediately."

-Reuters

Rugby returns at Alert Level 2

Provincal rugby will return on 17 September after New Zealand Rugby released the revised draw for the delayed Heartland Championship and a re-jigged NPC.

Competitions which have been on hold since mid-August due to Covid-19, can resume under Alert Level 2, meaning all teams outside of Auckland, which remains at Alert Level 4, can return to play.

King Country and Mid Canterbury will get the Heartland Championship season underway, a month late, at Rugby Park in Te Kuiti, while Buller, North Otago, Wairarapa Bush, Whanganui and West Coast will also play host as all six Round 1 matches are played on 18 September.

The Meads Cup and Lochore Cup finals are now scheduled for the weekend of 13 November.

Week three of the NPC will kick off on 17 September with Waikato hosting Canterbury. Back-to-back matches on Saturday afternoon see Taranaki play Wellington in Inglewood and Northland play Tasman in Whangarei. The weekend is rounded off with Hawkes Bay defending the Ranfurly Shield against Bay of Plenty in Napier.

Further updates on the NPC and Farah Palmer Cup draws will be released following the Government's next Covid-19 update on Monday 13 September.

Pakistani cricketer tests positive

The Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Nawaz has test positive for Covid-19 just days before the Black Caps are due to arrive in the country.

The left arm spinner is in quarantine and at this stage the rest of the Pakistan team are negative.

New Zealand arrive in Pakistan this weekend to play three ODI's and five T20 internationals.

The Pakistan Cricket Board is allowing stadiums to be at 25 percent capacity.

The Black Caps last T20 game against Bangladesh is tonight.

Boxall staying in Minnesota

New Zealand footballer Michael Boxall is extending his stay at MLS club Minnesota United.

The All Whites defender has agreed to a contract extension that runs through the 2023 season. Financial terms were not disclosed by the team.

Boxall, 33, said he feels very much at home with the club after spending parts of five seasons with Minnesota United.

"Very happy to commit the next couple of years here -- I've really enjoyed my time here," Boxall said. "I'm delighted that (my daughter) Maxwell has given me permission to stay here for a couple more years. Already the family makes so many sacrifices with my schedule and moving countries once or twice before, so now that the little ones are in school, with a good circle of friends, I want to affect them as little as possible. Happy to be setting deeper roots here for a couple more years."

Boxall has played 32 games for the All Whites... he was named in the Tokyo Olympic squad but didn't play because of injury.

-Reuters

Fox struggles at Wentworth

Ryan Fox's recent struggles on the European golf tour continue.

Fox has fired a one over par 73 to be in a tie for 84th after the opening round of the PGA Championship at Wentworth in England.

His round included four bogies and three birdies.

The 34 year old is nine shots behind the leaders Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand and Christiaan Bezuidenhout of South Africa.

Fox missed the cut at his last event in Italy.

No Club World Cup in Japan

The Japan Football Association has withdrawn from hosting the 2021 Club World Cup due to the COVID-19 situation in the country.

The annual tournament, which brings together champions from the six global confederations, was due to be held in December.

The decision comes after the Japanese government on Thursday officially decided to extend the COVID-19 state of emergency in many parts of the country as it looked to suppress a fresh wave of infections.

FIFA last year chose Japan as the hosts for a traditional seven-club event after an expanded 24-team tournament, originally scheduled for China in June 2021, was delayed due to the pandemic.

Japan last hosted the tournament in 2016 and the JFA had planned to stage the event this year as part of its 100th anniversary celebrations, according to local media reports.

A 24-team event is still on the agenda for FIFA, with president Gianni Infantino saying last year that they just needed to decide when it would take place.

-Reuters

Stokes not in T20 squad

All-rounder Ben Stokes has not been included in England's 15-man preliminary squad for next month's Twenty20 World Cup as he continues to take a break from cricket to focus on his mental health.

The selectors recalled fast bowler Tymal Mills for the first time since February 2017 following his impressive performances in the Vitality T20 Blast and The Hundred.

There are no big surprises in the Bangladesh squad although experienced pace bowler Rubel Hossain is only a reserve.

South Africa have named three front-line spinners, Keshav Maharaj, Bjorn Fortuin and the number one ranked bowler in the world in the T20 format, Tabraiz Shamsi, in their squad but left out opening batsman Janneman Malan.

Defending champions the West Indies recalled experienced pace bowler Ravi Rampaul to the team for the first time in six years, while all-rounder Roston Chase earned his maiden call-up to the T20I squad.

-Reuters

India call of practice

India's practice session ahead of the fifth and final test against England was cancelled after a member of their support staff tested positive for COVID-19.

Second physiotherapist Yogesh Parmar tested positive on Wednesday and the team were awaiting the results of a fresh round of tests carried out on Thursday morning, the official added requesting anonymity.

India head coach Ravi Shastri tested positive during the fourth test at The Oval and has since been isolating with bowling coach Bharat Arun, fielding coach R Sridhar and physio Nitin Patel.

India lead 2-1 in the five-test series after winning the Oval test by 157 runs. The final test is due to begin tonight at Old Trafford.

-Reuters