Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - All-rounder Ellyse Perry has been ruled out of Australia's Women's World Cup semi-final against the West Indies today with a back issue.

Perry, who missed the semi-finals and final of the 2020 T20 World Cup because of a hamstring injury, suffered back spasms in Australia's win over South Africa early last week and sat out training until Monday's session.

Annabel Sutherland, daughter of former Cricket Australia chief executive James, is likely to retain her place in the team after replacing Perry for the win over Bangladesh last Friday.

Unbeaten Australia, who are aiming for a seventh World Cup triumph, take on West Indies at Wellington's Basin Reserve today, while holders England play South Africa in the other semi-final in Christchurch on Thursday.

Some showers are forecast for Wellington this morning, but there is a reserve day if needed.

West Indies have also made a change to their squad with all-rounder Mandy Mangru coming in as a temporary replacement for leg-spinner Afy Fletcher, who tested positive for COVID-19 and is isolating. Captain Stafanie Taylor did not think Perry's absence would make it easier for her team.

-Reuters

Williamson returns to the crease

Black Caps captain Kane Williamson has scored two runs in his return to the game.

Williamson, who last played for New Zealand in the Test series in India in November, opened the innings for his Sunrisrers Hyderabad side in their opening Indian Premier League game.

However he lasted just seven balls as his side was beaten by 61 runs by the Rajasthan Royals.

Fellow New Zealander Trent Boult took two wickets for 23 runs for Rajasthan.

Mosley took his own life

Former F1 motor racing boss Max Mosley died of a gunshot wound in the bedroom of his London home last May after being told his cancer was terminal, an inquest has heard.

His family had said at the time that the 81-year-old, youngest son of prominent 1930s British fascist Oswald Mosley, died after a long battle with cancer.

British media said the remote inquest at Westminster Coroner's Court revealed Mosley had been informed he had only weeks to live.

A neighbour and his housekeeper summoned the emergency services after finding a note on his bedroom door saying 'do not enter, call the police'.

The inquest heard Mosley told his long-time personal assistant Henry Alexander a day earlier that he intended to take his own life.

The BBC quoted coroner Fiona Wilcox saying she was 'satisfied' Mosley had intended to kill himself.

Mosley became president of the International Automobile Federation, Formula One's governing body, in 1993. He stayed in office for 16 years.

-Reuters

Thorpe takes over Afghanistan

Former England batsman Graham Thorpe has been named head coach of the Afghanistan senior men's team.

Thorpe, who played 100 test matches for England between 1993-2005, stepped down as England batting coach in February, following their 4-0 Ashes defeat by Australia.

The 52-year-old was among a number of departures from the England set-up, including head coach Chris Silverwood and managing director Ashley Giles, and faced criticism for several batting collapses by the team in Australia.

Thorpe will be replacing South African Lance Klusener, who left the Afghanistan role in November last year.

-Reuters

Becker can't find his trophies

Former tennis champion Boris Becker does not know where his Wimbledon trophies are, he has told a jury.

The six-time Grand Slam winner told a London Court he would hand them over "tomorrow" if he had access to them, as a trial into his alleged failure to declare assets continues.

Mr Becker, 54, was declared bankrupt in 2017, with nine trophies and medals among assets he is accused of failing to declare.

He denies 24 charges against him.

The German former world number one told the court he has sold his properties to help fix his financial situation and he owned "lots" of trophies and memorabilia from his career, but some are now missing.

Previously, Mr Becker told the court of his shock and embarrassment at being declared bankrupt, adding the bad publicity had damaged "brand Becker" and reduced his earnings.

He won 49 singles titles in 77 finals over his 15 year career.

-BBC

Fanning to return to the waves

Australia's Mick Fanning, a triple world champion who grabbed international headlines by escaping a shark attack by punching the animal, will make another return to professional surfing four years after he announced his retirement.

The 40-year-old will compete at Bells Beach in Victoria next month after receiving a wildcard for the event, which is the fourth stop on the World Surf League 2022 Championship Tour.

"Obviously, I did Narrabeen last year but Bells is the one I was aiming for. It's a place that's close to my heart, and if I was ever going to take a wildcard, it would be there, so I'm pretty fired up.

Fanning won world titles in 2007, 2009 and 2013 but is also remembered for his encounters with two sharks in three years at the J-Bay Open.

He was dragged off his board and had to punch a great white to escape before being helped from the water in South Africa in 2015 live on TV, the footage of the attack was viewed millions of times on YouTube. Another encounter two years later saw him being plucked to safety.

The Australian surfing icon, nicknamed 'White Lightning' had officially retired in 2018.

-Reuters

Marquez to miss Argentina round

Six times MotoGP champion Marc Marquez will miss this weekend's Argentine Grand Prix as he continues to recover from double vision suffered after a crash in Indonesia.

The Honda rider did not race at the Mandalika circuit, the second round of the season, a week ago after a highside crash in the warm-up session.

Marquez won the last time MotoGP visited the Argentinian circuit in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the race in 2020 and 2021.

The Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin, Texas, follows on from Argentina on April 10 and Honda did not say whether Marquez might return there, or who would replace him this weekend.

The 29-year-old experienced double vision while travelling back to Spain from Indonesia. He suffered a similar episode at the end of last season after a concussion in a training crash.

The rider won titles between 2013 to 2019 but has struggled with fitness in recent years. He sat out the 2020 season after breaking his arm and also missed four races in 2021.

-Reuters

Karjakin considering appeal

Russian grandmaster Sergey Karjakin is considering appealing against his six-month ban from competition for supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The 32-year-old, who challenged Magnus Carlsen for the world title in 2016, has defended his country's actions on social media in recent weeks, drawing intense criticism from the chess world.

The ban puts Karjakin's participation in the Candidates Tournament, which starts on June 16, in doubt.

"I am now thinking whether I will play or not in the Candidates Tournament," he said.

"Now all my thoughts are about filing an appeal. There are 21 days for this, and a week has already passed, and we need to hurry in this matter."

Karjakin, who was born in Crimea and represented Ukraine until 2009, added that his lawyers were figuring out whether it was best to file the appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport or the International Chess Federation.

-Reuters