Scott Boland has kept his place in Australia's team for the Boxing Day Test, with Josh Hazlewood withdrawing from contention.
Boland has been in fine form since coming into Australia's Test team, taking 25 wickets in five appearances in the format at an average of 10.36.
The 33-year-old fast-medium pacer took 4-42 in Australia's six-wicket defeat of South Africa in Brisbane in the opening match of the series, but might well have lost his place to Hazlewood in Melbourne.
But Hazlewood, who has been recovering from a side strain, elected to withdraw from contention as he felt "underdone", earning the praise of captain Pat Cummins.
"We gave Joshy every chance,, it just got to a stage where he more than anyone else felt like he was a little bit underdone," Cummins said.
"It's a mark of the man really, he himself said 'don't feel quite right' so he kind of pulled himself out of selection.
"We talk a lot about how as a team we need a squad mentality and I think it's another great example."
Hazlewood trained well before the match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, but Cummins explained a decision between the veteran campaigner and Boland did not have to be made in the end.
"We didn't really get to the decision point, we gave it enough time and it played out," Cummins said.
"There would have been a part of everyone that would've felt a little bit aggrieved if Scott missed out."
Australia opener David Warner, meanwhile, is set to hit the landmark of 100 Tests after keeping his place at the top of the order.
South Africa captain Dean Elgar did not reveal his starting XI, as he urged his batters to step up as the Proteas aim to keep their chances in the series alive.
But he conceded their batters must improve with the series on the line.
"We've always been in a good space since we've been in Australia," Elgar told reporters.
"We've just been through a bit of a hurdle in the last week – but I think both batting units have been through that.
"We've started afresh and we know runs on the board is key.
"We've had a few good conversations but at the moment talk is cheap. Your best reference point is putting performances on the board."
Australia XI to face South Africa: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland
The twelve Tottenham players who featured at the World Cup will not find rest easy to come by, to Antonio Conte's frustration.
Spurs return to action on Boxing Day against Brentford, just eight days after two of their players – France captain Hugo Lloris and Argentina defender Cristian Romero – played in the World Cup final.
Lloris will be on the bench against the Bees but Romero is unlikely to be in the squad.
Spurs also have to contend with Richarlison's absence, with the Brazil forward having sustained a serious hamstring injury while playing in Qatar. Son Heung-min, Eric Dier and Harry Kane made it to the last 16 and quarter-finals of the competition with South Korea and England respectively, while Ivan Perisic went deep into the competition with Croatia.
"I am not really happy," Conte said. "On one hand, you are happy because for my club, Tottenham, to have 12 players at the World Cup it means that we are in the right way to try to be competitive and to try to win something.
"But it is normal that when you have so many players play a tournament like this, especially during the season, that now it is not easy because the physical condition is not at the top.
"It is impossible to give them a lot of rest and for sure with the players that didn't play the World Cup and we work for four weeks, now they are in a great physical condition.
"We worked a lot on the tactical aspect and physical aspect. Now they are at a level that is better than the players who finished the World Cup.
"For this reason I think I have to make the best decision for the game against Brentford.
"On one side I have players who I worked with for four weeks really well and on the other side, I have players who worked at the World Cup and are not at the top at the moment."
After taking on Brentford, Spurs host Aston Villa on New Year's Day before facing Crystal Palace on January 4.
It may sound bizarre in practically every way, but the Premier League resumes on Boxing Day following its mid-season World Cup break.
Barely eight days on from the World Cup final in Qatar, England's top flight returns with no one able to afford a sluggish resumption.
Of course, much has changed since Premier League teams were last in action in early November, and in one respect nowhere is that truer than at Arsenal.
Although top of the table, the Gunners are now without the man that many felt was key in transforming their fortunes this season, with Gabriel Jesus facing a significant spell on the sidelines due to injury.
Their season resumes at home to West Ham on Monday, with all eyes on how well they adapt without the Brazilian.
Boxing Day omens
The festive period is usually fairly unpredictable due to the sheer number of games teams have to play in December. The circumstances are obviously a little different this year.
With that in mind, most players should be fairly fresh, even considering those midweek EFL Cup exploits.
Perhaps then Arsenal will be even more confident of continuing their excellent record on Boxing Day, having last lost at home on December 26 in 1987. That is a run of 13 games without defeat – the last 10 of those were victories.
West Ham's recent record couldn't be much more different, having won just one of their past eight Boxing Day games – home or away – with a defeat of Swansea City in Wales six years ago the exception.
Does form matter?
If we rewind to early November, Arsenal were flying.
They won each of their previous nine Premier League home games before the season's break, with six of those wins coming this season.
Victory on Monday would equal their longest winning home run from the start of a top-flight campaign after also winning their first seven in 1934-35, 2005-06 and 2017-18.
Arsenal won their last three league matches, including at Chelsea and at Wolves, by an aggregate score of 8-0; they have not won four in a row without conceding since May 2014.
And to top it all off, West Ham lost each of their three most recent games to leave them with 11 away losses for the calendar year, last losing as many as 12 back in 2013.
But those respective runs and streaks were last added to roughly six weeks ago, so how much will they really count for? Certainly, for West Ham, the only way is up.
Gunned down
Hammers boss David Moyes has a generally dreadful record against the so-called top six.
It's become a bit of a feature in the Premier League, and Monday's trip to Arsenal puts his record back in the spotlight.
He has lost more away games against Arsenal in all competitions than he has any other opponent (17).
Further to that, he has only faced Chelsea (23 matches) on the road more often without ever winning than he has the Gunners (21).
Can Moyes finally end his Arsenal hoodoo?
Nketiah looks to answer the call
Jesus' absence for Arsenal is more than just about a goals output.
The Brazilian's haul of five in 14 Premier League games this term is hardly the stuff of legend, but he has offered so much to Arsenal's general play, bringing an ability to conjure something out of nothing and giving them a feisty edge in attack.
Eddie Nketiah will likely be the one to profit from Jesus' absence in terms of first-team minutes. The two players are significantly different, but the young Englishman might argue he will bring more of a goal threat.
In his previous 10 starts across all competitions at Emirates Stadium, Nketiah has scored 10 goals from just 15 shots on target.
Before this run, Nketiah netted only three goals in his first 10 home starts for Arsenal.
No one expects him to fully replace Jesus' influence, but helping the Gunners kick-start the season again with a positive impact against West Ham could be the reassurance some Arsenal fans need while awaiting the Brazil forward's return.
India overcame a shaky start to their second innings as Ravichandran Ashwin and Shreyas Iyer guided them to a three-wicket victory over Bangladesh.
The triumph at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, which secured a 2-0 win in the Test series, came the hard way, with Ashwin (42 not out) and Iyer (29 not out) getting the tourists over the line.
Chasing a measly 145, India had been reduced to 45-3 at the end of day three and were facing down the barrel of a defeat when Jaydev Unadkat, Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel fell within the space of 18 runs.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz claimed two of those dismissals to seal his five-for, leaving India on 74-7 and giving Bangladesh real hope of levelling the series.
Bangladesh's star bowler could have had a sixth wicket when Ashwin was dropped on one by Mominul Haque, and India made their hosts pay.
Indeed, it was Ashwin who got the job done, letting rip with 16 runs in the 47th over to seal victory.
Bangladesh's dismal India record rolls on
India have won each of their last five Tests against Bangladesh, their longest winning streak against the Tigers in the format. Indeed, they are unbeaten in their last 10 such matches played in Bangladesh (W8 D2). Only Sri Lanka (12) and New Zealand (11) have played more games in the format in a single country without losing (both in Zimbabwe).
Bangladesh have lost eight of their last nine Tests (D1), including each of the last five on the bounce – the last time they lost more games in the format in succession was a run of six from February 2019 to February 2020.
Mehidy's efforts prove fruitless
It was a great performance from Mehidy, who finished with figures of 5-63 and should have had his sixth wicket when Ashwin was put down.
Ultimately, Ashwin got the better of Mehidy in that 47th-over flurry, striking a six and two fours to end Bangladesh's hopes.
The Pittsburgh Steelers remain in the playoff hunt for at least one more week after some rookie heroics led to a 13-10 victory against the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday.
With both teams entering the contest at 6-8, it meant anything but a win would spell an early end to the season, and it was the Raiders controlling the contest throughout.
Playing on the road, Hunter Renfrow gave the Raiders the lead in the first quarter after an impressive contested catch near the sideline, before staying inbounds and juking the safety on his way to the endzone
The two sides would kick a field goal each in the second quarter, and besides another Chris Boswell field goal early in the fourth period to cut the Raiders' lead to 10-6, there were no other points scored in the second half until the final minute.
Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett got the ball back for his game-winning drive with 2:55 remaining, proceeding to march 76 yards down the field in 10 plays in the freezing temperature and driving snow.
It culminated in a quarterback sneak to convert a fourth-and-one, before Pickett found fellow rookie George Pickens in the endzone for a 14-yard touchdown with 46 seconds on the clock.
The Raiders had one late chance to work their way into field goal range and potentially force overtime to keep their season alive, but it all came crashing down when Derek Carr threw his third interception of the game. It tied Carr's career-high for interceptions in a season with 14, with two games remaining.
Pickett, on the other hand, played a strong game considering the conditions, completing 26 of his 39 passes for 244 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
The Steelers will need to beat the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns in the final two weeks to give themselves a chance to make the playoffs.
Sacramento Kings big man Domantas Sabonis will reportedly undergo further tests after an initial X-ray on his injured right hand was not enough to fully diagnose the problem.
Sabonis, 26, was a two-time All-Star with the Indiana Pacers before being traded this past season, and he has gone up a level with the surprisingly capable Kings.
The Lithuanian is averaging a career-high and league-leading 12.5 rebounds per game, while his 6.7 assists per game matches the career-high he set during his best All-Star season, and he is also shooting a career-best 61.2 per cent from the field.
Thanks in large part to his play, the Kings are sitting sixth in the Western Conference with a record of 17-14, and Sabonis has played in all 31 games up to this point.
That will likely change due to this hand injury, with a report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski stating the team will be seeking further examination to determine if there is a more serious injury that needs to be addressed, or if it is purely a case of Sabonis' pain tolerance.
ESPN's report claims there is a chance Sabonis will be able to suit up for Tuesday's home game against the Denver Nuggets, while any absence would be a crushing blow for the Kings as they try to end the longest playoff drought in the NBA – having not played in the postseason since 2006.
Despite playing without their starting quarterback, the Philadelphia Eagles put up a strong fight on the road against the Dallas Cowboys before ultimately going down 40-34.
Entering the contest at 13-1, the Eagles were missing Jalen Hurts for the first time this season, meaning backup Gardner Minshew would run the show.
One of the more capable backups in the league, Minshew played well, rushing for a touchdown in the first half before throwing one to begin the third quarter to put his side ahead 27-17. The Cowboys fought back to tie things up, but Minshew was not done, tossing his second touchdown of the game to pull ahead 34-27 early in the fourth.
However, Dallas had too much firepower down the stretch, highlighted by receiver CeeDee Lamb's big outing.
Lamb scored the Cowboys' only touchdown in the first half, and he struck again with his side trailing in the last quarter, tying the game at 34-34 to cap a 12-catch, 120-yard performance.
Dallas finally stuck their noses back in front when Brett Maher converted a 26-yard field goal with 2:19 remaining on the clock, leaving the Eagles with plenty of time to mount a game-winning drive, but it ended abruptly after Miles Sanders' fumble on the very first play.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott completed 27 of his 35 passes for 347 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, while his counterpart Minshew was 24-of-40 for two scores and two picks.
With the win, Dallas improved their record to 11-4 and secured their place in the playoffs, although they will need the Eagles (13-2) to lose their last two for any chance at stealing the division.
Bosa, Kittle lead eighth consecutive 49ers victory
The San Francisco 49ers (11-4) remain the hottest team in the NFL after rattling off their eighth straight win, defeating the Washington Commanders 37-20.
It continues rookie quarterback Brock Purdy's dream start to his career, with four wins from his first four starts since Jimmy Garoppolo's injury. He completed 15 of his 22 passes for 234 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, but the stars of the game were tight end George Kittle and pass-rusher Nick Bosa.
Kittle – who had only four touchdowns for the season prior to last week's game – now has four touchdowns in the past two weeks, following up a 93-yard, two touchdown performance with Saturday's 120-yard, two-touchdown showing.
Meanwhile, Defensive Player of the Year favourite Nick Bosa sacked Commanders quarterback Taylor Heinicke twice, taking his league-leading sack total to 17.5 in 14 games.
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson broke his team's franchise record for most receiving yards in a season on Saturday as he starred once again in a win over the New York Giants.
Jefferson caught 12 of his 16 targets for 133 yards and a touchdown in the 27-24 win, which was decided by a 61-yard field goal in the final seconds after Jefferson's final catch brought them into range.
Four games ago Jefferson broke Randy Moss' record for most receiving yards in a player's first three seasons, and he took Moss' name out of the record books once again as he eclipsed his single-season Vikings record.
Moss set the record back in 2003, catching 111 passes for 1632 yards in 16 games, but Jefferson blew past it to reach 1756 yards in just 15 games. With the NFL season now extended to 17 games, he may have a chance to shatter the mark and potentially approach 2000 yards if he plays in Week 18.
Saturday was the 11th time this season Jefferson has registered at least 98 receiving yards in a game, although his total of 133 was only his seventh-best of the campaign, highlighted by a 223-yard performance against the Detroit Lions.
A former first-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Jefferson burst onto the scene to win Offensive Rookie of the Year honours with 1400 yards and seven touchdowns in his debut season, before going even bigger in 2021 with 1616 yards and 10 scores.
Stephen Curry will not return to action in the next two weeks, although the Golden State Warriors say their star man is "making good progress".
Reigning NBA Finals MVP Curry suffered a shoulder subluxation earlier this month and was initially ruled out for "a few weeks".
The four-time champion refused to put a more accurate timeline on his recovery, but Warriors fans now know he will be missing for another fortnight.
An update from the Warriors, published on Christmas Eve, read: "Stephen Curry, who suffered a subluxation of his left shoulder on December 14 at Indiana and has missed the team’s last four games, was recently re-evaluated.
"The re-evaluation indicated that Stephen is making good progress. He will be re-evaluated again in two weeks."
The Warriors won the title last season but have struggled in 2022-23, with a losing record (15-18) for only the second time in the past 10 years. The other occasion saw Curry play only five games in 2019-20 (15-50).
Golden State are 14-12 with Curry in the team this season but 1-6 without him. Since his rookie season, they are 559-293 with Curry and 68-136 without him.
Despite the Warriors' relatively ordinary record even with Curry on the court this year, he is enjoying a fine individual season statistically.
The 34-year-old is averaging 30.0 points for only the third time in his career, while his 6.8 assists are his most since 2014-15 and his 6.6 rebounds represent a clear career high.
Only in his second MVP season in 2015-16 (50.4 per cent) has Curry shot more efficiently from the floor (50.0 per cent).
The Buffalo Bills overturned a half-time deficit to defeat the Chicago Bills 35-13 on Saturday and clinch the AFC East title.
The freezing conditions in Chicago gave this the feel of a home game for the Bills, but they were far from comfortable early on and threatened to blow their lead in the race for home-field advantage in the AFC.
Josh Allen responded to Justin Fields' opening touchdown drive by leading Buffalo down the field and completing a 19-yard TD pass to Gabe Davis.
But the Bills missed the PAT, and the only score for the remainder of the half was a successful Bears field goal, giving Chicago a 10-6 lead through two quarters.
The hopes of the Bears – and the Bills' AFC rivals – were quickly dashed in the second half, however, as Devin Singletary dashed in from 33 yards and then James Cook followed him from 27 yards for a second score in double-quick time either side of a Chicago fumble.
An unconvincing Allen display, which included two interceptions and a recovered fumble, kept the Bears in contention, yet they could not capitalise.
And the Bills QB finished in more familiar fashion with a rushing score and a TD pass to Dawson Knox in the closing stages as Buffalo took another step towards the first seed.
Bills feel the heat in AFC
The pressure had been on the Bills because there never appeared any possibility of the Kansas City Chiefs not defeating the stumbling Seattle Seahawks. A 24-10 victory was Patrick Mahomes' first against the Seahawks, meaning the Indianapolis Colts are the only team he has now played but not beaten.
The Cincinnati Bengals also remain in contention at the top of the AFC after a dominant first half against the New England Patriots. Joe Burrow completed 28 passes – a season high for any QB in any half – for 284 yards and three touchdowns before half-time, meaning the Bengals could just about withstand a second-half pick six in a 22-18 win.
The Patriots' defeat meant the Baltimore Ravens clinched their playoff berth with a 17-9 defeat of the Atlanta Falcons.
Another manic Minnesota finish
Having claimed a record-breaking comeback win last week, the Minnesota Vikings had to hold off a rally from the New York Giants, who tied the game late on. However, a 40-yard field goal from Greg Joseph had defeated the Colts, and he topped that effort with a 61-yard conversion as time expired for a 27-24 Vikings victory.
The Detroit Lions, Minnesota's NFC North rivals, saw their three-game winning run ended by the Carolina Panthers. Both the Panthers and the New Orleans Saints improved to 6-9, firmly in contention in the miserable NFC South.
Robert Lewandowski will find it "painful" watching Barcelona's next three games from the stands after his suspension for an incident against Osasuna last month was upheld.
Poland international Lewandowski was shown two yellow cards in the first half of Barca's last match before the World Cup break – a 2-1 win at El Sadar on November 8.
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) issued Lewandowski with an extended three-game ban for an alleged gesture made towards referee Gil Manzano after being dismissed.
It was announced on Friday that Barca were unsuccessful with their latest appeal against the suspension, and Lewandowski has questioned the severity of the punishment.
"It's difficult because I feel that three games is too much for what I did, that's for sure," he told Sport. "It's painful not to be able to play three games because of that."
Former Bayern Munich striker Lewandowski insists the gesture that landed him in trouble was in fact aimed at head coach Xavi.
"Nothing happened with the ref," Lewandowski said. "The reason I got three matches was nothing to do with the referee, it was to do with me and the coach. That's all I can say.
"One or two weeks before, I had a chat with Xavi, and he told me that I had to watch out if the referee gave me a yellow card.
"That was just a gesture to express he couldn't understand what was going on. We had talked about it, and it was something between Xavi and me. I didn't understand anything."
Lewandowski has 18 goals in 19 games this season – only Kylian Mbappe (19) and Erling Haaland (24) have scored more among players from Europe's top five leagues.
The 34-year-old has continued his prolific goalscoring form in a new country and is hopeful of adding to his trophy collection during his time in Catalonia.
"I will stay at Barcelona as long as I am fit and hungry for titles," he said. "We have to have the mentality of a champion."
Barcelona resume their LaLiga campaign with games against Espanyol and Atletico Madrid either side of facing third-tier side Intercity in the last 32 of the Copa del Rey.
Manchester United's players must prove they deserve silverware as they continue to battle on multiple fronts under Erik ten Hag, according to midfielder Christian Eriksen.
The Red Devils defeated Burnley 2-0 on their return to action on Wednesday to reach the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup, where third-tier Charlton Athletic await.
Ten Hag's side are also still in the Europa League, albeit with Barcelona up next in the knockout round play-offs, while their FA Cup campaign begins against Everton next month.
Having not won a trophy since their Europa League success in the 2016-17 campaign, Eriksen accepts United are not in a position to prioritise certain competitions.
"It's been a few years since winning a trophy the last time," Eriksen, who arrived at United as a free agent in July, told talkSPORT.
"From where the club were to where we are now, the aim is to focus on every competition and see where we are in the end.
"It hasn't specifically been said that we have to win this or win that – all of the players just want to win as much as possible.
"But to get there we first need to prove that we deserve to be there. It's about every tournament. Like you saw against Burnley, even the [EFL Cup] is important for us."
Eriksen played the full 90 minutes against Burnley and opened the scoring at Old Trafford, before Marcus Rashford doubled United's lead in the second period.
That was United's first match in six weeks due to the World Cup break, which saw an early exit for Eriksen and his below-par Denmark side at Qatar 2022.
Fifth-placed United now face Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Bournemouth in the space of a week as the Premier League resumes, and Eriksen is glad to be back playing.
"I think it's nice to be back," he said. "It was important to get through to the next round in the cup and get the feeling of everyone being back and getting the win."
The New York Jets are reportedly ready to move on from Zach Wilson after losing "all confidence" in the second-year quarterback.
Selected as the second-overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Wilson's rookie year showcased growing pains as he threw nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions, but the hope was he would kick on in 2022.
That has not been the case, however, with Wilson dropped in November following his disappointing showings in two defeats to the New England Patriots – throwing three interceptions in a 22-17 defeat in Week 8, then having a pass completion of just 40.9 per cent in a 20-17 loss in Week 11.
Mike White was elevated to starter, but his rib injury led to Wilson's return in Week 14, and 317 passing yards in the 20-17 loss against the Detroit Lions provided some encouragement.
However, in Thursday's 19-3 defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars, he was benched again with just nine completions and 92 yards, with Chris Streveler replacing him.
While the injury to White means Wilson could feature in the final two games of the season, NFL insider Jay Glazer has reported he will not be the team's starting quarterback for 2023.
"They [the Jets] have lost all confidence in Zach Wilson. Zach lost confidence in himself going into that last game and came out with even less confidence. Expect the Jets to move on from him after this season," he said on the NFL on Fox pre-game show.
Sat last in the AFC East on 7-8, a four-game losing streak has seen New York's playoff hopes plummet, with road games against the Seattle Seahawks and Miami Dolphins to end the season.
The New York Mets reportedly harbour concerns regarding Carlos Correa's physical, potentially throwing their 12-year, $315million agreement with the star shortstop into doubt.
Earlier this week, free agent Correa appeared set to join the San Francisco Giants after reportedly agreeing a 13-year, $350m contract with the franchise.
The Giants were set to make their agreement with the two-time MLB All-Star public on Tuesday, only for the news conference to be postponed amid reports of a medical issue arising during Correa's physical.
That delay allowed the Mets to swoop for Correa, with team owner Steve Cohen subsequently telling The New York Post a deal was close to being finalised.
"We need one more thing, and this is it," Cohen said. "This was important. This puts us over the top."
However, Correa could now see a second move collapse in quick succession after a report from The Athletic claimed the Mets are concerned about his surgically repaired lower right leg.
He underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a fractured right fibula and minor ligament damage at the age of 19 in 2014.
The report said the Mets have reservations about Correa's long-term fitness, while acknowledging Cohen's public statements on the progress of the deal could make it difficult for them to withdraw entirely.
The New York Post's baseball columnist Jon Heyman said both parties were trying to "work it through".
Correa has made seven trips to the injured list since 2015, with a torn ligament in his thumb, lower back soreness and a fractured rib.
If the Mets were to perform a remarkable U-turn on their decision to pursue Correa, it would represent a severe blow for a player who has only played at least 150 games in a season once in his eight-year career.
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