Aussies still hunting No.1 spot

Three wins required against Proteas in remaining ODIs

Australia must win all three remaining matches in the Carlton Mid One-Day International Series against South Africa to reclaim the world No.1 ranking from India.

Darren Lehmann's side currently sits third in the Reliance ICC ODI rankings, three points behind reigning ICC Cricket World Cup champions India, who consolidated their No.1 ranking with a 5-0 sweep against Sri Lanka, completed in Ranchi on Sunday.

The Proteas could also still claim the No.1 spot by also winning all three remaining matches, starting with Wednesday's day-night encounter at Canberra's Manuka Oval.

With Australia currently sitting on 114 points, a 4-1 series result against South Africa would see them take top spot by a fraction of a point from India.

The Proteas, currently second on 115 points, would move to 118 if they won the series 4-1.

Winning two of the final three games would not only give the Australians the Carlton Mid ODI Series silverware, it would also see them climb above the Proteas for second spot on the ICC's rankings table.

The three teams will continue to jostle for the No.1 position until the World Cup, which begins on February 14.

Australia and India will face off in at least two ODIs in January during the Carlton Mid One-Day International Tri Series.

That series also features England, while South Africa heads home after Sunday's match in Sydney and will play five ODIs against West Indies in January.

Possible outcomes for Australia from the Carlton Mid One-Day International series

- Australia become No.1 if they beat South Africa 4-1
- South Africa become No.1 if they beat Australia 4-1
- A 3-2 win to Australia would see them climb above the Proteas to No.2, with India remaining No.1
- A 3-2 win to South Africa would see them remain No.2, with India keeping top position.

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Chris Cairns charged with perjury

             NZ allrounder faces seven years in prison

British prosecutors have charged New Zealand cricket great Chris Cairns with perjury.

The charge relates to a 2012 libel action that Cairns successfully brought against former Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi over a tweet accusing the allrounder of match-fixing during his time in the now-defunct Indian Cricket League (ICL).

While Cairns, 44, has been charged with one count of perjury, a friend who appeared as a witness at the libel trial, lawyer Andrew Fitch-Holland, has been charged with perverting the court of justice.

The two men were formally charged on Thursday after attending a central London police station and are due to appear before a court in London on October 2.

Cairns could face seven years in prison if found guilty.

The Metropolitan Police said that two other people arrested over the investigation, a 33-year-old woman and a 36-year-old man, had been released without charge.

Cairns, who won STG90,000 ($A164,000) in the libel action against Modi, has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

Speaking after Britain's Crown Prosecution Service confirmed he was to be charged with perjury earlier this month, he said: "I'm obviously extremely disappointed.

"However, at least there will now be an opportunity to face my accusers in an open forum, with some rigour and proper process around that, so that I can clear my name once and for all."

Fitch-Holland, 49, was previously involved in a case against the England and Wales Cricket Board when they banned players who had appeared in the ICL in 2008.

Cairns's former teammate Lou Vincent, who was banned for life earlier this year for match-fixing, has alleged that a world-famous international dubbed 'Player X' lured him into a murky world of corruption that included offers of cash and sex to rig matches.

Cairns has said that he believes he is the player to whom Vincent was referring, but has questioned his accuser's credibility, describing the allegations he faces as "absurd, bizarre and scary".

Cairns retired from international cricket in 2004 after becoming one of only 12 players in Test history to complete the 'double' of 200 wickets and 3,000 runs.

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