The ECB today announced that Durham and England bowler Graham Onions is to undergo surgery next week in a bid to overcome an ongoing back injury.

After extensive treatment and rehabilitation for a stress fracture-related back injury Onions will undergo surgery next Monday and is expected to be ruled out of all cricket for approximately up to nine months.

ECB Chief Medical Officer, Dr Nick Peirce, said: "Graham has been suffering from ongoing discomfort due to stress fractures on both sides of his back. We have thoroughly exhausted all avenues of conservative treatment and rehabilitation with surgery very much seen as a last resort. Unfortunately Graham has not responded to these forms of treatment and as a result we have no option left but to undertake a course of treatment involving surgery.

Once more, FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter is urging footballers around the world to show fair play and respect, as FIFA is holding its 14th annual FIFA Fair Play Days during the official matchdays from 3 to 7 September 2010 and is calling for fair play on and off the pitch.

FIFA recognises the fundamental role of fair play and respect in sport and the need to apply them to all sporting activities, including children's activities. "Children need strong values to grow up with, and football, being a team sport, makes them realise how essential discipline, respect, team spirit and fair play are for the game and for life. FIFA's Fair Play campaign involves much more than simply promoting fair play on the pitch during a competition. FIFA is committed to encouraging fair play in society too, beginning with our future - with children," President Blatter said.

Carsten Ball will be out to impress Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald and coach Todd Woodbridge when he meets No.21 seed, Spain's Albert Montanes in the second round of the US Open tonight.

Australia must win against Belgium to return to the World Group, and the play-off will take place in Cairns from September 17 to 19. The team line-up needs to be confirmed to the ITF by early next week. Both Ball and Peter Luczak, who was unable to outlast world No.39 Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) today, are in contention for a singles berth for the crucial tie.

Bafana Bafana took time off their busy schedule on Wednesday, 01 September 2010 to spend some time with pupils from Hoerskool Randburg. The Senior Men's National team is using the school's soccer field for the preparation of their upcoming 2012 African Cup of Nations qualifier against Niger. The match will be played on Saturday, 04 September 2010 at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga. Kick off is at 20H30.

The Bafana Bafana players, the technical team as well as the support staff was introduced individually to about three hundred (300) pupils who had gathered on the field shortly before the team's training session in the morning. Head coach Pitso Mosimane had words of encouragement to the attentive pupils.

Top Canadian player Aleksandra Wozniak has withdrawn from the BellChallenge in Quebec City and has also decided to put an end to her season today, following her withdrawalfrom the final tournaments of her 2010 campaign.

"I have tried everything and obviously there is nothing more that I can do, my injury simply needs time to heal,"Wozniak explained. "It was a difficult decision to make to end my season this way, but in the long run it is thebest one.

Andre Agassi, former world No. 1, eight-time Grand Slam champion, and one of the most remarkable athletes in history, has been nominated to receive the highest honor available in the sport of tennis, induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Agassi is the sole nominee in the Recent Player Category. Joining Agassi on the ballot in the Master Player Category are Thelma Coyne Long, who dominated Australian tennis in the 1930s -1950s, and Christine Truman Janes, a British star of the 1950s and 1960s. Nominated in the Contributor Category are influential tennis promoter and administrator Mike Davies and Fern Lee "Peachy" Kellmeyer, who has played a vital role in the growth of women's tennis.

Longtime friends Sir Elton John and Billie Jean King are bringing their annual WTT Smash Hits charity night of tennis to the nation's capital for the first time in the event's 18-year history. Tennis greats Andre Agassi, Stefanie Graf, Anna Kournikova and James Blake will join other top players for WTT Smash Hits presented by GEICO on Monday, Nov. 15, at Bender Arena on the campus of American University in Washington, D.C. Tickets for the one-night event go on sale on Tuesday, September 7, at 10 a.m. Eastern.

Smash Hits has raised more than $9.6 million for the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) and various local AIDS charities since 1993. This year's event will benefit EJAF and the Washington AIDS Partnership. The funds raised at the pre-match Smash Hits VIP Reception and Auction will be specifically targeted for local programs. The District of Columbia now suffers the highest rate of new AIDS cases in the United States and an HIV infection rate 12 times the national average.

Fed Cup team-mates Samantha Stosur and Anastasia Rodionova are set for an all-Aussie face off in the second round of the US Open. Stosur leads 3-1 in the pair's four meetings between 2004 and 2008, including their most recent outing at Stanford in 2008.

Sally Peers plans to make the most of her US Open fairytale with her Arthur Ashe Stadium debut tonight against childhood idol, defending champion and No.2 seed Kim Clijsters. "To play on centre court would be cool," Peers said after her first-round win. "I've just got to take the whole situation into account and just enjoy playing against her and enjoy the experience."