WARRNAMBOOL, Australia – James McFadden dominated Sunday’s World Series Sprintcars feature at Premier Speedway.

McFadden started from the pole for the 35-lap feature and proceeded to lead every lap, outrunning Kerry Madsen on his way to the checkered flag.

American Cory Eliason was third to complete the podium. Brock Hallett, who set overall fast time in qualifying, was fourth and Grant Anderson was fifth.

The finish:

James McFadden, Kerry Madsen, Cory Eliason, Brock Hallett, Grant Anderson, Matt Egel, Lachlan McHugh, Taylor Milling, Jock Goodyer, Jack Lee, Lucas Wolfe, Randy Morgan, Jake Tranter, Ben Morris, Chase Karpenko, Rusty Hickman, Darren Mollenoyux, Aidan Hall, Daniel Pestka, Jye O’Keeffe.

Keegan Petersen, the Knights' No. 3, has been called up to the Test squad as an injury replacement for Aiden Markram, who was ruled out of the series with a fractured finger. Petersen scored 111 against England in the warm-up game in Benoni last week and was the leading run-scorer in the four-day franchise series last summer, with 923 runs to his name at an average of 61.53.

Petersen's addition to the group gives South Africa another option as they seek to find room for Rassie van der Dussen and Temba Bavuma, who is likely to be fit for the New Year's Test, and meet their transformation target. South Africa's XI at SuperSport Park includes only one black African player (Kagiso Rabada) and three players of colour (Zubayr Hamza, Vernon Philander and Keshav Maharaj), which is two short of the target of six players of colour of which two must be black Africans. Although the target is only calculated on average over a season, South Africa will want to avoid falling short of it repeatedly as it would affect overall calculations.

That means that South Africa may look to get closer to the transformation target in Cape Town, by selecting from Bavuma, who is recovering from a hip injury, Andile Phehlukwayo, Beuran Hendricks, Dane Paterson and Keegan Petersen - all of whom are players of colour. For Bavuma to fit into his regular spot at No. 5, van der Dussen may need to be moved up the order into Markram's opening spot.

Van der Dussen has experience opening the batting at first-class level but, recently, he has played more in the middle order. If both van der Dussen and Bavuma play in the middle order, spare opener Pieter Malan could be considered at the top, but that would have to come at the expense of an allrounder, most likely Dwaine Pretorius. However, Pretorius has put in a decent performance at SuperSport Park which could help him retain his place in Cape Town.

Petersen's inclusion could also be interpreted as competition for Hamza, who is only three Tests into his career and has shown sound technique. A CSA statement said Petersen's call-up was a "bid to reward excellence" and give the 26-year-old experience of being around the national side. The squad also includes the uncapped reserve wicketkeeper-batsman Rudi Second, who fielded in Markram's place at short leg in England's second innings.

South Africa 284 (de Kock 95, Curran 4-58, Broad 4-58) and 272 (van der Dussen 51, Archer 5-102) beat England 181 (Denly 50, Philander 4-16) and 268 (Burns 84, Rabada 4-103) by 107 runs

There were, as you might expect, a few twists and turns along the way, but in the end, the result was thoroughly comprehensive. South Africa won the first Test at Centurion - their first non-defeat in six attempts - by 107 runs, thanks to a sustained new-ball assault that delivered England's last six wickets in 11.5 overs at a cost of 46 runs.

The star of the show on this fourth and final day, however, was not the first-innings hero, Vernon Philander, nor the kingpin of their attack, Kagiso Rabada, crucial though he was in crashing through England's resistance with four wickets in his final seven overs.

Rather it was the snorting, bull-necked pace of the rookie quick Anrich Nortje, the man whose 40 runs as a nightwatchman on Saturday morning had been so crucial in setting up an imposing target of 376, and whose three second-innings wickets included two of the most prized scalps of the lot - England's overnight obstacle, Rory Burns, for 84, and then the captain, Joe Root, whose fluent 48 had been looking like his side's best hope.

The day's other big wicket, however, was perhaps the most crucial of the lot, not because of how he had been proceeding, but because of what his enduring presence stood for. After achieving the impossible with that innings at Headingley, Ben Stokes stands as living proof that no cause is entirely lost, and when he came to the crease at the fall of Joe Denly, just as he had done in that very knock, England's requirement was 218 further runs with seven wickets standing … just as it had been in August.

The similarities continued as he bedded into his stay, with caution to the fore as he ground his way to 4 runs from his first 42 balls (compared to 3 from 74 at Headingley) before the re-introduction of Keshav Maharaj singled a critical change of intent. A first-ball slog-sweep for four was followed by an inside-out smack down the ground, as England attempted to expel the spinner from South Africa's attack. But two overs later, Maharaj had the final say in the duel - inducing an inside-edge on to woodwork as he found some grip from the rough outside Stokes' off stump.

The euphoria of South Africa's celebrations betrayed the magnitude of the moment. Stokes' departure for 14, with the second new ball only seven overs away, was the incision that England could not afford, given the fallibility of the men lurking down the order.

And few, alas, proved more fallible that the wretchedly out-of-form Jonny Bairstow. He had been recalled to the team when Ollie Pope succumbed to England's lurgy on the eve of the Test, despite having played no first-class cricket since being dropped for the tour of New Zealand. And that was no sort of preparation for a player of Rabada's intent. A flick off the pads from his first new-ball delivery proved a false dawn. One ball later, Rababa served up a juicy outswinger that was slapped with flat feet and an open face straight to gully.

At 222 for 5, with another 154 still needed, the writing was suddenly on the wall, even if Jos Buttler - who missed the third day through illness - showed admirable stoicism as he dug in alongside his skipper. But, while Rabada was a constant menace, his new-ball colleague Philander was slightly off the boil at the other end, finding less of his habitual swing and proving a relative sinecure as that precious new-ball shine began to be eroded from the Kookaburra.

And so Faf du Plessis, to his credit, chose to spell Philander after just three ineffectual overs, and back came Nortje with licence to let rip. Sure enough, his second ball bagged the big one. Root, whose only moment of discomfort in the course of a serene stay had come when Nortje had rapped him on the wrist with a lifter in the morning session, was once again taken aback by extra pace outside off, and flinched a second-ball edge through to Quinton de Kock to fall for a valiant but insubstantial 48.

The remainder of England's innings turned into a predictable bar-brawl of big hits and regular wickets, as the tail chose to roll the dice en masse, and try to smoke their way to within touching distance of their target rather than bed in for the inevitable. Buttler and Sam Curran took Nortje's next over for 15, including a wild pull from Buttler that sailed onto the grass banks, but prolonged resistance was futile.

Rabada found Curran's outside edge to give de Kock his eighth catch of the match, before Jofra Archer snicked Nortje to slip. Buttler then decided to go for broke, crashing Rabada over cow corner for his second six of the innings but holed out in the same direction one ball later, and Stuart Broad's timbers couldn't survive the rest of the over.

South Africa's celebrations were heartfelt and long overdue - they've endured as wretched a year as England's has been intermittently glorious (in one format at least), but this was a vindication for a new regime that was appointed in the throes of crisis at the beginning of the month, and has already dredged an admirable team spirit in the face of adversity.

That's not to say it was an easy denouement. There were nerves aplenty along the way, as England resumed on their overnight 121 for 1, with Burns entrenched on a steadfast 77 and their collective eyes as firmly on the prize as they can be when such a distant target of 376 is glinting on the horizon.

But just as England's morning session on the Saturday had been so crucial in their eventual demise, so South Africa's victory was built on the discipline that they showed in conceding just 50 runs in 25 overs before lunch, while chipping out two hugely significant wickets.

And Nortje, once again, was instrumental in the session's biggest moment. Burns, whose authority at the top of England's order has been enhanced significantly in this contest, was 16 runs shy of his third Test century and playing with control and composure, when he gambled on aggression as the change bowlers entered the fray. Rabada and Philander had been seen off with caution, but Nortje's second delivery was a rapid bouncer that got big on a pre-meditated pull. The ball spiralled to Rabada at mid-on as Burns turned in disgust for the pavilion, and the rock of England's innings had been dislodged.

Four overs later, and Denly too was gone - pinned on the pad as Dwaine Pretorius nipped one off the seam, and sent on his way despite a review for 31. And on a fine day for South Africa as a whole, Pretorius provided a footnote of extra optimism, as it was confirmed that he had chosen country over county in turning down a mooted Kolpak move to Nottinghamshire. England's hosts still have myriad problems to surmount as they seek to shore up their sport's foundations, but results such as this are the sort of tonic that they so desperately need.

England head coach Chris Silverwood has defended captain Joe Root's decision to bowl first after winning the toss against South Africa, despite the decision backfiring as South Africa sealed a 107-run win at Centurion.

On the first morning of the game, Root admitted that he faced a "tricky decision" at the toss but said England had a "great opportunity" to dismiss South Africa for a low first-innings total. In the event, the hosts rallied from 111 for 5 to reach 284 all out, and made use of excellent bowling conditions on the second day to bowl England out for 181.

"It was pretty simple really," Silverwood told Sky Sports. "When we got here, the wicket was a little bit damp, and we suspected it would do a little bit with the new ball, which it did. It did something for most of the day, and we suspected that days two and three would be the best days to bat, and [the pitch] would deteriorate. As it turned out, day three was the best day to bat."

Root said he maintained the decision was "a 50-50 call" and blamed the defeat on a collapse of 7 wickets for 39 runs in the first innings, rather than his choice to bowl first.

"It's very easy to stand here now and say that, but [when] you get a side 111 for 5, you really think you've got ahead of the game if you like. Maybe [that was] a slight opportunity missed, but ultimately you have to give credit to South Africa.

"That [collapse] was the real crux of it - that's where the game was won and lost. It's really disappointing, but in the same sense it's really pleasing to see us very quickly put a better performance [in the] second innings."

While there may have been some logic to Root's decision to bowl, the record of visiting teams who choose to bowl first in recent Test history is extremely poor.

In the past two-and-a-half years, there have been 13 occasions on which an away captain has won the toss and inserted the home team, and only once has that resulted in a victory - Sri Lanka's Kusal Perera-inspired win in Durban in February. Similarly, only once has a visiting team won after winning the toss and choosing to bowl at Centurion, in the infamous 2000 Test between these teams which saw both sides forfeit an innings.

Silverwood also defended the decision to field an all-seam attack for the second consecutive Test match, despite the fact that Keshav Maharaj, South Africa's left-arm spinner, made two crucial breakthroughs in dismissing Dom Sibley on the third evening and Ben Stokes on the fourth afternoon.

"It was a gameplan that we had," he said. "We looked at the wicket, and it was a direction that we decided to take. There's plenty of parts of the game you could pick to pieces and say 'if we'd done better there' or 'if we'd made a different decision there', but we decided to go that way.

"We went for it, and when you stick a team in you expect to bowl them out in a day and we did [South Africa were 277 for 9 at the close]. Obviously then to concede a 100-run deficit in that first innings was hard."

Asked if he would feel confident throwing Matt Parkinson, the young legspinner, into the side for the Cape Town Test assuming Jack Leach remains unwell, Silverwood said: "Obviously we've got Parky here, we've got [Dom] Bess here, and we've got to see how Leach recovers first.

"We'll be working closely with the medical staff, but we have got some good spinners here, so if we've got to play one then yes, I'm confident."

Yes, 2019 is nearly over which means that a new decade is coming up. But which Premier League players were the best since 2010?

The Toe Poke Daily is here every day to bring you all the weirdest stories, quirkiest viral content and top trolling that the internet has to offer, all in one place.

We've broken down each position to make a 4-3-3 formation of the best that the English top flight has had to offer over the last 10 years. There have been some tough calls (sorry, Paul Scholes and Dimitar Berbatov) but we've whittled the list down to the cream of the crop.

Not every player was around for the full decade, but you can vote for your favourite and we'll reveal the winning XI on Jan. 1.

GOALKEEPER

The player that stands between a shot and a goal, there's nobody more important. Man United's David De Gea makes a strong case to be No. 1 here, but he faces some tough competition from Petr Cech, who starred for both Chelsea and Arsenal.

LEFT-BACK

Old school mentions for Patrice Evra and Aleksandar Kolarov, while there's a new breed of stars down the left side of defence which has been led by Liverpool's Andy Robertson in recent years.

RIGHT-BACK

Another position which has changed so much since Branislav Ivanovic and Pablo Zabaleta dominated down the right. Will you vote for defensive solidity or a right-back that basically plays as another winger?

CENTRE-BACK

The top two will make our team as it's impossible to split up centre-backs, but this could be the hardest of the lot with stars like Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Vincent Kompany battling the new generation led by Virgil van Dijk.

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELD

A key position in the Premier League, these players break up the play with tackles, run all day and are unselfish with the ball. N'Golo Kante leads the way for his work at Leicester and Chelsea but Man City's Fernandinho could push him hard.

CENTRAL MIDFIELD

Liverpool's Steven Gerrard and Chelsea's Frank Lampard make the list despite playing only half the decade, but will their legendary status be able to hold off the likes of Yaya Toure and Paul Pogba?

NO. 10

Every team needs a creative hub and the No. 10 sits between midfield and attack to provide it. The Premier League has been blessed with some wonderful players in this position, so this one will be tough.

FORWARD

The modern forward is everything, part-midfielder, part-winger and part-striker. A lot has changed since Ryan Giggs and Gareth Bale hugged the touchline as wingers, but Chelsea's Eden Hazard, Man City's Raheem Sterling and Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane will run this vote close.

STRIKER

The goal scorer, the hero, the man who takes all the glory. There have been some terrific strikers in the Premier League this decade and it would be in keeping with his history of award snubs if Man City's Sergio Aguero missed out on top spot here too.

MANAGER

Will you give top prize to Sir Alex Ferguson, arguably the greatest manager of all time, despite him retiring in 2013? We thought we'd give you the option and see how he and others stack up against current leading lights Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.

Make sure to come back on Jan. 1 to find out who made our Premier League team of the decade.

Michael Yardy, the former Sussex captain and England allrounder, is poised to return to English cricket with a coaching role at Kent.

Yardy, a member of England's victorious World T20 side in 2010, moved to Australia in July to to become batting coach at New South Wales.

Yardy, who originally gained selection for England as a batsman but took on an increasingly prominent role as spinner, has previously held coaching roles with Sussex and England Young Lions.

He is understood to have accepted the position of batting coach at Kent, who had previously been employing Jonathan Trott in the job.

Dwaine Pretorius has opted out of a Kolpak deal with Nottinghamshire and has committed his future to South African cricket.

ESPNcricinfo has learned that Pretorius was ready to relocate to the United Kingdom before the change in Cricket South Africa's administration but has since negotiated a national contract that will keep him in the country.

Pretorius was not among the 16 players who were contracted in March this year - two of whom, Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn, have since retired and another, Vernon Philander, is due to so at the end of this series.

Neither is he a regular in the South African side. Since making his debut in September 2016 in an ODI against Ireland, Pretorius has played some part in series against Australia (October 2016), Sri Lanka, New Zealand, England, Bangladesh (all 2017) and Australia (2018).

He played in five of the 10 ODIs South Africa hosted prior to the 2019 World Cup, against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, was included in the squad and played in matches in three of South Africa's nine group stage matches. He has also featured in six T20s.

However, with little certainty over his long-term role in the set-up and a pay cut looming in his franchise contract - as South Africa's domestic set-up battles debt - Pretorius was ready to seek security in the United Kingdom.

Had he done that, he would have joined several of his countrymen, including the likes of Kyle Abbott, Rilee Rossouw and Duanne Olivier, who quit South Africa in the midst of their international careers. He was convinced otherwise by the new interim director of cricket Graeme Smith, who has been involved in player negotiations throughout the week.

Pretorius is on Test debut at SuperSport Park, where he has impressed with a patient 33 in the first innings, made in almost an hour-and-a-half at the crease, as well as aggression with the ball. With South Africa seeking to fill the lower-order allrounder role, and Philander nearing the end of his career, Pretorius has the opportunity to make the spot his own over the summer.

At this time of year it is important for athletes to develop habits which will combat colds, throat infections and chills. John Shepherd talks to exercise physiologist Jim Pate to find out more

AW: What precautions do athletes need to take when it comes to, for example, their respiratory health when winter training?

Jim Pate: Check the weather forecast and take precautions against the cold. Cold injury (frost nip/bite) and hypothermia are two of the most immediate potential dangers when training in the cold and when not exercising too.

Frost nip/bite is damage to tissue as a result of the water in the tissue freezing while hypothermia is failure to maintain an adequate body temperature. Proper equipment including clothing and protection of vulnerable areas is the best way to minimise these risks.

For frostbite, extremities like the fingers, toes, nose and exposed skin are vulnerable and need to be protected. The core of the body also needs to be kept warm as a priority – this is in contrast to the exercising limbs which will generate heat and help keep themselves warm. Limiting exposure to the coldest temperatures of the day is also a very effective way to mitigate risk.

Cold, dry air can also be an irritant to the airways, and in extremely cold temperatures these can be damaged by the cold, so protecting with a scarf, buff, snood, mask and so on is sensible. Wind and wet can exacerbate the effect of the cold and therefore windproof and waterproof clothing when appropriate is essential.

AW: What vitamins, minerals and supplements may be of use over this period?

JP: First off, a good balanced diet that supplies the daily requirement of vitamins and minerals is essential to an athlete’s health and wellness.

If a healthy balanced diet is already established, one of the most common vitamin deficiencies observed during winter is vitamin D.

Normally, exposure to sunlight, allows our body to synthesize this vitamin, however, during the winter, with fewer daylight hours, sun exposure may not be adequate. A simple blood test can measure vitamin D levels and supplements are available to boost its levels.

Maintaining vitamin D can also help fight off those winter infections, as a deficiency is implicated in an increased susceptibility to infection. Do see a nutritionist if you are concerned that you may not have an adequately balanced diet.

AW: Are there more general nutritional requirements for the winter when compared to the summer period? Should calories be increased?

JP: Typically, winter seasons would alter the types of foods that are available, so, for example, in the past certain types of fruit may have been less available, however, the globalisation of agriculture means that humans are less constrained by seasonal food production in dietary choice. So, there is no excuse for not having a balanced diet even when some foods aren’t in season.

Calorie intake needs to be adjusted based on activity level. Hydration is important to pay attention to and dehydration is to be avoided in cold environments. Cold air tends to be dry, and dry air leeches water out of the body especially from moist membranes such as the airways, while increased rates of ventilation during exercise exacerbates fluid loss.

AW: When suffering from the common cold should athletes continue to train?

JP: It all depends on how bad the cold is. Adjusting training expectation is a must if trying to train through a cold. If in doubt, it’s best to skip training and visit your chemist. It will be better in the long run to miss a day or two at first and to get over a cold than train with it, delay recovery from illness, and struggle on for longer than necessary with poor quality training.

AW: How can athletes avoid picking up colds and flu and similar over the winter months?

JP: The same way that everyone does … good hygiene and avoiding becoming immunocompromised, through fatigue, stress, lack of sleep, poor diet, inadequate recovery and other lifestyle behaviour … these can all compromise the immune system’s ability to effectively fight off infection.

AW: If athletes go warm weather training over the winter months does this increase their risk of picking up a cold on their return to the UK?

JP: It should not have an effect or make them any more susceptible other than they may not have been exposed to current geographic pathogens.

AW: Should athletes train with throat infections or chest infections? I’ve heard that the former can be more likely trained around?

JP: The rule of thumb as it has been explained to me by sports doctor colleagues is: above the neck, you should be fine to train while below the neck, you’ll be better off resting up and getting well.

It is important to consider training while under the weather will not result in the best performances. Fever or other signs of active infection should be clues to rest, recovery and managing illness rather than trying to set new PBs or undertake high training volume. If in doubt see your GP or sports doctor.

AW: Chills can be a consequence of doing longer and sustained interval training in the colder weather, any tips for combating this?

JP: It is important to understand where the chills are coming from. Usually humans get chills when they are too cold and this results in shivering. Normally during sustained exercise, muscular contraction results in thermogenesis and maintenance of body temperature. Inactivity or lack of thermogenesis, as well as being wet or damp, will increase susceptibility to becoming cold and getting chills. First off, make sure that you are properly dressed.

Under-insulating won’t adequately keep heat in during training in cold environments but over-insulating can result in excessive sweating and “wetting out” layers – this will compromise insulation and draw heat out of the body resulting in chills. Total inactivity during recovery intervals should be avoided or at the very least you should be ready with a more substantial insulation layer if necessary to put on.

The alpine mountaineer’s belay jacket is a classic example of this – it is a light insulating jacket usually of high quality compressible down kept in the top of the rucksack while on the move, then pulled out and put on top of all other layers during inactive periods, such as when you have to belay your companions. You could also consider doing sessions indoors if it’s getting too cold for recovery outside.

Tim Paine's first innings lbw verdict was shown to be correct by a narrow margin on HawkEye as well as the VirtualEye ball-tracking used by the umpires to make the decision.

While VirtualEye's ball-tracking is used by the host broadcaster Fox Cricket, the rival Seven network has HawkEye ball-tracking in place for analytical use. Both technologies showed Paine was stuck in line to ensure it would not be "umpire's call" and therefore not out, after Neil Wagner's initial appeal was turned down.

Paine was visibly frustrated, but it appears that the decision was a case of fine margins rather than outright errors on the part of the technology or its operators. Ian Taylor, the chief executive of VirtualEye, had extended an invitation to Paine to watch the decision in detail, but Paine hadn't yet accepted the offer.

"I did read this morning that I've got an invite, so I might take it up at some stage, but I'm not too interested," Paine said after Australia's 247-run win in the Boxing Day Test that helped seal the series with one Test to play. "It is what it is, sometimes you get a bit frustrated, today we might've got one that went our way. So that's how it works.

"You'd hope it would be spot on, not trying to get it more precise. I think it would be nice across all Test matches to have the same technology in place for every Test in the Test Championship, we'll see what happens."

HawkEye is the ball-tracker used by the majority of cricket-playing nations, and is also in place for the Big Bash League, where Seven is the host broadcaster for the majority of games rather than Fox Cricket. However there is presently no use of a decision review system in the BBL, meaning that VirtualEye is the only ball-tracker on show in matches in Australia when the time comes for umpires to make decision and players to review them.

Paine, who has signed a deal with Seven to commentate on the BBL in the new year, said he was more likely to look closer at the technology when he begins that stint.

"It's certainly got its good points, there's just some ironing out at times to be done," Paine said. "But that's only my opinion, I know they're trying to get it as precise as they're possibly can, but I think as an aid to help the umpires get the correct decision I think its good. I'm actually doing a bit of commentary after the Test so I'll have plenty of time to sneak in then maybe."

On the final day of the MCG Test, the Australians were beneficiaries of another tight call when New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was given out lbw by Marais Erasmus. VirtualEye showed the delivery from James Pattinson would've just grazed leg stump, enough for the decision to be upheld.

"Obviously it's not 100% accurate and I think they're always looking to try and improve that," Williamson said. "You'd like to think overall that the technology does increase the amount of right decisions, whether you feel like you're unlucky or not, you pretty much have to look within and try and play it better and try and learn and just keep improving. That's the focus for me, and you just need to move on."