'If I could take it back, I would.' A repentant Ben Flower wants to meet Lance Hohaia and thank him for not holding a grudge after last year's punches.

Michael Venus made history at the Heineken Open last night, becoming the first New Zealander to beat an overseas player at the tournament in more than a decade.

Following the high of the weekend's dream ASB Classic tennis final between the tournament's two biggest names, there is a flat feel about this week's Heineken Open.

Wildcards Michael Venus (world No 426) and Rubin Statham (578) will be in action today, against Colombian Alejandro Gonzalez and Alejandro Falla respectively.

Whether you treat international cricket's ratings as gospel or gobbledegook, they make fine reading for New Zealand.

Not everyone involved in the Heineken Open would have been too disappointed about the spate of pre-tournament withdrawals.

New Zealand are about to discover what ODI life without Kane Williamson is all about, albeit briefly.

Wesley Whitehouse and Finn Tearney came close to causing an upset before losing a super tiebreaker to formidable Brazil and Belarus duo Marcelo Melo and Max Mirnyl.