Latest Sports News Dated on 18-8-2010

1)SLC slaps one match ban on Randiv : read in detail
2)ICC welcome SLC probe on no-ball : Read in Detail
3)Sanga: I regret what has happened : Read in Detail
4)Sehwag takes pot-shot at Lanka : Read in Detail
5)"Warriors have a great chance in SA" : Read in Detail
6)Buchanan denies traitor claims : Read in Detail
7)"No international cricket before WC" : Read in Detail

Football News

8)Champions League Play-off Preview : Read in detail
9)Skrtel: This can be Liverpool's year : Read in Detail
10)Ozil: Mourinho is why I joined Real : Read in Detail
11)Redknapp: I had a 'horrible feeling' : Read in Detail

Motorsport News

12)Mercedes release Nick Heidfeld : Read in Detail
13)"Red Bull in a class of their own" : Read in Detail
14)Rossi's "love story" with Yamaha ends : Read in Detail
15)Ducati confirm Rossi signing : Read in Detail

Golf News

16)Monty's traumatic Ryder Cup debut: Read in detail
17)Angelo Que hopes timing is right : Read in Detail
18)Kaymer win is Jiminez's joy: Read in Detail
19)Meesawat dreaming of Thailand title: Read in Detail

Tennis News

20)Bopanna-Qureshi advance to Rd.2: Read in Detail
21)Murray: Federer has lost a little bit : Read in Detail
22)Array of stars still in Finals frame : Read in Detail
23)Jankovic crashes out in Montreal : Read in Detail

Other Sport News

24)Lithuanian upsets junior champion: Read in Detail
25)So far the ‘anti-common’ Games : read in detail
26)CWG: Surprise dope tests for athletes : Read in Detail

Latest Sports News Dated on 16-8-2010

Cricket News

1)Sehwag-powered India thump Lanka : read in detail
2)"Workload too much on Indian bowlers" : read in detail
3)Yuvraj down with dengue, ruled out : read in detail
4)Ponting: We can whitewash England : read in detail
5)Haider to miss Test against England :read in detail
6)Mukund, Rahane seal easy win for India: read in detail
7)16 to compete in Buchi Babu meet :read in detail

Football News

8)Gerrard: Confidence is high at Anfield : read in detail
9)Benzema out to prove true worth : read in detail
10)Low unconcerned by captaincy issue : read in detail
11)Blatter invited to Downing Street : read in detail

Motorsport News

12)Rossi's "love story" with Yamaha ends : read in detail
13)Ducati confirm Rossi signing :read in detail
14)Dennis backs Villeneuve bid :read in detail
15)Lorenzo sweeps to Brno victory :read in detail

Golf News

16)Kaymer tops money list on Euro Tour : read in detail
17)Tiger hopes for Ryder Cup pick :read in detail
18)Maiden major caps Kaymer comeback : read in detail
19)Yet another missed major for McIlroy : read in detail

Tennis News

20)Toronto victory delights Murray : read in detail
21)Clijsters takes Cincinnati crown : read in detail
22)Murray beats Federer in Toronto : read in detail
23)Somdev advances to final round : read in detail

Other Sports News

24)Mary Kom to lead India at WC'ship : read in detail
25)Boxing: Jean Pascal retains title : read in detail
26)"CWG will be a proud moment for India" : read in detail
27)Jessica Ennis pulls out of CWG : read in detail

Latest Sports News Dated on 10-8-2010

Cricket News

1)India wrap up New Zealand for 288 : Read in Detail
2)Murali: India deserve number one spot : Read in Detail
3)"Yousuf refused to play second Test" : Read in Detail
4)Pension for former Ranji players : Read in Detail
5)"Controversies affected Murali" : Read in Detail
6)"Need to play against top teams" : Read in Detail

Football News

7)Drogba: I have been playing in pain! : read in detail
8)Giggs takes swipe at Chelsea : Read in Detail
9)Report: Barca agree Ozil fee : Read in Detail
10)Pompey survive scare to progress : Read in Detail

Motorsport News

11)Ralf Schumacher defends big brother : Read in Detail
12)Sykes claims Brands Hatch double : Read in Detail
13)Force India is similiar to Renault : read in detail
14)Alonso cool on title chances : Read in Detail

Golf News

15)Mickelson confident of No1 spot : Read in Detail
16)Garcia calls for time-out : Read in Detail
17)Mickelson has another pop at top : Read in Detail
18)Off-colour Woods is still world's best : Read in Detail

Tennis News

19)Murray loses in Rogers Cup doubles : Read in Detail
20)Polansky ousts Melzer in Rogers Cup : Read in Detail
21)Ivanovic battles through in Cincinnati : Read in Detail
22)New low for American tennis : Read in Detail

Other Sport News

23)CWG: Govt to probe charges : Read in Detail
24)CWG: E-mail mystery deepens : Read in Detail

World Sports News Dated on 8-8-2010

Cricket News

1)Pietersen pleased with his display : Read in Detail
2)Laxman classic leads India to victory : Read in Detail
3)Dhoni: Laxman is very very special : Read in Detail
4)India retain top spot in Test rankings : Read in Detail
5)Ton eludes KP but Eng still on top : Read in Detail
6)"I always wanted to win it for India" : Read in Detail

Football News

7)Mourinho has no time for Kaka! : Read in Detail
8)Mikel: United a threat but not City! : Read in Detail
9)"Man United preparations perfect!" : Read in detail
10)Mihajlovic: Keane was too good! : Read in detail

Motorsport News

11)Buemi: I'll drive for Red Bull one day! : Read in Detail
12)Sutil: I'm still deciding on future! : Read in Detail
13)Schumacher shows old habits die hard : Read in Detail

Golf News

14)Big Phil fails to take advantage : Read in Detail
15)Kim leads the way in Irish Open : Read in Detail
16)Cejka pulls away at Turning Stone : Read in Detail
17)More woe for Woods at Bridgestone : Read in Detail

Tennis News

18)Kuznetsova through to San Diego final : Read in Detail
19)Bopanna-Qureshi stun Bryan brothers : Read in Detail
20)Murray set for tough Rogers Cup start : Read in Detail
21)Baghdatis in Washington final : Read in Detail

Other Sports News

22)Tri-Nations: NZ 20-10 Australia : read in detail
23)CWG: Lifter moves court : Read in Detail
24)CWG: Wrestlers will have a medal haul : Read in Detail

Latest Sports News Dated on 7-8-2010

Cricket News

1)Randiv gives Lanka upper hand : Read in Detail
2)Mishra: India can pull off win : Read in Detail
3)"Lanka lower order working on batting" : Read in Detail
4)'IPL teams will face difficulty in SA' : Read in Detail
5)BCCI still not convinced about UDRS : Read in Detail

Football News

6)Arsenal launch £23m offer for Reina : Read in Detail
7)Bengal enter Santosh Trophy final : Read in Detail
8)Sneijder: I want another Inter treble! : Read in Detail

Motorsport News

9)Sutil: I'm still deciding on future! : Read in Detail
10)Schumacher shows old habits die hard : Read in Detail

Latest Sports News of 22-7-2010

Cricket News

1)'Impossible to describe Murali' : Read in Detail
2)Murali scalps 800 as SL rout India : Read in Detail
3)Muttiah Muralitharan creates history : Read in Detail
4)Muttiah Muralitharan's records : Read in Detail
5)Warne hails all-conquering Murali : Read in Detail
6)WV Raman appointed Bengal coach : Read in Detail

Football News

7)Chhetri set to play against Man Utd : Read in Detail
8)Inter Milan eyeing Diego Forlan : Read in Detail
9)Bordeaux will play fair over Diarra : Read in Detail
10)Hodgson angling for Hyypia return : Read in Detail

Motorsport News

11)Fauzy given Friday practice spot : Read in Detail
12)Abu Dhabi to open Ferrari World : Read in Detail
13)Button eyes qualifying improvement : Read in Detail
14)Alonso: Maranello mood is good : Read in Detail

Golf News

15)Takayama leads as fog closes in : Read in Detail
16)Johnson learning from trials : Read in Detail
17)Casey looks to forget St Andrews failure : Read in Detail
18)Oosthuizen marks win with a tractor : Read in Detail

Tennis News

19)Riba knocks Montanes out in Hamburg : Read in Detail
20)Errani crashes out in Portoroz : Read in Detail
21)Marathon man Isner through in Atlanta : Read in Detail
22)Bacsinszky in Bad Gastein third round : Read in Detail

Other Sports News

23)Tri-Nations: Hodgson out of SA clash : Read in Detail
24)Rugby: Davies joins Worcester : Read in Detail

Latest Sports News of 28-6-2010

Latest Sports News

Cricket News

1)Cricket Australia lobbies for Howard :Read in Detail
2)Collingwood is reaping the rewards :Read in Detail
3)Pakistan edge past Ganguly's MCC :Read in Detail
4)Mumbai not to host Kiwi Test :Read in Detail
5)Mortaza named Bangladesh captain:Read in Detail

World Cup Football News

6)Lampard: I'm not quitting England :Read in Detail
7)Heskey: The lads are gutted :Read in Detail
8)Upson: I just cannot explain :Read in Detail
9)Maradona brushes aside controversy : Read in Detail
10)"Netherlands can be world champions" :Read in Detail

Wimbledon News

11)Federer cruises into quarter-finals :Read in Detail
12)Tsonga brushes Benneteau aside :Read in Detail
13)Querrey not worried by Murray factor :Read in Detail
14)Li Na clinches quarter-final place :Read in Detail

Sports News

Hockey News

Argentina drub sorry India

The South Americans beat India 4-2 to finish seventh in the hockey World Cup.

Argentina overcame India 4-2 in the seventh-eighth play-off at the hockey World Cup in New Delhi on Friday.

Lucas Martin Vila scored twice for Argentina while Tomas Argento Innocente and Facundo Callioni added one each. For the hosts, Sandeep Singh and Shivendra Singh got on the scoresheet.

Argentina took the lead in the 28th minute. Fernando Oscar Zylberberg's long ball found Argento who put the South Americans in front.

Day's action in pics

Despite winning two penalty corners and enjoying most of the possession, India were unable to pull level and the first half ended 1-0.

They finally equalised in the 42nd minute when Sandeep scored off a penalty stroke. This was his fourth goal of the championship and he finished as India's topscorer.

But whatever hope India had of a comeback quickly vanished in the next few minutes. Vila scored a quickfire brace and Callioni added one more inside four minutes to give Argentina a three-goal advantage.

With the score at 4-1, the tie looked beyond India's reach and though the team fought resiliently, the stadium's sudden silence told the tale.

Shivendra pulled one back for India in the 49th minute granting some respectability to the scoreboard. But in the end, Brasa's men fell short again as the match ended 4-2.

The eighth-place finish for the hosts is their best at the World Cup in 16 years.

Kiwis stumble to ninth position

New Zealand held their nerves to beat South Africa on penalties and finish ninth in the hockey World Cup.

In a match where fortunes fluctuated from one side to another, it was New Zealand who held their nerves to beat South Africa 5-4 on penalty strokes at Dhyan Chand National Stadium on Friday.

The match had ended 4-4 after extra-time. Andrew Hayward struck a hat-trick for the Kiwis, while Hugo Inglis scored one. Justin Reid-Ross, Llyod Norris-Jones, Taine Paton and Thomas Hammond netted once each for the Proteas.

The Africans dictated most of the early play, making early in roads into the Kiwi circle and they were rewarded as early as the fourth minute. Ried-Ross slammed the ball into the top-right corner to make it 1-0 in favour of the Proteas.

The Black Sticks responded immediately, but Nicholas Winlson's shot was fended off by keeper Erasmus Pieterse.

Both the teams kept pushing forward but could not change the scoreline till the end of the first-half.

If the first session of play was a drought, the second was indeed a flood. The South Africans continued from where they had left in the first half. They were aggressive, but could not find the back of the net and saw the Kiwis equalize through Inglis in the 40th minute.

Two minutes later, Hayward converted a penalty corner to give Kiwis the lead. The Africans made it 2-2 in the 45th minute.

Jones-Norris capitalized on a defensive error and made a brilliant run in the New Zealand circle and struck from the edge of the circle to equalize for his team.

The Kiwis again had their noses ahead in the 49th minute. Hayward fired a drag-flick in the right corner to make it 3-2.

The Proteas got back in the level in the very next minute. Paton picked up the ball in the Kiwi circle and fired it into the bottom right corner.

Both teams used their energy they were conserving in the early part of the game with end-to-end attacks.

The South Africans, looking for their best finish at the World Cup, again got the lead 13 minutes from time through Hammond.

But the Kiwis were relentless in their attacks and found the equalizer in the very last minute. Hayward completed his hat-trick to push the game into extra-time.

The two sides were cautious in the extra period and made very few attempts on goal.

Both the teams could not find the golden goal, and the fate of the match was to be decided by penalty strokes.

The Kiwis held their nerves to win the match 5-4 on penalties.

"We did not live up to expectations"

New Zealand coach Shane McLeod believes his team has more potential than what their ninth-place finish at the World Cup shows.

By Anshul Baijal

New Zealand coach Shane McLeod was happy that his team beat South Africa to finish ninth in the World Cup, but he was not satisfied with his team's performance. "I am happy that we won the game today, but a ninth place finish is not what we were looking for," he said.

The Kiwis came into this tournament without some of their key players like Simon Child and Hayden Shaw and coach McLeod believes his team missed them in the tournament. "You will always miss such players," said McLeod.

Day's action in pics

He added: "Phil Burrows also got injured during the tournament. So we were basically without three of our first team players and it was difficult to fill these gaps."

Black Sticks captain Dean Couzins, meanwhile, preferred to see the positive side. "Some of our youngsters got a chance to play at the highest level. It will be good for New Zealand hockey in the long run," he said.

Couzins admitted that they were forced to try new combinations but unfortunately they did not work out for the Black Sticks. "Ryan Archibald had to play in the forward line. It is not always easy to change your position in middle of a tournament and we paid the price for it," said Couzins.

Meanwhile, South Africa coach Gregg Clark was disappointed after his team lost the game, but was happy with the way his team played. "We showed a lot of fighting spirit and the players showed commitment," he said.

Cricket News

Mathews storms to sensational fifty

Angelo Mathews blasted a fifty as Kolkata looked like cruising away to a challenging score against Hyderabad.

Owaish Shah is looking good too, approaching a half-century on debut for Kolkata. Hyderabad are bleeding runs here.

Hyderabad got off to a sensational start. Chaminda Vaas struck twice in the first over to send shivers through the Kolkata camp.

Kolkata lost Cheteshwar Pujara and Brad Hodge in quick succession just when the pair started to rebuild the innings against Hyderabad.

RP Singh struck in the fifth over to remove Cheteshwar Pujara who played it straight to Pragyan Ojha at mid-on, as Kolkata slumped to further trouble.

Jaskaran Singh was quick to join the party for the defending champions, seeing off Kolkata's most consistent batsman, Brad Hodge. Hyderabad are on top.

The Toss

Hyderabad have won the toss and elected to field in the opening match of the Indian T20 series against Kolkata.

After a sensational opening ceremony to the third edition of the Indian T20 series, focus will shift to hardcore cricket with defending champions, Hyderabad taking on Kolkata in the opening match.

Sourav Ganguly, back as captain for Kolkata, has a lot on his plate, what with a new set of coaches and a new uniform. Hyderabad, on the other hand, will look to replicate their performance in South Africa last year.

Both sides, however, have to do without their leading international players, engaged in various series for their national teams across the globe.

Teams

Hyderabad: AC Gilchrist (Captain & WK), HH Gibbs, A Symonds, VVS Laxman, RG Sharma, Anirudh Singh, TL Suman, Jaskaran Singh, WPUJC Vaas, RP Singh, PP Ojha

Kolkata: SC Ganguly (Captain), BJ Hodge, CA Pujara, MK Tiwary, OA Shah, AD Mathews, WP Saha (WK), LR Shukla, M Kartik, CK Langeveldt, I Sharma

Gear up for Tendulkar vs Warne battle

Excitement is in the air as Sachin Tendulkar-led Mumbai is set to start their Indian T20 series campaign against Shane Warne's Jaipur.

Both the teams had a disappointing season last year, so they would be more than keen to get off to a winning start.

Jaipur will miss some of its key players. Ravindra Jadeja would be a notable absentee. Jadeja has been slapped with a one-year ban by the Indian T20 Series Governing Council for breaching the player code of conduct.

Besides him, Jaipur will also feel the absence of South Africa's Johan Botha and Australia's Shane Watson and Adam Voges for the first match.

But South Africa captain Graeme Smith, Damien Martyn, Yusuf Pathan, Dmitri Mascarenhas and Swapnil Asnodkar will make up for the strong batting line-up.

The bowling department that consists of South African Morne Morkel, India's Munaf Patel, Kamran Khan and Siddharth Trivedi, has also been given a boost with the addition of the Aussie speedster Shaun Tait. Captain Shane Warne will lead the spin attack.

Meanwhile, Mumbai's batting will revolve around captain Sachin Tendulkar. the Master Blaster, who recently became the first batsman in the history of one-day cricket to hit a double century.

All eyes, though, will be on the new recruit Kieron Pollard, who was brought for a whopping USD 750,000 for the third edition of the Indian T20 Series. He along with another West Indian all-rounder Dwayne Bravo will prove vital to Mumbai's chances.

The pace bowling will be spearheaded by Zaheer Khan. Sri Lankan pacers Lasith Malinga and Dilhara Fernando will give him company.

Harbhajan Singh would lead the spin attack but other than him there isn't any regular slow bowler to support him. So Mumbai will have to depend on Sanath Jayasuriya's slow left arm bowling.

Pak release squad for ICC T20 WC

Pakistan’s selection committee today announced the squad for the ICC T20 WC but did not name the captain of the side.

The squad includes the trio of Shahid Afridi, Kamran and Umar Akmal, who were put under probation on the recommendation of a probe committee.

The selectors picked under-19 all-rounder Hammad Azam and also recalled Muhammad Hafeez and Misbah-ul-Haq in the national side.

"Malik and Rana were not eligible we didn't consider them at all," Mohsin said.

He also said that the new coach Waqar Younis was not part of the discussion today since he was already aware of all the players in contention.

Hafeez returns to the team after being ignored by the selectors for nearly three years. He last played in any form of the game for Pakistan in October, 2007 but has been impressive in recent domestic events including the just concluded National T20 Championship.

The selectors have also picked Misbah and Hammad on basis of their recent form and performances, Mohsin said.

He conceded that defending the title would be an enormous challenge for the side but was optimistic of team's chances.

"The past is now history and we need to prepare for the future," he said.

Speculation is high that ICL-returnee all-rounder Abdul Razzaq or opener Salman Butt could be handed over the reins of the team.

The tournament will be held in West Indies from April 30.

Squad: Muhammad Hafeez, Salman Butt, Khalid Latif, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Yasir Arafat, Kamran Akmal, Saeed Ajmal, Muhammad Asif, Muhammad Aamer, Umar Gul, Hammad Azam.

Reserves: Muhammad Sami, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Naved Yasin, Raza Hasan, Shahzaib Hasan.

Tennis News

Henman rejects Britain captaincy

Tim Henman has ruled himself out as Great Britain's Davis Cup captain because "it doesn't feel like the right time".

Incumbent John Lloyd is considering his future in the role after becoming the first GB captain to oversee five successive defeats when his side lost to Lithuania last weekend.

That defeat has left Great Britain on the verge of dropping into Europe/Africa Zone Group III, the lowest tier of the competition, and prompted calls for change within the team.

Henman, however, has ruled himself out of taking on the captain's role, although the 35-year-old admitted he would one day like to lead his country.

"Maybe in three years or in 13 years, sometime in the future, I might be interested in being the Davis Cup captain," the former world number four told the Daily Telegraph.

"But it doesn't feel like the right time. I'm enjoying my family and my golf - and not having any structure in my life.

"For 28 of the first 33 years of my life tennis was what I did. I wouldn't change that and I'm sure at some stage I'm going to get more involved and give back to British tennis.

"But at the moment I would not want the commitment or the responsibility of being Davis Cup captain."

Nadal to play at Queen's in England

Rafael Nadal is hoping to regain the Queen's Club title he won in 2008 after confirming his attendance at this year's event.

The Spaniard was unable to defend his crown last year after succumbing to a knee injury which also forced him out of Wimbledon.

But he is relishing the chance to play once again at Queen's, with the tournament now sponsored by AEGON.

"I always look forward to coming to England to play at The Queen's Club and Wimbledon but this year there is even more motivation because I could not defend my titles last year," said Nadal, who joins US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro in making an early commitment to playing.

"No-one was more disappointed than me that I couldn't play because I love those tournaments," added Nadal.

"Queen's is a big, important tournament played at a very nice, traditional club and it was an amazing feeling to win it in 2008 and then to fulfil my dream by winning Wimbledon.

"To not defend my Wimbledon title last year was one of the toughest decisions in my career, but this is a new year and now I have the chance to go back to England and to compete on the grass again."

Henin wins opener at Indian Wells

Justine Henin breezed into the second round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells as she dispatched Magdalena Rybarikova 6-2 6-2.

Playing in only her second tournament since ending an 18-month retirement - and her first since the Australian Open in January - Henin looked a long way from her best but was nevertheless too good for Rybarikova.

Henin, one of six former champions in the field, is competing with a wild-card.

One other wild-card progressed today as Australian Alicia Molik ousted Tatjana Malek of Germany 6-1 6-3, but three others are on their way home already with American Christina McHale losing 7-5 6-3 to compatriot Vania King, Eleni Daniilidou of Greece falling 6-0 7-5 to American Jill Craybas, while Alexa Glatch lost to Britain's Elena Baltacha 6-3 6-7 (3-5) 6-4.

Elsewhere, Anna Chakvetadze fought back from losing the opening set to beat Britain's Anne Keothavong 2-6 6-3 6-1.

Also advancing were Polona Hercog, Kimiko Date Krumm, Tamarine Tanasugarn, Kirsten Flipkens, Olga Govortsova, Sorana Cirstea, Vera Dushevina, Patty Schnyder, Shuai Peng and Virginie Razzano.

Golf News

Rain stops play at Puerto Rico

The Puerto Rico Open got off to a slow start as rain halted play with the tournament barely under way in Rio Grande.

Only 18 players had teed off when heavy downpours persuaded organisers to suspend play and try again tomorrow.

The field at this US PGA event is led by South Africa's Rory Sabbatini and India's Jeev Milkha Singh.

Football News

Messi: Barcelona must be humble

Lionel Messi believes Barcelona must avoid Real Madrid’s mistake of being arrogant and keep their feet firmly on the ground.

Messi was speaking at a benefit for Unicef, and took time to respond to Real Madrid's disappointing exit from the Champions League.

"We have come here to speak about Unicef, but I will respond to your question," said Messi. "We have a match against Stuttgart in which nothing is definite and we need to take what happened at the Bernabeu as a warning.

"We have to have our feet on the ground and think of ourselves.

"We always try to approach each match with humility. Last year we had the fortune of winning everything, but this year we start at nothing and we have to work hard to win things".

Asked if he was needed to carry La Blaugrana during matches, Messi humbly denied these opinions.

"I do not go out with the team on my back and I didn't do it last year. It is very difficult for one player to win titles alone."

"We are playing well, but are not achieving results."

First it was 30, now Fergie wants 40!

Sir Alex Ferguson is hoping that Wayne Rooney will get him 40 goals this season. Two short of Cristiano Ronaldo's 42-goal haul.

After breaking the 30 barrier with his double in Wednesday night's incredible four-goal demolition of AC Milan at Old Trafford, Rooney is not setting himself any targets for the remaining two months of the campaign.

Even Ferguson has tended to be reluctant, insisting his only aim for Rooney was 30, despite United's number one striker being on 27 when the Scot last said it.

But, at a sponsorship announcement for Telekom Malaysia at Old Trafford, Ferguson did acknowledge Ronaldo's 42 - an achievement that helped earn him the world player of the year honour in 2008 - is a definite possibility.

"I am delighted he has got to 30," said Ferguson.

"That is what I wanted. But he is there now.

"We have nine league games left and hopefully five European matches, so that is 14 in total. If he gets a goal a game he will do it.

"But I am not greedy. I would be happy if he got to 40."

The sight of Ronaldo disappearing down the tunnel at the Bernabeu, clearly unhappy at Real Madrid's failure to reach the last eight, was a reminder of how well United have adapted to life without the Portugal superstar.

Ferguson would never say his side are better without such a unique talent.

But quite apart from Rooney, others are coming to the fore - including Park Ji-sung and Nani, who had largely been viewed as bit-part players at best.

Doing so much selfless running behind Rooney in an advanced midfield role, Park scored United's third last night, while Nani created the second with a brilliant pass with the outside of his foot.

It continued a remarkable transformation for a player who seemed certain to leave United, either during the most recent transfer window or in the summer, so ineffective had been his performances since arriving from Sporting Lisbon in 2007.

Now though, he is the one smiling. And he might even make a cheeky call to have a bit of fun at his illustrious fellow countryman's expense.

"Life is good at the moment," he said. "I am so happy because things are going well.

"I felt more was expected of me when Ronaldo left. I knew I could do more. I have done it. I hope in the future I can do even better.

"I am certainly happy we are still in the competition. Maybe I will ring Cristiano and speak to him about it."

On the eve of Wednesday night's encounter, Ferguson stated that United's first-leg win in the San Siro had been a 'landmark victory' for his club.

Although you only have to go back six years to Milan's hammering by Deportivo for a similar sized defeat for the Italians, the sheer enormity of the win will be spoken about almost as long as David Beckham wearing a 'protest' green and gold scarf as he made his way down the tunnel.

With the seven-times winners out of the way, plus the team that plays in the stadium May's final will be played - and either Chelsea or Inter Milan sure to fall when the remaining four last-16 clashes are concluded next week, United can look forward to the draw with confidence.

Barcelona are the obvious team to be avoided, whilst there are easier opponents than Arsenal despite United's recent successes against them over the past 12 months.

"You could throw a net over all the clubs and there would be nothing between them," said Ferguson. "The competition nowadays is so close.

"When the draw came out last time, and we were the final name, I said we had never beaten Milan in four attempts.

"Now we are in the last eight and I don't think it matters who we play.

"It is not as if there is an easy game. We have to play one of them and with the performance level we produced last night we are capable of playing against anyone."

Motorsport News

Vettel banking on Luscious Liz

Sebastian Vettel is hoping 'Luscious Liz' will carry him to title glory after going close last year with 'Kate's Dirty Sister'.

Vettel likes the personal touch with his Red Bull Racing cars and has developed a habit of providing them with names, starting off last season with the simply monikered 'Kate'.

However, after sending 'Kate' to an early grave when he wrote her off in the opening race in Australia, Red Bull provided the young German with a more aggressive model, hence 'Kate's Dirty Sister'.

The car carried Vettel to four wins, including the closing one in Abu Dhabi of a campaign in which he finished runner-up, 11 points adrift of champion Jenson Button.

For this season, 'Luscious Liz' will make her debut in Bahrain on Sunday, with Vettel naturally looking to her to take him one step further.

"Hopefully she doesn't need a sister," smiled Vettel.

"As to whether she can win, I can tell you after a couple of races hopefully, or on Monday would be even better.

"But generally I'm happy and confident. I think we have a good car.

"Winter testing has been good. We have never been as prepared as we are now, and we think we are up there.

"Tomorrow (qualifying) we will find out who is strong and who is not, and on Sunday we have the big unknown with everyone starting on lots of fuel.

"We don't yet know how the race will unfold. It could be exciting, crazy and everyone will enjoy it, or it could be very boring, and where you are after five laps is where you'll be at the chequered flag.

"So it's pretty unknown what is going to happen right now. We will see, but hopefully Luscious Liz will win."

Team principal Christian Horner this week hailed Vettel now as "a complete driver," believing last year's near miss has made the 22 -year-old much stronger as a person and on the track.

Vettel, however, feels one particular item is missing from his CV that will ensure he lives up to Horner's praise.

"Obviously I have a target in my life and the target is to be world champion," added Vettel.

"If I reach that target one day then I think I will be more complete than I am now, but I have learned a lot over the years, in particular a lot last year.

"I think the whole team and myself are in a good position. Last year was the first time for me and the team that we were in a position to fight for big points, race wins, pole positions.

"But the key now is to prove we deserve to be there. Last year was our first at the top, and now it is up to us to stay there."

Button craves flying start

Jenson Button believes he will have to make another lightning start to the season if he is to retain his F1 world title.

Last season Button stunned the sport by winning six of the opening seven races, building a platform which enabled him to become world champion with Brawn GP.

The 30-year-old's soaraway early success proved crucial as he only managed two podium finishes in the final 10 grands prix, doing just enough to hold off a charge from Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel.

Button has since switched teams to McLaren, believing he required the change to reignite his passion as he feared going stale with Brawn, and with the title in his pocket.

But with this season the most open for years, and with seemingly so many contenders for the crown, whoever gets a flier could again be in pole position to claim the championship.

Ahead of Sunday's season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, a race he won last year en route to the title, Button admitted: "I feel I'll need a dominant start again this weekend.

"I think every championship, for any champion, it's important to be quick out of the blocks.

"If you look back, normally the guy that really fights for the championship and gets the championship is strong from the word go.

"So yes, it is important for all of us to be up there at the front here in Bahrain.

"The competition is very fierce, I must say, but that's why it is exciting.

"For a fan of Formula One, this season should really be electric. If it's not, we're doing something seriously wrong."

Button acknowledged the return of Felipe Massa after eight months out following his accident in qualifying for last year's Hungarian Grand Prix that resulted in him requiring life-saving surgery.

There was also special mention for Schumacher, with Button patting the 41-year-old on the shoulder as he said: "It's great to have Michael back because it makes me feel young again!"

Sitting in the main FIA media conference yesterday with fellow world champions Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso also alongside him, it underlined the stellar nature of this year's field.

"Looking at this race, I don't think there have been so many competitive drivers in competitive cars for a long time, so it's great to see," assessed Button.

It is Button, though, who goes into the season with the coveted number one on his car, which means so much to him - although it is a feeling he concedes will not last for long.

"I can only look at that in a positive way, and stepping into the car and seeing the number one on it is a very special feeling," smiled Button.

"Especially here in Bahrain at the first race when, just before I put on my helmet and look at the car and see the number one, it's going to be an emotional moment.

"But the moment I step into the car and close my visor, last season is out of the window, and that's when I focus on this year."

World Sports News

Proteas make it 3-2

Austin Smith converts South Africa’s fourth penalty corner in the 48th minute to give South Africa a 3-2 lead.

India had a Sarvanjit Singh goal disallowed due to an infringement in the Indian territory.

South Africa come good in their second penalty corner of the match. It is 2-2 in the 39th minute. Justin Reid-Ross scored off an indirect penalty corner after Indian goalie Adrian D’Souza defended the first strike very well.

Goals from Sarvanjit Singh (17th minute) and Vikram Pillai (23rd) help India lead 2-1 at halftime. South Africa drew first blood in the 8th minute through Lloyd Norris-Jones. India have had the larger share of the exchanges.

India took 2-1 lead in the 23rd minute. India won their second penalty corner, but Shivender Singh failed to trap cleanly. He quickly made amends as he dribbled past the South African runner and set up Diwakar Ram for a shot at the SA goal. Vikram Pillai deflected Diwakar’s shot into the goal.

A fine three-man move helped India draw level in the 17th minute after South Africa drew first blood in the eight minute. Arjun Halappa found Prabhjot Singh on top of the Dee. The South Africans left Sarvanjit Singh unmarked and the paid the price. Sarvanjit kept his cool to make it 1-1.

Earlier, Lloyd Norris-Jones picked up a free ball on top of the 25-yard line, left the Indian defence in his wake with sheer speed and banged in from top of the Dee.

One nation that came to the World Cup with no pretensions was South Africa. In a country, where hockey probably comes a distant fifth in popularity, South Africa came to the 2010 World Cup after raising funds through a lottery. But with their free-flowing hockey they have proved to be quite a handful. This, in spite of losing by a record dozen goals against big brothers, Australia at the National Stadium last week.

Not worried about scorelines and margin of defeat, South Africa have played attacking hockey and even left Pakistan in their wake with a stunning 4-3 win against the four-time World champions. And India will have to be on their guard tonight.

India’s defence has been porous throughout the World Cup and South Africa will surely exploit that. South Africa have scored 10 goals in this tournament through seven different players. So India have to be extra careful because there will be more than one man to mark.

India have an unbeaten record against South Africa in World Cups. In three matches, India have won once and drawn twice. In 1994, India and South Africa drew 2-2. Their pool match in the 2006 World Cup in Germany ended 1-1. The two nations ended up fighting for the 11th and 12th places. India beat the Proteas 1-0.

Ranked No. 12 in the world, India must win to hunt for a 5th or 6th place in the tournament. India have won the World Cup once in 1975. Tonight, India will look for their second win in the championship after beating Pakistan 4-1 in their opener.

"IPL a good platform to groom players"

IPL works as a good platform to find and groom talented youngsters, who may go on to play in the national team, said MS Dhoni.

"I want to make more players for ourselves. We are grooming Indian players from under-19 or players on the verge of making debut for India. All those individuals rubbing their shoulders with international cricketers from India and overseas help them in learning cricketing skills," Dhoni said.

Citing an example, Dhoni said players who made a mark in the first edition went on to play for the country.

"We had Manpreet Goni, Murali Vijay and S Badrinath coming into the side. And Suresh Raina is becoming a great player. We are contributing a lot towards Indian cricket.

Overall, we are trying to groom the Indian cricketers for the betterment of the game in India," Dhoni, who leads Chennai Super Kings, said.

Dhoni said that the current rule of having a limited number of foreign players in the side gives them a chance to try youngsters and was in favour of continuing with it.

"If the overseas players want to find a place in the playing eleven, they have to fight among themselves and not against Indian stock. It is perfect right now and I am quite happy with the system of only four players finding place in the final eleven," he said.

Dhoni's comments came after coach Stephen Fleming spoke about importance of overseas players doing duty in IPL teams.

"International players coming in to play for different franchisees is important. It is the mix of players that help a team perform well. We have good talented bunch of players from Tamil Nadu in CSK. It is good to have them," Fleming said

Dhoni is happy that players would not have to spend much time on road unlike the second edition.

"You compare it with last IPL in South Africa, we will not be travelling that much in India. We have a base and we will be playing most of the matches in Chennai.

"The facilities are great so I do not think it will be as tiring as last year's IPL. We will be enjoying much more in playing in India. Next 45 days we will be busy and lot of pressure will be on the cricketers," he said.

The skipper though said weather of the city would pose a challenge for the players.

"Chennai is hot and humid even at around 8.00 pm.

"Twenty20 is therefore very demanding in all respects, particularly on the body and also on the mental side."

Dhoni said his side was a balanced one with good batsmen and bowlers.

"As a team we rely more on our batting strength. We have strong options in bowlers like Manpreet Goni, L Balaji, Sudeep Tyagi and spinners like R Ashwin in our ranks.

"In the past they have done well for us. We will try to get the best out of these bowling options. We just need to play good cricket and more often than not when we do that, we will be winning games," he said.

On the availability of players for this season, Fleming said almost all the players would be available except for Kiwi player Jacob Oram.

He said Australia's Michael Hussey's would miss first few matches and would join the squad from April 1 since he will be busy with his national team in New Zealand.

"Jacob Oram of course is not available. I think the full squad should be available for CSK. There was a huge question mark on Andrew Flintoff's availability. Justin Kemp is the replacement for Flintoff," he said.

Dhoni also said player like Kemp with all round abilities would prove quite useful.

"When our main bowlers have an off-day, we have strong options to use others as bowlers and Kemp is one of them. Such options in the team for a 20-20 match, it is good for the team. Kemp is a big hitter. He can be an asset to the side."

On Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan, Dhoni said, "He is the best spinner in the world and still in international circuit. He can be useful in every format of the game. He is a great guy to have in the dressing room like Makhaya Nitini and others.

Reid terms Aussie players 'idiots'

Former New Zealand captain John Reid feels some members of the Australian team are "idiots" who need to be reined in.

Reid's comments, also a former ICC match referee, came after Australian paceman Mitchell Johnson head-butted Scott Styris in a show of aggression during the first one-dayer in Napier.

"Generally the Australian team looks good, but there are a handful of idiots who need to be reined in," Reid was quoted as saying in 'The Age'.

"Do your work with the bat and the ball, not your mouth."

While some praised Johnson for sparking life into the series, Reid said the aggression displayed by the pacer was "not required".

Australia are playing a five-match ODI series against New Zealand. Series is levelled at 1-1.

Reid said players need to understand the importance of playing the game in good spirit. "Like it or not, these guys are role models for youngsters. Johnson was the aggressor, but he's mad head-butting someone with a helmet on."

Reid claimed that in his time refereeing, Australian players were "always the worst at sledging".

"I dealt with barging by Glenn McGrath, bowlers standing in the way of a runner - like Johnson did to Styris," he said.

ICC match referee Ranjan Madugalle slapped Johnson and Styris with fines rather than suspensions for their showdown in the series opener at Napier but Reid felt the punishment could have been stricter.

"I think he (Madugalle) did a reasonable job but, if anything, he could have come down a bit tougher."

Jadeja's ban appeal rejected

Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja's slender hopes of playing the Indian Premier League went up in smoke.

His hopes evaporated after the IPL governing council turned down his appeal against a one-year ban for violating the Twenty20 event's terms and conditions.

Jadeja was banned for negotiating outside his contract with the Rajasthan Royals.

In his appeal, the all-rounder claimed that he had taken the BCCI's permission to look for other teams after the Royals gave no indication of renewing his contract which ended in December last year.

According to a cricket website, IPL vice-chairman Niranjan Shah raised the issue of reducing the ban on Jadeja with BCCI President Shashank Manohar during Sunday's tender meeting in Mumbai but his appeal was turned down.

"He (Manohar) did not want to set a wrong precedent, so he dismissed the request. So Jadeja now cannot play in the IPL (this year)," an IPL official said.

Tennis News

Somdev, Bopanna improve rankings

Despite suffering twin defeats during India's Davis Cup World Group tie against Russia, Somdev Devvarman rose seven rungs to 121.

Somdev lost to Igor Kunitsyn and Mikhail Youzhny in the first round tie, played in Moscow.

Rohan Bopanna also jumped 26 places to re-enter the top-400 and now sits at 390 in the latest ATP singles rankings.

The big serving Bopanna lost to Youzhny but defeated Teimuraz Gabashvili in the dead rubber.

India lost the tie 2-3.

In the doubles list, Leander Paes (6) and Mahesh Bhupathi (8) had their rankings unchanged.

In the WTA charts, out of action Sania Mirza slid to 84 from 83 but maintained her 35th position in the doubles.

Russian teen wins Monterrey Open

Russian teenager Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova staged a brilliant comeback to win her second match of the day and land the Monterrey Open title.

The 18-year-old won her first tournament on the WTA Tour by recovering from a slow start to beat second seed Daniela Hantuchova 1-6 6-1 6-0 in the final.

Pavlyuchenkova, the third seed, was given a major test by Latvian Anastasija Sevastova in her semi-final, which had to be played on Sunday after rain washed out much of yesterday's scheduled play.

She won 6-3 2-6 6-1, and then had the opportunity to rest as the doubles final took place.

Slovakian Hantuchova had just enough time to complete her Saturday match before the poor weather arrived, and she looked set to take advantage as she raced away with the first set.

However the 26-year-old crumbled as she chased what would have been her first title since triumphing at Indian Wells in 2007, and Pavyluchenkova dominated the second and third sets.

Golf News

Rose: Cup will take care of itself

Justin Rose beleievs the less he thinks about the Ryder Cup the better his chances will be of making Colin Montgomerie's team.

Rose, 29, finished third in the Honda Classic at Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, closing the tournament by matching the course record of 64 to shoot up the leaderboard.

He is playing much of his golf in the United States after admitting he has achieved most of his ambitions in Europe; however, he is eager to be on Montgomerie's Europe team for the match against the United States at Celtic Manor in October.

Rose said: "Ryder Cup is really important to me but it's something that I don't feel like I can focus on right now.

"It's a weird thing. I think, for me to get into the Ryder Cup, I need to not worry about the Ryder Cup if that makes any sense. The Ryder Cup will take care of itself if I play well. I've just got to play well.

"Like I did last time around, I had to tailor my schedule towards the end of the qualification process to make the team, and that's what I'll do again, should I be close."

Rose was on Nick Faldo's team two years ago but failed to pick up a point.

Given the current strength in British and European golf, he knows it will not be easy to retain his place.

"I think I'm ranked eighth in England now," said Rose. "I'd struggle to make the Ryder Cup team.

"I feel like I'm a pretty good player, so that does speaks volumes for how strong English golf is right now. Obviously we've got four, five, six (high) in the world rankings as you all know. But it goes deeper than that.

"Obviously we are a real big golfing nation. I saw it out there today, a lot of English fans, English support out here. British people love their golf.

"Even though it's a small country, I think it's not that surprising to me that that's the sort of representation on tour."

Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Paul Casey are the English trio near the summit of the rankings, and Germany's Martin Kaymer, Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and Sweden's Henrik Stenson also feature in the world's top 10.

Rose's form in Florida, where he finished behind Anthony Kim and tournament winner Camilo Villegas, was good and he is well respected in the United States.

He is somewhat surprised he has failed to win a tournament so far on the PGA Tour.

"I have played good enough golf to win out here," Rose said. "I've been close a few times.

"If I can just maintain the direction I'm going and certainly try to recreate the sort of calm mindset that I've had the last few days, I certainly believe it will happen."

He added: "I feel motivated to play well over here this year. Obviously I've won the European Order of Merit. That's a great achievement, too.

"I want to go on to achieve more on the European Tour but I feel like, in some senses, I have ticked that one off my list.

"I feel like, in my career over here, I haven't done as much over here as I have over there, obviously.

"So that's a focus for me, to try to break through over here. And I guess that's where my attention is right now.

"Being ranked outside the world's top 50, it's tough to commit to playing both tours. That's why I need to get back into the top 50 and that will make my schedule a lot easier and make my decisions to play the European Tour a lot more simple.

"But, like I said, I'm quite committed to playing this tour this year and playing through."

Colombian Villegas finished with a 68 for a total of 13 under par, with Kim on eight under and Rose a further shot back.

Rose's performance earned him more than £250,000 but was not enough to qualify him for this coming week's CA world championship in Miami.

Davies takes positives from display

Challenge Tour graduate Rhys Davies took heart from his near miss at the Maybank Malaysian Open on Sunday.

The Welshman fell just short of claiming a maiden European Tour title in Malaysia.

The 24-year-old was on course to claim a wire-to-wire victory after holding the share of a one-shot lead heading into the final round, but was made to pay for a poor start as a one-under-par 71 left Davies two shots adrift of teenage winner Noh Seung-yul.

The two-time Challenge Tour winner did birdie three of his last seven holes before missing a long chance on the final green which would have secured second alongside KJ Choi, but Davies was forced to settle for a tie for third and his best finish on the European Tour.

"I can take a lot of positives out of the week," he said.

"I wasn't too comfortable on the final day but I still managed to stay calm and stick to what I was trying to do. I battled well and eventually found good rhythm with the putter on the back nine.

"I felt I was going to make every putt I looked at and if I had had a little bit of luck coming in I might have made a few more but that's the way it was."

Davies' final-round partner Noh claimed his second professional win in dramatic fashion after producing a stunning chip from the edge of the practice putting green behind a hospitality marquee to set up a crucial final-hole birdie.

"It felt like it wasn't my week a little throughout the final day actually," added Davies.

"Noh chipped in on the first when it was going like a bullet but fair play to him, it hit the hole and went in.

"I struggled early on with my swing and I went out of bounds on the fifth and it just seemed that every time I miscued it was pretty severe and the other boys got away with it.

"That's how it goes and I am not bitter about it, that is just how it was. I probably had a couple of breaks myself earlier in the week and you can't be bitter about stuff like that.

"The breaks went for the two guys I was playing with and not for me. It would be great if they come my way the next time I am in contention in the final round."

Davies, who equalled his career-best finish earlier this season after finishing sixth in Abu Dhabi, will enjoy a week off before turning his attention to next week's Trophee Hassan II in Morocco.

Noh's success made him the second youngest winner in European Tour history, at the age of 18 years and nine months.

Football News

Fabregas sits out Gunners' training

Captain Cesc Fabregas did not train with the rest of the Arsenal first team ahead of the Champions League clash with Porto.

The midfielder is battling a hamstring problem in his right leg and limped off after scoring the opening goal in the 3-1 Barclays Premier League victory over Burnley on Saturday.

The tightness was in the same hamstring he injured earlier in the season, which kept him out of action at the turn of the year.

Veteran defender Sol Campbell did join in training and he looks set to recover from a groin problem in time to face the Portuguese side, who will take a 2-1 lead to the Emirates Stadium for the second leg of the last-16 tie.

Benitez firm over Aquilani

Rafa Benitez insists that Liverpool midfielder Alberto Aquilani will be picked when he thinks it is right.

The Liverpool boss splashed out £20million on the Italian international, who was heralded as the big-name replacement for Xabi Alonso after he was sold to Real Madrid.

Aquilani, though, has played less than 10 games for the Reds, mainly due to injury, but now fully fit he is still not holding down a regular first-team berth.

"When you have been injured for a while, it's not easy for a player," said Benitez.

"Then when you are available and the team isn't doing well, it makes it even more difficult.

"You have to decide if you can afford to give him two or three games when you know he's maybe not at the level he could be, so you could end up losing some of them.

"Alberto isn't stupid. He knows the priority now has to be the team and what's best for that. All he can do is keep training and making sure he is ready when we need him."

Benitez dismissed claims that Aquilani did not play in the recent game at Wolves because of their pitch.

"When I didn't play him at Wolves, it wasn't to do with the state of their pitch," he continued.

"It was because of the kind of game and because others were available, which meant we could manage in a different way. So whether I play him at Wigan or not isn't a decision that will be determined by the pitch.

"But we have had a conversation about things and he knows the situation. Alberto is a very good professional, who was a big name in Italy, and he wants to show his quality here.

"When you're like that but cannot play for three or four months and then you're available but can't play because the team is maybe doing really well or has problems, it's a difficult situation for any professional."

Speaking in Italy, Aquilani's agent insisted that the 25-year-old was still committed to his English switch.

"Alberto made a decision of a lifetime," said Franco Zavaglia.

"He is fine at Liverpool and next year will be the most important for him."

Motorsports News

Yvan Muller starts season with win

World Touring Car champions past and present shared the victories at the opening round of the new season in Curitiba.

Yvan Muller, the 2008 title winner, took the honours in torrential conditions at the Brazilian circuit as he headed up a clean-sweep of the podium for Chevrolet in race one, while reigning champion Gabriele Tarquini eased to victory in race two as the SEATs fought back.

Muller, who moved from SEAT to replace Nicola Larini at Chevrolet over the winter, immediately stamped his authority on new team-mates Rob Huff and Alain Menu by taking the opening race of the season in style.

A heavy downpour meant the first race of 2010 began behind the safety car but after two laps at reduced speed, the pace-setter pulled into the pits to signal the start of the race in earnest.

Pole-sitter Muller benefited from a clear track at the front to consolidate a lead he never looked in danger of losing, while behind Huff and Menu settled into formation after the early challenge of Jordi Gene ended when the Spaniard twice ran wide.

Tarquini also ran wide at the first corner but recovered to take fourth place at the flag, while the BMWs of Andy Priaulx and Augusto Farfus completed the top six.

Gene recovered from his dramas to take seventh while Tom Coronel took eighth and pole for race two.

With the earlier rain replaced by brilliant sunshine, the drivers might have been forgiven for expecting an easier time of it in the day's second race, but Coronel dispelled any such thoughts as he disappeared into the turn one gravel trap after tangling with Huff.

That handed the lead to SR-Sport driver Gene, but the Spaniard's advantage lasted until only lap three before team-mate Tarquini swept through the Esse de Baixa on the inside line to hit the front.

The leading pair would remain unchanged to the flag by which time they had build up a five second lead over the chasing pack, led by Menu who claimed his second podium of the day.

Muller took fourth from Huth as the Chevrolets again finished in in close formation.

British driver Priaulx was forced to retire after making contact with Farfus, who recovered to take sixth at the flag from Tiago Monteiro.

Muller and Tarquini leave Brazil locked in a tie for the lead of the championship on 37 points apiece, while Menu's consistent weekend sees him third in the standings, seven points further back.

Loeb lands first win of the season

Sebastien Loeb claimed his first victory of the season as he eased home ahead of his rivals on the final leg of the Mexico Rally.

The reigning six-time champion did all the hard work yesterday as he built up a lead of almost a minute, meaning the Frenchman just had to keep his Citroen C4 out of trouble over today's final three stages to claim the win by 24.2 seconds.

Loeb's victory moves him to the top of the drivers' standings at the expense of Ford's Mikko Hirvonen, who won the opener in Sweden but could manage just fourth place here after a weekend of struggle.

Privateer Citroen driver Petter Solberg, the rally leader after Friday's opening leg, held off the considerable challenge of Citroen Junior's Sebastien Ogier to take second place by just one second after a superb race-long duel.

Solberg finally made sure of second after finishing ahead of Ogier in the final super-special stage, by which point all bets were off over who would claim the overall victory.

"Finally a victory and back in the lead of the championship," said Loeb after his 55th world rally triumph.

"It was important after Sweden to win here. It's only the start of the championship but I'm really happy. We had a really good drive yesterday. Now it's looking good.

"I was just breezing through the last couple of stages trying to keep my concentration. It's a good victory; I'm back in the lead of the championship and the points we lost in Sweden we've won back - that's important."

With Loeb's victory widely anticipated, the real drama was spared for the battle for second.

With just 2.7 seconds separating Solberg and Ogier at the start of the day and the gap between the two remaining tight until the final stage, the pair were finally split by the the greater experience of former world champion Solberg, who finished the decisive super-special 1.7 seconds up on his rival.

"I'm delighted but absolutely exhausted," said Solberg. "It's a great feeling to be back on the podium."

Ogier, meanwhile, was left to rue his decision to drop time on Solberg yesterday in an effort to get a better starting slot on the road today.

"Of course it's disappointing but it's been a good weekend anyway," he said.

"My team told me not to push too hard today, so this morning I didn't push to the maximum. Maybe it's there that I lost out, or maybe yesterday when I slowed at the end of the stage.

"I think maybe we could have been faster than Petter if we wanted this weekend, but here we are third and it's a good result."

The top five was completed by Jari-Matti Latvala in the second factory Ford, while Henning Solberg (Stobart Ford) was sixth ahead of Federico Villagra, Xevi Pons, Martin Prokop and Armindo Araujo.

World Sports News

O'Brien celebrates Black Caps success

"Pretty sore but very happy" was how Iain O'Brien described NZ's bowling attack the day after they won the first Test against Pakistan.

Man-of-the-match Shane Bond and O'Brien were the stars on the final afternoon as they halted a Pakistan run-chase that at 165 for five at tea looked like it was going to get the 251 runs they needed to win at University Oval.

But Bond, minus the big toenail on his left foot, and O'Brien, who dislocated a finger during his crucial nine-over spell after tea, dug deep to turn the match the New Zealanders' way taking the wickets of the impressive Umar Akmal, his brother Kamran and Umar Gul.

Daniel Vettori then wrapped things up as Mohammad Asif edged to Ross Taylor before Mohammad Aamer spooned one straight back to the New Zealand captain.

O'Brien, who finished the innings with three for 63 off 23 overs, said there was never any chance of him relinquishing his bowling duties after having the finger on his right hand put back in.

In fact if anything, the injury appeared to galvanise the right-armer, who had gone wicket-less until the over before tea when Shoaib Malik gloved one to wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum.

"I'm not going to say it didn't because I'll never know. But I wasn't not going to bowl. I wanted to bowl. I wanted to be part of a Test win and to do something to change the game," said O'Brien, who will have his bruised, swollen finger assessed further on Monday.

"There was no way Dan (Vettori) was getting the ball out of my hand at that stage anyway."

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The 33-year-old admitted feeling under pressure heading into the second innings after a return of none for 98 first time round.

"If I didn't come out and bowl yesterday well that could have been me done for a while, if not for a long time," O'Brien continued.

"To go out and bowl well yesterday and play a part in a Test win is pretty good. It makes me feel better about my job and role in the team."

Bond marked his return to Test cricket after a two-year absence with a match-winning effort of eight for 153. He now has 87 wickets in 18 Tests.

"Having a guy who is a genuine wicket-taker and a genuine chance to take wickets is great for the whole line-up," said O'Brien.

"It is tough only having four bowlers though. It's tough on him, Chris (Martin) and myself. But we got the job done. We're pretty sore but very happy."

Chris Martin was something of an unsung hero. He removed Pakistan top order batsmen Khurram Manzoor and Imran Farhat early in the tourists' first innings and then helped Bond wrap up the tail early on day four.

He struck with the new ball again in their second innings to get Farhat once more and broke the partnership of Umar and Mohammad Yousuf when the Pakistan captain gloved one to McCullum to finish the match with five for 108.

All-rounder Grant Elliott, who replaced the retired Jacob Oram, is expected to ease the workload on the seamers and play a bigger part with the ball in the second Test in Wellington which gets under way on Thursday.

Pakistan, meanwhile, should have Misbah ul-Haq in their ranks by then to bolster their inexperienced batting line-up which - the Akmal brothers aside - struggled in Dunedin.

The 35-year-old had been on standby to join the 17-man squad as a replacement for absentee skipper Younis Khan after initially being dropped for the limited overs and Test series squads to face New Zealand.

He was described as a "tremendous slip fielder" by coach Intikhab Alam in the aftermath of their loss in Dunedin, and a below-par performance in that area - five catches were shelled in the slips - plus the need to shore up the batting line-up is likely to see the right-hander come straight into the side.

Lukewarm response for Mumbai Test

Public response for the final Test between India and Sri Lanka, to be played at the Brabourne Stadium has been lukewarm.

Test cricket is returning to Brabourne Stadium after more than three and a half decades and India are 1-0 up going into the final game of the three-match series but there are not many takers for the tickets.

According to sources in the Mumbai Cricket Association, there are very few takers for the tickets for the match with most clubs and gymkhanas affiliated to the MCA showing little interest in picking up their quota.

Around 330-odd clubs or gymkhanas are affiliated to the MCA.

A very small banner announcing the season ticket rates for the Test was found above the ticket counters at the premises of the Mumbai Hockey Association who are neighbours of the MCA situated within the confines of the Wankhede Stadium complex that's undergoing renovation.

The rates for the Test are fixed at Rs 1000, Rs 750 and Rs 200 for watching it for five days.

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The opening Test of the series at Ahmedabad's Motera Stadium, played on week days entirely, did not attract big crowds with the best response during a day not above the 10,000 mark.

Current indications are that the final Test in Mumbai, that starts on Wednesday and ends on Sunday (Dec 6), would also not attract a sizeable crowd, let alone a full house.

This would be in total contrast to the jam-packed arenas witnessed during the preceding seven-match one-day series between India and Australia.

Amla lauds 'awesome' de Villiers

England were dispatched for a ground record-equalling 354 in their ODI defeat at Newlands - and have been warned to fear more of the same, as long as AB de Villiers is in town.

South Africa's stand-in opener Hashim Amla has so far hit two half-centuries in as many attempts in this series, and it was his stand with captain Graeme Smith which helped lay the platform for a De Villiers special.

A breath-taking exhibition of strokeplay brought the hosts' number three 121 runs from only 85 balls, and England had no answer as South Africa levelled the series with two to play.

Reflecting on that and casting his mind forward to tomorrow's penultimate match at St George's, Amla said: "AB is such a fantastic player. It is difficult to contain such an awesome player.

"If he gets the right platform and gets going, scores of 350 are on the cards all the time."

Amla filled an enabling role with 86 at the top of the order in Cape Town, leaving him to recall a job well done as he continues his success as a batting replacement for injured all-rounder Jacques Kallis.

"Filling Jacques' boots is close to impossible; he's such a world-class performer, batting as well as bowling," Amla rightly pointed out.

"But it does give a lot of satisfaction - the fact that we set the game up.

"That is the openers' job, and it was lovely to contribute."

Amla's call-up came only at the last minute when Kallis was ruled out of the series with a broken rib.

"I didn't expect to play," he said.

"But I think over the last couple of one-day series, I've kept managing to get a few games through injuries.

"So when Jacques' injury came about - although it was unexpected - I suppose I had some experience to draw back on of getting into the team at short notice.

"Ever since getting my first opportunity opening the batting, I've always felt that spot was most suited to me and my style of play."

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South Africa arrive at another home venue where they have a formidable record, full of intent to consolidate their Newlands victory.

"We take a lot of confidence out of it, without a doubt," said Amla.

"Going 1-0 down was a setback, and you are always playing catch-up after that.

"But we came back really strongly - and we hope we can repeat the performance if not better it."

South Africa's one concern is over the likely absence of strike bowler Dale Steyn, who suffered a hamstring strain and did not complete his full allocation yesterday.

Amla admits there is a hole to fill but believes - with Wayne Parnell and Morne Morkel returning to take eight wickets between them in Cape Town, and Charl Langeveldt still available - South Africa have the necessary resources.

"If Dale doesn't play we will miss him dearly," he admitted.

"But the positive side is it gives someone else the opportunity to rise to the occasion."

Tennis News

Davydenko derails Fed-Ex

Nikolay Davydenko reached the finals of the ATP World Tour Finals with a stunning 6-2 4-6 7-5 victory over Roger Federer.

Federer, who won the title four times in five attempts between 2003 and 2007, had never lost to Davydenko in 12 previous meetings.

And the Russian's task was made even harder by the scheduling, which saw him take to the court less than 16 hours after beating Robin Soderling in his final round-robin match yesterday.

But, after Federer won the first six points, it was Davydenko - beaten by Novak Djokovic in last year's final - who gained the ascendancy.

The world number one could not take advantage of two break points in the second game and then played a terrible game, serving two double faults and throwing in two more unforced errors to hand his opponent the first break.

Federer had lost the first set in all his group matches and found himself staring down the barrel again when another double fault and a netted forehand gave Davydenko a shock 4-1 lead.

The Swiss star recovered one of the breaks immediately, his forehand suddenly firing again, but the respite was only temporary and Davydenko made it three breaks in a row before sealing the first set.

It seemed inevitable Federer would improve - he could hardly get any worse - and he was certainly making fewer errors at the start of the second set.

He gradually began to look more like his old self, playing his best game to date to move 4-3 ahead with a series of winners.

And, after escaping a potentially sticky situation at 4-4, he claimed the crucial break to win the set, taking it on his second chance following one of the best rallies of the match.

Federer had the advantage of serving first in the decider and at 4-5 the match came alive.

A lucky net cord gave him the opening point and an outrageous shot off a Davydenko smash put Federer in sight of the final.

But he could not take his chance as Davydenko held his nerve to level at 5-5.

And the Russian capitalised fully by creating a break point in the next game, which he took with a stunning backhand return.

Two big serves took the world number seven to 30-0 but Federer was not finished, a brilliant rally resulting in a break point.

This time Davydenko excelled, though, blasting a forehand winner, and one big serve later he was at match point, which he took when Federer netted a forehand.

Davydenko facing quick turnaround

Nikolay Davydenko admits he will not have enough time to prepare for his semi-final clash against Roger Federer at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

The Russian will take to the court at London's O2 Arena only 15 and a half hours after finishing his final round-robin match, where a 7-6 (7/4) 4-6 6-3 victory over Robin Soderling booked his semi-final spot.

The world number one, in contrast, has not played since losing to Juan Martin del Potro on Thursday night.

Davydenko, who is also struggling with a leg injury and breathing problems, said: "I have no time. Today I play night session and tomorrow at 2pm. It's not my mistake. I hope I'll be fit for tomorrow."

To add to the 28-year-old's worries, he goes into the match having lost all his previous 12 meetings with Federer.

Davydenko, though, is hopeful he will at last be able to better the world number one and reach a second consecutive final.

He said: "Every 12 times I was coming and believing I can win. But I know Federer is older, I'm also older. Maybe I start to play better and Federer not so good? We'll see."

After Thursday night's confusion, Group B also ended up being tight, with Soderling, Davydenko and defending champion Novak Djokovic - a 7-6 (7/5) 6-3 winner over Rafael Nadal yesterday - all ending up winning two matches and losing one.

To the relief of the tournament organisers, though, there was a clear difference in sets ratio this time, with Soderling winning the group courtesy of the set he took against Davydenko and Djokovic the unlucky man.

The Swede has almost 24 hours to recover before he returns to the O2 for his semi-final against Argentinian Del Potro, and he said of the match: "It's going to be tough. He plays really well. He serves big. He's hitting his forehand very well and plays fast.

"He doesn't give you many chances. He's probably very confident now, beating Roger. So I have to step it up at least one level. But I think I can do it. I played good this whole week."

Djokovic had battled hard to put himself in contention despite the strain of a year in which he has played nearly 100 matches clearly catching up with him.

He said after beating Nadal: "Unfortunately for me, the exhaustion came in the tournament where I should have been the freshest. But, still, I managed to get two out of three wins.

"If I finish today the season, I will be very happy to finish in this way, and just hope to rest well for 2010."

Nadal, meanwhile, is determined to end the year on a winning note at the Davis Cup final next weekend, when Spain take on the Czech Republic in Barcelona.

The Majorcan, who did not win a set in three matches in London, said: "I am confident. I know it's going to be a difficult final. The change (to playing) on clay is going to be a big change. It's going to be difficult in the beginning.

"But that's a big motivation for me, to finish the year winning. And I have the opportunity there to play well, to play good tennis on clay, and to win, to win something important for my country and for my friends."

Golf News

Police to interview Woods

Florida Highway Patrol officers were preparing to interview Tiger Woods today as they continue their investigations into the car accident which left the world number one golfer with facial lacerations.

Florida Highway Patrol officers were preparing to interview Tiger Woods today as they continue their investigations into the car accident which left the world number one golfer with facial lacerations.

Woods received the injuries in the early hours of Friday morning, in an accident described by his spokesman in a statement on Friday as "minor", when he lost control of his sports utility vehicle and reversed into a fire hydrant outside his Isleworth, Orlando, home.

Woods' Cadillac then hit a tree in a neighbour's garden with police reporting that officers found the golfer lying in the road being tended to by his wife Elin but drifting in and out of consciousness.

As part of an ongoing investigation, troopers from the Florida Highway Patrol were set to interview Woods today to hear the 33-year-old's version of events, police spokesman Sergeant Kim Montes told Press Association Sport.

"A couple of troopers were sent to the hospital to talk to Mr Woods on Friday to get his side of what happened as the driver of the vehicle," Sgt Montes said.

"He had already been discharged so we went by the house and Mrs Woods invited us in and when she went to go back, Tiger was sleeping.

"So we agreed to come back today, though that's not preferential treatment. We've done that on other crashes.

"The schedule for today is that the troopers come back on duty at 3pm (8pm GMT) and shortly thereafter they will go over to the Woods residence and give Mr Woods an opportunity to tell us what happened."

Sgt Montes added that the troopers were specifically interested in the particulars of the accident.

"There's a lot of rumours and scenarios that are being thrown out there about all kinds of different things that may have happened but right now the only evidence that we have is that this is just a traffic crash," she said.

"If our investigation takes us in a different direction then we'll let the media know. We will investigate every part of this and that's just a normal part of our investigation to help us figure out why he lost control and struck the fire hydrant and the tree."

Sgt Montes also said investigators had not yet reviewed the tape of the emergency 911 call made after the accident but the content would be released once those reviews had taken place.

World number one tennis player Roger Federer, who like Woods is sponsored by Gillette and has appeared in TV ads along with him and footballer Thierry Henry, said: "I haven't spoken to him. And I heard it's not too serious, which is a good thing."

Tiger out of hospital after crash

Tiger Woods was released from hospital in "good condition" today following a car crash outside his home.

The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) said Woods' car struck a fire hydrant and then a tree in the early hours of this morning in Isleworth, an exclusive suburb in Windermere, Florida.

The 33-year-old was taken to Health Central Hospital in Ocoee.

A joint statement from the hospital and Woods' office read: "Tiger Woods was in a minor car accident outside his home last night.

"He was admitted, treated and released today in good condition."

Woods' agent Mark Steinberg was quoted by US TV station CNBC as saying his client "is fine".

The FHP said Woods was driving a 2009 Cadillac sport utility vehicle and the crash was not alcohol-related.

However, a spokesman added that the incident was still under investigation and charges were pending.

The Orange County Fire Rescue said it received a call about the accident at 2.28am ET (7.28am GMT), but the Florida Highway Patrol did not report it until 2pm ET (7pm GMT).

The Mayor of Windermere, Gary Bruhn, told CNN: "An accident occurred about 2:30 this morning and Windermere police were first upon the scene because basically we're right there and can arrive within a minute and a half.

"I understand that there were some facial lacerations and he was taken to Health Central Hospital where he was treated and then I'm told he was released."

Bruhn said he did not know the specifics of the incident but added that the fact that charges were pending was a routine part of any accident investigation.

"Something like this would be just an ongoing investigation," he added.

"I think it's nothing more than an accident but from that standpoint they've got to let everything run its full course and do the investigation to see what was involved.

"I'm told that could take a number of days to come to its conclusion."

Bruhn said there was nothing about the situation which appeared unusual.

"Absolutely not, nothing that I'm aware of," Bruhn told CNN. "An accident occurred, we responded and as I understand it there were facial lacerations and nothing that serious."

Woods recently returned to America after winning the JBWere Masters in Melbourne by two shots.

The 14-time major winner is scheduled to host his own tournament, the Chevron World Challenge, next week in California.

It remains to be seen whether Woods, who previously won the event in 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007, will be fit enough to attend or compete.

He also missed last year's tournament while recovering from knee surgery which he underwent shortly after a remarkable victory in the US Open at Torrey Pines.

The 18-player field will compete for a first-place prize of USD1.35 million. For the first time since the tournament's inception in 1999, world ranking points will be awarded.

"I think that has helped us attract the best field we've ever had," Woods said recently.

"It should be an exciting week for the fans and I'm looking forward to competing."

George O'Grady, the chief executive of European Tour, said everyone involved in golf would be relieved Woods' injuries were not serious.

He told Sky Sports News: "For the whole world of golf we wish him well and hope there's no real damage and he recovers very soon."

He added: "He's a role model for the world of golf, not just the European Tour.

"I think everybody will de delighted the injuries are not serious.

"What a relief, for everyone in the world of golf."

Tiger Woods: The biggest name in golf

Tiger Woods has been the dominant figure in golf for the past 12 years and with 14 majors to his name is only four short of the all-time record held by Jack Nicklaus.

By Mark Garrod

The 33-year-old American was not able to add to his major collection this season, but he still regarded it as hugely successful given that he underwent reconstructive knee surgery in June last year and was out for eight months.

Woods won his third tournament back and has had six more victories since then, most recently at the Australian Masters only two weeks ago.

The one real blip in his comeback was The Open at Turnberry, where he missed the halfway cut in a major for only the second time in his professional career.

But, to nobody's surprise, he won his following two events and was in position to make the US PGA Championship his 15th major until South Korean YE Yang came from behind on the final day to pull off a huge upset.

Woods' first major victory was the 1997 Masters, the first he had played after leaving the amateur ranks.

After going to the turn in 40 on the opening day paired with defending champion Nick Faldo, he went on to win by a record 12 shots and with a record 18 under par total.

Although he was the centre of attention wherever he went after that - "Tigermania" was born - it was not until the last major of 1999 that he triumphed again, holding off Sergio Garcia to capture the US PGA title.

What followed the following season was nothing short of sensational. At Pebble Beach he won the US Open by a record 15 strokes and a month later he took The Open at St Andrews by eight.

By retaining the US PGA after a play-off with fellow Californian Bob May he went to Augusta in April 2001 with the chance to achieve golf's first ever clean sweep of the majors - and did it to complete a "Tiger Slam".

Two more majors came the following year and two more in 2005, including another triumph at St Andrews by five over Colin Montgomerie.

His 14th major was perhaps the most remarkable of them all, though.

It came in the US Open at Torrey Pines last year when he beat Rocco Mediate despite being in obvious agony with his knee.

Only after the play-off did Woods reveal to the world just how bad he was. As well as needing immediate surgery on his knee he played with two stress fractures in his leg.

His lay-off meant he missed the last two majors of last season and the Ryder Cup.

That is the one competition in which Woods does not have a great record, but although America won comfortably without him in Louisville he is top of the list new captain Corey Pavin wants for Celtic Manor next October.

Off the course, naturally, Woods has coined it in. It is estimated that he earns over USD100million annually from endorsements and appearances fees.

His recent trip to Australia cost the organisers USD3million, it was reported, and yet such was the interest created that it was generally considered money well spent in Melbourne.

Woods takes a lot of the credit for golf's increased popularity.

Prize money has gone through the roof in the past decade and television viewing figures rocket whenever and wherever he is playing.

His Foundation charity has already raised many millions and his background - his late father was an African American and his mother is Thai - has helped to take golf to a new audience.

Introduced to his Swedish wife Elin eight years ago by European Ryder Cup player Jesper Parnevik, they were engaged in 2003 and married in 2004.

Daughter Sam Alexis was born in June 2007 and son Charlie Axel arrived this February.

Football News

Everton vs Liverpool: Let’s get ready to rumble!

It’s the 212th Merseyside derby, and Liverpool travel to Goodison Park to take on cross-city rivals Everton in a time both clubs are struggling mightily.

In the Blue corner, hosts Everton spot a four-win, three-loss and six-draw record, which sees them just hovering over the drop zone in 16th place on the Premier League table.

Liverpool, a perennial title-contender, haven't been convincing this season, taking on the Toffees with a 6-2-5 record and they are seventh in the table so far.

Who will prevail? Ladies and gentlemen: Let's get ready to rumble!

Liverpool news heading into the derby:

Rafael Benitez insists he understands the distress of Liverpool's fans at the club's current plight, while re-affirming his commitment to the club.

The Liverpool manager has vowed to stay with the Reds and restore the club to their place in Europe's elite. Benitez added that he does not feel under added pressure following Liverpool's recent Champions League exit.

Meanwhile, Steven Gerrard has demanded a united front as Liverpool seek the top-four finish required to qualify for next season's Champions League.

Lucas Leiva believes he will never win over all of his detractors as he prepares himself for the Merseyside derby, while Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina have moved to offer their support to Benitez.

Everton news before the Merseyside showdown:

Everton manager David Moyes believes his players are having a crisis of confidence which has contributed to their recent poor form.

The Toffees' manager has admitted they are on the brink of a relegation battle and the clash with Liverpool makes little difference to that.

Meanwhile, Everton great Howard Kendall is against the idea of a groundshare with Liverpool, but admits it may be the only solution.

Arsenal vs Chelsea: Best of British?

North London giants Arsenal host Chelsea, knowing a victory against the Blues will dent their title aspirations, and place them above rivals Tottenham.

Arsenal go into the bout with a 8-win, 1-loss and 3-loss record, and are sitting pretty in fourth on the Premier League table.

Visitors Chelsea have eleven wins and 2 losses so far, and will be looking to add another three points to their tally of 33.

So who will win the battle of London?

Arsenal news ahead of the London derby:

Robin van Persie has urged his Arsenal team-mates to keep "believing in themselves" as he prepares to spend the next five months recovering from surgery on his injured ankle. The 26-year-old suffered torn ankle ligaments during Holland's goalless draw against Italy in Pescara on November 14.

Meanwhile, Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has reiterated his commitment to the Gunners, saying: "I don't want to fail here."

Arsene Wenger insists the "moment has come" for his Arsenal side as they prepare to face Barclays Premier League leaders Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners boss also feels Nicolas Anelka still "loves" Arsenal, even if the Chelsea striker will be out to dent his former club's title hopes.

Chelsea news before the Emirates Stadium showdown:

Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole insists all the pressure will be on Arsenal when the two sides meet at the Emirates Stadium.

Carlo Ancelotti insists that the Premier League showdown with Arsenal will not decide the title or rule the Gunners out of the race.

Finally, Chelsea captain John Terry admits the best is yet to come in Europe as the Blues gear up for Sunday's Barclays Premier League clash with Arsenal.

La Liga Saturday Review

Valencia paid the price for some poor finishing and were held to a disappointing draw after conceding a late penalty.

Unai Emery's side dominated from the outset but were wasteful in front of goal, with David Villa particularly off form.

Villa did put Valencia ahead early in the second half, but stopped his side from scoring a further two and also missed a good chance early on.

Mallorca were barely in it but won a penalty with six minutes left when Bruno fouled Gonzalo Castro and Borja Valero converted.

Sevilla missed the chance to close the gap on Barcelona and Real Madrid when they were held 2-2 at home by bottom side Malaga.

The visitors took a shock 2-0 lead at the interval thanks to goals from Fernando (23) and Patrick Mtiliga, but Sevilla deservedly hit back in the second half with a brace from Luis Fabiano.

Mate Bilic struck the winner as Sporting Gijon continued their excellent recent form with a 1-0 win at home to Villarreal.

The Croatia striker was alert to the rebound and scrambled the ball home from close-range after Alberto Rivera had seen his penalty parried by Diego Lopez 15 minutes from time.

Villarreal defender Gonzalo Rodriguez was sent off for the foul on Miguel De Las Cuevas and there was no way back after that for the 10-man visitors.

Motorsport News

Force India retain driving duo

Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi have been retained by Force India for the 2010 Formula One season.

The team have opted for continuity as Sutil has driven for Force India since they entered the sport at the start of last year.

The 26-year-old German faces his fourth season in F1 after starting out in 2007 with Force India's predecessors Spyker.

Italian Liuzzi, who stepped up from his role as third driver for the final five races of 2009 after Giancarlo Fisichella moved to Ferrari, has also been given another chance to prove himself.

Team principal Vijay Mallya said: "We have always maintained that consistency is key at this stage in the team's development.

"For the first time in many years we will have the continuity of not only the same drivers, but also the same engine and senior management.

"With this stability now in place I truly believe we have an excellent platform to build on and move forward on our strong 2009 performance.

"I am sure we have one of the most dynamic line-ups on the grid and I hope this will stand us in good stead in what we all hope will be a transitional year for the team."

Sutil, who finished a career-high fourth in the Italian Grand Prix in September after starting from the front row for the first time, believes further success is possible next year.

He said: "2010 will be my fourth consecutive year with the team.

"I feel good here, it feels like family, and when you feel at ease you can focus your energy 100% on getting it right on track.

"Next season I want to be in the points on a regular basis, maybe even challenging for the podium, and the team has exactly the same goals.

"We're going massively in the right direction, so with our combined energies I'm confident we can achieve even more than last season."

As for Liuzzi, the 28-year-old is ready to show what he can do in F1 after what was a two-year absence prior to finally being given his chance from September onwards.

"It was always my goal to be back racing in 2010 and I've finally achieved it," said Liuzzi.

"I feel the five races I did in 2009 were a bit of a warm-up, to get back racing, learn the car, get the feeling back.

"Now I've done that I feel ready to really push next season.

"We were pretty strong in the last part of the 2009 season so if we pick up where we stopped I think we could be in for a good year."

Canadian GP back on track

The Canadian Grand Prix will return to the F1 schedule next season after the government helped land a five-year deal to stage the race in Montreal.

The race had been dropped from this year's calendar but months of speculation over the future of the event were ended when the government announced its intervention at a press conference.

A total of £8.5million per year for the next five years will be invested in staging the race after the governments of Canada, Quebec and Montreal, along with Tourisme Montreal, came together to secure the event.

The five-year deal will begin on June 13, 2010 and the backers will each receive 30% of the profit on ticket sales for the race.

Montreal mayor Gerald Tremblay said: "The return of Formula 1 to Montreal attests to our sustained efforts and determination.

"This win-win deal falls in line with the terms we set and the taxpayer's ability to pay and will create stability for the next five years.

"I am very pleased that our metropolis is bringing back this crucial stage in the Formula One series for fans from around the world and an outstanding opportunity in terms of the event's international reach."

Raymond Bachand, the Quebec minister of finance and minister responsible for the Montreal region, said: "For Quebec, this event by itself results in annual tax revenues of more than £5.5million, for a £2.2 million investment, minus revenues from ticket sales.

"All three levels of government have worked together tirelessly over the past few months to bring the grand prix back to Montreal, while acting in a financially responsible manner.

"With this agreement in hand, I am delighted that our efforts have finally succeeded."

Manager: Schumacher ready to race

Michael Schumacher has recovered from the neck injury that kept him out of Felipe Massa's race-seat, his manager has revealed.

Following Massa's life-threatening head injury sustained in Hungary, Ferrari announced that Schumacher would make a brief comeback, replacing the Brazilian until the end of the season.

The dream, though, was short-lived as a week later Schumacher announced that a neck injury he has suffered in a motorbike accident had not healed sufficiently for him to race.

Four months later, Schumacher is once again in the news, this time it's Mercedes GP who are reportedly wanting the German to race for them next season.

And the good news is that if the deal does come to fruition, Schumacher's neck will not keep him out of the cockpit.

"His neck is completely fine - like his entire psyche," Willi Weber told German weekly Bunte.

The seven-time World Champion's manager also downplayed fears that Schumacher's reputation could suffer if he returns and is not able to fight at the front of the pack.

"He could race for victories," said Weber.

However, reports of Schumacher's possible return could be little more than fairytales as for every positive comment a denial is issued.

Weber, though, reckons a driver of Schumacher's caliber would be wanted by most teams, especially Ferrari, with whom he has a history.

"If Ferrari could start the 2010 season with three cars, Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo would naturally put him in one of the cockpits," Weber said.