Deccan Back in charge

Deccan Chargers bounced back from their opening-night defeat with a comfortable 31-run victory over Chennai Super Kings on Sunday.

The reigning IPL champions lost on Friday night in the opening fixture of the tournament, but fired by some fierce batting from Andrew Symonds and Adam Gilchrist they got back to winning ways.

Symonds hit 50 while fellow Australian Gilchrist crunched 38 from just 17 balls and Herschelle Gibbs added 45 as the visitors made a decent 190-4 from their 20 overs.

Sri Lankan left-armer Chaminda Vaas took three quick wickets to decimate the Chennai top order and, despite the best efforts of MS Dhoni and Albie Morkel, the Super Kings could only muster 159-9 after falling so far behind the run rate.

Deccan skipper Gilchrist started off in typically explosive fashion in Chennai, as he and VVS Laxman swatted 47 after the first four overs had been bowled.

Sixes

Gilchrist went for 38 from 17 balls after hammering three big sixes as the opening partnership ended on 55, and Laxman followed in the same fifth over as he was run out for 12.

Symonds and South African star Gibbs then took control with their fine third-wicket partnership of 95 putting the visitors in control of the game.

Gibbs hit 45 off 36 before being run out with the score on 150, and Symonds reached his 50 off 43 balls with three sixes before he was also run out in the penultimate over of the innings.

Deccan were able to close on a healthy 190-4 as Rohit Sharma and Tirumalsetti Suman combined for a sparkling final over which yielded 22 runs and really put them in the box seat.

A slow start saw Chennai instantly fall behind the required run rate, and matters got worse in just the third over when Vaas got rid of both opener Murali Vijay and Surech Raina - who had come in and smacked a six before edging behind on his third ball.

Vaas attack

Matthew Hayden made 17 before he became Vaas' third victim as the Sri Lanka produced the most rarest overs in Twenty20 cricket, a wicket-maiden, on the way to finishing with superb figures of 3-21 from his four overs.

The damage was largely done even with the depth of batting power available to Chennai, with Justin Kemp making 22 before being stumped, after making 37 alongside skipper Dhoni.

Dhoni and Morkel then made 38 but when Dhoni was bowled by Symonds for 42 that effectively ended the Super Kings' chances.

Morkel bravely battled on and he was left not out on 42 with three sixes included in his 26-ball knock, but the run rate and lack of company at the crease were always against him.

Symonds got rid of Muttiah Muralitharan to add figures of 2-29 to his half-century with the bat to star for the Chargers as they got their IPL defence back on track after an early setback.

Lewis - we're not far off

Lewis Hamilton believes McLaren are just a step away from competing for grands prix wins this season.

Hamilton finised third in Bahrain behind a Ferrari one-two led by Fernando Alonso on his debut for the Maranello marque.

Although the 25-year-old finished 25 seconds adrift of his former McLaren team-mate, who now has 22 wins to his name, Hamilton was encouraged by his second half of the race.

That came after the first pit stop, now limited to simply a tyre change due to a ban on refuelling, when he managed to leapfrog the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg who had held up the Briton early on.

Hamilton knows McLaren are not on the pace with Ferrari and Red Bull, who saw Sebastian Vettel slip from first to fourth late on due to a spark plug failure that resulted in a loss of power.

But he also appreciates they are not that far away either as he said: "I think we saw the true pace of our car after the first pit stop.

"I was right on Nico's tail for the whole of the first stint, but unfortunately I wasn't able to pull out the time I needed.

"The Ferrari guys were just pulling away. I would come onto the back straight and they were already around the next corner.

"The gap increased and there was nothing I could do at that time, but as soon as I got in some clean air and there were some new tyres on, the car felt great.

"The pace I had was quite good, so it's good to know we were able to match it and do similar times to the guys at the front.

"It shows we're not as far away as we thought we may have been, so we're not in a bad position.

Frustrating

"We just need to try to make a step closer to them which will enable us to compete for the win."

Team-mate and reigning world champion Jenson Button was a distant seventh, 45 seconds adrift of Alonso.

The 30-year-old finished narrowly behind Mercedes duo Rosberg and Michael Schumacher on his return to F1 after three-and-a-half years in retirement.

Like Hamilton, Button was a frustrated man as he too found himself unable to pass as the new rules and the circuit ensured it was a frustrating afternoon.

"In the first stint I didn't know what was going to happen to the tyres so I took it easy," remarked Button.

"I was a bit sad we pitted when we did because I thought I looked after the tyres a bit too much.

"In the final five laps of that first stint I was able to push and catch (Mark) Webber, who had damaged his tyres, and Michael.

"Michael pitted a lap before me and he was able to pull away, but I jumped Webber which was great.

"They were really good pit stops by the guys as Lewis and I both managed to jump someone.

"I then started pushing with 20 laps to go and I caught up with Michael, but I couldn't do anything.

"I didn't have the pace in the middle section to challenge in the final section, which was disappointing.

"So I'm okay with the result, although it wasn't what I was hoping for. I expected to be a bit further up.

"But it's impossible to overtake here. It's so difficult which is very frustrating, but the sport is what it is."

Sagan triumphs again

Peter Sagan put in a dogged solo display to claim his second stage victory in three days at Paris-Nice.

The Liquigas neo-pro - who led a six-man breakaway at the line on Monday - powered clear again with just under 2km to go held on magnificently to pip Mirco Lorenzetto (Lampre) and Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne) at the line.

Alberto Contador was also hot on the Slovakian's heels and his 10th-placed finish ensured he retained the leader's jersey.

In contrast to the wintery weather that had plagued the opening stages, sun beamed down as the riders rolled out of Pernes-les-Fontaines and Dimitri Champion (Ag2R) was the first man to break clear on the climb up the Col de Murs.

Astana, riding in support of Contador, monitored the situation closely and Champion was swept up with around 100km of the stage still remaining.

Such was the ferocity at the head of the peloton that it eventually split in two, with Tony Martin (HTC-Columbia) among the big names to be caught out by the unrelenting pace.

Further attacks came thick and fast and with 50km to go Team Sky's Sylvain Calzati was joined by Vladimir Gustov (Cervélo), Carlos Barredo (Quick-Step) and Rein Taaramäe (Cofidis) as the quartet surged away from the pack.

Their advantage peaked at 1:20 before Astana, Caisse d'Epargne and Euskaltel-Euskadi worked together to reel them back in - a feat which they eventually managed with just over 20km to go.

The stage looked all set for a sprint finish until Christophe Le Mevel (Francaise Des Jeux) made his bid for glory late on. Sagan reacted brilliantly to catch the Frenchman however and then launched clear on his own as the road ascended into Aix-en-Provence.

Nicolas Roche (Ag2R) and David Millar (Garmin-Transitions) did their best to haul the 20-year-old back but their attempts proved futile as he held on by a matter of metres.

Els Storms into Doral Lead

Ernie Els produced a flawless 66 to open a one-shot lead at the halfway stage of the WGC-CA Championship at Doral.

The South African last year failed to win a title for the first time since his rookie season in 1990, but the 40-year-old put himself in position to end his drought with a superb display in Miami.

Els finished a weather-interrupted second round on 10-under-par, one clear of Robert Allenby who experienced a day of wildly-fluctuating fortunes over the infamous Blue Monster course.

The Australian produced a superb hole-in-one to fire himself into a share of the lead only for a double-bogey to send him crashing out of it again.

On the opening day Allenby pitched in for an eagle and had six birdies to stand eight-under and four clear after 12 holes before bogeying the final four holes.

His ace on Friday came with a fairway wood at the 13th, his fourth hole of the day, and birdies at the 10th and 14th took the Melbourne golfer to eight-under once again.

However, trouble was lurking around the corner at the 16th and he ran up a six after driving into sand, duffing a pitch into another bunker and then missing from under four feet with the putter.

He responded with a birdie at the 17th and an incredible inward nine saw an eagle, three more birdies and three bogeys as he finished just adrift of Els.

American Bill Haas is the next closest challenger on seven-under after matching the 66 of Els, while overnight leader Charl Schwartzel is level with Haas after a 70 having been caught in midst of the thunderstorms predicted at the start of the day.
Inclement weather

Indeed, tournament officials made the wise decision to bring forward tee times by nearly three and a half hours in a bid to ensure the event remained on schedule.

There was also an encouraging move by Padraig Harrington who returned a 68 which included five birdies and just a single bogey to move into a share of fifth on six-under, although he remained cautious about his prospects of winning.

"I have a tradition, unfortunately for me, that I don't normally win out of the blue," he stated afterwards.

"It's very rare. I normally warm up by getting into contention a few times.

"I'm happy with my scoring but I made a few mental errors out there and missed a few putts.

"Obviously, though, I hit enough good shots and I seemed to have a lot of reasonable chances for birdies."

The Dubliner has Soren Hansen for company, the Dane carding a second consecutive 69 to maintain his momentum.

Six players are locked together at five-under including Vijay Singh (71), J.B Holmes (70) and Mike Weir (66).

However, it's Els that leads the way with the South African pleased to get in with his 66, declaring: "I'm just pleased we got it done. The weather is changing a lot.

"I'm in pretty good shape. Halfway there and, you know, just got to keep it up.

"I went back to the drawing board basically. I was a little bit worried going out this week because I've not really tested it in competition.

"But it's been two good days, especially where I was last week. I just got out of whack and when you make changes you've got to hit a million balls to get used to it."

Neck injury for Poulter

But it was a far less positive day for England's Ian Poulter who slumped to a six-over-par 78 before later revealing he could be forced to pull out with a neck injury.

"I nearly didn't play yesterday," said the world number five. "The neck's been coming on for a while and the pillows are not very good this week.

"My usual physio guy is in Australia so I had to get some treatment when I got to the course and as I went to practice I still wasn't sure I'd be playing."

Fellow Englishmen Paul Casey and Lee Westwood stand at three and two-under respectively.

Windies Clinch Series Victory

West Indies beat Zimbabwe by four wickets in the fourth and final one-day international in St Vincent to seal a 3-1 series triumph.

Set a modest victory target of just 142, the hosts made heavy weather of their chase but eventually limped over the line in the face of a brave effort from Zimbabwe.

Given a typically brisk start by captain Chris Gayle, West Indies looked to be on course for an easy victory as they raced to 46-0.

But once Gayle had departed for 32 from 20 balls after being caught by Graeme Cremer off the bowling of Greg Lamb, the West Indies ship began to wobble.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul managed just two from 12 balls before becoming Elton Chigumbura's only victim and when Adrian Barath (25) was stumped off the bowling off Cremer nine balls later they stood at 61-3.

Denesh Ramdin and Narsingh Deonarine settled any nerves with a stand of 31, but a couple more quick wickets gave Zimbabwe renewed hope of an unlikely win.

First Ramdin was trapped leg before by Cremer for 12 and then Dwayne Bravo, after clipping a lovely lofted four, perished for six as the West Indies stumbled to 101-5.

However, with Deonarine standing firm, a watchful 22 off 40 balls from Kieron Pollard saw the West Indies to within three runs of victory before Pollard inexplicably chipped a simple return catch to Timycen Maruma.

The wicket only delayed the inevitable, though, and when it came the end was an anti-climax as Ray Price bowled a wide to give the hosts their winning run.
Zimbabwe struggle with bat

Earlier, the tourists were bowled out for 141 with all-rounder Bravo returning figures of 4-21 from nine overs while Ravi Rampaul took 2-21.

Rampaul struck first when Hamilton Masakadza edged a rearing delivery to Denesh Ramdin to fall for a duck.

Bravo then had Maruma (11) caught at gully and Brendan Taylor (one) followed soon after when he played around a Rampaul inswinger.

Vusi Sibanda (11) was run out after Tatenda Taibu did not respond to his call for a quick single - Pollard only having to run across to the stumps and remove the bails.

Bravo then accounted for Taibu (14) and Stuart Matsikenyeri (one) to leave Zimbabwe 62-6 after 19 overs.

That they moved into three figures was largely as a result of a battling 42 from Chigumbura, who also combined in an innings-best 41-run stand for the eighth wicket with Cremer (15).

They stood on 129-7 when Chigumbura, who hit three sixes, was caught by Chanderpaul off Daren Sammy.

Kemar Roach claimed the final wicket, bowling Price (five) to dismiss Zimbabwe in 48.2 overs.

Shah Stars as Deccan Slump

Kolkata caused an upset on the opening night of the new IPL season with an 11-run victory over the Deccan Chargers.

Unbeaten half-centuries from Owais Shah and Angelo Mathews helped the Knight Riders, who finished bottom of the table in 2009, recover from a disastrous start to post a more-than-useful 161-4.

Deccan - the reigning champions heading into the third year of the competition - looked well placed in their run chase at 99-1.

However, Adam Gilchrist's departure for 54 led to a batting collapse and they eventually finished up on 150-7 at the end of their 20 overs.
Early blows

The Chargers will wonder just how they contrived to lose a game that they always seemed in control of from the moment Chaminda Vaas struck two early blows in the opening over.

Manoj Tiwary was dismissed with the very first delivery of the 2010 campaign and Kolkata captain Sourav Ganguly didn't last much longer, going for a three-ball duck, to leave the score on 0-2.

Cheteshwar Puraja (10) became the third wicket to fall and when Brad Hodge cut Jaskaran Singh to short point to depart for 13, the Knight Riders were reeling at 31-4.

But Shah and Mathew combined to rebuild the innings with an unbroken stand of 130, of which 104 came from the final 10 overs.

Discarded by England, Shah began cautiously before unleashing some big shots, hitting three sixes and the same number of fours in his 58 not out.

Mathews ended up unbeaten on 65 from just 46 balls, the Sri Lankan all-rounder clobbering five fours and four sixes - his first maximum coming from the opening ball of his knock.

Collapse

The duo's efforts looked set to be in a losing cause, though, even when VVS Laxman departed for 22 due to a mis-timed slog-sweep off of Murali Karthik.

However, the pivotal moment of the game came at the start of the 12th over when Gilchrist, who had raced to his half-century, was caught on the fence trying to hit fellow Australian Hodge over square leg for his fourth six.

From then on the Chargers crumbled under the pressure, Herschelle Gibbs hitting Charl Langeveldt straight out to long-off to depart for 19.

Ishant Sharma then dismissed the dangerous Andrew Symonds (five) before returning to seal victory for his side with a tight last over. Deccan ended up 11 runs short having lost six wickets for 43 runs.

Top 14 Race Hots up

Defeats for the top two have thrown the race for Top 14 semi-final spots wide open on Friday, with five teams now jostling for the top spot.

Castres and Clermont both tumbled away from home, 19-6 to Toulon and 22-13 to Bayonne respectively, while chasers Toulouse and Perpignan won 34-3 and 19-14 at home to Montpellier and Biarritz respectively.

Stade Français' season lurched from bad to worse with a 26-14 defeat at Brive, while Bourgoin lifted themselves further away from relegation with a 17-7 win at Albi.

RC Toulon 19-6 Castres Olympique

The match was pretty much decided in a first half which saw the home side, unbeaten at the fortress Felix Mayol this season, put in a display of searing intensity.

Mafi Kefu's try bolstered three penalties from Felipe Contepomi, while a single solitary penalty from the boot of Cameron McIntyre was all Castres could muster - even that was with the final kick of the half.

Castres have spent much of this season blowing away better teams with their own intensity so it was about time someone took them on at their own game.

But it was the Contepomi-Sonny Bill Williams combination that created the difference. It worked for the first try and it did for the second as well, with flanker Olivier Missoup looping round to finish off.

That made it 19-3, and a McIntyre penalty was again all Castres could find in response.

Aviron Bayonnais 22-13 Clermont Auvergne

A chance for Clermont to go top was badly missed here as Bayonne further hauled themselves away from relegation.

Centre Sam Gerber crossed for a Bayonne try in the second minute as the home side roared out of the blocks and Cedric Garcia added to it with two drop goals and the conversion, while Seremaia Bai at least got Clermont on the board in an opening quarter-hour dominated by the hosts.

Bai pulled a penalty back just before the break, but that was it for the scoring until the hour mark, when Garcia made it 16-6 with his first penalty.

Ten minutes before time though Clermont struck back with a try for Anthony Floch and conversion by Brock James.

But Garcia extended the lead with his second penalty and his third, in the final minute and as a result of an infringement by Jamie Cudmore - who was yellow-carded in the first half - denied Clermont even a bonus point.

Stade Toulousain 34-3 Montpellier HRC

Five tries to nil for Toulouse, who look to be hitting form at the right time of the season.

All five came in the first half, one which coach Guy Noves called an 'exceptional' half of rugby.

Yann David, Virgil Lacombe, Jean Bouilhou, Cedric Heymans and Vincent Clerc all touched down in the same 20-minute spell, with David Skrela adding three conversions to his earlier penalty for a 34-0 half-time lead.

Montpellier, shell-shocked, at least spared themselves the ignominy of a nilling, with a penalty from Cesar Sempere early in the second half.

But that was pretty much it as far as the game went, with Toulouse in cruise mode.

SCA Albi 7-17 CS Bourgoin-Jallieu

A penalty try right on half-time gave Bourgoin the necessary momentum to survive a gruelling test of resolve in Albi, whose goose is now surely cooked as far as the top flight goes.

Alberto di Bernado's conversion, added to that of John Senio's earlier try, gave Bourgoin a 14-0 half-time lead, too much for Albi to pull back.

Pierre-Gilles Lakafia's try gave Albi some hope but when lock Thomas Vervoort was yellow-carded for a late tackle about two minutes after coming on as a replacement, hope evaporated.

CA Brive-Corrèze 26-14 Stade Français

A defeat which probably means the Parisians will not make the play-offs this season, but on this performance you'd never think they were even worthy of such.

Stade trailed 19-6 at the break, with Fabrice Estebanez in deadly form with the boot and also finding time and space to set Nicolas Jeanjean up for a superb try.

Lionel Beauxis' third penalty made it 19-9 early in the second half but heavy Brive pressure resulted in first, a yellow card for Rodrigo Roncero and then, a minute later, a penalty try which killed the game off.

Hooker Laurent Sempere got a late try for the visitors but it was no consolation for a season surely now lost and for a likely lack of even a Heineken Cup spot to show for it.

USA Perpignan 19-14 Biarritz Olympique

The tries came early but the tension built in the Stade Aimé-Giral. Jean-Philippe Grandclaude's opening score was quickly cancelled out by one from Iain Balshaw - the latter try a gem of a score from one side of the field to the other - but Nicolas Laharrague's conversion separated the two sides after 15 minutes.

That was the trademark of a Biarritz first forty minutes where they managed everything but a score - a factor which would haunt them at the end.

Laharrague and Valentin Courrent exchanged penalties before the break and after it, sharing six in all as Perpignan just kept their noses in front despite playing for ten minutes without scrum-half Nicolas Durand, who interfered with ruck ball just as Taku Ngwenya was ready to steam home.

Perpignan held firm though and made sure of victory when Laharrague landed his fourth of the night six minutes from time - sinking a heavy nail into the coffin of Biarritz's play-off hopes.

Cardiff v Gloucester: Teams

Cardiff Blues have made four changes to their starting XV for the LV Cup semi-final against Gloucester at Cardiff City Stadium.

Dafydd Hewitt starts at inside centre in place of Tom Shanklin, who is on Wales duty, while forward Scott Andrews steps in for the injured Gary Powell.

Ben White takes over from Sam Warburton, who is also away with Wales, while Andy Powell is named at blindside as Maama Moltika drops to the bench.

Blues director of rugby Dai Young admits his selection has been limited by the amount of players unavailable for the clash.
Massive game

"We've got 22 players to pick 22 from so we can't rest people or change many," said Young.

"This is a massive game for us that we'd love to win and put ourselves in the final but we know it's a huge challenge against a full strength Gloucester team.

"They've got very few withdrawals and we'll probably have 8 or 9 unavailable to us.

"We're looking forward to the match. It's a massive challenge for us but a game where we'll have to perform much better than we did against Leinster last weekend."

Gloucester, meanwhile, have lost Marco Bortolami, Rory Lawson, Scott Lawson and Gareth Delve to international duty, with Olly Morgan joining Dave Attwood, Luke Narraway and Greg Somerville on the sidelines.

Half-backs Andy Williams and Tim Taylor are also ruled out with injuries sustained at London Wasps last weekend, with Freddie Burns set to take over at full-back and Dave Lewis returning at scrum-half.

Paul Doran-Jones steps in at tight-head, while a reshuffled back row sees Peter Buxton on the blindside and Jake Boer in the number eight jersey.

Effective

Cherry and Whites head coach Bryan Redpath is expecting tough competition from Blues, regardless of their own selection woes.

"Cardiff have been a pretty effective side over the past few years and I think that last season was probably their best season for a long, long time," said Redpath.

"Even with several internationals away, they've still got a very good squad. It's a very big challenge for us. It's a semi-final, it's a one off game. It isn't four points at stake, it's win or lose."

"But, we've got a game to play no matter whoever takes the pitch for them. Our focus will be on the ones who are playing and not the ones who are missing. They'll still have a lot of good players in their side."

Cardiff Blues: 15 Ben Blair, 14 Tom James, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Dafydd Hewitt, 11 Chris Czekaj, 10 Ceri Sweeney, 9 Gareth Cooper, 1 Faao Filise, 2 T Rhys Thomas, 3 Scott Andrews, 4 Scott Morgan, 5 Paul Tito (c), 6 Andy Powell, 7 Ben White, 8 Xavier Rush.

Replacements: 16 Huw Dowden, 17 Ian George, 18 Nathan Trevett, 19 Andries Petorius, 20 Maama Molitika, 21 Darren Allinson, 22 Sam Norton-Knight.

Gloucester: 15 Freddie Burns, 14 James Simpson-Daniel, 13 Mike Tindall (c), 12 Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, 11 Lesley Vainikolo, 10 Nicky Robinson, 9 Dave Lewis, 1 Nick Wood, 2 Olivier Azam, 3 Paul Doran-Jones, 4 Will James, 5 Alex Brown, 6 Peter Buxton, 7 Akapusi Qera, 8 Jake Boer.

Replacements: 16 Darren Dawidiuk, 17 Rupert Harden/Alasdair Dickinson, 18 Pierre Capdevielle, 19 Adam Eustace, 20 Andrew Hazell, 21 Jordi Pasqualin, 22 Tim Molenaar, 23 Tom Voyce.

Britain not a 'tennis nation'

Top tennis coach Nick Bollettieri has refused to blame the Lawn Tennis Association's hierarchy for last weekend's Davis Cup embarrassment, insisting instead the problem is down to Great Britain not being a "tennis nation".

There have been widespread calls for both LTA chief Roger Draper and captain John Lloyd to step down in the wake of the defeat to Lithuania, a result that leaves Great Britain one play-off away from relegation into the competition's lowest tier.

However, Bollettieri, who has coached the likes of Boris Becker, Andre Agassi and the Williams sisters in his career and who currently has Lithuanian number one Ricardas Berankis working in his Florida academy, believes the problem is rather more fundamental.

Writing in his column on www.sportingintelligence.com, the American said: "To pick one or two people and start calling for them to be removed isn't a cure-all solution.

"The blame game won't work because British tennis has shortcomings with deep cultural and historical roots. There's even an argument that Britain is not a "tennis nation".

"Sure, you stage the most prestigious event in the world - Wimbledon. But your national sports are soccer and cricket, and your Olympic resources go to cycling, rowing, sailing, swimming, all sports at which you excel at or are improving in. Tennis is part of a social scene.

"So to argue that Roger Draper, the chief executive of the LTA, is responsible for British tennis's ills is to misidentify the problem. If you'd had generations of Grand Slam winners and then they'd disappeared, then seek blame. But those generations of British tennis winners never existed, not this side of the black-and-white movie era."
Improvement

Outlining how he might improve the situation, Bollettieri suggested: "I guess in a Utopia I'd say build an academy in England and open it to the world. Put your best and the best of the rest together. But that's not a small ambition, that's a long way off, if at all.

"(In the short term) I'd say take your best young players and help them to spend time in other, more testing environments, even just for a few weeks here and there.

"You need to make your athletes central to your planning, and find a way so the best work together. You need consistently to push your players, to provide them with the best coaches. Those coaches also need exposure to the best methods from elsewhere.

"I'm talking now about the players below (British number one Andy) Murray, the young players like Daniel Evans and James Ward who played against Lithuania. At their age - 19 and upwards - it should no longer be about techniques, it should be about building physical strength, about conditioning, mentality, strategy, and of course day-in, day-out improvement against players as good and better than you."

Clijsters Back at Eastbourne

Kim Clijsters will warm up for Wimbledon in June by taking part in the AEGON International in Eastbourne.

The Belgian completed a remarkable comeback in 2009 when she won the US Open, more than two years after retiring from tennis.

The world number 17 says she is hungrier than ever and is looking forward to returning to a tournament that she won five years ago.

"To come back last year and win at the US Open has only made me more hungry for success," she said.

"I'm really excited about playing at Eastbourne, it's one of my favourite events.

"I won it in 2005 and can't wait to play there to come back to challenge for the title again.

"It's a really well-run tournament, in a laid-back atmosphere, providing the perfect preparation ahead of Wimbledon."

Rain Pain in Rio Grande

The opening round of the US PGA Tour's Puerto Rico Open was suspended before the tournament was able to get into full swing in Rio Grande.

Heavy rain forced the organisers to call a halt to play, with only 18 players able to tee off.

South Africa's Rory Sabbatini and India's Jeev Milkha Singh were able to make early in-roads into the leaderboard before play was suspended - with the organisers hoping for better weather on Friday.

Casey Well Placed in Miami

A run of late birdies saw Paul Casey move into contention after the opening round of the WGC-CA Championship in Miami.

The world No.6, who could close in on Tiger Woods in the rankings at the event, holed four successive birdies on his back nine before blotting his copybook with a bogey at the last.

That, though, was enough to see Casey finish on a three-under 69 - two shots off the early pace set by South African Charl Schwartzel.

However while Casey finished with a flourish, Robert Allenby was left to rue his final four holes.

Having defied the windy conditions to stand eight under par after 12 holes following an eagle and six birdies, the wheels came off as Allenby bogeyed the last four.

"I thought Robert was playing a different course," said Casey, who joined Dustin Johnson, Francesco Molinari, JB Holmes, Soren Hansen and John Senden in a share of fifth.

"That was very impressive stuff - there are a lot of tough holes here - and I'm very happy with my 69."
Bunkers

Allenby is a shot behind Schwartzel - who enjoyed a bogey-free round - with Vijay Singh and Ernie Els also on four-under.

Luke Donald and Padraig Harrington are also well placed in a six-strong group on two under, while Simon Dyson and Ian Poulter are two shots further back.

Rory McIlroy, though, endured a tortuous day as he constantly found himself in the bunkers and holed six bogeys before eventually finishing on four-over.

Only five players in the 68-strong field fared worse than the world No.9, who admits he is currently in a slump.

"I'm just struggling," said McIlroy. "I'm not playing well and just can't keep things going. I've been struggling since the weekend in Dubai (now over a month ago)."

McIlroy has had problems with his back- however the Northern Irishman refused to blame his form on the injury.

"That's not really a factor," he said.

"I'm struggling with the whole game. When you're playing well it's easy, but when you're not it's difficult."

Steelbacks Sign Sehwag

Northamptonshire have signed Indian superstar batsman Virender Sehwag for the Friends Provident T20.

The arrival of the free-scoring Sehwag is subject to approval from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, though.

Sehwag has made 76 Tests and 220 one-day internationals during a prolific career for India - with the 31-year-old opener known for his destructive strokeplay.

And having previously played for Lancashire, Sehwag is relishing the chance to represent the 2009 Twenty20 Cup semi-finalists.

He said: "I am looking forward to the T20 campaign and I am delighted to have joined the county."

Northamptonshire chief executive Mark Tagg believes the arrival of Sehwag will help the county go on to lift the trophy this time around.

"This is absolutely fantastic news for the club and shows everyone that we want to continue our year-on-year improvement," he said.

"We hope this shows our fans we are serious in our ambitions to become the best county cricket club in the country."

Neville Tight Lipped on Future

Gary Neville remains adamant that he will refuse to discuss his future at Manchester United until the end of the season.

Neville, who turned 35 last month, is out of contract in the summer and has yet to be offered a new deal by the Carling Cup winners.

Earlier in the campaign there were suggestions that the defender could retire in May, but after a solid display against AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League it has now been suggested that he is in England contention for the World Cup.

Neville, though, does not want to speculate and is focusing on helping United in Europe and the Premier League.

"There's nothing I really want to say on that," he said in The Times when asked about his future. "I'll discuss it at the end of the season.
Fortune

"I play for United and try to play well and where that takes me then, who knows? But I'm not focusing on that (the World Cup)."

Meanwhile, Neville is aware that United cannot afford to continue to rely on good fortune in the league title race.

"We are thankful in the league to still be in the position we are in," he said. "To lose six matches and it still to be in our hands, we're delighted with that.

"You wouldn't normally get away with that in a season, but it's been a weird season. Maybe it has been like that for other clubs as well. We're just grateful we're in a position to challenge.

"We are into March; this and April are the key months of the season. The countdown has started and we want to keep all our players fit now.

"It's crucial. It's an important factor for all clubs that they keep the most important players fit."

Wenger Warning for Real

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has told Real Madrid they would be wasting their time if they launch another attempt to lure him to the Bernabeu.

Reports in Spain suggest that Real manager Manuel Pellegrini is on the brink of the sack after the Primera Liga leaders were dumped out of the UEFA Champions League by Lyon to fail to reach the quarter-finals for a sixth successive year.

Pellegrini was already under pressure, with suggestions he does not have the support of president Florentino Perez after more than £200million of summer investment, and Wenger has been a long-term target.

The Spaniards tried to capture the Gunners boss before appointing Pellegrini last June and they are expected to renew interest in the Frenchman if they begin a new search for a fresh manager.
No guarantee

But Wenger has strongly stated his intentions, saying: "Leave me alone. I am always going to stay to the end of my contract and I am going (to stay at Arsenal) until 2011. There is no way I am going to break it.

"For me, it is the worst possible moment to come back on that. At the moment my focus is fully on Hull City (on Saturday) they may be less glamorous than Real Madrid, but they are much more important in my life at the moment."

He added: "It shows that £240million does not necessarily buy you the Champions League and that in Europe you have no guarantee of success.

"If you can spend that kind of money every year, you will get there in the end, but at the moment it is difficult for them to take.

"In the last five years we have been in the final, a semi-final and two quarter-finals in England we don't rate that as an achievement any more because we are used to it, but that consistency is not easy to achieve."

Garde looking good

The 11-year-old defied top weight of 11st 12lb 12 months ago and will attempt to do the same again in the 12 months later.

Of the 25 possibles for the three-mile-seven-furlong test, five are from the Garde Champetre team of owner JP McManus and trainer Enda Bolger.

The others are last year's runner-up L'Ami, Freneys Well, Drombeag and Heads Onthe Ground, but Bolger's main two contenders are reported in fine shape.

"They are in great order and we couldn't be happier with them," said the owner's racing manager, Frank Berry.

Sizing Australia was runner-up to Garde Champetre over this unique circuit in December, and trainer Henry de Bromhead is looking forward to the race.

"Australia is in great order and we're looking forward to running him again," he said.

"Enda Bolger obviously has a monopoly on the race at the moment but our horse has run well round there before so we'll see how he gets on."

Other interesting entries include 2007 Grand National hero Silver Birch, Monkerhostin, Cornish Sett, Preists Leap and Lacdoudal.

Tataniano skips Arkle

Tataniano was a surprise absentee from the Arkle Trophy at Cheltenham on Tuesday, with Long Run also missing from the 17-strong entry list at the six-day stage.

Paul Nicholls's Tataniano will skip the Arkle in order to run in the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Handicap Chase on Friday.

"He's absolutely fine, but we just didn't think he was good enough for the Arkle and he's going to go for the Grand Annual instead," said owner Andy Stewart.

"It was obviously disappointing when he was beaten by a horse of Emma Lavelle's (Suntini) at Newbury last time and while he could be placed in an Arkle, he probably wouldn't be good enough to win it.

"Novices have a reasonably good record in the Grand Annual and he should have a good chance of winning that, so hopefully it works out."

Nicholls is now set to rely on Woolcombe Folly while Long Run waits for the RSA Chase.
Irish battle

Irish challengers Captain Cee Bee and Sizing Europe lead the betting and they will clash again as they speadhead a strong Irish challenge which also includes the Willie Mullins-trained trio of Quiscover Fontaine, Shakervilz and Sports Line.

When they clashed at Leopardstown on Boxing Day there was little between them at the final fence until Captain Cee Bee came down, leaving Sizing Europe to land the spoils.

"Everything is good with Sizing Europe and it is just a case of keeping him in one piece now," said trainer Henry de Bromhead. "He's done plenty of work and we'll just keep him ticking over now until he heads over to Cheltenham on Saturday.

"We obviously had the trouble with transit fever last year but we have a few ideas of how to do things differently and try to prevent it happening again, so hopefully it was a one-off."

The Eddie Harty-trained Captain Cee Bee, successful in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle in 2008, returned to winning ways at Naas last month.

"Touch-wood, he's on course for the Arkle. He's in great form and fingers crossed he'll get there in one piece," said owner JP McManus' racing manager Frank Berry.

"He goes there in good order and we hope for the best."

Vitali's Swipe at Lennox

Vitali Klitschko is desperate to take David Haye's world title off him, as he revealed that he thinks Lennox Lewis' mum stopped him getting a rematch with the former undisputed heavyweight champion.

Klitschko will defend his WBC heavyweight title against London-based Pole Albert Sosnowski on May 29, but a fight with Britain's WBA champion David Haye remains high on the agenda.

The 38-year-old lost his WBC title bout with Lewis in 2003 after a cut forced the Ukrainian to be stopped in the sixth round, although he was ahead on the judges' scorecards at the time.

Klitschko is still fighting on seven years later and is still smarting at the fact he never got a chance to fight Lewis again - and he believes he knows the reason why.

"Lennox promised me but his mum decided he wasn't going to fight," Klitschko said ahead of the Laureus World Sports Awards in Abu Dhabi.
Talks

"He invited me to London, without managers, he said he wanted to talk just together. I came to the room and his mum is there. We talked for two hours and his mum was looking at me and scanning me.

"After that I went away and he called me a couple of hours later and said 'Sorry, but no'. I felt it wasn't his decision, his mum decided. I tried to change his decision, but it's difficult.

"But I was appreciative to Lennox Lewis that I got the chance to prove my skills against the toughest fighter in the world. But he was lucky, because I was ahead but the doctor stopped the fight with the cut."

Should Klitschko beat Sosnowski he will turn his attentions to another British fighter - and is desperate to beat Haye and take his WBA crown.

Haye makes the first defence of his title against John Ruiz next month, and after a previously failing to fix a fight with a Klitschko, 'The Hayemaker' now has both brothers chasing him down.

Brothers

"I told my brother, 'I want to fight Haye', but he said no, he wants to fight him," Klitschko added. "For him it is personal, but for me I want the title.

"My brother already has three but I have to clear it with him. I hope he listens to his older brother. Always you need motivation and the motivation is to have all the titles in the family.

"Everyone wants to see a unification. Champion against champion. Haye has the choice, one of the brothers Klitschko. I'll tell him it's easier to beat me, because I'm older and I don't have as much energy as my brother.

"I keep my fingers crossed that Haye beats Ruiz. Not because I like him, but I want his title and to shut his mouth. Maybe we decide by coins who fights him.

"Let's hope my brother listens to me. He must always respect old people."

Juhi Hopes for better luck for KKR in IPL-3

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) co-owner Juhi Chawla hoped that lady luck would smile on the team in the third edition of the Indian Premier League.

“The team management is working very hard both on and off the field and we are confident of doing well. We just need luck,” the Bollywood diva of yesteryears, said.

In town for a promotional event, Juhi regretted not being present during the last IPL matches.

“I could not hold my tears when I saw my team losing even after playing well. With a bit of luck we could have won those matches last season,” she said adding that she would be present for all KKR matches at the Eden Gardens.

With Sourav Ganguly back as the skipper Juhi hoped the local favourite would add zing to the side.

“We are proud of Dada. He has the captain’s luck and he is a fighting cricketer and I hope he brings that dash to the team,” Juhi said.

KKR boys will now be seen sporting new purple jerseys.

“Going with the luck factor we have changed the black colour of our jerseys to purple and hope that gives us a purple patch,” she said.

Asked about about the forthcoming meeting with the state Sports Minister Kanti Ganguly on KKR ticket sales, Juhi said, “I hope things will be taken care of on Monday.”
© PTI

IPL defers unveiling two new franchises, cancels existing tender

At the instance of Shashank Manohar, President, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and unanimous approval of the DLF-IPL Governing Council thereafter, the Invitation to Tender (ITT) to ascertain the two new franchises from season IV 2011 was cancelled here on Sunday.

While the senior functionaries of the BCCI and the IPL had resolved to set the reserve price at $ 225 million as one of the crucial clauses in the tender document, they were not privy to the three binding financial obligations the bidders had to comply with.

Sources revealed that at the IPL Governing Council meeting, at the Four Seasons Hotel, an upset Mr. Manohar expressed resentment at the unilateral decision of the people who specified the stiff clauses in the ITT, namely the clause requiring the potential franchisee to demonstrate a net worth of $1 billion, the bidder to pay an advance guarantee of $100 million and also provide a rolling bank guarantee for the sum of the winning bid.

Sahara unhappy

It appears that Sahara, which has been associated with the BCCI for more than a decade as the Indian team’s sponsor, expressed its unhappiness and raised the issue with the BCCI.

Those witness to the proceedings at the Governing Council meeting said Mr. Manohar was keen on a wider participation to identify the two new franchises. He proposed that the ITT be scrapped altogether and the bids not opened.

“He expressed indignation at the clause which stated that the bidders provide proof of their net worth being $1 billion and also the clause that required the bidders to furnish an advance bank guarantee of $100 million,” said an IPL official.

After the Governing Council meeting, Lalit Modi announced that three primary clauses in the ITT have been dropped, a fresh ITT would be floated on March 9 and submitted at 10 a.m. on March 21 in Chennai.

The bids will be opened at 11 a.m. the same day in the presence of all the bidders. He also said the bidders would have to pay a performance deposit sum of $10 million 24 hours before the submission of the bid papers (on March 21) and 10 percent of their bid within 48 hours in the event of a successful bid. “The bids were not opened today. There were suggestions to increase the reserve price from $ 225 million. But we have retained it.

“Several parties had written to the BCCI that the financial commitments were high and hence the Governing Council decided to scrap the ITT because it had the right to cancel the entire tendering process at any stage prior to the execution by IPL of a binding franchise agreement with a potential franchisee without giving any reason or to amend, vary, waive and/or modify any or all of the terms and conditions of this ITT, including the franchise agreement,” said Mr. Modi.

Those who attended the Governing Council meeting were Shashank Manohar, N. Srinivasan, Secretary, BCCI, Chirayu Amin, Vice President, BCCI, Rajiv Shukla, Chairman of Media Committee, BCCI, Lalit Modi, Chairman and Commissioner, IPL, Niranjan Shah, Vice-Chairman, IPL, M.A.K. Pataudi, Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri.

Representatives of Videocon Industries, Adani Power and Jaypee Group were also present. “I had complied in full with ITT. I am disappointed that tendering process has been cancelled. But I have no grievances as such. I love cricket and I have played with Sunil Gavaskar. I had bid for Pune city and I will be at Chennai on March 21,” said Venugopal Dhoot, CMD, Videocon Group.

Shilpa Hopes Rajasthan Will impress again

With the third edition of the Indian Premier League inching closer, Bollywood actor and co-owner of the Rajasthan Royals Shilpa Shetty hoped the Shane Warne-led side will re-live the first year’s glory of winning the show-piece tournament.

The Rajasthan team, which won the inaugural edition of the Twenty20 tournament in 2008, finished an unimpressive sixth last year when the event was organised in South Africa.

“We finished sixth in the Indian Premier League in the previous year in South Africa. But we were the champions in the first edition and I wish the team will move up once again when the third edition takes place,” Shilpa said.

The tournament is commencing from March 12 and Rajasthan Royals will open their campaign by taking on Mumbai Indians in an away match the next day.

Shilpa, who was in Jaipur with the team’s co-owner and husband Raj Kundra, took part in an environmental awareness programme along with all the Rajasthan Royals players, including captain Warne.

Shilpa planted a sapling at the Rajasthan Cricket Academy premises and said: “I remember my mother used to ask me to plant a sapling on each of my birthdays. Plantation is more important for Rajasthan as the state faces a tough environment.”

“The planet has to be saved and that can be done only by saving the environment. The message should be loud and clear and I would appreciate if the people gathered here also do the same. It is the mother earth which gives you so much and it is our duty to save it,” Shilpa said.

Hodge Chosen as Possible Opener for KKR

Bangalore, Mon, Mar 08 2010 (CricBuzz) – Kolkata Knight Riders will probably open the batting with Aussie batsman Brad Hodge in the third season of the Indian Premier League. He will open in the absence of Chris Gayle and Brendan McCullum who are playing in the national team against Zimbabwe and Australia respectively.

Kolkata coach Dav Whatmore said that the team is exploring the possibility of Hodge opening the batting. “Brad is a fine addition to our squad. He looked good during practice on Sunday. He is one of the key players for Victoria during their Twenty20 Big Bash triumph. He has also been a consistent performer in the Australian domestic season as well”.

Hodge was the fourth-highest run-scorer in the Twenty20 Big Bash with 181 in seven innings. Though Hodge announced his retirement from first-class cricket, Whatmore said he remained a force.

There are several candidates for the role of Hodge’s opening partner, including Manoj Tiwary, Chirag Pathak and Sourav Ganguly. Whatmore said Hodge’s success would determine whether he continued as opener once Gayle and McCullum joined the team. “If he does well at the top of the order, he will certainly continue playing at that position,” Whatmore said.

Whatmore also said fast bowler Ishant Sharma’s sessions with Wasim Akram would be of great help. He added that if Ishant benefits from Akram’s tips, it would not only help his and KKR’s prospect, but it would also help the national team.

When asked if fielding was an area of concern for Kolkata, he said “We have identified the areas we need to work upon and those areas are being addressed. It is a continuous process but we are slowly improving . We have to work hard on each and every aspect of the game.”

Kolkata finished sixth in the first season and last in the previous season. They kick off their campaign against defending champions Deccan Chargers on March 12 in Mumbai.

IPL is a good platform for youngsters: Dhoni

Indian skipper MS Dhoni feels the Indian Premier League acts as an ideal platform to find and groom talented young players, who may go on to play in the national team.

“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: “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 he was in favour of the current rule which restricts the number of overseas players in the team.

“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.

Onions out for England

Graham Onions will miss England's first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong after failing to get over a back injury.

England's bowling attack has been decimated by injuries, with James Anderson missing and with Onions and Stuart Broad both struggling with injuries.

Broad was seen bowling before and after the recent three-day tour match, and could still have a chance of making the first Test on Friday should he pass a fitness test.

Durham seamer Onions has also been turning his arm over, but he has not been able to overcome his troubles and his back injury has forced him to miss out on the first of the two-Test series.

Onions has not been ruled out for the series though, and could make a return for the second Test.

Broad is now the only experienced paceman in Bangladesh and it looks increasingly likely that Tim Bresnan will get a game after he was given some batting time in the warm-up game.

Wickets for James Tredwell means that the option of playing two spinners could be seriously considered by Andy Flower, with Liam Plunkett, Ajmal Shahzad and Steven Finn the other pace options.

Clarke Named in Test Squad

Australia vice-captain has been named in the Test squad to face New Zealand but may not return due to his personal problems back home.

Clarke left the one-day Chappell-Haldee series in New Zealand to be with his fiancée, model Lara Bingle, who is currently suing a former boyfriend after pictures of her were published in a magazine.

Cricket Australia delayed the naming of the Test squad but, despite naming Clarke in the party, they are still not sure he will be taking his place in the line-up.

28-year-old Clarke is keeping in contact with Australian officials and they are hopeful that he will be able to rejoin the team in New Zealand.

"I've talked to him over the last few days and we have a Test tour looming," Cricket Australia spokesman Michael Brown said.
Group

"I would hope he's part of that group. But unless he's ready to go, there's no point going.

"We'll talk again over the next couple of days and our intention hopefully is to get him back in the side for the test match."

Tasmania's George Bailey has replaced Clarke in the limited overs series, but it is not sure yet if he will also replace him in the 14-man Test squad should Clarke not make it.

Australia skipper Ricky Ponting said that the full squad would be supporting Clarke whether he returns to the tour or not.

"He knows from all of us within the team that he has got all the support that he needs," Ponting said.

"The last thing that I said to him last night before he left was for him to take as much time as he needed and hopefully we can do the right thing over here and win the series without him."

Terrace Abuse Stuns Ifil

Jerel Ifil admits he has never encountered anything like the abuse being dished out to Aberdeen's players.

The faltering Dons have left their fans fuming with a number of inept showings, and those on the terraces have not been shy in making their feelings known.

Ifil, a summer signing from Swindon, has been left shocked by the anger in the stands, even if he understands the fans' frustrations.

The 27-year-old has not featured for the Dons since their humiliating Scottish Cup defeat to Raith Rovers on 16th February, but has called on those currently berating the players to put their issues to one side and get behind the team.

"Some of the criticism has been over the top. I have never experienced a team suffer such criticism before in my career," Ifil told the Daily Record.

"But Aberdeen is a massive club and expectations are very high.
Criticism

"Fans are entitled to criticise us. We accept that but let's not go over the top. The fans' support is what we need. We can only move forward with them behind us.

"They can be a big help to us and I can assure them the players and the gaffer (Mark McGhee) are trying their hardest to turn round this recent form.

"As long as we are putting in total effort, it will come good.

"We can still make the top six. Drawing at Hamilton on Saturday was disappointing as we should be beating teams below us.

"But after going a goal down we fought back for a draw and that shows fighting spirit."

Mifsud Makes Valletta Move

Former Coventry striker Michael Mifsud has finally ended speculation regarding his future after joining Maltese Premier League side Valletta.

The 28-year-old had been without a club since last June after seeing out his contract at Coventry.

A number of English Championship sides and several foreign teams made offers to sign Mifsud on a free transfer, but the diminutive forward decided to snub their overtures for various reasons.

Mifsud, who scored for Malta last week in a friendly against Finland, has now agreed a deal with Valletta until the end of the season.

Mitchell Targets GB Call

Hull Stingrays forward Lee Mitchell is hoping he has done enough to earn a call-up to the Great Britain squad for next month's World Championship in Slovenia.

The 22-year-old has been on the fringes of the GB party in recent seasons, with a knee injury preventing him from participating in the Euro Hockey Challenge in France in February 2008, and denying him a possible place in the squad for the tournament in Austria two months later.

Mitchell, who has participated in the last two Elite League All-Star games, was then named as a reserve for last year's event in Poland where Britain claimed a bronze medal.

GB coach Paul Thompson is due to name his initial 30-man squad for this year's championships in the next couple of days.

Asked about his chances of making the plane to Slovenia, Mitchell said: "I don't know, I just need to keep plugging away and that's all you can do.

"You just have to hope that is enough and you get the call and if it isn't I will work even harder. I missed the first couple of months of the season but I have done all I can do, we will have to see if that is enough."

Mitchell, who sat out the first two months with a knee injury, has been one of Stingrays' most consistent performers and has registered 12 goals and 15 assists in 39 games.

Panthers Edge 13 Goal Epic

Nottingham Panthers kept their slim title hopes alive with a thrilling 7-6 victory over Hull Stingrays on Sunday night.

Corey Nielson's men, who were leading 6-2 at one point, held on to the spoils to ensure they remain just four points behind Elite League leaders Coventry Blaze.

Blaze remain three points clear at the league summit after Belfast Giants missed a golden opportunity to reduce the gap with a 4-3 reverse at Edinburgh.

Nottingham travelled to Hull Arena without number one goaltender Kevin St Pierre, so Geoff Woolhouse was forced to fill in between the pipes.

But Panthers were in no mood to hang around are were 2-0 up almost immediately through Jade Galbraith and Cameron Mann.

Stingrays pulled one back at 14.31 through George Halkidis, but Panthers regained their two-goal advantage by the end of the period with Mann firing in his second at 16.45.
Enthralling

Stingrays made it a one-goal game only 56 seconds into the second period through Halkidis' second, however that strike spurred the Panthers on and they motored 6-2 ahead through Mann, Marty Gascon and fan-favourite Bruce Richardson.

If Panthers thought it was game over then they were wrong as Stingrays roared back.

Adam Knight and Jason Silverthorn reduced the deficit before Curtis Huppe had the Hull fans off their feet to make it a one-goal game.

However, Panthers crucially struck next through Jay Henderson, although there was still time for Konstantin Kalmikov to fire in a 13th goal of an enthralling encounter.

A bad tempered affair in Scotland saw Belfast Giants' league title hopes almost ended as Edinburgh Capitals snatched a 4-3 victory in Scotland.

The hosts claimed the spoils courtesy of two late goals from skipper Martin Cingel.

Sunday evening's other game saw Cardiff Devils come from 3-0 down to overcome Newcastle Vipers 7-4 at Bay Arena.

The home side completely turned the game on its head in the third period as they hit Newcastle with a six-goal blitz to take the points.

McMahaon defeats Cena

With the aid of a number of WWE Superstars, Mr. McMahon pinned former WWE champion John Cena on this week's edition of RAW.

The WWE Chairman, who set out to prove a point to WrestleMania rival Bret Hart, arranged the match between himself and Cena last week.

However, this would be no ordinary singles match. Perhaps realising the odds were stacked against him, McMahon changed the rules, setting up a Gauntlet-Style bout.

Cena's first hurdle was Russian powerhouse Vladimir Kozlov, followed by current Intercontinental Champion Drew McIntyre. Cena then had to face Jack Swagger followed by The World's Strongest Man Mark Henry.

Surprisingly, none of these superstars managed to wear down Cena enough for McMahon to pick up the all-important pinfall. It was then that the Chairman decided to change the stipulation to a No Disqualification Match. Enter WWE Champion Batista!

After laying out Mark Henry, The Animal Batista then dealt with high-flyer Kofi Kingston, before The Chairman struck Cena with the ring bell.

With Cena incapacitated, his WrestleMania opponent quickly took advantage and Batista Bombed the exhausted Superstar in the middle of the ring. A cocky McMahon then quickly pinned Cena for the win.
Tension

The tension between Triple H and Sheamus came to a head this week on RAW. The Game had effectively ended The Celtic Warrior's reign as WWE Champion back at last months WWE Elimination Chamber.

And after attacking The Cerebral Assassin last week, The Irishman challenged The Game to a match at WrestleMania.

An irate Triple H welcomed the challenge, insisting that Shemaus has arguably had one of the best first years in WWE history. However, The Game then went on to claim that the Irishman would lose his first ever match at WrestleMania.

After a war of words, the tension between the two hit boiling point as both men unleashed fury on one another, culminating in a brawl that spilled to the outside of the ring.

Also this week on RAW, Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase scored a huge victory over Randy Orton in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match.

Orton ambushed the duo before the match got under way, but in the end would need more than a sneak attack to defeat the two.

It was DiBiase who managed to score the pinfall, executing a devastating Dream Street manoeuvre to defeat his former mentor.

The line-up for this year's Money in the Bank Ladder Match is now complete as Evan Bourne defeated William Regal to become the eighth and final entrant in this years WrestleMania showdown.

Less than two weeks before WWE's pay-per-view extravaganza WrestleMania 26, Hall of Famer "Stone Cold" Steve Austin will host Monday Night RAW.

Sure to be one of RAW's most controversial special guest hosts, The Rattlesnake returns to his old stomping ground and is scheduled to oversee a contract signing between Mr. McMahon and Bret "The Hit Man" Hart!

LTA Orders Internal Review

The Lawn Tennis Association are set to hold an internal inquiry into Great Britain's "unacceptable" defeat to Lithuania in the Davis Cup.

Great Britain are in danger of dropping into the bottom tier of the competition after their 3-2 loss over the weekend left them facing a relegation play-off.

Captain John Lloyd is already weighing up his future after overseeing a record five successive defeats - but he now faces questions from the LTA over what has happened.

LTA chief executive Roger Draper said: "I share the deep disappointment and frustration at this result. Five defeats in a row is unacceptable.

"So I have asked the LTA player director, Steven Martens, to review last week's performance and result, and report back to me and the LTA main board as soon as possible.

"That review needs to be swift and decisive as it is clear some real improvements need to be made."

Camilo Climbs to 12th

Camilo Villegas has climbed up to 12th in the world rankings on the back of his convincing triumph at the Honda Classic over the weekend.

The Colombian secured his third career PGA Tour title in some style on Sunday as he romped to victory by five shots at PGA National.

Villegas is now just two places and 0.04 points outside a place in the top ten after an impressive start to the season.

Success at the Honda Classic comes after the 28-year-old finished third at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and in a tie for eighth a week later at the Waste Management Open in Phoenix.

However, while Villegas' star continues to rise, that of Padraig Harrington is heading in the opposite direction with the Dubliner now ranked behind the Colombian.

Harrington, who missed the cut at the Northern Trust Open and departed in the second round of the Accenture Match Play, finished well down the field in joint 40th at the Honda Classic.

As a result he drops out of the top ten in the revised rankings list, falling from 10 to 13.

Rose's Ryder Cup Plan

Justin Rose insists he will be focusing more on playing well than his chances of making the Ryder Cup this autumn.

The Englishman finished third in the Honda Classic at Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, on Sunday - closing the tournament by matching the course record of 64 to shoot up the leaderboard.

The 29-year-old plays mostly in America, but is desperate to represent Europe at Celtic Manor in October, and has his sights set on making Colin Montgomerie's team.

Rose insists though that he will be mainly focusing on playing well, and let Ryder Cup qualification come as a consequence.

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

"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 and picked up three points, and 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."

Rankings

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, but has yet to win 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."

"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."

Ashraful Misses Out

Bangladesh have left former captain Mohammad Ashraful out of the squad to plat England in the first Test on Friday.

The two-Test series begins in Chittagong on Friday and the hosts have opted to leave out Ashraful, who missed the one-day international series earlier in the tour.

Ashraful decided to skip the one-dayers after a run of poor form but had stated his intention to play his way into the Test XI.

The former captain is considered one of the Tigers' most gifted batsmen but has struggled to cope with the weight of expectation.

He was handed the captaincy of Bangladesh A for the three-day warm-up against the tourists in the hope that a big score would restore his confidence.

But he made just 31 in two innings, with Junaid Siddique selected instead.

Bangladesh have also included three left-arm spinners in their 14-strong squad after Kevin Pietersen's well-documented recent struggles against such bowlers.

Captain Shakib Al Hasan is supported by Abdur Razzak, who twice accounted for Pietersen in the ODI series, and Enamul Haque Jr.

Bangladesh squad for first Test: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Aftab Ahmed, Mahmudullah, Roqibul Hasan, Naeem Islam, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Abdur Razzak, Enamul Haque Jr, Shahadat Hossain

Young Villa Ready for Fight

Ashley Young insists Aston Villa have the stomach for the fight in the closing stages of the season after learning from their previous failures.

Martin O'Neill's side capitulated at the end of the 2008/09 campaign as they surrendered fourth spot in the Premier League on the back of only 11 points from their last 13 games.

But after Sunday's determined FA Cup quarter-final victory at Reading, where Villa came from two goals down to win 4-2, Young insists he and his team-mates are in a determined frame of mind as they again chase a top-four finish.

The winger is confident the mistakes from last season will not be repeated and thinks that reaching the FA Cup semi-finals was the perfect way to bounce back from the Carling Cup final defeat to Manchester United at the end of February.
Massive

Young, who scored Villa's first at the Madejski Stadium, said in the Daily Star: "Last season is last season. We are looking forward and concentrating on things this season.

"We had a great League Cup run and got to the final. It was disappointing to lose, but now we are in another semi-final, going back to Wembley and we are doing well in the league.

"To come back from two goals down shows the character and the strength we have got here as a team to come back from anything.

"We will learn from what happened last season. You always learn from things that didn't go so well.

"We know we have a massive couple of months ahead of us and we are ready."

Donovan's Toffees plea

Everton loan star Landon Donovan admits he has informed LA Galaxy of his desire to stay at Goodison Park for a further month.

Donovan is due to return to Galaxy this weekend after Everton's game at Birmingham following the conclusion of his 10-week loan spell.

But the American international has impressed hugely on Merseyside during his loan stint and he hopes he could stay until 15th April at the latest.

"I have told the Galaxy what I want, they know what's going on and I speak to my manager [Bruce Arena] there fairly often and at this point it is an Everton and LA Galaxy conversation," Donovan told The Guardian.

"Both clubs know how I feel, which is that I would like to stay, though I can't end the season here, I'd have to go back 15th April at the latest. If that can be worked out, great. If not, then the Galaxy are my team and I'm very grateful for the chance I had here. It would be bittersweet either way."

Donovan believes he has learned a lot from his time in England and thinks his spell in the Premier League has improved him as a player.

"I've learned a lot," added Donovan.

"It has absolutely improved me as a player, It's impossible not to. I have learned a lot, technically, tactically, how to keep myself motivated, and it puts me in a stronger position for the World Cup.

"But the biggest thing now is having the confidence that I can play against anybody and not fear anyone at all. I don't think there are many players in the world, let alone Americans, who get a chance to play against and beat Chelsea and Manchester United in the same week. That has to be the highlight."

Henderson Sprints to Victory

Greg Henderson powered to victory on what proved to be a dramatic first stage of Paris-Nice.

The New Zealander joined a 15-man breakaway with around nine kilometres to go and positioned himself intelligently over the closing stages before powering ahead of Lampre's Grega Bole at the line.

The 201.5 km ride from Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines to Contres proved a hugely-testing one with several of the main contenders losing time on overall leader Lars Boom.

The day had started innocuously enough with Romain Feillu (Vacansoleil) and Albert Timmer (Skil-Shimano) breaking free after just four kilometres.

That duo were allowed to build a lead of over six minutes before Rabobank - who were looking after the interests of Boom - moved themselves to the head of the peloton and stepped up the chase.

The weather soon began to play its part however with André Greipel (HTC-Columbia) and Dimitri Champion (AG2R) among a small group who momentarily fell behind the rest of the field.

The day's first real drama came when Danilo Napolitano (Katyusha) crashed inside the final 100km. He wasn't to be the last.

As the crosswinds continued to howl the peloton repeatedly fractured and Feillu and Timmer were eventually reeled in with 50km to go.

Chaos reigned 31km from the line when a group of approximately 30 riders - including Levi Leipheimer (RadioShack) and Damiano Cunego (Lampre) - were sent scattering. Fortunately, most of those riders escaped unhurt and were able to rejoin the action quickly.

Several further splits were to come and 15 riders eventually surged clear in the closing stages. The drama behind was far from over though as Alberto Contador (Astana) and Heinrich Haussler (Cervélo) also collided inside the final 3km, causing them to lose vital seconds on their GC rivals.

Henderson however, stayed calm and composed and picked his moment perfectly to secure his first stage victory of the season.

Boom's place in that lead group ensured he retained the leader's yellow jersey, and David Millar (Garmin-Transitions) moved up from 11th to third in the overall standings.

Henderson is now sitting sixth, 20 seconds off the pace, but Contador and Leipheimer have both dropped to seventh and eighth respectively and are now trailing Boom by a further five seconds.

Davis Books Crucible Date

Steve Davis secured a record 30th appearance at the Crucible with victory in the final round of qualifying for the betfred.com World Championship.

The 52-year-old snooker great beat Adrian Gunnell 10-4 at Sheffield's English Institute of Sport to earn a place in Thursday's first-round draw.

Davis said: "I'm delighted. I felt like a player today. I was really fired up today and played half decent.

"Adrian said it was the best he's seen me play for a couple of years and I think I agree with him."
Massive

The six-time world champion lost in the first round at the Crucible to eventual semi-finalist Neil Robertson last year.

"Every appearance is special," he added. "No-one can guarantee you'll ever be there again. It's massive, so exciting."

Davis revealed he and Stephen Hendry are in competition over who can be the oldest to appear at the Crucible. Hendry, 41, has a long way to go.

"It's my competition and Stephen knows about it. If he wants to carry on playing he's got to beat me turning up at the Crucible," Davis said.

"He's now got to be there at 53. He's the best player there's ever been in my opinion but I've still got one record he's going to find hard to beat.

"That's my driving force and I've put another year on it now."

Davis has seen fellow veterans John Parrott and Jimmy White fail to qualify this year, leaving question marks over their futures.

"If I am the last of the Mohicans I'll gladly take that, but there's no guarantee you've seen the last of those players," Davis added.

Tension

China's Liang Wenbo also qualified, beating Rod Lawler 10-2.

Ireland's Fergal O'Brien beat Scot Alan McManus for the first time in his career to earn a first-round berth, prevailing 10-4.

O'Brien failed in qualifying last year and said: "It feels amazing. It's horrific to miss out. This match is just horrible."

He won eight frames in a row from 4-2 down and admitted the tension among the players was obvious.

O'Brien explained: "You literally go from thinking if you lose you're thinking about packing the game in, to winning and thinking, 'Hey, I could go all the way.'

"At certain times here and even in the hotel there's nearly a stench of death in the place."

Mark Davis also booked his place in the first round, winning an all-English

clash with Dave Harold 10-7.

However, there was disappointment for two-time former finalist Matthew Stevens, as the 32-year-old Welshman crashed out 10-9 to 37-year-old Scot Marcus Campbell, failing for the second successive year to negotiate qualifying.

Russian Reigns in Mexico

Teenage Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova came from behind in her second match of the day to claim the Monterry Open title with victory over Daniela Hantuchova.

Pavlyuchenkova was forced to play both the semi-final and final of the event on the same day due to rain effecting the tournament in Mexico.

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 today after rain washed out much of Saturday's 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.

Darchinyan Retains Titles

Vic Darchinyan successfully defended his WBA and WBC super flyweight world titles with a convincing points win over Rodrigo Guerrero.

The Armenian-born Australian dominated from start to finish and was handed a unanimous decision by scores of 120-108, 118-110 and 117-111 at the end of 12 rounds.

The Mexican challenger was never in contention for victory but refused to go down under a barrage from his opponent.

After the fight, Darchinyan - who had 27 knockouts in 33 victories heading into the contest - praised the Guerrero's toughness.

"This kid, I respect how he took punches," the 34-year-old said.
Respect

"I couldn't believe how he took punches. He kept coming back. I respect him. He's good. I thought I was going to stop him. I gave him good punches but I couldn't."

Guerrero took punishment early and cuts were opened over the Mexican's eyes as the champion took the initiative.

Darchinyan looked to finish his foe off in the eighth round when he unleashed a vicious flurry of punches but Guerrero stayed on his feet before counter-attacking.

But Guerrero was unable to muster the strength to put Darchinyan in any real danger and the fight closed out with the Australian clearly on top.

The champion stated his desire to move up in weight class at the end of the bout.

He said: "I would love to move up. I'm very powerful. I could beat the champions there. I want to move up and fight better champions."

Alexander stops Urango

Unbeaten American Devon Alexander stopped Juan Urango in the eighth round to unify the WBC and IBF light welterweight titles in Connecticut.

WBC champion Alexander moved his perfect record on to 20-0 with his 13th knockout victory after a right uppercut halfway through the eighth round was enough to stop the Colombian for the first time in his career.

Urango, who took Ricky Hatton 12 rounds despite losing on points in 2007, had bossed the sixth and seventh rounds and looked to be getting on top in the fight.

However, St Louis southpaw Alexander produced a right uppercut that floored Urango in the eight, although the IBF champion got back to his feet to beat the count.

He looked unsteady though, and Alexander sensed the end was in sight and moved in with another heavy right hand that wobbled Urango before another uppercut forced referee Benjy Esteves to stop the fight.
Speed

"Speed kills anything," Alexander said. "I knew he was a brawler, that he would keep coming. I knew if I didn't stand in front of him I would be the champion. He didn't hurt me at all.

"When I see blood, I want to go for it, but (I stayed) focused, stuck to the game plan and now I'm the IBF champion. I can beat anybody."

Alexander had marginally the best of the first three rounds, with just a big shot right at the end of the second the highlight for the American.

Urango caught Alexander with a booming right hand in an eventful fourth round, and the Colombian then started to take charge of affairs until Alexander pulled out the big shots that ended the contest.

It was Alexander's first fight since August when Junior Witter retired before the start of the eighth round because of an injury to his left hand.

It was just a third defeat for Urango and his first ever stoppage, with his previous defeats both coming on points to Hatton and current welterweight title holder Andre Berto.

Villegas Zooms to Honda Title

Colombia's Camilo Villegas celebrated his third PGA Tour title with victory at the Honda Classic in Florida.

The up-and-coming 28-year-old overcame a late wobble at Palm Beach Gardens to clinch what in the end turned out to be a comfortable five-shot victory over American Anthony Kim.

England's Justin Rose played some inspired strokes in the final round to power up the leaderboard and claim a third-placed finish.

Rose carded seven birdies in his final 18 - five of those coming in the first six holes played - in a stellar round of 64.

Countryman Paul Casey also finished with a flourish and his final round 67 was good enough to see him claim a share of fourth-place with Fijian Vijay Singh.
Pressure

Villegas landed his first title since 2008 despite a late string of bogeys in his final round 68.

The Colombian birdied three holes in a row to seize a six-stroke lead with eight holes remaining, then made bogeys on three of the next five before hanging on.

And he sealed victory in style, sinking a 15-foot birdie at the 18th to finish on 13-under 267.

Kim birdied the 13th and 14th holes to keep some pressure on Villegas, but a bogey at the 17th put paid to his title hopes.

The runner-up finish was still Kim's best US Tour result in more than a year after a run of injury struggles.

And Singh's challenge faltered as he made bogeys at 15, 16 and 17 in a two-over round of 72.

Sweden's Fredrik Jacobson and American Mike Connell shared sixth-place on 276, one stroke ahead of South Korean Charlie Wi and two better than England's Lee Westwood, Zimbabwe's Brendon de Jonge and American Chris Tidland.

Noh Aims to Follow Choi

Noh Seung-yul hopes to follow in the footsteps of childhood hero KJ Choi after his triumph in the Maybank Malaysian Open on Sunday.

The South Korean teenager, playing his 13th European Tour event, edged out his veteran compatriot by a single shot to lift the title at the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club.

At just 18 years and nine months, the victory saw him become the second youngest winner in European Tour history.

He is second only to Korean-born New Zealand amateur Danny Lee, who took last year's Johnnie Walker Classic in Australia at 18 years and six months.

"And beating someone I have looked up to in KJ makes it more special," he said. "KJ has been a role model for me.
Experience

"I have been looking up to KJ since I was in junior golf, when he was at the peak of his career winning tournaments worldwide.

"He has given me a lot of advice and that will help me on the world stage."

Noh will now his attention to the Open's Asian qualifier starting in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday before weighing up his options between Japan, Asia and Europe.

Whichever route he chooses, though, the world number 266 knows that America must be the his ultimate goal if he is to pursue his dream of emulating seven-time PGA Tour winner Choi.

"My plan is to play in Japan and the big tournaments in Asia," added Noh.

"I need to gain more experience on the bigger stages, with my ultimate goal being to qualify for the PGA Tour through Q-School.

Fantastic

"With my win I get my status on the European Tour so this might change some of my plans. If I split my time between Japan and Europe it will be a good experience.

"My plan is to play as many global events as possible and playing worldwide will set a foundation for me in securing a playing spot on the US Tour."

World number 96 Choi, who last won in Malaysia in October, paid tribute to the young winner and said he was one to watch in the future.

"I'm not disappointed at all," he said. "I played well and tried my best. My hat's off to Seung-yul, he played well and had a fantastic round.

"He is one of the most powerful young talents coming up. The way that he controls and hits the ball is like no other and I think he has a very bright future.

"I feel like he is going to develop in all aspects and in the near future he is going to be on the world stage."

Leinster Climb to Summit

Leinster surged to the top of the Magners League after claiming a workmanlike 29-20 victory against Cardiff Blues.

The Blues came into the game on a streak of five consecutive wins in all competitions, but were overpowered in the scrum and often failed to convert their attractive moves into points.

Fergus McFadden claimed 21 points, including an early try as the Irish side moved level on points with Edinburgh with two games in hand.

Cardiff now face a struggle to qualify for next season's Heineken Cup as the Scarlets sit two points below them in the table.

The Blues enjoyed a lot of early possession at Cardiff City Stadium but only succeeded in giving the advantage to their opponents.

Lost possession in midfield allowed Leinster fly-half Shaun Berne to send Isa Nacewa up the wing and, although the Irish were temporarily kept at bay, they recycled the ball and McFadden took an excellent angle to cross beneath the posts.
Mistakes

The centre added the conversion, followed by a penalty after the Blues once again spilled the ball in their eagerness to play expansive rugby.

The home side finally got it right and prop Gary Powell, who was to later leave on a stretcher with an Achilles injury, squeezed in at the corner.

However, another McFadden penalty kept Leinster in front.

With the normally reliable Ben Blair off key in his attempts at the posts, the Blues opted to kick for position and it paid off when flanker Sam Warburton dived over and Blair finally succeeded with the conversion.

McFadden slotted home another penalty with the last kick before the break before the Blues began the second half with a sparkling attack which saw left wing Chris Czekaj make it to the flag and the Welsh side were in front.

Break

But the lead did not last as a superb break by Eoin O'Malley took Leinster into the Blues' 22 and the centre found tireless hooker Bernard Jackman on his shoulder for a try, leaving McFadden with a simple conversion.

The Blues then lost fly-half Ceri Sweeney to the sin-bin after he was adjudged to have spear tackled opposite number Berne, but the home side managed to survive the 10 minutes without conceding any further points.

But Berne then dropped a goal which extended Leinster's lead and robbed the Blues of a losing bonus point.

They seemed to have retrieved it when Sweeney kicked a late penalty after Leinster lock Devin Toner was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on.

But McFadden had the last laugh as he stepped up and sent over a penalty from halfway with the final kick of the game.

Meehan Eyeing Play Offs

Bath head coach Steve Meehan believes his team are capable of making the Guinness Premiership play-offs after prevailing 17-13 away at Newcastle Falcons.

The West Country side recovered from 10-5 down at half-time to squeeze home for the win at Kingston Park and Meehan was impressed by the spirit on display.

"We're delighted to keep winning and to keep putting pressure on the team above us," Meehan said.

"If we maintain our current form we are capable of making the play-offs."
Bedrock

Meehan was able to bring on an all-England front row of Lee Mears, David Flatman and David Wilson at half-time, and he added: "The front-row changes worked and we're very happy they did.

"It gave us a bedrock to work from and we injected some pace into the game."

Newcastle will be disappointed at losing out on a bonus point, and now find themselves in real danger of being dragged into the relegation battle.

"We know the consequences of not winning," said Falcons director of rugby Steve Bates.

"You can end up a relegation battle, but you have to be positive and you can't worry about it.

"We can't do anything about what other teams are doing other than the game you're playing. You have to stick to your guns and hope you get a few breaks.

"Had we kicked a couple of penalties today we could have won the game and we pretty much did the work for Bath on two of their three tries.

"Their front-row changes at half-time was a significant factor and then we gave the ball away in midfield and set up the try for them which proved crucial.

"It's been a tough four weeks and the players need a rest to recharge their batteries and we will then look at what we need to do against Gloucester at home."

Black Caps Call for Sewart

New Zealand have drafted in batsman Shanan Stewart into the one-day squad to face Australia to cover for recent injuries.

Both Ross Taylor and James Franklin will missed the third game of the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy series with injuries, although it was uncertain whether they would be out of the rest of the series.

Stewart will join the team in Hamilton where the third game against Australia will be contested on Tuesday.

Coach Mark Greatbatch said Stewart had been in the selectors' thinking for the Twenty20 World Cup and he brought good form into the squad.

"He's in great nick, he's got a couple of hundreds and a 200 (in Canterbury's Plunket Shield game against Central Districts) in the last few games, and is an experienced middle-order player," he said.

"He's a very dynamic one-day player and we feel he plays the aggressive game we are looking to play against Australia."

Flintoff calls for Gough

Andrew Flintoff has called for England to bring in Darren Gough as the new bowling coach to replace Ottis Gibson.

Gibson left the post to become the new West Indies coach and now the search is on to find his replacement, with former South African quick Allan Donald being touted as the favourite.

Australian Michael Kasprowicz has also been mentioned in connection with the role, but Flintoff believes that former England star Gough is the man for the job.

Gough took 229 wickets in 58 Tests for England, and played with the same sort of fighting spirit that made Flintoff such a popular figure.

The all-rounder has recently retired from Test cricket and is currently recovering from more knee surgery, and he says that Gough should be the man for England.
Goughie

"I know Alan has been mentioned along with Michael Kasprowicz," Flintoff told The People.

"They are nice blokes but I'm sure Darren would do it. He would be great. He knows bowling inside and out so they should ask Goughie."

Flintoff admits he has not been paying particularly close attention to England's tours to South Africa and Bangladesh - but he is encouraged by what he has seen.

"I watched a little bit of the lads in South Africa during the winter but I have three kids so it's more Scooby Doo in my house rather than the Test match," he added.

"The main thing from what I have seen is we're going in the right direction. Eoin Morgan looks a class player."

Flintoff still hopes to carry on playing for England in limited overs cricket but will need to fully get over his latest operation first.

Second Half Disappoints Brown

Hull City boss Phil Brown insists his side's second half showing in their 5-1 defeat at Everton was not good enough.

The Tigers were trailing 2-1 at Goodison Park at half-time, but things went from bad to worse as they shipped in a further three goals without reply.

Brown was happy enough with his side's first-half display, despite the fact that Mikel Arteta scored twice and Yakubu Aiyegbeni missed from the penalty spot.

However, the Hull boss felt his side lost their competitive edge after the interval, and has now called for a massive effort in order to stay in the Premier League.
Collapse

"I thought we were competitive in the first half but in the second we certainly weren't," said Brown.

"We left our game in the changing room for whatever reason.

"Everton were good but we made them look good because we didn't get in the face of the opposition.

"Defensively I have questioned one or two but we will dust ourselves down and get on with it. We have got 10 big games now.

"Goal difference will play a big part this season and that kind of collapse in the second half is not what is required between now and the end of the season."

Hermann Hails Cup Progress

Portsmouth defender Hermann Hreidarsson has hailed the club's progression to the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

Despite Pompey's well-documented off-field problems the players secured a much-needed 2-0 success over Birmingham in the quarter-finals on Saturday.

The financial reward that comes with a cup run has taken on added significance for the south coast outfit, who are currently in administration with debt estimated in the region of £70million.

Although Hreidarsson helped Pompey claim FA Cup glory in 2008, the Icelandic defender believes their current run this season eclipses that tremendous feat.
Achievement

"Without a doubt it's a greater achievement than two years ago," said Hreidarsson.

"Even though we beat Manchester United away that season, with the changes of personnel at the club and everything else going on, it's a great achievement.

"It's been frustrating because we didn't know who the owners were or what was going on.

"There have been negative vibes and doom and gloom throughout the season. But, when you go over the white line, you concentrate on playing football."