Sri Lanka (278) lead West Indies (268/7) by 10 runs at stumps, day 2
   West Indies, replying to Sri Lanka’s first innings total of 278, reached 268 for seven when bad light stopped play on the second day of the second Test on Friday.
   Sri Lanka’s bowlers exploited the lively Queen’s Park Oval pitch and heavy conditions to keep scoring at a premium, but several West Indians got starts.
   Vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan led the way with 57, left-handed opener Sewnarine Chattergoon scored 46, Devon Smith laboured for 47, captain Chris Gayle made 45, and Dwayne Bravo got 26.
   Off-spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan captured three wickets for 64 runs off 23 overs and Thilan Thushara took two for 72 from 12 overs.
   Gaining bounce and movement from the pitch, the Sri Lanka bowlers worked over the top-order batsmen of the West Indies.
   In the 40 minutes available to them before lunch, much of the attraction was the long-running battle between Sri Lanka new-ball bowler Chaminda Vaas and Gayle.
   Vaas has claimed Gayle’s wicket seven times in his previous 10 Test innings against the Sri Lankans, but the big left-handed opener chose to open the innings rather than bat down the order as he did in the opening Test.
   Vaas delivered a torturous opening over but the West Indies captain survived, and carried his side to 49 without loss at lunch alongside fellow left-hander Sewnarine Chattergoon, playing his first Test innings.
   Twice Sri Lanka had a chance to remove Gayle before the interval.
   On 24, Muralitharan did well to leap to his left to try and grab a powerful cross-batted stroke.
   On 31, Ishara Amerasinghe failed to get close to another chance off Thushara.
   Sri Lanka enjoyed modest success after the interval, as Chattergoon and Sarwan dug-in before rain prompted an early tea with West Indies on 133 for one.
   The Sri Lankans had success in the third over after lunch, when Gayle was caught at gully by Michael Vandort in the third over following the interval off Thushara.
   Chattergoon and Sarwan then consolidated and batted confidently until rain arrived about half-hour before the scheduled tea break.
   Vaas made the breakthrough in the third over after tea, when he bowled Chattergoon, ending a 79-run, second-wicket stand, and next over, Marlon Samuels was dubiously adjudged lbw to Muralitharan for three to make the West Indies 141 for three.
   Muralitharan was the bowler when Sarwan reached his 50 with a drive through the diving mid-off fielder for his eighth boundary.
   But the world record-breaking bowler was soon rejoicing when Sarwan turned a delivery straight into the lap of Malinda Warnapura at short square leg to leave West Indies 177 for four. Chanderpaul was then adjudged lbw to Thushara.
   The visitors then had to labour for their next wicket, after Bravo joined Smith and counter-attacked to add
   47 for the sixth wicket before two late wickets shook the West Indies.
   Bravo playing back and across was adjudged lbw to become the first Test
   scalp for Amerasinghe, and Muralitharan bowled Smith with a well-flighted delivery in fading light.
   Earlier, Sri Lanka had been dismissed about 50 minutes before lunch, when Chamara Silva hooking at a short, rising ball from Dwayne Bravo was caught inside the deep fine leg boundary for the top score of 76.
   He led a rearguard action for the Sri Lankans to help them add another 61 runs before their innings closed.
   Fidel Edwards was the most successful West Indies bowler with four wickets for 84 runs from 18 overs, Daren
   Powell took two for 59 from 17 overs, and Jerome Taylor ended with two for 74 from 17.2 overs after he was removed from the attack for delivering a second beamer in the innings to Silva.

South Africa’s pacemen put in a disciplined performance on a good pitch to condemn hosts India to a humiliating defeat by an innings and 90 runs in the second Test here on Saturday.
   Trailing by 418, India were bowled out for 328 in their second innings on the third day despite fighting half-centuries from former captain Sourav Ganguly (87) and wicket-keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (52).
   India’s huge defeat was their biggest at home against South Africa since 2000, when they lost by an innings and 71 runs at Bangalore. It was their first loss inside three days since 2002 against New Zealand.
   It was also India’s fourth-heaviest defeat at home, and their worst since 1959 when they lost to Richie Benaud’s Australians by an innings and 127 runs in Delhi.
   The visitors were indebted to their quicks for bowling them to a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series as they did not allow India’s top-order batsmen to settle.
   Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini grabbed three wickets apiece and Morne Morkel two. Jacques Kallis and left-arm spinner Paul Harris each took one wicket.
   The 23-year-old Morkel, playing only his fifth Test, took two big wickets when he removed former captain Rahul Dravid (17) and Venkatsai Laxman (35), both famed for their ability to occupy the crease.
   ‘The Test was a perfect one for us from start to finish. We performed according to the game plan and took wickets at the right time,’ said South Africa captain Graeme Smith.
   ‘We will replicate in Kanpur what we did here. We hope to win the series 2-0. The guys know we’ve got one more game to go. They’ve been focused throughout the series.
   ‘I was very impressed with his (AB de Villiers’s) double-century. I believe this is a big stepping stone for his career. Steyn and Morkel are still young, and Ntini led the attack very well.’
   India were found wanting against pace for a second successive time in the match as they lost three crucial wickets in the opening session and one in the second with just 125 runs on the board.
   Ganguly and Dhoni defied the South African attack for more than a session with a 110-run stand for the fifth wicket, playing attractive shots on both sides of the wicket.
   Ganguly looked set to complete his 16th Test hundred when given out caught behind off Steyn by New Zealand umpire Tony Hill. He looked a bit surprised with the decision before walking back to the pavilion. He hit eight fours.
   Dhoni soon followed his partner when Smith held a low catch in the slips off Ntini. He struck five fours in his 132-ball knock.
   South Africa earlier declared their first innings closed at their overnight total of 494-7 in reply to India’s meagre 76.
   The South African pacemen, who required just 20 overs to bundle India out in the first innings, returned to haunt the hosts by capturing three wickets for 70 runs in the opening 20 overs.
   ‘It was difficult to come back after getting bowled out for 76,’ said India captain Anil Kumble.
   ‘They took the game away from us. We have been in this situation before and we are confident we will bounce back. Our record at Kanpur shows that we have done well there and we will be trying to do the same.’
   India’s batting woes started when Ntini trapped opener Virender Sehwag (17) leg-before with a delivery that came in sharply, ending the batsman’s brief flourish.
   Sehwag, who hammered the fastest recorded triple-century in Tests in the drawn opening match in Chennai, went for big shots from the beginning, smashing paceman Steyn for two sixes in the morning’s opening over.
   India suffered a big
   setback when they lost Dravid, who was undone by a rising
   ball from Morkel, with De Villiers holding the catch at third slip.
   Opener Wasim Jaffer (19) edged Kallis to De Villiers in the slips, while Laxman was caught behind to leave India reeling at 125-4.
   There was respite for the Indian batsmen in the afternoon when Smith pressed lone spinner Harris into service for the first time in the match.
   Harris took his first wicket when he bowled Kumble for five before Steyn and Ntini completed the victory in the extended last session.
   De Villiers was named man of the match for his unbeaten 217.

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene had mixed feelings about the way his side performed on the second day of the second and final Test against West Indies on Friday at Queen’s Park Oval.
   Sri Lanka captured six wickets in the final session to get back into the match, as West Indies, replying to the visitors’ first innings total of 278, reached 268 for seven when bad light stopped play 14.1 overs early.
   But Jayawardene was disappointed with the way the batsmen in his side gifted their wickets in the Sri Lanka first innings.
   ‘It was not easy batting on that pitch (on the first day), but we fought well, and I think that sixth-wicket partnership (of 107 between Tillekeratne Dilshan and Chamara Silva) was crucial for us,’ he said.
   ‘It showed a lot of character, but I am disappointed with the way a few of our guys were dismissed.
   ‘We should probably have scored between 300 and 325.’
   Jayawardene felt the pitch was not as lively as when his side batted, and felt West Indies had the better of it, so he was delighted that his bowlers stuck to the task and brought the side back into the contest.
   ‘We thought we may have had a bigger lead or struggling with them having only three of four wickets down, but we came
   back strongly, and we did not give them the advantage,’ he said.
   ‘I think the advantage is with us that we bat well in the second innings, and score anything in excess of 250-275, and it will be a tough ask for them to bat last against Muttiah Muralitharan and the rest of the guys.’
   Jayawardene believes the match is quite an open affair, after his side wobbled West Indies from the comfort of 133 for one.
   ‘West Indies batted really well, and played a few shots, and it paid off for them,’ he said. ‘But it’s an even game I reckon, we just need to make sure that we work harder next innings.
   ‘It’s going to be like a one innings match now, and with them batting last on that pitch, we have to make sure that we put some runs on the board and put some pressure on them.’
   Sri Lanka lead the series 1-0, after they won the opening Test at the Guyana National Stadium by 121 runs.
   If they win the Test, Sri Lanka will kill the proverbial two birds with one stone. They would confirm their first Test series win on Caribbean soil, and become the first side visiting the Caribbean to sweep a Test series of any length.

New Zealand have dumped Matthew Bell and Mathew Sinclair, stuck by ‘wild child’ Jesse Ryder and named one new face in a revamped batting line up for their cricket tour of England starting this month.
   The Test and one-day squads also include the recall of James Marshall after three years in the wilderness while Peter Fulton, who has struggled with form and injuries in recent months, is also back in the frame.
   Selection panel manager Richard Hadlee said they had taken a long-term view with the squads.
   ‘These squads signal the future for the Black Caps and there are a number of exciting selections,’ he said.
   The rejection of Bell and Sinclair was not surprising after they struggled through the recent home series against England where New Zealand lost the Tests 1-2 after earlier winning the one-dayers 3-1.
   Although opener Bell scored 69 in New Zealand’s fruitless second innings run chase in the final Test it was not enough to eradicate memories of three previous ducks and a series average of only 19.50.
   Aaron Redmond, who averages 31.66 in domestic first-class cricket, becomes New Zealand’s latest opener.
   ‘We hope he can provide a long-term solution to the top order, which we recognise as still being a key issue,’ Hadlee said.
   Daniel Flynn is the new middle order option in place of Sinclair who averaged just 11.83 against England.
   It is the first time Flynn has been named in a New Zealand Test squad but he was briefly included in the recent Twenty20 and ODI series.
   Explosive left-hander Ryder starred in the ODI series against England but was then ruled out of the Tests after injuring his hand when he smashed a window during a drunken incident.
   He has been selected for the limited overs segment of the tour subject to a medical clearance.
   If he is not fit then Fulton will take his place in the ODI squad.
   In New Zealand’s bowling line up Mark Gillespie and Michael Mason are both included in the five-match one-day squad with one to be added to the Test line up.
   Allrounder Grant Elliott, who made his debut in the third Test loss to England, will cover for New Zealand’s Indian Premier League contingent at the start of the tour.
   Captain Daniel Vettori, Brendon McCullum, Jacob Oram, Ross Taylor and Kyle Mills have been given permission to join the England tour on May 1 to enable them to cash in on their lucrative Twenty20 deals in India.
   They arrive a fortnight before the three Test series starts at Lord’s on May 15.
   Test side: Daniel Vettori (captain), Brendon McCullum (vice-captain), Daniel Flynn, Peter Fulton, Gareth Hopkins, Jamie How, James Marshall, Chris Martin, Kyle Mills, Iain O’Brien, Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Aaron Redmond, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Mark Gillespie or Michael Mason to be added.
   One-day side: Daniel Vettori (captain), Brendon McCullum (vice-captain), Daniel Flynn, Mark Gillespie, Gareth Hopkins, Jamie How, Jacob Oram, Michael Mason, James Marshall, Kyle Mills, Jeetan Patel, Jeese Ryder, Scott Styris, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.
   Itinerary:
   April 27 v Marylebone Cricket Club at Arundel
   April 28-30 v Kent at Canterbury
   May 2-5 v Essex at Chelmsford
   May 8-11 v England Lions at Southampton
   May 15-19 v England, 1st Test, at Lord’s, London
   May 23-25 v England, 2nd Test, at Old Trafford, Manchester
   May 30-June 1 v Northamptonshire at Northampton
   June 5-9 v England, 3rd Test, at Trent Bridge, Nottingham
   June 11 v Worcestershire at Worcester
   June 13 v England, Twenty20, at Old Trafford, Manchester
   June 15 v England, 1st ODI, at Chester-le-Street
   June 18 v England, 2nd ODI, at Edgbaston, Birmingham
   June 21 v England, 3rd ODI, at Bristol
   June 25 v England, 4th ODI, at The Oval, London
   June 28 v England, 5th ODI, at Lord’s, London
   July 1 v Ireland, Associates Tri-Series (in Scotland) at Aberdeen
   July 3 v Scotland at Aberdeen.

The Bangladesh Football Federation will declare the name of the Election Commissioner today for the April 28 polls.
   At an executive committee meeting today, probably the last before the BFF elections, the federation will also discuss about the installation of the astro-turf at the nearby ‘Balu Math’. The BFF is reportedly worried about the additional money required to install the turf. The FIFA will provide a purse of $4 lakh but the federation thinks an additional one or two thousand dollars would be needed to finish the job.
   Moreover, the BFF has selected a place in Gazipur for the construction of a FIFA-funded youth football academy. The BFF may officially appeal to the government to start the procedure of acquiring the land and hand over the documents to the federation.

Reeza Hendricks hit a spectacular 131 runs off 188 balls with 19 fours for the visiting South Africa Cricket Academy to propel his team to 295 for eight against their Bangladeshi counterparts at the end of the second day’s play at the Jessore Divisional Stadium on Saturday. The first day of the four-day match between the two sides was washed out on Friday.
   Shadle van Schalkwyk was also impressive with the bat contributing 64 runs off 100 balls with seven fours and two sixes. Skipper D Vilas scored a quickfire 31 off 30 balls with five fours. M Mahlombe and C De Villiers were unbeaten on 21 and 16 respectively when the stumps were drawn.
   Pacer Nazmul Hossain claimed three wickets for 51 runs while Raihanuddin took two for 66.

Hosts Kalabagan Cricket Academy won the Boost U-13 Twenty20 Power Cup when they defeated their A team by 22 runs in the final on Saturday.
   Kalabagan CA batted first and scored 160 in 20 overs. Rabbi led the way for the winners hitting 65 off 35 balls. But despite a gutsy half-century from Rakib the Kalabagan A side were restricted to 138-9 off their stipulated 20 overs.
   Rabbi, who took 2-13, earned the man-of-the-match award. The man-of-the-series award went to Bijon of Dhaka CA after he amassed an impressed 295 runs in the tournament that began on March 15.
   Jahangir of runners-up Kalabagan CA A team however picked up the Power bowling prize with a haul of eight wickets in the 16-team competition comprising eight academies and eight schools all based in the capital.
   Later, Gazi Ashraf Hossain, chairman of the CCDM, gave away prizes among the winners. Debasish Mukherjee, country manager of the tournament sponsors, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Bangladesh, was present as the special guest. High officials of Grey Dhaka were also present on the occasion.

Eastern Bank Limited outplayed Bank Asia by 94 runs in the Banker’s Cricket Tournament at the Dhaka University’s Jagannath Hall playground on Saturday. It was Eastern Bank’s third victory in the six-team weekend tournament.
   Put into bat, EBL compiled a huge 228 for the loss of nine wickets in the stipulated 35 overs.
   Sanjoy top scored with an aggressive 69-ball 84 while man-of-the-match Kiron, who later grabbed 3-20, hit 58 off 49 deliveries.
   Bank Asia’s Benu was the best bowler with three wickets for 50 runs.
   Bank Asia’s innings folded on 134 in 32.1 overs. Tariq Aziz fell three runs short of deserved half-century after facing 56 balls.

India’s injured star batsman Sachin Tendulkar will miss the third and final Test against South Africa, officials said on Saturday.
   Tendulkar was ruled out of the game, starting in Kanpur on April 11, after failing to recover from a groin strain that also kept him out of the ongoing second Test here.
   ‘Tendulkar will be unavailable for selection for the third Test due to his right groin injury. He is making good progress but he has not recovered sufficiently,’ cricket board secretary Niranjan Shah said in a statement.
   ‘This decision has been taken to give him the opportunity to make a full recovery from this injury. He has a rehabilitation programme to continue with and will be monitored closely,’ the statement added.
   Tendulkar, who needs 172 runs to overtake West Indian Brian Lara as Test cricket’s leading run-scorer, will now have to wait for India’s next assignment against Sri Lanka in July to achieve the milestone.

Newcomer Sewnarine Chattergoon has recognised the calming influence West Indies captain Chris Gayle brought to his first innings in Test cricket against Sri Lanka on Friday.
   The pint-sized left-hander showed little or no nerves when he scored 46 to help West Indies reach 268 for seven, replying to Sri Lanka’s first innings total of 278, before bad light stopped play 14.1 overs early on the second day of the second and final Test at Queen’s Park Oval.
   ‘I was a bit nervous, but the good thing was that I was with my captain, a senior member, and I rallied around him,’ said Chattergoon.
   ‘He told me to relax and play my normal game. He has been struggling against Sri Lanka, but he is a world-class batsman, and he can come out any time and destroy any bowling attack. I was confident going out with him.
   ‘I was looking for the single to get down to the non-striker’s end and he helped me a lot. He was playing positively, and I believe I was fortunate because the Sri Lankan bowlers put more emphasis on him than on me.’
   Chattergoon, who celebrated his 27th birthday on Thursday, was also grateful that compatriots Ramnaresh Sarwan, captain of his native Guyana, the West Indies vice-captain, and close friend, and Shivanrine Chanderpaul were also in the side to give him support.
   ‘They are my favourite cricketers, and it is a great feeling because I never thought I would play a Test match with both of them,’ he said.
   ‘They always talk to me whenever they return home, when we play first-class cricket, and they tell me when the chance comes to play Test cricket to just to play to my strengths and to know what my weaknesses are.’
   Chattergoon showed he had heeded their advice in a knock that lasted 2-1/4 hours in which Sri Lanka’s two champion bowlers Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan were constant threats.
   ‘The two of them are great bowlers,’ he said. ‘To get the opportunity in my first Test innings to play against them was a bit difficult, but I played to my ability and I was successful in the end.’
   Chattergoon had missed the chance of making his debut on his home ground two weeks ago because he fell ill two days before the opening Test at the Guyana National Stadium, but he was far from satisfied.
   ‘I feel pretty okay that I made 46, but I think I should have gone on,’ he said. ‘Hopefully, in the next innings, if I have the opportunity, I will carry on and bat longer.’
   Chattergoon, who previously played in six One-day Internationals before earning his first Test cap, felt the match could swing either way, but hoped the pendulum would favour West Indies.
   ‘We had a very good start, and we didn’t capitalise on it, but that’s how the game goes,’ he said.
   ‘We are looking forward to getting a big lead. Anything over 100 would be useful. Hopefully, we could then bowl them out for a reasonable total on (Saturday) and set things up for a victory.’

Haroon Lorgat, the next chief executive of the International Cricket Council, said Friday the image of cricket was one of the challenges he will face when he takes over from Malcolm Speed in July.
   ‘There have been certain incidents over the past few years that have impacted on the image of cricket,’ he said in response to a question at a press conference in Cape Town to confirm his appointment.
   ‘Being such a global sport it is a challenge that is always going to be there, to protect the image and manage the potential conflicts that one might see coming. There’s some work to done to ensure we better manage those sort of situations.’
   Speed gained a reputation as someone who would tackle issues head-on, such as the Darrell Hair umpiring controversy and Zimbabwe’s Test status, however Lorgat indicated he would adopt a less confrontational style.
   ‘Whatever I say is not to be construed as a criticism of my predecessor but by nature I’m someone who has come through a team ethos,’ added Lorgat.
   ‘I would prefer to make sure that as member countries we work together and that we come out with a common solution.’
   Lorgat, 47, will take over from Speed after the ICC conference in London in July but said he would work with Speed from mid-June to ensure a smooth transition.
   Only the third chief executive in the ICC’s history, Lorgat was a partner in an international accounting firm before establishing an investment company with offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
   A former first-class cricketer, he was convenor of South Africa’s selectors from 2004 to 2007 and said that during his tenure he had travelled to several Test-playing countries and established some good relationships with officials in those countries.
   ‘I feel privileged, honoured and very excited,’ he said of his appointment. ‘My impression of international cricket at the moment is that it is in a very healthy state.
   ‘I’m aware that the finances are pretty tied up with contractual arrangements until 2015 so perhaps the greatest challenge will be to maintain and sustain the growth that the game has experienced in recent times.’
   He said he regarded the boom in interest in Twenty20 cricket as an opportunity to win new converts to the game and he also believed that India’s current financial muscle was a positive factor.
   ‘I know the Board of Control for Cricket in India is very mindful of protecting and supporting the International Cricket Council in delivering the game across the globe. Working with India we can grow the game of cricket.’

Peter Crouch admitted he was relieved to finally get the chance to prove Rafa Benitez wrong after helping Liverpool draw 1-1 at Arsenal on Saturday.
   Crouch marked his first league start since February by putting Liverpool ahead at the Emirates Stadium before Nicklas Bendtner’s equaliser for the Gunners.
   It was the England striker’s first goal for Liverpool since February 2 but he knows he still faces an uncertain future at Anfield.
   Crouch’s contract runs out at the end of next season and, with Benitez normally playing Steven Gerrard just behind Fernando Torres in Liverpool’s attack, there is little chance of a regular first-team place opening up.
   ‘It can go one of two ways really. You either give up or show what you can do and that was the case here,’ Crouch said.
   ‘It’s been frustrating and it was nice to get a game. I was very pleased. It’s been a while and it’s to remind people I’m still alive.
   ‘It’s difficult. I’m not going to lie. No-one wants to sit there watching big games. I want to be part of it. I was part of it here and hopefully I’ll get a few more games before the end of the season.
   ‘I’ve got to be realistic. If the manager plays one up front, Fernando Torres is going to get most of the games. We’ll have to see what happens. The manager knows if he puts me out there I’ll do my best for the team.’
   Benitez insisted Crouch still has a place in his plans and revealed he has offered the former Portsmouth and Aston Villa player a new deal.
   ‘I was pleased with Peter Crouch. We offered him a new contract so we are waiting now,’ Benitez said.
   ‘Sometimes we will play with two strikers so we want to keep him.’
   This was the second 1-1 draw between the teams at the Emirates in the space of four days after their Champions League quarter-final stalemate in midweek.
   Now the soap opera switches to Anfield for the second leg of their European tie on Tueday and Benitez, who rest a host of stars including Torres and Gerrard, believes his side have the pyschological advantage.
   ‘To come here with a lot of players who don’t play every week and get a result is pleasing,’ Benitez said.
   ‘At least we showed we can score and create chances and also we know we can stop them so for us it is a positive result.’

Ronaldinho’s latest injury is unrelated to the problem which kept him out of Barcelona’s last five matches, the Primera Liga side’s medical team said on Saturday.
   The club said on Friday he had torn a muscle in his right leg and would be out of action for around six weeks, effectively ruling him out for the rest of the season.
   ‘The injury has no link with the other one,’ Ricard Pruna told a news conference. ‘This one happened in an incident with Edmilson in training on Thursday.’
   The Brazil forward last played for Barca in the 2-1 league defeat at home to Villarreal on March 9, and was left out of the next squad for the 2-2 draw away to Almeria, with coach Frank Rijkaard saying he was injured.
   After the Almeria game, Barca’s medical team put out a statement to say that they had done a scan on a muscle in his right leg, in a similar area to the latest injury, and that there was no evidence of a muscle or tendon injury.
   The 28-year-old was put on a specific plan to recover from the problems that remained.
   Since then the nature of Ronaldinho’s injury has been subject of intense media speculation as he failed to make the Barca squad amid reports that the club were looking to offload him, with his most likely destination Italy.
   He has suffered a string of injury and fitness problems over the last year and been criticised by local media for his training habits and lifestyle away from the pitch.
   Pruna added: ‘It is our job to explain to the player what has happened and why, and he has a lot to think about as to why he is injured.’

A spectator collapsed and died on Friday while watching action on the second day of the second and final Test between West Indies and Sri Lanka at Queen’s Park Oval.
   Michael Hosam, aged 66, received medical attention at the ground before he was taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
   ‘He was a true West Indies fan and he loved the team. He loved West Indies cricket,’ his brother-in-law Ikins Williams said.
   Other fans attending the game had noticed Hosam looking unwell before informing medical personnel at the ground.
   ‘I would like to extend my condolences to Mr. Hosam’s family and friends on this sad occasion,’ Julian Hunte, president of the West Indies Cricket Board said. ‘I hope everyone close to him will be able to cope with this loss.
   ‘We in West Indies Cricket know we have people out
   there who are loyal and dedicated in their support and we wish his family all the best at this time.’
   West Indies, replying to the visitors’ first innings total of 278, reached 268 for seven when bad light stopped play 14.1 overs early.

Five teams – Rajbari, Dinajpur, Rajshahi, Khulna and Pabna DSAs – advanced to the
   quarter-finals of the Pepsi Women’s Inter-District
   Volleyball Tournament beating their respective opponents at the volleyball stadium on Saturday.
   In the day’s last group matches, Rangpur DSA beat Bagerhat DSA 25-11,
   5-13, 25-14, Rajbari outplayed Dinajpur DSA 25-16, 25-15, 25-13,
   Pabna crushed Bagerhat DSA 25-11, 25-4, 25-6, Dinajpur blanked
   Naogaon DSA 25-11, 25-10, 25-3, while Naogaon
   beat Khulna DSA 25-11, 25-11, 25-10.

Kevin Pietersen has given the strongest indication yet that England’s players are feeling they are getting a rough deal over not being able to take part in the Indian Premier League. While Pietersen remains focussed on his England career he hinted his priorities may change.
   While millions of dollars have been splashed on the world’s leading players England’s stars have had to watch from afar as their international commitments and central contracts preclude any involvement. On the whole they have taken the party line that England comes first, but frustration is now growing.
   ‘It’s not something we can control, but it’s definitely something that the hierarchy needs to fix into our fixtures,’ Pietersen told The Times. ‘You want your best players playing both for their country and for the IPL. You don’t want them choosing between the two. It’s silly to think that you’re losing up to a million [dollars] over six weeks.’
   ‘As long as it doesn’t interfere with me playing for England, then I’m all for the IPL,’ he said. ‘I won’t jeopardise my England career for the IPL just yet, but the schedules have to be sorted because the England players are the only ones missing out.’

Nwankwo Kanu’s second-half goal saw Portsmouth into their first FA Cup final for 69 years as they beat one of his former clubs West Bromwich Albion 1-0 in the first of this weekend’s Wembley semi-finals here on Saturday.
   Portsmouth, the last Premier League side left in this season’s competition and who won the FA Cup for the only time in their history back in 1939, will now face another Championship side in either Barnsley or Cardiff, who play each other in Sunday’s second semi-final, at Wembley on May 17.
   The Cup final will see Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp, who had guided the south coast club to sixth in the Premier League table before Saturday’s kick-off, going for his first major honour as a manager.
   ‘It’s a great day for the club. It’s great for my family and the supporters, I’m delighted for everybody,’ Redknapp said.
   ‘We didn’t pass the ball well enough in the first half. They passed it better than us at the start but we got going after half-time. I knew they were dangerous opposition because Tony Mowbray has got them playing the right way.’
   Kanu added: ‘I just waited to see if the keeper parried it and I followed it in. For everyone at Portsmouth it’s a great day.
   ‘I’ve been to the FA Cup final before but to win it with Portsmouth would be fantastic. These supporters are always behind us.’ West Brom, who started Saturday fourth in the second-tier Championship, will now have promotion to the Premier League as their sole priority.
   Kevin Phillips, their former England striker, insisted Portsmouth had been fortunate to win and accused the officials of failing to spot Milan Baros’s handball in the build-up to Kanu’s goal.
   ‘I don’t think we deserved to lose. I think everyone has seen what a good quality team we are. On overall play did they deserve to win the game? I don’t think so,’ he said.
   ‘We know what officials are like in big games. They tend to bottle it a bit. We can hold our heads high. We put an excellent performance in and just couldn’t find a goal. Portsmouth have been very lucky.’
   Goalless at half-time, the match sparked into life when Kanu put Pompey in front in the 54th minute.
   Fellow forward Baros chested down a long through-ball and saw his shot on the turn saved one-handed by former Pompey goalkeeper Dean Kiely.
   As the ball ran along the line Zoltan Gera tried to clear before Nigeria international Kanu stabbed home from just a few yards out. West Brom manager Mowbray made a double substitution on the hour mark, bringing on Ishmael Miller for fellow forward Roman Bednar and, in another like-for-like replacement, Chris Brunt took James Morrison’s place on the left side of midfield.
   But it was Kiely who had to be alert minutes later, clearing from the edge of the area as Baros, who joined Portsmouth on loan from French club Lyon in January, chased a through-ball.
   And he did even better in the 65th minute when, following a precise pass from Croatia midfielder Niko Kranjcar, he saved when one-on-one with Baros although the Czech international, yet to score for Portsmouth, gave Kiely a chance by delaying his shot.
   West Brom almost had an equaliser in the 74th minute when Carl Hoefkens burst down the right and beat two players before squaring the ball to Slovenia midfielder Robert Koren, whose shot from the edge of the box hit the crossbar with England goalkeeper David James beaten.
   Substitue David Nugent could have finished the game in the 83rd minute but shot straight at Kiely while seconds later, at the other end, Miller steered the ball wide.
   Portsmouth, without in-form but Cup-tied forward Jermain Defoe, had had only one shot of note in a mediocre first-half when midfielder Sulley Muntari, their penalty hero in the 1-0 quarter-final win over Manchester United, saw his 30-yard free-kick saved comfortably by Kiely.
   West Brom dominmated possession in the early stages and justified their tag as the ‘best footballing side’ in the Championship. But several promising moves broke down on the edge of the Pompey box with Lassana Diarra sweeping up effectively for Portsmouth.
   Gera tested James with an shot from just outside the area which, worryingly for Pompey fans, the keeper spilt. James had another nervous moment in the 37th minute when he fumbled a back-header from team-mate Glen Johnson and only just recovered in time as Baggies striker Phillips raced in.

Sunderland manager Roy Keane revealed Saturday that he was still bitter over how he was treated before his exit from Manchester United.
   Keane, one of United’s most influential players, left Old Trafford by mutual consent in November 2005 after a prolonged absence with a foot injury, later joining Celtic. It was a period of increasing tension between the former Republic of Ireland international and the management team, led by Sir Alex Ferguson.
   And in an interview with the Irish Times, Keane claims he was told ‘certain things at certain meetings that were basic lies’.
   ‘The day I left United, in hindsight, I should have stopped playing really,’ he said.
   ‘I lost the love of the game that Friday morning. I thought football is cruel, life is cruel. It takes two to tango also. I am fully responsible for my own actions but some things are wrong.’
   He claimed: ‘I left on the Friday morning and they told me certain things that day. I was told the following week I could not sign for another club. I had been led to believe I could.
   ‘There were certain things I was told at certain meetings that were basic lies. That was part of the exit plans.’
   Keane also accuses United of getting his length of service wrong. He added: ‘They were thanking me for 11 and a half years. I had to remind the manager and chief executive (David Gill) I had been there 12 and a half years.’

When Luca Toni was offered to Milan three years ago, Adriano Galliani said he’d be ‘embarrassed’ to walk him into San Siro, claims Maurizio Zamparini!
   The Palermo President is well known for his outlandish statements, but insists this shocking quote came straight from the mouth of the Rossoneri director general.
   ‘When I offered Toni to Milan, if I remember rightly three years ago, Galliani replied he would be embarrassed to walk up the San Siro steps with Toni wearing a Rossoneri jersey,’ revealed Zamparini in the Gazzetta dello Sport.
   ‘I imagine he won’t regret that statement, seeing as he says he never regrets anything.’
   Toni left Palermo in the summer of 2005 to join Fiorentina for around £8m and went on to score 47 goals in 67 games for the Viola.
   Winning the 2006 Golden Boot as top scorer in European competition and the World Cup with Italy, he moved on to Bayern Munich.
   In the summer of 2005, Milan instead signed Christian Vieri on a free transfer after he had terminated his contract with Inter and picked up Alberto Gilardino from Parma for £18m.

Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik said his team was neither affected nor distracted by the controversial ban on Shoaib Akhtar and maintained that the players were concentrating on their performance ahead of the ODI series against Bangladesh.
   ‘It is something between the Board and a player. We are professional players and we are supposed to concentrate on our jobs which is playing cricket and doing well for our country,’ Malik said in an interview.
   Malik said Shoaib’s incident had not dampened the morale and spirit of the team and they were working hard towards the Bangladesh rubber.
   ‘The ongoing national one-day tournament has helped us get in shape for the coming series and we are going to have a short camp before the first match on Tuesday. We are looking forward to the series and are keen to do well in it,’ he added.
   Malik said Pakistan had enough talent to do well in the series and the target would be to win all the matches.
   ‘We are not going to underestimate the Bangladesh side as they are a good one-day squad who have caused many upsets in the past. You can’t take them lightly,’ he stated.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink almost lost a leg the last time he featured in a major FA Cup tie, but the Cardiff striker is out to banish that painful memory by beating Barnsley in a semi-final few would have predicted.
   Hasselbaink will play in the all-Championship clash at Wembley today still haunted by the blocked vein he aggravated during Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in the 2002 final which could have led him to lose the lower part of his right leg.
   The problem was not spotted for a nearly a week after the final and it took an immediate operation to stop Hasselbaink’s career ending in a flash.
   Now the former Netherlands international, back from a three-match suspension, has a chance to get back to English football’s showpiece final and make amends for that injury nightmare.
   ‘I played in the final and came off after 70 minutes or so. I had a bad injury, a vein which was 75 percent blocked,’ he said.
   ‘If it had been 80 or 90 per cent blocked I could have lost the lower part of my leg. I don’t know how it happened. Nobody knows.
   ‘We went to another hospital where there was a vein specialist, and he said I had to be operated on right now.’
   That unhappy FA Cup experience should be more than enough motivation for Hasselbaink, but if the former Middlesbrough and Atletico Madrid star needs any more he only has to look in his trophy cabinet.
   ‘I don’t have a lot of medals. The only one is in Portugal in the cup,’ he said.
   ‘I went to the FA Cup here—lost; the Copa del Rey in Spain—lost; the World Cup with Holland, semi-final—lost. Even the third-fourth place—lost. Middlesbrough, the semi-final—lost. Realistically this is going to be my last chance.’
   Whoever wins on Sunday will end nearly a century spent out of the FA Cup limelight.
   It is the first time Cardiff City have reached the last four since 1927 when they went on to become the only non-English side to ever win the trophy, while Barnsley have not lifted the trophy since 1912.
   Cardiff’s quarter-final win at Premier League side Middlesbrough proved Championship teams can hold their own against supposedly superior opposition.
   But despite struggling near the relegation zone, Barnsley have earned most of the FA Cup headlines this year with two stunning victories over two sides now contesting the Champions League quarter-finals: Liverpool in the fifth round and Chelsea in the last eight.
   If manager Simon Davey’s team reach the final it is a safe bet Luke Steele will have enhanced his growing reputation, yet the former Manchester United goalkeeper may not get to play in the final.
   Steele was the hero of Barnsley’s win at Anfield and excelled again in the Chelsea match.
   However, he is only on loan from fellow Championship side West Bromwich Albion and cannot play against his parent club, so the 23-year-old will be praying Portsmouth beat the Baggies in the other semi-final.
   ‘I’ve been asked about it a million times this week,’ Steele said.
   ‘I’ll take whatever comes on Saturday and try and approach the game come Sunday with the same attitude whether I know if I’m going to play—or not—in the final if we win.
   ‘It’s going to be a test but other players have done it in the past and it’s all about mental strength. Hopefully I’ve got the mental strength to keep my mind on the game.
   ‘Cardiff know it’s going to be a tough game because we’ve beaten Liverpool and Chelsea as everyone knows and anyone you get in the FA Cup semi-final is going to be tough. But there’s no-one to fear and you shouldn’t fear anyone in football.’

Bayern Munich’s German international defender Philipp Lahm revealed on Saturday that he is set to extend his contract with the German giants.
   ‘Negotiations with Uli Hoeness (Bayern general manager) got underway this week and I can very well imagine that we’ll reach agreement next week,’ the 24-year-old told the German daily tz. Lahm, who was a member of the German team that finished third at the 2006 World Cup, began his career with Bayern Munich and is under contract until 2009.
   He had however said in the past that he was keen on a move abroad, stating he was interested in playing for a number of European clubs including Barcelona. Lahm will be coached at Bayern next season by Jurgen Klinsmann who gave him the first of his 39 Germany caps in 2004.

Milan defender Paolo Maldini is rethinking his plan to hang his boots up at the end of the season.
   The 39-year-old had announced that this campaign would be his last as a player, but he now admits that he is having second thoughts.
   ‘Would I continue to play? I am thinking about it, even if I wake up every morning with a different idea,’ Maldini told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
   ‘Seeing as the club and my teammates have asked me, I will consider my options carefully.
   ‘I’m feeling good and I am back playing, even on the wing. I am back in the Milan equation.’
   These are testing times for the world champions who are four points away from Champions League qualification rivals Fiorentina.
   The Diavolo were booed and whistled during last weekend’s defeat against Atalanta and Maldini doesn’t believe they deserved that reception.
   ‘I can’t stand this whistling at the first error,’ he raged. ‘It is understandable at the end of the game, but from the start it really isn’t right and it doesn’t help. I wouldn’t do it if I were a fan.’

Bayern Munich captain Oliver Kahn has hit out at their coach for next season Jurgen Klinsmann who he claims diverted attention from their treble-chasing season by watching them in the UEFA Cup, a German newspaper reported on Friday.
   Former Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann was in the stands as Bayern drew 1-1 with Spanish side Getafe at the Allianz-Arena in the quarter-final, first leg of Europe’s second-tier club competition on Thursday, annoying goalkeeper Kahn.
   ‘I consider it a lack of style because you just don’t do that,’ Kahn told newspaper Munchner Abendzeitung. ‘We are on track to win a treble and this kind of behaviour diverts attention.
   ‘I have never heard of a coach who is coming on board the following season being present at matches in the current season.’
   Kahn retires at the end of the season and will not be playing under Klinsmann with whom he is not on very good terms.
   When Klinsmann was Germany coach between 2004 and 2006, he decided to overlook Kahn and field Jens Lehmann instead.

Arsenal’s faint Premier League title hopes were all but extinguished as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Liverpool on Saturday.
   Arsene Wenger’s decision to rest a clutch of first team regulars ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final second leg tie at Anfield back-fired as his makeshift side proved unable to over-turn Peter Crouch’s opening goal.
   Nicklas Bendtner preserved Arsenal’s unbeaten home record with a 55th-minute equaliser but a draw was not enough for the north Londoners, who still trail leaders Manchester United by five points having now played a game more.
   Liverpool, meanwhile, departed content. Rafael Benitez’s team not only tightened their grip on fourth place and Champions League qualification but the Spaniard’s decision to field a largely reserve side should ensure they are fresh for their European decider.
   Benitez’s decision to make eight changes was no surprise. Wenger’s decision to make five was, however, given the manager had suggested he required wins in all his remaining league games to prevent his sputtering title hopes from being completely snuffed out.
   His line-up only succeeded in revealing how woefully short on depth Arsenal remain in comparison to their title rivals. Liverpool’s reserves appeared to relish the opportunity to impress on one of the division’s grander stages and they duly dominated the first half.
   Crouch, in particular, performed as if determined to make up for the time he has lost sat on the sidelines this season. He stung Manuel Almunia’s fingertips with a raking 25-yard drive and then teed up John Arne Riise for a glorious chance, only for the Norwegian to blaze over with his right foot.
   Arsenal, it is true, were in an obliging mood. Wenger’s side have rarely delivered such a limp display on home soil and when Yossi Benayoun broke onto Lucas’s pass and dragged wide, the home support began to grow audibly restless.
   That let-off did spark a mini-revival. In a frenetic four-minute spell, Cesc Fabregas pulled wide from 20 yards, Bendtner shot tamely at Pepe Reina and Steve Finnan was forced into a desperate clearance from Emmanuel Eboue’s cross.
   But in their eagerness to attack, Arsenal forgot how to defend. Three minutes before half-time, a long punt downfield from Reina was nodded by Crouch to Benayoun. Crouch charged on to the Israeli’s return pass, twisted inside William Gallas and crunched into the bottom corner for his first away league goal of the season.
   Wenger stalked off at half-time looking as if he was chewing a wasp, but some pointed words during the interval had the desired effect. Arsenal emerged for the second half snappier in the tackle and brighter on the ball and within seven minutes of the re-start they were level, Bendtner atoning for his earlier aberration by heading in Fabregas’ free-kick.
   Arsenal’s sense of urgency was renewed. Wenger sent on Emmanuel Adebayor and Gael Clichy and the hosts gradually began to dominate possession. Fabregas and Mathieu Flamini both saw long-range drives bravely blocked while the Frenchman also deflected wide from Clichy’s near-post cross.
   By now the game was painfully stretched. Arsenal’s determination to snatch a second goal left gaping holes at the back, and Andriy Voronin should have done far better than lob over the crossbar after being set up by Crouch with 10 minutes left.
   A goal then would have secured Liverpool’s first win in these parts for seven years but, at the final whistle, a draw still felt like a defeat for Arsenal.

Sir Alex Ferguson has told Cristiano Ronaldo to carry on with his trickery and dazzling skill - despite complaints from the Manchester United star’s opponents.
   Roma became the latest club to whinge at what they claimed was showboating from Ronaldo, after he tormented them in United’s 2-0 Champions League win in Italy in midweek.
   Ronaldo was warned he will be a marked man when Roma come to Old Trafford for the second leg of the quarter-final tie next Wednesday, but Fergie told his star player to ignore such threats.
   ‘As far as I am concerned he can carry on doing what he does,’ said Fergie. ‘He’s a winner. Opponents can’t kick him out of the game because he will always get up and play.
   ‘Ronaldo is a player who wants to express his talent, which is why people are prepared to pay £40 to £50 to watch him play.
   ‘It may be annoying to an opponent because he’s prepared to take the ball to him and show these talents, but you can’t deny the boy’s confidence and courage to do that.’
   On Roma’s plans to exact revenge on Ronaldo for indulging in his tricks on the ball, Fergie said: ‘That won’t worry him, I’m sure of that.
   ‘The most important message to send out is that here is a great player who’s not afraid to take the ball and beat men.
   ‘That’s what Ronaldo is saying when he plays. In whatever fashion he does it, I don’t care. He’s paid for his ability and his expression of that ability.
   ‘We encourage him to do that, we encourage it of all our players. It’s an expression of play, of having confidence in the way you play.
   ‘In this modern day it’s a breath of fresh air to see players with expression in their game, and Ronaldo won’t be intimidated by opponents who want him to stop doing that.
   ‘We don’t encourage our players to humiliate opponents. I think it’s fair to say we don’t do that. But fans want to see players like Ronaldo who are prepared to show talent.
   ‘I think it’s great that a player like Ronaldo is able to
   develop his game to such an extent that he’s prepared to try all these tricks and skills in big games.’

Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick has warned against complacency within the Old Trafford camp as Sir Alex Ferguson’s men bid to take another stride towards retaining the Premiership title at Middlesbrough today.
   The reigning champions and league leaders face Boro 24 hours after title rivals
   Chelsea and Arsenal take on Manchester City and Arsenal respectively in difficult Premiership fixtures.
   A slip-up by either side could leave United with one hand firmly on the Premiership trophy, despite looming encounters with Arsenal at Old Trafford and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
   But England star Carrick admits that the game against Boro and a testing trip to Blackburn later this month are likely to be just as important to United’s hopes of securing their tenth Premiership crown.
   Carrick said: ‘I don’t think you can single any games out as more important than others. Arsenal and Chelsea are obviously big ones, but I don’t think those matches will determine where the trophy ends up.
   ‘We need to win all our games and some of those are very tough. We’re going away to Middlesbrough this weekend and we’re also going to Blackburn, so we’ve got some tough games ahead of us.
   ‘But we had always set out to win the league this season and the feeling this will happen grows stronger as the
   campaign moves on. Now is the time we really need to hit our best form because this is when it counts.’
   United’s surge towards the title hit trouble at this stage of last season’s campaign due to a crippling injury list, but Ferguson’s team have avoided major problems this time around, notwithstanding the midweek knee injury suffered by Nemanja Vidic that will keep the Serbian defender sidelined for three weeks.
   Carrick claims that United’s freshness is down to Ferguson’s policy of rotating his squad on a regular basis.
   Carrick said: ‘If you look at our results, I don’t think you can say a bad word about the rotation policy. Whoever has played has done well and we’ve won more often than not.
   ‘As a player, you’d prefer to be involved in every game, but the little rests here and there mean everyone is still fresh. That was obviously the boss’s idea at the start of the campaign and he’s been proved correct once again.
   ‘It was around this time last season that we had a few injuries, which resulted in the same players playing in every game.
   ‘We eventually got a little tired and paid the price. This time we’ve been able to have a rest and use different players according to the games.’
   Thirty-six goal winger Ronaldo is expected to keep his place for the trip to the Riverside and Middlesbrough midfielder Gary O’Neil admits that the Portuguese star is currently in a league of his own.
   O’Neil said: ‘Since I’ve been watching football, Ronaldo is the best I have ever seen. Two or three years ago, it was Thierry Henry, but this season Ronaldo tops that.
   ‘You can do things to try to stop him, but great players sometimes do things that are unstoppable.
   ‘I’m told he works doubly hard on the training ground at free-kicks and other parts of his game. He is still young, so he is only going to get better and better.
   ‘When you have his pace and are clever, with great touch with both feet, you are going to get chances. He has had a fantastic season and players like him are just unbelievable at times.’

Real Madrid striker Raul Gonzalez says he still has a remote chance of being given the nod for Spain’s national squad for the Euro 2008 football finals if he keeps up his current strong form.
   ‘I have more desire to go than hope. It’s complicated when you have been so long without going and there is a group that has qualified and it is normal that the coach trusts that group,’ he said in an interview to be broadcast Saturday on television station La Sexta.
   ‘The list is of 23 players though and I believe that if I continue to play like this, at this level, I could be called up to be part of the team,’ the Real captain added according to a transcript of the interview released by the station on Friday.
   Spain coach Luis Aragones has not selected Raul since September 2006 when the national squad suffered an embarrassing 3-2 loss in Northern Ireland.
   But Aragones has faced continued pressure to include Raul, who has 102 caps, in the squad for the European football finals which will be co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland from June 7-29 because of his performance for Real.
   Raul, 30, now stands joint second, along with Carlos Alonso Santillana, in the club’s all-time scorer list after scoring his 290th goal for the club in their 3-1 win over Sevilla on Sunday.
   It was Raul’s 16th goal of a fantastic season and he is now just 17 goals from equalling legendary Alfredo di Stefano’s record mark of 307.
   He is also hunting Di Stefano’s league record of 216 league goals which he netted between 1953 and 1964, needing 13 more to equal the great Argentine.
   ‘I no longer have to prove anything. What I want is to enjoy myself and that is what I have been doing in the last few months, in the last year and a half. The time to prove things has already passed,’ Raul told La Sexta.
   The player said he would like to play for Spain at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
   ‘I would be very excited to take part in my fourth World Cup but it is a far off goal, I am in fine form now but I don’t know how I will be in a few weeks or a few months,’ he said.
   In the wake of Spain’s unimpressive display at the 2006 World Cup, he was made the scapegoat for Spain’s poor start to their Euro 2008 qualification campaign as Aragones desperately searched for radical solutions.
   The subsequent revival of Spain and their qualification for next summer’s finals gave Aragones the excuse to continue ignoring Raul but many pundits feel that the cracks are only being papered over.
   ‘He (Raul) has been to three World Cups and two European Championships and won nothing,’ mocked Aragones in October although he has softened his tone in recent months.

French Open champion Rafael Nadal advanced to the final of the ATP Masters Series Sony Ericsson Open with a 7-6, (8/6), 6-2 victory over Czech 10th seed Tomas Berdych on Friday.
   Nadal, the second seed, will play in Sunday’s championship match of the 7.54 million-dollar event against the Russian fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko who overpowered US sixth seed Andy Roddick 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 in the other semi.
   ‘He’s physically so fit,’ Davydenko said of Nadal. ‘It’s amazing. And for him, I think he doesn’t care, playing night session or day session. He runs so much. You know, he fights.’
   Nadal, seeking a 590,000-dollar top prize, is attempting to become the first Spanish player to win this event.
   He lost to world No. 1 Roger Federer in the 2005 championship.
   ‘I arrive here and I practise every day very well,’ Nadal said. ‘I said before tournament I was playing very well, and right now I am in the finals. So anything can happen in this final.’
   The 21-year-old lefthanded Spaniard will be seeking his 24th career title and first this season in Sunday’s final.
   Davydenko reached his first final of the year and is the first Russian in the 24-year history of this hardcourt event to play in the championship match.
   Davydenko won the opening set over Roddick with a cross-court winner on Roddick’s serve, then broke his opponent three times in the second set.
   ‘He doesn’t give an inch,’ Roddick said.
   Roddick, who already has won at San Jose and Dubai this year, appeared poised to win the first set Friday when he forced a mini-break to go ahead 4-3 in the tiebreak.
   However, the 26-year-old won the next two points on Roddick’s serve, which to that point had been dominant, for a 5-4 lead.
   Roddick saved one match point to get within 6-5, but Davydenko broke through again to claim the opening set.
   Roddick stunned Federer in the quarter-finals Thursday, taking only his second victory in 17 career meetings with the Swiss superstar by 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 6-3.
   Roddick, the 2004 winner here, is 19-4 this season with titles in San Jose and Dubai, where he defeated Nadal and Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic on his way to the crown.

AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi admitted on Saturday that he would love to sign Brazil’s 2005 world footballer of the year Ronaldinho from Barcelona.
   Berlusconi, who is presently bidding to regain power in Italy’s general election, told Italian press agency Ansa that he believed Milan could acquire Ronaldinho, who even before he was ruled out for six weeks earlier this week had fallen out of favour at Barcelona with a series of disappointing performances.
   ‘I hope yes, I believe yes,’ replied Berlusconi, when asked about whether Ronaldinho would come to Milan.
   ‘We will try and buy him.’
   According to the Gazzetta dello Sport, AC Milan would be prepared to spend 20 million euros (31 million dollars) for the 28-year-old, whose contract runs till 2010 at Barcelona.
   During the week Gazzetta had reported that there had been a meeting between Ronaldinho’s brother and agent Roberto Assis with Adriano Galliani, the number two to Berlsuconi at Milan.
   Ronaldinho has been at Barcelona since arriving in 2003 from Paris Saint Germain, and has won the 2006 Champions League when they beat Arsenal and two domestic titles in 2005 and 2006.
   Ronaldinho has had his worst season since he joined the Catalan side.
   The Brazilian international has been plagued by injury and fitness problems and has started only 13 of the club’s 30 league games so far this season.
   Spanish media has reported that Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard has grown tired of the player’s frequent late nights out and was not counting on him for the rest of the season.
   AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti has also revealed his clubare interested in signing Barcelona’s troubled star Ronaldinho. ‘Ronaldinho is a great player,’ admitted Ancelotti. ‘Milan’s interest in him has been there for a long time.
   ‘At this time he is a Barcelona player and the club is evaluating the development of this situation.
   ‘He is a champion that interests several clubs.’

William Gallas has revealed his pride and determination to succeed as Arsenal captain.
   In his most revealing interview yet, Gallas gives an insight into:
   l How he felt he had been hit by a train when he came to English football.
   l The hurt caused by Chelsea’s slurs.
   l His drive to be a good example to young players.
   l And how he will stand up for racial equality in the world.
   The French defender was handed the Emirates armband at the start of this season. And Gallas admitted it took a while for the status to sink in, with former Chelsea team-mate Didier Drogba having to spell it out.
   Gallas told The Sun: ‘This armband is a real recognition for me.
   ‘Didier Drogba pointed out to me: ‘You are captain of Arsenal, in the footsteps of Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Tony Adams. That’s truly something’.
   ‘I didn’t fully grasp that at first — it took me a few months to totally absorb this status.
   ‘Watching leaders like Laurent Blanc, John Terry and Marcel Desailly has taught me a lot. Two years ago I wouldn’t have felt ready to be captain but now I do. I have to lead the team to victory.
   ‘Directing the younger players comes first.
   ‘I tell them to stay behind after training to work on their weak points and always to consider how lucky they are to be 20, 21 and at such a club.
   ‘I don’t overdo the advice generally. But my dressing-room team talk before kick-off is an important moment.’
   Gallas could be seen revving up his players before the opening game of their trilogy against Liverpool at the Emirates on Wednesday.
   It will be the same again just before 12.45pm on Saturday with Gallas sure that Arsenal can still succeed in the Premier League and Champions League.
   Yet Gallas could hardly have predicted he would become a rock and leader after his first experience of English football.
   It came in a pre-season friendly with Chelsea. Gallas revealed: ‘My first experience of English football was incredible!
   ‘In my first friendly, I felt like I had been grabbed by the throat, I was under attack! By the end, I felt like a train had run over me. I was bruised all over and was hobbling like an old man.
   ‘In England, your opponent never gives you a moment’s respite.
   ‘Here, if you don’t get tight on a player, he is quite likely to have a go from 35 yards, even if he’s on his wrong foot.
   ‘So I had to prepare my body to survive these assaults. I put on 6kg of muscle.’
   When he left Chelsea for Arsenal he was accused of threatening to score own goals if the move was not allowed.
   Gallas said: ‘I would not accept the club insinuating I was ready to score own goals if I didn’t get my way.
   ‘How could I commit such blackmail after five seasons at Blues? Chelsea then offered me more money at the last moment but money doesn’t settle everything. People found out then I had guts.’
   Gallas is a man of strong opinions. Not just about football but on race issues. He said: ‘Black people used to be told, when they were mistreated, to keep quiet and not respond. I say you must respond. Like Rosa Parks did.
   ‘As a footballer, I’m living in a kind of bubble, so I suffer very little from racism myself. But I can imagine what it is like for those outside that bubble.
   ‘When I take the Eurostar, they leaf through my passport before letting me pass with a smile when they recognise my name. But my family don’t get that favourable treatment and regularly suffer harassment.’

Barcelona striker Thierry Henry tops the list of the best-paid French sportsmen with earnings of 17.4 million euros (26.7 million dollars) in 2007, according to a survey published on Saturday by the weekly L’Equipe Magazine.
   Henry succeeds Zinedine Zidane, who retired from competitive sport after the 2006 soccer World Cup.
   San Antonio Spurs basketball player Tony Parker is second on 9.6 million euros, with Inter Milan midfielder Patrick Vieira third on 8 million.
   Forty-three of the 50 people listed are soccer players and 37 play outside France. The list contains only two women—tennis player Amelie Mauresmo and swimmer Laure Manaudou, joint 29th on 2.8 million.

Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo may be considered by many to be the greatest player in the world at the moment, but the Portuguese superstar still has some way to go to surpass fellow Old Trafford legend Eric Cantona in the list of the best foreigners to have played in the Premier League.
   For despite plundering an amazing 36 goals for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side this season, the 23-year-old is only ranked as the eighth best overseas player to play in England, way behind Cantona.
   The Frenchman, who helped end the Reds’ long title drought when he inspired them to the league crown in 1993, tops the list in FourFourTwo
   magazine ahead of Arsenal duo Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry.
   Celtic great Henrik Larsson, who spent a brief few months at Old Trafford last season is fourth, while Chelsea wizard Gianfranco Zola makes up the top five.
   Despite their tradition of bringing through homegrown players, United have the most players in the poll with 14, while Chelsea have 12 and Arsenal 9.
   French players figure most in the list with 12, while there are 10 Dutch players, eight from Italy, six from Australia and five from Norway.
   Fulham’s current keeper Kasey Keller is ranked 100th on the list, although it’s not clear if the compilers had run out of names by this point. It’s rumoured Marco Boogers was 101st.