Rearguard action swells New Zealand score to 170 for 7 (Lead)

LONDON - Put into bat, New Zealand scored a fighting 170 for seven wickets in their Twenty20 World Cup warm-up game here at Lord’s Monday.

Fighting Federer rallies from the brink to overhaul Haas

PARIS - Roger Federer flirted with the second major French Open earthquake Monday before rallying dramatically from the brink to reach the quarter-finals from two sets down for only the fifth time in his career.

India’s marathon man sets new record with 91st marathon

WASHINGTON - India’s grand old marathon man, Ashis Roy, became the first Asian above 75 to run three marathons in a month as he finished his 91st long run in six hours and 27 minutes.

Sodering shocks Nadal into career-first Roland Garros loss (Second Lead)

PARIS - Swedish Viking Robin Soderling used his flailing forehand to stun Rafael Nadal into his first career defeat at the French Open Sunday as women’s defending champion Ana Ivanovic joined the men’s holder in a fourth-round loss.

Murray breaks new clay ground with quarter-final place (Lead)

PARIS - Andy Murray broke fresh ground in his fast-track clay court progress, reaching his first quarter-final at the French Open with a 7-5, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 defeat of error-prone Croatian Marin Cilic Sunday.

Ruthless Safina slices to another easy Paris win

PARIS - Top seed Dinara Safina continued her destructive march in the French Open tennis Sunday, dashing the hopes of local girl Aravane Rezai 6-1, 6-0, to reach the quarter-finals.

Buchanan helping England for Ashes

LONDON - John Buchanan, architect of Australia’s 5-0 win in the 2006 Ashes, can switch loyalties this year.

Sunglasses will be England cricket team’s secret weapon

LONDON - Coloured Sunglasses will be the England cricket team’s secret weapon this summer.

Cricketers have been advised on how they can optimise their vision by wearing the right coloured lenses from a selection of yellow, red, gold, silver and orange for different conditions, reports The Daily Telegraph.

Lampard dedicates FA Cup win to Hiddink

LONDON - For Frank Lampard, the FA Cup was the best parting gift Chelsea players could have given to their interim manager Guus Hiddink as a memento of his short but successful stint at the club.

With IPL jamboree over, focus on India to defend its Twenty20 crown

LONDON - The fun and the frolic of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is over and it’s time for India to defend its crown at the World Twenty20 that starts here Friday.

Paes-Black out of French Open mixed doubles

PARIS - India’s Leander Paes and Zimbabwean Cara Black crashed out of the French Open tennis’ mixed doubles second round, losing 0-6, 6-1, 6-10 to Austrian Sybille Bammer and Lukasz Kubot of Poland.

Cash feels Nadal’s new outfits reflect his confidence (French Open diary)

PARIS - Former Australian tennis star Pat Cash feels Rafael Nadal’s new pink outfit in the French Open tennis shows the Spaniard’s supreme confidence as he bids for a record fifth straight title at Roland Garros

Ponting is an amazing cricketer, says Clarke

LONDON - Australias cricket vice-captain Michael Clarke has showered fulsome praise on his captain Ricky Ponting underscoring his energy and enthusiasm.

Brett Lee expects Ashes series to be tight

LONDON - Unlike his captain Ricky Ponting and vice-captain Michael Clarke, who refused to predict the outcome of the Ashes series, Australian fast bowler Brett Lee feels it would be pretty close.

Ponting’s injury not serious, to play Monday

LONDON - Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting is cleared to play the Twenty20 warm up game against Bangladesh Monday as the hit he took on his wrist at the nets Saturday was not as serious as feared initially.

Ozil strikes to give Bremen UEFA cup

BERLIN - Werder Bremen made amends for a disappointing league season and defeat in the UEFA Cup final by clinching the German Cup with a 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen Saturday.

Sanchez shrugs off ‘cheating’ accusation by Serena Williams

PARIS - Spain’s Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez laughed off the charge of “cheating” levelled by Serena Williams after the American second seed bludgeoned out a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory into the French Open fourth round Saturday in controversial fashion.

Chelsea beat Everton to win FA Cup

LONDON - Frank Lampard scored the winner as Chelsea beat Everton 2-1 Saturday to win the FA Cup for the fifth time in their history.

World War II bombs found at German stadium

STUTTGART - Eighteen World War II bombs have been found under the pitch during a stadium makeover at VfB Stuttgart, the German Bundesliga football club said Saturday.

Pakistan cricket board hails charity act of global body

KARACHI - Pakistan Saturday hailed International Cricket Council (ICC) decision to turn Wednesday’s warm-up match against India in England into a fund-raiser for the victims of the attacks on the Sri Lanka cricket team in Lahore this March.

Sri Lankan cricketers cancel Oxford University visit over security fears

LONDON - Security concerns have forced members of the Sri Lankan cricket team, Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara, to cancel their visit to Oxford University.

Djokovic, Ivanovic advance in French Open

PARIS - Novak Djokovic completed a Serbian double at the French Open Friday as he joined defending champion and compatriot Ana Ivanovic in advancing by completing a match interrupted by darkness.

Jyoti second, Jeev and Kapur sixth at European Open

LONDON - It seemed an Indian summer at the European Open with all three Indians in the fray placed inside top-six at the end of the first round at the London Golf Club.

Cherry juice hottest new sports drink

WASHINGTON - Cherry juice is the hottest new sports drink that helps ease the pain for runners, a new study says.

Tickets for key football World Cup matches sold out

JOHANNESBURG - The second phase of ticket sales for the opening match, semi-finals and the final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup have been sold out.

Libertadores Cup: Cruzeiro win first leg against Sao Paulo

RIO DE JANEIRO - Playing in front of their home crowd Cruzeiro scored a 2-1 win over Sao Paulo in their first leg of the quarter-finals in this year’s Libertadores Cup.

Chelsea meets Everton for the first time in FA Cup final

LONDON - Chelsea has won four of their eight FA Cup finals and Everton five of their 12. The two are now getting ready to meet for the first time in the final Saturday.

A million fans greet European champions in Barcelona

BARCELONA - One million euphoric fans cheered the Barcelona squad - the winner of a historic treble this season - in a triumphant parade through the streets of the Catalan city.

Indian-origin Cricket Canada boss `retires’ before no-trust motion

TORONTO - Facing a summary ouster from the board of directors, Indian-origin Cricket Canada president Banwarilal (Ben) Sennik Thursday announced his retirement from the sporting body.

Indian woman finishes among top 10 in South African marathon

JOHANNESBURG - A South African Gujarati woman is the toast of her community after she became the first Indian woman to finish in the top 10 of the prestigious Comrades Marathon run annually between two cities since 1921.

Federer wins in survival mode, Djokovic stranded in dark

PARIS - Roger Federer laid on a world-class comeback from two breaks down to keep his dream for a first-ever French Open title alive Thursday, fighting off Jose Acasuso 7-6 (10-8), 5-7, 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 to reach the third round.

Manchester United fan kills four in Nigeria

NAIROBI/ABUJA - A Nigerian fan of Manchester United killed four people and injured ten others when he drove a minibus into a crowd of Barcelona supporters, Nigerian police said Thursday.

Barcelona achieve ’something special’

ROME - Barcelona’s forensic dismantling of Manchester United in the Champions League final at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico Wednesday night seemed familiar.

Paes, Dlouhy in French Open doubles second round

PARIS - India’s Leander Paes and Czech Lukas Dlouhy advanced to the doubles second round of French Open tennis with a 6-1, 6-3 win over France’s Sebastien De Chaunac and Benoit Paire at Roland Garros here.

Canadian prostitutes getting trained for 2010 Olympics

WASHINGTON - Sex workers in Canada are getting trained for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

They are not practicing to contest in the sports events, but are just refining their media-savvy skills.