England look to desert retreat to revive flagging Ashes effort November 26, 2013 THE SCORCHED desert town of Alice Springs may seem an unlikely sanctuary for an England squad licking its wounds from a mauling in the first Ashes Test. But team director Andy Flower hopes this week’s retreat to Northern Territory, where temperatures are set to hit the high 30s, will have a restorative effect on his [...]
Murray overwhelming favourite for BBC gong November 26, 2013 WIMBLEDON champion Andy Murray is the odds-on favourite to win the coveted BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, after the full shortlist of nominees was announced last night. Bookmakers Coral have the 26-year-old best-priced to lift the award at 1/28 after he sensationally recovered from a back injury that had kept him out of [...]
Married British couple ready to take badminton world by storm November 26, 2013 NEWLYWEDS Chris Adcock and Gabby White have emerged as contenders to challenge for badminton gold at next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The duo, who married in August, cemented their place at next month’s Superseries grand final in Malaysia – which will test their medal-winning credentials for England next summer – with victory in the [...]
Milan dump Celtic out of Europe November 26, 2013 FOOTBALL: Scottish champions Celtic bowed out of the Champions League last night with a 3-0 home defeat to Italian giants AC Milan. Brazil midfielder Kaka opened the scoring on 12 minutes, before Cristian Zapata doubled the advantage on 49 minutes. Former Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli rounded off the scoring 10 minutes later. Elsewhere in [...]
Bolasie three-match ban upheld November 26, 2013 FOOTBALL: Crystal Palace have lost their appeal against Yannick Bolasie’s sending off at Hull on Saturday. The midfielder will miss matches against Norwich, West Ham and Cardiff. But, Sunderland have seen Wes Brown’s red card at Stoke successfully overturned.
Surrey begin against Glamorgan November 26, 2013 CRICKET: Surrey will begin the revamped Division Two County Championship season against Glamorgan at the Oval on 6 April. Counties will now earn five points for a draw instead of three and 67 per cent of matches will begin on a Sunday. The 50-over Royal London One-Day Cup replaces the YB40 competition, while the renamed [...]
Injured Cleverly cancels title fight November 26, 2013 BOXING: Former WBO light-heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly has been forced to postpone his cruiserweight debut due to a back injury. The Welshman was set to fight Daniel Ammann of Australia for the vacant Commonwealth cruiserweight title.
Flower swipe at Australia as Trott quits Ashes tour November 25, 2013 ENGLAND team director Andy Flower took a swipe at Australia yesterday after batsman Jonathan Trott quit the tourists’ Ashes squad and flew home due to a stress-related illness. Flower insisted that derogatory comments from Australia’s David Warner had not contributed to Trott’s decision to abandon the series after just one match, but made plain his [...]
Arsenal on knife edge but won’t sign Henry November 25, 2013 ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger has urged his team to ignore a possible nightmare scenario and seize their chance of qualifying for the Champions League knockout stage tonight. A win at home to Marseille would leave the Gunners on 12 points – usually enough to sweep into the last 16, yet a tally that could still [...]
Mourinho bids to ease packed winter period November 25, 2013 CHELSEA manager Jose Mourinho admits he has missed English football’s traditionally packed winter schedule, but hopes to reduce the strain on his team with victory against FC Basel tonight to seal qualification to the Champions League knockout stages and top spot in Group E. A draw at St Jakob-Park would be enough for Mourinho’s side [...]