Govinda, Tusshar, Fardeen team up for film on marriage

MUMBAI - Think of Govinda, Tusshar Kapoor and Fardeen Khan in a movie and one would expect a laugh riot. The three are coming together for ‘Life Partner’, a romantic entertainer dealing with the subject of marriage…and what different men think of it.

Aguirre to replace Eriksson as Mexico’s coach

MEXICO CITY - Mexican Javier Aguirre has been appointed Mexico’s new football coach, replacing Swede Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Ponting warns players not be distracted by IPL riches

DURBAN - Australia captain Ricky Ponting has warned his players not to be distracted by the build-up for the Indian Premier League (IPL) that is to be played in South Africa.

G20 leaders pledge $1.1 trillion to usher in ‘new world order’

LONDON - Leaders of the world’s largest economies, including India, Thursday pledged a $1.1 trillion package alongside measures for a tighter regulation of the international financial system to help bring the world out of recession.

Arthur says Durban ODI will be the key to how series against Oz goes

DURBAN - Proteas coach Mickey Arthur has described South Africa’s first one-day-international (ODI) against Australia on Friday as “huge”, and believes that it serve as a key indicator as to which way the series will go.
“Friday is when we want to put our marker in the sand and that is why we have been building up extremely hard this week. For us, Friday is huge because you want to go one-nil up and hopefully take momentum from that game,” Sports24.com quoted Arthur as telling a news conference on Wednesday.

Johnson ready to take on Smith

DURBAN - Australia’s pace spearhead Mitchell Johnson has said that he is ready to take on South African skipper Graeme Smith in Friday’s opening one-day international to be played here.

Zimbabwe is a `Hell Hole’ for prisoners

JOHANNESBURG - A horrifying investigative film has exposed how prisoners in President Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe are dying from either disease or hunger.

Oz cricketers go on a fishing trip

DURBAN - Australia’s cricketers undertook a fishing trip in the South African coastal city of Durban ahead of their first one-day international against the Proteas here.

Queensland pacer Laughlin eyeing Oz ODI berth

DURBAN - Carpenter and pace bowler Ben Laughlin is hoping to make his one-day international debut some time in April in South Africa.

Kallis may play ODIs against Australia

DURBAN - South Africa have been buoyed by the news that all-rounder Jacques Kallis has been cleared of a groin strain and is rated a fair chance to play in Friday’s one-day international against Australia in Durban.

Ponting believes Australia would effect a turnaround in ODIs

JOHANNESBURG - Ricky Ponting insists Australia’s South African tour hasn’t run off the rails despite three successive losses to the Proteas.

Protectionism, terrorism on Manmohan Singh’s agenda at G20 summit

ON BOARD PRIME MINISTER’S AIRCRAFT - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday voiced concern over protectionism and called for free flow of funds to poor and developing countries as he left for London to attend the G20 summit on the global economic crisis.

Afghan-born Pakistan cricketer barred from representing Afghanistan

KARACHI - The World Cup hopes of a Pakistani cricketer of Afghan origin have been quashed by the International Cricket Council (ICC), which has ruled that the player cannot represent Afghanistan in the qualifying tournament in South Africa starting April 1.

Proteas spinners effect a 20-20 series win against Aussies

CAPE TOWN - A battery of South African spinners-acting captain Johan Botha, seasoned Robin Peterson and debutant Roelof van der Merwe played a crucial, luminary role in South Africa bagging the Standard Bank Pro20 highveld mini-series 2-0 against Australia.

No final decision yet on Pak players’ participation in IPL: Pak Sports minister

ISLAMABAD - It is still not clear whether Pakistani players will be playing in the second season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) or not, as Pak Federal Minister for Sports, Pir Aftab Hussain Shah Jilani has said that a final decision in this regard would be taken in the coming two to three days.

Newslands to host four IPL games in two days

CAPE TOWN - The Indian Premier League is set to start with a bang at Newlands, with four games on the first two days of the series.

Australia’s Twenty20 guns ready to fire in Jo’burg

JOHANNESBURG - The Australian cricket team has had their first full training session at the Wanderers Ground here in preparation for their Twenty20 series against South Africa.

Credit and honour for both Australia, South Africa after series

CAPE TOWN - The double series score line of 3-3 should be seen as a befitting result for the heavyweight encounter between Australia and South Africa, as it went the distance, and allowed both combatants to emerge with credit and honour.

Hussey hopes selectors remember him when choosing Ashes squad

CAPE TOWN - Australian middle order batsman Michael Hussey is hoping that the selectors will not cast him aside for the upcoming Ashes series because of his current poor form.

India tops remittances in 2008, fall predicted in 2009: World Bank

WASHINGTON - With migrant workers facing job losses, anti-migrant sentiment and even violence in the deepening global financial crisis, World Bank researchers predict remittances will fall to $290 billion in 2009, from last year’s high of $305 billion.

No Pak cricketer in IPL second season: PCB

KARACHI - The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has made it clear that no Pakistani player would take part in second edition of the Indian Premiere League (IPL) even though it has been shifted out from India to South Africa.

Punter’s boys in 20-20 mode after Cape Town loss

CAPE TOWN - The Australian cricket team has put its innings and 20 run defeat against South Africa aside, and is now preparing for the opening Twenty20 International against South Africa.

Bucknor wants video referrals in the hands of umpires, not players

CAPE TOWN - Reting West Indian umpire Steve Bucknor has called for the ICC to take the right of video referrals away from players and hand them to the men in white coats.

IPL goes to South Africa

NEW DELHI - The second edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) will head to South Africa, it was confirmed Tuesday.

England wants to host IPL, South Africa on stand-by

LONDON - Indian Premier League (IPL) boss Lalit Modi was expected here Monday amid reports that the English cricket board was ready to stage IPL matches without any disruption to its domestic schedule.

Tributes paid to Bucknor on retirement from Test cricket umpiring

CAPE TOWN - Test cricket on Sunday said farewell and thanks to West Indian Steve Bucknor, the most experienced umpire to date in the longest form of the game.

Oz pacer Johnson doesn’t mind being called an all-rounder

CAPE TOWN - When former Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee famously said a decade ago that Mitchell Johnson had enormous potential as a Test cricketer, he could have meant as a batsman.

Ponting wants Ashes specialist spinner

CAPE TOWN - Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has appealed to the national selectors to provide him with a specialist spinner for the Ashes series.

IPL on foreign land expensive, new venue to be announced Monday: Modi

MUMBAI - Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi said the expenses to shift the tournament outside the country would be exorbitant, but is happy to have found an alternative for the viewers. The venue of the tournament will be decided by Monday evening.

Oz spinner McGain may get record for worst Test bowling figures

CAPE TOWN - Fans at Cape Town’s Newlands ground have given Bryce McGain a new nickname and it’s not a welcome one - Mick Lewis.