Sports

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board officials have come under fire from Minister of Sport Anil Roberts again.

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Rafa Nadal struck a blow  for the old establishment, overwhelming Lukas Lacko to become  the first man into the Australian Open’s last 16 last night,  before Caroline Wozniacki’s reign as world number one survived  with a win over Romania’s Monica Niculescu.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Reigning champions Trinidad & Tobago marched into the semi-finals of the Caribbean Twenty20 tournament, after steady fast-medium bowling from Ravi Rampaul and Dwayne Bravo helped them clinch an eight-wicket victory over Canada under the Duckworth-Lewis Method last evening.

(Reuters) – Pakistan took full advantage of  another brittle England batting performance to crush the world’s  top-ranked test team by 10 wickets and win the first test inside  three days in Dubai yesterday.

MADRID,  (Reuters) – The normally loyal  Madrid-based sports papers rounded on Pepe yesterday after the  Real Madrid defender stamped on Lionel Messi’s hand during  Wednesday’s King’s Cup quarter-final first leg defeat by  Barcelona.

LONDON, (Reuters) – World record holder Usain  Bolt will race over 100 metres at the Diamond League meeting in  Rome on May 31 in preparation for the London Olympics.

(Reuters) – Chauncey Billups delivered on his  reputation as “Mr Big Shot” with a game-winning three-pointer  with one second remaining to give the Los Angeles Clippers a  91-89 home victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.

LONDON, (Reuters) – An army of white-coated  scientists equipped with the latest technology will make it  harder than ever for dope cheats to avoid detection at the  London Olympics, organisers warned on Thursday.

DHAKA,  (Reuters) – Former Pakistan captain Shahid  Afridi was the hottest property in an auction held for the  inaugural Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) Twenty20 tournament yesterday, but English spinner Monty Panesar failed to attract a  bid.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, (CMC) Ruthless fast bowling from Tino Best and Fidel Edwards positioned them and wonky batting ushered Barbados to an eight-wicket victory over Sussex Sharks on Wednesday, virtually sewing up a place in the semi-finals of the Caribbean Twenty20 tournament.

In spite of the recent success of sprinters Stephan James and Jevina Sampson, their training has been less than perfect since they have no alternative venue than the sub-par track at the National Park.

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Serena Williams said before  the start of the Australian Open that even with just two warm-up  matches under her belt she was ready for Melbourne.

By Emmerson Campbell Captain of the local Sevens rugby team Ryan Gonsalves says that the Las Vegas tournament next month will allow the team to face elite competition as an essential  warm-up ahead of the HSBC Sevens World Series in Hong Kong from March 23 to 25.

Coach of the Police Youth Club and the Guyana Police Force, Lyndon Wilson, has made a case for being  named National Sports Commission Coach-of-the-Year when the award ceremony comes up in March, following  his recent accomplishment in securing his second Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) Coach-of-the-Year award.

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Rafa Nadal’s creaky  knee, Alejandro Falla’s leg cramps and Andreas Beck’s bad back  created discussion and a sniff of controversy as most of the  main contenders safely reached the Australian Open third round  on Wednesday.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados,  CMC – An entertaining 57 from opener Michael Swart helped the Netherlands virtually condemn the Combined Campuses & Colleges to an early exit from the Caribbean Twenty20 tournament with a 26-run victory yesterday.

By Colin Benjamin  in Barbados Guyana will enter their final Group A match today versus the Windward Islands staring at 20:00hrs and it may seem as if the team has come full circle.

Fruta Conquerors FC has collaborated with Prudential Industrial Technologies to upgrade the water supply at the Tucville ground as the club prepares to host its annual NAMILCO Football Festival from January 29 to February 19.

(Reuters) – Three-pointers rained down from all  directions as the Miami Heat burnt the San Antonio Spurs 120-98  on Tuesday despite the absence of All-Star guard Dwyane Wade.

(Reuters) – Amir Khan has dropped his appeal  with the International Boxing Federation (IBF) as the Briton  seeks an immediate rematch to avenge his controversial defeat to  Lamont Peterson in Washington last month, his U.S.