Sports

KARACHI,  (Reuters) – Player power in Pakistan  cricket had damaged team spirit but board (PCB) chairman Ijaz  Butt said he has succeeded in crushing it.

NEW YORK,  (Reuters) – Most Valuable Player Derrick  Rose of the Chicago Bulls and LeBron James of the Miami Heat,  winner of the two previous MVP awards, were selected for this  season’s All-NBA team, the league said yesterday.

KARACHI,  (Reuters) – Five months after announcing his  retirement, Pakistan wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider has reversed  his decision saying he is available to play at every level.

DAEGU, South Korea, CMC – Leevan Sands was the most successful Caribbean athlete at the IAAF World Challenge meet yesterday here.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Lyndel Wright unseated incumbent Paul Campbell, taking charge of the sport in island.

Kares Engineering and Bushy Park Sawmills have partnered in sponsoring a countrywide knockout 10/10 tape ball cricket tournament,  labeled ‘Kares T10 Tape ball cricket tournament’, slated to begin next month.

CHENNAI, (Reuters) – Chennai Super Kings virtually  sealed a playoff berth after fifties from skipper Mahendra Singh  Dhoni and Subramaniam Badrinath took them to an 18-run victory  over Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League yesterday.

The Junior Selection Committee of the Berbice Cricket Board (BCB) announced the names of the players who  were selected for the 2011 BCB/ Diamond Fire & General Insurance Company inter-zone under-19 two-day tournament starting  this weekend at various venues.

The Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) will continue its track season with the staging of the World Athletic Day track meet tomorrow at the Eve Leary Sports Club Ground from 10:00hrs.

ROME, (Reuters) – Roger Federer failed to make the  quarter-finals of a tournament for the first time in a year yesterday while Rafa Nadal returned to form in the third round of  the Rome Masters despite almost withdrawing with a fever.

MIAMI,  (Reuters) – An inspired LeBron James delivered  the decisive blow with the last 10 points as the Miami Heat beat  the Boston Celtics 97-87 on Wednesday to book their place in the  Eastern Conference finals.

COLOMBO, (Reuters) – Sri Lanka will begin its own  version of a Twenty20 league tournament similar to the  successful Indian Premier League (IPL) on July 19, the island  nation’s cricket governing body said yesterday.

SYDNEY,  (Reuters) – Former test paceman Craig  McDermott has been appointed bowling coach for the Australia  team, Cricket Australia (CA) said yesterday.

PARIS, (Reuters) – Former world number one Serena  Williams has pulled out of the French Open because she has not  fully recovered from health issues, organisers said yesterday.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida, (Reuters) – Tiger Woods’  troubles continued as he withdrew from the Players Championship  yesterday through injury after slipping to six over par after  the opening nine holes.

LONDON, (Reuters) – FIFA presidential candidate  Mohamed Bin Hammam criticised Sepp Blatter yesterday for  donating $20 million to Interpol to help combat match-fixing,  claiming the idea was never approved by FIFA’s executive  committee.

Over the next five days of the first Digicel Test match against Pakistan, West Indies captain Darren Sammy will undergo a series of tests at the Guyana National Stadium.

MANCHESTER, (Reuters) – FIFA president Sepp Blatter  wants the vote-selling scandal which has damaged attempts by  world soccer’s governing body to clean up its image to be sorted  out by the time he stands for re-election on June 1.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Manchester United fans will be  delighted by the twist of fate that could see their team secure  a record 19th top-flight championship on Saturday, the same day  Manchester City appear in the FA Cup final.

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – Fatigue had been the biggest  reason for the premature exit from the playoffs by the NBA  champion Los Angeles Lakers, All-Star guard Kobe Bryant said yesterday.