Legends of Sports

Marty Fish upped his game to see off Gilles Muller and reach the quarter-finals of the Farmers Classic in Los Angeles. The pair were strongly matched in the first set, breaking once apiece, but American Fish eased away in the tie-break before racing through the second set to claim a 7-6 (7/1) 6-1 victory.

He will next face Russia's Igor Kunitsyn who required two tie-breaks to beat another American, Ryan Sweeting, 7-6 (7/4) 7-6 (8/6).Bulgarian seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov was dumped out in direct sets by Alex Bogomolov Jr, who claimed a 6-4 6-3 win and will next face Thomas Bellucci, the fourth seeded Brazilian, who beat Colombia's Alejandro Falla 6-0 6-1 in an all-South American meet.

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England's comprehensive triumph at Lord's, with a show hailed by their captain as "outstanding", has put them one step closer to the much-desired No. 1 spot in the ICC Test rankings. Some are already proclaiming them the best team in the world, irrespective of what the rankings say.

Others suggest they aren't yet, and that judgment should be withheld until later in the series, given India's extraordinary skill of bouncing back after defeats in series-openers. An injury-hit India presents England with a great chance to settle the debate. MS Dhoni's side is crippled by the loss of possibly their most significant player, Zaheer Khan, due to a hamstring problem.

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The prospects of India pace spearhead Zaheer Khan playing in the second Test at Trent Bridge seems to be remote."He has shown a substantial improvement and we would take a call on him on the eve of the match in discussion with the team physio," stated team manager Anirudh Choudhary. But anyone who witnessed Indian team's training session knew that the manager declaration was far from convincing.

Zaheer bowled 13-odd overs at the Lord's before a strain in the right hamstring forced him to sit out and harshly handicapped the Indian bowling attack as England thrashed India by 196 runs.As soon as Zaheer arrived at the training session with his teammates, the prying eyes of the Indian media dependent was on the injured speedster.

Long after almost all the Indian players had their nets; Zaheer came out in company with team physio Ashish Kaushik. He did a few rounds of lap of the ground; did some sprints under the physio's watching and then picked up his jumper, only to disappear again inside the dressing room. His bearing wasn't the one of man who is looking to bowl for India in 48 hours.

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Jonathan Trott and James Anderson have jumped to second place in the ICC's batting and bowling rankings. The build-up to the series opener between the sides was conquered by talk of Sachin Tendulkar's hundredth international hundred, but Trott has leapfrogged the Little Master, who endured another tough visit to the home of cricket.

Anderson is also on the rise after covering up victory for England with second-innings figures of five for 65.The swing bowler moved ahead of team-mate Graeme Swann in the rankings, with another South African - Dale Steyn - at the summit. Kevin Pietersen soaring 14 places to 15th after taking the man-of-the-match honours for his first-innings 202 not out.

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NSW paceman Trent Copeland and South Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon are the bolters while Shaun Marsh and James Pattinson are also within reach of collecting their slack greens after being named in a 15-man Test squad to tour Sri Lanka.

Steve Smith, Doug Bollinger and Ben Hilfenhaus were the most important victims from Australia's most recent Test, against England in Sydney last summer, while Usman Khawaja and Michael Beer hold their places.

The 15-man squad is: Michael Clarke (c), Shane Watson (vc), Michael Beer, Trent Copeland, Brad Haddin, Ryan Harris, Phillip Hughes, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, James Pattinson, Ricky Ponting, Peter Siddle.

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Former Australian Test opener Matthew Hayden will come out of retirement to play for Brisbane Heat in the Twenty20 Big Bash next summer, the team said Monday. The 39-year-old, who retired from international cricket in 2009 after a 103-Test career, last played in the 2010 Indian Premier League with Chennai.

But Heat coach Darren Lehmann, a former Test team-mate of Hayden, said he was ready to return."He's been training for a few months now so we're excited to have that facts around the place," Lehmann told. Hayden's return means he has to give up directorships of the Cricket Australia and Queensland Cricket boards, as present players are not permitted to have both roles.

"We're just excited to have his playing skill first and foremost and his entertainment value, what he brings to the table for the Heat," added Lehmann. Hayden will play alongside former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori and his team member Brendon McCullum in the Heat team, in the new-look domestic competition from December 30-February 5.

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Praveen Kumar takes his maiden five-for at the 'Home of Cricket.' "It's a dream to obtain five wickets at Lord's. It is very special. I didn't mind bowling that many overs since I do bowl 30-35 overs in domestic cricket. In Zaheer's absence, I had to take on that responsibility," stated the right-arm swing bowler who now has 17 Test wickets.

Vera Zvonareva cruised into the quarter-finals of the Baku Cup in Azerbaijan when challenger Kristina Kucova retired with the Russian holding a 6-0 3-0 advantage. Zvonareva dominated play against her world number 187-ranked challenger and needed only 42 minutes to match-winning lead before Kucova withdrew with a left leg injury.

Zvonareva will next play Anna Tatishvili, who took one hour and 39 minutes to overcome her fellow Georgian and lucky loser Tatia Mikadze, 7-6 (7/4) 6-3.Russian second seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova survived some early pressure from compatriot Elena Bovina earlier than easing to a 6-4 6-0 win and a quarter-final fight with Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva

Sri Lanka Cricket Board selected Tillakaratne Dilshan as captain for Australia's visit next month, but did not name a vice captain. Dilshan will lead in the three Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20 games, Sri Lanka Cricket said in a statement.

Everything around it has set up the environment wonderfully. The venue is Lord's. This is the 2000th Test, and the 100th between the two teams. The No. 1 ranking is at stake in the series. As this game often does, this series presents individual excitement too. Sachin Tendulkar could score his 100th international hundred possibly at Lord's, where he has never scored one.

Duncan Fletcher, coaching a team for the 100th time in Tests, is plotting against a side whose revival he played a major part in. The man he kept out of his English team, Graeme Swann, is now their lead spinner and the best spinner in the world according to the ICC rankings. MS Dhoni comes with a winning record in Test series. This could be the last time that Lord's gets to watch Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Tendulkar.

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Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin announced he will join the Sydney Sixers in this summer's revamped domestic Twenty20 tournament. Haddin is the next main Australian signing of the week, after the Sixers secured the services of Shane Watson on Tuesday. Haddin, with his top-order hitting and wicket keeping abilities, has played 23 T20 internationals for Australia and 36 domestic matches.

This year, he represented the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League. Sixers' general manager Stuart Clark said he was very eager to get Haddin on board."Brad is a quality player and someone who will play a big part in our squad as a superior player," Clark said."He brings a spirited edge and a winner's outlook to our group of players, as well as dangerous hitting skill at the top of the order.

"I think he is a great fit for the Sixers."Haddin was regularly excited and said he was looking ahead to continuing his long cricket association with Clark."I have known Stuart a long time and I think that he has assembled a very brilliant squad," Haddin said."I look forward to being part of that group of players and helping to develop a winning culture."

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Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev have been named to the greatest Test team ever, selected by over 250,000 fans across the world. The fans voted the final XI on the ICC website, making their choices from a shortlist of 60 provided by the ruling body for the game.

Juan Carlos Ferrero comfortably overcame fellow Spaniard Pablo Andujar to win the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart. The former world number one had to remain patient as a three-hour rain delay disturbed all concerned but he kept his cool when the action got under way to win 6-4 6-0.

After taking the first with few concerns he stepped things up even further to close out the match with six consecutive games, earning his 16th career title. Ferrero, destroyed by injury in recent times, required three sets to beat Argentinean qualifier Federico del Bonis in his semi-final yesterday while Andujar was also pressed all the way by Pole Lukasz Kubot.

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Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan were given the dip ahead of fellow paceman Steve Finn in England's 12-man squad for Thursday's opening Test of the four-match series against India at Lord's. Broad was dropped for the fifth and final one-day international in the recent 50-overs series against Sri Lanka after stressed to take wickets.

Bresnan returns to the Test squad for the first time since the final Ashes Test in Sydney in January after improving from a calf muscle injury, the England Cricket Board said in a statement ahead of the sport's 2,000th Test match.

"Tim Bresnan adds additional bite to our pace attack along with James Anderson, Chris Tremlett and Stuart Broad, who has deeply benefitted from getting overs and wickets under his belt for Nottinghamshire during the week."

Squad: Andrew Strauss (captain), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Graeme Swann, Chris Tremlett, Jonathan Trott.

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Romania's Irina-Camelia Begu pulled off an disappointment in the second round of the Palermo Open on Thursday with a 6-4 6-3 victory over home favourite Roberta Vinci. But there was better news for local fans as third seed Sara Errani eased into the quarter-finals with a 7-5 6-1 victory against Pauline Parmentier of France.

Czech fourth seed Klara Zakopalova also reached the last eight with a 7-5 4-6 6-3 victory over Croatian qualifier Ana Mijacika while fourth seed Anabel Medina Garrigues beat lucky loser and fellow Spaniard Lara Arruabarrena-Veci 6-1 7-5.

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England’s ODI captain, Alastair Cook wants to see his side think the number one position in the ICC Test Championship by beating India in the home series starting at Lord's."It has been a good couple of months and to win the series is very pleasing. We have definitely got a lot to prove. We know as an English side, we know that we have to win. We have made a step in the right direction,” says Cook.

The England Test vice captain is now looking forward to the India contest in the upcoming four-match Test series.“It is going to be a great summer. We want to be world number one in the ICC Test Championship. There is nothing better than playing against the current world number one, to show that we can reach there. They have got some players who will go down as all-time greats. But I am very positive that if we play well, we will be a hard side to beat,’’ says Cook.

England will go to number one in the ICC Test Championship if it beats India by at least two Tests in the upcoming four-match series. Although now in third position on the table, Andrew Strauss’s team will leap above South Africa and India to take pole position if it finishes the series 3-1 or 2-0 to the good or better. The first Test, which starts at Lord’s on 21 July, will be the 2,000th in the history of the game and the 100th between England and India.

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England vs India 2011 - Tournament Fixtures

A brace each from Alexandre Pato and Neymar helped defending champions Brazil thrash Ecuador 4-2 to reach the Copa America quarter-finals on Wednesday. Defeat for Mano Menezes' side at the Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes would have sent them rolling out of the contest, but they produced a battling display to win Group B and earn a last-eight date with pool rivals Paraguay.

Felipe Caicedo twice got Ecuador back on level terms, cancelling out Pato's opener and then Neymar's second goal for Brazil, but the Selecao moved up a gear when necessary to do so to make sure their progress and Ecuador's exit. Menezes handed Maicon a initial berth at the cost of Barcelona's Dani Alves, the Inter Milan man turning in a star performance for Brazil, while Robinho also returned to the starting XI.

The Brazilians deadlock was broken down in the 27th minute when Andre Santos crossed from the left and Pato headed home. Robinho struck the bar as Brazil searched for a second goal, with Maicon’s raiding runs down the right causing all sorts of problems for Ecuador. Brazil restored their advantage within four minutes of the restart, Pato setting up Santos star Neymar to make it 2-1, but once again the lead its way past Julio Cesar in the 58th minute.

Australia Twenty20 Big Bash team Sydney Thunder have strengthened their pace attack by recruiting West Indies quick Fidel Edwards and Australian left arm quick Doug Bollinger. The pair will join the likes of Chris Gayle, David Warner and Usman Khawaja at the Thunder for the restore domestic Twenty20 contest starting this summer.

Edwards has played 12 Twenty20 internationals for the West Indies, taking 10 wickets at 30.80.New South Welshman Bollinger overcome during the 2011 Indian Premier League season where he was the second leading wicket taker for Chennai Super Kings, claiming 17 wickets at 19.35.

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Indian batting expert Sachin Tendulkar and opener Virender Sehwag are among the list of players nominated for an online poll to choose the greatest team of all-time on the occasion of Test cricket's 2,000th match. The historic match will take place between India and England at Lord's from July 21 to 25, and the ICC has called on supporters from across the globe to select the greatest team of all-time.

While Sehwag has found a place in the list of openers, which also has former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar, Tendulkar has been short listed for the middle-order batsman's slot. However, no Indian player has found a place in the shortlist for the slot of wicketkeepers and fast bowlers, while the 1983 World Cup winning Indian team captain Kapil Dev is in the estimate as an all-rounder.

Opening batsmen: Geoffrey Boycott, Sunil Gavaskar, Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Jack Hobbs, Len Hutton, Hanif Mohammad, Virender Sehwag, Herbert Sutcliffe, Victor Trumper.

Middle-order batsmen: Don Bradman, Greg Chappell, Wally Hammond, George Headley, Brian Lara, Javed Miandad, Graeme Pollock, Ricky Ponting, Viv Richards, Sachin Tendulkar.

All-rounder: Ian Botham, Kapil Dev, Aubrey Faulkner, Richard Hadlee, Jacques Kallis, Imran Khan, Keith Miller, Wilfred Rhodes, Gary Sobers, Frank Worrell.

Wicketkeepers: Les Ames, Mark Boucher, Jeff Dujon, Godfrey Evans, Andy Flower, Adam Gilchrist, Alan Knott, Rod Marsh, Clyde Walcott, Wasim Bari.

Fast bowlers: Curtley Ambrose, Sydney Barnes, Michael Holding, Dennis Lillee, Ray Lindwall, Malcolm Marshall, Glenn McGrath, Fred Trueman, Courtney Walsh, Wasim Akram.

Spinners: Bishen Bedi, Richie Benaud, Lance Gibbs, Clarrie Grimmett, Jim Laker, Anil Kumble, Muttiah Muralitharan, Bill O'Reilly, Derek Underwood, Shane Warne.

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