Kevin Pietersen was included in a 14-man squad for next week's third Ashes Test against Australia at Old Trafford despite concerns over his calf injury, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Sunday.
Fearing that a number of senior players may opt out of the Test series in case England actually embarks on the tour of India, ECB has decided to keep three rookie bowlers on stand-by. According to a report in the Daily Mail, the untried Middlesex trio of Tim Murtagh, Alan Richardson and Steven Finn would be part of the England team which is scheduled to fly to Abu Dhabi on Thursday to join the camp before the two-Test series against India.
A floundering England will be looking to avoid a potential banana skin when they take on minnows Scotland in a crucial Pool A cricket World Cup match at the Hagley Oval, in Christchurch on Monday.
World champion Kimi Raikkonen handed Ferrari their 200th pole position in Formula One at the French Grand Prix on Saturday. Brazilian Felipe Massa, who took pole at Magny-Cours last year, was second fastest to secure the Italian team's third front row sweep of the season.
The Ferrari driver ruled out doing anything differently this year despite being beaten to the title by team mate Kimi Raikkonen last season.
England will rest James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Moeen Ali, Ian Bell and Gary Ballance in the five-match one-day series against New Zealand starting next Tuesday. Kent wicketkeeper Sam Billings was the only uncapped player named in the 14-man squad.
Defending champion Serena Williams was knocked out by Jelena Jankovic in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
World number seven David Nalbandian stayed on course for his first Stockholm Open title by crushing Spaniard Albert Montanes 6-4, 6-1 in the quarter-finals on Friday. The top seed from Argentina broke serve once in the opening set and three times in the second to set up a meeting with third-seeded Finn Jarkko Nieminen, who ousted Spain's Oscar Hernandez 6-1, 6-4.
The second seed is in the same half of the draw as Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Argentine sixth seed David Nalbandian. World number one Roger Federer faces a first round test against American Sam Querrey and a possible fourth-round encounter with Argentine Juan Monaco, the world number 14.
Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy edged towards back-to-back titles as they advanced to the finals of the AIG Open in Tokyo.
Top seeds Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy entered the semi-finals with a 6-2, 7-6 (4) win over Alexander Peya and Philipp Petzschner.
McLaren's double world champion Fernando Alonso will join the Finn on the front row with Brazilian Felipe Massa qualifying third for Ferrari.
Formula One world champion Kimi Raikkonen said on Wednesday he needs a miracle to retain his title following a disappointing Italian Grand Prix. With four races left, the Ferrari driver is fourth and 21 points behind McLaren's championship leader Lewis Hamilton after trailing in ninth at a rainswept Monza on Sunday.
Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen stretched his Formula One lead to nine points with a dominant win from pole position in the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday.
Striker Mirolsav Klose scored a hat-trick as Germany were held to a surprising 3-3 draw by Finland in their Group Four World Cup qualifier in Helsinki on Wednesday. Finland led three times, but Klose replied each time to deny the Finns, who have never reached the World Cup finals, a first win over Germany for 85 years. Klose's final goal came just seven minutes from time.
Ferrari's world champion and Formula One leader Kimi Raikkonen took his first pole position of the season at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen made a strong start to Formula One's European season by dominating Spanish Grand Prix free practice on Friday. The Finn, championship leader after the opening three long-haul races, set a best time of one minute 20.649 seconds in the morning and then topped the afternoon timesheets in 1:21.935.
Sunday's British Formula One Grand Prix was stopped on the opening lap after Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen speared heavily into the barriers.
Valtteri Bottas knows he needs to step up his game from last season if he is to have any chance of keeping his place at Mercedes.
Former World No 2 Sergio Garcia is hoping his Qatar Masters victory is an encouraging sign of good things to come for the Spaniard this season.
"What an incredible finale, what a thrilling finish!" the former Ferrari driver said in a statement on his Web site (www.michael-schumacher.de) after Raikkonen and Felipe Massa took the first two spots for Ferrari to clinch the championship.
His unexpected title triumph ended 22-year-old Briton Lewis Hamilton's dreams of becoming the youngest champion in his debut season with McLaren.
Kimi Raikkonen made a forgettable start to his world title defence when a fuel pump problem ruined his chances of securing pole position at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. The Finn will start Sunday's race from the unfamiliar place of 16th on the grid after his Ferrari broke down at the end of Saturday's first qualifying session at Albert Park.
Pre-season testing times suggest that Ferrari and McLaren, who won all the races between them last year, are still in a class of their own.
McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen seized the first pole position of his Formula One career at the British Grand Prix on Saturday.
Saurabh Tiwary scored an unbeaten 98 as India rallied from the loss of three early wickets to win their final warm-up match by six wickets.
Vettel, who won from pole position last year in Canada to revive Ferrari's title hopes, will be hoping for the same on Sunday with world championship leader Hamilton, chasing a record equalling seventh win in Montreal, starting alongside him.
Lewis Hamilton will have to pay $335,700 for his licence to race in Formula One in 2008.
India's Surinder Singh pipped Finnish rival Jitsi Utiranen in thrilling fashion to win the 21-km race at the Mumbai Marathon.
Asked to lead the England attack in the fourth Ashes Test at Trent Bridge, in the absence of spearhead James Anderson, Stuart Broad became only the fifth English bowler to reach the 300 Test wickets milestone.
Roger Federer began the defence of his Hamburg Masters title with an effortless 6-1, 6-3 victory over Jarkko Nieminen.
The Finn will race for McLaren next year in a straight swap with Spaniard Fernando Alonso, who has taken his place at Renault.
Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen will lead the way when Formula One returns to Barcelona this weekend for the first race of the season in Europe. The Finn is top of the standings after the first three long-haul races, a novel sensation for a driver who won his title by clawing back a 17-point deficit in the last two rounds of 2007.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen will lead the way when Formula One returns to Barcelona this weekend for the first race of the season in Europe. The Finn is top of the standings after the first three long-haul races, something of a novel sensation for a driver who won his title by clawing back a 17-point deficit in the last two rounds of 2007. Only once before, with McLaren in 2003, has he returned to Europe in such a position of strength.
Ben Stokes' participation in the Ashes would be an "absolute bonus" but England are preparing contingency plans after writing off the all-rounder for the series, coach Trevor Bayliss said.
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen won the Malaysian Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday, with BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica second and McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen third.
Roger Federer beat Finn Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 6-4 to defend his title in Basel and top the year-end rankings.
The world No 1 will face unseeded Finn Jarkko Nieminen, who defeated 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis 7-6 6-2 in the other semi-final.
Raikkonen was in third place when he suddenly slowed, allowing Spaniard Alonso past. The Finn nursed his car back to the pits and climbed out.
