Sports

LONDON, (Reuters) – Nikolay Davydenko’s expectations  of beating Roger Federer at the ATP Tour Finals were so low that  he was already dreaming of lying on a beach in the Maldives by  the end of the weekend.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Former West Indies off-spinner Rangy Nanan believes left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn is out of his depth at Test level and says he’s unlikely to have much success there.

Cozier on Sunday To those in his native Trinidad – Brian Lara most prominent among them – who always regarded Adrian Barath’s advance into the West Indies Test team as a matter of when, rather than if, the solid little opener’s delightful debut hundred in Brisbane yesterday would not have been surprising.

BRISBANE, Australia, CMC – Opener Adrian Barath has hailed batting star Brian Lara as a major reason for his success, following his maiden Test century against Australia at the Gabba on Friday.

Brisbane, Australia: After two days of cricket at the Gabba, both teams are in very familiar positions, Australia significantly happier.

PETER ROEBUCK, Melbourne Age: “Amid the sadly predictable mayhem at the Gabba, as an efficient home side crushed an outclassed opponent, one man produced a performance packed with passion and power.

By Rawle Toney There was nothing colourful about the Demerara’s Panthers showing against Pepsi Sonics and the Panthers’ dream run in the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) Open knock-out tournament ended when they went down 67-78 to the Sonics  Thursday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

(BBC) Pakistan paceman Mohammad Asif took four wickets in New Zealand’s second innings yesterday to leave the first Test finely balanced going into today’s final day.

KANPUR, India, (Reuters) – Sri Lanka will need  Muttiah Muralitharan to rediscover his rhythm in the final test  in Mumbai if they are to come back from a humbling defeat  against India and square the series.

KANPUR, India, (Reuters) – India crushed Sri Lanka by  an innings and 144 runs in the second test yesterday to take a  1-0 lead in their three-match series.

CAPE TOWN, (Reuters) – AB de Villiers lashed a  sensational century as South Africa beat England by 112 runs in  the third one-day international at Newlands  yesterday to level  the series at 1-1.

ATLANTA, (Reuters) – Dwight Howard responded to a  halftime challenge from his coach to lead the Orlando Magic to a  93-76 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados,  CMC – Former West Indies captain Carl Hooper has strongly backed Test cricket to survive the threat posed by the onslaught of the glitzy Twenty20 form.

Brisbane, Australia:Half centuries from opener Simon Katich, captain Ricky Ponting and Michael ‘Mr.

Ten outstanding senior citizens with a combination of 420 years of service to Guyana were honoured by the three cricket teams of the Rose Hall Town Youth Sports Club (RHTYSC)  as part of their personal development programme.

JAMIE PANDARAM, Sydney Morning Herald: “Not to say the Windies aren’t capable of taking 20 wickets over five days but sustaining pressure is an art they have yet to master.

KANPUR, India, (Reuters) – Indian fast bowler  Shanthakumaran Sreesanth grabbed six wickets on his comeback to  leave Sri Lanka facing an innings defeat in the second test yesterday.

A 34-year-old fast bowler, returning to Test cricket after two years, and a 19-year-old debutant lit up Dunedin’s University Oval on a windy day, at the end of which New Zealand were better placed in the first Test.

The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) in conjunction with the sport’s world governing body FIFA on Wednesday ended their Referees Assessors Programme (RAP) with a closing ceremony at the National Library.

Without compromising the security of the tournament, cricket fans  can rest assured that security for next year’s ICC World Twenty20 West Indies 2010 tournament will reflect an appreciation for the Caribbean way of celebrating.