HH Sports View: 05/12/12

Saturday 12 May 2012

Euro dream over for Smalling after groin injury

Chris Smalling.

Chris Smalling's hopes of breaking into England's Euro 2012 squad were dashed on Friday after the Manchester United defender was ruled out with a groin injury.The versatile Smalling, regarded as one of the brightest prospects in English football, had been tipped for inclusion in Roy Hodgson's squad for his ability to offer options at right back and centre-back.United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said a groin injury which flared up in last weekend's victory over Swansea was more serious than initially thought and meant he would be unavailable for England duty."Chris has suffered a bad injury," said Ferguson."It is a groin muscle injury and he will miss the European Championships."We are assessing what to do at the moment but it is a bad injury."Ferguson meanwhile confirmed striker Danny Welbeck would be available for this summer's tournament despite an ankle knock that had ruled him out of this week's trip to Sunderland."He is still out just now but he should be fit for the Euros," Ferguson said.

Kenya and Namibia Series Postponed

The Kenyan capital has been hit by several grenade attacks since the country sent troops into southern Somalia

The series Between Kenya and Namibia Next Month has Been Postponed Due to security issues and Problems."The International Cricket Council has raised the issue of security after the recent foreign embassies' warnings of pending attacks on Nairobi," Cricket Kenya (CK) chief executive Tom Sears said.The Kenyan capital has been hit by several grenade attacks since the country sent troops into southern Somalia last October to battle the Al Qaeda-affiliated insurgents it blames for cross-border attacks.The latest attack on April 29 left one person dead and 15 others injured when a grenade was hurled inside a church near the Nairobi Gymkhana club, where the June 6-16 matches were to be played.Sears said the ICC has indicated the series would now be played in the coastal town of Mombasa in September.The two teams will also play two unofficial Twenty20 matches.

Richard Pybus to be appointed as a Bangladesh Cricket Team Coach.

Richard Pybus is due to decide within a week

Richard Pybus Has set all talks with Bangladesh Cricket Board and is set to Join Bangladesh cricket team For Coaching.None of the other candidates who were shortlisted - Mick Newell and Mark Greatbatch - are due to be interviewed, and Pybus' appointment is likely to be confirmed within a week."There won't be any more interviews, nobody else is coming. We want one person and I'm sure we will succeed," BCB president AHM Mustafa Kamal said. "We have spoken to him [Pybus] and we are quite interested to get him. We can get a concrete decision from him in six to seven days."After arriving late on Thursday night, Pybus spent time with Kamal at his residence. On Friday, he visited the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur to check out the facilities and meet some of the directors. In the evening, he met with some of the senior Bangladesh players in Dhaka. He is due to head back to Cape Town on Saturday afternoon."This is nothing official nor is it an interview," Pybus told reporters. "This is a fact-finding mission on my behalf and I am here to meet the president and the support staff. I want to make an informed decision and find out whether I can make a valid contribution."It is about meeting people and finding a common ground. I have a family back in South Africa and I will go back and tell them whether it is feasible."The living situation is the only hitch in an otherwise done deal as the BCB chief confirmed that there won't be any more interviews or meetings with the other candidates.Pybus has seen Bangladesh up close a few times as Pakistan's coach, most famously when Bangladesh upset Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup in a group game in Northampton. Before heading to Bangladesh, he spoke the wife of the late South Africa allrounder Eddie Barlow, who was Bangladesh's coach after that World Cup."Eddie Barlow was a friend of mine in South Africa and before he passed away, he spoke very highly about Bangladesh cricket," Pybus said. "I spoke to his wife Cally last week and she only had good things to say about the people in Bangladesh."Pybus will be coaching an international side for the first time since 2003. He was impressed with Bangladesh's performance of late and said that he has a passion for the top job."There is a lot of raw talent, and they have started to play some good cricket, build on the work done by Stuart [Law] and the support staff on the progress of the boys. It (Shere Bangla Stadium) is a wonderful, world-class stadium. It is nice to be here and nice to be in a country where the passion is incredible."There's never a shortage of hunger there. There's always a challenge but it is about making a valid contribution. Those are the important things," he said.

David Villa Unfortunately Misses The Final

Barcelona will be without injured Chile striker Alexis Sanchez (thigh) and reserve keeper Jose Manuel Pinto (ankle) for their trip to play Real Betis on Saturday , though both are expected to be fit for the King's Cup final on May 25.Spain striker David Villa, close to a return to action since breaking his leg in December, did not make the squad for the last league outing of the season."He is doing very well, within the scheduled time frames," coach Pep Guardiola said on Friday. "But the doctors are better placed to talk about when he might return to play again."* Fourth-placed Malaga can assure themselves of Spain's last Champions League qualification berth with a win at home to relegation-threatened Sporting Gijon, 19th, on Sunday . Malaga are two points clear of fifth-placed Atletico Madrid.The newly-crowned Europa League champions could overhaul them with a victory at struggling Villarreal, as they also hold the edge in the head-to-head results between the sides should they finish level on 56 points. Seventh-placed Levante, on 52 points, have an outside shot at the Champions League if they can overcome Europa League finalists Athletic Bilbao at home on Sunday .The tiny, Valencia-based club, three points adrift of fourth, have to win and hope Malaga and Atletico lose. They also have the head-to-head advantage over Malaga.Sixth-placed Real Mallorca, also on 52 points, play at Champions Real Madrid on Sunday and they, along with eighth-placed Osasuna , who visit already-relegated Racing Santander, are in the running for the Europa League berths. Real Zaragoza, 18th, came out of administration on Thursday with media reporting their debts were now just below 100 million euros, and can secure their top-flight status with a victory at Getafe on Sunday ."(The team) cannot only play with their hearts, because they could end up losing their heads," coach Manolo Jimenez said. "The team are in good physical and tactical shape but need the composure to make the most of all this in the last game." Rayo Vallecano were outside contenders for a place in Europe two months ago, but have lost nine of their last 10 games and battle to avoid a swift return to the second division at home to fellow strugglers Granada on Sunday ."It will be difficult for us to think of it as just another game," Rayo forward Emiliano Armenteros said. "The two teams will be a little anxious. We will looking for the win and try to make as few mistakes as possible."

Another Shocking Result in Mutua Madrid Open

Djokovic The World No.1 Has Been Defeated By Janko Tipsarevic 7-6, 6-3 In The Quarter-Finals Of Madrid Open ( Blue Clay Court ).The top-ranked pair have complained bitterly about the slippery nature of the show court surface at the Masters event and Djokovic again looked ill at ease as his bid to retain the title he beat Nadal to win in 2011 ended with a whimper.Nadal was beaten by fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in the third round yesterday and both he and Djokovic have threatened not to return next year unless the traditional red dirt courts are reinstated.Tipsarevic, seeded seventh, squandered three match points on the Djokovic serve when leading 5-2 in the second set but made no mistake on his next service game to set up a semi-final with third seed Roger Federer or fifth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer."I want to forget this week as soon as possible and move on to the real claycourts," Djokovic, who will be chasing a first French Open crown in Paris starting later this month, told a news conference."It took me at least a week to try to get used to this surface and somehow find a way to win matches and play a decent level of tennis," he added."There is no discussion in my eyes, it's very simple. No blue clay for me."Tomas Berdych brought local favourite Verdasco, whose win against Nadal was his first in 14 attempts, crashing back to earth when he thrashed the 15th seed 6-1 6-2 earlier today.The sixth-seeded Czech, who thumped French 12th seed Gael Monfils 6-1 6-1 to reach the last eight, comfortably ended a two-match losing streak to his opponent on clay to set up a semi-final against Juan Martin Del Potro.he 2009 U.S. Open champion, undefeated in 10 clay matches this season and winner in Estoril last week, eased to a 6-3 6-4 victory against Ukrainian 16th seed Alexandr Dolgopolov."I am really happy with my tennis, with my body and I am feeling really confident on clay," Del Potro, who had an eight-month layoff in 2010 due to a wrist injury, told a news conference."I don't feel any pain so it's a good sign for the next tournament and I think I'm getting better tournament by tournament," the 23-year-old added.