Madrid make bid for Valencia

The Latics are resigned to losing the Ecuador international and should recoup a fee of around £21m for the midfielder, with Manchester United also believed to be battling it out for his services.

Wigan boss Steve Bruce has openly admitted the 23-year-old will move on in the summer and Madrid have been long-term admirers after attempting to lure him to the Bernabeu last January.

Valencia's agent, Diego Herrera, revealed Real have now tabled an offer for the midfielder and that the Latics are awaiting other offers before allowing the player to leave.

"I believe Wigan will sell Antonio for the right offer and they will decide that once they receive that," Herrera told Skysports. "Real Madrid made an offer last week, but nobody from Wigan has told me of an offer from Manchester United.

"There are a number of interested clubs and I will speak with Wigan about it this week.

"Once the season is over I expect offers to be made and I will sit down with Antonio and decide what offer is in his best interests. We've not yet talked about which club he would prefer.

''Honestly I think it's really difficult that he remains at Wigan. I would anticipate that he leaves this summer.

''We have to see what will happen in the next few weeks. We're not in any rush.

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An Ode to French Flair

Whatever your opinion of the French Open—the most compelling major or most boring slog—there’s no argument about French players. They are almost without exception, and seemingly always have been, the most stylish and, as such, the most entertaining around. There must be something in the Evian.

Let’s start with the patron saint of Gallic flair, Francoise Durr. (Like Suzanne Lenglen and the Four Musketeers of Borotra, Brugnon, Cochet and Lacoste, “Frankie” was before my time, but I’ve seen the pictures.) Durr probably won too much to be considered prototypically French: a 1967 French Open victory among her 26 singles titles, along with 60 doubles titles, including five straight at Roland Garros. Underachievement brought on by maddeningly inconsistent play and fragile psyches are part of the deal with French tennis players. Durr’s fashion sense, in conjunction with Ted Tinling, heavily influenced Austin Powers. She wore knee-high tube socks before Serena Williams was a glimmer in her parents’ eyes.

But, mon dieu, her game had even more flair. Her index finger, as always, riding up the grip of her limp-wristed one-handed backhand like some demented weekend hacker, Durr, at age 34, beat Martina Navratilova 1 and 1 in the semifinals of the 1974 Colgate Inaugural! (Then she lost in the final to Chris Evert, whom she never defeated…seems appropriate somehow.)

In the ensuing years, the French have produced dozens of players with remarkable shot-making ability, free-flowing grace, effervescent personalities and skittish temperaments. My all-time favorite: Henri Leconte, the man with the golden left arm. Most people think of him as the inconsistent genius whom Mats Wilander drubbed in Leconte’s only major final, the 1988 French Open—you remember, Wilander missed one first serve in the entire match (so Swedish), while Leconte missed everything.

I prefer to remember the 1991 Davis Cup final in Lyon, where Leconte’s magnificent singles victory over Pete Sampras spurred the French to a huge upset. One shot is seared into my memory: an on-the-dead-run-ball’s-behind-him-buggy-whip-backhand-did-I-just-see-that?!?-no-freakin’-way-passing-shot. The man could hit any shot, no matter the degree of difficulty, just not three simple groundies in a row.

If the Buggy-Whip Backhand Pass was the greatest shot I’ve ever seen on television, it’s little surprise that another Frenchman hit the greatest shot I’ve ever seen live. Nor should that Frenchman’s name come as a shock: Fabrice “The Magician” Santoro, the petit double-handed pro who has thrilled crowds seemingly forever with his jester-meets-wizard game. That the shot took place on a U.S. Open practice court should only underscore its utter sublime ridiculousness.

Santoro looped a kick a serve out wide to the ad court. His practice partner—all I recall is that he was shirtless, which even in New York seemed a bit déclassé—had cheated over and ran around his backhand to unleash the mother of all monster forehands. It came back at Santoro’s shoelaces so fast that he was still in his service follow-through position: body facing 10 o’clock, right foot ahead of left foot, both pointing at 2 o’clock. The Magician had time only to spin his body 90 degrees counterclockwise and swing his wand, er, racquet as fast as he could, in what appeared to be self-defense. Needless to say, the ball went rocketing back crosscourt for a winner twice as fast as the return. The only things missing were a comely assistant and a puff of smoke.

No doubt you have your own French fave. Maybe it’s the impish Sebastian Grosjean, the little man with the big man’s game and the only player who looks right in a ball cap worn backwards. Maybe you were partial to the athletic Noah’s flying dreadlocks, or the balding-yet-dashing Forget’s indented Lacoste racquet. Even the less exciting personalities, like Mauresmo and Pioline, have always played with style. Indeed, for the French, style is substance.

Last year, the “New Musketeers” of Gasquet, Monfils, Simon and Tsonga simultaneously put four Frenchmen in the Top 20 for the first time since the computer rankings began in 1973. That’s nice, I suppose, but when it comes to Gallic tennis, I’ll take joie de vivre over victoire any day. So I care less about whether any of the four will win a major than that they continue to play with such estimable flash, from Gasquet’s gorgeous backhand (which, alas, we won’t see for some time) to Monfils’ elbows-and-knees-akimbo vibrancy.

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INIESTA LATE SHOW STUNS CHELSEA

Barcelona will play Manchester United in the Champions League final after Anders Iniesta's injury-time goal stunned Chelsea in a 1-1 draw.

The Blues looked to be cruising after Michael Essien's stunning early volley put them 1-0 ahead in their semi-final second leg, and when Eric Abidal saw red after 66 minutes, Guus Hiddink's side looked home and hosed and in line for a repeat of last season's final.

But with time ticking away, Iniesta struck a devastating shot - their first effort on target in the entire match - that beat Petr Cech and sent Barcelona through on the away goals rule to the Rome showpiece against holders United on Wednesday 27 May.

The Blues made a nervous start, with Jose Bosingwa having to hack the ball off the ball after a cross was deflected goalwards. But their nerves were soon settled in spectacular fashion as Essien fired in a first-time left-footed volley that crashed in off the underside of Victor Valdes' crossbar after just nine minutes.

Barca finally had an effort at goal when Dani Alves' 35-yard free-kick sailed wide of Petr Cech's goal. But the Blues were soon on the attack again with Didier Drogba's fierce free-kick touched away by Valdes' leg, while John Terry was just a yard off target with a towering header.

Drogba then saw penalty claims waved away by referee Tom Ovrebo after he went down under Abidal's clumsy challenge.

The Spaniards finished the half the stronger, but Chelsea defended resolutely as the interval arrived with no further incident.

But the Blues were soon on the attack after the break, with Nicolas Anelka slipping Drogba in on goal, but Valdes' outstretched boot saved his left-footed effort.

The Ivorian then saw penalty claims waved away once again, but Yaya Toure's challenge in the box appeared good. A rare Barca thrust saw Lionel Messi cut in from the right and unleash a powerful drive that flew high and wide.

But Barca's task was made far harder after 66 minutes when Abidal was harshly shown a straight red card after he clipped Anelka's heels as he burst towards goal.

Chelsea saw another penalty claim waved away when Gerard Pique appeared to handle in the area.

But with time ticking away, Iniesta's first-time shot - after Essien had fluffed a clearance - flew into the top corner to spark scenes of jubilation for Barca.

There was still time for Chelsea to see further penalty claims waved away and furious scenes at the final whistle could have further rammifications for the Blues.

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RR aim for revenge against Royal Challengers

Riding high after their crushing victory over Kings XI Punjab, defending champions Rajasthan Royals will be gunning for revenge against Bangalore Royal Challengers in what promises to be a cracker of an Indian Premier League (IPL) contest on Thursday.

In their first meeting, Royal Challengers defeated Rajasthan Royals by a huge 75-run margin.

Since then, both teams have followed the same course - losing matches at the start before bouncing back in the tournament.

Rajasthan Royals have nine points, one more than Bangalore Royal Challengers who have eight.

With a depleted side, Rajasthan Royals lost matches at the start and looked like a pale shadow of the formidable team that won the opening IPL championship last year.

Royals captain Shane Warne's inspirational leadership helped them bounce back as his clever fine-tunning with the team has paid rich dividends.

Warne brought Naman Ojha to open the batting with Graeme Smith in the last match and it resulted in Royals' top-order firing for the first time in the tournament.

Smith and Ojha dominated Kings XI bowlers right from the start and scored the tournament's highest total of 211.

It augurs well for Royals who so far have been relying heavily on Yusuf Pathan in batting.

After losing Kamran Khan to a suspect action, Royals discovered a new pacer in Amit Singh, who took three Kings XI wickets in his debut match.

Royal Challengers are on a roll with three wins on a trot. A new skipper in Anil Kumble has moulded the team into a winning bunch.

Their last victory against Mumbai Indians saw Jacques Kallis and Robin Uthappa return to form.

Kallis and Uthappa hit blazing half-centuries as Bangalore registered a resounding nine-wicket victory against Mumbai Indians.

They unearthed a useful South African swing bowler in Dillon du Preez who took three Mumbai wickets to restrict the strong batting line-up to 149.

Royal Challengers have the advantage of many South Africans in their ranks. In the last match, all their overseas players -- Kallis, Mark Boucher, Preez and Roelof van der Merwe - were South Africans which helped them to assess the local conditions better than any other team.

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Bopara ton holds England together

	Ravi Bopara was an immediate success after being promoted to No. 3 as he held England's batting together at Lord's

Every time England have started a series in recent memory it has been preceded by talk of new eras before failing, often spectacularly, to deliver but Ravi Bopara's assured century, in his first innings at No. 3, suggests that this time might be different. It was a vital innings as the home side wobbled against the pace of Fidel Edwards, who claimed three quick wickets to rattle the middle order, but Bopara found crucial support from Matt Prior and Stuart Broad as honours ended even on 289 for 7, although West Indies rued a batch of dropped catches.

Bopara's display stood out for its maturity and calmness. He scored a hundred in his previous Test innings before being dropped and has now been thrust back in such a key position. He was also one of the clutch of players to have recently returned from the IPL and, while it wasn't the best of days for all of them, Bopara and Edwards showed that the adjustments can be made.

The No. 3 position has become the most vexing position in England's batting order since Michael Vaughan vacated it towards the end of last summer. The last hundred from the position was Vaughan's 106 against New Zealand in the corresponding fixture last summer. Ian Bell and Owais Shah were unable to take their opportunity and so the mantle has been passed to Bopara, the most exciting of England's new-look selections, and he has responded in full to the confidence shown by Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss. This will be his position for the Ashes.

He had two lives, on 76 and 100, as West Indies' fielding fell apart in the final session and survived a perilously close lbw on 40 against Sulieman Benn that was heading towards middle. However, his strokeplay, especially his driving, was classy from the beginning and he showed the best footwork of England's top five.

His hundred arrived off 207 balls after a fairly length wait in the 90s, but even then his nerves didn't show. After tucking the ball into the leg side he calmly saluted the ground before making a rectangle symbol, imitating writing to his team-mates - he wanted his name on the honours board straight away. That's confidence for you.

West Indies missed a real chance to take a grip on this match. Edwards' post-lunch spell of 6-2-15-3 reduced them to 109 for 4 and when Prior fell shortly after tea a total of 193 for 5 could have gone either way. But the visitors were then struck by a spate of dropped chances - still a problem in this improving West Indies side - as six were put down in the final session. Broad was dropped four times in making 38, with Chris Gayle guilty for one at first slip, alongside the two lives given to Bopara.

Three of those chances came off Edwards, who deserved better support after producing the spell that put West Indies on top during the middle session. For the first two hours the bowling had been too short on a pitch offering little, despite Gayle's decision to bowl, and Andrew Strauss had been their only success when cutting at Jerome Taylor. There had clearly been a team talk during the interval about bowling fuller and it worked with great effect.

Alastair Cook dragged on via an inside edge, but it was the next ball that brought the session alive. Kevin Pietersen can often be a dodgy starter, but Edwards produced a delivery that would have dismissed most batsmen, shaping away late and took the outside edge. Just as good as the ball was Denesh Ramdin's catch because the wicketkeeper had almost been wrong-footed before sticking out his right glove and grabbing the chance.

England's shortened batting was now being severely tested as Paul Collingwood came in without having had any cricket since April 3 after spending three weeks on the bench at the IPL. He middled one pull shot, but was soon undone by another full, swinging delivery from Edwards that he jabbed at without any footwork. Devon Smith hung on a second slip, but it would be a different story later on.

Prior has been picked at No. 6 because he is good enough to be a specialist batsman and his counter-attacking style helped wrestle the momentum away from the tourists. He and Bopara brought up a swift fifty partnership while Prior went past 1000 runs in 17 Tests, although he gave his innings away when he picked out cover off Edwards. Broad, though, unfurled the shots of a top-order batsman as he drove effortlessly through the off side and lofted Benn over mid-on. Two of Broad's lives came off Benn, the first when Ramdin failed to gather an edge and the second when the bowler seemed to caught by surprise as a return catch lobbed in his direction.

Benn eventually broke through when Broad sliced to backward point where Taylor showed how to catch then he removed Tim Bresnan with a dubious leg before that was heading over the stumps. Seven wickets on the opening day of a Test, especially at Lord's, is a good return but West Indies will feel it could have been even better.

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Cricket-Yuvraj hat-trick for Punjab fails to stop Bangalore

* Bangalore beat Kings by eight runs

* Yuvraj hat-trick and quick-fire 50 not enough

* Mumbai claim nine-run win over Kolkata

By Jason Humphries

DURBAN, May 1 (Reuters) - A fine all-round performance by Yuvraj Singh was not enough to prevent Kings XI Punjab slumping to an eight-run loss against the Bangalore Royal Challengers in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Friday.

Punjab captain Yuvraj took a hat-trick to help restrict Bangalore to 145 for nine at Kingsmead before blasting a superb half-century only to see his side lose two wickets in the last over of their innings to finish on 137 for seven.

Punjab began the last over of their innings needing 13 runs to win but medium pacer Praveen Kumar held his nerve to allow a single boundary and capture two wickets.

Yuvraj earlier removed Robin Uthappa (19) and Jacques Kallis (27) with the fifth and sixth balls of the 11th over before trapping Mark Boucher lbw with the first ball of the 13th for the first hat-trick of this season's IPL and the fourth overall.

India's Yuvraj claimed figures of 3-22, while left-arm seamer Yusuf Abdulla captured 4-36 making him the leading wicket-taker in this year's IPL with 13 wickets in six matches.

Right-handed South African Roelof van der Merwe rescued Bangalore's innings with a blazing cameo of 35 off 19 balls with three fours and three sixes after Bangalore had been reduced to 84 for six after Yuvraj's three-wicket burst.

QUICK-FIRE FIFTY

Yuvraj, who had opened the batting for Punjab, struck a quick-fire 50 off 34 balls with three fours and four sixes in a first-wicket stand with Karan Goel (20) of 70 runs off 60 balls.

However, Bangalore's bowlers fought back with Kumar, leg spinner Anil Kumble and left-arm spinner van der Merwe ending with two wickets apiece as Punjab lost five for 67 runs.

The result lifts Bangalore to fifth place with six points from seven games, two off the pace set by Deccan Chargers, while Punjab stay fourth on six points having played six matches.

Earlier, an unbeaten half-century from JP Duminy helped the Mumbai Indians to a nine-run win over the Kolkata Knight Riders. The result moved Mumbai up to third place on seven points while Kolkata remained rooted to the bottom with just three points.

Duminy scored 52 not out off 37 balls with four sixes and a boundary as Mumbai posted 148 for six before restricting Kolkata to 139 for six in East London.

Opening batsman Sachin Tendulkar got Mumbai off to a decent start with a score of 34 off 30 balls before the elegant Duminy provided Mumbai's innings with some much needed momentum.

His team had struggled to 96 for five after 15.5 overs at a run-rate of slightly over six runs to the over.

Kolkata came in and looked in control of the match thanks to an 89-run third-wicket partnership off 77 balls from Australian Brad Hodge and South African Morne van Wyk (32).

But when the right-handed Van Wyk was caught at long-on in the 15th over and Hodge was run out for 73 off 60 balls with five fours and three sixes after 19 overs Kolkata's fate was sealed.

Mumbai seamer Zaheer Khan finished with 3-31.

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Alan Shearer Gets Tough and Drops Michael Owen

EPL: Alan Shearer, Newcastle United - Chelsea (PA)

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Newcastle United manager Alan Shearer has taken the tough decision to drop Michael Owen - his close friend and former team-mate - from the vital Premier League match away to Liverpool on Sunday.

The Magpies are deeply embroiled in a desperate relegation battle, and Shearer is running out of time and options to save his beloved but beleaguered club from the dreaded drop.

Shearer is trying to find the elusive combination of personnel and tactics to keep the Toon afloat against the odds - and the name of Owen is not on the teamsheet pinned up at the club’s training ground, The Times has revealed.

It's a bold decision that may surprise many as Shearer has often been Owen’s staunchest supporter. The pair played together for Newcastle and England.

But notwithstanding any late withdrawals because of injury, Shearer will field a five-man midfield at Anfield, and have Australian Mark Viduka playing as a lone striker, rather than ex-Liverpool star Owen, who will probably be on the bench as Newcastle search for precious points.

One of Shearer's first decisions on taking over from Chris Hughton last month was to bring back Owen, 29, who had been dropped. Shearer said then, “If Michael is fit, he will start.”

But in the four weeks since then, the Magpies, eighteenth in the table and three points adrift of safety, have not won a match. Nor has Owen scored. In fact he hasn't scored since January.

Fabio Capello, England's manager, is expected to be on Merseyside on Sunday to watch the game against Liverpool, and given that Owen's last game in a Three Lions shirt was as a second-half substitute against France more than a year ago, the striker will be doubly disappointed at missing out on a chance to impress the Italian tactician.

Owen’s contract runs out at the end of this season and his boyhood heroes, Everton, are reportedly keen - although Owen has been enthusiastic about Shearer’s management.

Asked about Owen, Shearer told journalists on Friday, "If I believe he can [lead Newcastle to an Anfield win], then that will be reflected in the team on Sunday.,” he said. “If I believe that he can’t, then that’s a decision I have to make.

“But I will go in on Sunday with the team I believe will be best suited for a particular game to get us a result.”

Shearer added, “I have been mad in my time and I do not want to give away any formations or selections, but I tend to agree that, yeah, it might be mad to go there with three up front.

"Workrate-wise with Michael, there is definitely no complaint whatsoever — he’s always in the top three or four players on the pitch. If I do decide to drop one of the three strikers it will be a tough choice. Michael is still banging them in during training, but I want him scoring in games.”

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great strike partnerships

Dwight Yorke is congratulated by Andy Cole after scoring in the 5-1 destruction of Wimbledon at Old Trafford on 17 October 1998. Cole scored twice in the same game. Photograph: Ross Kinnaird/Allsport

1) Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush (Liverpool)

Liverpool have more to thank Steve McMahon for than the couple of stellar seasons he drove their midfield in the late 1980s; he's arguably the man who brought English football's arguably greatest striking partnership together. Kenny Dalglish hadn't scored a league goal at Anfield during the first 10 months of 1981. He had turned 30 in March, and had suggested to Bob Paisley that it was time he moved back into midfield, or at least a withdrawn role. Paisley wasn't interested, though, keeping his star striker up front, sure he would find form again. But he didn't, and was sorely out of sorts when Everton crossed Stanley Park for a First Division fixture at the beginning of November.

Just before half-time, McMahon – at this point an Evertonian – crocked Ray Kennedy, who had to be replaced by David Johnson. Moving back into midfield to accommodate the substitute striker, Dalglish started to pull strings, scoring twice in a 3-1 win. Ian Rush, a recent signing from Chester and being slowly blooded into the team, scored the other. Something snapped into place in Paisley's head. From now on, Dalglish would play just off the young Rush, running rampage in the extra space afforded to him in the hole. Having only scored eight league goals in 1980-81, the Scot hit 13 the year after, and a ludicrous 18 as a 32-year-old in 1982-83.

But his manipulation of the mobile Rush would be even more outstanding: the Welsh striker scored 30 goals in all competitions during his first season, 31 the year after, and a frankly silly 47 in 1983-84 (when the pair scored 59 between them). Rush had put years on the older man's career, who in turn had made him. Rush's record post-Dalglish was admirable – two 26-goal season hauls when Liverpool were still a force, an arguably more impressive 22-goal total in 1992-93 when the team was properly on the slide – but he never carried quite the same threat.

2) Emilio Butragueño and Hugo Sánchez (Real Madrid)

The classic example of a partnership that is, even though, er, it isn't. Not really. Emilio Butragueño was a quiet, polite man, and a slight, creative, scuttling forward. Hugo Sánchez was vainglorious and self-centred, a wallop the ball first, ask questions later kind of striker. They didn't like each other at all. They didn't really feed off each other either. And yet it somehow worked.

Real Madrid ran up five titles in a row during the late 1980s, and they were a team set up simply to get the ball into the box for either Butragueño to sniff out a chance, or Sánchez to PlayStation one in. It didn't matter who got there first; either way it worked. In 1989-90, the team scored a ridiculous 107 league goals, Sánchez helping himself to 38 of them – in only 35 matches – while Butragueño added another 10. Dalglish and Rush they weren't. But then Dalglish and Rush didn't score goals like this. Or this.

3) Mick Harford and Brian Stein (Luton Town)

One of the classic big-man-little-man partnerships; certainly, thanks to the presence of 6ft 4in battering ram Mick Harford, one of the hardest. Harford and the diminutive Stein – quick on the turn like Jimmy Greaves, with the low centre of gravity of Denis Law – helped Luton to their best-ever league position (seventh in 1983-84) then played integral parts in the club's greatest-ever triumph.

Harford was off the pitch injured in that 1988 Littlewoods Cup final against Arsenal when Stein scored the last-minute winner, but Stein's opener on 13 minutes offers perhaps the best illustration of their genius. The little man finishes the move exquisitely, passing the ball past John Lukic and into the bottom-right corner of the net – but the chance only came about because Harford had pulled three Arsenal defenders out of position while going up for a header.

Harford eventually left for Derby, the plastic pitch at Kenilworth Road irritating the hell out of his ankles. But he couldn't stop helping the club: on the final day of the 1990-91 season, he crashed a header past his own keeper – Peter Shilton, no less – from the outside of the box. The own goal secured Luton's First Division future for another year.

4) Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke

Chance can be the finest thing. Many successful World Cup partnerships have come together almost by accident, such as Gary Lineker and Peter Beardsley, and Toto Schillaci and Roberto Baggio. It can happen at club level, too. Andy Cole was arguably Sir Alex Ferguson's fourth choice to partner Dwight Yorke, after Patrick Kluivert (who was only interested in joining Arsenal), Ole Solskjaer and Teddy Sheringham. But after a month of gathering splinters, Cole was rotated into the side for a mundane league fixture at Southampton in October 1998, and he and Yorke had the sort of instant chemistry usually reserved for slushy romcoms. United scored 14 goals in the next three games, a smile came on Cole's face for the first time in years, and he and Yorke would spend the season mischievously and irrepressibly running amok in England and Europe, most memorably in the Camp Nou, the Delle Alpi and the bedroom of the 36 games they started that season, United lost just one (at Sheffield Wednesday) and scored 81 goals. Overall they scored 53 goals between them, propelling United to the treble. That wonderful move against Barcelona stands out, but others against Brondby, Sheffield Wednesday and West Ham in particular showed an almost eerie telepathy. All of which makes it peculiar that their success was so short-lived. They shared 46 goals the following season but were never the same, especially in Europe, and Ferguson turned his attention to another Dutch forward born on 1 July 1976: not Kluivert, but Ruud van Nistelrooy.

5) Giuseppe Signori, Francesco Baiano and Roberto Rambaudi (Foggia)

Before the twin facilitators of the backpass law and three points for a win, Serie A was a grizzled, gnarled world in which attackers were seen and not heard (except when they were being kicked) and goals had an almost Halley's Comet quality. Newly promoted Foggia, under the hippie management of the majestic Zdenek Zeman, came into that environment in 1991 and decided, Sod this for a game of catennacio. An adventurous 4-3-3 formation was centred around Roberto Rambaudi and the little-and-little pair of Giuseppe Signori and Francesco Baiano, born seven days apart in February 1968, whose rapier movements gave cynical defences a serious and unusual problem. All three would go on to play for Italy, but at this stage Baiano was comfortably outscoring the future star Signori.

Foggia finished ninth in that 1991-92 season but scored a truly unprecedented 58 goals in 34 goals. In the previous 25 seasons of Serie A, only three sides had scored more, and all finished in the top three. It was as incongruous as seeing a jester in a film noir, or a poem in a porno. Their intrepid approach led to some pastings – most notably an 8-2 shellacking at home to Milan – but they didn't care and turned up the next week with the same smile on their face. They became known as Foggia dei Miracoli. This was infectious, feelgood stuff; as joyously unexpected as digging up a brand new colour in the back garden. But it wasn't just neutrals who loved Foggia. Their rivals did, too, and Lazio, Fiorentina and Atalanta hoovered up Signori, Baiano and Rambaudi respectively in the summer. The adventure was short-lived, but it really was fun while it lasted.

6) Alfredo di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas (Real Madrid)

Nandor Hidegkuti would probably have had something to say about it, what with changing All Football just behind Ferenc Puskas in Hungary's Aranycsapat (Golden Team) of the early 1950s, but have two better strikers than Puskas and Alfredo di Stefano ever played alongside each other?

There are seven reasons, all of them in that European Cup final, to say NO.

And to think they were both in their 30s before they got together! The mind boggles at what they could have achieved as younger men. As if this wasn't enough.

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Keane speaks out against team-mates

Roy Keane is unveiled as the new manager of Ipswich Town Photograph: Tom Jenkins/Tom Jenkins

Roy Keane returned to football management with Ipswich Town yesterday and delivered a brutal assessment of the achievements of Manchester United's much-vaunted "class of 1994", stressing that none of his former team-mates can consider himself a true success in the dugout until he wins a trophy.

Almost five months since he severed ties with Sunderland, and with resentment clearly still smouldering at perceived interference from the Wearsiders' hierarchy in team affairs during the latter days of his reign, Keane signed a two-year contract with the Championship club to replace Jim Magilton and offered little indication that he has mellowed during his brief sabbatical from the game.

There was a verbal attack on his former Republic of Ireland team-mate Tony Cascarino for doubting he would return to the game, and a claim that his employers at Sunderland had "moved the goalposts" to prompt his departure from the Stadium of Light after 27 months in charge.

Yet the honesty with which he assessed the generation of young managers who have emerged from Sir Alex Ferguson's Double-winning side of 1994 was particularly refreshing. Asked what qualities the likes of Steve Bruce, Bryan Robson, Mark Hughes, Paul Ince and Keane himself must have possessed to have become "successful managers", the Irishman retorted: "Who are the good managers you are talking about? Sparky and Brucey have not won a trophy, have they? They have potential, but anyone can have potential. Steve Bruce has had a good season, but Steve Bruce has been manager how many years [11]?

"Sparky did a brilliant job at Blackburn, but is facing different challenges at Manchester City. We are all facing different challenges. Until an ex team-mate of mine from 1994 goes on and really achieves something, then I would not agree with what you are saying about [any of them] being a successful manager. You need a bit more than some of those managers have achieved yet. I believe I can potentially be a good football manager. I have done nothing in the game yet. I did OK at Sunderland, but I want to do better than OK. I've set my bar high by coming to Ipswich and looking to win something, but do you want me to set a low one? That's part of me. Anyone I've ever respected wants to achieve something in their lives."

Keane might have achieved more himself at Sunderland only to become disillusioned with life in the north-east following the arrival of Ellis Short as majority shareholder at the club. The 37-year-old stressed "the time had come" for him to depart, though bitterness at the fracture remains. "One of the big conditions I had when I went to Sunderland was that there would be no interference with team affairs," he said. "But when someone tries to move the goalposts ... It is nothing to do with contracts, it is about a promise with people at the club.

"I was disappointed because I had signed a three-year contract and the three-year plan was on target, despite two or three poor results. Believe it or not, the results at the end had nothing to do with it. You have got to be relaxed and have trust in the people you are working with. I must have said it when I met Niall [Quinn] and the owners of the club about 5,000 times, that I would do it my way, particularly in team affairs. You might be better asking Niall or Ellis Short the reasons why I left. You have to respect the people who run the football club, as I did at Sunderland. But when people are telling you what you should be doing with the team, where you should be living, what days you should be in, it's over."

Some questioned whether he would return to management following his tempestuous departure from the Stadium of Light. "You have to wonder who'd want him now when he has walked again," Cascarino wrote at the time, adding he would be "amazed if he got another job in football".

Keane retorted: "I would not give him the time of day. I am quite happy to comment on people's opinion in football I respect, but Tony Cascarino is a man I certainly do not respect for a lot of reasons, and if I told you, you would be shocked. So the day I worry about Tony Cascarino will be a very sad day of my life."

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Fábregas feels FA's wrath with two improper conduct charges

Fabregas walks away from Hull's assistant manager Brian Horton after Arsenal's FA Cup win. Photograph: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Cesc Fábregas and Phil Brown have been charged with improper conduct by the Football Association over their actions at the end of Arsenal's FA Cup fifth-round win over Hull on 17 March.

Hull submitted evidence to the FA following allegations that the Arsenal captain Fábregas, who did not play in the match because of a knee injury, but came on to the pitch at full-time to celebrate with his team-mates, spat at their assistant manager, Brian Horton. The FA has decided to pursue matters further against Fábregas and the Hull manager, who was critical of the referee Mike Riley and his officiating crew after the game.

"Cesc Fábregas and Phil Brown have both been charged with improper conduct," read a statement released by the FA this afternoon. "Fábregas faces two charges of improper conduct relating to his conduct on the pitch following the game. One charge concerns his behaviour in coming on to the pitch after the final whistle, the second charge relates to an alleged spitting incident. The charges are based on submissions from Hull City and video evidence.

"Brown is charged with improper conduct and/or bringing the game into disrepute in relation to media comments made after the game concerning referee Mike Riley. Fábregas and Brown have until 12 May to respond."

Fábregas denied spitting at Horton when the allegations were initially made, saying: "I have never done this in my whole career," and the Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger, defended the midfielder this afternoon. "I personally looked at the reports, at the video evidence," said Wenger. "There is nothing in there against Cesc."

Brown, who is yet to comment on the charges, had accused Riley of a "disgraceful" showing. "We've not been beaten by Arsenal, we've been beaten by the referee and the linesman," he said after the defeat at Emirates Stadium. "The game was turned on its head when the referee succumbed to local pressure. You'd better ask Mike Riley how much that will cost us. I'm sure he wouldn't have the faintest idea."

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Quick wickets stall Pakistan

An edgy start by Pakistan turned into a solid one, but when Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik fell in fairly quick succession, Australia held the upper hand by the half-way mark. Salman Butt held the key for Pakistan, after being involved in the run-out of the 17-year-old debutant Ahmed Shehzad.

Shehzad had hit towards square leg and set off straight away. Butt responded to the call but pulled out half-way, and both the batsmen ended up at the non-striker's end.

Nathan Bracken and ODI debutant Doug Bollinger, both left-arm seamers, went on to trouble Butt and Younis for a considerable time. Both batsmen struggled with the angle and movement both ways, and their starts were literally edgy. Both edged wide of the slips at catchable heights on one occasion each, and Butt got away with several other edges in the initial overs. By the end of the ninth over, Pakistan had crawled to 28 for 1, having faced a maiden each from both the bowlers.

With James Hopes came the change of the angle, and Younis helped himself to three boundaries in Hopes' first two overs. In the next seven overs, Pakistan doubled their score, mainly via Younis who scored 20 off 14 during that period. The sight of Ben Laughlin lit his eyes up, a short loosener first up widened them further, and an edge resulted as he went to cut the leather off the ball. An edge resulted, and Australia were right back.

Malik couldn't make much of a drop by Shane Watson off Nathan Hauritz, and got out in a freak manner off the same bowler. A cross-batted swipe took the inside edge, hit the back of his boot and lobbed up for Brad Haddin to take a diving catch and push Pakistan back further.

Butt, meanwhile, had started hitting some lovely cover-driven boundaries to get a move on from a slow start. From 16 off 33 he had moved to 42 off 85 balls, and stood between Australia and an easy target.

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Vidic: United back as team

Nemanja Vidic has dismissed the plaudits claiming that Manchester United's return to defensive solidity is a direct result of his renewed defensive partnership with Rio Ferdinand.

United, who can reclaim top spot in the Premier League by avoiding defeat at home to Portsmouth, have kept successive clean sheets against Porto and Everton following Ferdinand's return from a two-week groin injury lay-off.

Without Ferdinand, United shipped five goals in three games against Aston Villa, Porto and Sunderland and the defensive frailties were beginning to threaten the club's assault on a quintuple.

Everton's penalty shoot-out victory in Sunday's FA Cup semi-final has ended United hopes of a five major trophies this term, but they remain on course to retain their Premier League and Champions League titles.

But Serbian defender Vidic insists that any success United achieve between now and the end of the season will be a team effort and not merely a result of his partnership with Ferdinand.

Vidic said: "You cannot defend with two players and you cannot score goals with just two players. It is all about the group and we finally started to play again the way we had played before. We are a unit, all 11 players.

"In the games before we played in Porto, we conceded many goals, too many and we didn't play like we had been doing previously.

"But I hope our form now will signal the start again of a period where we do not concede many goals. I think we can now get back to being as solid and tight as we were before."

Liverpool's failure to beat Arsenal at Anfield has opened the door for United to take a firm grip of the title race again. The champions are level on points with Rafael Benitez's team, but have two games in hand.

Vidic insists that United's return to form is simply a result of individual players accepting the challenge of stepping up to the plate.

He said: "It wasn't about getting together and talking about where we had to improve. Sometimes you just have to look at yourself. You know what you have to do. At this stage of the season, we knew we had to perform to our best and get it right."

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IPL Aussie Wrap - Week One

Australian cricketers have already made an impression on the Indian Premier League in the first few days of competition, with Matthew Hayden leading the competition's run scorers after seven matches have been completed.

Hayden's international days may be behind him but the big Queenslander has relished his time at the Chennai Super Kings with a brutal 65 off 43 balls against Bangalore in Port Elizabeth after hitting 44 off 35 balls against Mumbai in the very first match of the new IPL season. It's been a bright start for Hayden averaging 54.50 with a strike rate of 155.71

It means Hayden is the current orange cap bearer, the award reserved for the IPL's leading run scorer. His team has won one match and lost one match.

With much of Australia's best talent either in the UAE taking on Pakistan or at home resting before the Ashes, there has not been much other Australian action in the opening week.

Brad Hodge put in a solid turn in Kolkata's opening match of the season, grafting out 31 to top score in a total of 101 against Deccan at Cape Town. The Knight Riders, who also feature young gun Moises Henriques, who made six in that match, would end up losing the game easily, but did bounce back in a rain-affected game against Kings Xi Punjab in Durban. Hodge was 10 not out when the rain came, leaving the Knight Riders at 1/79 and in front on Duckworth Lewis.

Adam Gilchrist has played just one game for Deccan, making 13 in its win over Kolkata, caught by Henriques, while the keeper he took a catch and affected two stumpings.

Shane Warne's Rajasthan's Royals had a horrible start to their title defence, with Warne taking 2-18 before his team was dismissed for 58 with the all-rounder out for three. Warne's Royals were set to take on Mumbai on Tuesday night, but the rain ruined a clash between the legendary leg-spinner and Indian icon Sachin Tendulkar.

The only other Aussie to take a wicket in the IPL so far is Henriques, who dismissed Yuvraj Singh for 38 in Tuesday night's clash between the Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab.

Victorian paceman Dirk Nannes, who is set to represent the Netherlands in the upcoming World Twenty20, failed to get a wicket in his IPL debut for Delhi against King Punjab XI, but did take a catch.

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WIMBLEDON BOSSES HAIL NADAL

Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal has been acclaimed for his support of the world's top tennis tournament.

The world number one will pick up �850,000, an increase of �100,000 on last year, if he successfully defends his crown in July and All England club chairman Tim Phillips insists he would be worth every penny.

Phillips believes Nadal has put to shame the players who specialise on clay but dodge the grass court season and Wimbledon, in particular, each year.

Phillips said: "It reflects enormous credit on Rafa. One or two others have tended to cop out. They have got disproportionate points on clay and regarded grass as an inconvenience.

"He's shown if you can play on clay you can play on anything. I really take my hat off to him. The game at the moment is blessed with some of the ambassadors it has."

The Wimbledon club chairman also denied there were any plans to rip up the famous grass to fall in line with other Grand Slam surfaces, despite the new retractable roof being used for the first time this year.

Nor are there plans to hold concerts or other events on Centre Court, something which in part has been to blame for the problems with the Wembley pitch.

The fabric and steel concertina roof was unveiled in the closed position for the first time on Tuesday, revealing a light and airy arena.

Phillips said: "The game is lawn tennis. It was invented as lawn tennis. We have got the inclination, the time and the resource to prepare the grass properly.

"In this day and age when players are complaining about the wear and tear of hard courts and there are already a load of tournaments on clay it is important to continue to remember our heritage and support grass."

Phillips also defended the hike in prize money which, despite the global recession, also sees the women's singles champion pick up �850,000 and the total pot increase by 6.2% to �12.55million, with the biggest increases of 13.3% going to those who reach the last eight. Even first round singles losers, however, take home �10,750.

Phillips said: "It is the name players who drive interest in Wimbledon and in tennis.

"We have to be mindful that this time last year the exchange rate was two dollars to the pound and now it is under 1.5 to the pound."

Tennis fans, however, seem undeterred. Applications for Wimbledon's public ballot are up 20% on last year, while all 15,000 tickets sold out within five minutes for the May 17 test event when the roof will be closed and air-conditioning tested in a mini-tournament, which will be screened on BBC2, involving Tim Henman, Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf and Kim Clijsters.

Entertainment will also be provided, in what is being billed as 'A Centre Court Celebration' event, by Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins, Faryl Smith, the teenage star of Britain's Got Talent, and classic boy band Blake.

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Tendulkar's experience sets up Mumbai's win

	Sachin Tendulkar carried the Mumbai Indians with an unbeaten 59, and how crucial it proved © Getty Images

In the first match of the IPL in 2008, Brendon McCullum smashed an unbeaten 158 from just 73 balls to set up a crushing win for his side. A year later, as season two got underway across the Indian Ocean in different conditions and under grey skies, Sachin Tendulkar batted 20 overs for an unbeaten 59 from 49 balls. It was as valuable as McCullum's blitzkrieg, if utterly different in execution and appeal, for it came on a track not entirely conducive to batting and laid the platform for Mumbai Indians' victory.

Stumbling and bumbling, Mumbai managed to put together a competitive total after the core of their vaunted batting struggled to cope with the uneven bounce at Newlands. There were few fireworks from the big bats and the team owed plenty to the vast experience of Tendulkar, who absorbed the pressure superbly. Where Chennai's pacers were tidy in restricting runs during the middle stages of Mumbai's innings, it was the spinners Harbhajan Singh and Sanath Jayasuriya who derailed Chennai. They varied their pace and reined in the big hitters before Lasith Malinga kept the tail under control.

The pre-match drizzle in cloudy Cape Town influenced MS Dhoni's decision to field on a damp pitch, and though Mumbai's opening partnership yielded 39 in 5.4 overs, it wasn't convincing. Jayasuriya slashed and swiped and survived a run-out before he mowed fellow Sri Lankan Thilan Thushara to midwicket for 26. The ball didn't come on to the bat, as was evident in Tendulkar's frequent grimaces and constant shuffling to manoeuvre the bowling. Tendulkar attempted and connected with a few risky shots over the infield and was dropped on 10 by Matthew Hayden at first slip, off a leading edge induced by Andrew Flintoff.

Play was then held up for 12 minutes when a dog found its way onto the field. Failing to be enticed by whistles, calls, dives and even an inviting snack, the canine intruder got bored and finally trudged away. After the resumption Chennai's bowlers made swift inroads.

Shikhar Dhawan struggled for fluency and was undone by the slow bounce as he top-edged Manpreet Gony. Gony then held on to a sharp reflex catch to get JP Duminy with a clever bouncer in his next over and, taking the cue, Joginder Sharma dropped short and had Dwayne Bravo pulling to deep square leg. It was proof that the short-pitched ball can work well on such tracks. With Tendulkar keeping one end up, Abhishek Nayar walked out and played an invaluable cameo that provided a late push. Nayar larruped Flintoff for three sixes in a 22-run over in his 14-ball 35, while Tendulkar kept the innings alive by batting through the 20 overs. That 46-run partnership would prove decisive.

Chennai's chase was dented in the first over when Parthiv Patel steered Malinga to Tendulkar at slip. Suresh Raina caressed an impressive boundary in Zaheer Khan's first over but fell in the next, pulling Bravo to deep square leg where Rohan Raje made a difficult chance look easy. Malinga was tight, and Tendulkar showed the value of taking pace off the ball as a run-checking tactic by bringing on spinners at both ends, as Chennai's batsmen remained restless.

And as long as there is limited-overs cricket there will linger the prospect of the spinners' choking the opposition during the middle overs, especially when an Indian and a Sri Lankan are bowling. Today Harbhajan and Jayasuriya did that job. Flintoff didn't last long against Harbhajan, going for a wild swipe and popping back an easy catch.

Hayden - who bullied young medium-pacer Raje for three successive fours and drilled his old friend Harbhajan for a straight six - chased a wide one from Jayasuriya and picked out a diving Zaheer at cover. Jacob Oram then perished to an ugly slog against Jayasuriya, leaving Dhoni with plenty to do.

Dhoni swung his bat freely but the rest perished with a whimper. Malinga gave away nothing and his crafty yorkers and reverse-swinging variations netted him excellent figures of 3 for 15 from four parsimonious overs.

The crowd had filed in two hours ahead of the toss in gloomy conditions, and by the end of the first game of a double-header day they'd seen the weather clear and the ball go past the boundary several times. Mumbai celebrated the win animatedly in front of a healthy crowd - it wasn't exactly a boisterous Wankhede cauldron, but the IPL thinktank has reason to smile after the tournament opener.

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Rajasthan humbled after inept batting

	Anil Kumble took five wickets for five runs to clean up Rajasthan © AFP

A charged-up Bangalore Royal Challengers produced the sort of performance for which franchise owner Vijay Mallya splashed the big bucks to bundle out Rajasthan Royals to the second-lowest total in Twenty20 history. There may be plenty of fresh faces but it was the old hands, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble, who were the stars in Bangalore's massive victory. Dravid was the most assured batsman on display, making a polished half-century, while Kumble took the most economic five-wicket haul in Twenty20s to clean up Rajasthan.

Rajasthan lost their last five wickets for 11 runs to slide to an embarrassing defeat. Such an abject end was in stark contrast to their start: Dimitri Mascarenhas scalping two big wickets in the very first over to rock Bangalore, before Shane Warne's bag of tricks kept them to what seemed a gettable 133.

The performance from Bangalore's bowlers was unidentifiable from the limp showing against a marauding Brendon McCullum in their season-opener last year. Rajasthan had a galaxy of savage hitters but they were stifled to such an extent that the entire innings had only two sixes and a solitary four.

Praveen Kumar revelled in conditions which assisted him, dislodging the openers Swapnil Asnodkar and Graeme Smith. The shot selection from Rajasthan was cringeworthy, none more so than Asnodkar's wild swing in the first over which ended up in Virat Kohli's hands at point to start the slide. Niraj Patel struggled to find any rhythm while Tyron Henderson was shackled by the short ball from Praveen and Dale Steyn.

Rajasthan were stuttering at 26 for 3 after seven overs, but it was still an even game. The match was transformed in the next over, when Henderson and Mascarenhas were dismissed off consecutive delivers in the eighth over. Henderson was tricked by a slower ball from Jesse Ryder, and Mascarenhas was run out when he refused to take no for an answer after calling Yusuf Pathan for a single.

Half the side was gone, and the run-rate was soaring into double digits. In short, Rajasthan's chase was up in smoke. Kumble was then brought into the attack and his double-strike that lured Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja into false shots extinguished any lingering hopes.

It had been so different when Mascarenhas, getting the ball to dart around, dispatched the New Zealand pair of Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor with his first three balls. Bangalore were gasping at 17 for 3 after five overs.

Kevin Pietersen, charged by Mallya with the duty of turning around Bangalore's form, was rarely troubled during his stay and, in Dravid's company, set about reviving Bangalore. They had collected an unfussy 35 runs, aided by a lightning outfield, before Pietersen mistimed a pull to a diving Niraj at midwicket.

Dravid, in the familiar role of repairing top-order collapses, calmly picked up the singles to keep the score ticking. He needed the rest to play around him, but they were bamboozled by Warne's variations. Kohli was beaten and bowled by one that drifted and dipped, while B Akhil had no reply to a classic ripping legspinner.

Dravid remained his composed self, playing a mix of orthodox and inventive strokes, to lift Bangalore. His trademark on-drive and favoured inside-out lofted drives were on view but he also mixed in some cheeky paddle-sweeps. Dravid was dismissed in the final over, foxed by a change of pace from Munaf Patel, but his 48-ball 66 had given his side's bowlers a total to defend.

The game ended in humiliation for Rajasthan, but as Warne pointed out, they started out their previous campaign with a similarly disastrous game, before scripting the fairytale run to the title.

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IPL Players' Auction List

Player	Team	Amount	Base price
Nathan Bracken	Bangalore	$3,25,000	$2,25,000
RP Singh	Hyderabad	$8,75,000	$2,00,000
Murali Kartik	Kolkata	$4,25,000	$2,00,000
Makhaya Ntini	Chennai	$2,00,000	$2,00,000
Lasith Malinga	Mumbai	$3,50,000	$2,00,000
Chaminda Vaas	Hyderabad	$2,00,000	$2,00,000
Ramesh Powar	Mohali	$1,70,000	$1,50,000
Umar Gul	Kolkata	$1,50,000	$1,50,000
Dale Steyn	Bangalore	$3,25,000	$1,50,000
Dilhara Fernando	Mumbai	$1,50,000	$1,50,000
Ishant Sharma	Kolkata	$9.50,000	$1,50,000
Piyush Chawla	Mohali	$4,00,000	$1,25,000
Munaf Patel	Jaipur	$2,75,000	$1,00,000
Nuwan Zoysa	Hyderabad	$1,10,000	$1,00,000
Gautam Gambhir	Delhi	$7,25,000	$2,00,000
Robin Uthappa	Mumbai	$8,00,000	$2,00,000
VVS Laxman	Hyderabad	$3,75,000	$1,50,000
Wasim Jaffer	Bangalore	$1,50,000	$1,50,000
Rohit Sharma	Hyderabad	$7,50,000	$1,50,000
Mohammad Kaif	Jaipur	$6,75,000	$1,25,000
Suresh Raina	Chennai	$6,50,000	$1,25,000
Manoj Tiwary	Delhi	$6,75,000	$1,00,000
Chamara Silva	Hyderabad	$1,00,000	$1,00,000
David Hussey	Kolkata	$6,25,000	$1,25,000
Albie Morkel	Chennai	$6,75,000	$2,00,000
Ajit Agarkar	Kolkata	$3,50,000	$2,00,000
Shaun Pollock	Mumbai	$5,50,000	$2,00,000
Irfan Pathan	Mohali	$9,25,000	$2,00,000
Scott Styris	Hyderabad	$1,75,000	$1,75,000
Farveez Maharoof	Delhi	$2,25,000	$1,50,000
Tillekeratne Dilshan	Delhi	$2,50,000	$1,50,000
Cameron White	Bangalore	$5,00,000	$1,00,000
Yusuf Pathan	Jaipur	$4,75,000	$1,00,000
Joginder Sharma	Chennai	$2,25,000	$1,00,000
Dinesh Karthik	Delhi	$5,25,000	$2,00,000
AB de Villiers	Delhi	$3,00,000	$2,00,000
Mark Boucher	Bangalore	$4,50,000	$2,00,000
Parthiv Patel	Chennai	$3,25,000	$1,50,000
Kamran Akmal	Jaipur	$1,50,000	$1,50,000
Ricky Ponting	Kolkata	$4,00,000	$3,25,000
Brett Lee	Mohali,	$9,00,000	$3,00,000
Andrew Symonds	Hyderabad	$1.35 million	$2,50,000
Daniel Vettori	Delhi	$6,25,000
Matthew Hayden	Chennai	$3,75,000
Brendon McCullum	Kolkata	$7,00,000	$1,75,000
Jacob Oram	Chennai	$6,75,000	$2,00,000
Shane Warne	Jaipur	$4,50,000	$4,50,000
MS Dhoni	Chennai	$1.50 million	$4,00,000
Adam Gilchrist	Hyderabad	$7,00,000	$3,00,000
Mahela Jayawardene	Mohali	$4,75,000	$2,50,000)
Muttiah Muralitharan	Chennai	$6,00,000	$2,50,000
Shoaib Akhtar	Kolkata	$4,25,000	$2,50,000

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Duminy at No. 4 on new IPL list

	JP Duminy's outstanding performance in Australia has fetched him a base price of $300,000 at the IPL auction © Getty Images

South African batsman JP Duminy's rising stature in international cricket was reflected in the final IPL auction list of 43 cricketers. Duminy's base price has been pegged at US$300,000, the most expensive after those of Kevin Pietersen, Michael Clarke and Andrew Flintoff.

The new list has only 43 players - the original had 111 - and includes 15 from Australia, four from Bangladesh, seven from England, three from New Zealand, five from South Africa, four from Sri Lanka, and five from the West Indies.

Each franchise has a maximum of US$2m to spend on their overseas signings in the auction. The bidding for Pietersen will start at $1.35m, while that for Clarke and Flintoff will begin at $1m and $950,000 respectively.

Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, said the franchises with Pakistan players on their roster would be allowed to use money equal to the cost of the player to make purchases after the auction. Pakistan players have not been allowed by their government to participate in the league this season.

"The Pakistan players have a three-year contract with the franchises and the only reason of their unavailability could be injuries. But since that is not the case here, we will have to look at the legal aspect of the issue," Modi said. "The spots for Pakistan players will be freed up and the money they invested on these players last year would be made automatically available post auction, so that the teams can buy new replacement players."

Modi told Cricinfo that if franchises buy replacements for Pakistan players from the auction - as they are entitled to - they would have to stay within the US$ 2 million cap. "After the auction, they will be allowed to spend the equivalent of what they would have paid the Pakistan player for this year on a replacement," Modi said. "However, this replacement will have to be from our original list of players that was released last week."

The new group also includes ten players who were not on the original one: Aaron Bird, Brett Geeves, Daniel Harris, Dominic Thornley, Jon Moss, Phil Jaques, Steven Smith, Samit Patel, Chamara Kapugedera and Jerome Taylor. Geeves was with the Delhi Daredevils for the IPL's inaugural season, while Kapugedera and Thornley played for the Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians respectively.

Final list of players for auction (all figures in US$)
Australia: Aaron Bird (45,000), Brett Geeves (45,000), Bryce McGain (50,000), Daniel Harris (50,000), Dominic Thornley (50,000), George Bailey (50,000), Jon Moss (50,000), Michael Clarke (1,000,000), Michael Dighton (85,000), Michael Hill (50,000), Phil Jaques (100,000), Shane Harwood (75,000), Shaun Tait (250,000), Steven Smith (75,000), Stuart Clark (250,000).

England: Kevin Pietersen (1,350,000), Andrew Flintoff (950,000), Luke Wright (150,000), Owais Shah (150,000), Paul Collingwood (250,000), Ravi Bopara (150,000), Samit Patel (100,000).

Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (75,000), Mohammad Ashraful (75,000), Mashrafe Mortaza (50,000), Tamim Iqbal (50,000).

New Zealand: James Franklin (50,000), Jesse Ryder (100,000), Kyle Mills (150,000).

South Africa: Gulam Bodi (100,000), JP Duminy (300,000), Morne van Wyk (100,000), Tyron Henderson (100,000), Yusuf Abdullah (25,000).

Sri Lanka: Thilan Thushara (100,000), Nuwan Kulasekara (100,000), Kaushalya Weeraratne (50,000), Chamara Kapugedera (150,000).

West Indies: Kieron Pollard (60,000), Fidel Edwards (150,000), Dwayne Smith (tbc), Kemar Roach (50,000), Jerome Taylor (tbc).

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South Africa win by 25 runs

Cricket-South Africa win by 25 runs to take series lead

* South Africa go 2-1 up in five-match contest

* Australia fall short in run chase

(updates at end of match)

CAPE TOWN, April 9 (Reuters) - South Africa took a 2-1 lead in the five-match series of one-day internationals when they beat Australia by 25 runs on Thursday.

Australia, chasing 290 for victory, were restricted to 264 for seven in their 50 overs.

Earlier, Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers led South Africa to 289 for six with classy half-centuries.

The pair came together with the hosts struggling on 50 for two in the 15th over on a slow pitch but took control with a stand of 114 off 131 balls.

Kallis scored 70 off 86 deliveries with five fours and immediately took the run-rate forward with a series of commanding front-foot drives.

South Africa's leading run-scorer fell to a soft dismissal, pulling a Brett Geeves long-hop straight to wide mid-on at the end of the 36th over.

LEADING EDGE

De Villiers went on to hit 80 in 87 balls and was out in the 41st over when paceman Mitchell Johnson had him caught off a leading edge, playing too early to the leg-side.

Busy innings in the last five overs by Albie Morkel (29) and Mark Boucher (28 not out) then capitalised on the fine work of the middle order.

Johnson, who used changes of pace to good effect, was difficult to get away and finished with outstanding figures of four for 34.

Australia, in reply, slumped to 114 for five before Callum Ferguson (63) and James Hopes (63 not out) gave them hope by adding 97 off 89 balls for the sixth wicket.

Slow left-armer Roelof van der Merwe, who took three for 37, had Ferguson caught at deep extra cover before the brilliant JP Duminy produced his second run-out of the innings to remove Johnson for nine.

Hopes collected five fours in a late flurry as he scored his unbeaten 63 in 60 balls.

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India's success

Cricket-Tendulkar credits coach Kirsten for India's success

CHENNAI, India, April 10 (Reuters) - Indian batting stalwart Sachin Tendulkar credits coach Gary Kirsten with helping the team become a force in world cricket again.

India won their first test series on New Zealand soil in four decades this week, their third successive test series victory since defeating top-ranked Australia in November.

"The secret to this success is the players are playing their natural game," Tendulkar told Mumbai tabloid Mid Day on Friday.

"That can only happen if the atmosphere is good and the mind is free of any kind of pressure.

"... it's the case of natural instincts taking over and that can be credited to Gary (Kirsten). The team environment is allowing players to play their natural game. That's probably the secret," Tendulkar added.

Tendulkar, the world's highest run-getter in test and one-day cricket, was second behind Gautam Gambhir in the runs tally for the team in the test series with 344 runs.

Former South African opener Kirsten took over from Greg Chappell last year and has helped the Indian team improve their performances, earning the respect of the players for his quiet approach following a turbulent period under the Australian.

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