Flintoff eyes comeback
England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff aims to make his long-awaited comeback in the Lions tour of India as he steps up his recovery from ankle surgery. Flintoff, 30, has been in America for rehabilitation after his operation in October. But Flintoff could feature as a batsman in the Lions team which will compete in the Duleep Trophy later this month.

BCCI to send two more selectors
In a departure from its own guidelines, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has decided to send two more national selectors Venkatapati Raju and Ranjit Biswal to go to Australia, reports PTI from New Delhi.
Raju and Biswal would join the Indian team in the third Test against Australia starting in Perth on January 16, Board vice-president Rajiv Shukla said on Saturday night.
This is a break from the guidelines issued by the Board in the midst of its stand-off with selectors, particularly Dilip Vengsarkar, chairman of the selection committee, over their writing newspaper columns. The guidelines had stipulated that only one selector would go with the team on overseas tour.
The two selectors would be with the team also for the fourth and final Test starting in Adelaide on January 24. Vengsarkar is already with the team in Australia.
Marathon start at Tiananmen
The marathon at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing will begin from central Tiananmen Square, one of China’s most popular tourist spots, state media said on Saturday, reports AFP from Beijing.
Nearly 20 years after the bloody crackdown on public protests in the square in June 1989, organisers have chosen the spot — always under tight security — as the starting line for the marathon, the ‘Beijing News’ reported.
According to the newspaper, citing a source on the organising committee for the Beijing Games, the route will be officially unveiled in February or March.
The women’s marathon is set to take place on August 17, while the men will compete on August 24.
Zim to go ahead with Pak tour
Zimbabwe Cricket Union has provided some respite to Pakistan Cricket Board by confirming their national team would be touring Pakistan from January 12 despite the uncertain security situation and political unrest in the country, reports PTI from Karachi.
Zimbabwe is due to play five one-day internationals in Pakistan after they open their tour with a four-day and a three-day game in Karachi.
ICL players to wait
Six cricketers, outlawed by PCB for joining the Indian Cricket League (ICL), have decided to wait before fighting the decision in court, reports UNI from Lahore.
‘’We filed a petition through our lawyer Imran Qureshi in the Lahore High Court to get a stay order against the decision on Friday because we wanted to play for Habib Bank Limited in the final of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy which starts on Monday, but after the learned judge deferred the decision till Monday, we reconsidered our option of going to the court and decided to wait for the Governing Board’s decision,’’ Imran Farhat told The Dawn.
The other five banned players are Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shabbir Ahmed, Azhar Mahmood, Abdul Razzaq and Taufiq Umar.
Jeev marries      childhood friend
Ace Indian golfer Jeev Milkha Singh tied the knot with childhood friend Kudrat Brar in a city court in Chandigarh, reports PTI from Chandigarh.
The 36-year-old Jeev married Kudrat in a private ceremony attended by close friends and family on Friday. Kudrat is a divorcee with a 13-year-old son, who is reportedly an aspiring golfer.
Narrow win for Bangalore Blues
Bangalore Blues defeated Bangalore Independents 1-0 in the BDFA’s ‘C’ Division football league at the 515 Army Base Workshop ground in Bangalore on Saturday.
Gillet scored the only goal in the 61st minute.
At the Austin Town ground, Young Muslims struck through Allen (7th) and Santhosh (57th) to down Bangalore Muslims 2-0.
Mukesh seizes      the initiative
Veteran Mukesh Kumar used all his experience to take the sole lead in round three of the Tata Open 2008 being played jointly at Beldih and Golmuri golf courses on Saturday, reports UNI from Jamshedpur.
Defending champion SSP Chowrasia lies tied fourth position along with Chandigarh’s Sujjan Singh. The two have a total of two under 210. While Chowrasia fired even par 70, Sujjan shot three under 67 on the penultimate day of the tournament.