Melbourne, Apr 11: Australia’s cricket coach Tim Nielsen has said that fast bowler Brett Lee won’t be rushed back into one-day cricket too quickly during the Pakistan series starting in Dubai on April 22.

Lee, who broke down in December in the Melbourne Test against South Africa with foot and ankle injuries, is in Port Elizabeth training with his Indian Premier League side Kings XI Punjab ahead of the IPL’s five-week season, which starts in Cape Town on April 18.

Singapore - Japan is to bid for hosting the 2015 and 2019 Rugby World Cups with a proposal to play the matches in 10 Japanese cities as well as Singapore and Hong Kong, according to a report in the Straits Times Saturday. If Japan wins the bid, Singapore would host five matches, the report said.

Japan is to formally submit the proposal to the International Rugby Board (IRB) on May 13 which is expected to announce its decision on July 28, 2009.

Augusta, Georgia - Chad Campbell kept his head to maintain his place at the top of the leaderboard midway through the second round of the Masters on Friday. The American, who led by one shot after the first round on 7- under-par, moved to 9-under after a 70, thanks in no small part to a birdie at the last hole.

His lead could and should have been more after four birdies in the first 10 holes took him to 11-under. But bogeys at 11, 12 and 17 dropped him back before his final-hole birdie took him back to 9- under.

Belfast - Italian world class fencer Andrea Baldini has failed to have a six months ban for a doping violation overturned, the sports' governing body FIE said Friday. Baldini has, however, already served the suspension and is allowed to compete again.

The Italian, who won the silver medal at the world championships in 2006 and 2007, tested positive for the banned diuretic furosemide at the European championships in Kiev last July.

He has always maintained his innocence and said he had fallen victim to a campaign to frame him.

Lahore, Apr. 10 : Middle order batsman Mohammad Yousuf may have not been included in the initial list of probables for the Twenty 20 World Championship, but Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ijaz Butt still considers him a big asset for the nation in other forms of the game.

The Daily Times quoted Butt, as saying that though Yousuf is not in the selectors' scheme of things for Twenty20 cricket, he is an important player for the team in other two longer version of the game.

Lahore, Apr. 10 : The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is expecting to earn a massive four million dollars from the UAE one day international series against Australia.

The board, which is facing a grim financial situation due to a series of tour cancellations, is expecting the forthcoming series to improve its bank account figures, as it has sold the title sponsorship rights to a Dubai builder for 440,000 dollars while co-sponsorship rights have been sold 225,000 dollars to a bank and 160,000 dollars to a cellular company.