Karachi, Mar. 17: Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam has said that the Pakistan team would put a smile back on the face of Pakistan cricket by winning the World Twenty20 championship to be played in England this summer.

“Our cricket is going through a rough phase. But we have to fight on and one way to do that is to start winning titles like the World Twenty20 championship,” said Alam, while referring to the woes of Pakistan cricket.

Sydney, Mar. 17: Spin doctor Terry Jenner has appealed to Australia''s national cricket selectors to include Victorian leg spinner Bryce McGain in the squad for the Cape Town Test, though the latter doesn’t expect to play.

"I can''t see any point in not playing him. It wouldn''t make sense to not at least find out about him. If he can''t get a game when Australia is 2-0 up in the series, then they are not going to play him in England,” Jenner said.

Los Angeles - The Houston Rockets turned a big loss into a huge win.

Ron Artest scored all 18 of his points in the second half, and the Rockets overcame the absence of flu-ridden Yao Ming to beat the New Orleans Hornets 95-84 on Monday night.

"I can't say enough about the win, we got a lot of contributions from a lot of different people," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "It's a big road win against a team that's right next to us in the standings."

London, Mar. 17: A top Savile Row tailor has been called in to spruce up the England football team’s kit.

Cape Town, Mar. 17: South Africa captain Graeme Smith has hinted that there is a split between the management and players in the wake of a fiasco that resulted in the side having four captains during the current series against the Australians.

The team, which is 2-0 down in the three-match series, has refused to comment on Mark Boucher replacing Smith on the field and then Ashwell Prince, who has been out of the side for five Tests, being appointed opener and captain for the third Test.

Lahore, Mar. 17: PCB's chief selector Abdul Qadir has asked pacer Shoaib Akhtar to prove his fitness if he wants to participate in the World Twenty20 Championship in England.

The 2009 World Twenty20 Championship will be held in England in June. The PCB is going to select its preliminary squad by the end of this month, The Nation reports.

Qadir said a ''fully-fit'' Shoaib would prove to be a huge asset for Pakistan, and hence, will certainly be considered for the team going to participate in the prestigious tournament.

Due to poor performance in ODIs against Sri Lanka, Shoaib was ignored for the Test series against Lankans, and also left out from the upcoming Bangladesh tour.