Wellington, Nov. 19 : Wealthy owners of the eight Indian Premier League (IPL) teams are all keen to make a bid for New Zealand’s latest cricket star Jesse Ryder despite his bad boy reputation.

London, Nov. 19 : If Grand Prix chief Bernie Ecclestone has his way, Formula One champion racer Lewis Hamilton could be racing for gold medals next season.

According to The Sun, Ecclestone is planning to spice up Formula One radically, and reckons an Olympic style medal system for the top three finishers will pep up the event from a speactator point of view.

Ecclestone said: “I’m 100 per cent certain it’s the right way to go. It’ll get the drivers overtaking. Everybody is happy with the idea. The teams are all very supportive.”

Hamilton, 23, became the youngest champ by just one point after finishing fifth in a thrilling finale in Brazil earlier this month.

Glasgow (Scotland), Nov. 19 : New Argentina football coach Diego Maradona is reportedly distraught over fears that his daughter Giannina might suffer a miscarriage.

Giannina, the partner of Argentina’s star striker Sergio Aguero, was rushed to a Madrid hospital with pregnancy complications.

Maradona granted his future son-in-law permission to immediately jet home to be with her and miss tonight’s Hampden clash with Scotland, The Sun reports.

London, Nov. 19 : A freak injury to England footballer Theo Walcott could keep him out for three months.

According to The Sun, winger Walcott dislocated his right shoulder at the end of the England training session in Berlin last night.

The 19-year-old was challenged by Scott Parker and went down on the wet pitch. He was rushed to hospital in the German capital where his shoulder was put back in place.

Walcott, who has just returned from injuring the same shoulder against Stoke, would have started tonight’s friendly for England against Germany but instead was due to fly home to have his injury assessed for immediate surgery.

London, Nov. 19 : Former Argentine football star Diego Maradona has told England to stop bleating about his 1986 World Cup ‘Hand of God’ goal.

He claimed Sir Alf Ramsey’s team cheated to win the World Cup!

Maradona also hit out at former England defender Terry Butcher for saying he would never forgive the new Argentina coach for his behaviour in 1986 in Mexico.

Maradona said: “England won a World Cup with a goal that never crossed the line. So it’s not fair that anyone should judge me when stuff like that went on.”

Sydney, Nov 19 : South Africa by recruiting former coach Duncan Fletcher, the architect of England’s 2005 Ashes victory, as a consultant for the Proteas’ forthcoming tour of Australia is expected to escalate tensions further between two teams.

The series, billed as the battle for Test supremacy, has been tinged with spice from the outset, with opposing coaches Mickey Arthur and Tim Nielsen asserting their teams’ credentials for the No. 1 ranking and highlighting flaws in each other’s armoury.