London - English Premier League Middlesbrough said on Monday that Stewart Downing will not be leaving the club and that none of their senior players would be sold in the transfer window.

England winger Downing reportedly handed in a transfer request, just a year after signing a new five-year contract, and Tottenham Hotspur have made a bid for him, which was rejected.

Manager Gareth Southgate said Downing would be staying at the north-east club.

"In the situation we are in right now, we don't feel it would be right to let Stewart go," Southgate told Middlesbrough's official website.

Taipei - Taiwan, aiming at advancing to the top eight in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, on Monday announced the preliminary selection of players for the tournament.

The Chinese-Taipei Professional Baseball League announced the names of 48 players, including 11 who are playing for US teams and six playing for Japanese teams.

Wang Chien-ming, the Taiwan pitcher serving the New York Yankees, cannot play for Taiwan in the 2009 World Baseball Classic because Yankees refused to let him take leave.

Brisbane, Australia (dpa) - The confidence of former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis took a minor hit on Monday as the Cypriot crashed out 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 to Finn Jarkko Nieminen in the first round of the Brisbane International.

Nieminen preyed upon the injury-hit Baghdatis, who changed coaches in the off-season as he desperately tries to rescue his game.

Baghdatis, the 2006 Melbourne finalist against Roger Federer, admitted that he's not fully recovered from back and other injuries which compromised his 2008 season.

Lahore, Jan 5: Pakistani pace bowler Mohammad Asif wants a quick resolution to his playing status, which is effectively in limbo after he tested positive for the banned substance nandrolone during the Indian Premier League (IPL) last year.

Asif has appealed against the result, but was suspended by the previous Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) administration from all forms of the game pending the outcome of the IPL inquiry.

That is a status the current administration has not changed, the Daily Times reported.

London, Jan. 5: Phil Taylor broke his own record for a major final when producing a brilliant display to hammer Raymond van Barneveld 7-1 in the World Darts Championship to take his 14th world title in London last night.

Taylor had not won the title for three years, but the result was never in doubt as he racked up a brilliant three-dart average of 109.76 at Alexandra Palace, reports The Independent.

The 48-year-old, who took advantage of some poor finishing from Van Barneveld, has now won 12 of the 16 PDC championships.

Karachi, Jan 5: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) wants to host Australia in a proposed one-day series in April at home, a board official has said.

The official said the PCB wants to resume international cricket in Pakistan, and added that a series against Australia will be a major step towards that direction.

He rejected reports that the PCB is planning to host the series that will include five One-day Internationals and a Twenty20 game in Kuala Lumpur or any other offshore venue.

"We would only explore the option of a neutral venue if Australia expressed any security concerns," the official said on condition of anonymity.