Canterbury (New Zealand), Feb. 26 : Former New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond will not play this year's Champions League Twenty20 tournament.

Arguably the standout performer of Canterbury's march to the State Twenty20 final against Otago, Bond's contract with the Delhi Giants means he will not be permitted to play in the Champions event, should Canterbury win and then the winner of Sunday's match be invited.

Unlike Chris Harris, whose differing contract with the Hyderabad Heroes meant he was not eligible to play for Canterbury at all during the State Twenty20, Bond has been.

Melbourne, Feb 26: South Africa captain Graeme Smith has said that his team aims to follow its recent series win in Australia with a home triumph that will represent a "comprehensive beating" of the world champions.

Speaking on the eve of the first Test which starts at the Wanderers Stadium today, Smith said his players were "relaxed and focused" ahead of the most eagerly anticipated series in South Africa since the country returned to international cricket in 1991.

Melbourne, Feb 26 : South Africa captain Graeme Smith has said that his team aims to follow its recent series win in Australia with a home triumph that will represent a "comprehensive beating" of the world champions.

Speaking on the eve of the first Test which starts at the Wanderers Stadium today, Smith said his players were "relaxed and focused" ahead of the most eagerly anticipated series in South Africa since the country returned to international cricket in 1991.

Los Angeles  - Hot-head Rasheed Wallace lost his cool, and the struggling Detroit Pistons lost another game.

David West scored 30 points, including a pair of free throws with 6.7 seconds left, and the New Orleans Hornets handed the Pistons their eighth straight defeat, 90-87 on Wednesday night.

"I knew it was going to be a tight game all the way," Hornets coach Byron Scott said. "I'm glad we made some big plays in the end and got the stops when we needed."

Madrid  - Real Madrid are determined to recover from Wednesday's 1-0 Champions Cup home defeat against Liverpool by scoring their 10th straight win.

On Saturday they are away to lowly but unpredictable Espanyol, who pulled off the surprise of the season last Saturday by winning 2-1 away to leaders Barcelona.

"What we have to do now is start to think about how to beat Espanyol on Saturday," Real defender Gabriel Heinze said.

Easier said than done.

Sports Minister asks the CMs of West Bengal, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh to emulate Central Government by honouring the heroes of 1956

Sports Minister Dr MS Gill is following up the felicitation of members of the 1956 Olympics football team with requests to Chief Ministers of different states to do likewise by honouring the players who had made it to the semifinals.

Gill has written to Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee (West Bengal), Ashok Chavan (Maharashtra) and Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy (Andhra Pradesh) asking them to emulate the central government by honouring all these former players irrespective of which state they belong to.