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South Africa to host 2010 Champions League Twenty20

South Africa are to host the 2010 Champions League Twenty20, the country’s cricket board has confirmed.

After successfully hosting the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup, they have been given the opportunity to be centre stage in the shortest format of the game.

The tournament will be held from September 10-26 at three yet-to-be confirmed venues.

The 12-team tournament comprises the top three Indian Premier League teams, the top two sides from the hosts, Australia and England as well as one competitor each from Sri Lanka, New Zealand and West Indies.

Last year was the marking of the first ever Twenty20 competition to include the best domestic teams from around the globe with Sussex and Somerset the only two counties that represented England and Wales.

The organisation’s president, Dr Mtutuzeli Nyoka, said: “This is a prestigious tournament involving seven of the world’s top cricket nations.

“It will be another feather in South Africa’s cap as a host of world-class sports events and will not clash in any way with the FIFA World Cup 2010.

“It will also be a big boost to the local franchises, their players and supporters which will feature in the tournament.”

New South Wales defeated Trinidad and Tobago in the final in India last year and will be hoping to qualify for the tournament this year to recreate their success.

A statement from Cricket South Africa (CSA) read: “The board accepted an invitation for South Africa to host the second season of the 2010 Champions League Twenty20 tournament at three venues over the period of 10-26 September this year.

“CSA is a shareholder in the Champions League, along with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Australian Cricket Association (ACA), and it is our turn to host the tournament.”

Ennis needs more rest before Doha

After becoming Word heptathlete Champion in Berlin last year, 2010 was set to be a big year for Jessica Ennis.

Ennis got off to a fantastic start in Glasgow breaking the English World Record for 60m hurdles, beating World Champiom Lolo Jones in the process. However since then she has been sidelined with a foot injury, most recently keeping her out of the Aviva Grand Prix in Birmington this weekend.

Jessica said: “New scans of my foot today show it has healed a lot, but with the World Indoors only a few weeks away the advice from the UK Athletics medical team is to give it a little more time to completely heal and focus on the World Indoors.”

The 24 year old is outright favourite to take gold at the indoor championships in Doha but faces stiff  competition from Olympic champion Nataliya Dobrynska.

Ennis added: “I am of course disappointed at missing the opportunity to compete in Birmingham.”

With Ennis missing spectators will be hoping for someone else to shine. The two leading ladies who could take centre stage are silvermedalist Lisa Dobriskey (1500m) and bronzemedalist Jenny Meadows (800m).

This will be Lisa’s first race of the year after deciding not to race in the two previous events. Meadows however is already in fine form after storming to a 2 second lead in the previous meeting in Glasgow.

It is not just Great Britian who will be well represented at the meeting. The worlds fastest ever woman USA’s Carmelita Jeter will be out to claim victory in the womens 60m. Sweden’s former Olympic Champion Christian Olsson is making a rare appearance in the Triple Jump after being sidelined by injuries over the past two years.

Olsson wil go head-to-head with Great Britians Phillips Idowu who claimed gold in Berlin last year.

Phillips said: “Olsson competing will potentially push me to jump further and I want to give him a good challenge on the day, especially in front of a home crowd. The bottom line is, no matter how good he is, Olsson’s just another competitor I want to beat.”

Tickets are still availble for the meeting and came be found through the Aviva Grand Prix website.

City clash vital for Reds

Liverpool need to turn up the heat at Eastlands if they are to beat Manchester City to fourth place.

City are the favourites to beat Rafael Benitez’s side to the last Champions League spot, and they are currently sitting above Liverpool in that all important fourth place.

The blue half of Manchester are a point clear of the Anfield outfit with a game in hand and Sunday’s clash will be hugely important for both sides to push the gap between fourth and fifth.

Gaining qualification for next years Champions League is crucial for both managers as both their futures are hanging in the balance, and will be under scrutiny if they fail to guide their team to join Europe’s elite next season.

Injuries

Manchester City manager, Roberto Mancini, will be without in-form Striker Carlos Tevez after he returned home to Argentina for family reasons, while Craig Bellamy may also not be available after a recent absence due to a knee injury.

Patrick Vieira will not feature as he has been handed a three match ban by the FA following his clash with Stoke City’s Glenn Whelan midweek, Vincent Kompany is also unavailable while he undergoes a test on a groin problem.

Rafael Benitez also has problems with selection, the Liverpool boss is still without Fernando Torres who is still struggling with a knee injury. Glen Johnson is also out of action as the right back is still sidelined due to a problem with his knee.

Benitez will be happy that Yossi Bennayoun could be fit after he has been out for several weeks with a broken rib.

Bennayoun has been sorely missed since his injury in mid-January, it was clear to see in Liverpool’s Europa League tie against Unirea Urziceni, as the Reds lacked any attacking play from the wings.

Last night’s game saw the Reds struggle to beat an average side in Europe. A 1-0 win kept the Anfield faithful quietly content after a performance that was lacking in creativity. Rafael Benitez told the BBC:

“It is not the best result but it is good - a clean sheet was important.

“Sometimes when the other team is defending well you have to be patient and keep more of the ball.

“We were waiting for the goal and were really pleased when we did at the end.”

Liverpool are lacking consistency and they need to perform in every game from now until May, the pressure is mounting as City have the psychological edge of holding fourth spot, Benitez needs his players to battle for fourth place and earn the right to play amongst the best in Europe next season.

Possible line-ups:

Manchester City: Given, Richards, Toure, Lescott, Garrido, De Jong, Ireland, Barry, A Johnson, Santa Cruz, Adebayor.

Liverpool: Reina, Carragher, Skrtel, Agger, Insua, Lucas, Mascherano, Kuyt, Gerrard, Maxi, Ngog.

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