CRICKET RSS WORLD

Kings XI Punjab failed to score a stiff 19 required off the last over and lost to Chevrolet Warriors by 10 runs in a warm-up Twenty20 match ahead of the Indian Premier League second season on Tuesday. Set a target of 152 to win, Kings XI lost wickets at regular intervals and could only muster 141 for 6 at the Sahara Oval, St George's Park.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa bowling coach Vincent Barnes is confident off-spinner Johan Botha can get his delivery method right after he was reported for a suspect bowling action in Monday's one-dayer against Australia.

Andy Flower is widely expected to be unveiled this week as England's new full-time director of cricket, having overseen the team's fortunes in an interim capacity during the recent tour of the West Indies

Andy Flower is widely expected to be unveiled this week as England's new full-time director of cricket, having overseen the team's fortunes in an interim capacity during the recent tour of the West Indies

Australia's failure against South Africa in the current one-day series has consigned Ricky Ponting's side to its lowest ranking the ICC ODI Championship.

Question: Who are the current Olympic silver medalists in cricket? Answer: France, and they want a re-match against England, who won gold at the Paris Games in 1900. France Cricket, the governing body for the sport in the country, is preparing to issue a challenge to England – a return game in Lille ahead of the London Olympics in 2012.

"It would be a one-day game," Maxime Parent, spokesman for France Cricket, told the Independent "I don't think that the French public is quite ready yet for a Test match stretching over five days. Perhaps, one day, who knows? Cricket is advancing quickly in France but it needs a match like this to capture the imagination of the public. France v England is always a big event in France, whatever the sport."

Cricket in France has come a fair way since it was banned as an "alien" sport in 1940 by the Vichy government. There are now ten clubs in France’s super-league and about one-third of its players are French. It might have been very different if the MCC had gone ahead with its first foreign tour – to France – in 1789. They had to cancel because of the French revolution.

Australia's failure against South Africa in the current one-day series has consigned Ricky Ponting's side to its lowest ranking the ICC ODI Championship.

Brett Lee may miss Australia's entire one-day series against Pakistan after he was deemed not fit enough to take his place in the squad for the start of the series in the United Arab Emirates later this month.

Question: Who are the current Olympic silver medalists in cricket? Answer: France, and they want a re-match against England, who won gold at the Paris Games in 1900. France Cricket, the governing body for the sport in the country, is preparing to issue a challenge to England – a return game in Lille ahead of the London Olympics in 2012.

"It would be a one-day game," Maxime Parent, spokesman for France Cricket, told the Independent "I don't think that the French public is quite ready yet for a Test match stretching over five days. Perhaps, one day, who knows? Cricket is advancing quickly in France but it needs a match like this to capture the imagination of the public. France v England is always a big event in France, whatever the sport."

Cricket in France has come a fair way since it was banned as an "alien" sport in 1940 by the Vichy government. There are now ten clubs in France’s super-league and about one-third of its players are French. It might have been very different if the MCC had gone ahead with its first foreign tour – to France – in 1789. They had to cancel because of the revolution.

South Africa's success in winning seven out of nine ODIs against Australia this year has consigned Ricky Ponting's side to its lowest ranking in the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship. The four-time World champions are now third in the listing, behind not only the Proteas but also India, which benefitted from Australia's loss in form to rise to second spot.