■ SOCCER
Zola impresses Hammers
Gianfranco Zola has impressed West Ham during an interview and has been shortlisted to succeed Alan Curbishley. The shortlist to take over at the Premiership club is now Zola, Roberto Donadoni and Slaven Bilic, with Michael Laudrup still a possibility. A top-level club source said: “Zola not only has impressive credentials but also came across incredibly well in our talks today.” Meanwhile, Bilic’s advisors told West Ham he would not be available until January and if the Croatia coach sticks to that timescale then the club will not wait for him. Donadoni also made a good impression on officials when he was interviewed last week, while Laudrup will have talks with the club today. Zola, the former Chelsea midfielder, has years of experience in English socer under his belt and that stood him in good stead when he met club chiefs on Saturday. The fact Zola and Donadoni are Italians could also be a factor given that West Ham’s director of football Gianluca Nani is a compatriot, and that they would be much happier with the continental-style working relationship than Curbishley was.
■ CRICKET
Aussies raring to go
Australia’s stars said they were fit and raring to face India after their one-day clean sweep against Bangladesh. The world’s top team embark on a gruelling tour against their fierce rivals in two weeks time. Stand-in captain Michael Clarke said Australia were super-fit and acclimatized to the expected heat after the 3-0 series win in tropical northern Australia. “It’s been great preparation. It’s been so warm up here, the guys have had a great time, we’ve had brilliant training facilities and we’ve been doing plenty of fitness,” Clarke said. “I think all the boys are in pretty good shape and looking forward to getting over to India and having a good Test series.” Ricky Ponting is expected to recover from injury to captain Australia with bowler Brett Lee and batsman Matthew Hayden also back. Troubled all-rounder Andrew Symonds has been ruled out and told to get psychological help. Australia are expected to name their squad next week.
■ RUGBY UNION
SARU denies coach claims
The South Africa Rugby Union (SARU) denied on Saturday a report claiming national coach Peter de Villiers was the victim of blackmail. A newspaper said an unnamed rugby official and a ’Bok squad member threatened to release a video allegedly showing De Villiers involved in sexual activities if the player was dropped. “Peter de Villiers and SARU categorically deny there has been any attempts to blackmail or coerce him over the selection of any player to the national squad,” a SARU statement said. “SARU can confirm that a company employee did approach De Villiers on Aug. 15 in Cape Town. The employee made certain extraordinary claims which SARU looked into but has been unable to find any basis to support in fact. The employee was advised on Aug. 25 that he would be called to an internal misconduct hearing, the charge sheet for which is still being prepared.”
■ CRICKET
Proteas say no to Pakistan
South Africa have turned down a request from the Pakistan Cricket Board to organize a one-day series this month, saying their players needed a rest after a hectic tour of England. The Pakistan board had approached Cricket South Africa to host a tri-series also involving Sri Lanka after the postponement of the Champions Trophy which was to have been held in Pakistan this month.
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