CRICKET

AB de Villiers and Hashim Amla put on a 144-run partnership to take South Africa to a comprehensive eight-wicket win and a series victory in the fourth one-day international against Australia in Adelaide on Monday. South Africa scored 223 for two to win the match with 71 balls remaining and wrap the series up 3-1 with one game still to play. Amla and De Villiers came together in the 13th over and their unbroken third-wicket partnership was scored off 155 balls with Amla ending unbeaten on 80 off 103 balls with seven boundaries. De Villiers was not out on 82 off 85 balls with six fours and one six.

CRICKET

Pakistan's suspended fast bowler Mohammad Asif said on Monday that he hoped to be cleared from an Indian Premier League doping charge.

CRICKET

Kevin Pietersen hit a century in his first appearance for England since resigning the captaincy in the opening match of the West Indies tour on Sunday.
Pietersen, who quit as captain earlier this month after a disagreement over the coaching of the team, scored 103 from 107 balls as England reached 424 for eight at stumps on day one of the three-day tour match against a St Kitts XI at Warner Park. Andrew Strauss, the man who replaced Pietersen at the helm, won the toss but was then dismissed for a second-ball duck before Pietersen and Owais Shah (125 not out) gave England a healthy start.

TENNIS

A struggling Serena Williams received a free ride into the Australian Open quarte-finals when her opponent fell ill on Monday, while fourth seed Elena Dementieva surged to her 14th straight win this year. Three-time Australian champion Williams was trailing 6-3, 2-4 to rising teen star Victoria Azarenka and had received a code violation for swearing in frustration when a mystery bug forced the 16th seeded Belarusian to retire.

FOOTBALL

The Confederations Cup which kicks off on June 14 will be the dress rehearsal for the 2010 World Cup and failure is not an option. Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke spelt it out when he stated: "The Confederations Cup has to succeed. We know there might be one or two hitches which we can iron out, but for Fifa and the 2010 Local Organising Committee the Confederations Cup is a major test of our ability to stage the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.