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General Sports News

Trio back in England fold

Author: Rose Young
Date: 08/04/2009

Former captain Michael Vaughan, plus James Foster and Sajid Mahmood, have all returned to the England Performance Squad.

The trio have been included in a 25-man squad announced by the England and Wales Cricket Board ahead of this summer's Ashes.

Essex wicket-keeper Foster has not been involved with the full side since the 2002/03 Ashes, while Lancashire seamer Mahmood has not featured on the international stage since the 2007 World Cup.

Former skipper Vaughan is back in the reckoning for a Test place despite not having played international cricket since giving up the captaincy.

Meanwhile, all 12 centrally contracted players have been included alongside six players on increment contracts.

South Africa coach Mickey Arthur has upset the cricket betting odds by officially ruled himself out of the running for the England job.

Arthur was believed to be the frontrunner for the head coach role, but the 40-year-old has agreed a three-year contract extension with the Proteas.

Sir Alex Ferguson admitted Manchester United only had themselves to blame after being held to a 2-2 draw by FC Porto in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

United had conceded early on at Old Trafford on Tuesday night before fighting back only to allow an unmarked Mariano to snatch a shock equaliser.

The reigning European champions must now become the first English team to defeat the Portuguese side on their own ground if they are to reach the last four.

Arsene Wenger is confident Arsenal can progress in the Champions League after securing a 1-1 away draw in the first leg of their quarter-final tie against Villarreal.

The Gunners fell behind to Marcos Senna's 30-yard strike in the early stages in Spain before grabbing a vital away-goal equaliser courtesy of a stunning overhead kick from Emmanuel Adebayor.

However, the draw came at a cost as defender William Gallas could miss the rest of the season with expected medial knee ligament damage.

Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia is also likely to miss next week's return leg after suffering a recurrence of an ankle problem.

Tiger Woods is hoping to kick-start a second Grand Slam of Major titles beginning with victory at this week's Masters.

The world number one held all four titles simultaneously in 2001 and following his successful return from knee reconstruction surgery this season, is keen to repeat the feat.

Woods will begin his challenge for a 15th career Major alongside Stewart Cink and Jeev Milkha Singh in Thursday's first round at Augusta National.

Elsewhere, Amir Khan will fight for a first world title when he takes on WBA light-welterweight champion Andreas Kotelnik in Britain on June 27.

Khan defeated Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera in a high-profile lightweight contest last month.

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