IN BRIEF (Page 24)

Cricket

Ponting named ICC's Cricketer of the Year

JOHANNESBURG: Australia captain Ricky Ponting capped another excellent year by picking up the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Cricketer of the Year award for the second successive year on Monday.

"I am the first player to win this award twice in a row and it's a great thrill for me and something I am very proud of," Ponting, who was also named Captain of the Year, said after being presented with the Garfield Sobers Trophy.

Prolific Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf won the Test Player of the Year award while another Australian, Matthew Hayden, was named as the ODI Player of the Year after his leading role in winning the World Cup.

Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait won the Emerging Player of the Year award.

Lord's switches on with historic floodlit match

LONDON: Lord's, the traditional home of world cricket, staged its first floodlit match on Monday as Middlesex beat Derbyshire in a 40-over one-day game.

A crowd of more than 5,000 turned out on a fine evening to watch the historic fixture take place under temporary lighting.

Lord's is hoping to host floodlit matches during the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup.

"It's been a great success," MCC secretary Keith Bradshaw was told the BBC. "We've learnt some things and we're going to do it bigger and better next time.

"We have a process with a view to the Twenty20 in 2009 because we believe it should be at the home of cricket."

NFL

Cowboys' Ferguson ruled out for season

MIAMI: Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Jason Ferguson has been ruled out for the entire season with a torn biceps injury, the NFL team said on Monday.

Ferguson picked up the injury in the first quarter of Sunday's 45-35 victory over the New York Giants.

The Cowboys said on their official website (www.dallascowboys.com) that Ferguson would require surgery on the injury.

Dallas visits the Miami Dolpins on Sunday with Jay Ratliff expected to move into Ferguson's role at nose tackle.

Athletics

Below-par Bergqvist opts out for rest of season

STOCKHOLM: Sweden's 2005 world high jump champion Kajsa Bergqvist has opted out of competing for the rest of the season, citing a lack of motivation as the reason.

"It does not seem meaningful or fun to carry on competing the way things feel right now," she said in a statement on Monday.

"If I cannot accomplish results at a normal level, around two metres or higher, it feels better to finish the season.

Bergqvist, 31, only came seventh at this year's world championships in Osaka with a jump of 1.94m in the final.

Basketball

Unbeaten Lithuania, Slovenia cruise to wins

MADRID: Former champion Lithuania proved it is going to take some stopping after it beat France 88-73 for its fifth successive win at the European Championship on Monday.

In the late game, 2005 silver medalists Germany was humbled 77-47 by the tournament's other unbeaten side Slovenia.

In Group F, Slovenia, Lithuania and France (first, second and third) are all through to the quarters, leaving Italy, fourth, to scrap it out with Germany, fifth, and bottom-placed Turkey in the last round of games.

Earlier, Italy needed extra time to defeat Turkey 84-75 in a topsy-turvy encounter.

(China Daily 09/12/2007 page24)