Cricket: England’s batsmen began their struggle for a foothold in the final Test after Steven Finn led the tourists’ fightback with the ball on day two at Eden Park. Finn (six for 125) was eventually rewarded for his persistence as New Zealand were bowled out for 443 shortly after tea. Then as the Kiwi attack found conspicuously more swing than England managed for five sessions, Nick Compton dug in on the way to 50 for two at stumps after Alastair Cook had gone cheaply.
Golf: Justin Rose and Bill Haas finished the day tied at the top of the leaderboard following the second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando. Rose had led at the end of the first round but he dropped two shots en route to a second-round 70 in contrast to Haas who produced an impressive 66. Defen-ding champion Tiger Woods was on course to challenge at the top of the leaderboard but gusty winds down the back nine scuppered his bid with three consecutive bogeys in the final three holes.
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Tennis: Australia’s bad boy of tennis Bernard Tomic (picture) has been re-instated into the Davis Cup team after being booted out last year for a perceived lack of commitment. The lanky 20-year-old will join the team for its Asia/ Oceania group tie in Uzbekistan next month as Australia bid for a place in the World Group playoffs later this year. Tomic, rated a prodigious talent and a future top-10 player by many tennis pundits, was kicked out of the team after earning the nick-name ‘Tomic the Tank Engine’ for appearing to ‘tank’ - or not try hard enough - in a series of losing matches in the second half of the year.
Basketball, NBA: The Miami Heat overcame an 11-point first-half deficit to beat the Detroit Pistons 103-89 on Friday night to stretch their NBA winning streak to 25 games. LeBron James had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists while Dwyane Wade contributed 19 points as the Heat moved a step closer to the Los Angeles Lakers' 1971/72 record of 33 straight wins. Greg Monroe poured in 23 points at AmericanAirlines Arena for the Pistons, but it was not enough to prevent his side suffering a 10th consecutive loss.
Olympics: British basketball will benefit from a seven million pounds ($10.67 million) funding package as it seeks to put together a team capable of challenging for a medal at the the Rio Olympics in 2016. UK Sport, the government body responsible for funding Britain’s Olympic sports, announced the figure on Friday having already agreed a reprieve for basketball which originally had its funding withdrawn in December. The funding will be on a one-year conditional basis, UK Sport said in a statement, with the full amount allocated only being released if basketball meets performance criteria.
Modern Pentathlon: Great Britain’s London 2012 silver medallist Samantha Murray had to settle for fifth place in her first Modern Pentathlon World Cup of the year in Rio de Janeiro yesterday. Murray had led going into the run/shoot element of the competition but was gradually overhauled by American Margaux Isaksen, who went on to clinch gold. Competing in her first event since her Olympic success, Murray eventually slipped out of medal contention.