| March date for SLC polls Colombo: Sri Lanka's cricket board (SLC) will elect new members in March, an official said on Thursday. Duleep Mendis, chief executive, SLC, said the election for new one-year terms would be held on March 28 and the candidates would be called from March 7. It was unclear whether incumbent board president Thilanga Sumathipala, who is under detention pending a police investigation into charges of passport forgery and fraud, will seek re-election. Sumathipala has been accused of altering a passport to enable an alleged contract killer to travel to England to watch the 1999 Cricket World Cup, and of fraudulently releasing $2,688 from SLC's accounts for his travelling expenses Randhawa joint 21st Bangkok: India’s Jyoti Randhawa was sharing the 21st spot after Round I in the Johnnie Walker Classic golf meet here Thursday. Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn, playing in his first event this year, sizzled in the sunshine with an eight-under-par 64 to lead the $1.8-million tournament. The tall Dane ended the day with a one-stroke advantage over six-time major champion Nick Faldo Ruud contract extended London: Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy has signed a contract which will keep him at Manchester United until June 30, 2008, the club said on Thursday. No financial details were immediately available for the deal, which follows manager Alex Ferguson's agreement on Wednesday to sign a one-year rolling contract from June 2005. Van Nistelrooy, one of the top scorers in the Premier League with 14 goals so far this season, joined the English champions for £19 million ($34.46 million) in 2001."It shows the ambition of the club to keep the best. Ruud has broken every record since he has been here," Ferguson said in a statement on United's website. Sania-Natalia in last eight Hyderabad: Wimbledon girls' doubles champion Sania Mirza and Natalia Dziamidzenka defeated Jenni Lee Heinser and Jenifer Stevens 6-1, 6-0 in the women’s doubles pre-quarter finals of the Boca Raton Winter Classic ITF world ranking tennis tournament in Florida. Sania and her partner faced little challenge from their opponents in the first set as they raced to victory after dropping just one game. They breezed through the second set, according to information received here. Dong begins journey Beijing: Teenage Chinese striker Dong Fangzhuo left for England on Thursday to kick off a new career with Manchester United. “We hope he will grow up quickly in Europe. Joining United will be good for his career,” Dalian Shide general manager Lin Lefeng said. The 18-year-old striker agreed earlier this month to leave Dalian. Coulthard’s swansong London: Scottish formula one pilot David Coulthard has declared that he was going to make an extra effort this season to give himself a memorable last season with the McLaren team. The 32-year-old is set to be replaced by Colombian star Juan-Pablo Montoya for the 2005 season — forming a so-called ‘dream team’ with Finn Kimi Raikkonen — after nine campaigns and he admitted that he was going to take a more aggressive approach. Sport on Screen Tennis, Australian Open live from 9.30 am on STAR Sports
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