Muamba up and about

Bolton: Bolton manager Owen Coyle says Fabrice Muamba has started walking again, less than three weeks after his on-field cardiac arrest during the FA Cup quarter finals.

The former England under-21 midfielder has been in London Chest Hospital since collapsing on March 17.

His heart stopped beating for 78 minutes but Coyle says he has already “done some short periods of walking down the corridor ... He is taking steps, talking and has that big smile.”

Rupesh loses

Miramar: Rupesh Shah of India went down fighting to Praput Chaithanasukan of Thailand in the clash between two former world champions on Day IV of the Asian Billiards Championship.

AFC Cup

Panaji: Jordan’s Al Wehdat thrashed Salgaocar 5-0 in a group ‘D’ league match of the AFC Cup, in Amman on Wednesday.

Danish charged

London: The England and Wales Cricket Board has charged Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria with corruption relating to spot fixing in the county game.

Kaneria was accused in a British court in February of pressuring former Essex teammate Melvyn Westfield into fixing part of a match. Westfield pleaded guilty to fixing and was jailed for four months.

Kaneria denies the allegations. But the ECB now says that both Kaneria has been charged over alleged “corrupt activities which led to Mervyn Westfield's criminal conviction.”

Zaheer mantra

Bangalore: Picking up wickets at any stage of the game and restricting the opposition from scoring at a brisk pace is Zaheer Khan’s mantra in the fifth edition of IPL.

“I like to keep things simple in any format of the game. As a bowler my look out will be to take wickets at any stage of the game. It helps restrict opponents from scoring at a brisk pace,” he said after Royal Challengers Bangalore practice session here on Thursday.

Dawes view

New Delhi: India’s newly-appointed bowling coach Joe Dawes feels that the Indian Premier League would be a good learning experience for him to understand the Indian cricketers, conditions and culture in a better way.

“Absolutely...through IPL, I would get to understand the Indian players. I would be watching all the different Indian bowlers playing for each of their respective franchises. So, all this exposure would be of great help to me,” Dawes said.

Vindicated

Canberra: Relieved after winning a libel suit against axed IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi, who had accused him of match-fixing, former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns said he feels “complete vindication”.

Insisting that he was “never going to back down” against one of international cricket's most powerful figures, Cairns said that he had to fight the case to restore his reputation.