Friendly Namibia ALTHOUGH Egypt coach Hassan Shehata has preliminary chosen 32 players ahead of the 2008 African Cup of Nations, the number was reduced to 30 after Tersana striker Ahmed Salama and Spinning Mehalla winger Mohsen Hindawi were ruled out of the tournament because of injuries. The final roster will be announced after a friendly game against Namibia in Aswan on Saturday. The five-time African champions are playing Namibia, Mali and Angola in the build-up to the ACN which begins 20 January in Ghana. The list does not include Ahli's injured midfielder Mohamed Barakat or Middlesbrough striker Mido. Another absentee was Zamalek playmaker Shikabala who is serving a six-month ban by FIFA. Conversely, surprise inclusions included Petrojet's uncapped duo Ahmed Shaaban and Walid Suleiman, whilst there was no place for top league scorer Alaa Ibrahim. Olazabal hopeful of return JOSE Maria Olazabal hopes to return to action late this month after four months out with a form of rheumatism. The Spaniard, 41, only started hitting balls again this week after suffering problems in his shoulders and groin. "I was worried I was going to be out for a long time again, because of the amount of pain," said Olazabal, who endured 18 months out in the mid-1990s. "But according to my doctor, in six weeks or so I should be able to start practising pretty much normally again," he added. Olazabal will be in Louisville for the defence of the Ryder Cup next year as assistant to European captain Nick Faldo. He has not given up hope of playing in the event despite admitting he faces a tough battle given his lack of qualifying points. "I have lost a lot of ground, and being realistic I won't have played for five months. Whenever I start, maybe Dubai, I think it's going to be a slow start," he added. "That's going to make it very difficult, but I've not given up hope. Hope is the last thing you should lose. "It's tough watching. But it's not a decision I took. I was forced. It would have been different if I had said I had had enough." This year the popular Spaniard has managed only one top-10 finish -- third in the Players Championship in Florida in May -- before missing the Open Championship with a knee injury and then seeing his health go downhill again. "I've seen a lot of doctors, and they've done all kinds of tests," he added. "They know it's some kind of rheumatism. But they don't know what caused it, and it's just a matter of treating the symptoms until they go away. "At the moment I'm seeing a doctor in Pamplona an hour from my home, and last Friday the news was very good. "The blood tests were good, and the swelling's pretty much gone. The next few weeks will determine how I feel." He said he would not be content with just a place in the final. "I believe I can do it. I know I can win this." New Zealand by 10 BRENDON McCullum smashed 80 runs off just 28 balls as New Zealand destroyed Bangladesh by 10 wickets in cricket in Queenstown to seal the one-day series 3-0. Daniel Vettori took 5-7 to move past Chris Harris's New Zealand record of 203 for his one-day career to bowl the Tigers out for 93. New Zealand reached Bangladesh's total with an astonishing 44 overs to spare, 31 balls quicker than the old record. McCullum smashed nine fours and six sixes in a devastating onslaught. The Kiwis had 264 balls left to face when the match came to an early end, breaking the previous record of India, who beat Kenya with 231 deliveries in hand in 2001. Vettori won the toss and put Bangladesh into bat, and the Tigers were soon floundering with Kyle Mills removing opener Junaid Siddique in the third over. Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Ashraful toiled to take Bangladesh to 41 after 15 overs, before a batting collapse left the Tigers' innings in tatters. Vettori dismissed Aftab Ahmed for 19 and the left-arm spinner then swept through the lower order, taking the wickets of Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mashrafe Mortaza and Farhad Reza. Abdur Razzak was caught at third man by Chris Martin off a Mills delivery as Bangladeshi ended on 93 all out after 37.5 overs. The target proved embarrassingly easy for the Kiwis, with McCullum almost single-handedly chasing down the total. McCullum's 50 off 19 balls beat his own New Zealand record of 20 balls, set against Canada at St Lucia in the World Cup in March. It was two balls more than the world record of 50 off 17 balls held by Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya, against Pakistan in Singapore in 1996. McCullum's score was a world record 84.2% of his team's total. The previous mark was 72.7% held by West Indies opener Desmond Haynes, against New Zealand in Trinidad in 1985, when he scored 85 out of 117. Vettori's haul gave him world-leading 43 one-day wickets in the calendar year, nudging ahead of India's Zaheer Khan, who has 40 in 2007. Willoughby getting better HOPEFUL Joe Willoughby continued her progress with two seconds and a third place in the European Cup ski races in Kuhtai, Austria. Willoughby led after the first run of the slalom but made a mistake in the second leg to finish second. She then went on to finish second in the super-G, just ahead of team-mate Jane Sowerby. Willoughby completed her programme with third in the giant slalom, one place ahead of Sowerby. Paralympian Sean Rose also earned World Cup points with 12th place in the super-G and 16th in the slalom. The next round of European Cup races take place in RollRin, Tirol from 4-6 January.
