Sports News

Birmingham Bears have signed New Zealand wicket-keeper batsman Luke Ronchi for all 14 NatWest T20 Blast group games in 2016. Ronchi (34) has won 29 international T20 caps and recently played in the ICC World T20 semi-final against England, as well as being an integral part of the BlackCaps team that reached last year's ICC Cricket World Cup final. He will join Birmingham Bears ahead of the first NatWest T20 Blast group game away to Notts Outlaws on Friday 20 May.

The relationship between FC Barcelona and La Manga Club moves from strength to strength after announcing that the global football giants will hold their Official Barcelona Junior Football Camp at Spain's flagship resort for the third year in a row this summer. Leading the way with Five Time World Footballer of the Year Lionel Messi, the Spanish and European champs continue to set the benchmark in club football, with youngsters able to discover what it takes to be the best at the camp, which takes place at La Manga Club from July 25-29.

Runner Rebecca Drackley is taking on the Marathon des Sables – known as the toughest footrace on earth – to raise funds for working animal charity SPANA.Thirty-seven year-old Rebecca from Birmingham will begin the ultra-marathon on 8 April and over six days will cover 156 miles of the Sahara desert, in temperatures up to 48˚C. The rules of the race means that she will have to be self-sufficient, carrying everything that she will need to survive, in her backpack.

Birmingham based Muay Thai World Champion, Dean James defeated experienced Frenchman, Hakim Hamech, with a dominant display at Muay Thai Grand Prix 3 at the Indigo O2, London. Three-time World Champion James put on a Muay Thai masterclass from the first round, filled with his trademark knee strikes and clinch drills. He sealed the win by way of unanimous decision.

World and Olympic heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill has said it would be ‘quite a buzz’ to compete in the 2017 World Championships in London before she retires. Ennis-Hill, who will find out next month if she has won the 2016 Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award, has not yet announced what her plans are beyond the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

As the IAAF World Indoor Championships drew to a close in Portland the USA handed the baton to the UK who will host the next edition in 2018 at Birmingham’s Barclaycard Arena. The city previously hosted the Championships in 2003 as well as the European Indoor Championships in 2007, giving t a proven track record and pedigree in staging major championships.

As the sporting world mourns the death of Johan Cruyff, it’s rest assured that his legacy will live bright in the game he so uniquely graced. The Dutch master, who lost his following a five-month battle against lung cancer, will always be remembered for being the leader of that great Netherlands team who brought a new dimension to the world game, with their newly invented brand of ‘total football.’

The world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt, has confirmed that he will compete on the night of Friday July 22 at the two day London Anniversary Games this summer. The world record holder will take to the track for the IAAF Diamond League meeting at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London for what will be one of the best athletics meetings in the world and one of the showpiece events in the British sporting summer.

A sign banning ball games has been removed from an estate in Haringey as a borough-wide drive to encourage children to live more active lifestyles gathers pace. The sign on the Stellar House Estate in Northumberland Park was removed by Haringey Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, Cllr Peter Morton and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club Ambassador Ledley King.

Italian champions a record 33 times, Juventus is deservedly regarded as one of the world's elite footballing powers, and children have the chance to learn the secrets of the most successful side in Italian history at the deluxe Verdura Resort this summer. Featuring a galaxy of stars including Paul Pogba, Alvaro Morata, Gianluigi Buffon, Patrice Evra and Mario Mandžukić, Juventus continues to set the standard in Italy having won the Serie 'A' title the last four years in a row.

Premier League, Championship, League One and Two football clubs across the country have joined force, pledging their support for the ‘Sign for Life’ campaign to urge fans to join the NHS Organ Donor Register. With around 10,000 people, across the UK, need a transplant, clubs including; West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa, Stoke City, Manchester City, Southampton, Everton, Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Sheffield Wednesday and Notts County are all onboard.

Following on from its success at the 2015 BBL Play-Off Final, Hoops Aid is returning again this year to add yet more razzmatazz to an already spectacular day of basketball action. It promises to be another memorable day for British basketball when a huge crowd prepares to once again descend on The O2 for what is going to be the first ever BBL and WBBL Play-Off Finals double-bill.

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has announced that recruitment for their biggest ever grass roots kids initiative, following Great Britain’s Davis Cup by BNP Paribas win, is complete. 1,000 experienced and passionate coaches have been successfully recruited and are now poised to deliver the Tennis for Kids in partnership with Highland Spring initiative.

While not a traditional past-time in Canada, rugby is readying for the spotlight in British Columbia during the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series. Vancouver will host the inaugural Canada Sevens between 12 and 13 March 2016. This spectacular destination is one of the most talked about additions to the HSBC World Sevens Series.

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) have announced the launch of a national Trophy Tour of Great Britain with the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas, following Great Britain’s historic win against Belgium, hoisting the Trophy for the first time in 79 years. The LTA want the nation to help celebrate this momentous occasion by delivering a Trophy Tour that will begin in Scotland from the start of April and will be visiting every county and major tennis tournament over the coming months.