Brett Lee became the latest former Australia cricketer to be handed a World Cup role with another side when it was revealed he would serve as Ireland's bowling coach in the lead-up to the tournament.

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Ireland coach Phil Simmons said: "Brett has a wonderful knowledge of fast bowling, and his special insight of Australian pitches will help give our bowlers further confidence ahead of their group matches."

Mike Hussey was 'signed up' by South Africa earlier in the day as a consultant.

Steve McClaren has laughed off speculation linking him with the vacant QPR manager's job, reports BBC Radio Derby's Owen Bradley.

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"I answered that a few weeks ago (when he was linked to the Newcastle job) and it is the same answer now. Nothing changes. We laugh it off and move on quick," McClaren said in his weekly press conference today.

"So let's focus and concentrate on the job in hand which is trying to get Derby County into the Premier League."

James Ward put up a heck of a fight in the second round of the Zagreb Indoors ATP tournament in Croatia, but eventually lost in three sets to Andreas Seppi.

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The British number two lost 7-5 6-7 6-3 against Seppi, who hit the headlines at the Australian Open when he knocked out Roger Federer.

Manchester City have left striker Stevan Jovetic out of their Champions League squad to accommodate new £25m signing Wilfried Bony.

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The arrival of Ivory Coast international Bony from Swansea in January meant City had one more foreign player in their squad than they are permitted to register for European competition.

Governing body UEFA published City's revised squad for the second half of the season on Thursday and Jovetic's name was not included.

The decision by manager Manuel Pellegrini to leave out Jovetic means that he will continue to be restricted to just three senior strikers for the remainder of the competition - now Bony, Sergio Aguero and Dzeko.

World number three Ronnie O'Sullivan made light work of Mark Davis by winning 5-1 to reach the second round of the German Masters in Berlin.

'The Rocket' became the highest century-maker in snooker history during the Masters, before suffering a heavy loss to Neil Robertson in the semi-final.

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But he put in a clinical performance in Berlin, compiling breaks of 93, 68 and 62, finishing the match with a superb 117.

"I constructed some nice breaks and my safety was good," said O'Sullivan. "I am a player that needs matches. I am striking it better so I can be a bit more aggressive."

Ipswich Town have signed Shelbourne's Republic of Ireland Under-21 winger Dylan Connolly on an 18-month contract, manager Mick McCarthy has confirmed.

The 19-year-old, who scored 12 goals in 27 games for Shelbourne, had trials at Ipswich and Bolton in the summer.

A little reaction from Mike Phelan at being named Steve Bruce's assistant at Hull.

"I'm extremely pleased to be at this football club," said Phelan, which is a relief given he's just signed a contract with them.

"I want to work hard and channel all of my energy into helping the staff, the players and everybody associated with the club.

"I'm looking forward to working with Steve and hopefully I can bring with me some of the things I have learned over the years to help us improve."

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Hull City FC: We are delighted to confirm the appointment of Mike Phelan as the club's new assistant manager.

Burnley have dismissed a suggestion they emailed agents begging for help identifying players prior to Monday's transfer deadline.

The Clarets failed to make any additions on deadline day, despite working close to the cut-off point on a number of potential deals.

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It has been reported head of recruitment Lee Darnborough sent an email to agents on Sunday asking if they had any suitable players available.

The club, managed by Sean Dyche, have not completely denied this occurred but have issued a statement saying they believe the intention behind the email has not been accurately conveyed.

Spike Lee is going to be directing to the likes of Kevin Hart, Common, Anthony Anderson and Mo'Ne Davis - but instead of on a movie set, it will be on the basketball court.

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The famed filmmaker is to coach the Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, which will kick off festivities for the All-Star weekend from 13-15 Feb.

Lee, a New York Knicks fan, will coach during an event to be held at Madison Square Garden and televised live on ESPN.

BBC WM Sport:, external Birmingham manager Gary Rowett says keeping Demarai Gray at the club and rejecting Bournemouth's £5m bid for him was an 'important thing to do'.

Celtic midfielder Kris Commons has signed a new two-year contract.

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The club's announcement signals an end to protracted negotiations that for a long time appeared likely to end in failure.

A club statement read: "Celtic are delighted to announce that Kris Commons has signed a new two-year deal, committing himself to the club until the summer of 2017."

Plymouth Argyle have agreed to sign Charlton's 19-year-old left-back Tareiq Holmes-Dennis on a youth loan until the end of the season. The deal will go through when the loan window re-opens next week.

BBC Wales Sport on Twitter:, external Wales defence coach Shaun Edwards expects England to be "strong up front" and for more kicking during the game because the roof will be open

Remember we asked earlier for footballers looking miserable when signing for new clubs?

You've not let us down. Here's Jonjo Shelvey ecstatic at arriving in Swansea.

Image source, Swansea FC

Then there's Emmanuel Frimpong struggling to contain his excitement on touching down at Barnsley.

Image source, Barnsley FC

Keep them coming at at #bbcfootball

Ireland have named the team that will face Italy in Rome on the opening weekend of the Six Nations.

Combative British and Irish Lions flanker Sean O'Brien will play his first Test since November 2013 against Italy.

Jamie Heaslip misses out injured but Conor Murray returns to partner Ian Keatley at half-back.

A lifelong Blackpool FC fan is facing the club's owners - the Oyston family - in the High Court today.

David Ragozzino, 32, is being sued for up to £150,000 by the club and its directors, Karl and Owen Oyston, after he allegedly posted defamatory information about them online.

Mr Ragozzino says he will be supported by up to 100 fellow fans at today's hearing in Manchester. "They are just trying to silence the fans again," he told the Blackpool Gazette, external.

Blackpool, in the Premier League in 2011, are bottom of the Championship, nine points from safety, and fans have held several protests against the Oystons throughout the course of the season.

Great Britain have been beaten by Turkey in the Fed Cup qualifying competition in Budapest, but could still top their group if they beat Ukraine tomorrow.

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Both Heather Watson and Johanna Konta lost their singles matches, but victory in the doubles for Anna Smith and Jocelyn Rae strengthens Britain's position ahead of their final group match.

Saido Berahino faces being disciplined by West Brom but has not been put up for sale, according to PA Sport.

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The striker is in trouble after giving an unauthorised interview to Sky Sports News where he said he hoped to move "on to bigger things" if he helped the Baggies beat the drop.

Tottenham and Liverpool were linked with the England Under-21 international but the Baggies did not receive any bids during the transfer window.

Mark Cavendish has retained the leader's jersey at the Dubai Tour after finishing second to Italian Elia Viviani on Thursday's second stage.

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The 29-year-old from the Isle of Man still holds a two second advantage over Viviani, having won the opening stage.