Wednesday's sports news as it happened

1. Liverpool's Sterling rejects £100,000 per week deal
2. I'm not a money-grabbing 20-year-old - Sterling
3. Rooney: First half against Italy not good enough
4. Murray faces Dominic Thiem in Miami last eight
5. Ian Bell signs new Warwickshire deal
6. GET INVOLVED: Your reaction to Sterling rejecting a contract

Goodbye

So that is everything from today's Sportsday Live. As always, we will be back nice and early at 08:00 BST on Thursday with all the breaking news and gossip.

Thanks for joining us and for your comments. Until next time, bye for now.

Get involved

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James Manchisi: Sterling is arguably a great and upcoming player. If the offer is indeed rejected, Liverpool must shake hands and part ways.

Gerardo: Sterling is not Gerrard, he'll leave at some point. Liverpool must prepare for that and get a proper deal, right players and fee.

Ankur Goel: Nothing wrong in demanding 100k a week when Rooney himself earns almost 300k. He is the future of England.

Charity deal for Hearts

Hearts will have their shirts sponsored by national charity Save the Children for the next three years.

It is the first time a British club has agreed a permanent shirt sponsor with a national charity - although Aston Villa were sponsored by local hospice Acorns during the 2008-09 season.

The deal has been funded by an anonymous "group of philanthropists", said Hearts owner Ann Budge.

A seven-figure sum will be split evenly between Hearts and the charity.

League One preview

Coventry City midfielder James Maddison is unlikely to feature against Leyton Orient despite making his comeback in the Under-21s after his back injury. Marcus Tudgay (hamstring) is a major doubt, while Reda Johnson is also still out with a muscle tear.

Leyton Orient are without Jobi McAnuff (Jamaica) and Ryan Hedges (Wales Under-21s), who are on international duty. Lloyd James came on in Saturday's 3-1 win over Port Vale, a first appearance since breaking his leg in September.

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Coventry boss Tony Mowbray told BBC Coventry & Warwickshire: "Orient look a decent team. They look strong enough not to finish in the bottom four. How they are down there, I'm not sure.

"But we shouldn't be fearing anyone. I don't think there's an anxiety from the players."

League One preview

BBC Sport

There's a big game at the bottom of League One tonight as Coventry entertain Leyton Orient, who will move out of the relegation zone if they avoid defeat.

But Coventry are not safe from the drop yet and need a win.

Get involved

Some more of your thoughts after Raheem Sterling turns down a £100,000-per-week contract to stay at Liverpool.

James McDowell: Sterling's one very deluded young man. I think he's had his head turned by a few good headlines and a grasping agent.

Sammy Franks: The most over-rated player in England. Had one decent season and now he wants 100k+ a week? Doesn't deserve it.

Tomsk: Sterling is right where he should be. An interesting test of character ahead for him; greed or sense. Time will tell.

Vote results

The votes are in and most of you think Raheem Sterling is bluffing and will not leave Liverpool, despite rejecting a £100,000 per-week offer and questioning their ability to win trophies.

Interestingly, if he were to leave Anfield, Arsenal is the next preferred option from those that voted.

BBC Sport

So thanks for voting. Here are the results.

Where will Sterling be playing next season? 41% Liverpool, 17.4% Arsenal, 9.8% Manchester City, 9% Real Madrid, 7.4% Manchester United, 7.2% Chelsea, 2.8% Barcelona, 5.4% other.

Clark misses Masters

South Africa's Tim Clark will miss the next week's Masters as he continues his recovery from an elbow injury.

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The 39-year-old, who finished as runner up to Phil Mickelson at the 2006 Masters, said in a message via his agent Thomas Parker that he did not have sufficient time to prepare for the event.

Clark has not played since the Sony Open in Honolulu in January and his absence from Augusta means the Masters is assured of having fewer than 100 players for the 49th straight year.

Rugby League

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Castleford head coach Daryl Powell believes Leeds Rhinos captain Kevin Sinfield will be a "target" for opposition players when he makes the switch to rugby union.

Sinfield, 34, made a surprise announcement that he will quit Leeds at the end of the season and join the Rhinos' sister club Yorkshire Carnegie on an 18-month contract.

Powell, who made Sinfield captain of Leeds at 22, said: "It's certainly a challenge. You look at Sam Burgess and what he's going through, and Iestyn Harris - it's tough. It's not an easy thing to do. The one thing you do have is a bit of a sign on you, on your head. You're a bit of a target."

Get involved

Some early reaction to the news that Raheem Sterling has rejected Liverpool's offer of a £100,000 per-week contract.

Max Baggins-Craig: Shocked to hear about Sterling's contract turn down, good job I am sat down. Will any other person ever turn down £100k a week?

Wee Brenny Rodgers: What is the hype with Sterling? He's the most overrated player in Europe at present. Real Madrid, Barca, hahahaha, behave. Does no one realise that Suarez made Sturridge, Sterling, Henderson etc look good last year? All been found out.

Viveora: I think he is looking for a move after seeing the fall of LFC and improvement of others. Asking fee will be too high.

BBC

Show us your medals

Speaking of trophies, here's what Liverpool and their major rivals have won since Raheem Sterling moved to Anfield from QPR in February 2010.

Chelsea - Premier League 2009-10. FA Cup 2009-10, 2011-12. League Cup 2014-15. Champions League 2011-12. Europa League 2012-13.

Manchester City - Premier League 2011-12, 2013-14. FA Cup 2010-11. League Cup 2013-14.

Manchester United - Premier League 2010-11, 2012-13. League Cup 2009-10.

Arsenal - FA Cup 2013-14.

Liverpool - League Cup 2011-2012.

Get involved

So where should Raheem Sterling be playing next year? Send us your suggestions and the reasons why. Would it be best for his career to stay at Liverpool or is he right to question their ability to win trophies?

Should he stay in England or would a move overseas be the best thing for his career?

Let us know your thoughts. Contact us on #bbcsportsday or leave a message on the BBC Sport Facebook page.

'Sterling is nowhere near the finished article'

Phil McNulty

BBC chief football writer

"Raheem Sterling is very good with the potential to be outstanding - but is nowhere near the finished article. He remains a work in progress in the manner of any 20-year-old with a career almost in its infancy.

"He is blessed with natural pace that makes even the best defences and defenders take a step back, allied to a talent that plays on the opposition's nerves.

BBC

"His finishing is still not his strong point and he has struggled at times this season to reproduce the brilliance he showed alongside Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge when Liverpool almost claimed their first title in 24 years last season.

"Sterling may develop into a natural finisher in time but he is nowhere near that as yet. He is still more of a creative force than a player who delivers the end product with regularity and reliability."

Read more from Phil McNulty on our football pages.

Vote now

Which club do you think Raheem Sterling will be at next season?

There are eight options to choose from on the top-right-hand side of the page, or under the 'Vote' tab on mobile devices.

The vote will close at 18:00 BST with results published here shortly after. Terms and conditions can be seen here.

BBC

Premier League table

BBC

So, why is Raheem Sterling concerned at Liverpool's ability to win trophies. Well, their only trophy in the last seven seasons was the League Cup that they won in 2011-12.

They are still in this year's FA Cup, but are well off the pace in the Premier League, sitting 13 points behind leaders Chelsea. Liverpool also face a battle with Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Southampton and Tottenham to qualify for the remaining Champions League places.

Watch the Sterling interview

BBC Sport

Watch the full interview with Raheem Sterling on the BBC Sport football pages.

The England international has put contract talks on hold and says he will not discuss a new deal with the club until the end of the season, no matter how big a deal he might be offered.

Sterling, who has two years left on a contract that gives him £35,000 a week, confirms he had already turned down a deal worth £100,000 a week.

BBC

'I'm a young kid with dreams and hopes'

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, now a television pundit, has warned Raheem Sterling to expect some supporters to turn on him unless he sorts out his future quickly.

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But Sterling said: "I'm sure Jamie, when he started out playing for Liverpool, he had his dreams and hopes. I'm no different. I'm a young kid with dreams and hopes.

"I know what I want from my career and I'm sure he did when he started out at roughly the same age as me.

"Everyone's entitled to their own opinion and I don't think any different of Jamie. I've known him from when he was at Liverpool and he's a great lad."

BreakingSterling turns down Liverpool deal

Raheem Sterling has told BBC Sport he is not a "money-grabbing 20-year-old" after confirming he has turned down a new £100,000-a-week Liverpool deal.

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He also says he will not discuss a new contract with the Reds until the summer, no matter how big a deal he might be offered in the meantime.

"It's not about the money at all," said the England forward. "It's never been about money. I talk about winning trophies throughout my career. That's all I talk about.

"I don't talk about how many cars I'm going to drive, how many houses I've got. I just purely want to be the best I can be."

BBC

Livingston fined for rule-break

Livingston have been fined £5,000 and given a registration ban for breaking Scottish FA dual interest rules.

In January, the Championship club were found to have breached four SFA rules due to majority shareholder Neil Rankine's involvement with East Fife.

And the division's bottom side face more action if Rankine does not dispose of his interests in one of the clubs.

In November, Livingston were deducted five points and fined £10,000 for breaching rules relating to non payment of tax.

Henderson on the move

Celtic midfielder Liam Henderson has agreed a three-month loan move to Norwegian side Rosenborg.

The 18-year-old has made 23 first-team appearances for the Scottish champions, scoring twice since his debut in December 2013.

Rosenborg, Norway's most successful club with 22 titles, finished runners-up in last season's Tippeligaen.

Manager Kare Ingebrigtsen describes Henderson as "a very exciting player with a strong will to win".

Attention Liverpool fans

BBC

We have got an exclusive interview coming up at 17:00 BST with Liverpool and England winger Raheem Sterling.

Fancy watching a little bit of the interview? Sterling tells BBC Sport he's not a "money-grabbing 20-year-old" as speculation about his Liverpool future rumbles on.

The full interview will be on the site just after 17:00 BST. Do not miss it.

BBC

Get involved

More of your comments on our question of just who is the best sporting captain and why?

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Amanda Kendal: Mike Brearley - not a great player, but a superb captain. 31 Tests as skipper, 17 wins; 4 defeats. And that Ashes series.

Ralph MacGregor: Best ever captain, surely Dai Greene has to be in with a shout. Team GB at London 2012 getting a record medal haul?

Good news for GB women

Great Britain Women made it two wins from two matches with a 3-1 victory over Korea in the World Championship in Dumfries.

Chrissy Newman scored twice and Leanne Ganney netted the other, while Samantha Bolwell made 17 saves from 18 shots. GB beat New Zealand 8-1 in their campaign opener on Tuesday and next face Croatia on Thursday at 20:00 BST.

"They stuck to their game plan and systems and they put in an excellent performance," said coach Cheryl Smith.

Don't go, Kumar

Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara has been urged to reconsider plans to retire from international cricket.

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The 37-year-old said he would retire after the Cricket World Cup and he scored four centuries during the tournament, before Sri Lanka lost in the quarter-finals.

But the country's sports minister, Navin Dissanayake, hopes a government-ordered overhaul of the country's cricket system might see him play internationally again.

"As sports minister, I humbly appeal to Kumar to reconsider and play for the country for at least one more year," said Dissanayake. "I spoke with him in New Zealand and he was very disappointed and unhappy (with the cricket administration). Now there is a change, I think there is a possibility he will change his mind."

'Very privileged to travel and play football'

England striker Harry Kane on Twitter: Just landed back from Italy. Very privileged to travel and play football. Next trip overseas is Sydney. Really looking forward to it. Loved playing for England. Fully focused now on Spurs and Burnley on Sunday #COYS

Kane is set to be part of the Tottenham side that plays an away friendly against Sydney FC on Saturday, 30 May.

Djokovic into quarter-finals

Reigning champion Novak Djokovic survived a scare to beat Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov in three sets to reach the Miami Open quarter-finals.

The Serb lost the first set on a tie-break and trailed 4-2 in the second but recovered to win 6-7 (3-7) 7-5 6-0. The world number one now faces Spain's David Ferrer, who saw off Frenchman Gilles Simon 7-6 (7-5) 6-0.

Get involved

We are asking for your great sports captains. Here are some more of your suggestions.

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Dean McNamara: Has to be Roy Keane, got United through THAT semi final v Juventus on his own.

Oscar Harman: Mr Arsenal, the legend for two decades+, Tony Adams. Epitomised what it meant to play for Arsenal, statue speaks for itself.

Third-party ownership ban?

AP

Sticking with football, and Uefa and world players' union Fifpro have asked the European Commission to outlaw third-party player ownership. They argue that businesses or funds owning the economic rights to players can be harmful and undermine football's integrity.

A global ban on third-party ownership by the sport's world governing body, Fifa, comes into effect on 1 May.

The Uefa/Fifpro move is understood to be an attempt to counteract a complaint to the European Commission by the Spanish and Portuguese leagues, who want continue the practice.

Pujara pleased to join Yorkshire

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India international Cheteshwar Pujara will be joining Yorkshire next season in place of Pakistan's Younus Khan. Here is what he had to say about the move...

"I was looking to return to the UK after my previous experience of county cricket, which I greatly enjoyed, and when Yorkshire made the offer I didn't think twice. To wear the same white rose Sachin Tendulkar did is going to be a great feeling for me. I hope I can contribute to further success."

Get involved

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We are asking for your great captains. Here are some more of your suggestions.

Tjay: Patrick Vieira for me will always be sports greatest captain, the man was and always will be a legend all over football!

Aidan: Billy Bremner Captain of Leeds United. Pride, Passion, Inspiration. World Class player. Winner.

Oliver Viney: Away from mainstream sports, Mosconi cup captain Johan Ruijsink has to be mentioned.

Younus pulls out of Yorkshire move

AFP

Pakistan international Younus Khan has pulled out of an agreement to join Yorkshire for the coming season.

It had been agreed at the time of him signing for Yorkshire that Khan would not be selected to play for Pakistan's tour of Bangladesh, but it now appears as though the 37-year-old will be selected for the matches in April and May.

To replace Younus, Yorkshire have agreed to sign Indian Test batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, subject to a work permit being granted.

Sir Kev

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Throughout today, we have been asking you to suggest who you think is the greatest ever sports captain. We started this with reference to Leeds Rhinos skipper Kevin Sinfield, who will be ending his highly-successful career in rugby league at the end of the season to switch codes and join Yorkshire Carnegie.

If you want to know more about Sinfield and just how influential he has been for Leeds, you can read Matt Newsum's feature on the 34-year-old former England captain.

"Sinfield will end his rugby league career, or at least the first chapter of it, as a one-club player having forged the tightest of bonds with Leeds," writes Matt. "That loyalty is backed up by a humility that belies his achievements, a down-to-earth personality in a tough sport."

Bell signs new Bears deal

PA

This afternoon, Warwickshire announced that England batsman Ian Bell had signed a new three-year contract with the county.

Their director of cricket Dougie Brown has had this to say...

"Ian is a Bear through and through and he has been a fantastic servant to the club. Whilst he continues to play a leading role for England, he is also an invaluable member of our squad who makes a huge contribution on and of the pitch.

"He has been one of the best batsmen in the world for several years and everyone at the club is delighted that he remains a Bear for the foreseeable future."

Ulster sign Piutau

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More rugby union news now and Ulster have announced the signing of New Zealand international Charles Piutau.

Piutau, who can play full-back, wing or centre, has agreed a two-year deal from July 2016. He has won 14 caps for the All Blacks, making his Test debut against France two years ago.

"To secure someone of Charles' ability is hugely exciting for us," Ulster team manager Bryn Cunningham said. "Our aim is to produce local players with the ability to play for Ulster and Ireland, and then supplement them with top-quality internationals.

Get involved

We are asking for your great captains. Here are some more of your suggestions.

Dave Wood: Steve Waugh. Led Australia to a record number of consecutive test match wins, with a no regrets mentality.

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Catchwords: There's no greater captain than the late great Dave Mackay, Tottenham and Scotland legend. He wasn't a bad manager either!

Georgeee: Ledley King... Always committed, fans loved him and a great leader

Fan in London to choose NFL drafts

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London will be the first city outside of the USA to play its part in the history of the NFL Draft as the Jacksonville Jaguars will be announcing two draft picks live from the capital.

Given the Jaguars' commitment to play one home game each year in London, the team has decided to make NFL history and honour its UK fan base by selecting one lucky UK fan to announce its sixth and seventh round draft picks live from a TV studio in London on 2 May.

Goalkeeper's financial crisis

Footballers live the ultimate life of luxury. Right?

Well, not if you play in Bulgaria. And haven't been paid for three months.

Latvian goalkeeper Maksims Uvarenko, who plays for debt-ridden CSKA Sofia, is so broke that he has had to borrow money off his parents to pay his rent.

"The lack of money is the biggest problem I've faced at CSKA," said Uvarenko.

"I still haven't received any salary and I've been at the club for three months. My wife and I are expecting a child and we can't afford to stay without money. I was forced to accept some cash from my parents to pay the rent on our apartment in Sofia."

Bell signs new Bears deal

It's been a decent couple of days for Warwickshire.

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After signing New Zealand captain Brendan McCullum for the T20 Blast on Tuesday, the Bears have now announced that England batsman Ian Bell (pictured with team-mate Ateeq Javid) has signed a new three-year contract at Egbaston.

"As a Warwickshire man through and through, I'm absolutely delighted to commit to this fantastic club for another three years," said Bell.

"I have many ambitions I'm still desperate to fulfil, both on a domestic and international level, and I look forward to hopefully achieving these over the coming years as a Bear."

Thomas delighted at Kompany suspension

Former Wales midfielder Mickey Thomas says Vincent Kompany's international suspension is great news for Chris Coleman's side.

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Manchester City captain Kompany was sent off in Belgium's 1-0 win in Israel and will miss the European Championship qualifier in Cardiff against Wales on 12 June.

"Losing Kompany, their top defender, it doesn't get any better than that for Wales," said Thomas.

"Hopefully we can exploit that weakness at the back. We can beat Belgium. We have Gareth Bale who's unstoppable, so is Aaron Ramsey and so is Joe Allen. We're looking powerful."

Silverstone roof being fixed

The roof at Silverstone, the venue for the British Grand Prix, is being repaired after it was damaged by high winds and extreme weather.

Part of the 'Wing', the three-storey corporate building at Silverstone, was affected by wind on late Sunday and Monday. Images on social media appeared to show a section of the roof had been removed.

"Although it looks a bit of a mess at the moment, the damage is largely cosmetic and the structural and functional integrity of the roof remains completely intact,'' said Silverstone sporting director Stuart Pringle, who added that none of the scheduled races would be affected.

Get involved

We are asking for your great captains. Here are some more of your suggestions.

Dwayne Pipe: Mike Brearley as, unlike the others (all excellent players), he was picked AS a captain, he was so good. He made others click.

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Chris: Emlyn Hughes has to be in with a shout, England and Liverpool captain. Legend.

Ieuan: Willie John McBride surely a shout for greatest captain ever. Lions 1974, series win South Africa and a scrap or two to boot.

Worrying times for Bolton

Here's a story Bolton fans wish was an April Fools' Day joke.

The Championship club's debt is now up to £172.9m after they announced a loss of £9.1m for the 2014 financial year.

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Wanderers also said that staff costs have reduced by £9m because of a number of players leaving.

Bolton, who owe the majority of their debt to owner Eddie Davies, ended an 11-year stay in the Premier League after relegation in May 2012.

Scotland may play game behind closed doors

Scotland will discover on 21 May if their Euro 2016 qualifier in Georgia will be played behind closed doors.

Uefa will meet next month to decide if the Georgian Football Federation (GFF) will face sanctions following crowd disturbances at the weekend.

Play was halted twice during the 2-0 defeat by Germany in Tbilisi on Sunday when supporters invaded the pitch.

Cases against two other Group D sides - Poland and the Republic of Ireland - will also be heard at the meeting.

Brook set for half marathon

Sheffield boxer Kell Brook will race in the Yorkshire Half Marathon to raise money for The Children's Hospital Charity.

Brook, 28, said: "I am looking forward to swapping my boxing gloves for running shoes to try and raise some money for this amazing charity."

The Englishman, who defended his IBF world welterweight title against Romanian Jo Jo Dan, has already helped raise thousands for the charity after donating signed boxing gloves for an auction and competing in a charity boxing match last December.

Suspended Hafeez faces tests

Suspended Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez will undergo official testing of his off-spin bowling in India next week.

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Hafeez was suspended from bowling after he was reported during a test against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi in November. The off-spinner's elbow exceeded beyond the allowed 15-degree limit during a test in London.

He has worked with experts at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore to bring his elbow extension within the permissible tolerance limits.

The ICC will retest Hafeez at Sri Ramachandra University in Chennai on April 9.

Get involved

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We asked you who you think is the greatest sports captain of all time...

Waseeq Akbari: Carlos Puyol without a doubt, greatest captain ever, the only one to win 6 possible trophies in one calendar year.

David Barber: No footballer can be greatest captain. Manager has too much power. Cricket and rugby best choices. Answer Brian Close.

Rishi Bhabutta: Surely MS Dhoni. Won every ICC trophy, IPL and CLT20. His unwavering self-belief has propelled his teams to years of success.

Please send in your thoughts to #bbcsportsday and the BBC Sport Facebook page.

North to miss Clermont match

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Northampton Saints Director of Rugby Jim Mallinder has confirmed wing George North won't play against Clermont Auvergne in the Champions Cup this weekend.

North is currently seeing a neurologist following a blow to his head from Wasps forward Nathan Hughes during a Premiership match on Friday (that left him unconscious and resulted in Hughes being charged) and Saints will follow that advice.

It is Welshman North's fourth head injury in the last five months.

Positive news for the Gunners

Arsenal right-back Mathieu Debuchy writes on Twitter: So happy to be back. Thank you everyone for your support.

Debuchy played alongside Mikel Arteta, Jack Wilshere and Abou Diaby as an Arsenal XI beat Brentford 4-0 in a friendly on Tuesday.

After a £12m move from Newcastle in the summer, Debuchy has had an injury-hit season. He suffered an ankle injury in September that led to a three-month absence and has not played a first-team match since dislocating his shoulder against Stoke on 11 January.

Reuters

5 Live football discussion

BBC Radio 5 live

AP

We have been discussing some of the reaction to England's 1-1 draw with Italy on Sportsday today, but if you want to continue to absorb yourself in all things international once we have finished for the day you can do so by tuning in to BBC Radio 5 Live from 19:00 BST, where you will find their football discussion, hosted by Kelly Cates and featuring Sam Wallace, Henry Winter and Neil Ashton.

Carroll faces long absence

Look away Swansea fans.

England Under-21 international Tom Carroll faces up to six weeks on the sidelines because of ankle ligament damage.

Midfielder Carroll, who is on loan from Tottenham, scored the only goal in England Under-21s' 1-0 victory over the Czech Republic last Friday, but got injured later on in the same game.

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A Swansea spokesman has confirmed that the 22-year-old is now expected to be out for between four and six weeks. Carroll has so far made 18 appearances for the Swans after joining them last summer on a season-long loan.

British Olympic Association to consider Cook request

Nick Hope

BBC Olympic sports reporter

"The British Olympic Association (BOA) say their stance hasn't changed since they first received Aaron Cook's written request to switch nationalities to Moldova (see 11:32), as they are still investigating the situation. As such they have issued a similar short statement to then:

"'We have received a nationality change request from Aaron Cook regarding his future Olympic Games participation,' said a BOA spokesperson. 'The BOA is liaising with all parties to carefully consider this.'"

Get involved

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Leeds captain Kevin Sinfield is switching codes to rugby union at the end of the season after a league career that has seen him lead the Rhinos to six Grand Finals victories, three World Club Challenges and a Challenge Cup for his one professional club. Butis he the greatest sports captain of all time.

Al Buset: Great captaincy is about continual success and dominance over a sustained period of time....Kevin Sinfield...no doubt

Ben Grzesica: Ritchie McCaw hands down!

Please send in your thoughts to #bbcsportsday and the BBC Sport Facebook page.

Richards defends Jones

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England international Micah Richards on Twitter: How can Phil Jones get criticism for playing holding midfield? Everyone knows it's not his position. He did a job he was asked to do.

Blatter "ready to change"

Reuters

Before you cry April Fool, we can assure you the following story is real.

Fifa president Sepp Blatter is "ready to change", according to the man who represents more than 200 of Europe's leading football clubs, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. Take a moment to digest that and then read on...

European Club Association (ECA) chief Rummenigge said: "In discussions we've had I always had the impression he [Blatter] was a bit upset about the fact he is criticised by the media as a whole. He's ready to change. So I'm not so pessimistic about him. I'm quite optimistic that in Fifa things are changing in a good way."

'The first half was not good enough'

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Speaking of captains...

England captain Wayne Rooney has posted on Instagram his reaction to the national side's 1-1 draw in Italy. He said: "Not a bad draw last night against Italy.

"The first half never went to plan and wasn't good enough but the lads did well to turn it around. Thanks to all the fans for your support and especially those in the stadium last night."

Get involved

AP

We asked you who is the greatest sports captain of all time...

Haris Hameed: Imran Khan. Led the cornered Tigers and created history.

Pirate Irwin: Toss-up between Mike Brearley and Francois Pienaar, I opt for the latter.

Stuart Bromell: Greatest sports captain of all time? Martin Johnson. A true leader....a general!! Ask Mary McAleese (Ireland 2003).

Please send in your thoughts to #bbcsportsday and the BBC Sport Facebook page.

On this day in sport

April 1. A day of mischief and jokes. And also a day when these things happened in previous years...

1933: Walter Hammond set what was then a world Test match record when he made 336 not out against New Zealand at Auckland, an innings which included 10 sixes.

1990: The Rangers v Celtic match from Ibrox was the first British league game to be broadcast on satellite, by BSB, in this country.

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2009: Newcastle confirmed former striker Alan Shearer as their coach for the final eight matches of the 2008-09 season, but he was unable to save them from relegation to the Championship.

2014: Tiger Woods announced he would miss the Masters after undergoing successful microdiscectomy surgery on a pinched nerve.

Murray in stats

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During Andy Murray's500 professional career wins, he has used 12.5 miles of racquet string. That's 182 Centre Courts back-to-back. He has run 1,242 miles, which is equivalent to 47 marathons. He has drunk 2,000 litres of water and has used 2,000 pairs of sweatbands - enough for everyone who attended the Royal Wedding in 2011 (although the blue camouflage design ones he sometimes wears probably wouldn't have matched Kate's dress).

Get involved - the greatest captain

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Kevin Sinfield will leave Leeds Rhinos at the end of the season after captaining them to huge success in rugby league. Is he the greatest sports captain of all time? And if not, who is?

LJW: No, he's not up with Bobby Moore, Allan Border, John Dawes, W-J McBride, Richie McCaw, Franz Beckenbauer and others.

Adam Ryan: Bobby Moore. Only man to win a World Cup for England. Superb leader.

Calamity: José María Olazábal.

Please send in your thoughts to #bbcsportsday and the BBC Sport Facebook page.

Hiddink on the attack

Netherlands coach Guus Hiddink got a bit stroppy with the media last night, after his side beat Spain 2-0.

"Don't keep asking me if I am staying on as coach," he told reporters after the victory over the former world champions, secured with early goals from Stefan de Vrij and Davy Klaassen.

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"There is no weight fallen off my back now. I never felt any weight on my back."

Hiddink also criticised the home supporters in Amsterdam who jeered Spanish substitute Andres Iniesta whenever he was on the ball.

"If such a world class player is whistled at, supporters must be ashamed," Hiddink added.

Cook keen on Moldova switch

Nick Hope

BBC Olympic sports reporter

"Aaron Cook confirms he wants to fight for Moldova at Rio Olympics but @TeamGB are yet to approve the switch."

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Three-time European champion Cook was surprisingly overlooked for the Team GB squad for the London 2012 Olympics. With Lutalo Muhammad, the competitor chosen in his place, going on to win a bronze medal.

Kamal quits ICC

AFP

Cricket news now, and Mustafa Kamal has resigned as president of the International Cricket Council. Kamal said his decision came after the ICC replaced him as the award-giver at Sunday's World Cup final in Melbourne. Instead, the winners' trophy was given to Australia by Indian ICC chairman Narayanaswami Srinivasan.

Kamal, a Bangladesh national, had previously criticised the umpiring at the competition after his country's quarter-final defeat by India, saying Bangladesh's 109-run loss appeared to have been "pre-arranged" and there was "no quality in the umpiring" - a claim denied by the ICC.

"The main reason for my resignation is that I can't work with those who can act unconstitutionally and unlawfully," said Kamal.

Murray in stats

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Andy Murray recorded his 500th career win last night at the Miami Open. In honour of the achievement, we are bringing you some of the stats from his 10-year professional career.

Here is the latest: the British number one could eat 1,161 burgers & chips for all the calories he burned.

There are plenty of us here at BBC Sport who have done exactly that. But without all the running and stuff.

Khan keen to wait for Brook

It could be the biggest domestic fight of the year, but fans hoping to see an all-British bout between Amir Khan and IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook will have to be patient.

Brook, and his promoter Eddie Hearn, called out Khan on Saturday after Brook's win against Romanian Jo Jo Dan.

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But in a series of tweets Khan said: "My team spoke to Eddie two weeks ago and he knew June 13th is a no. And they still called me out #Pathetic. This can be the biggest fight UK has ever seen and you want to do it all in two months?

"Let's say he (Brook) beats a Marquez, Maidana, Rios or even stops Alexander next or any other top fighter, our fight will be even bigger. They're doing a very good job making the public believe I don't want the fight, trust me I do! Keep building the hype because winner takes all.

"I'm done, already given my word to a fighter, will be announcing my next fight very soon."

Australia's love/hate captain

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Carrying on our look into great captaincy, why not have a re-read of our man at the Cricket World Cup Stephan Shemilt's piece on the skipper Australians hate to love, Michael Clarke?

Clarke announced his retirement from one-day cricket after leading his nation to World Cup glory on home turf this month. He has some very stiff competition for the title of best Australian cricket captain, let alone best sports captain, but he remains a supremely talented (and highly divisive) figure. After what his side have done to England in recent encounters, the feelings towards Clarke in this part of the world are probably a bit more clear-cut.

Murphy fights back to advance in China Open

Former world champion Shaun Murphy came from behind to advance into the third round of the China Open.

The world number eight trailed 3-2 against Anthony McGill but made breaks of 64, 113 and 72 as he fought back to win 5-4.

Elsewhere, Mark Selby and Mark Williams recorded easy 5-0 wins against Elliot Slessor and Michael Leslie respectively, while Stuart Bingham suffered a 5-4 defeat by Michael White.

Cardle and Evans get title chance

Unbeaten pair Scotty Cardle and Craig Evans will fight for the vacant British lightweight title on 30 May at the O2 in London.

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Lancashire's Cardle, 25, has won all 17 of his professional fights, while 25-year-old Welshman Evans has 14 victories from his pro career.

On the same card, Kevin Mitchell challenges Jorge Linares for the WBC lightweight title and Lee Selby is looking to take the IBF World featherweight title from Evgeny Gradovich.

Olympic gold medallist Anthony Joshua takes on American former world heavyweight title challenger Kevin Johnson.

Murray in stats

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To celebrate the 500th career win of Andy Murray, we are looking back at his 10 years in professional tennis in stats. The Scot's fastest ever serve is 145mph. That is the same as the top speed of a Lotus Elise.

Peacock on Sinfield

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Current Leeds Rhinos player Jamie Peacock is in no doubt that team-mate Kevin Sinfield is the best captain rugby league has seen in the Super League era.

"There have been some great captains in Super League, particularly in the three real dynasties - St Helens at the start of the modern era, we had our time at Bradford, and then Leeds," Peacock told BBC Sport. "But, whereas those teams had two or three captains, Kevin led the Leeds team through the whole period.

"What sets him apart on the field is his ability to stick to a gameplan - he is nerveless under pressure. When big matches come up, he thrives, leads from the front and produces a big performance. And that is shown in the number of times he has won, or been there or thereabouts to win, man of the match awards in Grand Finals, Challenge Cups and World Club Challenges."

Captain marvel

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Kevin Sinfield is leaving Leeds Rhinos at the end of the season to switch codes and join Yorkshire Carnegie, where he expects to play fly-half. It brings an end to an era for the Super League side, who have been captained by Sinfield since 2002.

He was only 22 when first appointed to the role but has since led the side to unprecedented levels of success, winning six Grand Finals, three World Club Challenges and a Challenge Cup for his one professional club.

But does former England skipper Sinfield have a claim to be the greatest sports captain of all time? And if not him, then who is? Why not take use the Twitter hashtag #bbcsportsday or visit the BBC Sport Facebook page and tell us who you think is the greatest sports captain of all time?

Aguero on target for Argentina

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero scored for Argentina as his side beat Ecuador 2-1 in an international friendly in New Jersey.

AFP

Argentina, without Lionel Messi who has an injured right foot, took an early lead when Aguero headed in after Javier Pastore had flicked on a corner from Manchester United's Angel Di Maria.

Miller Bolanos equalised for Ecuador, before Pastore netted the winner.

"Messi is having trouble getting his boot on because of the pain, there's no way he could play," said Argentina coach Gerardo Martino.

Where is everyone?

Things might be a bit quieter than normal today at Southampton.

Manager Ronald Koeman has just tweeted: Today nine players on the pitch for training. Tomorrow everybody back. Saturday Everton away.

Get involved

We asked you if you thought England had improved since the World Cup and how...

Rohan Patel: England are good enough to reach the semis in any tournament but it's the poor confidence that makes us lose.

Petar Gril: Why did England play 3-5-2? The Italians know how to play this formation, England are better suited to a 4-3-3 with 2 forwards.

Van Gaal: England will forever be average against the top teams until we get a new manager. Roy is tactically naive against the big teams.

Please send in your thoughts to #bbcsportsday and the BBC Sport Facebook page.

Murray in stats

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10 years, two Grand Slams, 500 wins. The impressive career of Andy Murray can be boiled down into just numbers if you so wish. In honour of the British number one's historic win over Kevin Anderson in Miami on Tuesday, BBC Sport have dug out the stats that matter.

First up, over the 10 years of his career, Murray has, on average, hit 435.7 aces, got 57% of first serves in, registered 1,564 double faults and won 74% of his first serve points per year.

More Murray stats soon.

Pelle repays coach's faith

Southampton and Italy striker Graziano Pelle was pleased to repay the faith shown in him by national coach Antonio Conte.

Pelle, 29, has not scored a Premier League goal in 2015 but netted in his country's 1-1 draw with England.

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"I felt good and the manager gave me the opportunity," said Pelle. "Those that play always have to prove themselves to the coach.

"I played alongside Eder at Sampdoria and we understand each other well. I'm happy to have scored and to have been given another chance by the manager."

Best videos

Some of the best video content on the BBC Sport website for you to enjoy.

BBC

Football / basketball: Real Madrid and Wales forward Gareth Bale takes part in the NBA's half-court challenge, testing his basketball shooting accuracy.

Football: Watch a round-up of the best of the action from the first week of the Women's Super League.

Rugby league: Albert Kelly inspires Hull KR to a dramatic victory with a 90-metre breakaway try against unbeaten St Helens.

Tennis: Watch a video of an 18-year-old Andy Murray winning his first senior match at Wimbledon in 2005. Murray, who won the 500th match of his career yesterday, is back in action tonight.

BBC

Get involved

We asked you if you thought England had improved since the World Cup and how...

Adam Taylor: Lack of replacement for Carrick/Barry is the problem. Jones probably not good enough DM against top teams.

DeathApeDisco: Our wins against poor opposition count for little, it is our mindset against top teams which lets us down, not our talent.

Hugh in France: Let's face it he was on a loser. Switch players: no continuity. Keep the same: no test. But he was wrong to change systems.

Please send in your thoughts to #bbcsportsday and the BBC Sport Facebook page.

Portugal stunned by Cape Verde

EPA

Things were even worse for Portugal last night. They rested Cristiano Ronaldo, had Andre Pinto sent off and suffered a 2-0 home defeat to the Cape Verde Islands.

Portugal are top of their qualifying group for Euro 2016 but went down to goals from Odair Fortes and Admilson Gege.

Cape Verde - situated in the Atlantic Ocean, roughly 400 miles west of Senegal in west Africa - are sandwiched between Wales and Scotland in Fifa's world rankings at number 38.

More pain for Spain

AFP

England are not the only international team with problems to solve. Spain were beaten 2-0 by the Netherlands last night, failing to gain any revenge for the 5-1 defeat they suffered at the hands of the same opponents in the 2014 World Cup group stages.

Guus Hiddink's men were firmly on top on Tuesday, going ahead through Stefan de Vrij's header before Davy Klaassen struck a second to condemn Vicente del Bosque somewhat experimental side to defeat.

It leaves Del Bosque wondering what he can do to return Spain to the force that won the 2008 and 2012 European Championships, and the 2010 World Cup.

Have England improved?

Reuters

To give the England debate a helping hand, here are some thoughts from our chief football writer Phil McNulty on the subject of whether England have improved since the World Cup...

"When England went out of the World Cup, they were accompanied by confirmation that defensively they were simply not good enough against high-class opponents. It was a flaw ruthlessly exposed by Uruguay's Luis Suarez in what proved to be a defining defeat in Sao Paulo. Have things improved since? Despite those perfect results in qualifying, the suspicion lingers that it is still England's Achilles heel.

"Hodgson has the players to allow him to adopt various systems. Sterling can play wide, centrally and at the tip of a midfield diamond, while captain Wayne Rooney and Kane can drop deep as well as playing as the main striker. He must now assemble the pieces correctly."

Get involved

We asked you if you thought England had improved since the World Cup and how...

Henry Ashman: Against the big sides, England are worse. The diamond is defensive & narrow, to win England need to dictate play & get wide.

Please send in your thoughts to #bbcsportsday and the BBC Sport Facebook page.

Townsend v Merson

Twitter

Tottenham winger Townsend scored as England drew 1-1 in an international friendly with Italy

Andros Townsend may not have been in scintillating form ahead of last night's game in Turin, but he hopes he has quietened his critics "for a few months" after his 25-yard equaliser earned England a 1-1 friendly draw in Italy.

"I have just been desperate to get on the pitch and silence a few critics," he said. "Hopefully they can realise the quality I bring to the team."

One particular critic Townsend seems eager to silence is former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson, who had questioned Townsend's place in the team earlier in the week in comments made to Sky Sports. As you can see from the picture above, Townsend was quick to hammer home his point on Twitter.

Rating Hodgson's experiment

PA

So, what about that England draw last night then? We are loath to do this, but it would be fair to describe it as a game of two halves. Sorry. The first 45 minutes were confused and the second more composed. Our chief football writer Phil McNulty had a similar take on the game. And he also gave his ratings for each of the England players, which includes a 5 for Phil Jones and a 7 for his replacement Michael Carrick. Hodgson's experiment damned by numbers.

Get involved

Time for this morning's debate...

England have now played eight matches since their failed World Cup campaign in Brazil last summer. They have won seven of them and drew the latest last night against Italy. The question is simple: have England improved since last summer and in what way?

Please send in your thoughts to #bbcsportsday and the BBC Sport Facebook page.

Danilo to Real

AS

In Spain, the focus of the sports papers appears to be less on national and more on club matters, which is perhaps unsurprising considering they were beaten 2-0 by Netherlands last night. Real Madrid's signing of Porto's Brazilian right-back Danilo for £23m is the dominant story.

The 23-year-old will join the reigning European champions at the end of this season.

Pelle hits form for Italy

Corriere dello Sport

The Italian press praised their own goalscorer from last night, Southampton's Graziano Pelle, who put his recent Premier League woes behind him to effectively lead the forward line for his country in Turin.

Rescuing Roy

Independent

There is a similar vibe in the Independent, who add to the theory that Hodgson was rescued by Townsend's equaliser, which they say salvaged a draw after the manager's first-half tactical experiment (which included using an ineffective Phil Jones in midfield) backfired.

Town Flyer

Sun

Unsurprisingly, all of today's back pages are dominated by Andros Townsend following his superb long-range strike to earn England a 1-1 draw against Italy in Turin last night. The Sun go with 'Town Flyer', and suggest that the Tottenham winger "rescued" Roy Hodgson and his side.

They also have a teaser for the aforementioned, Van Gaal star sign story (the cheeky scamps), while claiming that Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels could be on his way to Manchester United. Unless he's a Libra, that is.

Woods set for Masters return?

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Former world number one Tiger Woods has played a practice round at Augusta as he continues to weigh up his chances of playing in this year's Masters.

Woods, a four-time Masters champion, has yet to confirm if he will feature at next week's event after struggling for form.

He is now ranked 104 in the world and has missed the cut in the only two tournaments he has played this season. Woods posted the worst score of his professional career earlier this year, with an 11-over-par 82 at the Phoenix Open. He also withdrew from the Farmers Insurance Open after just 11 holes last month, before taking an indefinite break from the game.

Graves wants four-day Tests

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Colin Graves' mission to improve English cricket is clearly in full swing. The incoming England and Wales Cricket Board chairman has stated Test cricket could be reinvigorated by shortening matches to four days.

Graves wants every day's play to start at 10:30 BST and last 105 overs in order to boost attendances and revenue.

"Every Test match would start on a Thursday, with Thursday and Friday being corporate days and then Saturday and Sunday the family days," said Graves. "From a cost point of view you'd lose that fifth day, which would save a lot of money from the ground's point of view and the broadcasters ... I would look at that."

Hughes charged for North blow

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Wasps forward Nathan Hughes has been banned for three weeks by an RFU disciplinary panel following an incident that led to Northampton's George North being knocked unconscious.

The 23-year-old was sent off for his challenge on the winger, who was scoring Saints' second try on Friday. A panel found Hughes guilty of "striking with the knee and/or shin".

It has been a particularly painful few months for Wales international North, has been knocked unconscious three times. He is due to see a neurosurgeon to determine when he is able to play again.

Murray reaches the 500 mark

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Before we have a look at this morning's papers we have a few news lines to bring you.

Last night, Andy Murray became the first Briton to reach the landmark of 500 career wins after defeating Kevin Anderson to earn his place in the Miami Open last eight. The third seed required all three sets to despatch South Africa's Anderson, seeded 15, winning 6-4 3-6 6-3.

He is the 46th man (of which nine are still playing) to reach 500 wins since the open era began.

Coming up...

So, this is Sportsday - your one-stop shop for all the latest sporting news.

Today, we'll bring you all the best reaction to England's 1-1 draw in Italy last night - including Andros Townsend's Twitter spat with Paul Merson.

We'll also look at Andy Murray's 500th career win - a 6-4 3-6 6-3 victory over South Africa's Kevin Anderson in the last 16 of the Miami Open.

In addition, there is also chat from incoming ECB chairman Colin Graves on his hopes for a potential change in Test cricket and rumours from the world of golf, where it has been suggested that Tiger Woods may be about to end his self-imposed tournament exile.

And we'll be giving you the chance to have your say on social media.

No fools

AP

Firstly, a promise: no April's Fools.

From designated selfie areas for players to take photos of themselves after scoring, to Louis Van Gaal picking his Manchester United team based on star sign, today's papers have gone all-out to try and hilariously trick you into believing something ludicrous. If we wanted to do that we would just re-publish Eoin Morgan's assertion in early February that England could win the Cricket World Cup.

Besides, we could never top Grandstand's 1989 effort.

No, instead we'll be focusing on good old truths today. Such as this: during his career, Andy Murray has flown around the Earth 48 times - he could have gone to the Moon and back. Twice. More of that later.