Sportsday Live - Friday 9 December

Sportsday Live featuring Nemanja Vidic's season-ending injury, the England winter tour cricket squad announcement, golf from Dubai, weekend football team news, plus more.

Get involved in Sportsday Live on Twitter with the hashtag #bbcsportsday Follow us on Twitter: @BBCSport

LATEST UPDATES (all times GMT)

2000 SPORTSDAY LIVE: Sportsday Live has finished for Friday. It will return at 0800 on Monday.

1954 RUGBY UNION - Daily Mail rugby union correspondent Chris Foy on Twitter: "Toulouse warming up with punching practice at The Stoop...! New England coach Stuart Lancaster here to watch Quins' 6N contenders."

1945 RUGBY UNION: Unbeaten Harlequins take on four-time winners Toulouse in the Heienken Cup at the Stoop with live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live Sports Extra . Coverage of Cardiff Blues' clash with Edinburgh in Pool Two is available on BBC Radio Wales. Both matches kick-off at 2000.

1938 SWIMMING: Great Britain's Amy Smith has wins her first individual senior medal with a bronze in the 100m freestyle at the European Short Course Championships in Szczecin, Poland. Rebecca Turner finished in ninth place in the same final, in a time of 53.88.

1919 SNOOKER: Neil Robertson and Judd Trump have recommenced their UK Championship semi-final at York's Barbican Centre. The pair are all square at 4-4 after this afternoon's session. Live video coverage is available to UK users of the BBC Sport website and on BBC Two.

1915 RUGBY UNION: Andy Farrell has said that he is eager to get started in his role as part of interim head coach Stuart Lancaster's England coaching team. "I'm unbelievably excited and just can't wait to get started. It's a great privilege and I'm very proud to be asked," said the 36-year-old.

1900 GOLF: Former top-ranked golfer Lorena Ochoa has given birth to a baby boy named Pedro Conesa Ochoa. Ochoa, who was the top-ranked female golfer for three years before she retired in 2010, has dismissed the prospect of returning to play full-time on the LPGA tour, but has said she'd like to play one or two tournaments a year.

1849 GOLF: Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy has said that the Dubai World Championship may be his final event of the season as a previous bout of dengue fever may rule him out of the season-ending event in Thailand. "To be honest, I'm ready for the season to be done and looking forward to putting the clubs away," he added.

1844 FOOTBALL: Former Manchester United and Chelsea midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron says he will delay his retirement with Argentina club Estudiantes for at least six more months. The 36-year-old, who announced months ago he was ready to retire, says he was staying after pressure from his team-mates.

1836 CURLING: Scotland's women have beaten Denmark 10-2 to reach the final of the Le Gruyere European Curling Championships in Moscow. In a replay of last year's final they will face Sweden.

1827 GET INVOLVED - Opta Sports on Twitter: "35% - Coventry are most dangerous after half-time, scoring the highest % of goals in the 15mins after the break. Hairdryer."

1819 COMING UP ON THE BBC: On Sportsday from 1835 on the News Channel we have all the football news ahead of the weekend, including interviews with Sir Alex Ferguson, Phil Neville, Martin O'Neill, Alan Pardew, Charlie Adam, Jermain Defoe, Carlton Cole and Steve Lomas. We also have the latest on the Donald/McIlroy duel in Dubai and Amir Khan's preparations for Saturday night. All this as well as Torvill and Dean, a Heineken Cup weekend preview and Paul Nicholls who talks about Denman's retirement.

1813 FOOTBALL: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has called on his Arsenal team not to let the club's 125th anniversary celebrations detract them from delivering a match-winning performance against Everton tomorrow. "History is one thing, performance on the day is another, and that is what is important for us at the moment," he said.

1807 LONDON 2012: Donegal badminton star Chloe Magee is confident that she can book a place at her second Olympics next year. She is currently ranked 46th in the world in singles with the top 64 players set to earn places at London 2012.

1758 GET INVOLVED - Michael Owen on Twitter: "Sad to hear Denman had to be retired today. A massive favourite with many Racing fans, it will be hard to forget 'The Tank'!"

1750 FOOTBALL: Bolton manager Owen Coyle is confident his side can take a significant points haul from their remaining games in 2011 and he wants it to start sooner rather than later. "We've got five more games this month and we feel we are capable of taking points in every one of them. But it is fine me sitting here and talking about it - we have to go and deliver," he said.

1742 RUGBY UNION: Northampton Saints have decided not to appeal against the four-week ban handed to England winger Chris Ashton. "The management still believes the sanction was harsh, and imposed because of what happened afterwards rather than the offence itself," the club stated.

1734 GET INVOLVED - Tim Wildey on Twitter: "After reading Steven Taylor's piece on the BBC website, I feel for him. He always gives 110% .. hope he has a speedy recovery " #bbcsportsday

1726 FOOTBALL: Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck believes the Red Devils cannot afford to dwell on this week's exit from the Champions League and instead must move on. Speaking to www.manutd.com he said: "You have to turn the situation into a positive. We have to move forward and the best way to do that is to learn from it and try and get better as a team."

1719 RUGBY UNION:England's new rugby union head coach Stuart Lancaster is refusing to rule anyone out of selection for the forthcoming Six Nations tournament. He has said "the door is not shut on anyone," and that includes the likes of Mike Tindall, Jonny Wilkinson and Danny Cipriani.

1711 FOOTBALL:This week sees British world 400m hurdles champion Dai Greene pit his wits against Mark Lawrenson in the Premier League predictions. The pick of the guesses comes at Stamford Bridge where Greene is going for a 3-2 win for Chelsea over Manchester City, while Lawrenson is going for a 1-1 draw.

1703 FOOTBALL:The tributes have been pouring in for Portadown manager Ronnie McFall who is celebrating 25 years in charge of the Irish Premiership club. He took charge of the club just six weeks after Sir Alex Ferguson became Manchester United manager and he is just one of several managers to salute McFall's achievements.

1656 CRICKET: Pace bowler Varun Aaron has become the second Indian player to be ruled out of their forthcoming test series with Australia, after suffering a "stress reaction in his lower back". The news comes just days after Praveen Kumar was ruled out with a fractured rib.

1650 GET INVOLVED - Shelley Rudman on Twitter: "Prepping my sled for tomorrow while the *cough* lovely aroma of farm animals is wafting through the room (farm attached to our chalet)! Lol"

1642 FOOTBALL: Newcastle defender Steven Taylor has revealed all about the moment he was told he had ruptured his Achilles tendon. Speaking exclusively to the BBC he said: "The news devastated me. I've been playing well and Newcastle have had some fantastic results. The news that I had played my last part in the team's success this season came crashing down on me."

1635 FOOTBALL: Rangers and Northern Ireland midfielder Steven Davis has said he can fully understand why players would want to be part of Team GB at next summer's Olympics. "I can see the appeal in terms of players wanting to do that because it's a massive stage to go out and try to perform on," he said but doesn't expect it to be a decision he will have to make.

1628 BOXING: Amir Khan was surprised with a birthday cake, for his 25th birthday , by fight promoter Oscar de la Hoya and his trainer Freddie Roach ahead of his fight with Lamont Peterson on Sunday morning.

1620 GET INVOLVED - Ben on Twitter: "Redknapp must know that the England job is a career ender, he's better off without it " #bbcsportsday

1612 FOOTBALL: Wolves boss Mick McCarthy has challenged axed skipper Roger Johnson to reproduce his early-season form after recalling him for tomorrow's Barclays Premier League clash with Manchester United. He said: "He has to be at his best like in the first three games of the season when he was terrific."

1601 BOXING: Andre Ward talking on Sky's Ringside show about his WBC and WBA super-middleweight unification clash in Atlantic City on 17 December against Nottingham's Carl Froch: "I think in this fight he will see that I am physically stronger and hit harder than he realises. This isn't my first rodeo!"

1554 GET INVOLVED - @bhojani10 on Twitter: "Harry Redknapp has made a fantastic squad at Tottenham, why would he leave that to be bullied by English media? " #bbcsportsday

1549 HORSE RACING: BBC Sport's Cornelius Lysaght on Twitter: "#Cheltenham: day's 'good thing' Darlan just wins finale after tremendous battle with High Storm; winning distance a nose."

1544 GOLF: The LPGA tournament in Springfield, which has been in existence for 36 years, is cancelled after organisers fail to find a new sponsor.

1540 5 LIVE: Two items from the podcast series, Fighting Talk and 5 live Sports Specials have been selected as among the best of the year in the iTunes Rewind best of 2011 list.

1537 GET INVOLVED - @Mattdavies26 on Twitter: "Why would any manager want the England job? it's a hiding to nothing and you get murdered by our press and media." #bbcsportsday

1527 SNOOKER: Neil Robertson leaves the best of 17 frames UK Championship semi-final with Judd Trump tantalisingly poised at 4-4 after a break of 77 in the final frame of the session. The match resumes at 1900 GMT and is played to a finish. When it does resume you can watch live on the BBC website.

1525 HORSE RACING: BBC Sport's Cornelius Lysaght on Twitter: "#Cheltenham: riders Jo Coward & Adrian Heskin banned for 12 days after cross country race 'wrong course' drama; others cleared."

1523 FOOTBALL: The Republic of Ireland confirm they will be based in Gdynia, Poland at next year's European Championships.

1522 HORSE RACING: BBC Sport's Cornelius Lysaght on Twitter: "#Cheltenham: looks like 5/7 riders cleared of wrong doing in cross country race."

1517 HORSE RACING: BBC Sport's Cornelius Lysaght on Twitter: "#Cheltenham: Oscargo goes into record books as @PFNicholls' 150th winner at track (2-55); appropriate on day Denman was retired."

1516 SNOOKER: Judd Trump rolls in a break of 69 to take a 4-3 lead in the best of 17 frames UK Championship semi-final against Neil Robertson. You can watch the match live on the BBC website.

1514 FOOTBALL: Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva has successful surgery in Brazil on the anterior cruciate ligament injury in his left knee that ended his season.

1512 FOOTBALL: Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp tells rivals Chelsea and Manchester United to forget about trying to sign his prize playmaker Luka Modric in the January transfer window. "We are keeping our best players and if anything we will be adding to the squad not selling," he says. "That's the message from me and the chairman. We won't be weakening this squad. If one or two positions open up where fringe players want to go then we will look at that but we are not going to sell our best players or anyone we want to keep."

1508 FOOTBALL: Celtic defender Adam Matthews is very doubtful for Saturday's home match with Hearts after twisting his ankle in training. However, Kelvin Wilson and Thomas Rogne have recovered from their respective Achilles and hamstring injuries and are in contention.

1505 FOOTBALL: Stoke boss Tony Pulis believes Harry Redknapp, whose Tottenham team he faces on Sunday, is the right man to replace Fabio Capello as England coach. "It has to be an English manager this time and you look at everyone out there and his credentials are better than anyone else's," Pulis says. "For me there is only one Englishman who could really do the job and he is at the right time in his career - though Tottenham won't like me saying it."

1503 FOOTBALL: Andy Webster is a doubt with a calf problem as Hearts travel to Celtic on Saturday. Left-back Danny Grainger is out for around six weeks after undergoing groin surgery, with Darren Barr, Kevin Kyle, Gary Glen and Suso Santana also out.

1502 GET INVOLVED - @Kris_Ives on Twitter: "Redknapp shooting himself in the foot with his latest comments about the FA! I thought he wanted the England job!" #bbcsportsday

1500 FOOTBALL: Blackburn manager Steve Kean would not be drawn on whether Ghana's 31-year-old World Cup skipper Stephen Appiah had impressed in a trial this week. Appiah, a former Juventus and Fenerbahce midfielder, is currently without a club after leaving Italian side Cesena last season and has claimed Blackburn are interested in signing him on a one-year deal if he can get fit. He is currently training with Ghana's top-flight side Hearts of Oak to help improve his fitness.

1459 SNOOKER: Neil Robertson levels a high-quality best of 17 frames UK Championship semi-final against Judd Trump at 3-3 after a superb break of 105. You can watch the match live on the BBC website.

1455 FOOTBALL: Blackburn boss Steve Kean is hopeful his team can spoil Martin O'Neill's first match as Sunderland boss on Sunday. "There is an expectation now Martin has gone in there and the fans will immediately be thinking there's going to be a change in the way they play," he says. "I certainly think there will be an excitement and a buzz about the place but we've just got to go and do our own business."

1452 CRICKET: Michael Yardy will captain Sussex in the Caribbean Twenty20 tournament, which takes place in Antigua and Barbados in January.

1447 GET INVOLVED - @Paul_Mc7 on Twitter: "I hope there perception isn't that EFC are after a Sheik to save us. We're not; we're after anyone with some money to save us!" #bbcsportsday #denman"

1442 SNOOKER: Judd Trump takes a 3-2 lead in the best of 17 frames UK Championship semi-final against Neil Robertson. You can watch the match live on the BBC website.

1439 FOOTBALL: Celtic winger James Forrest has expressed an interest in participating in the Olympics as part of a Great Britain team next summer.

1437 HORSE RACING: BBC Sport's Cornelius Lysaght on Twitter: "#Cheltenham: 7 runners took wrong course after 2nd last; Balthazar King fell bringing down A New Story; confusion reigns; over to stewards."

1432 HORSE RACING: BBC Sport's Cornelius Lysaght on Twitter: "#Cheltenham: drama in cross country race with fallers & at least some looking to go wrong course; Garde Champetre 1st (again)."

1430 HORSE RACING: BBC Sport's Cornelius Lysaght on Twitter: "#Doncaster: inspection in the morning because of threatening weather forecast."

1426 TABLE TENNIS: English number two Kelly Sibley, who had her funding cut by UK Sport last year, is focused on next year's Olympics after securing private sponsorship from a sports betting firm.

1423 FOOTBALL: Young Tottenham midfielders Jake Livermore, 22, and Tom Carroll, 19, agree new contracts keeping them at the club until 2016.

1421 GET INVOLVED - @MoMash96 on Twitter: "Yesterday I said we [Manchester United] need a creative midfielder.. Add a decent defender to the Christmas list!" #bbcsportsday #denman"

1416 FOOTBALL: Keith Lasley will return after a thigh strain for the Motherwell's league visit to St Johnstone on Saturday.

1414 FOOTBALL: Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp believes the decision by Uefa to reduce Wayne Rooney's ban to two matches could have repercussions for the FA. "You can look at it and say it wasn't that violent, but it doesn't matter. If you cuff someone, you get a three-match ban," he says. "Those are the rules. If you appealed it (domestically), it would be a frivolous appeal and you would probably get four games if you went to the FA. For them to get it from three to two, it opens up a can of worms. There will be clubs appealing against bans and they will want to know why they aren't getting it cut from three to two for similar situations."

1411 FOOTBALL: Chelsea will be without the suspended David Luiz for Monday's night's league clash with Manchester City. Full-back Jose Bosingwa has therefore made a timely recovery from the adductor strain that caused him to miss Tuesday's Champions League win against Valencia. Josh McEachran is back in training after an ankle knock, while fellowmidfielder Michael Essien is expected to return from knee surgery early next year.

1407 GOLF: Rory McIlroy will partner Robert Rock in the penultimate group in tomorrow's third round at the Dubai World Championship. World number one and favourite for the money list, Luke Donald, tees off 40 minutes earlier, in the company of Jaco Van Zyl of South Africa.

1405 FOOTBALL: Former Manchester United defender Gary Pallister tells BBC Sport's Phil McNulty the team can cope with the loss of Nemanja Vidic, who is out for the remainder of the season with knee trouble.

1401 HORSE RACING: BBC Sport's Cornelius Lysaght on Twitter #Denman: @PFNicholls: 'A really incredible horse, awesome & to think he came back from a heart problem. He was tough & gave his all.'

1400 SNOOKER: The best of 17 frames UK Championship semi-final between left-handers Neil Robertson and Judd Trump is perfectly poised at 2-2 at the mid-session interval. When play resumes you can watch the match live on the BBC website.

1400 GET INVOLVED - Good afternoon and welcome to Sportsday Live from the heart of Media City. Don't forget you can air your views via Twitter with the hashtag #bbcsportsday

1350 FOOTBALL: QPR boss Neil Warnock urges the Football Association to clamp down on abusive fans as vigorously as they pursue players who have reacted to offensive chanting. "Fans can do anything they want but as soon as a player reacts, he gets into trouble. That's the standard I detest," he says.

1346 CRICKET: Former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott on England's team selection for January's Test series against Pakistan: "They don't really need six batsman. They need the extra bowler - as well as two spinners - but I don't see them doing that".

1340 GET INVOLVED - David Keel on Twitter: "'Scotland' compete in the Euro Curling Champs and are happy to be 'Great Britain' at the Winter Olympics. Football take note #bbcsportsday"

1338 FOOTBALL: Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish believes his side's performances have not earned the results they have merited this season. "They could have won every game they played in apart from Tottenham so I don't see why we have to be disappointed," he said. The Reds' 11-match unbeaten run came to an end against Fulham on Monday evening.

1333 FOOTBALL: New Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill has made improving his team's tally of 16 goals in 14 games his priority. "We have to address the goalscoring situation, obviously, and as soon as possible," he said. "The backroom staff have been telling me that we have been creating chances in games but have been unable to put them away," he said.

1330 CRICKET: The Pakistan Cricket Board has announced that the Decision Review System will be used in the Test series with England in the United Arab Emirates in January 2012.

1326 FOOTBALL: Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has defended his young players in the wake of their exit from the Champions League. Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Nani, Ashley Young and David de Gea were all in Ferguson's starting line-up for Wednesday's 2-1 defeat to Basel. "They had a nasty experience on Wednesday but they have the trust of myself and my coaches. They will not be hounded because of one bad performance," said Ferguson.

1318 JUDO BBC Sport's Jessica Creighton on Twitter: "Britain's judokas finding it tough at Tokyo Grand Slam - Both Colin Oates (-66kg) & Ashley McKenzie (-60kg) out in early rounds."

1315 GOLF Lee Westwood on Twitter: "3under 69 today. Played ok but not quite firing on all cylinders . Putting lovely on the plus side. Still 36 to go and not out of it yet."
Westwood finished the second round of the Dubai World Championship tied 22nd after carding a 69

1309 CURLING: Scotland women reach the final of the European Curling Championship in Moscow with a 10-2 semi-final win over Denmark. Eve Muirhead's rink will face Sweden in the final on Saturday.

1300 GOLF: Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy has finished his second round with a share of third place in the Dubai World Championship, five shots off the lead. Spain's Alvaro Quiros tops the leaderboard on 12 under par after carding a 64. World number one Luke Donald finished on four under, sharing 12th place.

1243 GET INVOLVED - Charlie Farrant on Twitter: "think abuse that fulham fans gave L. Suarez would provoke a reaction from most people, bit unfair really #bbcsportsday"

1232 FOOTBALL: Defender Martin Olsson will have a fitness test tomorrow to see if he can make the Blackburn squad for Sunday's match at Sunderland, after having treatment for a hamstring problem. He also had his wisdom teeth removed.

1221 HORSE RACING Champion jockey AP McCoy on Twitter: "Denman was a "tank" of a racehorse and I'm sure with his owners he'll have a better retirement than most of us which he rightly deserves."

1207 FOOTBALL: QPR manager Neil Warnock sympathises with Liverpool striker Luis Suarez's response to the abuse he received in the Reds' 1-0 defeat by Fulham on Monday night. Warnock said: "The FA should look into the chants by crowds and fine Premier League clubs if they give individual players so much abuse as they have done with Suarez. I'd be tempted to do what Suarez did."

1156 NEWS: Former Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie has apologised for blaming reporters in Liverpool for the newspaper's coverage of the Hillsborough disaster. "Having just checked with the Sun's news editor at the time, it is clear that the story didn't come from the Liverpool agencies but came from agencies in the Sheffield area," he said.

1141 GOLF: Spain's Alvaro Quiros, on nine under, leads the Dubai World Championships by one shot from Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy. Paul Lawrie has slipped back to seven under after a double-bogey six on 12th, while world number one Luke Donald has finished his second round on four under for the tournament.

1134 FOOTBALL: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho will not attend Friday's regular pre-match news conference, leaving his assistant Aitor Karanka to answer questions, ahead of Saturday's 'Clasico' at home to Barcelona at 2100 on Saturday evening.

1126 GET INVOLVED - Samuel Green on Twitter: "I think Jonjo Shelvey should replace Spearing! He has been in top form for Blackpool and it is was blow for BFC he went back! #bbcsportsday"

1121 HORSE RACING BBC Horse Racing correspondent Cornelius Lysaght on Twitter: "#Denman (aka the #Tank) in numbers: 11-year-old, won 14/24 races & £1.14m; 1x Chetenham GC plus 3x runner-up; 2 x Hennessy carrying 11-12."

1113 FOOTBALL: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes that Manchester United's failure to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League is "an accident". The Red Devils lost 2-1 to Basel on Wednesday night, which meant they dropped into the Europa League, the second-tier European competition.

1108 CRICKET: Pakistan are in a commanding position after the first day of their Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong. The tourists are 132-0 with Mohammad Hafeez 74 not out, after bowling out Bangladesh for 132.

1058 GET INVOLVED - Daniel Hearn on Twitter: "One of my all time favourite horses. His Hennessey wins were quite extraordinary. Enjoy retirement old boy. #bbcsportsday #denman"

1052 GOLF: Scotland's Paul Lawrie has seen his lead at the Dubai World Championship cut to a single shot as he reaches the turn at two under for his second round. The former Open champion is nine under overall with Alvaro Quiros, Rory McIlroy and Peter Hanson hard on his heels on eight under. World number one Luke Donald is already back in the clubhouse on four under.

1042 RUGBY UNION: Glasgow's Scotstoun Stadium will host the IRB Sevens World Series on 5-6 May rather Scottish rugby headquarters Murrayfield. The event will be part of Glasgow's preparations to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

1032 SAILING: Ben Ainslie has moved back to the top of the standings as British sailors dominated the Finn class on day seven at the World Championships in Perth. "Some great Brit racing today, especially the last race where we had 1, 2, 3 and 4! Pretty tired but happy to get some points back," Ainslie said on Twitter.

1026 FOOTBALL Times North East football writer George Caulkin on Twitter: "Some nice stuff to have come out of O'Neill's presser for tmw's papers. Fitness-wise, neither Bendtner not O'Shea have trained this week."

1020 FOOTBALL: Chelsea have been unable to prove one of their own fans racially abused striker Daniel Sturridge during the club's Champions League game at Genk. The Blues launched an investigation into claims Sturridge was called a "monkey" as he came on as a substitute in 1 November's 1-1 draw in Belgium.

1012 GET INVOLVED - @ofonhawkins on Twitter: "If Vidic is out for the season, then United should brace themselves for 2 seasons in the Europa League." #bbcsportsday

1011 FOOTBALL: Liverpool have concerns in central midfield ahead of tomorrow's league match with QPR at Anfield. Jay Spearing, who was expected to provide the long-term replacement for Lucas Leiva after the Brazilian's season was ended by a cruciate knee ligament, begins a three-match suspension after his red card at Fulham on Monday and captain Steven Gerrard is still recovering from an ankle infection.

1010 GET INVOLVED - Richard Dowson on Twitter: "No place for Scott Borthwick, thought he may have done enough to make the plane." #bbcsportsday

1002 CRICKET: The full England squad to tour the United Arab Emirates for a three-match Test series against Pakistan: Andrew Strauss (Middlesex), James Anderson (Lancashire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Ravi Bopara (Essex), Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Alastair Cook (Essex), Steven Davies (Surrey), Steven Finn (Middlesex), Eoin Morgan (Middlesex), Monty Panesar (Sussex), Kevin Pietersen (Surrey), Matt Prior (Sussex), Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire), Chris Tremlett (Surrey), Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire)

1000 CRICKET: Monty Panesar, Steven Davies and Ravi Bopara are included in a 16-man England Test squad for the matches against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates next year.

0955 HORSE RACING: The Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Denman has been retired after suffering a setback in his preparation for the Lexus Chase.

0955 GOLF: An update from the Dubai World Championship. where former Open champion Paul Lawrie leads by three at 10 under, after picking up three shots in the first six holes of his second round. Paul Casey shares second after picking up seven shots in his first 16 holes, Rory McIlroy is also seven under for the event - one under for the day - after seven holes, and world number one Luke Donald is four under after adding a 68 to his opening 72.

0950 GET INVOLVED - Joe Joe on Twitter: "Does anyone besides Platini and the Europa League sponsors really believe it's a 'brilliant' competition?" #bbcsportsday

0946 FOOTBALL: Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson tells his press conference the Europa League is a "good competition, a strong competition". The Scotsman says his comment that it was a punishment "wasn't a swipe" against it, and that he only meant punishment because, for 20 years, United had only thought about Champions League. On the Europa League he says: "It's a competition you want to win".

0945 FOOTBALL: Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua expect Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka to make a decision by Monday over whether to join the Super League outfit.

0935 5 LIVE SPORT: A word about a couple of podcasts available for download from BBC Radio 5 live. For athletics fans, there is everything you ever wanted to know about sport's most intense race, the 100m, as Darren Campbell analyses the anatomy of the event, in "100 metres in 90 minutes". Also available for you, Celtic manager Neil Lennon discusses his battles with depression and Michael Vaughan and Clarke Carlisle join Eleanor Oldroyd to debate "Depression in Sport" and how it is being tackled.

0932 FOOTBALL: Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic is ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, Sir Alex Ferguson confirms at a press conference.

0930 WRESTLING: This weekend sees the London 2012 test event take place at the ExCel Centre. Commonwealth bronze medallist Leon Rattigan, who hopes to compete but is struggling with a bicep injury, has told BBC Sport he has no concerns with foreign-born wrestlers competing for Great Britain in 2012. "If they're improving the sport and getting results which increase funding for the country, I don't have anything against that personally," he said.

0925 WATER POLO: Great Britain's men lost 14-6 to world champions Italy in Manchester on Tuesday and BBC Sport's Nigel Adderley caught up with captain Craig Figes afterwards. "It's a testament to how we've improved that we've now got 17 guys accepted in some of the top leagues in Europe," says Figes.

0922 FOOTBALL: Wigan defender Antolin Alcaraz returns from a three-match suspension for tomorrow's trip to West Brom.

0920 FOOTBALL: Newcastle have defensive problems ahead of tomorrow's trip to Norwich. Steven Taylor (Achilles) and Mike Williamson (broken arm and ankle) are definitely out, while Fabricio Coloccini (thigh) is very doubtful, meaning 21-year-old Hungarian Tamas Kadar could make his first appearance of the season.

0915 FOOTBALL: Manchester City right-back Micah Richards looks set to miss Monday's league trip to Chelsea with a calf injury. Pablo Zabaleta is now fit and could slot back in, but left-back Aleksandar Kolarov is still out with a groin problem.

0910 FOOTBALL: Wolves midfielder and former captain Karl Henry has completed a one-match ban and could return at Manchester United tomorrow. Jody Craddock is rated doubtful with a hamstring injury.

0907 FOOTBALL: Bolton defender Gary Cahill is available for the clash with his old club after his red card from the 3-0 defeat to Tottenham was rescinded. David Wheater misses out again as he serves the second game of a four-match ban, while Nigel Reo-Coker, another former Villa player, is a doubt with hamstring trouble.

0904 FOOTBALL: Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan will make his first Premier League start of the season against Bolton tomorrow in place of Shay Given, who is sidelined for a month with a hamstring injury. Captain Stiliyan Petrov and Stephen Ireland will be in contention to replace on-loan Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas, who has been ruled out for the season after surgery to his Achilles.

0857 GOLF: Rory McIlroy pars the opening hole of his second round at the Dubai World Championship. Paul Casey joins him at six under after picking up his sixth stroke of the day.

0853 RUGBY LEAGUE: Jamie Jones-Buchanan signs a new three-year deal with Super League champions Leeds Rhinos.

0850 SPORT ON 5: Coming up for you at 1900 GMT on BBC Radio 5 live, Colin Murray, Pat Nevin and Perry Groves with an in-depth look ahead to the weekend's sporting action.

0842 HORSE RACING: BBC Sport's Cornelius Lysaght on Twitter "#Cheltenham: after Mon Parrain defeat, Nov 12 (2.5 miles) trainer @PFNicholls talked re going further; gets it today (1-45); day's big hope."

0833 FOOTBALL: Demba Ba talks about Newcastle's chances of securing a Champions League spot in an interview with BBC World Service's World Football show. There is also a tribute to the hard drinking, chain-smoking genius Socrates. Download the podcast from Friday afternoon. You can also follow World Football on Twitter @wsworldfootball.

0830 GET INVOLVED - Phil Skade on Twitter: "Ouch for Petrov and Senna. Thought at least one would be at Lotus/Renault next year. Where do they go? Force India/Toro Rosso?" #bbcsportsday

0825 FORMULA 1: GP2 champion Romain Grosjean will drive for Renault, who will become Lotus in 2012, alongside returning 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen next season.

GET INVOLVED - We are expecting the England Test squad to be announced at 1000 GMT. Who would you like to see in it? You can share your thoughts and get involved in Sportsday Live via Twitter with the hashtag #bbcsportsday

0820 GOLF: BBC Sport's Iain Carter on Twitter "If Donald ends up sharing 9th place with one other player and McIlroy wins t'ment, Donald wins the Race to Dubai by £3.55."

0815 MOTORSPORT: The IndyCar Series will not race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway next season. Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon was killed in a 15-car accident at the Las Vegas track in the opening laps of October's race. Track owner Bruton Smith tells The Associated Press his company negotiated a deal that will allow IndyCar to buy out its previously announced 2012 race. The series will decide later if it wants to race there in 2013.

0810 CRICKET: It is tea on day one of the first Test between Bangladesh and Pakistan in Chittagong, and the hosts have been bowled out for 135, Pakistan spinners Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman both taking three wickets.

0807 CRICKET: Overnight in Australia it has been the first day of the second Test between Australia and New Zealand in Hobart. Australia seamer James Pattinson has taken his second successive five-wicket haul as the Kiwis are all out for 150, the Aussies, who won the first Test by nine wickets, closing on 12-1 in reply.

0805 GOLF: To Dubai now, where it is round two of the Dubai World Championship. Englishman Paul Casey has made a superb start, picking up five shots in his first eight holes to move into a share of fourth at five under, three behind overnight leader Peter Hanson. World number one Luke Donald is one under for the day and the tournament after three birdies and two bogeys in his first nine.

0800 HORSE RACING: BBC Sport's Cornelius Lysaght on Twitter with news of how the weather is affecting conditions: "#Cheltenham: rainfall should read just over QUARTER inch (not half); at #Doncaster, tiny bit more rain, and going now GOOD, G/SOFT in places."

0800 FOOTBALL: Good morning and welcome to Sportsday Live. To come shortly we have golf from Dubai and Test cricket news from Australia and Bangladesh, but first here are the top three stories from Friday's gossip column. Aston Villa are pondering a move for Newcastle midfielder Danny Guthrie after losing Jermaine Jenas to injury (Daily Mirror). Chelsea and Manchester City are thought to be monitoring Ajax full-back Gregory van der Wiel, who says he will not sign a new contract at the club. (The Sun). Tottenham are planning to snatch Ajax defender Jan Vertonghen from under the noses of north London rivals Arsenal.(Metro).