Sporting briefs

Keane: West Ham have agreed a deal to sign Tottenham striker Robbie Keane on loan until the end of the season, according to co-owner David Gold. West Ham have negotiated a deal which takes Keane on loan with a view to making a permanent six million pounds switch to the east London club.

Iachini: Giuseppe Iachini returned to coach Brescia yesterday after Mario Beretta, who had replaced him in December, was fired following the 3-0 defeat at home to Chievo.The 51-year-old Beretta lasted only seven games and less than two months in the job.

Torres: Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti refused to be drawn on questions regarding the club’s pursuit of Fernando Torres after his side drew 1-1 at Everton in the FA Cup. “No change,” said Ancelotti when asked to give an update about Torres. “Will I be disappointed if I don’t get new players in? No, I’m always happy. There is sunshine so I am happy.”

Healy: Rangers have taken over David Healy’s contract until the end of the season after confirming the signing of the striker yesterday. It was initially thought the 31-year-old, a boyhood fan of the Ibrox club, had signed on loan from Sunderland. However, Rangers have recruited the player on a permanent deal, although it is understood there was no transfer fee involved.

Johnson: Manchester City winger Adam Johnson has been ruled out for three months with an ankle injury. Johnson suffered ligament damage in a freak incident during training on Thursday.

O’Hara: Wolves have confirmed the signing of Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara on loan for the remainder of the season. O’Hara was in the stands to watch Wolves’ FA Cup tie against Stoke after undergoing a medical and the completion of his temporary switch to Molineux was announced shortly after the game.

Cricket: Australia claimed the one-day international series against England with a 51-run win in the fifth match at the Gabba yesterday. After winning the toss and batting Australia made 249, with second-gamer Chris Woakes picking up a record-equalling six wickets. It seemed insufficient, but the tourists slumped to 145-9, before a late flurry from Steve Finn (35 off 24 balls) boosted their score to a more respectable 198. The result gave Australia an unbeatable 4-1 lead. The match also raised more than $6 million for victims of the recent Queensland floods.

Tennis: Canadian Daniel Nestor and Slovenia’s Katarina Srebotnik won the Australian Open mixed doubles title when they beat Australian Paul Hanley and Taiwan’s Chan Yung-Jan yesterday. The second seeds needed a deciding match tiebreaker to win the final 6-3, 3-6, 10-7 at Rod Laver Arena.

Alpine Skiing: Ivica Kostelic bounced back from a mediocre downhill performance to win the men’s World Cup supercombined for his seventh victory this month yesterday. Fellow Croatian Natko Zrncic-Dim took a deserved second place with Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal in third. Kostelic produced a slalom masterclass on the ‘Verte des Houches’ run to take the provisional lead, and held on to top spot as a host of potential challengers straddled gates or failed to finish the race.

Handball: France made handball history yesterday as their thrilling 37-35 victory over Denmark after extra-time in the World Championship final made them the first country to win four successive major titles in the sport. Their achievement is all the more astonishing as they were languishing in the third division at world level 30 years ago.