Sport and Leisure/Sport 2011

January

Jan 1

Valencia is the European Capital of Sport 2011

PDC quarter-final – Mark Webster bt Taylor

Jan 2

Usman Khawaja and Michael Beer make debuts for Australia, captained by Michael Clarke

San Francisco selected as hosts for 2013 Americas Cup

Jan 3

PDC final – Adrian Lewis bt Gary Anderson, and hits the first nine-dart finish in a world final

Jan 4

Alistair Cook becomes the second youngest player in test history, behind Sachin Tendulkar, to pass 5000 test runs

Jan 5

SCG is covered in pink for the last Ashes Test to celebrate former pace bowler Glenn McGrath's wife, Jane, who passed away from breast cancer

Leon Best hat-trick for Newcastle against West Ham

Jan 6

Collingwood retires from Test cricket

Cook sets new records for runs scored (766) and minutes batted (2171) in an Ashes series

Rob Andrew’s role as director of elite rugby at the RFU is scrapped

Phil Brown appointed as manager of Preston

Jan 7

Fifth Test (Sydney) Australia 280 and 281 England 644 (Cook 189, Bell 115, Prior 118)

England wins the series 3-1. First series win in Australia for 24 years

For the first time in Test matches, a team posted century stands for the sixth, seventh and eighth wickets

Cook wins the Compton-Miller medal for Man of the Series

Australia lose by an innings three times in a series for the first time

Strauss joins Hutton and Brearley to become only the third England captain to win Ashes series at home and away

Cook scored 766 runs at an average of 127. Second-highest total in an Ashes series, behind Wally Hammond (905). Second-highest average in an Ashes series, behind Geoff Boycott (147 in 1977)

Anderson took 24 wickets

Prior took 23 catches

Michael Hussey scored 570 runs

Roy Keane sacked as Ipswich manager

Narain Karthikeyan will drive for Hispania F1 team

Man City sign Edin Dzeko from Wolfsburg for £27 million

Gary Mason dies

Jan 8

Roy Hodgson leaves Liverpool. Kenny Dalglish placed in charge until the end of the season

BDO Women’s final – Trina Gulliver bt Rhian Edwards to win her ninth world title

Hopman Cup final (Perth) – USA bt Belgium

FA Cup third round – Stevenage bt Newcastle, Notts County bt Sunderland, Southampton bt Blackpool, Reading bt West Brom

Welsh National – Synchronised (Tony McCoy). McCoy has now won all four Nationals

Jan 9

Chelsea 7 Ipswich 0

BDO final – Adams bt Dean Winstanley

African Open – Oosthuizen

Masters snooker first round – King bt Selby

Seattle Seahawks, who became the first divisional winner with a losing record, 7-9 in the NFC West, knock out defending champions New Orleans Saints in the NFL play-offs

Royal Trophy (Thailand) – Europe (captained by Montgomerie) bt Asia (captained by Ozaki)

Jan 10

FIFA Ballon d’Or – Messi

Coach of the Year – Mourinho

Women’s Player of the Year – Marta

Charlie Hodgson to move from Sale to Saracens at the end of the season

Paul Jewell appointed as Ipswich manager

Macclesfield Town player Richard Butcher dies

Liverpool name former Chelsea and West Ham assistant Steve Clarke as their first-team coach

Jan 11

Beckham trains with Spurs, wearing a No. 77 hat

FA unveil a sponsorship deal with Vauxhall

Jan 12

Chris Woakes hits the winning run on England debut to give England a record eighth win in a row in Twenty20 internationals

Jan 13

Shaun Tait to play for Surrey in FP t20 competition

Jan 14

Paul Diggin scores four tries for Northampton against Edinburgh

Jan 15

King George VI – Long Run. 3^rd Kauto Star

David Miliband joins the board of Sunderland as vice-chairman

Cardiff Devils set a new record of 21 consecutive victories in the Elite League

Jan 16

Nat Lofthouse dies

Shane Watson 161 in ODI at MCG, on the 40th anniversary of the first-ever ODI, at the same ground

BBL Cup final – Sheffield Sharks bt Mersey Tigers

Ryan Giggs makes 600th league appearance

Dakar Rally – Vladimir Chagin of Russia achieves a record seventh victory, at the wheel of his Kamaz truck, thus becoming the most successful driver in a single category in the history of the event. Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar wins in the car division, giving Volkswagen their third successive victory in the car class. Marc Coma from Spain wins his third Dakar in the motorcycle category

Paris-Daker route in 2012 – Mar del Plata-Copiapo-Lima

Ladbrokes Mobile Masters final – Ding bt Fu

Jan 17

Ryan Babel fined £10,000 over a Twitter post that linked to a mocked-up picture of referee Howard Webb wearing a Man Utd shirt

Jan 18

Olazabel named as Europe Ryder Cup captain

Stephen Pienaar moves from Everton to Spurs

Jan 19

Australian Open second round – Henin bt Baltacha, Petkovic bt Keothavong

Eric Cantona appointed director of soccer at New York Cosmos

Elliot Saltman banned from golf for three months after being found guilty of marking his ball incorrectly at a Challenge Tour event

Ashley Cole is the only Premiership player to be named in the Uefa Team of the Year

Jan 20

Davis Love named as US Ryder Cup captain

Steve Kean appointed as manager of Blackburn

Women’s World Indoor Championship final – Alison Merrien (Guernsey) bt Karen Murphy (Australia)

PFA Chairman Clark Carlisle (Burnley) becomes the first-ever professional footballer to appear on Question Time

Jan 21

Shaun Marsh 110 in second ODI, in Hobart

Jan 22

Darren Bent scores winner for Aston Villa on debut against Man City

Berbatov hat-trick against Birmingham

Van Persie hat-trick against Wigan. Caldwell brothers play together for Wigan for the first time

Jan 23

Schiavone bt Kuznetsova in 4 hours 44 minutes, the longest women’s Grand Slam singles match ever

Abu Dhabi Championship – Kaymer

World Indoor Championship final (Great Yarmouth) – Paul Foster (Scotland) bt Alex Marshall (Scotland)

Munster, Wasps and Clement Auvergne drop into the Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-finals, as the best runners-up in the Heineken Cup pools

Bob Hope Classic – Jhonattan Vegas (Venezuela)

Lance Armstrong ends his international cycling career after a final race in Australia

Jan 24

Sky discipline Andy Gray and Richard Keys after their comments that female assistant referees "did not know the offside rule"

Surrey County Cricket Club announces that The Oval will be renamed the Kia Oval

Jan 25

Andy Gray sacked by Sky Sports over sexist comments about assistant referee Sian Massey, who made a correct offside call in the Liverpool vs Wolves match

Carling Cup semi-final – Arsenal bt Ipswich

Women’s Ashes Test (Sydney) – Australia bt England (Edwards 114)

Glasgow Warriors lock forward Alastair Kellock is named Scotland captain for the upcoming Six Nations series

Jan 26

Richard Keys resigns

Scotland’s Paul di Resta to drive for Force India F1 team

Carling Cup semi-final – Birmingham bt West Ham

Jan 27

Semi-finals – Li Na bt Wozniacki, Clijsters bt Zvonereva, Djokovic bt Federer

Jan 28

Semi-final – Murray bt Ferrer

Women’s doubles final – Dulko and Pennetta bt Azarenka and Kirilenko

Jan 29

Final – Clijsters bt Li Na

Men’s doubles final – Bryan and Bryan bt Bhupathi and Paes

AFC Asian Cup final (Qatar) – Japan bt Australia

Jan 30

Final – Djokovic bt Murray

Mixed doubles final – Nestor and Srebotnik bt Hanley and Chan

Woakes 6-45 in fifth ODI, becoming only the second England player to take more than five wickets in an ODI, the first being Collingwood

Victor Obinna hat-trick for West Ham vs Nottingham Forest

Volvo Golf Champions (Bahrain) – Casey

Harlequins bt Wasps in LV= Cup match played in Abu Dhabi

World Men's Handball Championship – France

Scott Pruett wins his fourth 24 Hours of Daytona endurance race

CaesarsCasino.com Snooker Shoot-Out final (Blackpool) – Bond bt Milkins

Jan 31

Torres moves to Chelsea for £50 million

Andy Carroll moves from Newcastle to Liverpool for £35 million

David Luiz moves from Benfica to Chelsea

Luis Suarez moves from Ajax to Liverpool

February

Feb 1

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats go into administration

Feb 2

Sixth ODI – England 333-6 (Trott 137) Australia 334-8

Gary Neville retires

Feb 3

Gavin Henson moves from Saracens to Toulon

Neil Young dies

Feb 4

Tindall captains England against Wales. Debut for Tom Wood. Chris Ashton scores two tries

Feb 5

41 goals in eight Premier League matches

Newcastle come from 4-0 behind to draw with Arsenal

Tevez hat-trick vs West Brom

Saha scores four goals for Everton against Blackpool

Man Utd lose to Wolves to end their 24-game unbeaten run from the start of the season, 29 games including last season

Oscar Whisky wins the inaugural Welsh Champion Hurdle at Ffos Las

Salman Butt banned for 10 years, Mohammad Asif banned for seven years, Mohammed Amir banned for five years over spot-fixing scandal. Agent Mazhar Majeed is also jailed

Feb 6

Roberto di Matteo sacked by West Brom

Australia win ODI series 6-1

Qatar Masters – Bjorn

Robert Kubica is injured in a high-speed rally crash in Italy

German Masters final (Berlin) – Williams bt Selby

Japan Sumo Association cancels the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in light of a match fixing scandal, the first time the event has been canceled since 1946

Super Bowl XLV (Cowboys Stadium, Arlington) – Green Bay Packers bt Pittsburgh Steelers. MVP – Aaron Rodgers. Coach – Mike McCarthy

Half-time entertainment – Black Eyed Peas

Packers fourth win in the Super Bowl

Super Bowl XLVI will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. This will be the first time that the Super Bowl is held in Indianapolis

Feb 7

Steve McClaren sacked by Wolfsburg

Skiing World Championships start in Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Laureus Sports Awards –

World Sportsman of the Year: Rafael Nadal

World Sportswoman of the Year: Lindsey Vonn

World Team of the Year: Spain World Cup team

World Breakthrough of the Year: Martin Kaymer

World Comeback of the Year: Valentino Rossi

Lifetime Achievement Award: Zinedine Zidane (France)

Spirit of Sport Award: European Ryder Cup team

Feb 8

Andy Gray and Richard Keys move to Talksport

Super Bowl was watched by 111 million people, a record for the biggest TV audience for a single broadcast

Women’s Super-G – Elisabeth Goergl (Austria)

Feb 9

Lampard captains England for the first time, against Denmark. Full debut for Jack Wilshire. Winning goal scored by Ashley Young

Men’s Super-G – Christof Innerhofer (Italy)

Feb 10

Trevor Bailey dies

Real Madrid named as the world’s richest club

Feb 11

Olympic Park Legacy Company choose West Ham to move into the Olympic stadium after the 2012 Games

Roy Hodgson appointed as manager of West Brom

Nicky Henderson trains his 2000th winner

Cleveland Cavaliers end 26-game losing streak, the longest in NBA history

Women’s Super Combined – Anna Fenninger (Austria)

Feb 12

Chris Ashton scores four tries in England’s 59-13 win against Italy. Debut for Alex Corbisiero

Shane Williams scores two tries for Wales against Scotland

Fenix Two and Marching Song are electrocuted in the paddock at Newbury

Super League season starts with ‘Magic Weekend’ at Millennium Stadium

Hennessey Cognac Irish Gold Cup – Kempes

Men’s Downhill – Erik Guay (Canada)

Feb 13

UK Indoor Athletics Trials and Championships held in Sheffield

Dubai Desert Classic – Alvan Quiros

Women’s Downhill – Elisabeth Goergl (Austria)

Feb 14

Tiger Woods fined for spitting at Dubai Desert Classic

Ronaldo retires

Men’s Super Combined – Aksel Lund Svindal (Norway)

Feb 15

Gattuso head-butts Joe Jordan after Spurs beat AC Milan in the San Siro

Raul scores 71st goal in European club fixtures, breaking the record held by Inzaghi

2102 Olympic Games schedule announced. Handball will take place in the Basketball Arena

Venues outside Olympic Park –

Earls Court – Volleyball

ExCeL – Boxing, Fencing, Judo, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Weightlifting, Wrestling (Freestyle and Greco-Roman)

Greenwich Park – Equestrian

Horse Guards Parade – Beach Volleyball

Hyde Park – Swimming (Marathon), Triathlon

Lord’s Cricket Ground – Archery

North Greenwich Arena – Basketball, Gymnastics (Artistic and Trampoline)

Royal Artillery Barracks – Shooting

Wembley Arena – Badminton, Gymnastics (Rhythmic)

Wimbledon – Tennis

Lee Valley White Water Centre – Canoeing

Hadleigh Farm, Essex – Cycling (Mountain Bike)

Eton Dorney – Rowing

Weymouth and Portland – Sailing

Coventry, Cardiff, Glasgow (Hampden Park), Manchester (Old Trafford), Newcastle, Wembley Stadium – Football

Handball events held at Copper Box

Hockey events held at Riverside Arena

Feb 16

Nations Team Event (mixed) – France. In each pairing two female and two male skiers from each team race a parallel giant slalom in a best-of-four system

Feb 17

Cricket World Cup opening ceremony in Bangladesh. Mascot – Stumpy, a blue elephant

Welsh Open – Hendry 147 break against Maguire

Cheapest ticket on general sale for Champions League final will cost £176

Women’s Giant Slalom – Tina Maze (Slovenia)

Feb 18

Tony Hanks leaves as director of rugby at Wasps

Men’s Giant Slalom – Ted Ligety (USA)

Ronaldo joins Brazil's 2014 Fifa World Cup organizing committee

Feb 19

FA Cup – Everton bt Chelsea, Man Utd 1 Crawley 0

Sehwag 175 vs Bangladesh in opening match of World Cup

Cycling World Cup (Manchester). Kieran – Chris Hoy. All five other riders involved in a crash

Women’s Slalom – Marlies Schild (Austria)

Feb 20

Welsh Open final – Higgins bt Maguire

Men’s Slalom – Jean-Baptiste Grange (France)

Daytona 500 – Trevor Bayne

Feb 21

Bahrain GP cancelled

Plymouth receive 10-point penalty

Feb 22

Ponting damages a TV in the dressing room after being run out in World Cup match against Zimbabwe

Netherlands 292-6 (Ryan ten Doeschate 119) England 296-4

Ally McCoist to replace Walter Smith as Rangers manager at the end of the season

Velodrome for 2012 Olympic Games opened. Known as ‘The Pringle’

Feb 23

Kenya bowl 37 wides against Pakistan, equalling the ODI record

Feb 24

Accenture World Match Play Championship (Tuscon, Arizona) first round – Cink bt Poulter, Bjorn bt Woods

Laser guns will replace air pistols in the combined run-and-shoot finale to the modern pentathlon

Feb 26

Former Southampton, Spurs and Wolves defender Dean Richards dies

Ben Foden scores only try for England against France

Feb 27

Carling Cup final – Birmingham 2 (Zigic, Martins) Arsenal 1 (Van Persie). Birmingham captain – Stephen Carr. Man of the match – Ben Foster. First major trophy since League Cup in 1963

India 338 (Tendulkar 120, Bresnan 5-48) England 338-8 (Strauss 158)

World Club Challenge – St George Illawarra Dragons bt Wigan

World Match Play final – Donald bt Kaymer

Kaymer replaces Westwood as world number one

Rooney deliberately elbows James McCarthy of Wigan but is not sent off

Ashley Cole accidentally shoots a student with an air rifle

Feb 28

Kemar Roach hat-trick for West Indies against Netherlands

March

Mar 1

Malinga hat-trick for Sri Lanka vs Kenya

FA Cup – Reading bt Everton

Mar 2

England 327-8 Ireland 329-7 (Kevin O’Brien 113)

O’Brien 100 off 50 balls, the fastest century in World Cup history

Trott equals the record of Viv Richards and Kevin Pietersen reaching 1000 ODI runs in only 21 innings

Scottish Cup – Rangers have three players shown red cards, while Celtic manager Neil Lennon has a heated exchange with opposition assistant manager Ally McCoist on the touchline at the final whistle

Bendtner hat-trick for Arsenal vs Leyton Orient

Kelly Smith wins 100th cap for England Ladies

Mar 3

Boxer Anthony Joshua arrested for possessing cannabis with intent to supply

Mar 4

Bangladesh bowled out for 58 by West Indies

European Indoor Championships start in Paris. First GB medal – Tiffany Ofili, silver in 60m hurdles

Plymouth go into administration

Rugby League Varsity Match (Twickenham Stoop) – Oxford 60 Cambridge 16

Arsene Wenger claims that Manchester City defender Kolo Toure failed a drugs test after taking a diet pill belonging to his wife

Mar 5

Snoods to be banned from 1st July

Scotland beat England in women’s football for the first time in 34 years

WBC light-middleweight championship – Saul Alvarez bt Matthew Hatton (brother of Ricky, nickname ‘Magic’)

Ivo Karlovic sets new world record for fastest serve, 156 mph

Men’s 3000m. Gold – Mo Farah

New Jersey Nets defeat Toronto Raptors in two NBA regular season games at O2 Arena

BBL Trophy final – Mersey Tigers bt Guildford Heat

England cricketer Steven Davies reveals that he is gay

Lee Bowyer becomes the first player to reach 100 yellow cards in the Premier League

Mar 6

Kuyt hat-trick vs Man Utd

Women’s 3000m. Gold – Helen Clitheroe

Men’s 60m. Silver – Dwain Chambers

Women’s 800m. Silver – Jenny Meadows

Davis Cup (Bolton Arena) – GB bt Tunisia. James Ward wins both his singles matches

Challenge Cup third round – York City Knights 132 Northumbria University 0. Chris Thorman scores 56 points

Mar 8

Ross Taylor hits seven sixes for New Zealand against Pakistan. New Zealand score 100 runs in final five overs of their innings

Champions League – Barcelona bt Arsenal

Brazilian team play exhibition match in Grozny, organised by Chechnya warlord Ramzan Kadyrov

Dorchester Town player-manager Ashley Vickers is sent off for tackling a pitch invader dressed in a mankini

Mar 9

Morgan replaces Pietersen, and Tredwell replaces Broad in World Cup squad

Tottenham Hotspur sign a five-year deal with US firm Under Armour for it to make its playing kit

Mar 10

Tharanga and Dilshan put on 282 for Sri Lanka against Zimbabwe to set a new World Cup record for the first wicket. Dilshan takes 4-4 in Zimbabwe innings

Mar 12

Italy beat France for the first time in the Six Nations to win the Garibaldi Cup. Winning penalty – Mirco Bergamasco

O’Gara reaches 1000 points in Test rugby

Mar 13

Tom Croft and Max Evans score tries in Calcutta Cup

GB men’s and women’s basketball teams are given an automatic place in 2012 Olympics

World Snooker qualifying round – Lee bt Davis

WGC-Cadillac Championship (formerly known as the WGC-CA Championship) – Nick Watney

All-England Open Badminton championships (NIA, Birmingham). Men’s – Lee Chong Mei (Malaysia), Women’s – Wang Shixian (China)

Mar 15

Champion Hurdle – Hurricane Fly (Ruby Walsh), trained by Willie Mullins. Sponsored by Stan James

Arkle Trophy – Captain Chris

Peter Loader dies

Mar 16

Queen Mother Champion Chase – Sizing Europe (Andrew Lynch), trained by Henry de Bromhead. Sponsored by Sportingbet.com

Mar 17

World Hurdle – Big Buck’s (Ruby Walsh), trained by Paul Nicholls. Sponsored by Ladbrokes

Europa League – Dynamo Kiev bt Man City, Braga bt Liverpool

James Woods wins Britain's first freestyle skiing medal at a major championships after taking bronze in slopestyle at the Euro Winter X Games

Mar 18

Gold Cup – Long Run (Sam Waley-Cohen), trained by Nicky Henderson. 2^nd Denman, 3^rd Kauto Star. Sponsored by Totesport

Jade Dernbach replaces Ajmal Shazhad in World Cup squad

Leading jockey – Ruby Walsh (5 winners)

Leading trainer – Willie Mullins (4 winners)

England Women win Grand Slam. Captain – Katy McLean

Mar 19

Pakistan end Australia’s 34-match unbeaten run at the cricket World Cup

O’Driscoll scores record 25th try as Ireland deny England the Grand Slam. England captained by Nick Easter

Final table – England, France, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Italy

Leading try scorer – Ashton (6 tries)

Leading points scorer – Flood (50 points)

Mar 20

Mo Farah wins New York City half-marathon on his debut over the distance

Warrington 82 Harlequins 6

LV= Cup Final – Gloucester bt Newcastle. Man of the match – Nick Robinson (Gloucester)

Final tables in World Cup –

Group A – Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Canada, Kenya

Group B – South Africa, India, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland, Netherlands

CIS Cup final – Rangers bt Celtic

John Terry re-appointed as England captain

GB men’s and women’s beach volleyball teams are given an automatic place in 2012 Olympics

Adel Taarabt (QPR) is named Football League player of the year

Skiing World Cup. Men’s overall – Ivica Kostelic (Croatia)

Women’s overall – Maria Riesch (Germany), preventing Vonn winning for the fourth year in succession

Women’s World Curling Championships final (Denmark) – Sweden bt Canada

World Cross Country Championships (Spain). Men’s – Imane Merga (Ethiopia), Women’s – Vivian Cheruiyot (Kenya)

Ski Jumping World Cup – Thomas Morgenstern (Austria)

Elite League – Sheffield Steelers

Mar 21

World Figure Skating Championships moved from Tokyo to Moscow following the earthquake and tsunami

Nikolai Andrianov dies. He held the record for men for the most Olympic medals at 15 (7 gold, 5 silver, 3 bronze) until Michael Phelps surpassed him at the 2008 Olympics

Mar 23

Fred Titmus dies

Cycling track world championships start in Apeldoorn, Netherlands

Six Nations Player of the Championship – Andrea Masi (Aironi). First Italian to win the award

Mar 24

Man City striker Kevin Etuhu jailed for eight months for assault

India bt Australia (Ponting 104)

Adil Rashid replaces Michael Yardy in World Cup squad

BOA chairman Lord Moynihan and chief executive Andy Hunt suspended from the board of London 2012 Organising Committee (Locog)

Women’s team pursuit. Gold – GB (Houvenaghel, Trott, and King)

Mar 25

Men’s sprint semi-final – Kenny bt Hoy

Final – Gregory Bauge (France) bt Kenny

Mar 26

Boat race – Oxford

England 229-6 Sri Lanka 231-0 (Dilshan 108, Tharanga 102)

Kieran. Gold – Shane Perkins (Australia). Silver – Hoy

Dubai World Cup – Victoire Pisa (Mirco Demuro). First time a horse trained in Japan has won the race

Mar 27

Formula 1 teams –

McLaren – Button, Hamilton

Ferrari – Alonso, Massa

Red Bull – Vettel, Webber

Mercedes – Schumacher, Rosberg

Renault – Heidfeld, Petrov

Williams – Barrichello, Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela)

Force India – Sutil, Paul di Resta (UK)

Toro Rosso – Alguersuari, Buemi

Sauber – Kobayashi, Sergio Perez (Mexico)

Virgin – Glock, Jerome d’Ambrosio (Belgium)

Lotus – Trulli, Kovalainen

Hispania Racing – Narain Karthikeyan (India), Luizzi

Pirelli returns to the sport as tyre supplier for all teams, taking over from Bridgestone

Cars have an adjustable rear wing or DRS (Drag Reduction System)

Australian GP – Vettel, Hamilton, Petrov (first podium finish). Di Resta finishes 10^th after both Saubers are disqualified

Hong Kong Sevens final – New Zealand bt England

Crusaders bt Sharks at Twickenham, in the first Super 15 (also known as Super Rugby) game to be played in the northern hemisphere

Anna Meares (Australia) wins three gold medals in cycling world championships

Andalucia Open – Paul Lawrie

Arnold Palmer Invitational – Martin Laird (Scotland)

Friendly (Emirates Stadium) – Scotland 0 Brazil 2 (Neymar 2)

Mar 28

Darren Lockyer announces his retirement as at the end of the 2011 NRL season

Mar 29

Semi-final (Colombo) – Sri Lanka bt New Zealand

Ponting resigns as captain of Australia

MCC bt Nottinghamshire in Abu Dhabi

England 1 (Carroll) Ghana 1 (Gyan). England captained by Gareth Barry

Mar 30

Semi-final (Mohali) – India bt Pakistan

Michael Clarke named as new Australian captain

Mar 31

Widnes Vikings granted a three-year license in the Super League (starting in 2012) ahead of Halifax

April

Apr 2

Gavin Henson makes his debut for Toulon

Lincoln – Sweet Lightning

Rooney hat-trick vs West Ham

Crewe 8 Cheltenham 1

World Cup final (Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai) Sri Lanka 274-6 (Jayawardene 103) India 277-4 (Gambhir 97, Dhoni 91)

Player of the tournament – Yuvraj Singh

Leading run scorer – Dilshan (500)

Leading wicket takers – Shahid Afridi, Zaheer Khan (21)

India become the first team to win the World Cup on home soil

Jose Mourinho’s nine-year run of 150 matches unbeaten at home comes to an end as Real Madrid lose to Sporting Gijon

Nic Hamilton (Lewis’s brother) completes first race in Renault Clio Cup

Apr 3

Departing India coach Gary Kirsten is approached over the vacant South Africa job

JP Trophy final – Carlisle bt Brentford

China Open final – Trump bt Selby

Women’s Premier League – Sunderland

Elite League play-off final – Nottingham Panthers bt Cardiff Devils

Apr 4

David Bedford resigns as London’s 2012 Olympic marathon manager

Rooney banned for two matches for swearing at a pitchside camera

Japan withdraws from Copa America

Carlos Queiroz appointed as coach of Iran

Apr 5

Kumar Sangakkara quits as captain of Sri Lanka's one-day and Twenty20 sides

Apr 6

IOC approves the inclusion of women's ski jumping and four other new events (ski half-pipe, biathlon mixed relay and team events in luge and figure skating) for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Plans to include slopestyle events in snowboard and freestyle skiing as well as a team Alpine skiing event are put on hold for further review

First century of the season – Sam Northeast (Kent)

Masters par-three competition – Luke Donald

LeBron James buys a minority stake in Liverpool

Apr 7

Totesport Bowl – Nacarat (Paddy Brennan)

Wisden Cricketers of the Year – Tamin Iqbal, Morgan, Read, and Trott. Mohammad Amir may have been the fifth player, but Wisden reduced the list because of the spot-fixing scandal

BBL Championship – Mersey Tigers

Masters first round leaders – McIlroy and Quiros

Willy Twiston-Davies becomes youngest ever Aintree winner

Apr 8

Melling Chase – Master Minded (Ruby Walsh)

European Gymnastics Championships (Berlin). Men’s all-around. Bronze – Dan Purvis

IPL starts. New teams – Kochi Tuskers Kerala, and Pune Warriors. Sponsored by DLF (originally Delhi Land and Finance), India's biggest real estate developer

Masters second round leader – McIlroy. Jason Day shoots 64

Apr 9

Grand National – Ballabriggs (Jason Maguire), trained by Donald McCain, 2^nd Oscar Time, 3^rd Don’t Push It

For first time in Grand National history, two fences were bypassed after fallers Ornais and Dooneys Gate were fatally injured

Crawley are promoted to the Football League

Heineken Cup quarter-final – Leinster bt Leicester

Women’s uneven bars. Gold – Beth Tweddle

Masters third round leader – McIlroy

Hoggard hat-trick for Leicestershire against Glamorgan

Apr 10

Malaysian GP – Vettel, Button, Heidfeld

Heidfeld now holds the record for the most podium finishes without a win. He has finished second or third 13 times, one more than previous record-holder Stefan Johansson

Alba Challenge Cup final – Ross County bt Queen of the South

Masters – Charl Schwartzel (South Africa). 2^nd Day, Scott. 4^th Woods, Donald, Ogilvy. McIlroy shoots 80

Men’s World Curling Championship final (Canada) – Canada bt Scotland

Apr 11

Shane Watson hits a record 15 sixes on his way to making the highest one-day innings by an Australian (185), against Bangladesh

Stan Kroenke to make an offer for Arsenal

Andy Carroll scores first goals for Liverpool, against Man City

Ben Stokes hits five sixes in an over for Durham off Liam Dawson of Hampshire

Apr 12

Champions League quarter-final – Man Utd bt Chelsea

Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons will not have his contract renewed when it expires at the end of June

Australian rugby league coach Wayne Bennett agrees to coach the Newcastle Knights

Apr 13

Champions League quarter-final – Real Madrid bt Spurs

Women’s Super League starts with Arsenal beating Chelsea at Tooting and Mitcham FC

Teams – Arsenal, Birmingham City, Bristol Academy, Chelsea, Doncaster Rovers Belles, Everton, Lincoln Ladies, Liverpool

Barry Bonds is convicted of obstruction of justice charges

Apr 14

American Kevin Na sets a PGA Tour record when he needs 16 shots on a par four hole at the Texas Open. John Daly's 18 on a par five during the 1998 Bay Hill Invitational is the worst on the PGA Tour

England Hockey League Championship men’s play-off final – Beeston bt East Grinstead

Maria Riesch marries her manager Marcus Hofl

Apr 16

FA Cup semi-final – Man City 1 (Yaya Toure) Man Utd 0. Scholes sent off

Leicester 41 Gloucester 41

Scottish Grand National – Beshabar (Richard Johnson)

World Snooker Championship first round – Trump bt Robertson

Amir Khan retains his WBA light-welterweight title with a points decision over Paul McCloskey

Warwickshire 642 (Chopra 210) Somerset 210 and 50

Graham Alexander becomes the second player to reach 1000 competitive outfield appearances in English professional football. The other player to reach the milestone is Tony Ford

The ongoing protest by trainers and owners over races which offer prize money below the recommended level set by the Horsemen’s Group has claimed its first walkover – Bet Totepool at Totesport.com Handicap at Leicester. By declaring just one horse to run in the race, in this case Harry Dunlop’s Saint Helena, the racecourse had to pay out the £6000 provided the filly canters down to the furlong pole and back

Apr 17

Chinese GP – Hamilton, Vettel, Webber

Malaysian Open – Matteo Manassero

London marathon. Men’s – Emmanuel Mutai (Kenya) in a course record time. Women’s – Mary Keitany (Kenya). Men’s wheelchair – David Weir

FA Cup semi-final – Stoke 5 Bolton 0

Nadal wins Monte Carlo Masters for the seventh time

Apr 18

Dilshan appointed as captain of Sri Lanka

Apr 19

Magners will end their six-year backing of the Celtic League at the end of this season

Grete Waitz dies

Apr 20

Copa del Rey – Real Madrid bt Barcelona. Sergio Ramos drops the cup from the victory parade bus

Apr 23

Maxi Rodriguez hat-trick for Liverpool against Birmingham

Torres scores first goal for Chelsea, against West Ham

Football Writers Player of the Year – Scott Parker

Apr 24

Second round – Selby becomes the first player to record six centuries in a 25-frame match, against Hendry

Jenny Tinmouth becomes the first woman to race in the British Superbike Championship

Indonesia Masters – Westwood

China Open – Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium)

Apr 25

Badminton horse trials – Mark Todd (aged 55), riding NZB Land Vision

Irish Grand National – Organisedconfusion (Nina Carberry)

Apr 27

Barney Gibson becomes the youngest English first-class cricketer after making his Yorkshire debut at the age of 15 years and 27 days

Quarter-final – Higgins bt O’Sullivan

Duncan Fletcher appointed as coach of India

1.8 million people apply for 20 million Olympic Games tickets

Apr 28

Uefa fine Rangers €40,000 and bans its fans from the club’s next away game for sectarian singing in a match at PSV Eindhoven

Apr 29

Royal Wedding wins 17:30 at Fontwell Park

French Football Federation announces an internal inquiry over allegations of a secret racial quota

Apr 30

2000 Guineas – Frankel (Tom Queally), trained by Henry Cecil. Sponsored by StanJames.com

Heineken Cup semi-final – Leinster bt Toulouse

Semi-finals – Trump bt Ding, Higgins bt Williams

BBL play-off final – Mersey Tigers bt Sheffield Sharks

PFA Player of the Year – Bale

PFA Young Player of the Year – Wilshire

Champion jockey – Tony McCoy

Champion trainer – Paul Nicholls

Towcester racetrack announces that it intends to run National Hunt racing without using the whip

May

May 1

1000 Guineas – Blue Bunting (Frankie Dettori). Trained by Mohammad Al Zarooni. Sponsored by StanJames.com

Heineken Cup semi-final – Northampton bt Perpignan

Scottish Players’ Player of the Year  and PFA Scotland Player of the Year – Honduran international Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic)

Rolex Kentucky – Mary King finishes first and second on Kings Temptress and Fernhill Urco

Henry Cooper dies

Ted Lowe dies

England Hockey League Championship women’s play-off final – Slough bt Leicester

World Figure Skating Championships (Moscow). Men’s – Patrick Chan (Canada), Women’s – Miki Ando (Japan)

May 2

Final – Higgins bt Trump 18-15 to win his fourth world title. Sponsored by Betfred.com

Higgins’s walk-on music – ‘Needles and Pins’, The Searchers

Highest break – 138, Ding and King

May 3

Taekwondo world championships (South Korea). Gold – Sarah Stevenson. Silver – Jade Jones, Michael Harvey

Ken Bates is the new owner of Leeds Utd

Champions League semi-final – Barcelona bt Real Madrid

May 4

Champions League semi-final – Man Utd bt Schalke 04

May 5

Alastair Cook named England's one-day international captain following the resignation of Andrew Strauss. Stuart Broad replaces Paul Collingwood as captain of England's Twenty20 side

May 6

Craig Whyte completes Rangers takeover

Jose Mourinho given a five-match European ban

Diamond League athletics starts in Doha

Kentucky Derby – Animal Kingdom

Munster finish top of Magners League

May 7

Seve Ballesteros dies

British & Irish rugby union Cup – Bristol

QPR escape a points deduction despite being found guilty of two charges relating to the signing of Alejandro Faurlin

Leicester finish top of the Aviva Premiership. Leeds are relegated

FA Carlsberg Trophy final – Darlington bt Mansfield

May 8

Turkish GP – Vettel, Webber, Alonso

Lionel Rose, the first Australian Aboriginal boxer to win a world title, dies

Hernandez scores after 36 seconds in Man Utd’s 2-1 win against Chelsea

Spanish Open – Thomas Aiken (South Africa)

FA Vase – Whitley Bay

May 9

Belgian cyclist Wouter Weylandt, riding for Leopard-Trek, dies after crashing during the third stage of the Giro d'Italia

Maxi Rodriguez hat-trick for Liverpool against Fulham

Lord Triesman claims four Fifa members sought bribes in return for backing England’s 2018 World Cup bid

Kostos Kenteris and Katerina Thanou found guilty of perjury for staging a motorcycle crash to avoid a doping test on the eve of the 2004 Olympics

Panathinaikos bt Maccabi Tel Aviv in Barcelona to claim their sixth Euroleague Basketball championship

May 11

Neil Lennon attacked by a fan at Hearts

Aviva Premiership Rugby Player of the Season – Tom Wood (Northampton Saints)

Discovery of the Season – Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers)

Director of Rugby of the Season – Jim Mallinder (Northampton Saints)

Leading points scorer – Jimmy Gopperth (Newcastle), 230 points

Leading try scorer – Alesana Tuilagi (Leicester), 13 tries

May 14

Man Utd draw at Blackburn to win their 19th league title

FA Cup final – Man City 1 (Yaya Toure) Stoke 0. Man of the match – Balotelli. Captain – Tevez. Referee – Martin Atkinson. First trophy won by Man City since 1976

Warwickshire deducted eight points in County Championship after the pitch at Edgbaston is rated ‘poor’

Sunday Times sports rich list headed by Dave Whelan

May 15

Rangers beat Kilmarnock 5-1 to win their 54th league title

Hearts finish in third place

Leading scorer – Miller (Rangers) 21

Relegated – Hamilton

Scottish Division 1 – Dunfermline

Scottish Division 2 – Livingston

Scottish Division 3 – Arbroath

Highland League – Buckie Thistle

Great Manchester 10km run. Men’s – Gebreselassie. Women’s – Helen Clitheroe

Avram Grant sacked by West Ham

Players Championship – KJ Choi

Mallorca Open – Darren Clarke

World Ice Hockey Championships final (Slovakia) – Finland bt Sweden

May 16

Sammy Wanjiru dies

May 17

2018 Ryder Cup awarded to Le Golf National, near Paris

May 18

Europa League final (Dublin) – Porto bt Braga. Winning goal scored by Falcao, his 17th goal in the Europa League this season. Manager – Andre Villas-Boas (aged 33)

Championship play-off final – Worcester bt Cornish Pirates

May 19

Graham Napier (Essex) equals Andrew Symonds’s record of 16 sixes in a first-class innings

888.com Premier League darts final – Gary Anderson bt Adrian Lewis

Tyler Hamilton, a former teammate of Lance Armstrong, claims that he saw Armstrong use performance-enhancing drugs

May 20

Challenge Cup – Warrington 112 Swinton 0. Lee Briers scores 44 points

European Challenge Cup final – Harlequins bt Stade Francais

Shane Warne plays his last cricket match, for Rajasthan Royals

Eoin Morgan 193 for England Lions vs Sri Lanka

Philip Hodson named as new MCC president

American professional wrestler ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage dies

May 21

Heineken Cup final (Cardiff) – Leinster bt Northampton. Man of the Match Jonathan Sexton scores 28 points

Blue Square Premier play-off final (Eastlands) – AFC Wimbledon bt Luton

FA Women’s Cup final – Arsenal bt Bristol Academy

Scottish Cup final – Celtic bt Motherwell

Cristiano Ronaldo sets a new Primera Liga single-season scoring record with his 39th and 40th of the campaign for Real Madrid

Bernard Hopkins becomes boxing's oldest world champion after beating Canada's Jean Pascal to secure the WBC and IBO light-heavyweight titles. The 46-year-old American is six months older than George Foreman was when he dethroned Michael Moorer as WBA and IBF heavyweight champion in 1994

Nathan Cleverly makes a successful first defence of his WBO light-heavyweight title

George Groves inflicts the first loss of James DeGale's professional career to win the British super-middleweight title

Preakness Stakes – Shackleford

May 22

Spanish GP – Vettel, Hamilton, Button

World Match Play Championship final (Finca Cortesin, Spain) – Poulter bt Donald

Van Persie scores in ninth successive away match

Somen Tchoyi hat-trick for WBA against Newcastle

Final table – 1^st Man Utd, 2^nd Chelsea, 3^rd Man City, 4^th Arsenal

Relegated – Birmingham, Blackpool, West Ham

Leading scorers – Berbatov, Tevez (20 goals)

WBA were the only team to take points off Man Utd at home

Ancelotti sacked by Chelsea

FA Youth Cup final – Man Utd bt Sheffield Utd

May 23

Heather Watson becomes the first British woman to win a match at the French Open for 17 years. Baltacha also wins her first-round match

Australia to stage a ranking snooker tournament for the first time, in July

May 24

French Open first round – Nadal bt Isner in five sets

May 25

Terry Jenner dies

May 26

Kolo Toure banned for six months for failing a drugs test

Fulham qualify for Europa League through the Fair Play League

Professional Rugby Players Association player of the year – Thomas Waldrom (Leicester)

Durham Wildcats will play in the British Basketball League following the withdrawal of Worthing Thunder

Mat 27

Stuart Broad becomes second-youngest Englishman to take 100 Test wickets. Youngest was Ian Botham

Wales bt Northern Ireland in Nations Cup match at Aviva Stadium in front of 529 spectators

May 28

Yorkshire bids for opening stages of 2016 Tour de France

League Two play-off final (Old Trafford) – Stevenage bt Torquay

Promoted – Chesterfield, Bury, Wycombe, Stevenage

Relegated – Lincoln City, Stockport

Leading scorer – Donaldson (Crewe), 28 goals

Premiership final – Saracens bt Leicester. Only try scored by James Short. Owen Farrell kicks 17 points

Magners League final – Munster bt Leinster

Principality Premiership – Pontypridd. Llanelli won the play-off final

Scottish Premiership – Melrose

Ulster Bank All-Ireland League – Old Belvedere

Champions League final (Wembley) – Barcelona 3 (Pedro, Messi, Villa) Man Utd 1 (Rooney)

IPL final – Chennai Super Kings bt Royal Challengers Bangalore

Man of the Series – Chris Gayle (Bangalore)

May 29

Mohamed bin Hammam (Qatar) withdraws from the Fifa presidential race

Monaco GP – Vettel, Alonso, Button

League One play-off final (Old Trafford) – Peterborough bt Huddersfield

Promoted – Brighton, Southampton, Peterborough

Relegated – Dagenham & Redbridge, Bristol Rovers, Plymouth, Swindon

Leading scorer – Mackail-Smith (Peterborough), 27 goals

Republic of Ireland bt Scotland to win Nations Cup

BMW PGA – Donald bt Westwood in a play-off to become world number one

Giro d’Italia – Contador

HP Byron Nelson Championship – Keegan Bradley (USA)

Indy 500 – Dan Wheldon. J.R. Hildebrand was leading, but crashed on the final lap

IRB Sevens World Series – New Zealand. Sponsored by HSBC

May 30

First Test (Cardiff) – Sri Lanka 400 (P Jayawardene 112) and 82 England 496-5 (Trott 203, Cook 133, Bell 103)

Scott Sinclair hat-trick for Swansea against Reading in Championship play-off final

Dave Jones sacked by Cardiff City

Promoted – QPR, Norwich, Swansea

Relegated – Preston, Sheffield Utd, Scunthorpe

Leading scorer – Danny Graham (Watford), 24 goals

County Championship final (Bill Beaumont Cup) – Lancashire

May 31

ECB Cricketer of the Year – Trott

ECB Women’s Cricketer of the Year – Lydia Greenway

Serie A – AC Milan

La Liga – Barcelona

Bundesliga – Borussia Dortmund

Liga Sagres – Porto (unbeaten during the season)

Ligue 1 (Le Championnat) – Lille

June

Jun 1

Paul Scholes retires

Sepp Blatter re-elected unopposed as Fifa president for a fourth term in office. English and Scottish Football Associations failed to delay the vote. David Bernstein is the FA chairman

Sam Allerdyce appointed as manager of West Ham

Barnsley appoint Rochdale manager Keith Hill as their new manager

Mixed doubles semi-final – Zimonjic and Srebotnik bt Jamie Murray and Nadia Petrova

Jun 2

Shaq O’Neal retires

Gerard Houllier leaves Aston Villa

Daniel Koellerer banned for life for fixing the results of tennis matches

Semi-finals – Li Na bt Sharapova, Schiavone bt Bartoli

Mixed doubles final – Lipsky and Dellacqua bt Zimonjic and Srebotnik

Mark Hughes resigns as Fulham manager

Friends Life t20 competition starts

Jun 3

Oaks – Dancing Rain (Johnny Murtagh), trained by William Haggas. Sponsored by Investec

Women’s doubles final – Hlavachoka and Hradecka (Czech Republic) bt Mirza and Vesnina

Bahrain GP re-instated for 30 October. Indian GP will be held in December

Betfred buys The Tote for £265 million

Semi-finals – Nadal bt Murray. Federer bt Djokovic, ending his 43-match unbeaten run, one short of the record held by McEnroe

Jun 4

Owners of Native Khan obtain an injunction to stop Kieran Fallon riding in the Derby

Derby – Pour Moi (Mickael Barzalona), trained by Andre Fabre. 2^nd Treasure Beach, 3^rd Carlton House (owned by The Queen). Sponsored by Investec

Final – Li Na bt Schiavone

Men’s doubles final – Mirnyi and Nestor bt Cabal and Schwank

Top 14 – Toulouse

Jun 5

Final – Nadal bt Federer, to equal Borg’s record of six wins at the French Open

Wales Open – Alexander Noren (Sweden)

Jun 6

Gary Kirsten appointed as coach of South Africa

Finn becomes youngest England cricketer to take 50 Test wickets

Ramsdens to sponsor the Scottish Challenge Cup

Jun 7

Martin Jol appointed as manager of Fulham

Damon Hill to step down as president of BRDC

Prior smashes a dressing room window at Lords

Second Test (Lords) – England 486 (Prior 126) and 335-7 (Cook 106) Sri Lanka 479 (Dilshan 193) and 127-3

Jun 8

London 2012 Olympic torch, designed by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, is revealed

Magners League to be known as the RaboDirect PRO12

Jun 9

Dublin's Aviva Stadium will host 2013 Heineken Cup final

FIAT Netball Superleague Grand Final – Hertfordshire Mavericks bt Surrey Storm

Jun 10

Manager of the Year – Alex Ferguson

RFU chief executive John Steele leaves his post

Aegon Championship (Queens). Third round – James Ward bt Querrey

Quarter-final – Tsonga bt Nadal

International Origin Match (Headingley) – Exiles bt England. The Exiles side consists of foreign players currently playing in the English Super League competition

Jun 11

Queen’s Birthday Honours –

Knighthood – Henry Cecil

OBE – Andy Flower, Andrew Strauss, Lee Westwood, John Amaechi

MBE – Michaela Breeze, Alastair Cook, Jessica Ennis, Phillips Idowu, Duke McKenzie, Mark Cavendish

Semi-finals – Murray bt Roddick, Tsonga bt Ward

Surjav Randiv hat-trick for Sri Lanka against Essex

Greyhound Derby – Taylors Sky

Jordan Henderson moves from Sunderland to Liverpool

Rushden & Diamonds expelled from the Football Conference for financial reasons

Belmont Stakes – Ruler on Ice

Jun 12

Le Mans – Audi

Italian Open – Robert Rock

Canadian GP – Button, Vettel, Webber

Alex McLeish resigns as manager of Birmingham City

Billy Davies sacked as manager of Nottingham Forest

British MotoGP (Silverstone) – Casey Stoner

NBA – Dallas Mavericks bt Miami Heat 4-2. Finals MVP – Dirk Nowitzki (born in Germany). Regular season MVP – Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls)

Jun 13

Steve McClaren appointed as manager of Nottingham Forest

Aegon Championship final – Murray bt Tsonga

Aegon Classic (Birmingham) – Sabine Lisicki (Germany)

British Speedway Championship – Scott Nicholls

Jun 14

Royal Ascot. St James’s Palace Stakes – Frankel

Jun 15

Prince of Wales’s Stakes – Rewilding

Eastbourne tournament. Men’s – Seppi (Italy), Women’s – Bartoli

Stanley Cup – Boston Bruins bt Vancouver Canucks 4-3. Finals MVP – Tim Thomas. Regular season MVP – Corey Perry (Anaheim Ducks). First win since 1972. Sixth win in Stanley Cup

Bahrain GP dropped from F1 schedule again

Jun 16

Gold Cup – Fame And Glory (Jamie Spencer), trained by Aidan O’Brien

Alastair Cook's 66th consecutive Test, passing the record of Ian Botham and Alan Knott

Budweiser sign a three-year deal to sponsor the FA Cup

Construction starts on New York Stadium, the future home stadium of Rotherham United

Jun 17

Coronation Stakes – Immortal Verse

Alex McLeish appointed as manager of Aston Villa

Jun 18

Leading jockey at Ascot – Ryan Moore

Leading trainer at Ascot – Richard Hannon (or Aiden O’Brien)

Cook scores sixth consecutive 50 in Test cricket

Churchill Cup final (Worcester) – England Saxons bt Canada. Played for the last time

Jun 19

European Under-21 Championships (Denmark). Final group tables –

Group A – Switzerland, Belarus, Iceland, Denmark

Group B – Spain, Czech Republic, England, Ukraine

Danny Welbeck scored both England goals in the tournament

SPAR European Team Championships (Stockholm). GB winners – Greene (400m hurdles), Charlene Thomas (Women’s 1500m). 1^st Russia, 4^th GB

US Open (Congressional Club, Bethesda, Maryland) – McIlroy -16, 2^nd Day -8

McIlroy (aged 22) becomes the youngest US Open champion since Bobby Jones in 1923 and the youngest major winner since Tiger Woods triumphed at the Masters in 1997

McIlroy led from start to finish, carding 65, 66, 68, 69 (total 268)

Jun 20

Third Test (Rose Bowl) – Sri Lanka 184 (Tremlett 6-48) and 334-5 (Sangakkara 119) England 377-8 (Bell 119)

Man of the match and man of the series – Tremlett

England earn their fifth consecutive series victory

Fifa vice-president Jack Warner resigns

Jun 21

Leicestershire bowled out for 43 by Northants in County Championship

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland deny claims by the BOA that they have agreed to a Great Britain football team for the 2012 Olympics

NHL announces the sale of the Atlanta Thrashers to True North Sports and Entertainment, which moves the franchise to Winnipeg to become the second incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets. Atlanta becomes the first city in the NHL's modern era to lose two hockey teams. The Flames were the first team, when they relocated to Calgary in 1980 to become the Calgary Flames

Jun 22

Porto coach Andre Villas-Boas is confirmed as Chelsea's new manager

Chris Hughton appointed as manager of Birmingham City

Copa Libertadores – Santos (Brazil)

Jun 23

NBA Draft – Cleveland Cavaliers have the first pick, choosing point guard Kyrie Irving of Duke

Jun 24

Wimbledon. Second round – Sharapova bt Robson

European Amateur Boxing Championships (Ankara) – Andrew Selby (flyweight) and Fred Evans (welterweight) win gold medals for Wales

Jun 25

Ben Spies gains maiden victory in Dutch MotoGP

NatWest T20 (Bristol) – England 136-9, Sri Lanka 137-1. England captained by Stuart Broad

European Under-21 Championships final (Aarhus) – Spain bt Switzerland

British Speedway GP (Millennium Stadium) – Greg Hancock

CONCACAF Gold Cup final – Mexico bt USA. Top scorer – Javier Hernandez

Island Games are held on Isle of Wight

Jun 26

European GP (Valencia) – Vettel, Alonso, Webber. All 24 cars completed the race

Gloucestershire 254-3 vs Middlesex in t20. Highest Twenty20 total in England. Kevin O'Brien hit 11 sixes in his 119 off 52 balls as he and Marshall (102 off 54 balls) put on 192 for the first wicket

BMW International Open – Pablo Larrazabal (Spain)

DFS British Jumping Derby (Hickstead) – Tina Williams riding Promised Land. First lady rider to win since Alison Dawes in 1973

British National Road Race Championships. Men – Bradley Wiggins, Women – Lizzie Armitstead

Irish Derby – Treasure Beach

River Plate relegated from the Argentine first division for the first time in their 110-year history

Jun 27

Fourth round – Bartoli bt Serena Williams

Stuart Law, interim head coach of Sri Lanka, is appointed as head coach of Bangladesh

Los Angeles Dodgers file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

Betty Callaway dies

Jun 28

Mike Doyle dies

Former jockey Richard Fox dies

All quarter-finalists in women’s singles are European, for the first time since 1913

Frank Rijkaard appointed as manager of Saudi Arabia

Jun 29

Quarter-final – Tsonga bt Federer. First time that Federer has lost a Grand Slam match after being two sets ahead

Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins beaten in quarter-finals of men’s doubles

Connor Wickham moves from Ipswich to Sunderland

David de Gea moves from Atletico Madrid to Man Utd

Jun 30

Glamorgan have been stripped of the right to host England's Test against the West Indies in Cardiff in 2012. The ECB made the decision after Glamorgan said they would be late paying the fee they owe for hosting May's Sri Lanka Test

The World Twenty20 tournament will remain a 12-team competition, despite protests from non-Test playing nations

Birmingham City’s chairman Carson Yeung appears in court in Hong Kong charged with money laundering

Semi-finals – Kvitova bt Azarenka, Sharapova bt Lisicki

July

Jul 1

Semi-finals – Djokovic bt Tsonga, Nadal bt Murray

Jayawardene 144 in second ODI

NBA lockout begins

Jul 2

Final – Kvitova bt Sharapova. First left-handed winner since Navratilova

Men’s doubles final – Bryan and Bryan bt Lindstedt and Tecau

Women’s doubles final – Peschke and Srebotnik bt Lisicki and Stosur

Boy’s singles final – Luke Saville (Australia) bt Liam Broady

Vladimir Klitschko bt David Haye. Fight held in Hamburg. Haye blames a toe injury

Coral-Eclipse – So You Think. 2^nd Workforce

Junior World Cup rugby union final (Italy) – New Zealand U20s bt England U20s

Jul 3

Final – Djokovic bt Nadal. Djokovic becomes world number one. Nadal had won his previous 20 matches at Wimbledon

Mixed doubles final – Melzer and Benesova bt Bhupathi and Vesnina

Boy’s doubles – George Morgan (GB) and Mate Pavic (Croatia)

Third ODI – Sri Lanka (Chandimal 105) bt England (Cook 119)

French Open – Thomas Levet

Palestine play Afghanistan in World Cup qualifier, their first ever home match

Jul 4

Gael Clichy moves from Arsenal to Man City

Williams to switch to Renault engines next year

Under-17 World Cup quarter-final (Mexico) – Germany bt England

Jul 5

Arul Suppiah takes 6-5 for Somerset against Glamorgan, the best Twenty20 bowling figures recorded in world cricket

Jul 6

State of Origin – Queensland bt New South Wales

Women’s World Cup final group tables –

Group A – Germany, France, Nigeria, Canada

Group B – England, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand

Group C – Sweden, USA, North Korea, Colombia

Group D – Brazil, Australia, Norway, Equatorial Guinea

New events approved for 2014 Olympic Games – ski slopestyle, snowboard slopestyle, and snowboard parallel special slalom

IOC session in Durban announces that Pyeongchang will host the 2018 Winter Olympics, beating Annecy and Munich in the bid process

Windsor Park in Roseau, Dominica, hosts its first Test match

Jul 7

Charlie Adam moves from Blackpool to Liverpool

City of Manchester Stadium to be renamed the Etihad Stadium

Leicester City confirm that the Walkers Stadium will now be known as the King Power Stadium

Jul 8

Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) breaks collarbone in Tour de France

Jul 9

England bt Sri Lanka at Old Trafford to win ODI series 3-2

Quarter-final – France bt England on penalties. England captain Faye White missed the last penalty

Middlesex Sevens final – Samurai International bt Esher. Sponsored by Vauxhall

Super Rugby final – Queensland Reds bt Crusaders

July Cup (York) – Dream Ahead, ridden by Hayley Turner, the first-ever woman to ride a group 1 winner outright; Alex Greaves having previously dead-heated in the Nunthorpe stakes

Jul 10

British GP – Alonso, Vettel, Webber

Debut for Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) in Hispania Racing team

Scottish Open (Inverness) – Luke Donald. Played over 54 holes due to flooding

Davis Cup (Glasgow) – GB bt Luxembourg. Murray bt Laurent Bram 6-0 6-0 6-0

Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov tells convicted sex offender Craig Thomson he will not play for the club again

Diamond League meeting in Birmingham. Wins for Farah, Greene, and Idowu

Under-17 World Cup final – Mexico bt Uruguay

Jul 11

Two riders hit by a television car in Tour de France

Martyn Thomas resigns as RFU chairman but remains in power

Alex Hay dies

Jul 12

Dale Jennings moves from Tranmere Rovers to Bayern Munich

Jul 13

John Smit to join Saracens after the World Cup

Jul 14

British Open first round – hole-in-one for Dustin Johnson

Northants bowled out for 47 by Durham in t20 match. Collingwood 5-6, including a hat trick

Jul 15

British Open second round – hole-in-one for Tom Watson

Stewart Downing moves from Aston Villa to Liverpool

Jul 16

Five North Korean players test positive for banned steroids at the women’s World Cup

Speedway World Cup (Poland) – Poland

Jul 17

The Open (Royal St. George’s, Sandwich) – Darren Clarke. 2^nd Mickelson, Dustin Johnson. Silver medal – Tom Lewis

2012 tournament will be held at Royal Lytham

Strauss scores century guesting for Somerset against India

Women’s World Cup final (Frankfurt) – Japan bt USA. First Asian country to win the World Cup. England were the only team to beat Japan

Golden Boot and Golden Ball – Homare Sawa (Japan)

Snooker World Cup final (Bangkok) – China (Ding Junhui and Liang Wenbo) bt Northern Ireland (Mark Allen and Gerard Greene)

Jul 18

Shay Given moves from Man City to Aston Villa

Jul 19

Keri-Anne Payne becomes the first British athlete to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games by winning the gold medal in the 10 km open water event at the Fina World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai

Australian Goldfields Open first round – Matthew Selt bt Higgins

Champions League third qualifying round – HJK Helsinki 10 Bangor City 0

Darren Clarke gives Open gold medal to Royal Portrush golf club. The medal will sit alongside that won by Fred Daly

LPGA announces that the Evian Masters, a tournament held in France that is a major championship on the Ladies European Tour, will become the LPGA's fifth major in 2013

Jul 20

Yao Ming (Houston Rockets) retires

Trainer Howard Johnson appears before a British Horseracing Authority inquiry to face horse welfare and doping charges. Johnson is charged with running Striking Article eight times after the horse had undergone a palmar neurectomy – the severing or removal of leg nerves running to the foot

Tiger Woods splits from caddie Steve Williams

Jul 21

Holly Bleasdale breaks Kate Dennison’s British pole vault record

Jul 22

Pietersen – 6000 Test runs

Jul 23

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes – Nathaniel (William Buick), trained by John Gosden. Rewilding breaks a leg and has to be put down

Sky Bet Mobile World Matchplay final – Taylor bt Wade

Challenge Cup quarter-final – Wigan bt Warrington, who had won the trophy for the previous two years

Mohamed bin Hammam banned from football for life after being found guilty of bribery

Light welterweight unification fight – Amir Khan bt Zab Judah

British heavyweight championship – Tyson Fury bt Dereck Chisora

Jul 24

German GP – Hamilton, Alonso, Webber

Adam Pearson buys Hull FC

Paul Sinfield sets a new club record of 1245 goals for Leeds

Australian Goldfields Open final – Bingham bt Williams

Senior British Open – Russ Cochran (USA)

Scandinavian Masters – Alexander Noren

Copa America final (Buenos Aires) – Uruguay bt Paraguay

Paraguay drew their three group matches and won their quarter-final and semi-final on penalties

400m freestyle. Silver – Adlington

The London Prepares series is the official London 2012 sports testing programme

Cavendish wins final stage of Tour de France, the 20th stage win of his career

1^st Cadel Evans (BMC) 2^nd Andy Schleck (Leopard Trek), 3^rd Frank Schleck

Top British finisher – Geraint Thomas (31^st)

Points – Cavendish (HTC-Highroad)

King of the Mountains – Samuel Sanchez

Young Rider – Pierre Roland

Team – Garmin-Cervelo

Jul 25

First Test (Lords) England 474-8 (Pietersen 202) and 269-6 (Prior 103) India 286 (Dravid 103) and 261

2000th Test match and the 100th Test between England and India

Softball World Cup final – USA bt Japan

Jul 26

Crusaders will not play in Super League for the next three seasons after they withdrew their application for a license

Jul 27

Sussex Stakes – Frankel

One year until the 2012 Olympics starts. Tom Daley performs the first dive at the Aquatics Centre. Mark Foster wins the first race in the pool

Olympic medals unveiled – designed by David Watkins. The front of the medal always depicts the same imagery at the summer Games – the Greek Goddess of Victory, Nike. The design for the reverse features five symbolic elements, and the River Thames

Jul 28

200m butterfly. Silver – Ellen Gandy

Ryan Lochte breaks his own world record to beat Michael Phelps and win the 200m individual medley gold. Lochte becomes the first person to set a long-course world record since FINA banned rubberized swimsuits in 2010

Jurgen Klinsmann replaces Bob Bradley as manager of USA

Goodwood Cup – Opinion Poll

Sergio Aguero moves from Atletico Madrid to Man City for £38 million

Jul 29

Leicestershire bowled out for 34 by Essex. David Masters 8-10

Charles N’Zogbia moves from Wigan to Aston Villa

BBC and Sky join forces to secure live rights to Formula One motor racing in a seven-year deal from 2012 until 2018 – but only half of the races will be broadcast on the BBC

Jul 30

800m. Gold – Adlington

Broad hat-trick against India (Dhoni, Harbajan and Kumar)

UK Trials (Birmingham) used as qualifiers for World Athletics Championships

Ramprakash (Surrey) given out for obstructing the field

World Cup 2014 qualifiers draw –

Scotland and Wales in Group A

Group H – England, Montenegro, Ukraine, Poland, Moldova, San Marino

Jul 31

50m backstroke. Gold – Tancock

400m individual medley. Silver – Hannah Miley

Sun Yang (China) breaks Grant Hackett’s ten-year-old 1500m world record

Ryan Lochte won the most gold medals among the male competitors with five. American Rebecca Soni won a total of three gold medals and one bronze medal. Michael Phelps had the most overall medals in the competition with seven (four golds, two silvers, one bronze)

Hungarian GP – Button, Vettel, Alonso

Button’s 200th GP

First and Second football divisions to merge in Argentina

Women’s British Open (Carnoustie) – Yani Tseng

Irish Open – Simon Dyson

Ian Bell recalled after controversial run out in second Test

August

Aug 1

Second Test (Trent Bridge) England 221 and 544 (Bell 159) India 288 (Dravid 117, Broad 6-48) and 158 (Bresnan 5-48)

Substitute fielder Scott Elstone took two catches in India’s second innings

Aug 2

Paulo Sergio replaces Jim Jefferies as manager of Hearts

Aug 3

Ricki Clarke (Warwickshire) equals the world record of seven outfield catches in an innings

Champions League third qualifying round – Malmo bt Rangers

Aug 6

Manu Tuilagi debut for England in World Cup warm-up match against Wales

London Diamond League meeting at Crystal Palace

Hyde Park Triathlon. Women’s – Helen Jenkins

Aug 7

Hyde Park Triathlon. Men’s – Alistair Brownlee

Community Shield – Man Utd 3 Man City 2. Winning goal scored by Nani

WGC-Bridgestone Invitational – Adam Scott, caddie Steve Williams

Ladies Irish Open – Suzann Pettersen (Norway)

Aug 8

Barry Hills to retire

Corbett Sports to sponsor Welsh Premier League

National BMX Centre opens in Manchester

Aug 9

England vs Netherlands friendly called off due to riots in London

Aug 10

Sean Long retires

Aug 12

Sehwag grabs king pair in Third Test

Woods misses cut at USPGA

Howard Johnson banned from training for four years

Scott LeDoux, a former WBC heavyweight title contender, dies from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease

Aug 13

Third Test (Edgbaston) India 224 and 244 England 710-7 (Cook 294 Morgan 104)

England take over at top of world Test rankings

First goal in Premier League – Luis Suarez

Premier League shirt sponsors. Aston Villa – Genting Casinos, Blackburn – Prince’s Trust, Norwich – AVIVA, Swansea – 32Red, Spurs – Aurasma, WBA – Bodog, Wigan – 12BET

Arlington Million – Cape Blanco (Jamie Spencer), trained by Aidan O’Brien

Aug 14

World Badminton Championships (Wembley) – Chris Adcock and Imogen Bankier reach final of mixed doubles. China win all five gold medals

Sussex 399-4 Worcs 319 in CB40

US PGA (Atlanta Athletic Club) – Keegan Bradley bt Jason Dufner in a three-hole playoff. 3^rd Anders Hansen

Aug 15

Fabregas moves from Arsenal to Barcelona

Robbie Keane moves to LA Galaxy

Jim Thome of the Minnesota Twins becomes the eighth player in the history of Major League Baseball to hit 600 career home runs

Aug 16

Zico signs a contract to manage the Iraq national football team

Samuel Eto’o signs for Anzhi Makhachkala on a salary of £17 million a year. The Dagestan club is owned by Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov

Aug 18

Man Utd to sell off stake in the club in Singapore

GB dressage team win first-ever European team title in Rotterdam

Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes completes takeover of QPR

Aug 20

Dravid and Tendular break the record of Greenidge and Haynes (6482) for the most runs scored in partnership in Test cricket

Bell – 5000 Test runs

Swansea draw with Wigan in first-ever Premier League game to be played outside England

Triathlon Sprint World Championships (Lausanne). Men’s – Jonathan Brownlee. Women’s – Barbara Riveros Diaz (Chile)

The start of the Spanish La Liga season is delayed by a players' strike

Aug 21

Triathlon Sprint World Championships team event – GB

Cincinnati Open final – Murray bt Djokovic

Dravid faces 30,000th ball in Test cricket

GB bt China in London Prepares basketball match. GB lost all other matches in the series

Aug 22

Fourth Test (Kia Oval) England 591-6 (Bell 235, Pietersen 175) India 300 (Dravid 146 n.o.) and 283 (Swann 6-106)

Men of the series – Broad and Dravid

England win series 4-0 and win the Pataudi Trophy

England are presented with the ICC Test Mace to mark their status as the world's number one side

Senna to replace Heidfeld in Renault team for Belgium GP

Sam Warburton to captain Wales at rugby union World Cup

Aug 24

Netherlands replace Spain at the top of Fifa world rankings

Nasri moves from Arsenal to Man City

Juan Mata moves from Valencia to Chelsea

Fenerbache withdrawn from Champions League due to match-fixing probe. Replaced by Trabzonspor

Aug 25

European Hockey Championship (Germany). Women’s semi-final – Netherlands bt England, Men’s semi-final – Germany bt England

Eoin Morgan captains England to ODI win against Ireland

Alex Ferguson ends BBC interview ban

Europa League qualifying – Spurs bt Hearts, Shamrock Rovers bt Partizan Belgrade

No Scottish teams left in European competitions

Man City, Trabzonspor, Napoli, Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic) and Otelul Galați (Romania) appear in the group stages of the Champions League for the first time

New York Yankees hit three grand slam home runs in a single game, the first time such a feat has occurred

Scottish Cup to be sponsored by William Hill

Aug 26

European Super Cup (Monaco) – Barcelona bt Porto

Aug 27

Challenge Cup final – Wigan bt Leeds. Lance Todd trophy – Geoff Lima (Wigan)

Joey Barton moves from Newcastle to QPR

t20 finals (Edgbaston). Semi-finals – Leicestershire bt Lancashire in one-over eliminator, Somerset bt Hampshire in one-over eliminator. Final – Leicestershire bt Somerset

Preston goalkeeper Iain Turner scores from his own penalty area

World Athletics Championships (Daegu). Ohuruogu disqualified from 400m after false start. Mascot – Sarbi, a local dog

Tri-Nations – Australia

Women’s final – Netherlands bt Germany. Third-place match – England bt Spain

Aug 28

Belgian GP – Vettel, Webber, Alonso

Men’s final – Germany bt Netherlands. Third-place match – England bt Belgium

Man Utd 8 (Rooney 3) Arsenal 2. First time that Arsenal have conceded eight goals in a match since 1896

Spurs 1 Man City 5 (Dzeko 4)

Chambers disqualified from 100m semi-final after false start

100m – Yohan Blake (Jamaica). Silver – Walter Dix. Bolt disqualified after false start

10000m. Silver – Mo Farah

Johnnie Walker Championship (Gleneagles) – Bjorn

FA WSL (Women’s Super League) – Arsenal

Aug 29

Len Ganley dies

Women’s 400m – Amantle Montsho (Botswana)

100m hurdles – Jason Richardson (USA). Dayron Robles disqualified for interfering with Liu Xiang. Andy Turner finished fourth, but promoted to third and wins bronze medal

Women’s 100m – Jeter

US Open first round – Sharapova bt Watson

Aug 30

Heptathlon – Tatyana Chernova (Russia). Silver – Ennis

800m – David Rudisha

400m – Kirani James (Grenada), aged 18

Aug 31

Turkish GP dropped from 2012 calendar

Owen Hargreaves moves to Man City

Scott Parker moves from West Ham to Spurs

Joe Cole joins Lille on loan

Mikel Arteta moves from Everton to Arsenal

Yossi Benayoun moves from Chelsea to Arsenal on loan

Peter Crouch moves from Spurs to Stoke

Raul Meireles moves from Liverpool to Chelsea

T20 International (Old Trafford) England bt India. Debuts for Alex Hales and Jos Buttler

September

Sep 1

400m hurdles – Greene

Women’s 1500m. Silver – Hannah England

World rowing championships start in Bled, Slovenia

Sep 2

Gary Cahill scores his first goal for England in 3-0 win in Bulgaria

Netherlands 11 San Marino 0

Pistorius becomes first paralympic to win a medal at the world championships, winning a silver medal in 4 x 400m relay

Women’s 5000m and 10000m – Vivian Cheruiyot

Sep 3

Women’s double sculls – Grainger and Watkins

200m – Bolt. Silver – Dix

Anderson – 200 ODI wickets

Sep 4

5000m – Farah

Triple jump. Silver – Idowu

European Masters – Bjorn

Lightweight pairs – Purchase and Hunter

Coxless fours – GB

Burghley horse trials – William Fox-Pitt riding Parklane Hawk wins for a record sixth time

Jamaica win men’s 4 x 100m relay to set the only world record at the championships

USA top medal table. GB finish sixth (2-4-1). Other gold medal winners – Russia, Kenya, Jamaica, Germany, China, Australia, Ethiopia, Ukraine, Botswana, Brazil, Grenada, Japan, New Zealand, Poland

All-Ireland Hurling Final – Kilkenny bt Tipperary

Winmau World Masters final (Hull Arena) – Scott Waites bt Dean Winstanley

Sep 6

Celtic reinstated in Europa League after FC Sion are expelled for fielding ineligible players

Sep 7

Chris Froome (GB) wins a stage of the Tour of Spain

Dagenham and Redbridge bt Leyton Orient 14-13 on penalties in JP Trophy

Minor Counties final – Devon bt Cambridgeshire

Sep 8

Randall Cobb ties the NFL record for longest kick return (108m) for Green Bay Packers in NFL opener

Sep 9

Super League Leaders shield – Warrington

New Zealand bt Tonga in opening match of rugby World Cup

Mixed doubles final – Sock and Oudin bt Schwank and Dulko

Sep 10

Ben Youngs scores only try for England against Argentina

Triathlon world championships. Men’s – 1^st Alistair Brownlee, 2^nd Jonathan Brownlee

St Leger – Masked Marvel (William Buick), trained by John Gosden

Aguero hat-trick for Man City against Wigan

Rooney hat-trick against Bolton

Simon Kerrigan 9-51 for Lancashire against Hampshire

Semi-finals – Djokovic bt Federer, Nadal bt Murray

Semi-finals – Serena Williams bt Wozniacki, Stosur bt Angelique Kerber (Germany)

Men’s doubles final – Melzer and Petzschner bt Fyrstenberg and Matkowski

Sep 11

Triathlon world championships. Women’s – Helen Jenkins

Italian GP – Vettel, Button, Alonso

Tour of Spain – Juan Jose Cobo (Spain). 2^nd Chris Froome, 3^rd Wiggins

Shanghai Masters final – Selby bt Williams

Walker Cup (Royal Aberdeen Golf Club) – GB and Ireland bt USA

KLM Open – Simon Dyson

Fourth ODI (Lords) ends in a tie

Final – Stosur bt Serena Williams

Boy’s singles – Oliver Golding

Women’s doubles final – Huber and Raymond bt King and Shvedova

Sep 12

Tour of Britain stage from Kendal to Blackpool cancelled due to high winds

QPR sign shirt deal with Malaysia Airlines (home kit) and Air Asia (away kit)

ICC Awards. Cricketer of the Year – Trott, Test Player of the Year – Cook, ODI Player of the Year – Sangakkara, Emerging Player – Devendra Bishoo

Women’s county championship – Kent

Final – Djokovic bt Nadal

Sep 13

Pink ball trial in Kent vs Glamorgan game

Rugby League Writers’ Association Player of the Year – Sam Tomkins

Sep 15

Lancashire win first county championship title outright since 1934. Shared the title with Surrey in 1950. Captain – Glen Chapple

Relegated – Yorkshire, Hampshire

Promoted – Middlesex, Surrey

Leading run scorer – Trescothick

Most wickets – Dave Masters

Sep 16

Final of Diamond League series at Ivo van Damme meeting in Brussels

Johan Blake runs second-fastest 200m ever, 19.26 seconds

Overall winners –

Men’s 100m – Asafa Powell

Men’s 200m – Walter Dix

Men’s 400m – Kirani James

Women’s 100m and 200m – Carmelita Jeter

Women’s 400m – Amentle Montsho

British winners – Greene, Idowu, Meadows

Jonny Bairstow makes England debut in fifth ODI. Kohli 107. Dravid’s last ODI. England win series 3-0

Sep17

World Cup – Ireland bt Australia

Davis Cup (Glasgow) – GB bt Hungary

CB40 final – Surrey bt Somerset

Swansea score their first-ever goal in the Premier League, and gain their first win, against WBA

Sep 18

Seve Trophy (Paris) – GB and Ireland bt Europe. Captains – Paul McGinley and Jean van der Velde

Great North Run. Men’s – Martin Mathathi (Kenya) in a course record time of 58’ 56”

Women’s – Lucy Wangui Kabuu (Kenya)

Tour of Britain – Lars Boom (Netherlands). 2^nd Steve Cummings

Floyd Mayweather beats Victor Ortiz in controversial fight

Lexi Thompson, aged 16, becomes the youngest winner on LPGA history

All-Ireland Gaelic Football Final – Dublin bt Kerry

Sep 19

Essex Pirates withdraw from British Basketball League

Ginger McCain dies

Cricket Writers' Club young cricketer of the year – Jonny Bairstow

Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees sets a record in Major League Baseball for career saves

Sep 20

Cycling Road World Championships (Copenhagen). Women’s time trial – Judith Arndt (Germany). 3^rd Emma Pooley

Racehorse trainer Michael Jarvis dies

Sep 21

Men’s time trial – Tony Martin (Germany). 2^nd Wiggins

Scottish Communities League Cup – Falkirk bt Rangers

Leicestershire fail to make the main draw of the Champions League T20

Sep 22

Bryan Habana sets a new South Africa try-scoring record

BBC claims that secret payments were made by Azerbaijan to World Series Boxing (WSB) in return for a guarantee that Azerbaijani fighters would win two boxing gold medals at the London 2012 Olympics

Mansoor Ali Khan, the Nawab of Pataudi, dies

Sep 23

PCA player of the year – Trescothick

PCA young player of the year – Alex Hales

Geoff Marsh named as coach of Sri Lanka

Swann captains England for two T20 internationals against West Indies at Kia Oval

Sep 24

Ashton and Cueto score hat-tricks against Romania

Women’s road race – Georgia Bronzini (Italy)

Richie McCaw wins 100th cap for New Zealand

Van Persie – 100 goals for Arsenal

Demba Ba – hat-trick for Newcastle against Blackburn

Cambridgeshire – Prince Of Johanne. Sponsored by Betfred

England rugby players filmed at a dwarf-throwing club in Queenstown

Sep 25

Berlin marathon – Patrick Makau (Kenya), in a world record time of 2:03.38

Singapore GP – Vettel, Button, Webber

Men’s road race – Cavendish

Solheim Cup (Killeen Castle, Ireland) – Europe 15 USA 13

West Indies bowl England out for 88 to draw Twenty20 series 1-1

FedEx Cup – Bill Haas

Warrington choose Leeds in ClubCall

Sep 26

Stephen Jones wins 101st cap for Wales, against Namibia, overtaking the record of 100 caps set by Gareth Thomas

Sep 27

Canada draw with Japan in rugby World Cup

Tevez refuses to warm up against Bayern Munich

Sep 28

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scores on Champions League debut for Arsenal

Sep 29

Titus Bramble suspended by Sunderland after he was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and possession of a Class A drug

Sep 30

Super League semi-final – Leeds bt Warrington

October

Oct 1

Runners no longer allowed in international cricket

World Cup – Tonga bt France

Ashton scores only try for England against Scotland

Super League semi-final – St Helens bt Wigan

AFL Grand Final – Geelong Cats bt Collingwood Magpies

Oct 2

Fulham 6 (Johnson 3) QPR 0

Lampard hat-trick against Bolton

Alfred Dunhill Links – Michael Hoey

Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe – Danedream. German horse, wins in a record time

Final pool tables –

Pool A – New Zealand, France, Tonga, Canada, Japan

Pool B – England, Argentina, Scotland, Georgia, Romania

Pool C – Ireland, Australia, Italy, USA, Russia

Pool D – South Africa, Wales, Samoa, Fiji, Namibia

Russia making their debut in World Cup. Coach – Kingsley Jones

John Kirwan is coach of Japan

Eddie O’Sullivan is coach of USA

Steve McClaren resigns as manager of Nottingham Forest

Jone Samuelson scores with a header from his own half in a match in Norway

Co-operative Championship Grand Final – Featherstone Rovers bt Sheffield Eagles

Junior Davis Cup – GB

NRL Grand Final – Manly Warringah Sea Eagles bt New Zealand Warriors

Oct 3

Seb Coe and Hannah England try out the completed running track at the Olympic Stadium

Tiger Woods drops out of the top 50 in the world ranking for the first time in nearly 15 years, ending a streak of 778 consecutive weeks

Oct 4

Man of Steel – Rangi Chase (Castleford)

Manu Tuilagi fined for wearing a sponsored mouthguard

Seattle Sounders F.C. retain the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup

Oct 5

Graham Dilley dies

Oct 6

Wayne Rooney’s father arrested in betting probe

Oxlade-Chamberlain hat-trick for England U21 against Iceland

Oct 7

Phil Jones makes England debut against Montenegro. Rooney sent off in 2-2 draw

Olympics drug ban on LaShawn Merritt is overturned

Oct 8

Barrow Raiders are deducted 29 points for a breach of RFL operational rules and are relegated into Championship One

Quarter-finals – Wales bt Ireland, France bt England (tries – Foden and Cueto)

Champions T20 League semi-final – Mumbai Indians bt Somerset

Super League Grand Final – Leeds bt St Helens. Harry Sunderland Trophy – Rob Burrow

Speedway Grand Prix (World Championship) – Greg Hancock

Cesarewitch – Never Can Tell

The Australian mare Black Caviar ties the record set by Phar Lap for consecutive victories, with an unbeaten run of 14 wins

Oct 9

Japanese GP – Button, Alonso, Vettel

Vettel becomes youngest person to win back-to-back world championships

Quarter-finals – Australia bt South Africa, New Zealand bt Argentina

Muliana wins 100th cap for New Zealand

Champions T20 League final – Mumbai Indians bt Bangalore Royal Challengers

Japan Open final – Murray bt Nadal. Doubles – Andy and Jaime Murray

Madrid Masters – Lee Slattery

Ironman World Championships – Chrissie Wellington

Manu Tuilagi jumps off a ferry into Auckland harbour and is arrested

World Grand Prix final –Taylor bt Brendan Dolan. Players must commence and finish each leg on a double

Oct 10

Elite League Grand Final – Poole Pirates bt Eastbourne Eagles

WNBA finals – Minnesota Lynx bt Atlanta Dream

Nigel Worthington resigns as Northern Ireland manager

Oct 11

West Ham Olympic Stadium deal collapses

Mark Cavendish to join Team Sky

World Gymnastics Championships (Tokyo). Women’s team event – USA

Changes to rules on whipping come into effect

Oct 12

Nine jockeys banned for ten days for failing to observe a race-stop flag at Wetherby

Sahara invests $100 in Force India F1 team

Oct 13

Wayne Rooney will miss the Euro 2012 group stage after being banned for three matches for his sending off against Montenegro

David Haye retires

Richard Hughes gives up his riding license in protest at the new whip regulations

Oct 14

Steve Cotterill moves from Portsmouth to become manager of Nottingham Forest

Oct 15

Semi-final – France 9 Wales 8. Sam Warburton sent off by Alain Rolland

Pommel horse. Bronze – Louis Smith

Lewis Hamilton on pole for Korean GP, the first time this season that Red Bull have not gained pole position

British Champions Day at Ascot

Queen Elizabeth II Stakes – Frankel

Belgian jockey Christophe Soumillon banned for five days and forfeits £50,000 after using his whip one more time than the maximum in the last furlong when guiding Cirrus Des Aigles to victory in Britain's richest race, the £1.3m Champion Stakes

Baseball World Cup (Panama) – Netherlands bt Cuba to win their first World Cup title, and the first by a European nation since the inaugural event in 1938 won by Great Britain

WCB light heavyweight title fight between Bernard Hopkins and Chad Dawson declared a no contest after Dawson lifted Hopkins, who stumbled, fell, and landed on his shoulder

Oct 16

Sam Warburton banned for three weeks for illegal tackle on Clerc

Semi-final – New Zealand bt Australia

Korean GP – Vettel, Hamilton, Webber

Red Bull win constructors championship

Portugal Masters – Tom Lewis, in his third professional tournament

Men’s all-around – Kohei Uchimura (Japan) wins for third consecutive year

Women’s all-around – Jordyn Wieber (USA)

Superbike World Championship – Carlos Checa (Spain), riding a Ducati

MotoGP – Casey Stoner (Australia) wins world title for Repsol Honda

Giovanni Visconti (Italy) wins UCI Europe tour for third successive year

Oct 17

Dan Wheldon dies following a crash involving 15 cars at the Las Vegas Indy 300

Indy Car series title – Dario Franchitti

Kohli 112 in second ODI

Oct 19

Grand Slam of Golf (Bermuda) – 1^st Bradley, 2^nd Schwartzel, 3^rd McIlroy, 4^th Clarke

Oct 20

Stuart Pearce and Hope Powell to manage GB football teams at 2012 Olympics

Oct 21

Third-place match – Australia bt Wales

Changes to whip regulations announced. Flat riders may now use their seven permitted strikes at any point in a race, while jump jockeys may use eight

Oct 22

Rory McIlroy splits from his manager Andrew Chandler

Albert Pujols joins Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson as the only players in baseball history to hit three home runs in a World Series game

Oct 23

World Cup final (Eden Park, Auckland) – New Zealand 8 France 7. Tries – Woodcock and Dusautoir. Penalty – Donald. Captain – McCaw. Man of the match – French captain Dusautoir. Referee – Craig Joubert

New Zealand's victory marks the first time that a nation had held the World Cup and Women's Rugby World Cup, as the Black Ferns have held their title since 1998

Leading try scorers – Ashton, Clerc (6 tries)

Leading points scorer – Steyn (62 points)

Mario Simoncelli killed in MotoGP race at Sepang after colliding with Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi

Man Utd 1 Man City 6. First time that Man Utd have conceded six goals at home since 1930

Borthwick and Meaker play in fourth ODI

European Cycling Championships (Netherlands) – Pendleton wins four medals

Lewis Moody retires from international rugby

Lampard – 500 Premier League games

Chicago Bears bt Tampa Bay Buccaneers in NFL game at Wembley

Nicola Adams (flyweight) becomes the first British woman to win a major boxing title with victory in the European Championships in Rotterdam

Castello Masters – Sergio Garcia

Luke Donald clinches the PGA Tour money list title with victory at the Disney Classic in Florida

Oct 24

Sven-Goran Eriksson leaves Leicester City

IRB Player of the Year – Thierry Dusautoir

Team of the Year – New Zealand

Coach of the Year – Graham Henry

Young Player of the Year – George Ford (Leicester)

Samoan coach fined 100 pigs for poor performance at World Cup

Oct 25

India win ODI series 5-0. Dhoni has scored 330 runs without dismissal in his past six ODI innings, all against England

Gareth Thomas retires

Luke Donald wins the PGA player of the year award and the Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average on the Tour

New Jersey to host a GP in 2013 (Austin is hosting a GP in 2012 at ‘Circuit of the Americas’)

Oct 27

St Louis Cardinals take World Series to a deciding game after twice going down to their last strike in game six. David Freese won the game with a walk-off home run in the 11th

Titus Bramble charged with sexual assault

Oct 28

Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis named athletes of the year for the second year in succession by the British Athletics Writers' Association

World Series – St Louis Cardinals bt Texas Rangers 4-3. 11th win. MVP – David Freese

The Cardinals trailed the Atlanta Braves in the NL Wild Card race by 10 ½ games on August 25

Oct 29

England bt India in T20 international in Kolkata

Sam Tomkins scores four tries for England against Wales in Four Nations tournament

Chelsea 3 Arsenal 5 (Van Persie 3)

Oct 30

Shanghai Masters – McIlroy. Richest prize in golf, $2 million

Indian GP (Buddh International Circuit, New Delhi) – Vettel, Button, Alonso

Andalucía Masters – Garcia

WTA Championship final (Istanbul) – Kvitova bt Azarenka

Oct 31

Steve Claridge, aged 45, scores for Gosport Borough

Demba Ba hat-trick for Newcastle against Stoke

World Billiards Championship – Mike Russell wins for the 11th time

November

Nov 1

Melbourne Cup – Dunaden

Nov 2

Martyn Thomas steps down from all RFU roles

Nov 3

Salman Butt is jailed for two-and-a-half years, Mohammad Asif for one year and Mohammad Amir for six months for their parts in a conspiracy to bowl deliberate no-balls in a Test

Jacques Brunel replaces Nick Mallett as head coach of Italy

Nov 4

12 Olympic posters by leading British artists revealed

Nov 5

Breeders Cup Turf (Churchill Downs, Louisville) – St Nicholas Abbey (Joseph O’Brien), trained by Aidan O’Brien

18-year-old Joseph O'Brien becomes the youngest jockey to win a Breeders' Cup race

Paul Hanagan retains champion jockeys’ title. 2^nd Silvestre De Sousa (Brazil)

Richard Hannon retains champion trainers’ title

Four Nations matches played at Wembley

Swiss Indoors semi-final – Kei Nishikori (Japan) bt Djokovic

Ian Thorpe makes a comeback

North Stand at Old Trafford renamed the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand as Ferguson celebrates 25th anniversary as manager

AFC Champions League – Al-Sadd (Qatar)

Nov 6

WGC Champions tournament (Shanghai) – Martin Kaymer

MotoGP season ends in Valencia. Rossi wore No. 58 helmet in honour of Marco Simoncelli

Driver Championship Standings:

1^st Casey Stoner (Australia) Honda, 2^nd Jorge Lorenzo (Spain) Yamaha, 3^rd Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Honda

Manufacturers Championship Standings:

1^st Honda 2^nd Yamaha 3^rd Ducati

Rookie of the Year – Cal Crutchlow (GB)

MOTO 2 Championship – Stefan Bradl (Germany)

Misano grand prix circuit in Italy to be renamed in honour of Marco Simoncelli

Fed Cup final (Moscow) – Czech Republic bt Russia

New York City Marathon. Men’s – Geoffrey Mutai (Kenya). Women’s –Firehiwot Dado (Ethiopia)

Geoffrey Mutai is unrelated to London Marathon winner Emmanuel Mutai

World Open squash finals (Rotterdam). Men’s – Nick Matthew bt Gregory Gaultier (France). Women’s – Nicole David bt Jenny Duncalf (England)

Nov 7

Joel Tomkins moves from Wigan to Saracens

Nov 8

Tendulkar passes 15,000 Test runs

Joe Frazier dies

Jimmy Adamson dies

Fifa rejects FA’s request for the England team to wear poppies during the match against Spain, but allows them to wear poppies on black armbands

Nov 10

Newcastle United rename St James' Park the Sports Direct Arena after owner Mike Ashley's company

Renault's new name will be Lotus F1 Team. Team Lotus, owned by Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes, changes its name to Caterham F1 for 2012. The Virgin team will change the name of their chassis to Marussia

John Daly quits from the Australian Open after hitting six balls into the water from the 11th tee during the first round

Australia bowled out for 47 by South Africa, after being 21-9. Lowest-ever test score is 26 (New Zealand vs England)

18 players test positive for steroids at Kabaddi World Cup

Nov 11

London defeats Doha to be host city for 2017 World Athletics Championships

Gold Coast defeats Hambantota (Sri Lanka) to be host city for 2018 Commonwealth Games

Mike Tindall is fined £25,000 by the Rugby Football Union and removed from England's elite player squad for his conduct during the Rugby World Cup

Florida Marlins officially change their name to the Miami Marlins and will play at Miami Ballpark in 2012

Southeast Asian Games open in Palembang, Indonesia

Nov 12

Masaaki Toma (Japan) becomes the first non-British referee to take charge of an FA Cup fixture, the first round tie between Brentford and Basingstoke

Paddy Power Gold Cup – Great Endeavour

Wilson Ramos (Washington Nationals) is kidnapped in Venezuela, and rescued two days later

Vettel equals Mansell’s record of 14 pole positions in a season

John Arne Riise wins 100th cap for Norway

England 1 (Lampard) Spain 0

Iker Casillas plays in his 126th international match for Spain, equaling the record set by Andoni Zubizarreta

FA Cup first round – AFC Totton 8 Bradford PA 1

IAAF athletes of the year – Usain Bolt and Sally Pearson

UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event is the most-watched live MMA event in the United States. Junior Dos Santos (Brazil) defeated Cain Velasquez (USA) to become the new Heavyweight Champion

Nov 13

Abu Dhabi GP – Hamilton, Alonso, Button

Wales Rally GB – Jari Matti Latvala (Finland)

Loeb crashes with Spanish spectator between stages

Loeb win eighth successive world rally title

Australian Open – Greg Chalmers (Australia)

Singapore Open – Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano

Federer becomes only the second player after Andre Agassi to win both the Paris titles – the Masters and the French Open

Peter Roebuck dies

Nov 14

First cricket Test championship will not be played until 2017

WTA Player of the Year – Kvitova

Nov 15

Plymouth Raiders fined for not controlling their mascot, Foxy, during a BBL Trophy match against Guildford Heat

Jason Gillespie to coach Yorkshire

Gareth Barry (or Daniel Majstorovic own-goal) scores England’s 2000th goal, against Sweden

Ireland bt Estonia to qualify for Euro 2012

Hull manager Nigel Pearson appointed as manager of Leicester City

St Helens new stadium to be called Langtree Park

Nov 16

Martin Johnson resigns

Cartier racehorse of the year – Frankel

Cartier award of merit – Barry Hills

Nov 17

Sepp Blatter says football does not have a problem with racism on the field and any incidents should be settled by a handshake

Nov 18

Heineken Cup – Edinburgh 48 Racing Metro 47

Manchester City report an annual loss of £194.9 million for 2010 – 2011, the biggest in English football history

Suzuki will not compete in next year's MotoGP championship for financial reasons

Kat Driscoll qualifies for Olympics at World Trampolining Championships (NIA, Birmingham)

Houston Astros are to move to the American League in 2013 after 51 years in the National League, a move that balances the number of teams in Major League Baseball

Nov 19

Huddersfield set new league record of 43 games unbeaten

Scottish Cup – Airdrie 11 Gala Fairydean 0

Basil D’Oliviera dies

Betfair Chase – Kauto Star. 2^nd Long Run

Four Nations final (Elland Road) – Australia bt England. Last match for Darren Lockyer

World Seniors Championship final – Darren Morgan bt Steve Davis

Nov 20

Presidents Cup (Melbourne) – USA bt International team. Captains – Couples and Norman

Power snooker final (Manchester) – Martin Gould bt O’Sullivan

MLS Cup final – LA Galaxy bt Houston Dynamo

William Hill Grand Slam of Darts final (Wolverhampton) – Taylor bt Anderson

Nov 21

Nicky Henderson trains seven winners in a day

Etihad Stadium to host 2012 Millennium Weekend

Nov 22

Murray pulls out of ATP World Tour finals after suffering a groin strain in a match against Ferrer. Replaced by Janko Tipsarevic

Micky Arthur named as head coach of Australia cricket team

National League MVP – Ryan Braun (Milwaukee Brewers). American League MVP – Justin Verlander (Detroit Tigers)

Nov 24

Damning England rugby union World Cup reports leaked

American Samoa win their first ever football match, beating Tonga

Nov 25

Final group standings –

Group A – Berdych, Ferrer, Djokovic, Tipsarevic

Group B – Federer, Tsonga, Nadal, Fish

Nov 26

Semi-finals – Federer bt Ferrer, Tsonga bt Berdych

Sam Tomkins (Wigan) scores a try for Barbarians against Australia

Vettel gains 15th pole position of the season

Hennessy Gold Cup – Carruthers

NBA team owners and players reach an agreement to end the NBA lockout and to begin the current NBA season on Christmas Day

Ron Lyle dies

Nov 27

New Zealand's Jesse Ryder equals the first-class record for most sixes in an innings (16) against Australia A

Gary Speed dies, aged 42

Brazilian GP – Webber, Vettel, Button

Final standings –

Vettel 392, Button 270, Webber 258

Red Bull 650, McLaren 497, Ferrari 375

Vettel won 11 races

Final – Federer bt Tsonga

Doubles final – Nestor and Mirnyi bt Fyrstenberg and Matkowski

Golf World Cup (China) – USA (Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodhall). 2^nd England (Poulter and Rose), Germany

Grey Cup – BC Lions bt Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Japan Cup – Buena Vista

Premier League final – O’Sullivan bt Ding

South African Open – Hennie Otto

British Figure Skating Championships. Men – Jason Thompson. Women – Jenna McCorkell

Nov 28

The 2013 Rugby League World Cup will be held in four different countries – England, Wales, Ireland and France

Charlton end Huddersfield's 43-match unbeaten run

BBC Sports Personality of the Year shortlist – Mark Cavendish, Darren Clarke, Alastair Cook, Luke Donald, Mo Farah, Dai Greene, Amir Khan, Rory McIlroy, Andy Murray, Andrew Strauss

William Hill sports book of the year – ‘A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke’, Ronald Enge

Nov 29

Kimi Raikkonen will return to Formula 1 after signing a two-year deal with Renault, who will become Lotus in 2012

Portsmouth could be docked points after chairman Vladimir Antonov resigned as its parent company Convers Sports Initiatives entered administration

The 2012 Laureus World Sports Awards will be held in London for the first time

Martyn Thomas leaves the RFU

Nov 30

Steve Kean admits that Blackburn ‘forfeited’ Carling Cup match to Cardiff

Steve Bruce sacked by Sunderland

Carling Cup quarter-final – Man Utd 1 Crystal Palace 2. Winning goal scored by Glenn Murray

December

Dec 1

Philippe Saint-Andre appointed as head coach of France

Dec 2

Euro 2012 draw in Kiev –

Group A – Poland, Greece, Russia, Czech Republic

Group B – Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Portugal

Group C – Spain, Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Croatia

In Group D England will open against France in Donetsk on 11 June, they then play Sweden in Kiev on 15 June, and end against Ukraine back in Donetsk on 19 June

Dec 3

Shane Williams scores his 58th try for Wales in his 85th and final international, against Australia

Dubai Sevens – England

Yakubu scores four goals for Blackburn against Swansea

Martin O’Neill appointed as manager of Sunderland

Tingle Creek – Sizing Europe

Dec 4

Socrates dies

Davis Cup final (Seville) – Spain bt Argentina. Nadal bt Del Potro to win third point for Spain

Chevron World Challenge – Woods

Hong Kong Open – McIlroy

Nedbank Golf Challenge (Sun City) – Westwood

Dec 5

NHL Board of Governors announce that it will divide the league into four conferences (instead of the previous six ‘divisions’) starting in the 2012 – 2013 season

Dec 6

Champions Trophy men’s hockey pool match – Spain 8 Great Britain 1

Mark Allen calls on Barry Hearn to resign for changing the format of tournaments

Sunny Bay dies. Runner-up in Grand National in 1997 and 1998

Dec 7

Barry Hearn dismisses Mark Allen's criticism of him as that of "a silly little boy”

Corsica will host the first three stages of the 100th Tour de France in 2013, for the first time

Basle knock Man Utd out of Champions League

Bafetimbi Gomis score a hat-trick for Lyon against Dinamo Zagreb in seven minutes, beating Mike Newell's fastest Champions League treble (nine minutes) for Blackburn in 1995 against Rosenborg

Dec 8

Sehwag scores 219 against West Indies to set a new record one-day international score

Judy Murray named by the Lawn Tennis Association as Great Britain's new Fed Cup team captain

Stuart Lancaster to coach England on an interim basis for 2012 Six Nations

Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year – Sarah Stevenson

Dec 9

Romain Grosjean, winner of the 2011 GP2 series, will drive for Renault (Lotus) next year

Dec 10

Ben Ainslee disqualified from Finn class at World Championships after an altercation with officials in a media boat

Women’s European Curling Championships (Moscow) – Scotland

Denman is retired

Lancashire cricketer Roy Tattersall dies

Amir Khan defeated by Lamont Peterson to lose his WBA and IBF light-welterweight titles in a controversial fight in Washington DC. ‘Man in the Hat’ seen with the judges is Mustafa Ameen

Dec 11

Luke Donald became the first man to win the US and European money lists in one year after finishing third at the Dubai World Championship and winning the Race to Dubai

Dubai World Championship – Alvaro Quiros

World Championships Finn class (Perth) – Giles Scott (GB)

Champions Trophy men’s hockey final (Auckland) – Australia bt Spain

UK Championship final (Barbican Centre, York) – Trump bt Allen. Both players are left handed. Sponsored by Williamhill.com

Mosconi Cup – Team Europe bt USA

Dec 12

Chelsea end Man City’s unbeaten start to the Premier League

Jonny Wilkinson retires from international rugby

Dec 13

PGA Tour Player of the Year – Luke Donald. Rookie of the year – Keegan Bradley

Ben Edwards will replace Martin Brundle as the BBC’s lead Formula One commentator next season following the latter’s switch to Sky Sports

Dec 14

Four jockeys banned for corruption by British Horseracing Authority. Two owners banned for betting on their own horse to lose

Toro Rosso name Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne as their drivers for the 2012 Formula 1 season

Phil Brown sacked by Preston

The Rugby Football Union names Wimbledon tennis boss Ian Ritchie as chief executive

European Tour Golfer of the Year – Luke Donald

International Tennis Federation World Champions – Djokovic and Kvitova

Dec 16

Force India name Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg as their drivers for the 2012 Formula 1 season

Yorkshire Jets to join netball Superleague next year

Lee Westwood 18 under par after two rounds of the Thailand Golf Championship, equalling the record on the Asian Tour

Dec 17

Super Six final (Atlantic City) – Andre Ward bt Carl Froch

Dec 18

Green Bay Packers lose for the first time this season, against Kansas City Chiefs

Indianapolis Colts win for the first time this season, against Tennessee Titans

James Willstrop replaces Nick Matthew as world number one

Shane Warne returns to cricket to play for Melbourne Stars in the new Twenty20 Big Bash League in Australia

Fifa Club World Cup final (Yokohama) – Barcelona bt Santos

London International Horse Show (Olympia) – Guy Williams won five events. Dermott Lennon won the Olympia Grand Prix

Dec 19

European Tour rookie of the year – Tom Lewis

Dec 20

Luis Suarez handed eight-match ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra

Dec 21

20,000th goal in Premier League scored by Marc Albrighton for Aston Villa against Arsenal

Dec 22

African Footballer of the Year – Yaya Toure

A KNVB Cup game between Ajax and AZ is abandoned after the AZ manager leads his team off the pitch in protest at the sending-off of his goalkeeper, Esteban Alvarado, who kicked an Ajax fan who attacked him

BBC Sports Personality of the Year (MediaCityUK) 1^st Cavendish, 2^nd Clarke, 3^rd Farah

Overseas Personality – Novak Djokovic

Coach – Andy Flower

Team – England cricket

Young Personality – Lauren Taylor, the youngest-ever winner of the British Ladies amateur Golf Championship

Lifetime achievement award – Steve Redgrave

Helen Rollason award – Bob Champion

Unsung heroes – Janice Eaglesham and Ian Mirfin

Dec 25

NBA season starts

Dec 26

King George VI – Kauto Star. 2^nd Long Run

Berbatov hat-trick against Wigan

Dec 27

PDC second round – Dave Chisnall bt Phil Taylor

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees breaks Dan Marino's 27-year-old record for passing yards in an NFL season

Welsh Grand National – Le Beau Bai

Saracens end Harlequins unbeaten start to the Aviva Premiership season at Twickenham in front of 82,000 supporters, a record for a club match

Dec 28

Michael O’Neill appointed as manager of Northern Ireland

Dec 29

Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race – Investec Loyal

Dec 30

Van Persie scores 35 goals in calendar year, one behind Alan Shearer’s Premier League record

Dec 31

Ivan Lendl to coach Andy Murray

Williams co-founder Patrick Head steps down from the Formula One team's board

New Years Honours –

Knighthood – Doug Ellis

CBE – Nigel Mansell

OBE – Darren Clarke, Dickie Bird, Stuart Hall, Adrian Newey

MBE – Rory McIlroy, Sarah Stevenson, Chris Paterson, Martyn Williams, Jamie Peacock