Russell blasts Windies to one-wicket win

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© Reuters

West Indies' Andre Russell

 All-rounder Andre Russell smashed a match-winning half-century as West Indies claimed a nail-biting one-wicket victory over South Africa in the fourth one-day international at St George's Park on Sunday.

The hosts' David Miller had earlier struck a first one-day international century as he caressed 11 fours and three sixes in an unbeaten 130 from 133 balls to take the Proteas to 262 for eight in their 50 overs.

Russell took West Indies past their victory target with nine balls and just a single wicket remaining, hitting five sixes in his unbeaten 64 from 40 balls.

He put on 27 for the final wicket with Sheldon Cottrell (one) as the tourists pulled a game back in the series to go into the fifth and final match in Pretoria on Wednesday trailing 3-1.

The victory is a rare high-point on a disappointing tour for the Caribbean side, but should give them some confidence going into next month's World Cup, albeit against a much-changed Proteas lineup.

West Indies lost early wickets but rallied with a 93-run sixth wicket partnership between Marlon Samuels (68) and Darren Sammy (51), before Russell strode to the crease and proved the perfect finisher.

West Indies won the toss and sent South Africa into bat, with the Proteas rotating their squad and resting Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Imran Tahir.

They slipped to 76 for four, but left-hander Miller abandoned his usual power-hitting style to steady the innings and along with JP Duminy (43) put on 90 for the fifth wicket.

Some lusty blows in the final three overs took the innings score past 250 and gave Miller the record for the highest score by a South African number five in ODI cricket -- beating the previous best of 121 by Jonty Rhodes that has stood for 19 years.

The West Indies reply was not helped by the run outs of Leon Johnson (18), Jonathan Carter (five) and Carlos Brathwaite (11), but Russell kept them in the game as wickets fell around him.

The tourists will be grateful to the dismissal review system though after Russell was given out by Australian umpire Steve Davis on 40, caught behind off Wayne Parnell.

He sent it straight upstairs and with no sign of an edge, the dismissal that would likely have won the game for South Africa was overturned.

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Equatorial Guinea advance with 2-0 win over Gabon

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Equatorial Guinea's Javier Balboa (C) celebrates with team mates after scoring against Gabon Equatorial Guinea reached the African Nations Cup quarter-finals after second-half goals by Javier Balboa and substitute Iban Salvador gave them a 2-0 win over Gabon in a pulsating Group A clash on Sunday. The victory ensured the host nation finished runners-up with five points and advanced two points adrift of group winners Congo, who edged Burkina Faso 2-1. Having soaked up incessant pressure throughout the match, Equatorial Guinea took the lead against the run of play after forward Javier Balboa was fouled and then blasted home the spot-kick in the 55th minute. Salvador rounded off a swift break in the closing stages, sweeping home a rebound after Gabon keeper Didier Ovono parried an Emilio Nsue shot straight into his path. Equatorial Guinea goalkeeper Felipe Ovono was central to their success, having produced a string of superb saves to deny Gabon forwards Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Frederic Bulot.

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Masterful Murray pays back dangerous Dimitrov

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Andy Murray of Britain jubilates after winning against Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria  Andy Murray avenged his shock loss at last year's Wimbledon and battled his way into his 16th successive grand slam quarter-final with a 6-4 6-7(5) 6-3 7-5 victory over Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov at the Australian Open on Sunday. Murray was upset by Dimitrov in the quarter-finals of his Wimbledon title defence and Sunday's late night thriller helped dim those memories while setting up a last eight clash with Australian teenager Nick Kyrgios. The Scot saved a set point while serving at 5-2 down in the fourth, roared back to 5-5 and broke Dimitrov to love, prompting the Bulgarian to destroy his racquet under the lights at Rod Laver Arena. From there, Murray knew he had his man and ran Dimitrov ragged in the final games before also getting lucky with a net cord on match point. Though the match ebbed and flowed with countless momentum shifts, Murray had the edge in most of the big points and thought his fitness told as the clash wore on. "In the fourth set, I felt like he was trying to shorten a lot of the points," Murray said of Dimitrov, who was dragged into a taxing five-set scrap by Marcos Baghdatis in the previous round. "When he got ahead, he was trying to come forward a lot. Then on my service games he was going for broke a little bit off my serves. So I felt like maybe he was tired. "So I tried to, towards the end of the set, extend the rallies. And physically I felt completely different to how I felt at the U.S. Open last year or even here last year when I played a long match, especially in cold conditions. It was like night and day." Two-time grand slam winner Murray has been impressive at Melbourne Park, where local fans have thrilled at the progress of 19-year-old Kyrgios. Kyrgios's five-set win over Andreas Seppi, the Italian who knocked out Roger Federer, electrified Hisense Arena at the same time as Murray's match. The Rod Laver Arena crowd roared their approval when news filtered through of the teenager's win, confusing Murray and Dimitrov for a moment before the penny dropped. "I would say maybe he's more confident than I would have been at that age," Murray said of Kyrgios. "So he obviously backs himself a lot. When you have the crowd behind you, it obviously helps."

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Defour sent off after fans unveil severed head banner

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Anderlecht's Steven Defour

 Anderlecht midfielder Steven Defour was sent off on his return to former club Standard Liege on Sunday after home fans unveiled a graphic banner targeting the Belgium international.

Defour, who spent five years with Standard before signing for Portuguese side Porto in 2011, was already on a yellow card when he was sent off for kicking the ball at the home fans during Anderlecht's 2-0 defeat at the Stade Maurice Dufrasne.

The giant banner, which was unfurled before kick off, showed a man holding a sword and a cartoon of Defour's severed head with the words "Red or Dead".

The 26-year-old Belgium international apologised for his actions on Instagram saying: "Apologies to my fans... although I do not understand the red card -- you can not see or hear the referee."

Former Standard captain Defour joined arch rivals Anderlecht in August after spending three years with Porto.

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Saint-Etienne - Paris Saint Germain

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AC Fiorentina - AS Roma

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Shakhtar Donetsk - Cruzeiro

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