Australian batsman Damien Martyn takes evasive action against a bouncer from Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar on the third day of the second Test match being played at the MCG, in Melbourne, Tuesday. (AFP Photo)

MELBOURNE, Australia, Dec. 28--Australia's Damien Martyn scored 142, his sixth test century of 2004, before Pakistan suffered a spectacular top-order batting collapse on the third day of the second test on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
Pakistan reached 85 for five in their second innings at the close of play to lead by 47 runs. The not out batsmen were Mohammad Sami on eight and Shoaib Malik on 11.
Martyn's patient innings of more than six hours lifted Australia's total from 171 for five to 379 all out at tea in reply to Pakistan's 341, which included 111 from acting captain Yousuf Youhana.
Martyn put on 59 for the sixth wicket with Adam Gilchrist (48) and 93 for the eighth wicket with Jason Gillespie (50 not out).
Pakistan paceman Shoaib Akhtar (5-109) claimed his second five-wicket haul of the series and leg spinner Danish Kaneria was also a constant threat, taking five for 125 from 39.3 overs.
With Australia resuming on their overnight score of 203 for five, Pakistan had been aiming to snatch a big first innings lead.
The touring side's depleted bowling attack removed Shane Warne (10) and Gilchrist in the first session.
Martyn then combined brilliantly with the long-haired fast bowler Gillespie, who hit four fours and one six in two-and-a-half hours to score his second career test half-century.
The 33-year-old Martyn is the second-leading scorer in test cricket this year with 1,353 runs, behind team mate Justin Langer's 1,476. South Africa's Jacques Kallis is third on 1,278.
Martyn took almost five hours and 189 balls including seven fours to reach his 11th test century, pushing a ball from Sami to mid-wicket and jogging through for a single with both arms raised.
The Western Australia right-hander, who made 100 not out in Australia's 491-run win in the first test in Perth, was eventually trapped lbw by Kaneria after hitting 12 fours, leaving the hosts on 347 for eight.
Shoaib then claimed his fifth wicket when he had Michael Kasprowicz caught in the gully for four and Glenn McGrath fell soon after to Kaneria for one.
Buoyed by their first innings advantage of 38, Australia's new-ball attack tore through Pakistan's top order.
McGrath removed Salman Butt for a duck in the opening over and Yasir Hameed for 23 after Imran Farhat had been caught at deep square leg off Jason Gillespie for five.
Leg spinner Warne had Youhana caught at silly point for 12 at 60 for four and Younis Khan (23) fell eight runs later to the bowling of Kasprowicz after a bizarre attempt at a pull shot.
Pakistan medium-pacer Abdul Razzaq was taken to a Melbourne hospital complaining of breathing difficulties on Tuesday and did not take the field.
Off-spinner Malik did not bowl after a report from the University of Western Australia recommended the all-rounder undergo remedial work on his bowling action. Malik batted at number six despite a hand injury.

GLASGOW, UK,
Dec. 28--Rangers reduced Celtic's lead at the top of the Scottish Premier League to just a point with an emphatic 4-1 home win over Motherwell on Monday, Reuters said.
Second-placed Rangers have 49 points from 20 games and their Glasgow rivals, who beat Hearts 2-0 on Sunday, have 50. Hibernian moved into third on 36 points after their 4-1 win at Dundee United.
Rangers' Spanish forward Nacho Novo scored twice in the opening 15 minutes but Motherwell's Scott McDonald curled a magnificent strike into the top right corner just after the break.
Georgian striker Shota Arveladze made it 3-1 in front of 49,909 fans at Ibrox and substitute Steven Thompson sealed the win with four minutes remaining.
Manager Alex McLeish praised Novo's performance saying: "He had a great game. His energy is boundless and he snaps into tackles. He is a brilliant inspiration and example to his team mates."
Jason Scotland scored his first goal for Dundee United to put the club in front against Hibernian after seven minutes.
But Hibs were ahead on 22 minutes thanks to goals from Derek Riordan and Gary O'Connor. Alen Orman and Sam Morrow finished the scoring off after the break. The defeat sent United to the bottom of the table.
Kilmarnock ended their wretched run of five successive defeats with a 3-1 home victory against Dundee.
Australian striker Danny Invincibile opened the scoring and Simon Ford headed his first goal for the club. Dundee's John Sutton pulled one back within 60 seconds but Kris Boyd made the three points safe for Kilmarnock with eight minutes to play.

The crew prepare to abandon the strickened super maxi Skandia (formally Wild Thing) after losing control of the boat's hydraulic keel off the east coast of Tasmania during the 60th Sydney to Hobart yacht race, Tuesday. (AFP Photo)

SYDNEY, Australia, Dec. 28--Super-maxi Nicorette was grinding its way to a hard-fought victory in its first ever Sydney to Hobart yacht race Tuesday after raging seas forced out defending champion Skandia and joint favorite Konica Minolta, AFP said.
With its main rivals out of the way, Nicorette opened up a 50 nautical mile lead over the chasing pack and was expected to take line honors at Hobart's Constitution Dock early Wednesday.
The super-maxi, launched only three weeks ago, spent the final stages of the race hugging the coast of the island state of Tasmania in an attempt to avoid the battering that has forced 51 of the 116 boats which began the 627 nautical mile bluewater classic on Sunday to retire.
The fleet took its worst pounding since 1998, when six sailors died and seven boats were lost, as gale force winds, thunderstorms and lightning hammered the boats.
Skandia sent out a distress call late Monday when it was about 65 nautical miles east-northeast of the northeastern tip of Tasmania.
Seven hours later, the Australian super-maxi's 16 crew members abandoned ship in inflatable life-rafts because the yacht's canting keel had jammed to starboard and they were unable to steer a boat listing dangerously in seven meter (23 foot) swells.
The crew was picked up by a police launch after two hours. Race officials said it was not clear whether the damage was caused by Skandia's collision with a 300 kilogram (660 pound) sunfish shortly after it entered the notorious Bass Strait on Monday.
The crew emerged from the ordeal unhurt but Skandia skipper Grant Wharington's hopes of becoming the first back-to-back winner for 21 years were dashed in what he described as a "terrible blow".
Race control said a tug would attempt to recover the stricken yacht early Wednesday.
Skandia's arch-rival Konica Minolta retired after a massive wave split open the New Zealand yacht's cabin and damaged the keel support structure, leaving the keel in danger of shearing away from the boat entirely.
The withdrawal of joint favorites Skandia and Konica Minolta scuppered prospects of a repeat of last year's duel-to-the-finish, when the Australian yacht beat its trans-Tasman rival into Hobart by only 14 minutes after the pair remained within sight of each other
for most of the race.
Nicorette was launched earlier this month after skipper Ludde Ingvalle, who won line honors with Nicorette's namesake in 2000, had the boat built in just six months in Sydney this year, an unusually short construction period for the hi-tech super-maxis.

BEIJING, Dec. 28--Work resumed Tuesday on a new and cheaper version of Beijing's 80,000-seat National Stadium, a key Olympic construction project, a city official said, AFP reported.
"Workers were back on the construction site today," said the official, a staff member of the Beijing 2008 Project Construction Headquarters Office, a unit under the city government.
Plans to equip the stadium with an expensive retractable steel roof have now been scrapped, she said.
Construction of the stadium, nicknamed the "Bird's Nest" because of its giant lattice-work structure of irregularly angled metal girders, was abruptly halted in late July amid a general austerity drive.
Money was cited as a top reason while officials were also worried about safety and the design's overemphasis on visual effects and extravagant imagery, according to reports.
The original design was billed at about 3.9 billion yuan (470 million dollars), while the re-design should cut costs to about 2.3 billion yuan, state media reported earlier.

New Jersey Nets guard Vince Carter (l) drives around Detroit Pistons guard Richard Hamilton (32) in the second half of their NBA game at The Palace in Auburn Hills, USA, Monday. (AP Photo)

NEW YORK, Dec. 28--Richard Hamilton scored 37 points as the Detroit Pistons out-scored the New Jersey Nets 13-3 in overtime, leading the Pistons to a 100-90 win in Auburn Hills on Monday, Reuters reported.
Tayshaun Prince added 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Pistons, who spoiled the debut of Vince Carter in a Nets uniform.
Carter scored 23 points in 42 minutes for the Nets in his first game in three weeks due to an Achilles injury, which he suffered at The Palace while playing for the Toronto Raptors.
Despite hobbling off during overtime with a left hamstring problem, he said he did not believe the latest injury would cause him to miss any games.
Richard Jefferson scored 27 points to lead the Nets and also had seven rebounds, but Jason Kidd went 0-for-8 from the field and scored just two points in 36 minutes as he continues to rebound from off-season knee surgery.
Nenad Krstic had 13 points and nine rebounds for the Nets.
Chauncey Billups had 13 points and nine assists for the Pistons, who got 18 rebounds and eight points from Ben Wallace.
In other NBA games, Shaquille O'Neal scored 31 points despite playing with sore ribs as Miami Heat set a franchise-record with their 12th consecutive triumph, a 116-102 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
O'Neal played with padding to protect his ribs. Dwyane Wade added 27 points for Miami.
Antoine Walker, Tony Delk and Predrag Drobnjak all scored 16 points for the Hawks, losers of six of their last seven games.
In Orlando, Stephon Marbury had 34 points and seven assists to guide the New York Knicks to a 119-111 win over the Magic.
In Indianapolis, Reggie Miller contributed 24 points towards the Indiana Pacers 100-82 victory over the struggling New Orleans Hornets.
In Washington, Larry Hughes scored 20 points as the Wizards beat the Charlotte Bobcats 106-87.
In Memphis, Pau Gasol had 24 points and eight rebounds as the Grizzlies stopped the Los Angeles Clippers 96-76.
In Salt Lake City, Rashard Lewis scored 22 points and Ray Allen had 19 as the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Utah Jazz 98-88.
In Portland, Allen Iverson scored 28 points to steer the Philadelphia 76ers to a 111-104 win over the Trail Blazers.
In Oakland, the Golden State Warriors got by the Denver Nuggets 104-101, with Mickael Pietrus scoring 24 points.

BERLIN, Dec. 28--Schalke 04 have signed Mimoun Azaouagh from FSV Mainz for an undisclosed sum, the German Bundesliga club said on Monday, Reuters reported.
"We're delighted to sign a huge talent like Mimoun and hope that his positive development will continue with us," said Schalke commercial manager Rudi Assauer.
Azaouagh, who played eight Bundesliga matches for Mainz and 48 matches in previous seasons in the second division with the promoted side, signed a contract through 2009.
The 22-year-old playmaker has six caps for Germany's under-21 team.

ROME, Dec. 28--Giuseppe Papadopulo, who was banned for five months earlier this year after an investigation into gambling related match-fixing, has been appointed as coach of struggling Serie A side Lazio, Reuters said.
Papadopulo replaces Mimmo Caso after Lazio's disappointing start to the season which has left them just above the relegation zone and out of the UEFA Cup.
The 56-year-old Papadopulo took Siena into Serie A for the first time in 2003 before he left the club in May.
he Italian Football League banned him in August for five months after their investigation into match fixing. Six players from Italy's top two divisions were also banned.

LONDON, Dec. 28--Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has defended teenage striker Wayne Rooney in wake of an incident involving Bolton Wanderers defender Tal Ben Haim during their weekend English Premier League match, Reuters reported.
The English Football Association (FA) is expected to investigate Rooney's role in the episode, in which television pictures captured Rooney pushing his hand into Ben Haim's face in the first half of United's 2-0 victory at Old Trafford on Sunday.
"They (the FA) should look at the Bolton player but we will have to wait and see on that one," Ferguson was quoted as saying in The Independent newspaper on Tuesday.
"The biggest concern should be what the other player did. He was down on the ground for two minutes and he is the one that should be up before the FA, not Rooney.
"What he did was a disgrace and it's him that should be on a disrepute charge. He rolled around as if he was in agony and it was embarrassing but that issue has not even been addressed.
"All I hear about is what Wayne Rooney did. Did he punch the lad? No he didn't. He just brushed him off and the guy made an absolute meal of it."
Rooney escaped punishment during the match as referee Dermot Gallagher did not see the incident but the FA's video review panel could impose a ban.
"Wayne Rooney did nothing to deserve being brought up before the FA but because it's Wayne and because it's Manchester United, then I can understand the focus," Ferguson said at the club's Carrington training ground on the eve of their Premier League match at Aston Villa.
Bolton manager Sam Allardyce said Rooney was lucky not to be sent off. "I admit Tal went down rather too easily but there is no getting away from the fact that Rooney pushed his hand into the lad's face," he told the BBC.
"He was lucky to get away with it because had the referee seen it he would have had to send him off."