7 Jun 2011

7am sports heads

6:59 am on 7 June 2011

New Zealand's top woman tennis player Marina Erakovic has made a good start to the international grasscourt season in Britain.

Erakovic, who was a first round loser at the French Open, is through to the second round of the Birmingham Classic after a 6-4 6-4 win over the unseeded Spaniard Arantxa Parra.

South Africa's new cricket coach Gary Kirsten doesn't formally take over until August, but he's already announced his first decision, naming AB de Villiers as the Proteas new limited overs captain.

The Melbourne Rebels say the return from suspension of their troubled English star Danny Cipriani will lift the side as they battle to avoid the Super Rugby wooden spoon.

Formula One's governing body has left the door open to a possible U-turn on the staging of the Bahrain Grand Prix later this year, after restoring the postponed race to this years schedule.