A CRICKETER who asked for his leg to be amputated to cure constant pain is back in the England team.

JULIA Donaldson's beloved tale lends itself perfectly to a festive show with an appearance from Father Christmas and lots of lovely wintry scenes.

MORE than sixty years since his untimely death, the musical that celebrates the life of Buddy Holly is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

IT'S the ultimate fun bus.

AFC BOURNEMOUTH have completed the signing of flexible attacker Lys Mousset from French side Le Havre for an undisclosed fee understood to be in the region of 6.5million euros. The 20-year-old, who was reportedly on the radar of Arsenal, Spurs, Sunderland, Southampton, Copenhagen and Monaco, has signed a four-year deal at the Vitality Stadium. A product of the revered Le Havre Academy that brought through the likes of Paul Pogba, Dimitri Payet and Lassana Diarra, Mousset scored 14 goals for the Ligue 2 outfit from wide and central attacking positions last season. Capped eight times at under-20 level by France, he appeared against England in the recent Toulon Tournament final and also attracted interest from Bristol City, Italian club Torino and Spanish top-flight side Sevilla. Mousset is Eddie Howe's third new arrival this summer following the permanent signing of midfielder Emerson Hyndman from Fulham and Nathan Ake's season-long loan from Chelsea.

A FORMER Aston Villa striker has died after he was Tasered by police.

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe is fully committed to the club amid speculation of a move to Arsenal.

HARRY Redknapp has “no doubt” Cherries will steer clear of trouble – and the club’s former boss says he admires Eddie Howe’s refusal to sacrifice his footballing principles as the survival battle hots up.

GASTON Ramirez has returned to the Middlesbrough fold in Spain as he attempts to rebuild his reputation on Teesside.

FORMER Saints star Adam Lallana believes Liverpool's lack of “winning” experience in the squad has cost them over the last month.

BOURNEMOUTH manager Eddie Howe has been given the full backing of chairman Jeff Mostyn.

Bournemouth have been fined £35,000 after accepting a charge from the Football Association for a breach of anti-doping rules.

West Brom have sacked Tony Pulis, the club has announced.

WATERSIDE angler Arran Harmer was rewarded with a personal best pike of 23lb 2oz when he tackled a Southern Stillwater.

BROADLANDS Lakes have reported some good fish again this week.

It was a good week on Boadlands with lots of big fish being caught.

Orchard Xmas Match at Bashley produced the best weights in the various Xmas matches that took place at the weekend. Doug Wright took 61 lb 8 oz of carp to 9 lb dapping bread to the far bank on the pole early before switching to pole and maggot in the closing stages to win from peg 37. John Pole finished second from peg 16 with 51 lb of small carp to the far bank on pole and maggot. Others M.Rowe 49 lb 14 oz, N.Cornwell 44 lb 4 oz and N.Fox 42 lb 12 oz.

ECHO fishing correspondent Mark Simmonds landed his fifth Amazon Red Tail over 100 lb when taking Black Spot at 110 lb from Teak Trees, Chang Mai in Thailand.

A FORMER world champion angler from Hampshire has won a national award after inspiring hundreds of youngsters to aim for glory.

A 9lb bull huss bagged by Adrian Moody from the Waterside was the highlight when the Lymington club staged a shallow boat competition, writes Chris Clark.

ONLY one game was played in the Wessex League on October 24, 1998 – the appalling weather made sure of that.

LOCAL sport will be bidding a sad farewell to Alan Frederick, doyen of Southampton Schools’ football for close on 60 years and popular bowls enthusiast, tomorrow.

A SOUTHAMPTON football team has scored big after being newly kitted out.

AMBULANCE crews rushed to the scene of a football match in Hythe after a player was knocked unconscious.

GABI Taylor has credited her new team for her improvement as she prepares to make her Fed Cup debut alongside Great Britain teammates Johanna Konta and Heather Watson.

Southampton's Gabi Taylor is in the Surbiton Trophy quarter-finals after a stunning win against GB teammate Heather Watson - and another victory today.

GABI Taylor lost in the quarter-finals of the Surbiton Trophy, but has a wildcard entry for a WTA international tournament in Nottingham next week.

Gabi Taylor pushed defending champion Donna Vekic all the way before losing her first-round match at the Nottingham Open.

BRITISH No 2 Heather Watson believes rising star Gabi Taylor deserves a Wimbledon wildcard.

Gabriella Taylor will play former Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard in next week's first round.

GABI Taylor will make Hampshire tennis history when she makes her full Grand Slam debut tomorrow.

Gabi Taylor put up a brave fight but her maiden senior Wimbledon outing ended in a three-set defeat to Eugenie Bouchard.

BOMB disposal units have rushed to a Hampshire beach.

NEARLY a decade since the last sell-out tour, Les Misérables is touring again and is back at Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre.

JOFRA Archer will spearhead the Southern Braves attack alongside Chris Jordan when The Hundred begins next summer - and James Vince will also play for the Ageas Bowl-based franchise.

SIR Ian Botham believes Hampshire chairman Rod Bransgrove is more deserving of a knighthood than Sir Geoffrey Boycott.

JAMES Vince will interrupt his wedding weekend to find out who the rest of his Southern Brave teammates are.

HAMPSHIRE all-rounder Liam Dawson will be playing for Southern Brave alongside Andre Russell, David Warner and Tymal Mills when The Hundred gets underway next summer.

Southern Brave will have the chance to add a wildcard signing before the inaugural edition of The Hundred.

CIVIC chiefs are being urged to approve plans to replace a redundant New Forest theatre with better facilities for sports teams.

HAMPSHIRE fast bowler Chris Wood has opened up about his long-running gambling addiction.

In recent years, scores of pubs across Southampton have shut down.

THESE pictures were snapped at a football tournament in Millbrook on November 7, 1999.

IF SAINTS are to survive, they absolutely must learn how to close out games.

SAINTS cannot afford many more missed opportunities if they are to survive this season.

IT’S TIME for everyone connected with Saints to take stock, a deep breath and get ready for a massive few weeks.

SOMEHOW the pitch invasion at the end of Saints’ 2-2 draw with Burnley rather summed up not only a woeful season but a miserable few years.

A HAMPSHIRE charity has provided food for pupils entitled to free lunches during the school shutdown.

AN EX-Barton Peveril student has been nominated for "Rookie of the Year" after playing football at an American college.

IT is the biggest game that England have played in years.