BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):

Chris Gayle and Fidel Edwards will definitely be playing in the lucrative Indian Premier League, which will be staged later this month in South Africa.

West Indies open the tour with a three-day match against Leicestershire at Grace Road starting on April 21, just three days after the IPL launches in South Africa, with the first Test scheduled for Lord's from May 6.

Gayle, who will play for the Kolkata Knight Riders, and Edwards, for the Deccan Chargers, are set to arrive in England no later than May 1, restricting their IPL availability to just 12 days.

LIVERPOOL, England (AP):

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez took a swipe at Alex Ferguson yesterday, claiming his Manchester United counterpart is "scared" of the Reds as the Premier League title race reaches its conclusion.

"He likes to talk too much about the other teams," Benitez said yesterday, a day before facing Chelsea at Anfield in the first leg of the quarter-finals. "I don't play mind games. I just think he is a little bit scared.

"He was talking about us - again - so I want to clarify that it doesn't matter if we or Chelsea lose. The team that loses in the Champions League competition will be focused on the Premier League and maybe more difficult for United. I think Ferguson will be supporting Liverpool because he knows we are the big threat now," Benitez said. "If Chelsea is not in the competition he knows they will be a threat. He will lose (either) way."

Milutinovic

BRUSSELS (AP):

Journeyman coach Bora Milutinovic agreed yesterday to lead Iraq at this year's Confederations Cup, taking charge of his eighth national football team.

Milutinovic, who has coached five different teams at World Cup tournaments, last coached Jamaica but was let go in November 2007 over a contract dispute.

Jorvan Vieira, a Brazilian coach who led Iraq to the Asian Cup title in 2007, was fired in February following the team's disappointing performance at the Gulf Cup.

Before coaching Jamaica, Milutinovic led host Mexico to the quarter-finals at the 1986 World Cup. He also took Costa Rica to the second round in 1990 and then did the same with the United States in 1994 and Nigeria in 1998.

At the 2002 World Cup, Milutinovic coached China, but the team was eliminated in the first round. He also coached Honduras.