The Formula One championship for women seems far away as far as the FIA is concerned.. (Source: AP)

Motorsport’s governing body has given a lukewarm response to Bernie Ecclestone’s suggestion that Formula One teams should launch a championship for women.

“The idea of an all-women competition is not something we would dismiss without proper debate and research,” former rally driver Michele Mouton, president of the FIA’s commission for women in motorsport, said on Thursday in a statement to The Associated Press.

“But from my own experience as a competitor, I truly believe women want to compete on an equal level with their male counterparts. They have proved through the decades that it is possible, even if only a few.”

In comments reported in British media, Ecclestone said “a showcase” championship for women “would attract a lot of attention and publicity and probably a lot of sponsors.”

Sterling’s current contract with Liverpool runs until the summer of 2017. (Source: Reuters)

Raheem Sterling’s decision to go public about his contract dispute with Liverpool was questioned on Thursday by manager Brendan Rodgers, who underlined the club’s intention to keep hold of its top young player.

Sterling gave an unsanctioned interview to the BBC on Wednesday, saying he had turned down a new contract worth 100,000 pounds ($150,000) a week and that he would not be discussing extending his deal until the end of the season — no matter how much money Liverpool offered.

Rodgers said Sterling “surprised us all” by revealing details about negotiations.

“He is a young player who is still learning on and off the pitch and sometimes you will make mistakes as a youngster,” Rodgers said of Sterling, one of English football’s star players.

“Our relationship is strong, which is important. He knows I am working in the best interests of the club and him. He will learn as time goes on, like we all do, you make mistakes in life.”

Sterling’s current contract with Liverpool runs until the summer of 2017 and Rodgers said the 20-year-old player “isn’t going anywhere.”

“Liverpool are one of the superpowers of football and the owners have made it clear — and we’ve seen it before — that money does not come into it,” Rodgers said. “The club is not going to sell. And if it doesn’t want to sell, it won’t sell — it is simple as that. Money has never been the objective for the club.”

Rodgers added that Sterling’s contract situation “is not something we are overly concerned on and I am confident by the end of the season we will find the solution.”

Sterling said in the BBC interview that his motivation was winning trophies, not earning money, and that he would have signed a new deal last summer after Liverpool finished second in the Premier League.

Liverpool is currently fifth in the league, and struggling to qualify for the Champions League. The five-time European champions have only won one trophy — the League Cup in 2012 — since 2006.

LONDON - Europe's top leagues are approaching crunch time with championships, European places and the relegation and promotion battles all coming to a head while the domestic cup campaigns are bubbling to a climax. We look at the state of play in England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France. (SOCCER-EUROPE/LEAGUES, moved, 450 words each)

LONDON, April 2 (Reuters) - Kevin Pietersen is not on Peter Moores' radar and the England coach says he is frustrated by the constant debate over the South African-born batsman's chances of making a test return.

LONDON, April 2 (Reuters) - England are fully focused on winning this month's three-match series in West Indies and not on Kevin Pietersen's chances of making a test return, coach Peter Moores said on Thursday.

England Test team captain Alastair Cook and coach Peter Moores interacting with media in London moments before their departure to the Carrebian on Thursday. (Source: AP)

England flew out to the Caribbean on Thursday suppressing fevered talk about Kevin Pietersen’s possible international return and insisting the upcoming Test series against the West Indies isn’t make or break for coach Peter Moores.

Pietersen is once again the talk of English cricket after the incoming ECB chairman said the divisive batsman could get back in the squad after more than a year out if he performs well in the county game.

Pietersen isn’t in England’s squad for the West Indies tour, but Moores said it is time to focus on the players currently in the national team.

“The frustration for me is that people whose dreams are being made by going on this tour aren’t being mentioned,” Moores said. “They are not getting any air time and it’s frustrating.

“I understand Kevin’s a huge subject, but I don’t think we can be drawn into that. We’ve got to be completely focused on what’s ahead of us.”

Speaking at London’s Gatwick Airport before England headed out to the Caribbean, Moores said Pietersen “isn’t on the radar.”

Moores’ job is under pressure after England’s group-stage exit from the Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, and the coach will be hoping a return to Test cricket — England’s favoured format — lifts some of the gloom.

“We’ve got these 16 guys going to the West Indies who are desperate to turn around England cricket,” Test captain Alastair Cook. “We need to get back to winning ways.”

Colin Graves, the incoming ECB chairman, said “there will be some enquiries” if England failed to win the series against the West Indies, who he said will be “mediocre” opposition since many of their stars are playing in the Indian Premier League.

Moores dismissed the suggestion that Graves’ comments added extra pressure, saying: “It doesn’t work like that.

“From my point of view it’s not about the coach, it’s about the players, it’s about winning . I’m going no further: we’ve got five weeks, three tests. If we play really well, we’ll gain momentum into a big summer (home series against New Zealand and Australia). The focus has to be playing the right sort of cricket.”

The first of three Tests against the West Indies starts on April 13 in Antigua.

Brendon McCullum led the Kiwis to the first ever final of the World Cup in the recently-concluded tournament. (Source: AP)

Brendon McCullum’s inspirational captaincy has lifted New Zealand and the flamboyant batsman should continue leading the side in all three formats at least until next year’s World Twenty20, former captain Stephen Fleming said.

Since last year, New Zealand at home have won Test series against India, West Indies and Sri Lanka and dazzled in 50-overs and breezed into their maiden World Cup final at Melbourne.

Great rivals Australia won the title but for six weeks, the Black Caps displayed an aggressive brand of cricket which earned them eight successive victories and the admiration of millions.

Former captain Daniel Vettori and seamer Kyle Kills have since retired but Fleming hoped that the 33-year-old McCullum will stick around to continue the “good work”.

“I hope he opts to carry on in charge of the side across all formats for the foreseeable future,” Fleming wrote in his column on the International Cricket Council’s website on Thursday.

“He has lifted the Black Caps up by their bootstraps … and he ended the World Cup with his position water-tight.”

“He is a positive leader who leads by example and although Kane Williamson is regarded as the next cab off the rank in terms of captaincy, it would be ideal if McCullum stayed on to continue the work he and coach Mike Hesson have begun, at least until the end of that ICC World Twenty20 at the earliest.”

The World Twenty20 will be held in India next year and former wicketkeeper McCullum, who has long complained of back problems, said throughout the New Zealand summer that he was treating every game as his last.

Fleming, New Zealand’s most successful captain, feels the team’s recent achievements have drawn a huge number of fans in a country where rugby is the number one sport.

“It has created a euphoria and an awareness of cricket that has not (been) existing in New Zealand since 1992 but now it is important that the legacy… is built upon,” the 42-year-old wrote.

“We have to hope the team’s success and the fact its profile has now grown in a major way will provide New Zealand Cricket’s administrators with more clout around negotiating future commitments for the national side.”