Reuters Sports Schedule at 1400 GMT on Thursday, March 31

Reuters sports schedule at 1400 GMT on Thursday CRICKET World Twenty20, India (to April 3) West Indies v India, second semi-final (1330) India and West Indies clash in Mumbai MUMBAI - Hosts India will hope their wily spinners can tame West Indies' big-hitting batsmen when the two former champions look to clinch a meeting with England in the final. (CRICKET-WORLD/SEMIS (PIX), expect by 1700 GMT/1 PM ET, by Sudipto Ganguly, 400 words) MOTOR RACING Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix Alonso ruled out of Bahrain Grand Prix MANAMA - McLaren's Fernando Alonso failed a medical and was ruled out of the Bahrain Grand Prix on Thursday with the after-effects of a huge crash in Australia, paving the way for Belgian reserve Stoffel Vandoorne to make his Formula One debut. (MOTOR-F1-BAHRAIN/, moved, by Alan Baldwin) SOCCER SOCCER Burnley flourish again by keeping faith with old values LONDON - After losing their place in the Premier League a year ago Burnley kept faith with manager Sean Dyche and most of their players and are now top of the Championship and on course for a swift return to the top flight at the end of the season. (SOCCER-ENGLAND/BURNLEY, pix, 750 words by Mike Collett, Expect by 1800GMT) BASEBALL Optimism abounds as teams set to open 2016 MLB season We look ahead to the 2016 Major League Baseball season with a five-part package consisting of an overall preview of the campaign, a look at Japanese ace Yu Darvishs expected return, five storylines and five players to watch and key dates to look out for. (BASEBALL-PREVIEW/, expect by 1900 GMT/3 PM ET, by Larry Fine, 600 words) SEE ALSO: (BASEBALL-RANGERS/DARVISH, expect 1900 GMT/3 PM ET, by Larry Fine, 425 words) (BASEBALL-STORYLINES/, expect by 1900 GMT/3 PM ET, 535 words) (BASEBALL-PLAYERS/, expect by 1900 GMT/3 PM ET, 470 words) (BASEBALL-DATES/, expect by 1900 GMT/3 PM ET, 85 words) TENNIS ATP/WTA: Miami Open (to 3) Nishikori battles Monfils for spot in Miami semis Japanese sixth seed Kei Nishikori meets 16th-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils while big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic faces Australian Nick Kyrgios in men's quarter-final action at the Miami Open. (TENNIS-MIAMI/MEN (PIX), expect by 0000 GMT/8 PM ET, 400 words) Azarenka, Kuznetsova eye berths in Miami final Victoria Azarenka of Belarus seeks a spot in the women's final in her semi-final against Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber while Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova faces Switzerland's Timea Bacsinszky at the Miami Open. (TENNIS-MIAMI/WOMEN (PIX), expect by 0345 GMT/11:45 PM ET, 400 words) GOLF PGA Tour: Shell Open, Houston (to 3) Spieth, Mickelson ready for final Masters tune-up World number one Jordan Spieth, five-time major winner Phil Mickeslon and Spaniard Sergio Garcia are among those in the field at the Golf Club of Houston in Humble, Texas, in the final PGA Tour event before the season's opening major, the Masters. (GOLF-PGA/, expect by 0030 GMT/8:30 PM ET, 400 words) LPGA: ANA Inspiration, Rancho Mirage (to 3) Ko heads top-flight field at Rancho Mirage The world's top 19 ranked players, including world number one Lydia Ko, descend on Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California for the first women's major championship of the year. (GOLF-LPGA/ (PIX), expect by 0330 GMT/11:30 PM ET, 350 words) FIGURE SKATING French duo bid to defend world title France's Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, who lead after the ice dance short dance program, will try to defend their title when they compete in the free dance competition at the world figure skating championships in Boston. (FIGURE SKATING-WORLD/ (PIX), expect by 0435 GMT/0035 PM ET, 300 words) NBA LeBron's Cavs try to avoid rare losing skid LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers will try avoid their first losing skid in over a month and pad their lead atop the Eastern Conference when they host the struggling Brooklyn Nets. (NBA-CAVALIERS/, expect by 0230 GMT/10:30 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) Thunder Clash with Clippers in West battle Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder will try to tighten their grip of the third seed in the Western Conference when they host a Los Angeles Clippers team that are hot on their heels. (NBA-THUNDER/, expect by 0500 GMT/1:00 AM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) Pacers, Bulls and Rockets try to boost playoff hopes The Indiana Pacers will try to bolster their playoff hopes when they host the Orlando Magic while the Chicago Bulls visit the Houston Rockets in a battle of team fighting for their playoff lives in two of the six games on the National Basketball Association schedule. (NBA-HIGHLIGHTS/, expect by 0430 GMT/12:30 AM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 600 words) NHL Stars try to close in on West's top seed The Dallas Stars resume their pursuit of the top seed in the Western Conference when they host the Arizona Coyotes while the Florida Panthers, in a battle with Tampa Bay for top spot in the Eastern Conference, host the New Jersey Devils in two of the 10 games on the National Hockey League schedule. (NHL-HIGHLIGHTS/, expect by 0330 GMT/11:30 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 800 words) NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (expect by 0010 GMT/8:10 PM ET, 500 words) (Europe desk editor: Ken Ferris)