SPORTS DIGEST:FORMULA ONE: The FIA upheld a $100,000 (€79,000) fine for Ferrari but will impose no further sanction following the team orders controversy, an Italian motorsport official said yesterday.
Angelo Sticchi Damiani, president of Italy's CAI Motorsport Federation, said a meeting of the FIA's world motor sport council agreed unanimously not to impose a further punishment.
Race stewards handed out the fine after the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim in July when the team was found to have ordered Felipe Massa to allow Fernando Alonso win.
The verdict would have come as a huge relief for Alonso, whose title hopes could have been ended if FIA had opted to punish the Spaniard who lies fifth in the standings and 41 points behind leader Lewis Hamilton of McLaren.
Kaneria released without charge
CRICKET:Essex and Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria has been released without charge after being arrested by police investigating alleged cricket betting irregularities, sources said yesterday.
Kaneria (29) of Chelmsford, Essex, was arrested in May on suspicion of fraud and released on bail without charge pending further inquiries.
Police sources yesterday said Kaneria had been released from his bail without charge.
Leinster too strong for Connacht
RUGBY: Leinster 34(M Mellett 2 tries; L McGrath, M Roche try each; J Crosbie 4 pens, con); Connacht 0.
Castleknock College’s Michael Mellett blazed over for a pair of tries to put Leinster on the road to a bloodless 34-0 victory over Connacht in the School’s (U18) Interprovincial championship at Donnybrook yesterday.
Outhalf Jody Crosbie knocked over four penalties and right wing Mellett powered through a non-tackle to set up a 17-0 advantage by the 20th minute.
Flankers Dan Leavy and Conor Kilcoyne were central to sending Mellet away for his second before captain Luke McGrath picked up loose lineout ball for a 50-metre stretch to the line for a 27-0 lead at half-time.
Wing Mark Roche made it try number four at the end of the third quarter, Crosbie’s conversion creeping in off the ironwork.
Bledisloe Hong Kong Test safe
RUGBY:Australian Rugby Union boss John O'Neill is adamant next month's fourth Bledisloe Cup Test against New Zealand will go ahead at Hong Kong Stadium as planned.
Sluggish ticket sales ahead of the October 30th clash has led to speculation the clash could either be cancelled or shifted to another venue, with England mooted as a possible destination.
But O’Neill insists both the ARU and New Zealand Rugby Union remain committed to making the Hong Kong Test a success.
“The game’s certainly not being cancelled. We’ve got to make it work,” O’Neill said.
“It’s fair to say that ticket sales have not been as we had hoped and there’s a number of reasons for that which NZRU and ourselves are working on right at the moment.”
O’Neill was coy when asked how many of the 40,000 tickets on offer are yet to be sold, however it is understood fewer than 10,000 tickets have been snapped up so far.
The previous Hong Kong Bledisloe Test in 2008 was a sell-out.
Barry’s great US Junior run ends
TENNIS:Sam Barry's outstanding run in the US Junior Open came to an end yesterday when he came up short in the second round of the boys' singles in New York.
Playing in his third match in the Flushing Meadows event, the unseeded Irish player crashed out to the number five seed, Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia/Herzegovina, 6-4 6-2 after an hour and 32 minutes.
World number 62 Barry had shocked world number three Dzumhur in the Belgian Junior Championships last May, and he gave as good as he got in the first eight games to leave the contest deadlocked at 4-4.
But then after leading 40-15 on his own serve in the ninth game, the Limerick native let the initiative slip, with Dzumhur moving 5-4 in front before holding in the next game to close out the opening set.
Boys’ doubles first round: S Barry (Irl) and B McLachlan (Nzl) bt (5) JS Gomez (Col) and Y Uchiyama (Jpn) 2-6 6-2 10-1.
Stirling’s stunning knock helps Ireland level series
CRICKET:On the back of Paul Stirling's record-breaking innings of 177, Ireland duly wrapped up a 92-run victory over Canada yesterday evening in Toronto to level up the one-day series after losing Monday's opening clash, writes Emmet Riordan.
Stirling’s stunning knock, which came off just 134 deliveries, was the 13th highest in over 3,000 ODI matches, slotting the 20-year-old from Belfast in one place ahead of the great Indian all-rounder Kapil Dev and two below West Indies legend Viv Richards.
Andrew Poynter (30), Andre Botha (28) and 25 runs each from Nigel Jones and John Mooney helped Ireland post 325 for eight from their 50 overs, a new record ODI score for the country. Albert van der Merwe, the tall off-spinner from The Hills club in Skerries, became the third Irish player after Trent Johnston and Alex Cusack to claim five wickets in an ODI. Van der Merwe took five for 49 off his 10 overs as the hosts were bowled out for 233 in the 47th over.
