CRICKET:England battled back from the brink of another dismal defeat against New Zealand after Luke Wright emerged as their unexpected hero by delivering a successful final over to earn a dramatic tie.

Sussex all-rounder Wright was surprisingly chosen to bowl the final over of a thrilling game, his first of the match, with New Zealand needing only seven runs to seal a stunning triumph and wrap up a series win.

But Wright, selected primarily as a hard-hitting batsman, put every one of his six balls right on the spot and helped clinch an unlikely tie off the final ball to keep the five-match series alive with a decider in Christchurch on Saturday.

With all his main bowlers having already finished their 10-over allocations and New Zealand on the brink of overhauling England's 340 for six, captain Paul Collingwood's decision to throw the ball to Wright was a calculated gamble at best.

Collingwood was fined 20 per cent of his match fee and the rest of the team 10 per cent after they were deemed to have maintained a slow over-rate in the match.

CYCLING:Daniel Martin finished 54th overall in his first stage race as a professional, the Tour of the Mediterranean.

The Irish Team Slipstream rider ended the five-day, 2.1-ranked event 13 minutes and nine seconds behind the overall victor Alexandre Botcharov (Crédit Agricole). David Moncoutié (Cofidis-Le Crédit par Téléphone) was second, 45 seconds back, while Michael Albasini (Liquigas) was a further 23 seconds down in third.

Martin had been 22nd overall after Friday's tough stage to the top of Mont Faron, holding sixth in the best young rider classification, but was caught out by crosswinds on Sunday's final stage and came in as part of a large group 10 minutes 55 seconds behind the day's winner, Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis-Le Crédit par Téléphone).

The 21-year-old can, however, be satisfied with his showing in the race, particularly his fine 23rd place on the stage to Mont Faron.

As was evident from his amateur days, he has a strong climbing ability and this should produce good results in the months and years ahead.