A round-up of other sports stories.
Splaine opts to leave Kürten on sidelines
EQUESTRIAN: Jessica Kürten has been dropped from the team for today's Samsung Super League round at the Swiss fixture in Lucerne, writes Grania Willis.
Team manager Robert Splaine opted to leave the world number two on the subs bench after yesterday's main class, naming Shane Breen, Cameron Hanley, Marion Hughes and Edward Doyle as his team for this afternoon's Nations Cup.
Kürten pulled up her Olympic ride Castle Forbes Maike after 10 fences, having hit an early oxer in bottomless ground yesterday. "She jumped super and just had one down," Kurten told The Irish Times last night. "It's a strange decision and it's disappointed me, but it's Robert's decision."
Kürten's top horse, Quibell, has been sidelined all week after picking up an injury in the first round of the Aachen Grand Prix last week and Kürten offered to pull out of Lucerne to allow a substitute to jump in her place. "I said I didn't want to go as fifth man, but Robert said he needed me here."
Ireland has been drawn first of the eight teams to jump, which Splaine is hoping will be an advantage in the difficult underfoot conditions. One of today's competitions has already been cancelled and the organisers are planning to move all the fences in between the two rounds of this afternoon's Nations Cup.
Over at the international three-day event at Tattersalls in Co Meath, British star Pippa Funnell has taken an early lead in the two-star class, with Army rider Lieutenant Geoff Curran best of the Irish in third. But the home side are currently dominating the one-star, where Co Kildare's Caroline Bjoerk heads an Irish top five. Dressage action restarts at nine o'clock this morning.
Tattersalls international three-day event, two-star: 1, Britain's Kif d'Estraval (P Funnell), 38.3; 2, Britain's LB (S Elliott), 41.9; 3, Ireland's The Jump Jet (Lieutenant G Curran), 41.9. One-star: 1, Ireland's DSL Walk On By (C Bjoerk), 48.3; 2, Ireland's Olive Oyle II (J Burgess), 48.8; 3, Ireland's Kilrodan Abbott (F Younghusband), 50.0. Lucerne, Switzerland, Preis der Celltec AG speed: 1, France's New Day du Bois Philip (G Bertran de Balanda), 0 faults, 54.83 seconds; 2, Switzerland's Parabool (W Muff), 0, 55.63; 3, Netherlands' Oramibro Z (L Thijssen), 0, 57.14; 7, Ireland's Concept (C Hanley), 0, 62.11.
CRICKET: Sanath Jayasuriya is poised to make his test comeback for Sri Lanka against England at Trent Bridge today, just a month after retiring. Sri Lanka have axed batsman Tilan Samaraweera, who averaged 4.25 in the first two tests, and 23-year-old fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara from the side which lost by six wickets at Edgbaston.
Fast bowler Nuwan Zoysa, as well as Jayasuriya, join a 12-man squad. Jayasuriya, aged 36 and a veteran of 102 tests, retired from test cricket in April to concentrate on one-dayers. He was added to the current test squad after pressure from the chairman of selectors Asantha de Mel.
England, resisting the temptation to fast-track Michael Vaughan and Steve Harmison back into the side following injuries, are expected to be unchanged.
