A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Flower defends England's conduct over Bell run-out
CRICKET: Andy Flower has defended England’s conduct in having the run-out appeal against Ian Bell withdrawn, stating that if they had attempted to dismiss Sachin Tendulkar in similar fashion in Mumbai it would have caused an “international incident”.
India have been widely praised for allowing Bell to resume his innings after tea on the third day of the second Test at Trent Bridge, especially since it emerged that Flower and the England captain, Andrew Strauss, had taken the unusual step of visiting the tourists’ dressingroom during the interval.
Flower said: “We thought communicating like that would be the way to go. We felt that Bell wasn’t attempting to take a run and therefore we wanted to ask the Indian side to reconsider their appeal.”
Flower added: “You should also consider what their reaction would have been if the England side had run out an Indian player like that. I’m not convinced there wouldn’t have been uproar.”
Perry wins Singapore Masters
SQUASH: Madeline Perry claimed her ninth WISPA title at the Singapore Masters this week, beating Laura Massaro in the final 11-7 11-8 5-11 11-9.
Perry may not have been many people’s favourite for the title at the start of week, coming into the tournament having lost in straight games to Joelle King in the first round of the Malaysian Open the previous week.
Massaro was a little off the pace for the first half of the match and Perry opened up a two game lead. Massaro found her game in the third and looked to be forming a comeback for a second day in a row. Perry, however, was the fresher, having not dropped a game through her first three matches and she stayed ahead in the fourth as Massaro began to tire. After just over an hour of punishing play Perry grabbed victory and her second Gold level final.
Sharapova tops earners list
WOMEN’S SPORT: Maria Sharapova (right) may not have won a grand slam title since 2008, but the Russian tennis player remains unchallenged as the world’s highest paid woman in professional sports.
For the seventh straight year, Sharapova topped the annual list provided by Forbes magazine, despite failing to add to her three grand slam titles, although she did make the Wimbledon final in July.
Sharapova’s earnings, mostly off-court endorsements, were estimated at €17.5 million, twice as much as her nearest rival, Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, the current women’s world number one.
American racing driver Danica Patrick was third with €8.5 million followed by tennis players Venus Williams, Belgium’s Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams. Seven of the top nine female earners were tennis players, including China’s Li Na, who made €5.5 million last year but was expected to soar up the rankings and challenge Sharapova for the top spot after her breakthrough win at the French Open.
Ireland team for Europeans named
EQUESTRIAN: Ginny Elliot, Team Ireland Equestrian’s eventing high performance manager, yesterday named the Irish squad for the European championships which will determine Olympic qualification, reports Margie McLoone.
Four of the six selected combinations will make up the team in Luhmuhlen, Germany, from August 25th to 29th, with the other two riders competing as individuals.
Elizabeth Power has been named as reserve with Kilpatrick River. Elliot said that the selection was a good mix of experienced and new combinations, with two riders, Jayne Doherty and Joseph Murphy, making their debuts.
The Irish team must finish in the top two amongst those European countries not already qualified to start at the Olympics.
IRELAND SQUAD: Captain Geoff Curran (The Jump Jet), Jayne Doherty (The Only One or Ravenstar), Mark Kyle (Coolio), Joseph Murphy (Electric Cruise), Camilla Speirs (Portersize Just a Jiff), Sam Watson (Horseware Bushman).
Kendrick wants suspension reduced
TENNIS: Banned American tennis player Robert Kendrick will appeal to the Court of Arbitration of Sport to shorten his 12-month suspension for doping, his attorneys said. The International Tennis Federation suspended the 31-year-old American last week after he returned a positive test result for methylhexaneamine (MHA) at the French Open. Kendrick wants his suspension reduced to three months, which would allow him to compete at the US Open starting August 29th. Kendrick claimed he took a pill to help him cope with jetlag without knowing it contained the banned substance.
MHA, a stimulant used in nasal decongestants and commonly used by body builders, was added to the World Anti-Doping Agencys banned list last year and has since led to bans for scores of athletes.
The ITF wrote in its summary that it did not believe that Kendrick took the substance as a performance enhancer.
Ó Lionáird runs A-standard time
ATHLETICS: Ciaráin Ó Lionáird produced a superb run over 1,500 metres last night, finishing second in a small Belgian international meeting in a time of 3:34.5. It represents a lifetime best for the Cork athlete, but more importantly was inside the 3:35.0 A-standard for the World Championships in Daegu later this month, and also next year’s London Olympics. He has already clocked personal bests over the mile, 3,000m and 5,000m in recent weeks.
