Joyce and White shine

Cricket: Good knocks by Andy White and Ed Joyce were instrumental in steering Kyle McCallan's X1 to a 60-run victory over Andrew Patterson's side in the first international trial match at Castle Avenue on Saturday, reports Karl Johnston.

Despite the dire weather forecasts, there was only one brief stoppage, which was countered by an earlier start, so the game was fully completed.

White faced 122 balls and hit five fours. Joyce's innings was a delight; his 46 runs were made off just 45 deliveries and included six boundaries.

Jason Molins' half-century (89 balls, five fours) was the highlight of the Patterson XI innings, while Mark Gillespie contributed 30.

With Matt Dwyer and Niall O'Brien not available, changes have been made for the second international trial to be played at Stormont on Saturday week, May 12th. The wicketkeepers, Andy Patterson and Alan Rutherford swop teams, with Rutherford taking over the captaincy, as Adrian McCoubrey is promoted to fill the vacancy left by Dwyer.

On the Rutherford XI, Gus Joyce comes in for Barry Archer, who drops down to 12th man, while Ryan Eagleson and Dwayne McGerrigle replace McCoubrey and O'Brien, respectively. The 14-man squad for the upcoming ICC Trophy tournament in Toronto will be announced after this match.

EQUESTRIAN SPORT: Ireland's show jumpers proved hard to beat at the continental shows this weekend, notching up wins at in Monte Carlo and at Modena in Italy, reports Grania Willis.

Jessica Kurten, who had been the sole Irish flag flyer when finishing 16th at the World Cup finals in Gothenburg, Sweden over Easter, trounced some of the best in the world to score in Friday night's Aegon MoneyMaxx Masters.

The 31-year-old German-based rider earned herself a car in the four-round winner-takesall after a head-to-head with Belgium's Ludo Philippaerts.

When Philippaerts faulted in the final jump-off, Kurten knew that a clear or four would be enough to clinch victory and, although the charismatic 12year-old grey mare Bonita also hit a fence, there was no denying an Irish win.

And the formula was repeated at the Italian fixture in Modena when Irish riders headed the line-up on three occasions. Conor Swail and Harry Marshall both found their way into the winner's enclosure on Saturday before Cian O'Connor joined them when scoring in a speed class yesterday.