Doherty bows out

DIGEST/Snooker: Ken Doherty made two century breaks but was still outclassed 5-2 by Northern Ireland's Gerard Greene in the second round of the British Open at Brighton yesterday.

Greene, on the eve of his 30th birthday, sent the world number six crashing out with breaks of 85, 69, 74 and 78 to lead 4-1 and then clinched victory two frames later by potting a tricky red down a side cushion to set up a third-round meeting with Steve Davis or Joe Swail.

Doherty won his two frames with a pair of centuries - 127 and 130.

CRICKET: Irish cricket has lost one of its most industrious and colourful characters with the passing of Liam Keegan, who died last Sunday, reports Karl Johnston.

At the time of his death he was the current president of the Leinster Cricket Umpires Association (LCUA) and vice-president of the Northern Ireland Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers (NIACUS).

Keegan, a member of Leinster Cricket Club, had been president of the LCUA since 1999 and before that he had been the association's president for three years, from 1984 to 1986.

A member of Bective Rangers FC, he was also a prominent rugby referee in his day. It was fitting that, given his life-long interest in and devotion to both games, Liam Keegan was a life member of both the Rugby Referees Association and the Leprechauns Cricket Club. Sincere sympathy is extended to his widow Mella and all their relatives.

CRICKET: Indian fast bowler Javagal Srinath announced his retirement from international cricket yesterday following a prolonged knee injury.

Srinath (34) announced his retirement from tests in June last year but came back after being persuaded by captain Saurav Ganguly to play in a home series against the West Indies in October. He then guided India to the one-day World Cup final in March this year.

CYCLING: Irish riders David McCann and Colette Swift rode with distinction in the races at the world-ranked Tour of Okinawa in Japan over the weekend. McCann finished one minute and 59 seconds behind the winner Kazuya Okazaki of Team Nippon Hodo, placing seventh and taking four UCI points in the 1.5 world-ranked men's event.

Swift took an excellent fourth in the women's race, sprinting home as part of the main bunch three minutes after the victorious Canadian, Amy Moore, crossed the line.

ATHLETICS: Athletics chiefs have given the green light for all urine samples - around 400 - from August's World Championships to be retested for the new designer steroid THG.