SPORTS DIGEST:FORMULA ONE: Five of the top teams have pledged to remain in the sport. BMW Sauber, Ferrari, McLaren-Mercedes, Renault and Toyota are all determined not to follow Honda by quitting F1.
Honda bowed out for financial reasons, prompting motorsport boss Max Mosley to warn that cost-cutting was vital to avoid losing other teams.
Toyota, believed to be under pressure in the economic crisis, said they were "committed to succeeding in Formula One and to reducing costs".
Froch announces world arrival
BOXING: Carl Froch has vowed to never change the furious fighting style which swept him to the WBC super-middleweight title in Nottingham on Saturday night, and which he now hopes can make him a superstar on both sides of the Atlantic.
Froch won an epic, fight-of-the- year contender against fellow unbeaten prospect Jean Pascal after the pair had exchanged bombs from the first bell until his unanimous decision win was announced.
It was exactly the kind of coronation the 31-year-old had in mind as he thrilled a crowd of 6,000 plus a terrestrial television audience of millions to emphatically announce his arrival on the world stage.
Froch and promoter Mick Hennessy will now try to tempt Joe Calzaghe into one last fight by offering the Welshman a deal he cannot refuse.
Froch is due to fight Jermain Taylor in a mandatory defence next but, if the American turns the offer down, Froch and Hennessy will pursue the Welshman.
Ireland finish in fifth after 2-1 victory over Australia
SQUASH: Ireland produced their best finish in 18 years at the World Team Championships in Cairo on Saturday, and their 2-1 victory over Australia in their final play-off match lifted them to fifth in the tournament, reports Mary Hannigan.
Aisling Blake clinched the win by beating Donna Urquhart in the deciding match, as the Sligo player fought back from a game down to take the next three.
Blake was one of a four-strong team, seeded six for the event, that included Laura Mylotte and Tanya Owens and was led by Madeline Perry, who is back up to nine in the December world rankings, her first appearance in the top 10 since October of last year.
Perry opened with a straight games win over Kasey Brown; Mylotte, struggling with a knee injury, lost to Lisa Camiller before Blake beat Urquhart 2-11, 11-8, 11-6, 11-9 to clinch fifth place.
Hosts Egypt won the title for the first time, beating favourites England 2-1 in the final.
Killester book semi-final place
BASKETBALL: Reigning Superleague National Cup champions Dart Killester booked their place in the last four of the competition at the expense of UCD/Marian, while Abrakebabra Tigers eased through courtesy of a comfortable 101-87 win at home to Hoops.
UCC Demons emerged from a tricky clash away to Belfast Star victorious, with fellow Cork side Neptune advancing after their 85-75 win over DCU Saints yesterday.
Meanwhile, in the Women's SuperLeague National Cup, Team Montenotte Hotel Cork's hopes of making it three successive cup titles were maintained with a gritty win over UL Aughinish (49-36).
They will now face DCU Mercy, who accounted for LeisureWorld Churchfield Iona 67-47, in the last four.
Waterford Wildcats (84-57) and Tolka Rovers (67-52) will make up the other semi-final pairing after wins over Meteors and Dart Killester respectively.
Loeb finishes season in great style
RALLYING: Five-time world champion Sebastien Loeb won the season-ending Wales Rally GB yesterday to hand Citroen the manufacturers' title and become the first driver to triumph 11 times in a single year.
The Frenchman went ahead of Ford's overnight leader Jari-Matti Latvala on the final Port Talbot stage in South Wales to beat the Finn by 12.7 seconds for his first victory in the classic British event.
"This one was incredible," said Loeb, who had already clinched his fifth successive title in Japan last month, after chalking up his 48th career win.
Ford's Mikko Hirvonen, winner in Britain last year, finished overall runner-up with 103 points after crossing the line eighth. Loeb's Spanish team-mate, Dani Sordo, was third.
Citroen ended the season with 191 points to Ford's 173 with Subaru third on 98.
England to play Tests in India
CRICKET:England will return to India for a two-Test series after their tour was suspended following the attacks in Mumbai. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said the squad would travel with "an unprecedented level of security".
"The decision has been made and all the players will be travelling to Chennai in the next 24 hours to play the Test series," ECB managing director Hugh Morris told a news conference in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.
The first Test, which starts on Thursday, was switched to Chennai from Ahmedabad.
The announcement came after the players received a detailed security briefing by ECB officials in Abu Dhabi, where the squad were training until a decision was made.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YVIRIOZQ35EWRPZXR27KGMO6YU.png)