Sports Digest: SHOW JUMPING: Billy Twomey, whose superb second round clear at last month's Samsung Super League in Barcelona saved Ireland from relegation, got off to a flying start at the Horse of the Year Show in Birmingham yesterday, finishing a creditable second in the afternoon speed class.
Twomey and the Barcelona mare, Anastasia, stopped the clock on 57.33, just eight-hundredths of a second off the winning time set by Britain's Robert Bevis. Twomey's fellow Irishman David Quigley was a further four seconds adrift for fifth with Ashdale Futuro.
Meanwhile, the Belfast International horse show, which was due to run at the Odyssey Arena in the first week of December, has been cancelled due to funding problems. Cavan Equestrian Centre has taken over hosting the pony finals that would have been held in Belfast, along with the young riders class and the six/seven-year old horses over the first two weekends in December.
CRICKET: Saurav Ganguly was axed as India captain yesterday when his long-time deputy Rahul Dravid was chosen to lead the side in two home one-day series. Ganguly (33), India's captain for the last five years, had been under pressure due to poor batting form and is nursing an elbow injury."As far as Ganguly is concerned, he has a chance to play in the Duleep Trophy match (October 20th-23rd) and also show his fitness on October 17th," the Indian board secretary Karunakaran Nair said
RUGBY: Phil Greening has been named the England Sevens assistant coach - just a day after announcing his injury-enforced retirement. Greening, the former England Test hooker and England Sevens captain, will turn his attentions to coaching with immediate effect.
He replaces Damian McGrath who has moved on to the Rugby Football Union National Academy. Greening failed to recover from a toe injury he suffered playing for Wasps in their Grand Final victory over Leicester last season.
