SPORTS DIGEST: RowingIrish rowing is looking for a new High Performance Director. Martin McElroy, who held the post since after the Beijing Olympics, has asked not to be considered for the post. His contract finishes at the end of September.
McElroy, who coached the British eight to a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000, took over in early 2009. He prioritised building up structures at under-23 level and results at this level have improved.
At senior level, however, Ireland qualified just one competitor, Sanita Puspure, in rowing events for London 2012. and will have just three senior rowers at this month's World Senior and Junior Championships.
Rowing Ireland's acting chief executive, Frank Coghlan, said McElroy "contributed significantly to the development of an excellent and sustainable high performance system for Irish Rowing".
- LIAM GORMAN
Rankin to call time on Ireland in a bid to play Test cricket for England
CricketCricket Ireland performance director Richard Holdsworth has called on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to further fast-track a move towards Full Member status for the country after Boyd Rankin became the latest Irish player to declare for England.
"We are naturally very disappointed to lose Boyd. . .but this further loss only strengthens our aim of becoming a Full Member of ICC and ultimately a Test-playing country,"said Holdsworth.
"It is becoming increasingly obvious that only an accelerated pathway towards the financial benefits and opportunities afforded to the Full Members, allied to a change in eligibility regulations, will allow us to keep hold of our home-grown developed players, and properly justify the significant investment ICC already makes in its High Performance Programme."
Rankin, 28, will call time on his Ireland career after the upcoming World Twenty20 tournament in a bid to play Test cricket with England in the future.
The 6ft 8in player has suffered his fair share of injury problems in recent years and puts it down to the heavy workload of playing for Ireland, Warwickshire and also with the England Lions side.
"I have genuine ambitions of playing Test cricket," said Rankin. "It has become increasingly difficult to play for three different sides throughout the year as it leaves me with little time for rest and recovery."
Meanwhile, play finally got going on day three of the four-day game between Ireland and South Africa 'A' at Oakhill CC in Wicklow yesterday, with the home side closing on 56 for two after a declaration was made by the visitors on 317 for eight. Heino Kuhn made an unbeaten 103, while South African-born seamer Max Sorensen and Stuart Thompson both took three wickets.
- EMMET RIORDAN
Nathaniel may miss Frankel
Horse Racing Hopes that Frankel might face a worthy opponent in his next race began to fade last night as it emerged that Nathaniel may very well miss York's Juddmonte International in favour of another target in September.
The news comes a day after Cirrus Des Aigles was ruled out of the International, having taken too long to recover from an ankle injury.
John Gosden, trainer of Nathaniel, said yesterday that the York race on August 22nd remains an "option" but that the four-year-old is "more likely" to be aimed at the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on September 8th.
"We'll see how things are and make a decision closer to the time," he added. "The horse is in good order but I want to see what the weather's doing, that's always important." Nathaniel had two hard races back to back when winning the Eclipse and then running second in the King George a fortnight later.
