A round-up of today's other news in brief
Williams were set to boycott Bahrain
MOTOR SPORT: Williams would almost certainly have boycotted the Bahrain Grand Prix had it not been called off, team chairman Adam Parr said yesterday.
The opening race of the Formula One season, due to take place on March 13th, was postponed by organisers on Monday because of anti-government protests.
The decision was right by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and if for whatever conceivable reason that hadnt been the decision, I dont think we would have gone, Parr told www.autosport.com.
“Had the Bahrain Grand Prix gone ahead, I dont think we, and in fact I suspect even all the teams, would have gone.”
Final testing was also shifted from Bahrain to Barcelona and the first race of the year will now take place in Melbourne, Australia on March 27th.
Kenyan stars ordered to rest
ATHLETICS:Kenya's world champions Vivian Cheruiyot and Linet Masai have pulled out of tomorrow's lucrative World's Best 10km in Puerto Rico after being told to concentrate on preparing for next month's World Cross Country Championships. Compatriot and world record holder Leonard Komon, also in the national cross country team, will take part in the event in defiance of Athletics Kenya's directive.
Rally championship revs into action
MOTOR SPORT:The Dunlop National Rally Championship begins tomorrow with the nine-stage Abbeyleix Manor Hotel Rally. Reigning champion, Welshman Mel Evans (Subaru WRC) faces current Irish Tarmac Championship leader Tim McNulty, former triple Dunlop champion Niall Maguire and series regular Kevin Barrett, all in Subaru WRCs.
Meanwhile, the entry in the Group N category is equally impressive with Circuit of Ireland winner Derek McGarrity (Mitsubishi EvoX), Colm Murphy (Subaru N12B), Kevin Kelleher (Mitsubishi EvoIX) and current champion Seán Flanagan (Subaru) the leading contenders.
The first stage at Harristown begins at 10.0. The event finishes at the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel at 4.45.
Cipriani cooly seals Rebels' first win
RUGBY: Danny Cipriani kicked a contentious penalty in the dying seconds to hand the Melbourne Rebels a 25-24 win over the ACT Brumbies yesterday as ecstatic fans celebrated the team's first victory in Super 15 rugby.
Trailing 24-22 with a minute left, the Brumbies were punished for a bit of innocuous-looking push-and-shove after a collapsed scrum, allowing former England outhalf Cipriani to coolly slot the ball over from nearly 40 metres out. The kick gave the Rebels pin-up boy a 20-point haul and completed a stunning turnaround for the new team in the southern hemisphere’s provincial competition who were hammered 43-0 by the New South Wales Waratahs in the season-opener.
Djokovic through to final as Berdych forced to retire
TENNIS: Defending champion Novak Djokovic reached the Dubai championships final with a dramatic victory yesterday over Tomas Berdych who was forced to retire in the deciding set.
Djokovic won 6-7 6-2 4-2 in a fluctuating tussle with the third-seeded Czech who was hampered by a thigh injury in the closing stages. The pair were evenly matched in the opening set with neither earning a break point in the first 11 games but Djokovic saved two set points before losing the tiebreak 7-5. The Serbian second seed had looked sluggish in the first set but he offered more of a threat in the second, holding a break point for 2-0 and breaking for 3-1 when Berdych netted a backhand. Djokovic broke to lead 4-3 in the final set but Berdych’s injury brought the game to a premature end.
Bravo ruled out of World Cup
CRICKET:West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo has been ruled out of the World Cup with a knee injury, a team spokesman said yesterday.
Bravo sustained the injury during Thursday’s World Cup defeat by South Africa.
“He is out of the World Cup. The MRI revealed cartilage damage to the left knee,” the spokesman said. “He is out for at least four weeks. We will name the replacement after getting the approval from the International Cricket Council.”
Bravo slipped on his follow-through while bowling and was seen lying on the pitch clutching his knee before he hobbled off the ground with his arms around the shoulders of two team mates.
He did not take any more part in the match that his team lost by seven wickets. West Indies have already lost opener Adrian Barath and wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh through injuries.
