Sports Digest

Other sports news in brief

Revamp of New Zealand Cup planned

RUGBY:New Zealand will cut the number of teams in its top rugby competition and shorten the season as early as next year to try to revive the struggling competition, the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) said yesterday.

New Zealand national rugby and club officials met in Wellington last week to agree changes to the 14-team Air New Zealand Cup, which administrators say is unsustainable and has sunk several provincial unions into financial turmoil.

The NZRU, clubs and players representatives have agreed in principle to shorten the season to dovetail with the Super 14 competition and introduce a promotion and relegation system, the NZRU said in a statement.

The revamped competition would see the season completed in a 10 to 12 week period, concluding at the end of October.

Super 14 players would be able to compete after their competition ended.

Mikitenko eyes home victory

ATHLETICS:London marathon winner Irina Mikitenko is keen to win a medal in front of a home crowd after being selected for Augusts World Athletics Championships in Berlin.

Mikitenko, who won her second successive marathon in London last month, topped the first list of German athletes named for this summers championships.

The men’s marathon team is headed by Andre Pollmaecher.

Late collapse prevents Irish double

CRICKET:The Ireland women's team lost their last six wickets for just eight runs as Pakistan gained revenge for their T20 defeat on Monday by winning yesterday's One Day International by 27 runs at Castle Avenue in Clontarf, writes Emmet Riordan. Chasing 142 for victory, Ireland looked well set on 89 for four in the 36th over, only for a late collapse that prevented them completing the double over a side that will compete in the upcoming Women's T20 World Cup. Isobel Joyce (30), Eimear Richardson (26) and Jill Whelan (22) had earlier given Ireland a strong base, but four wickets in the 40th over, including two run-outs, put an end to their hopes.

Women’s One day international: At Castle Avenue: Pakistan 141 (48 ovs) (S Shah 52, S Mir 24; E Richardson 3-19, J Whelan 2-32), Pakistan 114 (41 ovs) ( I Joyce 30, E Richardson 26, J Whelan 22; S Mir 4-10, J Khan 2-14). Pakistan won by 27 runs.

Curran looking to land back-to-back victories

EQUESTRIAN:The Army Equitation School's Captain Geoff Curran is bidding to land back-to-back victories in the featured CIC*** at this week's Tattersalls international horse trials in Co Meath riding the Minister for Defence's 13-year-old gelding Kilkishen, writes Margie Mcloone.

Waterford native Curran is double handed in this fifth qualifier for the 2009 HSBC FEI eventing world cup, the final of which will be held in Poland in August, with Maurice Cassidy’s The Jump Jet also due to start.

There is a top-class line-up of riders in opposition, however, and among the five Olympic medallists taking part are New Zealand’s Mark Todd, Australian Clayton Fredericks and British riders Pippa Funnell, Mary King and William Fox-Pitt.

This month’s Badminton winner Ollie Townend is also riding for Britain as is the reigning world champion Zara Phillips and regular visitor Matthew Wright. Other Irish riders in the main class include Curran’s Hong Kong Olympics team mates Louise Lyons and Patricia Ryan.

The first horse inspection for all but the competitors in the pony class takes place this afternoon with two full days of dressage tomorrow and on Friday. Saturday is devoted to action on the Hugh Lochore-designed cross-country course with the ponies first out at 8.30am followed by the juniors, the one-star horses and then those competing in the World Cup qualifier.

Dublin ease through to meet Wexford in semi-final

Kildare 1-3 Dublin 1-10

Dublin barely moved out of second gear as they booked an under-21 Leinster hurling championship semi-final date against Wexford after this comfortable win over Kildare in Clane last night.

Ciarán Barr’s team fielded four players who had seen action in the NHL with the Dublin senior team and their greater experience showed here against a team who only qualified for the Leinster Championship proper by virtue of winning the Leinster Championship A. The hosts could have made a dream start when they were awarded a penalty inside the opening two minutes but Finn McGarry kept out Martin Fitzgerald’s effort.

That was as good as it got for Kildare in the opening half and Dublin went in at half-time leading by 0-7 to no score.

Kildare hit their first point within seconds of the restart through Leo Quinn and they briefly reduced the deficit to five points when Johnny Meehan deflected Martin Fitzgerald’s long ball into the net. Then Dublin substitutes Aiden Roche and Kevin Warren combined for the latter to find the net with three minutes remaining.

KILDARE:S Whelan; P Curtin, E O'Neill, C Chan; F Byrne, N O'Muineachain, J O'Malley; J Houlihan, D Heffernan; L Quinn (0-1), T Byrne, M Fitzgerald (0-1); B Ahern, J Meehan (1-0), P Fitzgerald (0-1, 65). Subs: G Sunderland for Heffernan 55 mins, C Kenny for Ahern 57 mins.

DUBLIN:F McGarry; G Kelly, E Walsh, O Gough; P Schutte, R O'Carroll, R Walsh (0-1); C Clinton, S Lambert (0-1, free); L Rushe (0-1), D Kelly, D Whelan (0-2, one free, 65); E McCabe (0-3, one free), D Treacy (0-2), A McInerney. Subs: P Garbutt for McInerney 23 mins, M May for G Kelly half-time, A Roche for McCabe 49 mins, K Warren (1-0) for D Kelly 52 mins, M Cussan for Schutte 57 mins.

Referee:Joe Kelly (Wexford).

Longford advanced to the semi-finals of the Leinster JFC with a surprise 2-7 to 1-9 one-point win over Meath in Navan last evening. Scorers: Longford: P McKeon 1-1, C Flynn 0-4, P Shanley 1-0, W Skelly 0-2. Meath: J Queeney 1-4, M Newman 0-2, R Hatton, C Carry, T Walsh 0-1 each.

Lowry has McGinley for company on debut

GOLF:Shane Lowry's professional debut in the European Open at the London Club in Kent tomorrow will be played alongside fellow Irishman Paul McGinley and England's Anthony Wall.

The 22-year-old from Offaly, whose Irish Open win two weeks ago made him only the third amateur to win on the European Tour, tees off at 12.40pm.