Sports Digest

Other sport stories in brief

Duddy has work cut out

BoxingUnbeaten Irish middleweight John Duddy will fulfil a lifetime's ambition when he fights at the King's Hall in Belfast next month. Former European champion Howard Eastman has, however, the credentials to turn the occasion into a nightmare for the Derryman.

The clash goes ahead at the Balmoral venue on December 8th and, while Duddy remains unbowed after 22 pro fights, the 36-year-old Eastman has racked up 42 wins from 47 fights throughout his 13-year career, opting to take the early route to victory on 35 occasions courtesy of the same number of knockouts.

Along the way, the Guyana native has collected European and British titles and has also challenged for a world title on two occasions, losing one on a controversial majority decision to William Joppy in 2001, and another to Bernard Hopkins on points in 2005.

Ticket website swamped

Olympic GamesBeijing organisers admitted yesterday they had underestimated the demand for the second batch of tickets for the 2008 Olympics after they were forced to suspend sales when the system crashed.

The allocation of the 1.85 million tickets ground to a halt after the website received 20 million hits in the first three hours of sale on Tuesday and the process was formally suspended in the early evening.

"The Beijing Olympic Ticketing Centre underestimated the peoples' enthusiasm for the Games. We sincerely apologise to the general public for the inconvenience," director of the centre Rong Jun told a news conference.

In addition to the millions of applicants swamping the website, the call centre received 3.8 million calls and lengthy queues formed at the 1,000 branches of the Bank of China where tickets were to be sold.

Murray looks to Masters

TennisAndy Murray is desperate to establish himself as "one of the best players in the world" by earning a place in the Masters Cup in Shanghai following his second-round win over Jarkko Nieminen in the Paris Masters.

Murray's 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 victory over the Finn sent him one step closer to his minimum requirement of the quarter-finals in France.

The British number one needs to finish in the top eight in the ATP 2007 race - a measure of this season's form - to earn a place in Shanghai and must outdo the likes of Tommy Haas, Tommy Robredo, Tomas Berdych and James Blake to claim the final qualifying spot.

The 20-year-old said: "I think all the players are thinking about it (the Masters Cup) . . . I'm just happy to be in with a chance after missing three months with a wrist injury. I'm looking forward to the next match and I've got something up my sleeve."

 Fingers point at Samuels

CricketThe International Cricket Council have ordered an investigation into allegations West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels was in contact with a bookmaker during the tour of India in January.

The ICC's anti-corruption and security unit reported Samuels and ordered the West Indies Cricket Board to delve further into the matter.

It is alleged Samuels has breached the ICC Code of Conduct Regulations for receiving any money, benefit or other reward which could bring him or the game of cricket into disrepute and engaging in any conduct which is prejudicial to the interests of the sport.

The investigation followed an Indian police report that the Jamaican player allegedly passed on confidential team information to a bookmaker on the eve of the first one-dayer in Nagpur.

A full report will be handed to the ICC by January 31st, 2008.

Mosley tough on Hamilton

 Motor SportMax Mosley, the president of the FIA, motor sport's governing body, believes Lewis Hamilton's effect on the popularity of Formula One has been exaggerated. And Mosley claimed it would be "surprising" if Hamilton had known nothing of McLaren's possession of the Ferrari dossier which cost his team a €70-million fine and disqualification from the constructors' championship - although he stressed he had no evidence either way.

Hamilton - F1's first black driver - missed out on the world championship by a point after a gearbox failure in the final race.

But Mosley believes the rookie's fame is a consequence of his novelty value. "He's also got a lot of interest worldwide because he's come manifestly not from a rich background. He's just made it," said Mosley. "There is always somebody new . . . I think there is a tendency to exaggerate the importance of Lewis Hamilton."