Sports Digest: Passmore's seven changes for Belgium

MEN'S HOCKEY: Irish coach Dave Passmore has made several changes to his squad for next week's games against Belgium in Brussels, retaining just seven of the players who featured in Wednesday's 4-0 defeat by England in Nottingham, writes Mary Hannigan.

Among the less experienced players called up are Annadale pair Stephen Redpath and David Robb, Banbridge's Eugene Magee and Gareth Lennox and Ronan Gormley of Pembroke Wanderers.

"This will provide an ideal opportunity to assess across two Test matches some of the less experienced players, as well as giving those players a chance to make the training squad for China," said Passmore in reference to April's World Cup Qualifier.

IRISH SQUAD: I Lewers, S Redpath, D Robb (all Annadale), G Lennox, E Magee (both Banbridge), C Henderson (Corinthian), K Burns, D Hobbs, J Jermyn (all Church of Ireland), S Nicholson, M Black (both Cork Harlequins), P Maguire (Trinity), G Shaw (Glenanne), M Gleghorne (Loughborough University), R Gormley (Pembroke Wanderers).

BOXING: Damaen Kelly's IBF world flyweight title fight with champion Vic Darchinyan is set to be switched from Sydney to Britain.

Promoter Tommy Gilmour claimed that due to financial problems the original local promoters of the November 25th show, D-rush, have been forced to give the fight up.

Ulsterman Kelly, who holds the IBO super-flyweight title, is now in limbo but Gilmour, his manager as well, insists the fight can still happen on the same date.

"We are working on it now to try to bring the fight to Britain. As long as Sky can give us the date I think we can do it," said Gilmour.

"It would be tough to turn the show around in two weeks but it is possible and there are still other options for Damaen if that doesn't happen."

CRICKET: Injured England captain Michael Vaughan has set himself a deadline of being fit for the second Test of the three- match tour of Pakistan - or accepting he has no further part to play in the series.

Vaughan, who will spend the first Test trying not to get in the way of his replacement Marcus Trescothick, can only hope the prescribed rest allows his knee injury to improve quickly enough to figure in Faisalabad next weekend.

It is hardly the scenario he was envisaging a week ago as he set his sights on leading his country to a seventh successive Test series victory.

BOXING: Apart from a defeat in the opening bout of the tournament, Ireland fairly dominated in the international Cadets round robin tournament against France and Germany at the National Stadium last night.

JJ Joyce, the Irish 48 kilos representative, went down to French opponent Omar Lamiri 24-15 in the opening contest. But it was success for the Irish in the following three contests with Ruairi Dalton, along with Mark McCullagh and Matthew Crawley, from the Monkstown club in Belfast, scoring well against German opposition.