The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Cricket: Australia add Bird to one-day squad
- Rallying:World champ Loeb eases closer to seventh Monte Carlo title
- Rugby: Swamp king Evans shines in Quins triumph
| Cricket: Australia add Bird to one-day squad Posted: 18 Jan 2013 06:49 PM PST SYDNEY: Australian selectors have added fast bowler Jackson Bird to their one-day squad for Sunday's crucial clash against Sri Lanka in Sydney. Sri Lanka lead the five-match series 2-1 after a four-wicket win in Brisbane on Friday, bowling out Australia inside 27 overs for just 74 runs. "Jackson Bird will join the squad as cover for the fourth Commonwealth Bank Series match in Sydney," Cricket Australia said in a statement late Friday. Bird, 26, yet to play in a one-day international, has made an impressive start to his Test career, taking seven wickets in his second Test against Sri Lanka earlier this month in Sydney to be named man of the match. - AFP |
| Rallying:World champ Loeb eases closer to seventh Monte Carlo title Posted: 18 Jan 2013 05:12 PM PST VALENCE, France: World champion Sebastien Loeb eased closer to a seventh Monte Carlo Rally victory on Friday when he opened a lead of 1min 47sec over fellow-Frenchman Sebastien Ogier. Nine-time world champion Loeb has led the season-opener since the second stage in his Citroen and with only five stages to be raced in and around Monaco on Saturday, Ogier looks likely to settle for second place in the debut-making Volkswagen. Loeb is only racing four events in the 2013 championship, but that hasn't dented his competitive edge, which was illustrated by rounding off Friday's action with the fastest time through the closing stage. With snow and ice again making driving conditions tricky, Loeb, like most of the front-runners, started the day with a combination of winter and asphalt tyres. "It was the right decision for sure, but the mix is certainly not the most exciting to drive," said the Frenchman. "But we have to do it because I think it's the best option. Overall I'm very happy with the job we have done today." - AFP |
| Rugby: Swamp king Evans shines in Quins triumph Posted: 18 Jan 2013 04:35 PM PST PARIS: Former All Black Nick Evans put in a perfect kicking performance in treacherous, driving rain as Harlequins defeated Biarritz 16-9 on Friday to complete their European Cup group stage with a sixth win in six games. Quins, who had already made sure of their place in the quarter-finals, failed to gain a winning bonus point, but their Pool 3 tally of 28 points could still make them the top seeds in the knockout phase. Evans kicked three penalties and converted the game's only try which left Biarritz without a hope of squeezing into the last eight as a best runner-up. Dimitri Yachvili, the third highest points scorer in the European Cup history, missed an early penalty but was bang on target with a second attempt as the French side edged ahead at a drenched Stade Aguilera. Evans levelled at the other end before the English champions grabbed the only try of the game. Hooker Joe Gray threw long at a line-out where No 8 Tom Guest gathered before barging over for a well-worked try which Evans converted. Both sides ended the half with 14 men after Biarritz lock Wenceslas Lauret and Quins prop Joe Marler were sin-binned for coming to blows as their packs struggled to keep their feet on the swampy, chewed-up surface. Yachvili dragged the French side back into contention with two early penalties in the second period before Evans kicked a 45-metre penalty which bounced kindly off the crossbar and over for a 13-9 lead just before the hour mark. Yachvili again went wide with another penalty as the game became an exhausting battle of attrition. Evans showed him how to do it with another penalty seven minutes from time to seal a well-earned Harlequins win. In the night's other Pool 3 game, Dan Parks kicked 20 points as Connacht beat Zebre 25-20 with the Italian side ending their campaign with a sixth successive defeat. - AFP European Cup standings after Friday's matches, the sixth and final round of group games played, won, drawn, lost, points for, points against, bonus points, total points: Pool 1 Saracens 5 4 0 1 140 69 2 18 Munster 5 3 0 2 104 67 3 15 Racing-Metro 5 3 0 2 97 96 0 12 Edinburgh 5 0 0 5 29 138 0 0 Pool 2 Toulouse 5 4 0 1 127 75 2 18 Leicester 5 3 1 1 110 98 2 16 Ospreys 5 2 1 2 106 107 1 11 Treviso 5 0 0 5 98 153 1 1 Pool 3 Harlequins 6 6 0 0 243 71 4 28 - qualified for quarter-finals Biarritz 6 3 0 3 123 101 3 15 Connacht 6 3 0 3 96 138 0 12 Zebre 6 0 0 6 72 224 1 1 Pool 4 Ulster 5 4 0 1 117 47 3 19 - qualified for quarter-finals Northampton 5 3 0 2 74 82 2 14 Castres 5 3 0 2 69 89 1 13 Glasgow 5 0 0 5 43 85 2 2 Pool 5 Clermont 5 5 0 0 184 64 3 23 - qualified for quarter-finals Leinster 5 3 0 2 95 76 3 15 Exeter 5 2 0 3 73 137 1 9 Scarlets 5 0 0 5 79 154 2 2 Pool 6 Toulon 5 5 0 0 183 61 3 23 - qualified for quarter-finals Montpellier 5 4 0 1 145 106 2 18 Sale 5 1 0 4 64 172 0 4 Cardiff Blues 5 0 0 5 117 170 2 2 Note: Pool winners and two best-placed runners-up qualify for the quarter-finals - AFP |
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