Short Sport, December 29, 2012

French pair Armel Le Cleac'h and Francois Gabart continued to dominate the Vendee Globe around-the-world sailing marathon yesterday, with Le Cleac'h easing ahead once again in mid-Pacific Ocean. The two sailors have been swapping the lead at regular intervals as they head towards Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America, where they will once again navigate into the Atlantic Ocean. Le Cleac'h was just 12.7 nautical miles clear of Gabart, with third-place Jean-Pierre Dick 460.4 nautical miles back. The chances of a first-ever non-French winner lay with Welshman Alex Thomson, but he was over 800 nautical miles off the pace. Thirteen yachts were left in the seventh edition of the race, which started at Sables d'Olonne in western France on November 10, while seven had been forced out of the gruelling single-handed event. Organisers said they expected the leaders to round the dangerous waters off Cape Horn on Tuesday. AFP

Veteran Brett Lee faces a disciplinary hearing after criticising the New South Wales cricket administration and its chief executive David Gilbert, Cricket Australia (CA) said yesterday. Lee is in trouble over comments he made that Anthony Stuart had lost his job as New South Wales coach because he was made the scapegoat for the alleged deficiencies of Gilbert and the Cricket NSW hierarchy. CA said the former test fast bowler, who still plays in the domestic Big Bash League, was reported by Cricket NSW for allegedly breaching the CA code of behaviour. Under the code, players must not bring the game into disrepute or engage in behaviour harmful to the interests of cricket. Lee said he stood by his comments. "What I said, I meant. I did it in the best interests of NSW cricket. There's a lot of people who have thought it but didn't want to say it, so I took the decision that I should stand up," he said. AFP