Short Sport, January 29, 2013
Sri Lanka clinch rain-marred thriller
Sri Lanka prevailed in a rain-hit thriller to clinch the second and final Twenty20 cricket international against Australia in Melbourne yesterday and seal the series 2-0. Glenn Maxwell hit two successive boundaries to bring Australia agonisingly close to their target but could not make contact with the last delivery sent down by Thisara Perera as Sri Lanka took a narrow win via the Duckworth-Lewis method. The tourists won the first T20 match by five wickets. The one-day series was drawn 2-2 after Australia swept the tests 3-0. Reuters
Garcia must delay title defence after rib injury
A rib injury sustained during training has forced undefeated champion Danny Garcia to postpone his scheduled February 9 title defence against Zab Judah to April 27, promoters announced. Garcia, 25-0 with 16 knockouts, was to have defended his World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association junior welterweight crowns against 35-year-old Judah, 42-7 with 29 knockouts, in an all-American showdown. Garcia beat Mexico's Erik Morales in a unanimous 12-round decision last March to claim the WBC crown, then took the WBA title from England's Amir Khan with a fourth-round stoppage last July AFP
Black Caps won't have Ryder against England
New Zealand batsman Jesse Ryder will miss the Black Caps' home series against England and instead make himself available for the Indian Premier League, his manager said. Ryder took a break from cricket last March after a series of disciplinary lapses and a drop in form that led to him consulting a psychologist. The talented batsman has been in good touch since returning to first-class cricket with Wellington late last year, but manager Aaron Klee said it was too early for the 28-year-old to resume his international career. "People are going to speculate about why he's available for the IPL and not New Zealand [but] it's a domestic competition and it's a short-term contract, so it gives us the ability to reassess it," Klee said. AFP
GB rowing medallist Nethercott dead at 35
Acer Nethercott, who coxed the British men's eight team to an Olympic silver medal in Beijing in 2008, has died at the age of 35. "It is very sad news," performance director David Tanner said. "Acer was the top British cox of his time. He had an exceptional period with the GB rowing team." The cause of death was not disclosed but media reports said Nethercott had been fighting brain cancer. Reuters