WOMEN'S HOCKEY: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has responded to Lithuania's threat to take it to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), unless it reverses the decision to award Ireland a walkover at the end of the teams' match at last month's World Cup Qualifier, by agreeing that its Disciplinary Commission will hear their protest, writes Mary Hannigan.
Lithuania, according to the FIH, have accepted that this as "fair procedure" but insist that they will still take the matter to CAS should the commission's verdict go against them. The date for the hearing will be announced later this week.
The Disciplinary Commission's decision will be the FIH's final say on the matter leaving CAS, whose rulings are acknowledged as "definitive and unappealable" by the FIH, as Lithuania's only hope of making it to the World Cup should the decision of the Qualifier's tournament director be upheld.
MEN'S HOCKEY: Ireland's achilles heel - a failure to convert penalty corners - has continued to afflict the under-21 side in the Junior World Cup in Hobart, Tasmania. In losing 3-1 to New Zealand yesterday, Jonathan Quigley generated considerable impetus as Ireland again forced the greater number of set pieces (13-9) but only one operation was successful as John Hobbs put away an equaliser before the interval.
New Zealand eventually gained control in the second half to win comfortably, relegating Ireland to the 13th-16th place play-offs, starting tomorrow with the hope of repeating a 4-1 defeat of Chile (achieved in Pool A last week).The final game will be against Scotland or Canada.
EQUESTRIAN SPORT: IRISH-bred horses have topped the world breeding federation studbook rankings in three-day eventing consistently, year after year, but Ireland has never yet managed to win at the annual world young horse championships in Le Lion d'Angers in France, writes Grania Willis.
This year the Irish Horse Board has offered £1,000 funding for each horse representing the Irish Horse Register in the hope that the trend can be reversed and that Ireland can finish in front at this prestigious competition.
But an administrative error meant that when the Irish horses arrived on Monday it was discovered that they weren't even entered.
It transpired that the entries had been sent through the normal channels from the Irish Equestrian Federation in Dublin to its French counterpart, but the paperwork had not been sent on from Paris to Le Lion d'Angers. The mistake has now been rectified and the five Irish horses are all now on the startlist for the competition.
Sally Corscadden rides the Blarney winner Young Man and is joined by Karen Hennessy with Jack Murphy's The Tourist, Becky George on her own Wee Hot Toddy and Stuart Crawford on the Bullers' Cloughinney.
CRICKET: Justice Frank Kirk-Cohen yesterday upheld the lifelong playing ban imposed on Cronje by the United Cricket Board in October last year.
Cronje appealed against the ban, claiming that he had not received a fair hearing.
The ruling, though it gives Cronje hope that he may coach or even work in the media, is seen as a major victory for the United Cricket Board.
