SPORTS DIGEST: Irish riders David McCann and Paul Griffin finished safely in the main bunch on day four of the Malaysia cycling Tour de Langkawi yesterday, writes Shane Stokes. The stage was marked by an eight-man breakaway which went clear after just five of the 142.2 kilometres between Tapah and Kuala Selangor.

These stayed clear until the finish, where Colombian José Serpa soloed in to hit the line 15 seconds ahead of Evan Oliphant (Recycling.co.uk) and a further two seconds up on Christophe Riblon (AG2R Prévoyance).

Griffin and McCann finished in the same time as race leader David George and the race's main contenders, crossing the line some three minutes behind the stage winner. The time gained by Serpa meant McCann dropped a place to 18th overall. Griffin moved up two places to 32nd. They are 8:04 and 19:32 off the race lead, respectively, and will be hoping to ride strongly on today's gruelling climbing stage to the Genting Highlands.

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Malta snooker Cup finalists Ken Doherty and John Higgins were removed from their scheduled flight back to Britain after allegations they were drunk.

A fellow passenger is understood to have complained to the Air Malta cabin crew before a decision was taken to remove the players from the 07.50 flight from Valletta to Heathrow yesterday.

"It's perfectly reasonable for the captain to be thinking about the safety of his passengers but I honestly thought we were fine," Higgins said.

One passenger said: "John had obviously had a fair amount to drink. He was allowed on to the plane but the stewards seemed to think he'd cause problems for the other passengers.

"He wasn't aggressive towards anybody and accepted the decision without any aggravation.

"Ken didn't seem to be drunk and it looked like he was trying to help John out, but the crew told him that if he didn't like the decision he could leave as well." Ireland's leading international cricket umpire, Trevor Henry, died yesterday following a short illness, writes James Fitzgerald, in Colombo.

Henry, who had been selected to stand during the Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka, had to withdraw from the tournament a month ago and a minute's silence will be observed before all games today and Ireland's next match tomorrow against England here.

Henry played for British Telecom and later for Laurelvale CC and Portadown Cricket Club.

But he will most be remembered for his abilities as an umpire where, over a 20-year career, he established himself as the leading official in Ireland.

He stood in several high-profile games, including Ireland's historic victories over the West Indies (2004) and Zimbabwe (2003), as well as matches against Australia and several European and ICC world tournaments.

His funeral will be held tomorrow in Portadown.

Dubliner Gavin Smith has been confirmed as Vauxhall's third driver for the coming British Touring Car Championship season.

Smith, who raced for the team last year, will partner Fabrizio Giovanardi and Tom Chilton in a new-look Vauxhall line-up.

The 28-year-old finished 10th in the standings last season after improving steadily as the year wore on. Now he hopes to take another step forward this season.

"I'm going to build on last year's progress from the first race," he said. "This season is going to start off well for me at Brands Hatch, where I had one of my strongest races last year. I know there's more to come.

"Vauxhall definitely are the best team in British Touring Cars. It's the place I wanted to be last year, and this year is no different.

"The team know me and how I work and I know them. I'm going to hit the ground running."

Team boss Ian Harrison added: "The consistency of keeping him in the car is good for him and for the team."