SPORTS DIGEST:CRICKET: Eoin Morgan and Kevin Pietersen shared England's best ever stand in Twenty20 cricket to down world champions Pakistan by seven wickets in Dubai today.
Dublin-born Morgan hammered 67 not out from 51 balls, including a match-winning six, and Pietersen a more restrained 43no as they dragged their side back from 18 for three.
The bowlers had earlier impressed with a disciplined effort in the field, restricting Pakistan to 129 for eight. Morgan and Pietersen’s fourth-wicket partnership was worth a record 112.
Morgan was initially subdued but sprung to life with a dismissive six over fine leg to take his score to 20.
Morgan then took 14 off Razzaq’s fourth over to put a big dent in the target. The Dubliner helped himself to two fours in three Gul deliveries as he retained the initiative but was centimetres away from being run out before the job was done.
Instead of being sent back, the third umpire’s verdict allowed him to celebrate a measured half-century. The pair needed 14 off the last two overs but Morgan was in a hurry , thrashing Gul for consecutive fours before clinching it with a mighty pulled six.
Webber warms to the task
MOTOR RACING: Mark Webber made hay as the sun finally shone over Jerez yesterday to lift Formula One out of the sodden gloom that has recently dominated testing.
Red Bull Racing’s Webber set the pace with the quickest lap of the 4.428km track over the seven days at the venue to date.
The best of his 115 in total a one minute 19.299 seconds, was under 0.3secs better than the previous quickest posted by Lewis Hamilton in his McLaren.
Contador back in winning form
CYCLING: Tour de France champion Alberto Contador nabbed his first victory of the season yesterday on stage three of the Tour of the Algarve, breaking clear on the final climb up to the finish at Malhão.
The 27-year-old Astana rider hit the line 11 seconds clear of his closest rival Tiago Machado (Team RadioShack) and took over the race lead. He is 15 seconds ahead of Machado in the general classification. Irish riders David O’Loughlin and Ronan McLaughlin had solid performances, placing 72nd and 75th respectively out of 159 finishers.
Briatore quits as QPR chairman
SOCCER: Flavio Briatore has stepped down as chairman of QPR.
The controversial Italian has been at the helm of the Championship club for nearly two and a half years.
Ishan Saksena is taking over as chairman of QPR Holdings Limited, with Gianni Paladini resuming as chairman.
Briatore said: “My time as chairman of QPR has been an exciting and incredible experience.
“I’m proud to have helped save this historical club and to have contributed in paving the way to its future success.
“Although my commitment to the club remains unchanged, I now feel the need to focus my energies into other fields as well.
Lakshmi Mittal, the billionaire investor, has upped his share in the club although Briatore and Ecclestone remain shareholders.
Cipriani to quit Wasps and join Melbourne Rebels
RUGBY: England out half Danny Cipriani will leave London Wasps at the end of the season to join Australian team Melbourne Rebels, the English club said yesterday.
Cipriani, 22, becomes the second England international to leave Wasps in two days after winger Paul Sackey announced on Thursday he was joining his international team-mate Jonny Wilkinson at RC Toulon.
“Leaving Wasps is very hard – this is my home, I have played here since I was 15,” Cipriani said in a statement.
“I see this move as the next step in my career and would never rule out coming back to play in England. If I did, the first place I would look at is Wasps and we have already talked about that as a possibility for the future.”
The newly-formed Melbourne Rebels will join an expanded Super 15 starting in 2011.
Cipriani, who has made seven appearances for England, believes the switch could help him force his way back into the international fold.
King and McGee fall to top seeds
TENNIS: Ireland's Barry King and James McGee yesterday failed in their bid to upset the men's doubles form book in the ITF Futures event in Sarajevo.
The unseeded Dublin duo were paired against the top seeds, Austrian duo Phillip Oswald and Alexander Peya, and duly made their exit at the quarter-final stage.
King and Barry managed to win only two games in the opener, but they made a much better fist of things in the second set, and limited their opponents to one break of serve, before the Central European pair prevailed on a 6-2 6-4 scoreline.
Losing to Osward and Peya was no disgrace, as, in addition to their top seeding, Oswald is the number one seed in the singles event.
As well, Peya is placed at number 84 in the doubles world rankings, and was positioned at 92 in the singles world rankings in April 2007.
Along with Malahide’s Colin O’Brien, King and McGee are remaining on in Bosnia/Herzegovina to prepare for another Futures tournament in Sarajevo next week.
