Other stories in brief
CAS dismiss appeal
Pakistan fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif look set to escape any further doping sanctions after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said it was unable to hear their case. In a statement released yesterday, CAS said it was forced to dismiss an appeal brought by the World Anti-Doping Agency since the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) does not recognise the court in its regulations.
Shoaib and Asif were handed two-year and one-year bans in November 2006 by the PCB's Anti-Doping Commission after testing positive for the banned steroid nandrolone, but the punishment was controversially lifted one month later by the board's Anti-Doping Appeals Committee.
Ireland well clear
Team Ireland now have a 19-point advantage in the Nations Cup league standings after four wins from seven outings in the 2007 series, writes Grania Willis.
Wins in Austria, Poland, Norway and most recently in Belgium, plus a second-place finish in the seasonal opener in Wellington, US, have put Ireland on a tally of 67 points, with closest rivals Italy some way adrift on 48.
The Danes are lying third on 41, eight points ahead of fourth-placed Norway, but the top quartet are well clear of the remaining 17 nations.
Just five teams contested Sunday's Bulgarian round in Sofia, with the home side claiming victory, but none of the main contenders were in action.
Although the series runs right through to November over a total of 20 rounds, only the best seven results count for the final tally.
If Ireland are still out in front at the end of the series, Robert Splaine's team would earn automatic promotion back into the Samsung Super League for the 2008 season.
