TEST CRICKET: Jason Gillespie captured five for 56 and Simon Katich scored 99 to put Australia on course for their first series win in India since 1969 on the third day of the third Test yesterday.
Australia, who scored 398 in their first innings, decided not to enforce the follow-on despite bowling India out for a meagre 185. The visitors extended their lead to 415 when they finished the day on 202 for three after Katich was lbw, one short of what would have been his second Test match century. Australia lead the four-test series 1-0.
India, 146 for five overnight, added only 39 in 70 minutes during the morning as wickets tumbled.
Meanwhile, Abdul Razzaq's inspired bowling helped Pakistan take a commanding position on the opening day of their second Test against Sri Lanka in Karachi. Razzaq finished with a five-wicket haul as Sri Lanka collapsed from 65 for none to 208 all out at stumps, with Danish Kaneria and newcomer Riaz Afridi also chipping in for the hosts.
CRICKET: Reigning champions Clontarf have an away draw against relegated side Railway Union in the first round of the 2005 Senior Cup, the premier knockout competition in Leinster, reports James Fitzgerald.
Runners-up in this year's final, Rush, will entertain Phoenix at Kenure in what could be the tie of the round.
The draw for the new-look Alan Murray 20 Overs Cup has also been made with four groups of three vying for nine places in the second round.
The competition will move from its peripheral, midweek position in the fixtures to three Saturdays, possibly around the same time as the ICC Trophy next July.
Each section's games will take place on the same day at the same venue and it is envisaged that it will have a similar format to the popular 20 Cup in English county cricket with white balls, black sightscreens and players wearing coloured clothing.
Meanwhile, the Lewis Hohn Williams League organisers have invited the Munster Reds and junior club Laois to take part for the first time in what is essentially a downgrading of the competition with sides playing just three games each before the semi-final stages.
HOCKEY: UCD's women needed to dig deep in Cork yesterday to retain their intervarsity title, reaching the final with a golden-goal winner against NUIG before coming back from a goal down against the University of Limerick to win 2-1 in the tournament decider, writes Mary Hannigan.
Trinity's men, however, failed to hold on to the Mauritius Cup, losing out, 5-1, in the final to the University of Ulster, for whom Chris Barnes scored a hat-trick.
Barnes' last minute winner had put University of Ulster through to the final after they had trailed DCU in the semi-finals, while a Peter Blakeney hat-trick gave Trinity a 3-0 win over hosts UCC.
TENNIS: Tim Henman came through an unexpectedly tough match with South Africa's Wesley Moodie to reach the quarter-finals of the Swiss Indoors tournament yesterday.
Playing an opponent ranked 171st in the world, the British world number four needed almost three hours to complete a 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 second-round win.
Moodie, demonstrating a similar style of serve and volley to Henman's and outgunning his opponent by 24 aces to 11, gave the 2004 US and French Open semi-finalist plenty to think about.
After the first two sets had gone with serve it looked as if the third would also end in a tie-break.
But in the 36th game of the match, Henman found himself with three match points, converting the third to seal victory.
Meanwhile, Andre Agassi brushed past Jonas Bjorkman 6-3, 6-4 at the Stockholm Open yesterday to set up a quarter-final meeting with Spanish sixth seed Fernando Verdasco.
ATHLETICS: Double Olympic champion Hicham El Guerrouj will run in next year's World Cross Country championships as part of his winter preparations, the Moroccan athletics federation said yesterday.
The Moroccan, who last week said he plans to retire in 2006 after an attempt at the 5,000 metres world record next year, will run the short-course race over four kilometres at the championships to be held in March in central France.
