Golf: Sam Torrance is expected to be unveiled as the new European Ryder Cup captain today. Torrance acted as one of Mark James's assistants in the dramatic defeat in Boston in September and looks certain to take over for the match at The Belfry in 2001.

It was at the Sutton Coldfield course 14 years ago that Torrance, with tears in his eyes, sank the putt which put the trophy in European hands for the first time since 1957.

The likeable Scot has always been viewed as the favourite to take over from James the moment the controversial match at Brookline ended.

Torrance was highly critical of American player Tom Lehman when some of the home side charged on to the 17th green before Jose Maria Olazabal had the chance to cancel out Justin Leonard's 45-foot putt.

After the match he was asked about the captaincy and said that if the job was offered he would see it as the greatest honour he could ever receive.

Qualification for Europe's 2001 team does not start until next September.

Tennis: Ireland's chances in the European men's team championship in Istanbul at the weekend suffered a major setback yesterday with the news that key team member John Doran has been ruled out through injury,

A nagging knee injury has curtailed Doran's activity on court since returning a couple of months ago to Harvard University where he is a final-year student.

Although it will take three rubbers to win the group, Ireland's team captain Peter Wright will not be adding to the squad and will be relying on Scott Barron, Owen Casey and Robert Collins to do the business. Austria, Slovenia and Turkey are also included in Ireland's group.

The depleted Irish side will, of course, be trying to emulate the excellent feat of the corresponding women's team that gained promotion in Portugal last weekend.

Rugby: Springbok Brendan Venter is to leave London Irish and join Western Province in his native South Africa.

London Irish say they have already begun "an international search" for a replacement centre after negotiations between them, the player and the South Africa Rugby Football Union (SARFU) concluded with Venter's return home.

A statement from the club read: "It has been agreed that Brendan Venter will be transferred to Western Province via SARFU for an undisclosed fee."

Venter (29), made 44 appearances for London Irish and scored seven tries.

Dick Best, director of rugby at London Irish, said: "We deeply regret that we are losing Brendan. "However, we recognise that in view of his elevation to the South Africa squad and his domestic commitments, it is in the best interests of all concerned to agree to his transfer."

Cricket: South Africa's cricketing authority yesterday apologised for the selection of an all-white provincial team to play the touring English side two weeks ago despite racial parity measures.

"It was an error of judgement and we do apologise for that," United Cricket Board (UCB) managing director Ali Bacher said on SABC radio after a meeting with Sports Minister Ngconde Balfour about the matter.

Balfour called the meeting after an outcry about the selection of an all-white Gauteng/Northern combination team for the four-day fixture against England.

This was despite a UCB pledge to have at least one black player in every team to promote racial transformation in the white-dominated sport.

A black player was eventually drafted to the team on the orders of the UCB and after complaints from sporting administrators.

Andre Odendaal, chairman of cricket's racial watchdog, the Transformation Monitoring Committee (TMC), said on radio: "People are realising that it's simply not good enough to keep making these mistakes. Hopefully this incident will now focus people's minds."

The UCB in August unveiled a development programme that aims for racial parity in all facets of the sport by 2002 but will not as yet affect the national squad.

Motor Sport: Ferrari is set to unveil its new car for the 2000 Formula One world championship on January 25th at its Maranello headquarters, Michael Schumacher's spokesman said yesterday. "That's the planned date," Heiner Buchinger, spokesman for the team's number one driver, told German sports news agency SID.

The car will be called F320 and will be totally different from the F399 with which Ferrari won this year's constructors' world championship.

German former world champion Schumacher will lead Ferrari's challenge and will have a new team-mate in Brazil's Rubens Barrichello, who replaces Eddie Irvine.