CRICKET: Nasser Hussain insisted the humiliation served up by Australia yesterday neither clinched the VB Series nor threw England's World Cup plans into chaos.
Although he admitted his side had copped "a fair walloping" after the 10-wicket defeat at the SCG, Hussain said his players would re-group for the second match of the best-of-three finals in Melbourne on Saturday.
Never before had the Australians defeated England by such a margin in more than 30 years of one-day international cricket and it was only the second time an English side has suffered so, following the loss to Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2001.
However, it was the speed of Australia's victory, completed in just 12.2 overs of the chase, that compounded the misery. England made a paltry 117 on a Sydney surface which offered steepling bounce to the Aussie quick bowlers before Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden delivered 57 minutes of mayhem.
"The Australian attack have bowled well for a while and they were exceptional today," said Hussain.
So were the Australian openers Gilchrist and Hayden. Gilchrist, who equalled the ODI record of six dismissals in an innings he already shared with Alec Stewart and Ridley Jacobs, clattered 15 fours in his unbeaten 69 while Matthew Hayden, who also faced 37 balls, finished 45 not out.
BOXING: Bernard Dunne, who started his professional career in the US with three knockouts, is scheduled to go in his final four-round bout on February 7th in Las Vegas, reports Johnny Watterson.
The 22-year-old featherweight prospect will face Denver's Eric Trujillo in the Sams Town Casino. It will also be the first time Dunne's promoter, Sugar Ray Leonard, returns to Las Vegas as a promoter. The gambling town, where Irish featherweight Wayne McCullough is also based, was the venue for Leonard's historic fights against Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearn.
After this bout Dunne, who will have Mike Tyson's current trainer Freddie Roach in his corner, will move up to six-round fights.
Trujillo, who was not manager Brian Peters first choice opponent for Dunne, is a former twice Golden Gloves winner and is making his professional debut.
SNOOKER: Ken Doherty, edged out 10-9 by Mark Williams in a classic UK final in mid-December, is attempting to have his name engraved on the Regal Welsh Open trophy for a third time.
The Dubliner retains hope after rallying from a 3-1 deficit to beat Joe Swail 5-4. Doherty, who wrapped up a tense deciding frame with a 51 break, now faces defending champion Paul Hunter.
Finland's Robin Hull achieved the biggest win of his career by knocking John Higgins out. Hull beat the 2000 champion 5-1 and made a 139 total clearance during a four-frame winning spell in which Higgins scored only 14 points.
