Today's other stories in brief
England ease past Pakistan
CRICKET:A unbeaten 73 from Kevin Pietersen led England to a comfortable six-wicket victory over Pakistan in their opening Super Eight game at the Twenty20 World Cup in Bridgetown yesterday.
Paul Collingwood’s team had little trouble in surpassing Pakistan’s total of 147 with three balls to spare.
New Zealand and South Africa are the other teams in Group E with the top two going through to the semi-finals.
Dempsey to be inducted into players' Hall of Fame
RUGBY: Leinster and Ireland's Grivan Dempsey, will be inducted into the Irish Rugby Union Players Association Hall of Fame in a ceremony next Wednesday in Dublin, writes John Watterson.
Having announced his retirement yesterday, the former Irish fullback will join Mick Galwey, Anthony Foley, David Humphreys and Keith Wood in the growing list.
Announcements for other awards will be made on the same day at the annual awards ceremony and the Player of the Year award could go to Leinster backrow Jamie Heaslip, who was yesterday voted Leinster Player of The Month for April.
Heaslip is in the running along with Irish and Ospreys winger Tommy Bowe and Munster flier Keith Earls.
On the night there are six categories of awards with Earls also competing for the Young Player of the Year prize with Connacht’s Fionn Carr and Munster’s Scott Deasy.
Nominations. Player Player of the Year: T Bowe (Ospreys), K Earls (Munster), J Heaslip (Leinster); Unsung Hero of the Year: J Fogarty (Leinster), C Henry (Ulster), M Swift (Connacht); Young Player of the Year: Fionn Carr (Connacht), S Deasy (Munster), K Earls (Munster); Try of the Year: Fionn Carr (Leinster v Connacht, Magners League); Brain O’Driscoll (Leinster v Brive, Heineken Cup; Andrew Trimble (Bath v Ulster, Heineken Cup); Team of the Decade: TBA on Wednesday night; Supporters Player of the Year: TBA on Wednesday night.
Irish trio compete in Valencia
EQUESTRIAN: Cian O'Connor, who was at Tattersalls on Tuesday to receive The Irish Field award as leading show jumper for 2009, is now in Valencia competing on the first leg of the Global Champions Tour alongside Denis Lynch and Jessica Kuerten, writes Margie Mcloone.
The five-star Spanish show, which runs until Sunday and entry for which is limited to those riders highest in the FEI world rankings, offers a lucrative €285,000 prize-fund for its Grand Prix which is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.
Elsewhere, Thomas Ryan and Shane Sweetnam line out for Ireland at the three-star show in Lamprechthausen, Austria.
The show jumping action at home this weekend is highlighted by the second round of the TRM national Grand Prix league at Barndown, Co Wexford, on Sunday for which 59 horses have been declared.
Niland into semi-final in Israel Open
TENNIS:Irish Davis Cup star, Conor Niland, continued his rich run of form in Israel when he followed his win over the world ranked 75, Rainer Schuettler, with the defeat of local player Harel Levy in the Israel Open, writes Johnny Watterson.
Playing in the €79,000 ATP Challenger event in Ramat Hasharon, Niland beat former Australian Grand Slam finalist Schuettler, ranked at five in the world in 2004, in three sets 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in the second round of the competition before his win yesterday, again in three sets.
It puts the 222 ranked Niland into the semi-final of the competition and a guaranteed prize of €4,000. More importantly the Limerick player picks up at least 35 ATP ranking points. Depending on the results of players around Niland in the ATP ladder, the run could take his ranking close to 200 in the world. Unseeded Niland has now beaten the tournament’s third seed, Schuettler and the sixth seed Levy.
Serena powers into last four of Italian Open
TENNIS: Serena Williams showed little ill-effect from her long lay-off with a knee injury as she powered into the semi-finals of the Italian Open yesterday.
The American, playing her first tournament since winning January’s Australian Open, beat Russian Maria Kirilenko 6-1, 6-4.
The chances of an all-Williams clash were dashed when Jelena Jankoviv routed Venus 6-0 6-1.
Ana Ivanovic and Maria Jose Martinez will meet in the other semi-final.
