A round-up of today's other sports news in brief

Bell to bat at number four

CRICKET:Ian Bell will replace the injured Kevin Pietersen at number four in the England batting order in this week's third Ashes Test against Australia, captain Andrew Strauss said yesterday.

Strauss also expects paceman Andrew Flintoff to be available after he bowled England to a victory in the second Test at Lord’s despite a painful knee.

“Ian Bell will come in for Kevin Pietersen batting at four,” Strauss said. “That is the least possible disruption to the other members of the side.”

Of Flintoff, Strauss said: “All the indications are that hell be fine. But we’ll have to see how he goes in the next couple of days in practice.”

Contador says relationship with Armstrong is ‘zero’

CYCLING:Tour de France winner Alberto Contador found the time he spent off the road with Astana team-mate Lance Armstrong tougher than the race itself, the Spaniard said yesterday.

The 26-year-old picked up his second Tour title in Paris on Sunday.

“My relationship with Lance Armstrong is zero,” Contador told a news conference in Madrid, where he was given a hero’s welcome.

“He is a great rider and has completed a great race but it is another thing on a personal level, where I have never had great admiration for him and I never will.

“On this Tour, the days in the hotel were harder than the those on the road. The situation was tense and delicate because the relationship between myself and Lance extended to the rest of the staff.”

Habana did not break curfew

RUGBY:South Africa have dismissed reports winger Bryan Habana broke the team's curfew on the morning of the Springboks' 28-19 win over New Zealand on Saturday.

A Sunday newspaper in South Africa reported Habana did not return to the team hotel in Bloemfontein until 1am after a team dinner. That report has since been rubbished by SA Rugby as “devoid of any truth” after they conducted an investigation that found he had returned more than two hours earlier than reported.

“I spoke to Springbok coach Peter de Villiers and other members of the team management and they all assured me Bryan had done nothing wrong,” said acting managing director of SA Rugby Andy Marinos.

“Members of SA Rugby staff, as well as some journalists who were at the hotel, saw Bryan return to the team hotel after dinner. It was between 10.30pm and 10.45pm. I want to reiterate that Bryan did not transgress team protocols.”

Butler, Moore retain title

SAILING:Noel Butler and Séamus Moore have retained the Irish Fireball title in Co Mayo in a series sailed in the shadow of a gale warning, writes David O'Brien.

In the end eight of the nine races were sailed but Sunday’s last race for the 28-boat fleet was abandoned. The forecasted southerly gale did not affect the top six results in the overall standings though. Butler and Moore added  4, 2, 1 and 2 to their overnight score and the Dun Laoghaire pair, on eight points, took the title. England’s Andy Pearce and Hugh Butler secured second overall. Kenny Rumball and Carl Cooney finished six points further back. Ian O’Gorman and Siobhán led the Silver fleet in 16th place.

In Saturday’s light air fifth Dún Laoghaire to North India buoy race Vincent Farrell’s Tsunami won the 11-boat race.