Cricket: Kevin Pietersen was left out of England’s World Twenty20 squad announced yesterday, as his international cricket exile continued. The South Africa-born batsman was the man of the tournament when England won the 2010 World Twenty20 in the Caribbean – the first time they had lifted a major piece of ICC silverware. But he was dropped from the England team that lost the third Test against South Africa on Monday after sending “provocative” text messages, allegedly criticising England Test captain Andrew Strauss, to South African players.
Athletics: Freshly crowned Olympic triple jump champion Christian Taylor, of the US, secured another victory late Monday with a jump of 17.30m at a meeting in Budapest. Taylor, who registered a 17.81m jump in the Olympic final in London, had tasted success at a Diamond League event in Stockholm on Friday with an attempt measuring 17.11m.
Endurance Swimming: US swimmer Diana Nyad abandoned her fourth attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida yesterday after battling storms and swarms of jellyfish for more than two days, according to her crew. The 62-year-old hit the water on Saturday at the start of the 166km swim across the Florida Straits, hoping to be the first person to make the journey without a protective shark cage. But yesterday Nyad pulled out after 62 hours in the water.
Golf: Spain’s Sergio Garcia won the rain-disrupted Wyndham Championship by two strokes Monday, securing a Ryder Cup berth with his first US PGA Tour title since 2008. Garcia, one of 38 players returning to the course to complete a final round halted by rain, carded a 66 for an 18-under par total of 262. It was Garcia’s first US title since he won the 2008 Players Championship, and his first title worldwide since his back-to-back victories on the European Tour last October.
Twenty20: Leg-spin legend Shane Warne will captain his Melbourne Twenty20 team this season, he said, adding that talks were still underway to bring Olympic sprint king Usain Bolt into the cricket squad. Warne, 42, enjoyed a successful return to the sport with the Melbourne Stars last season and team selector Ian Chappell said he was delighted he re-signed along with Sri Lanka’s explosive fast bowler Lasith Malinga.
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Tennis: Angelique Kerber (picture) pulled out of the WTA’s Texas Open with a sore shoulder but said she hoped it would be better in time for the start of the US Open next week. “I mean I would love to play here. That’s why I’m here,” said world no.6 Kerber, who played in the final at Cincinnati on Sunday. The German said her shoulder had started bothering her in Montreal two weeks ago, and was worse after her run to the title match in Cincinnati, where she fell to China’s Li Na. Despite the absence of Kerber, Dallas fans saw a three-set thriller on Monday night as Jelena Jankovic pulled off a 6-7, 7-6, 6-1 victory over Yaro-slava Shvedova.