Cricket: Former test bowler Jason Gillespie will work as assistant to head coach Justin Langer for Australia’s three Twenty20 internationals against Sri Lanka in February, Cricket Australia said yesterday. Gillespie and Langer will step in for regular head coach Darren Lehmann and his assistant David Saker, who will be in India preparing the test squad for the four-match series. Former paceman Gillespie, who took 259 wickets in 71 tests and 142 wickets in 97 one-day internationals, is currently coaching Adelaide Strikers in Australia’s Big Bash League after spending five years coaching English county side Yorkshire.
Basketball, NBA: Klay Thompson scored 12 of his 21 points in Golden State’s 42-point first quarter on Wednesday, which propelled the Warriors to a 121-111 victory over the Toronto Raptors. Despite seeing a seven-game road winning streak end, the Raptors experienced a historic moment when DeMar DeRozan became the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing Chris Bosh with the 15th of his team-high 29 points. DeRozan, currently in his eighth NBA season, finished the game with 10,290 career points, 15 more than Bosh, who played his first seven seasons for Toronto.
Rugby Union: World Cup-winning prop Charlie Faumuina has confirmed he will leave New Zealand rugby next year and join French side Toulouse after the British and Irish Lions series against the All Blacks. The 30-year-old had been linked with a number of European clubs and with Owen Franks re-signing with New Zealand Rugby until 2019, Faumuina’s hopes of establishing himself the first choice tighthead ahead of the 2019 World Cup all but ended. Franks, who is 29, has had an iron grip on the number three jersey since his international debut against Italy in 2009 and has since racked up 90 caps.
Darts: Defending champion Gary Anderson booked his place in the quarter-finals of the William Hill World Darts Championship with a 4-2 win over Benito van de Pas at Alexandra Palace. Anderson, the second seed, held off a spirited display from 23-year-old Dutchman van de Pas to open up a 3-0 lead without missing a double and producing nine maximums. After the Scot had missed a dart at double top to win 4-0, Van de Pas rallied to reduce the deficit to 3-2. However, Anderson made sure of a place in the last eight as he closed out victory with a match average of 107.8, which was the highest of the tournament so far.