Cricket: England off-spinner Graeme Swann will miss the Test series against New Zealand and is to fly to the United States next week to have an operation on his long-term elbow injury. Swann suffered discomfort in his bowling arm in last week’s tour match against a New Zealand XI and was left out of yesterday’s first Test at the University Oval which saw no play on the opening day because of persistent rain. An England and Wales Cricket Board statement later revealed the 33-year-old is to have the operation he has been dreading for much of the past two years.
Rugby Union: The Barbarians have announced their first five world-class recruits to face the British and Irish Lions in Hong Kong on June 1. The stellar cast list includes Italy captain Sergio Parisse, the Azzurri tighthead prop Martin Castrogiovanni and French number eight Imanol Harinordoquy. The Lions will also face Samoan scrum-half Kahn Fotuali’i, one of the hottest properties in world rugby at present, and South African centre Jaque Fourie.
Basket, NBA: Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka has been fined $25,000 for striking Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers in the groin area, the NBA said. The incident, which occurred as the two players battled for rebounding position during Sunday’s game, was upgraded to a flagrant foul 2 from a flagrant foul 1 after league review.
Judo: Greek judoka Ioulietta Boukouvala has been suspended for 18 months for insulting referees and “making inappropriate comments concerning expatriate athletes”, the Greek Judo Federation said. The 29-year-old, who competes in the 57kg category and is one of Greece’s most prominent athletes, is no stranger to speaking out about officials. She criticised match referees at the London 2012 Olympics for not punishing Yurisleydis Lupetey after accusing the Cuban of biting her on the hand during the first round bout which Boukouvala surprisingly lost.
Athletics: Former Olympic high jump champion Tia Hellebaut has announced her retirement from athletics. The Belgian, who won gold at the 2008 Beijing Games, competed for the final time at last weekend’s European Indoor Championships in Gothenburg where she finished eighth. The 35-year-old former multi-eventer, who also won the world indoor pentathlon title in early 2008, confirmed on her personal website she was definitely ending her career. She retired for the first time after Beijing, announcing she was pregnant, but returned to the sport in 2010. She took another break to have a second child the following year, but returned to defend her title at the London Olympics, finishing fifth.