Cricket: England dropped fast bowler Steven Finn yesterday and included James Taylor as a back-up batsman for the injured Kevin Pietersen for the third Ashes test against Australia starting at Old Trafford on Thursday. Pace bowler Chris Tremlett, who last played a test for England in January last year, replaced Finn, who was dropped from the team for the Lord’s test which England won to go 2-0 up in the five-match series. Paceman Graham Onions made way for left-arm spinner Monty Panesar.
Badminton: Bodin Issara was banned for two years by the Badminton Asso-ciation of Thailand (BAT) for physical assault after his ugly on-court brawl with former doubles partner Maneepong Jongjit during the final of the Canada Open. The BAT also handed Maneepong a three-month ban for provocation. The duo teamed up for Thailand at the London Olympics and were competing on opposite sides for the first time since their split and tensions blew up in a men’s doubles contest which ended with Bodin’s disqualification after he chased Maneepong around the arena.
Tennis: Top seed Agnieszka Radwanska gained a measure of revenge over Jamie Hampton by outplaying the American 6-3 6-2 to gain the final of the Bank of the West Classic on Saturday. The fourth ranked Pole will face third seed Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia, who powered past Romanian Sorana Cirstea 6-4 6-0 to make her first final. Radwanska had fallen to the up-and-coming American at a pre-Wimbledon tournament in Birmingham last month, but in California on hard courts, she dictated play, never allowing Hampton to get on top of her.
Golf: Hunter Mahan turned his back on potential million dollar pay day walking away from a two-shot lead at the Canadian Open on Saturday to return home for the birth of his first child. Athletes in North America’s big four professional sports leagues are routinely granted time off to attend the birth of a child and never miss a pay cheque. Mahan’s decision, however, to rush home to be with his wife Kandi, who suddenly went into labor, could have come with a considerable price tag with the winner’s cheque worth $1 million.