FORMULA ONE: Niki Lauda has denied suggestions Ross Brawn is set to leave his position at Mercedes, revealing he is still in discussions with the team principal. German magazine Sportbild claimed yesterday that Brawn would leave his role at the end of the year. But Lauda, the Mercedes chairman, said: “I am in negotiations with Ross Brawn. There is still no decision on how to proceed in the long term. That is the situation. And that has been the situation for a long time. We only need an answer by the end of the year.”
COMMONWEALTH GAMES: Gambia will no longer be participating in the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, taking the number of competing nations and territories to 70. Confirmation of the move comes just days after the west African nation announced its departure from the Commonwealth, saying it will “never be a member of any neo-colonial institution”. Part of the route for the Queen’s Baton Relay, set to get under way this week at a ceremony in London, will now be redrawn. The relay will take 248 days to complete.
CRICKET: Cricket Australia have ordered South African bowler Johan Botha to undergo a biomechanical analysis of his bowling action. The 31-year-old, playing in Australia for West End Redbacks, received a single mention of a suspected action during the interstate season, CA said yesterday. CA rules state that all umpires must agree to a mention of a doubtful bowling action and, although the game in question has not been named, Botha has been cited. He must undergo the test within 14 days. Botha has twice been suspended in the past, both after games against Australia. On both occasions, though, he has subsequently been cleared of an illegal action.
TENNIS: World no.3 Maria Sharapova has withdrawn from the end-of-season WTA Championship in Istanbul due to the shoulder injury that kept her out of the recent US Open, she told the tour website yesterday. The 26-year-old Russian has not played since losing to Sloane Stephens in the second round of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati in August. The WTA Championship begins on October 22.
RUGBY UNION: Argentina scrumhalf Martin Landajo has been banned for a week for stamping after he was cited following the Pumas defeat by Australia in the Rugby Championship in Rosario on Saturday. Landajo planted his foot into a ruck repeatedly in full view of referee Wayne Barnes but received only a penalty for a tackle infringement and a caution despite the incident being scrutinised by the television match official. Argentina finished bottom of the table in the four-nation Rugby Championship, which was won by New Zealand for a second successive year.