RUGBY UNION: European champions Toulon will not take part in the proposed Anglo-French tournament and will remain in the Heineken Cup as a protest against the French league’s plan to limit the number of foreign players, club president Mourad Boudjellal said. Boudjellal, however, did not mention a withdrawal from the French Top 14, the competition in which the quotas would apply.
SNOOKER: Ding Junhui dashed home hope Aditya Mehta’s Indian Open dream by claiming a spectacular 5-0 win in the final in New Delhi yesterday. India had never previously produced a semi-finalist at a ranking event. But Mehta res-ponded to the challenge by knocking out former world champions Peter Ebdon and Mark Williams. He added Stephen Maguire to his list of victims yesterday, winning their semi-final 4-3, but Ding proved a different class in the final that followed. After a steady run of 52 in a tight opener, Ding hit breaks of 81, 107, 93 and 100, restricting Mehta to just two points in a four-frame spell.
CYCLING: Tour de France winner Chris Froome has admitted his fears over rumours that next year’s race could include sections of cobblestoned roads. With the full route of the 2014 Tour – which starts in Yorkshire – due to be announced next Wednesday, speculation has been growing after reports emerged of Tour director Christian Prudhomme scouting cobbled roads in the north of France. “Cobbles have been mentioned and that does ring alarm bells for me,” Froome said.
CRICKET: Australia fast bowler James Pattinson is recovering from his back injury ahead of schedule and is targeting the third test in Perth in a boost for the hosts’ hopes of wresting the Ashes back from England. Australia suffered a litany of injuries in the first of back-to-back Ashes series, which they lost 3-0 in England, but have enjoyed some rare good news in recent days. Bowling coach Craig McDermott, who helped rejuvenate Australia’s attack in the wake of their humbling Ashes defeat on home soil in 2010-11, announced his return to the role this week in time for the coming campaign which starts Nov. 21 with the first test in Brisbane.
SWIMMING: Michael Jamieson and Fran Halsall will be joined by a host of Olympic and world champions in a European team facing a fearsome US Select including Olympic and world title-holders Ryan Lochte and Katie Ledecky at the 2013 Duel In The Pool in Glasgow in December. Olympic 200m breaststroke silver medallist Jamieson and Halsall, who won Britain’s only medal at the World Championships in Barcelona with 50m freestyle bronze, are among 12 Britons on the 37-strong European Allstars team for the two-day event at the Tollcross International Sports Centre.