Sailing: Frenchman Francis Joyon (picture) and his crew, aboard the trimaran IDEC Sport, won the Jules Verne trophy for fastest outright sailing time around the world with a time of 40 days 23 hours and 30 minutes yesterday. The previous record was held by France’s Loic Peyron, who had completed the circumnavigation around the world in 45 days 13 hours and 42 minutes in 2012. Last month, Thomas Coville of France set a new solo round-the-world record in 49 days. Joyon, 60, completed his trip in the early hours of yesterday near Ouessant, in Brittany, with a crew of five.
Cricket: Skipper Eoin Morgan and batting mainstay Joe Root engineered England’s easy chase to secure their seven-wicket victory against India in the first Twenty20 International yesterday. Beaten in the preceding test and one-day series, England showed discipline with the ball to stifle India’s vaunted batting order, restricting them to a modest 147-7 at Kanpur’s Green Park Stadium. The visitors then returned to overhaul their opponents’ target with 11 balls to spare, with Morgan hitting a fluent 51 and Root producing a run-a-ball 46 not out. The teams now move to Nagpur for the second Twenty20 of the three-match series on Sunday
Basketball, NBA: Isaiah Thomas worked his fourth-quarter magic again Wednesday, leading Boston to a 120-109 victory over the Houston Rockets that ended the Celtics’ three-game losing streak. Thomas scored 11 consecutive Boston points in the fourth quarter as the Celtics (27-18) came back from 11 points down in the first half and won going away at the end. With several members of the New England Patriots sitting courtside, Thomas, leading the NBA in fourth-quarter scoring (10 points per game coming in), put on a show with 13 points and five assists to win his unofficial duel with fellow MVP candidate James Harden.
Rugby Union: England’s top clubs are seeking a reduction in the length of the RBS 6 Nations from seven to five weeks, Press Association Sport reported. The tournament’s committee is to consider a proposal by the Aviva Premiership to remove the two fallow weekends, thereby freeing up space at the business end of their domestic and European season. A potential start time for the new format has yet to be discussed and any change would align with the beginning of the new global season in 2020. Should the proposal be approved, it would represent the biggest change to the Six Nations since Italy were admitted in 2000.
Motor Racing: BP and its Castrol brand will replace French oil company Total as the Renault Formula One team’s official fuel and lubricant supplier this season, both sides said yesterday. The two companies last worked together in 1997 when the then-world champions Williams had Renault engines and BP sponsorship. “With the new aerodynamic regulations for the 2017 Formula One season, power sensitivity will increase,” said Renault Sport managing director Cyril Abiteboul. “Therefore fuels and lubricants will make an even greater difference to the overall performance of the car than they have since the new power unit regulations have been introduced in 2014.”