Snooker: Mark Selby rattled in five breaks over 70 as he stormed to a 5-0 win over Alfie Burden to reach the last 32 of the Bank of Beijing China Open.world champion Selby has now made four centuries and six more breaks over 50 in the two matches he has won in the Chinese capital. He now meets Martin O’Donnell this evening, in the last ranking event before he heads to the Crucible. The Leicester cueman compiled runs of 88, 104, 95, 87 and 74 today as he won in just 61 minutes.
Rugby Union: Australia flyhalf Bernard Foley has suffered a new concussion setback after his long-awaited return to Super Rugby side New South Wales. Foley played his first match of the season for the Sydney team against Melbourne Rebels on Friday after missing four games following a pre-season head-knock but concussion symptoms returned after the 32-25 away win. The team said in a statement yesterday that Foley was in doubt to play New Zealand’s Canterbury Crusaders this weekend.
Cricket: Lokesh Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane steered India to an eight-wicket win in the fourth and final test against Australia as the hosts secured a 2-1 series victory at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium yesterday. Rahul made 51 not out and Rahane added a rapid unbeaten 38 to help India chase down the modest 106-run victory target with more than five sessions to spare, the opener completing his sixth 50 of the series when he scored the winning runs.
Golf: European Tour players Thomas Pieters, Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood have accepted Special Temporary Membership of the US PGA Tour for the remainder of the 2016-17 season. With a tied fifth finish at the WGC-Mexico Championship earlier this month, Belgian Pieters took his FedExCup points to 416, surpassing the points picked up by 150th-ranked player last season and making him eligible for the membership. The 25-year-old was a captain’s selection for Europe at the 2016 Ryder Cup. England’s Hatton and Fleetwood became eligible after top-10 finishes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational this month.
Davis Cup: Britain will have to make do without world number one Andy Murray for their Davis Cup quarter-final in France after he was omitted from captain Leon Smith’s team due to injury. Wimbledon champion Murray is still struggling with the elbow injury that forced him to miss the Miami Open. “Not having Andy in the side is obviously a big loss ...but most importantly we all wish him well for a speedy recovery back to full health and fitness,” Smith said. The 2015 champions will instead rely on Dan Evans and Kyle Edmund, ranked 43 and 45 respectively, for the match in Rouen on April 7 to 9. Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot are the doubles players.
Rugby Union: Former All Blacks coach Eric Watson died at the weekend, New Zealand Rugby said. He was 91. Watson also had a long spell in charge of the Otago provincial side and the Junior All Blacks, which included a famous victory over the All Blacks in 1973. He spent two seasons with the All Blacks in 1979-80 and stepped down after a 23-3 victory over Wales at Cardiff Arms Park. New Zealand Rugby Chairman Brent Impey said: “Eric made a huge contribution as head coach of the All Blacks, Junior All Blacks and Otago and was a big part of rugby for a long time.”