Ireland were knocked out of the ICC World Twenty20 at the Super Eight stage after a rainy no-result to their Group D shoot-out with England last night.

ENGLAND scraped unimpressively through to the ICC World Twenty20 Super Eight stage after a rainy no-result to their Group D shoot-out with luckless Ireland last night.

England were indebted to their Dublin-born middle-order batsman Eoin Morgan's 45 for helping them set a moderately testing target, which duly became irrelevant between the subsequent Providence downpours.

CIARAN SHEEHAN has handed Cork football a massive boost by revealing that he has turned his back on an AFL career with Carlton, citing homesickness as a key factor in his decision to pursue a career in the GAA.

WILLIE MULLINS’ Tilabay can win the Hibernia Steel Race on the sand at Laytown this evening.

STAND-IN captain Paul Collingwood praised England’s fight after they averted a shock one-day international defeat to Ireland in Belfast.

Ashes winners England averted a shock defeat to see off Ireland by just three runs in their one-day international in Belfast today.

ENGLAND are facing an anxious wait to determine whether they face another dilemma over the balance of their side after all-rounder Andrew Flintoff emerged as a doubt for the second Ashes Test.

British scientists have found a way of using intense light to detect the early stages of Parkinson's Disease in the brains of sufferers, it was disclosed today.

ALASTAIR COOK spearheaded an impressive catching and bowling display by England which allowed them to claim a narrow advantage at the end of the first day of their Test series against New Zealand.

Captain Paul Collingwood is confident England can bounce back and win their one-day series with New Zealand despite suffering a humiliating defeat in the opener at the Westpac Stadium.

Armagh's Kevin Dyas has signed a two-year rookie contract with Australian Rules club Collingwood to become the latest young Gaelic footballer to try his luck in the AFL.

BRAVE Ireland went down to England yesterday as Paul Collingwood delivered a match-winning performance to prevent England from suffering embarrassment and get their Super Eights campaign underway.

ANDREW FLINTOFF hailed Paul Collingwood’s match-winning innings as the best one-day batting display he has witnessed after England beat Australia by four wickets at the MCG.

SHANE WARNE savoured every second of his final confrontation with England to deliver one of his best all-round displays and put Australia on the brink of an Ashes whitewash.

Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen entered Ashes folklore today with big hundreds as England approached a formidable first-innings total in the second Test.

PAUL COLLINGWOOD made partial amends for a costly error by becoming England’s unlikely candidate to halt Pakistan’s record-breaking march towards a major lead in the third Test yesterday.

PAKISTAN paid a high price for a series of dropped catches as unbeaten hundreds from Alastair Cook and Paul Collingwood put England in a strong position on the first day of the first Test at Lord’s yesterday.

JUST an hour’s play was possible yesterday on the second day of the second Test between India and England in Mohali due to bad light and rain.

AUSTRALIA’S gamble with the weather provided England with encouragement they could still complete an historic Ashes success despite struggling to remain competitive in the deciding Test at the Oval.

ENGLAND are facing an anxious wait to determine whether captain Michael Vaughan is fit enough to feature in the second Ashes Test after sustaining another injury in the nets at Edgbaston.

ENGLAND have become the second best Test side in the world by persevering with selections — so to ditch such a policy when beaten once by the best would be premature and could be ultimately damaging.