RUGBY

Jonathan Joseph will start against the Springboks when they play England in the second Test in Johannesburg on Saturday. He comes in to replace Manu Tuilagi, who switches inside in place of Brad Barritt. There are five changes to the side overall, two of them positional. Toby Flood will replace Owen Farrell at flyhalf, while Ben Foden moves to fullback with Mike Brown out with an injury. David Strettle comes in on the left wing. There are also three changes on the subs bench, with Alex Corbisiero getting his first chance in the series and Paul Doran Jones dropping out. Alex Goode replaces Toby Flood. 

CRICKET

Australian captain Michael Clarke insists the players are not making unreasonable demands from Cricket Australia in their on-going pay negotiations. Clarke flew over to England on Thursday with a possibility that their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with CA could lapse during their trip, should a new deal not be reached by 30 June. There is a looming possibility that players could go on strike as a result. 

Sri Lanka Cricket has added two reserve days for the fourth and fifth ODIs against Pakistan. The tourists made the request to SLC after the third ODI was washed out. Matches are currently scheduled for Saturday and Monday and rain is forecast for both days. 

Chris Gayle says that all his issues with the WICB have been cleared up and says that he is available for selection in all forms of the game. Gayle says he hopes to get a run in both Tests and the shorter formats of the game. 

Ruby Monaghan, the second woman to face a ball in Test cricket, has died aged 95. She played just two Tests for Australia and later played both Vigaro, softball and tennis.

BOXING

The World Boxing Organisation (WBO) will review the controversial split decision which handed Timothy Bradley a win over Manny Pacquiao. Fight promoter, Bob Arum, hopes that this will be the first step to bring “clarity” to the way in which the fight was judged. The fight will be reviewed with the help of five “recognised international judges” and the WBO will make a recommendation based on their review. 

A judge has ruled that Floyd Mayweather must serve his jail term and denied an emergency motion which sought to put him under house arrest. Mayweather has complained that he did not have enough to eat and drink and that he was unable to maintain his physical fitness in jail, but Justice of the Peace Melissa Saragosa disagreed. Mayweather’s lawyer said that his client was enduring “inhumane conditions”.

CYCLING

Lance Armstrong has attacked the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) saying that the new allegations brought against him are done out of spite and date back more than 16 years ago. He insists that he has never doped and said that the organisation was “largely funded by taxpayer dollars, but governed only by self-written rules.” Armstrong needs to respond to the chargers in writing by 22 June.

ATHLETICS

Both Caster Semenya and Khotso Mokoena, who competed at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland, won their events comfortably. Semenya won the 600m race in 1:25.56 ahead of former Australian 800m World Indoor Champion Tamsyn Manou and Olympic finalist Tatyana Andrianova. Mokoena finished the men’s long jump with a leap of 8.13m in the fifth round. He jumped 4.95m in the opening round putting him sixth, but took the lead in the second round with 8.03m.  He then followed with 7.99m in the third round and a foul in the fourth before his winning distance in the fifth. He then finished with 7.97m.

TENNIS

South African Kevin Anderson progress to the quarter-finals at Queen’s after beating Feliciano Lopez 7-6 (12/10), 7-6 (9/7) in the third round on Thursday. He will face Grigor Dimitrov from Bulgaria. 

Andy Roddick has accepted a wild card entry to Eastbourne in the hope of getting his grass game up to scratch before Wimbledon. His decision comes just a day after crashing out on the grass at Queen’s club.

SOCCER

Nicklas Bendtner finds himself in hot water after he pulled down his pants slightly to reveal sponsored underwear during his celebration of his second gaol against Portugal on Wednesday. The Danish FA has told the striker to keep his pants on next time, since his team have a sponsorship deal with Ladbrokes. Bendtner might have to answer to UEFA as well, since the flashing is against their commercial rules, as well as their policy on displaying personal messages.

Petr Cech has declared himself fit for the Czech Republic’s vital Euro 2012 clash against Poland on Saturday. The goalkeeper took part in light training on Saturday and said he would resume to full training on Friday. The Chelsea man picked up a slight niggle during Poland’s 2-1 win over Greece on Tuesday. 

Matthew Booth will most likely sign a new one-year deal with Ajax Cape Town, as soon as he returns from holiday. The 35-year old is expected to be back to join his team for pre-season, which starts on 23 June. 

Brian Baloyi has left his job as Mamelodi Sundowns commercial and marketing manager in order to pursue personal business ventures. Baloyi started his professional footballing career 19 years ago, and while he is on his way now, the club insists that the door will always be open for him. DM

Photo: A judge has ruled that Floyd Mayweather must serve his jail term and denied an emergency motion which sought to put him under house arrest. (REUTERS)