Swimming: The largest Great Britain team selected for a European Championships will take shape at trials in Sheffield this week but it will be remarkable for its quality rather than its size.

British swimmers won 15 titles among 36 medals at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, where 80 per cent of the 25 England swimmers were on the podium at least once and three Scots won six golds between them. The championships will be staged in Budapest, Hungary in late July. Four swimmers per nation can compete in each event but only two will be allowed to swim in finals.

Walker returns

Hockey: Danny Kerry, the England head coach, has recalled Rachel Walker to the England squad to play Ireland at Cannock on Sunday. Walker, 26, an experienced midfield player, could force her way into the reckoning for the World Cup qualifying tournament in Rome at the end of this month.

Homeward bound

Sailing: After 133 days alone at sea, Britain’s Dee Caffari on board Aviva yesterday turned for home as she passed the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope. She now has 6,200 miles to go to the finish line off Ushant, France, where she hopes, in mid-May, to become the first woman to sail solo, and non-stop, westabout around the world.

Brathwaite jumps

Cricket: Roger Brathwaite, the West Indies Cricket Board chief executive, has resigned less than a month before a review of his position was due. The board is £20.6 million in debt but Brathwaite said: “I leave after four years, having done the best I could within the organisation’s framework.”

Champion Eagles

Basketball: Newcastle Eagles have won their first BBL Championship, and third title of the season, after a 102-82 win over London Towers last night. Darius Dafoe scored 25 points and Andrew Sullivan 23 for the Eagles, who need only to retain their play-off crown for a clean sweep.

Hudson on move

Rugby union: James Hudson will leave Bath at the end of the Guinness Premiership season to join London Irish. Hudson has found his chances limited by the partnership of Steve Borthwick and Danny Grewcock, the England locks.

Audience grows

Rowing: The Boat Race had a peak audience of 7.2 million viewers, an increase of 1.2 million on 2005, when ITV screened the event for the first time. The figures compare well with peak-time ratings for the Champions League.