Thomson aims to stay indoors after retiring

Bowls Andy Thomson, the 52-year-old Anglo-Scot who plays for Kent, has retired from international bowls on grass, but will continue playing for England indoors, on carpet. Born in St Andrews, Thomson has represented his adopted country every year since he won the national outdoor singles title in 1981. He will compete in Barry Hearn’s Premier League at Potters Leisure Resort in Norfolk on Friday.

Thomson’s place in the national side has been taken by Jamie Chestney, 21, from Norfolk, who will become the youngest man to skip a rink for England in Wales this month.

Contador wins Giro

Cycling Alberto Contador, the Tour de France champion, won the Giro d’Italia yesterday, the first nonItalian to ride to victory in the three-week race since 1996. “This was a tough Giro and there were many riders who could have won,” the Spaniard, who rides for Astana, said. Contador finished 1min 57sec ahead of Riccardo Ricco, of Italy, with Marzio Bruseghin, another Italian, third.

England pair triumph

Badminton Richard Eidestedt and Andrew Ellis recorded the best win of their partnership when they defeated the experienced Belgian pair of Frederic Mawet and Wouter Claes to win the men’s doubles title at the Volant d’Or Open in Toulouse. The England duo, ranked No 157 in the world, won 21-12, 21-12 in just 29 minutes to beat a partnership ranked 124 places above them.

Cheshire take title

Hockey Ali Ghazanfar, the Pakistan striker, and Alex Edmonstone scored second-half goals to steer Cheshire to a 2-1 victory over Yorkshire in the county championship final at Old Loughtonians yesterday. Cumbria won the women’s title after Kath Sherlock scored seven goals in her team’s four matches as they finished one point clear of Yorkshire in the round-robin competition.

Loeb moves into first

Motor rallying Sébastien Loeb, France’s four-time world champion, went to the top of the World Championship leaderboard after recording his second Acropolis Rally victory yesterday. The Citroën driver, the winner in Greece in 2005, beat Petter Solberg, from Norway, driving for Subaru, by 1min 9sec. Mikko Hirvonen, of Finland, finished third in a Ford Focus.

Old rivalry renewed

Basketball The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers will renew their NBA Finals rivalry on Thursday after a 21-year wait. The franchises met each other nine times in the 1960s and 1980s to establish one of the keenest rivalries in American sport. But while the Lakers won three more championships from 2000-02, the Celtics fell on hard times before the signing last summer of Kevin Garnett.

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