Dunbar takes the lead in Junior Tour

CYCLING: Eddie Dunbar catapulted himself into the overall lead of the Junior Tour of Ireland yesterday after stage two.

His winning margin at the end of 74-mile stage, which started and finished in Ennis, was just under three minutes.

Dunbar surged ahead of the pack along with the USA National Road Race Champion, Jonathan Brown, at Inagh, but Brown was no match for the pace that the Cork rider exerted and fell back to the chasers.

Dunbar now leads the race by over two and half minutes.

English clash to be staged at Malahide

CRICKET: Cricket Ireland have confirmed Malahide and Stormont as the venues for their one-day internationals against England and Australia in 2015.

The England clash will be held at Malahide on Friday May 8. The Dublin ground hosted a ODI against England in September last year, when a 10,000 record attendance saw Ireland lose by six wickets.

Australia will travel to Stormont for their ODI on Wednesday August 27. The Belfast venue has hosted England, West Indies, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Australia in recent years.

Ireland coach Phil Simmons said: "It's a fantastic boost for Irish cricket to have these two high profile clashes."

Further details of pricing and date public ticket release will be announced on www.cricketireland.ie