GIRO D’ITALIA: Italian Andrea Guardini won the 18th stage of the Tour of Italy yesterday, the 22-year-old Farnese Vini team member holding off British world champion Mark Cavendish. Spain’s Joaquim Rodriguez retained the overall leader’s pink jersey with three days of racing to go. Cavendish was followed home after the 149km run by Roberto Ferrari with South African Robert Hunter in fourth. Today’s stamina-sapping 19th stage in the mountains is a 198km run from Treviso to the Alpe di Pampeago.

BASKET, NBA: The Philadelphia 76ers kept their season alive with a 82-75 victory over the Boston Celtics to force a seventh game in their Eastern Conference play-off series. Jrue Holiday finished with 20 points and six assists and Elton Brand had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Sixers who evened the series at three games each.

CRICKET: Kevin Pietersen has been fined an “undisclosed sum” by the England and Wales Cricket Board following a Twitter attack on former England batsman Nick Knight. Last week, Pietersen questioned the credentials of Knight, who averaged just 23.96 in 17 Tests with one hundred, as a Test match commentator for Sky Sports. “Can someone please tell me how Nick Knight has worked his way into the commentary box for the Tests? Ridiculous,” said Pietersen.

HORSE RACING: Henrietta Knight, the former headmistress turned National Hunt trainer who achieved racing fame when saddling Best Mate to win three consecutive Gold Cups, has announced her retirement. Knight, 65, will give up her trainer’s licence next month with most of her horses moving to her friend Mick Channon. Knight said she decided to retire following the stroke suffered by her husband, former jockey Terry Biddlecombe.