Equestrian: British Olympic gold medallist Ben Maher hit top form to land the £10,500 winner-takes-all Christmas Masters at Olympia’s London International Horse Show last weekend. Maher, a member of the Great Britain team crowned London 2012 Olympic champions, guided new ride Boomerang to victory in impressive fashion. The Masters is open to the show’s current seven leading riders, with a maximum of five rounds. Competitors nominate one fence to be raised in height each time they jump, and every clear round sees more money added to the prize fund. A fence down, though, means elimination.

Darts: Phil Taylor began his pursuit of a 17th World Darts Championship title with a comfortable first-round victory at Alexandra Palace. Taylor, who produced the highest checkout of the tournament so far with a 167, sealed a 3-0 win over Japan’s Keita Ono. The 55-year-old dropped only one leg and ended the match with an impressive 121 finish. “A 20th world title will top everything and that is what I am after,” an animated Taylor told Sky Sports afterwards. Taylor, who last won the world title in 2013, added: “Listen, I want to improve. I am sick of Michael van Gerwen. I am sick of getting beaten. This is my job. I could retire tomorrow – of course I could – but I want to improve my record.”

Cricket: India named Mahendra Singh Dhoni as their limited-overs captain for next year’s World Twenty20 at home while also throwing a lifeline for batsman Yuvraj Singh’s international career by including him in the shortest format for the Australia tour. India lost the one-day international and Twenty20 series against South Africa at home under Dhoni, who retired from tests during the Australia tour last year, paving the way for Virat Kohli to take over as captain in the five-day format.

Ice Hockey: Hockey Hall of Fame member Dickie Moore, a six-time Stanley Cup winner and one of the greatest National Hockey League players of all-time, passed away on Saturday, 18 days before his 85th birthday. Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1974, the Montreal Canadiens left wing twice won the Art Ross Trophy as NHL leading scorer and won six Stanley Cups with Montreal, including five in a row from 1956. Moore, a native of Montreal, won scoring titles in 1957-58 and 1958-59, when he set a league record with 96 points in 70 games.

Basket, NBA: Kobe Bryant missed out with a shoulder injury and Los Angeles Lakers suffered a 118-78 hiding at the hands of Oklahoma City Thunder. In Bryant’s absence, the Lakers offered little resistance to a mighty Oklahoma side, for whom Kevin Durant led scoring with 22 points and Enes Kanter contributed 19 points and 14 rebounds. The Thunder earned a seventh win in eight games, and eighth straight victory at home, while the struggle for the Lakers continues, their record worsening to 4-23 for the season.