Monday
So, the cricket is having a week off, the golf is finished and the football hasn't started. Australian cricket took another blow as Shane Warne announced he was fully retired from cricket. So no comeback then? Here was me thinking he'd retired years ago.
James Pattinson is out of the rest of the tour with a stress fracture of the lower back. More good news for the Aussies then.
At least the darts continues to deliver, slightly making up for my first day without cricket in a good couple of months. I'm feeling weak typing this as we speak.
Tuesday
New Barcelona manager Gerardo Martino is appointed, prompting Accrington Stanley-esque claims of 'who is that?' Exactly.
Very little live sporting action but the transfer window is doing its best to make up for that. Arsenal supposedly put up a £40m + £1 bid for Luis Suarez which didn't exactly meet the Liverpool owner's approval. On top of this, not-at-all-biased-Real-Madrid-supporting newspaper Marca say Gareth Bale has agreed a six year deal. Clearly they don't realise that negotiating with Daniel Levy is about as enjoyable as opening the batting for Australia at the minute.
Wednesday
The only highlight of the day is a Bayern Munich v. Barcelona friendly which the Bavarians won 2-0. Other than that, the main stories are: Luis Suarez is not for sale, Wayne Rooney is not for sale. The only other incident of note is David Warner smashing the South African A bowling attack around the park. At least he did a better job of that than hitting opponents. Looks all set for him to slot in to the Australian side next week. But guessing that batting line-up is like guessing what midfield Bayern Munich put out in any one week. Getting the top six in correct order is a tough ask.
Thursday
An historic day for Nottingham Forest with not one but two big name signings in Jamie Mackie and Djamel Abdoun. Maybe I shouldn't put Forest and historic in the same sentence
A nice story today (it really has been a slow week) came from Cristiano Ronaldo who travelled to Galicia to donate blood for victims of a big train accident.
Interesting that once more Roger Federer lost to a player not in the top 50 after defeat to Daniel Brands. I know he's trying a new racquet but it's not looking so good at the moment.
Friday
Apart from pre-season friendlies the only story was a certain Usain Bolt who won again. That was pretty much it, although watching Graeme White wheel away for Notts against Yorkshire was most delightful. In Sri Lanka Thisara Perera took a Robin Peterson (with help from a wide) for 35 runs.
Saturday
More British success in the athletics from Farah and Ohu... Ohu... umm yeah her. Another great British sporting success in Nile Ranger showed off something else, a new tattoo. Maybe he's looking for a move to the Scottish Second Division, or League Two or whatever they call it now http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/5037053/Nile-Rangers-bizarre-new-tattoo.html
In the arrers, MVG and Adrian Lewis played an absolute blinder, with Jackpot Lewis winning 17-15. He will play The Power in the final after he beat a dogged James Wade with the highest average of the tournament.
At the same time, Bayern Munich and Dortmund were reminding us all of their sexy football in the German Super Cup with a 4-2 win for Dortmund. More please.
A special mention to the GB 4x100m team for dropping the baton. Again. Must admire their consistency
Sunday
A hundred for James Taylor as he gets re-selected for the England squad for the Third Test at Old Trafford. How the Aussies would love him in their squad.
Performance of the day has to be Phil Taylor who averaged 111 against Adrian Lewis in the World Matchplay final. For people who don't like darts, that is a staggering average.
In the Senior Open, Bernhard Langer double bogeyed the last hole to end up in a play-off and Lewis Hamilton won his first grand prix with Mercedes.
Oblivious to all of that, the top stories focused on Gareth Bale. Still, at least we can ignore the rumours soon and say hello to live football next weekend. And Jim White jumping out of helicopters or whatever it is Sky have planned.
Meanwhile...
Tweet of the Week: @John_W_Henry - 'What do you think they're smoking over there at Emirates?'
Probably the funniest reason to get arrested by a professional sportsman I've ever heard - http://news.sky.com/story/1119149/us-footballer-jailed-after-barking-at-police-dog
So Papiss Cisse won't have Wonga on his shirt but will instead visit a casino. Papiss Cisse is caught. Papiss Cisse will now wear Wonga on his shirt. Funny that
Never mind Haye-Fury or Froch-Groves, if you want a good fight then check out a bit of badminton - http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/others/badminton-bizarre-fight-breaks-out-between-london-2012-partners-at-the-canada-open-8726659.html
Hunter Mahan leads by two shots in the Canadian Open after two rounds before withdrawing after his wife went into labour. Brandt Snedeker ends up winning the tournament and promises to buy Mahan's daughter a gift with some of the $1million prize fund he earned. I think that's called rubbing it in.
Sport this week
The small matter of the return of the Football League, the Bridgestone Invitational and Third Ashes Test at Old Trafford. Not too bad.
Monday 29 July 2013
Monday 22 July 2013
Summer of Sport: July 15-21
Monday
Steven Gerrard signs a new two year contract at Liverpool. With his partnership alongside Stewart Downing (aka Left Wing Jesus) thriving it can only be a matter of time until Liverpool are back in the top four.
According to Sky Sources (yes, them) Luis Suarez is now open to staying in the Premier League. Wow, thanks for that.
Tuesday
It's hard to know what is funnier: details emerging from former Australian coach Mickey Arthur's legal documents which state that captain Michael Clarke called Shane Watson a 'cancer' in the team OR that Shane Warne believes Australia took the momentum from losing the First Test. Absolutely no clutching at straws there then.
Sky sources say Wayne Rooney is 'angry and confused.' I think we need the season to start already.
Wednesday
Chelsea make a bid for Wayne Rooney. It is rejected. That is all. I wish for once a big transfer could be sorted out quickly.
Thursday
The first day of an Ashes Test at Lord's and the first day of the Open Championship. How good can it get? The Queen was at Lord's and appeared to be sharing a joke with Michael Clarke and Shane Watson. I wonder if she was asking if they were good mates.
An historic moment as well to savour: Jonathan Trott becoming leading run scorer in Test cricket without hitting a six. Maybe if he'd swung the bat properly at the ball he got out to then he could have broken that duck.
It was another ridiculous day of Test cricket with the Queen seeing the early collapse and missing the recovery. Ian Bell played another stunning knock until he got a ripper from a blonde leg-spinner, except this time it wasn't Shane Warne tormenting him but Steve Smith. Just ridiculous. And when three wickets fell Jimmy Anderson came out to protect Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann. I'm not sure they quite deserve a night watchman.
In the golf, Rory McIlroy shot a 79, the same as Sir Nick Faldo. He claimed he was making mental errors, but if things go wrong he has a good career starring in golf adverts to carry him through.
Ian Poulter compared the 18th hole to mini golf and even Phil Mickelson was critical of the course. Maybe this was a ruse by the R&A to stop everyone talking about male-only clubs.
Friday
A lovely start to the day as Lee Westwood gets on a charge, going five under before losing three shots at the end.
For England cricket fans one of the great pleasures is a Swann-Broad partnership, which this time put on 48 quick runs for the last wicket as both men swung the bat. What followed was then some of the most amateurish cricket I've ever seen. Shane Watson reviewed a plumb lbw, Chris Rogers was given lbw after missing a slow, loopy full toss which was missing the stumps but he didn't review. Usman Khawaja was then badly dropped at slip off Swann, before Phil Hughes made an awful swipe at Tim Bresnan which was given out, only for him to review it. And the decision stayed as it was. All very bizarre.
Despite a late three wicket burst from Peter Siddle it's definitely advantage England, whilst at Muirfield Jimenez leads the Open.
Good end to the one-day international in the West Indies as well as the final pair hit 15 off the last over to tie against Pakistan, with Umar Akmal missing a fairly straightforward run-out opportunity to win the game by one run.
Saturday
The incredible sporting weekend starts here. In between big spells of garden cricket it was rushing back to watch Joe Root bat out the whole day alongside Bresnan, Bell and Jonny Bairstow. Such is Bell's change of fortune, he was caught at the start of his innings but not given out because replays were inconclusive. Even better, a tweet came out from Cricket Australia's official Twitter feed which read: "That decision sucked ass #bullshit." They may have had a point, but they immediately denied that any of their staff had sent it. Which is a shame, because official Twitter feeds are too boring these days.
On top of that, Lee Westwood suddenly went three clear at the Open, promising an incredible sporting Sunday of success with Chris Froome set to win the Tour de France. By the end that lead was down to two, and with lots of major winners just behind it is all set to be a classic final day.
Sunday
Disappointing that Root couldn't get the double hundred, but it's not a bad consolation that he is England's youngest ever Ashes centurion at Lord's. Even funnier, Watson is lbw once more and this time he decides not to review it, but that didn't stop Hughes and Smith from taking on the baton. Despite some dropped catches and a missed stumping it was an easy victory, meaning the Ashes are all but won. Great news, but it's a shame that the sporting summer is nearly at a close. Still, we have three more Tests as well as a tennis and golf major to look forward to.
Just to make Australia more of a laughing stock, the brother of disciplined batsman David Warner, Steven, denied sending out expletive tweets (there is definitely a theme here). The tweets read: "Fucking selfish Warner, the sooner your out if the side the great pretender the better." And "I hope u have a business class seat booked from SA to London because its about time u had a batsman there who will have a go." Shocking I know. I mean, where do these people learn their grammar and spelling? Even better, former coach Mickey Arthur once again had a go at the board for his sacking. Maybe it was him sending the expletive tweet from their official account?
The weekend was a slight let down with Westwood once more coming up short at a major. Strangely, it wasn't his putting that failed him, If you're going to lose though, there's no shame in losing to a round of 66 on a seriously difficult course. If anyone was going to do it (other than a Brit) then I'm glad it was Mickelson, an all round nice man and someone who finished runner up at the US Open for the sixth time this year. That's all Leftie needs now to complete the career Grand Slam.
Another charge did come, this time from Ian Poulter who dropped to +6 early on, before getting a shot back and then going five under through four holes. Unfortunately, he could only close on one over and with Mickelson in that sort of form it didn't end up being close.
Any tension would have been found in the penultimate pairing of Tiger Woods and Adam Scott, who has Tiger's ex caddie Steve Williams on his bag. Tiger once more faltered, showing that despite still being an excellent golfer, he is near the top of the pack instead of being out in front as he used to be.
Congratulations as well to Chris Froome. Sure, the Tour has become highly discredited since it turned out almost everyone was doing drugs, but seeing as Froome is almost certainly clean it's nice to add his success to the rolling call which includes Rose, Murray and the English cricket team.
Meanwhile...
Tweet of the Week: https://twitter.com/DaveLynndawg/status/358155330426925056/photo/1
Carly Rae Jepsen threw the first pitch at a Tampa Bay Rays game. It didn't go very well, but at least she always has a good time - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H1BPjZA1io
Stoke City offer fans free travel for away matches. Considering how bad their away record is they might want to consider free tickets and pint as well.
It sounds like a drunk Ray Wilkins was struggling to stay on his feet - http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ray-wilkins-swore-police-told-2055169?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Advert of the Week without questioning is this beauty of Luis Suarez. You don't have to like him to find this funny - http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/luis-suarez-advert-video-liverpool-2057867
Ebay bids to play 45 minutes alongside Paul Scholes. Wow - http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/former-manchester-united-star-paul-2057548?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Maybe not the worst haircut in the world, but certainly in the top 1 - http://www.101greatgoals.com/gallery/gimages/image/giovanni-simeone-son-of-diego-trains-with-the-first-team-of-river-plate-gets-terrible-haircut/
Sport this week
Almost nothing. Disappointingly, T20 cricket and pre-season friendlies appear to be the best on offer, as well as the World Matchplay Darts in Blackpool
Steven Gerrard signs a new two year contract at Liverpool. With his partnership alongside Stewart Downing (aka Left Wing Jesus) thriving it can only be a matter of time until Liverpool are back in the top four.
According to Sky Sources (yes, them) Luis Suarez is now open to staying in the Premier League. Wow, thanks for that.
Tuesday
It's hard to know what is funnier: details emerging from former Australian coach Mickey Arthur's legal documents which state that captain Michael Clarke called Shane Watson a 'cancer' in the team OR that Shane Warne believes Australia took the momentum from losing the First Test. Absolutely no clutching at straws there then.
Sky sources say Wayne Rooney is 'angry and confused.' I think we need the season to start already.
Wednesday
Chelsea make a bid for Wayne Rooney. It is rejected. That is all. I wish for once a big transfer could be sorted out quickly.
Thursday
The first day of an Ashes Test at Lord's and the first day of the Open Championship. How good can it get? The Queen was at Lord's and appeared to be sharing a joke with Michael Clarke and Shane Watson. I wonder if she was asking if they were good mates.
An historic moment as well to savour: Jonathan Trott becoming leading run scorer in Test cricket without hitting a six. Maybe if he'd swung the bat properly at the ball he got out to then he could have broken that duck.
It was another ridiculous day of Test cricket with the Queen seeing the early collapse and missing the recovery. Ian Bell played another stunning knock until he got a ripper from a blonde leg-spinner, except this time it wasn't Shane Warne tormenting him but Steve Smith. Just ridiculous. And when three wickets fell Jimmy Anderson came out to protect Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann. I'm not sure they quite deserve a night watchman.
In the golf, Rory McIlroy shot a 79, the same as Sir Nick Faldo. He claimed he was making mental errors, but if things go wrong he has a good career starring in golf adverts to carry him through.
Ian Poulter compared the 18th hole to mini golf and even Phil Mickelson was critical of the course. Maybe this was a ruse by the R&A to stop everyone talking about male-only clubs.
Friday
A lovely start to the day as Lee Westwood gets on a charge, going five under before losing three shots at the end.
For England cricket fans one of the great pleasures is a Swann-Broad partnership, which this time put on 48 quick runs for the last wicket as both men swung the bat. What followed was then some of the most amateurish cricket I've ever seen. Shane Watson reviewed a plumb lbw, Chris Rogers was given lbw after missing a slow, loopy full toss which was missing the stumps but he didn't review. Usman Khawaja was then badly dropped at slip off Swann, before Phil Hughes made an awful swipe at Tim Bresnan which was given out, only for him to review it. And the decision stayed as it was. All very bizarre.
Despite a late three wicket burst from Peter Siddle it's definitely advantage England, whilst at Muirfield Jimenez leads the Open.
Good end to the one-day international in the West Indies as well as the final pair hit 15 off the last over to tie against Pakistan, with Umar Akmal missing a fairly straightforward run-out opportunity to win the game by one run.
Saturday
The incredible sporting weekend starts here. In between big spells of garden cricket it was rushing back to watch Joe Root bat out the whole day alongside Bresnan, Bell and Jonny Bairstow. Such is Bell's change of fortune, he was caught at the start of his innings but not given out because replays were inconclusive. Even better, a tweet came out from Cricket Australia's official Twitter feed which read: "That decision sucked ass #bullshit." They may have had a point, but they immediately denied that any of their staff had sent it. Which is a shame, because official Twitter feeds are too boring these days.
On top of that, Lee Westwood suddenly went three clear at the Open, promising an incredible sporting Sunday of success with Chris Froome set to win the Tour de France. By the end that lead was down to two, and with lots of major winners just behind it is all set to be a classic final day.
Sunday
Disappointing that Root couldn't get the double hundred, but it's not a bad consolation that he is England's youngest ever Ashes centurion at Lord's. Even funnier, Watson is lbw once more and this time he decides not to review it, but that didn't stop Hughes and Smith from taking on the baton. Despite some dropped catches and a missed stumping it was an easy victory, meaning the Ashes are all but won. Great news, but it's a shame that the sporting summer is nearly at a close. Still, we have three more Tests as well as a tennis and golf major to look forward to.
Just to make Australia more of a laughing stock, the brother of disciplined batsman David Warner, Steven, denied sending out expletive tweets (there is definitely a theme here). The tweets read: "Fucking selfish Warner, the sooner your out if the side the great pretender the better." And "I hope u have a business class seat booked from SA to London because its about time u had a batsman there who will have a go." Shocking I know. I mean, where do these people learn their grammar and spelling? Even better, former coach Mickey Arthur once again had a go at the board for his sacking. Maybe it was him sending the expletive tweet from their official account?
The weekend was a slight let down with Westwood once more coming up short at a major. Strangely, it wasn't his putting that failed him, If you're going to lose though, there's no shame in losing to a round of 66 on a seriously difficult course. If anyone was going to do it (other than a Brit) then I'm glad it was Mickelson, an all round nice man and someone who finished runner up at the US Open for the sixth time this year. That's all Leftie needs now to complete the career Grand Slam.
Another charge did come, this time from Ian Poulter who dropped to +6 early on, before getting a shot back and then going five under through four holes. Unfortunately, he could only close on one over and with Mickelson in that sort of form it didn't end up being close.
Any tension would have been found in the penultimate pairing of Tiger Woods and Adam Scott, who has Tiger's ex caddie Steve Williams on his bag. Tiger once more faltered, showing that despite still being an excellent golfer, he is near the top of the pack instead of being out in front as he used to be.
Congratulations as well to Chris Froome. Sure, the Tour has become highly discredited since it turned out almost everyone was doing drugs, but seeing as Froome is almost certainly clean it's nice to add his success to the rolling call which includes Rose, Murray and the English cricket team.
Meanwhile...
Tweet of the Week: https://twitter.com/DaveLynndawg/status/358155330426925056/photo/1
Carly Rae Jepsen threw the first pitch at a Tampa Bay Rays game. It didn't go very well, but at least she always has a good time - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H1BPjZA1io
Stoke City offer fans free travel for away matches. Considering how bad their away record is they might want to consider free tickets and pint as well.
It sounds like a drunk Ray Wilkins was struggling to stay on his feet - http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ray-wilkins-swore-police-told-2055169?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Advert of the Week without questioning is this beauty of Luis Suarez. You don't have to like him to find this funny - http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/luis-suarez-advert-video-liverpool-2057867
Ebay bids to play 45 minutes alongside Paul Scholes. Wow - http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/former-manchester-united-star-paul-2057548?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Maybe not the worst haircut in the world, but certainly in the top 1 - http://www.101greatgoals.com/gallery/gimages/image/giovanni-simeone-son-of-diego-trains-with-the-first-team-of-river-plate-gets-terrible-haircut/
Sport this week
Almost nothing. Disappointingly, T20 cricket and pre-season friendlies appear to be the best on offer, as well as the World Matchplay Darts in Blackpool
Monday 15 July 2013
Summer of Sport: July 8-14
Monday
Almost nothing going on sport wise with the euphoria still continuing after the weekend before. However, I enjoyed Flintoff's Ashes roadshow live from the Southbank Bar in Nottingham. The start guest was Glenn McGrath, who recalled getting Mike Atherton out in 2001: Apparently it was "the only time I felt sorry getting a batsman out," and he thought to himself, "It shouldn't be this easy." Nice. Best of all was when Carl Froch arrived and faced up to Glenn, who was so scared he couldn't look him straight in the face.
Almost nothing going on sport wise with the euphoria still continuing after the weekend before. However, I enjoyed Flintoff's Ashes roadshow live from the Southbank Bar in Nottingham. The start guest was Glenn McGrath, who recalled getting Mike Atherton out in 2001: Apparently it was "the only time I felt sorry getting a batsman out," and he thought to himself, "It shouldn't be this easy." Nice. Best of all was when Carl Froch arrived and faced up to Glenn, who was so scared he couldn't look him straight in the face.
Ricky Ponting is playing his penultimate knock in first-class cricket and he gets out to... Samit Patel. Right.
Good tweet from Michael Vaughan during his Twitter Q&A: "@GavDolts: @MichaelVaughan how did Warney end up with liz #AskVaughany" Very good question... #lol
Tuesday
The big story of the day is apparently Luis Suarez re-iterating that he wants to leave Liverpool. It really is a slow news day. It is, however, the day before the Ashes begins. The opening day of the Ashes is like transfer deadline day, Christmas (ok Hanukah) and FA Cup third round weekend all in one. Writing this now the night before, without a clue what will happen, it is hard not to be excited yet nervous.
Wednesday
The first over is said to set the tone for the Ashes series, although nobody told England last time when Andrew Strauss got out. You think back to Steve Harmison hitting Justin Langer on the elbow or Steve Harmison hitting Andrew Flintoff at second slip. As Fred himself said on Monday, he was hoping the ball would reach him, but only after hitting the edge. This time, James Pattinson tried to rough up Alastair Cook with a short ball only for it to loop (Steve) harmlessly over his head to be called a wide. The rest of the over was not much better.
Such is the great thinking in Australian thinking that they picked two players in the opening Test who weren't even in the original squad. Steve Smith was put down to bat at 6 and Ashton Agar was handed his Baggy Green cap in what is only his 11th first-class match. Poor old Nathan Lyon, dropped once more. A slightly comical moment when Sir Ian Botham said he didn't know who Agar was. Let's hope he's more Xavier Doherty than Dan Vettori.
The most enjoyable part of the coverage is the commentary. First stint and there was Michael Atherton bantering Nasser Hussain over winning the toss at Brisbane in 2002 and electing to bowl. At the end of the day Australia were 364-2 and Matthew Hayden was 186 not out. Hussain countered by mentioning how Glenn McGrath was on the outfield this morning. The same McGrath who dismissed Atherton 19 times in 17 Tests.
More good news for David Warner, who has been sent to Africa with Australia A to get some match practice. But apparently he is still part of the Ashes squad. Huh?
The action itself lived up to expectations, in that both sides bowling attacks are regarded as much stronger than their batting. Peter Siddle got another five-for on the opening day in a day with relentless ebb and flow. I have never seen a single day with so much momentum swing. The topping on this delicacy was the Jimmy Anderson ball to Michael Clarke, a ball which will leave me purring at night for the next few weeks.
Thursday
I missed the opening session due to graduation but returned staggered at what I had missed. I mean, Phil Hughes scored runs! And some teenager on debut made the highest score for a number 11 in Test history... but Hughes!
More technology controversy with Jonathan Trott given out lbw on review despite there appearing to be a deflection of the ball (although hotspot and snicko showed no edge).
After a frenetic five sessions, it was good to see Cook and KP crawl along at less than two overs for the rest of the day. Real, hard, Test match grafting at it's absolute finest.
Meanwhile, in Surrey, Ricky Ponting finished his first-class career with a match saving 169 not out. Nice to end on a high.
Friday
A real hard day of Test match cricket with England battling away to eke out as big a lead as possible. There was one major talking point though, the decision not to give Stuart Broad out after he almost middled a delivery from Agar which found its way to Clarke at slip via Brad Haddin's gloves. Somehow Aleem Dar, a man well known for giving England favourable decisions at Trent Bridge (Simon Katich, 2005) gave it not out. It was a shocker from Aleem, but the waste of two reviews, especially the second one which was nowhere near out, is the Australians' own fault. If anything, the decision not to give Agar out stumped when he was on six was a worse decision. Marias Erasmus had replays to use and still couldn't see it was clearly out.
If people are having a go at Broad for not walking, they should remember that certain Australians behind the wicket cannot say too much about dodgy decisions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwopmHUy6jo&feature=youtu.be
Credit to Shane Watson whose first 12 overs only went for two runs. But bigger credit for the Sherminator himself Ian Bell for his innings. I have been a critic of Bell in the past, a man with such talent but who gives his wicket away so tamely so often that it becomes infuriating. Great to see his bottle here, a stunning knock considering the pitch and circumstances.
Also today, the FA announced new rules regarding retrospective action for incidents on the field of play, coming after the Callum McManaman shocker last season. Before, officials could only change their minds if none of them had seen it at the time, but now: "The FA will reserve the right to take retrospective action when match officials are not in a position to fully assess a 'coming together' of players." Well that clears that up then. About as obvious as the 'interfering with play' associated with offsides.
Saturday
The Saturday of a Test match is something special and today was no exception. A fine Bell hundred, Joe Root getting a wicket before tea, Clarke snicking off and Hughes getting out to spin. On that score at least normal service was resumed.
New Fulham owner Shahid Khan says he wants to move the club up a level. Does that mean he's replacing the Michael Jackson statue with one of Elvis?
Sunday
One of the great Tests concluded in suitable style. Jimmy Anderson was inspirational, snicking off each Aussie batsman as they came in during his 13 over spell before lunch and afterwards. Only in Test cricket would over four days of action lead up to a thrilling climax and then a 40 minute break be taken.
It was probably suitable that the final wicket came from a referral after an incorrect umpiring decision. At least Marais Erasmus got this decision right. Judging by the massive ironic cheers when he picked up his match medallion at the end, the crowd were thinking the same. It's funny that there was no outrage over Brad Haddin not walking. Imagine if England had no referrals left either.
The most relieved man on the pitch must have been Steven Finn after his two over spell went for 24 runs which he then followed up by dropping Haddin when Australia were nine wickets down.
After his classic performance on Friday, Stuart Broad once more showed why he deserves to be nominated for the next Oscars. In an attempt to make sure his final over of the morning session was the last one to be bowled before the break, he spent a good minute taking his shoe off, looking around, before slowly re-tying it. It made no difference, though, as Graeme Swann had to wheel away for six more balls. The result was a maiden.
News breaking that Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell failed drugs tests. So that means the silver and bronze medals at every major 100m event are now more open than before.
Thiago Alcantara signs for Bayern Munich. The odds on them winning the Bundesliga next season must be similar to Celtic winning the SPL.
Also today, David Moyes is as quoted as saying that Wayne Rooney needs to stay at Manchester United to be a back-up for Robin van Persie. Ok, he said more than that, but I'm not sure that will exactly make Rooney feel more loved.
Arsenal beat the Indonesian All Stars 7-0. Wenger in?
Meanwhile...
Nothing dodgy going on here... http://www.africareview.com//Sports/Nigerian-clubs-suspended-after-scoring-146-goals/-/979186/1910164/-/l5pfj7z/-/index.html?relative=true
Tweet of the Week: Anton Ferdinand after John Terry's Dad was charged with racially aggravated assault -https://twitter.com/anton_ferdinand/status/354690764929896448/photo/1
Story of the Week: Some footballers move into coaching or the media when they retire. It looks like Ronaldo has different ideas - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2363517/Brazil-legend-Ronaldo-hopes-buy-Playboy-franchise-begin-soft-porn-magnate-career.html?ITO=socialnet-twitter-dmailsports&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=socialnet-twitter-dmailsports
Chelsea target Bruma was allegedly a victim of a kidnap attempt by Sporting Lisbon fans. Tottenham fans might attempt something similar with Gareth Bale
Headline of the Week: Bony offers Swans 'something extra'
Tyson Fury tries to rile up David Haye at their press conference. Please wake me up when they actually fight on September 28 - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/boxing/article-2360159/David-Haye-Tyson-Fury-clash-press-conference.html
Team gets relegated because a player didn't pay a £16 fine. Seems legit - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23259898
Fair to say Gavin Henson's time at Bath isn't going quite as planned... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-23286282
Sport this week:
The Ashes 2nd Test
The Open Championship - my each way tips are Els and Bjorn (so don't back them)
Tour de France
World Matchplay darts
Tuesday
The big story of the day is apparently Luis Suarez re-iterating that he wants to leave Liverpool. It really is a slow news day. It is, however, the day before the Ashes begins. The opening day of the Ashes is like transfer deadline day, Christmas (ok Hanukah) and FA Cup third round weekend all in one. Writing this now the night before, without a clue what will happen, it is hard not to be excited yet nervous.
Wednesday
The first over is said to set the tone for the Ashes series, although nobody told England last time when Andrew Strauss got out. You think back to Steve Harmison hitting Justin Langer on the elbow or Steve Harmison hitting Andrew Flintoff at second slip. As Fred himself said on Monday, he was hoping the ball would reach him, but only after hitting the edge. This time, James Pattinson tried to rough up Alastair Cook with a short ball only for it to loop (Steve) harmlessly over his head to be called a wide. The rest of the over was not much better.
Such is the great thinking in Australian thinking that they picked two players in the opening Test who weren't even in the original squad. Steve Smith was put down to bat at 6 and Ashton Agar was handed his Baggy Green cap in what is only his 11th first-class match. Poor old Nathan Lyon, dropped once more. A slightly comical moment when Sir Ian Botham said he didn't know who Agar was. Let's hope he's more Xavier Doherty than Dan Vettori.
The most enjoyable part of the coverage is the commentary. First stint and there was Michael Atherton bantering Nasser Hussain over winning the toss at Brisbane in 2002 and electing to bowl. At the end of the day Australia were 364-2 and Matthew Hayden was 186 not out. Hussain countered by mentioning how Glenn McGrath was on the outfield this morning. The same McGrath who dismissed Atherton 19 times in 17 Tests.
More good news for David Warner, who has been sent to Africa with Australia A to get some match practice. But apparently he is still part of the Ashes squad. Huh?
The action itself lived up to expectations, in that both sides bowling attacks are regarded as much stronger than their batting. Peter Siddle got another five-for on the opening day in a day with relentless ebb and flow. I have never seen a single day with so much momentum swing. The topping on this delicacy was the Jimmy Anderson ball to Michael Clarke, a ball which will leave me purring at night for the next few weeks.
Thursday
I missed the opening session due to graduation but returned staggered at what I had missed. I mean, Phil Hughes scored runs! And some teenager on debut made the highest score for a number 11 in Test history... but Hughes!
More technology controversy with Jonathan Trott given out lbw on review despite there appearing to be a deflection of the ball (although hotspot and snicko showed no edge).
After a frenetic five sessions, it was good to see Cook and KP crawl along at less than two overs for the rest of the day. Real, hard, Test match grafting at it's absolute finest.
Meanwhile, in Surrey, Ricky Ponting finished his first-class career with a match saving 169 not out. Nice to end on a high.
Friday
A real hard day of Test match cricket with England battling away to eke out as big a lead as possible. There was one major talking point though, the decision not to give Stuart Broad out after he almost middled a delivery from Agar which found its way to Clarke at slip via Brad Haddin's gloves. Somehow Aleem Dar, a man well known for giving England favourable decisions at Trent Bridge (Simon Katich, 2005) gave it not out. It was a shocker from Aleem, but the waste of two reviews, especially the second one which was nowhere near out, is the Australians' own fault. If anything, the decision not to give Agar out stumped when he was on six was a worse decision. Marias Erasmus had replays to use and still couldn't see it was clearly out.
If people are having a go at Broad for not walking, they should remember that certain Australians behind the wicket cannot say too much about dodgy decisions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwopmHUy6jo&feature=youtu.be
Credit to Shane Watson whose first 12 overs only went for two runs. But bigger credit for the Sherminator himself Ian Bell for his innings. I have been a critic of Bell in the past, a man with such talent but who gives his wicket away so tamely so often that it becomes infuriating. Great to see his bottle here, a stunning knock considering the pitch and circumstances.
Also today, the FA announced new rules regarding retrospective action for incidents on the field of play, coming after the Callum McManaman shocker last season. Before, officials could only change their minds if none of them had seen it at the time, but now: "The FA will reserve the right to take retrospective action when match officials are not in a position to fully assess a 'coming together' of players." Well that clears that up then. About as obvious as the 'interfering with play' associated with offsides.
Saturday
The Saturday of a Test match is something special and today was no exception. A fine Bell hundred, Joe Root getting a wicket before tea, Clarke snicking off and Hughes getting out to spin. On that score at least normal service was resumed.
New Fulham owner Shahid Khan says he wants to move the club up a level. Does that mean he's replacing the Michael Jackson statue with one of Elvis?
Sunday
One of the great Tests concluded in suitable style. Jimmy Anderson was inspirational, snicking off each Aussie batsman as they came in during his 13 over spell before lunch and afterwards. Only in Test cricket would over four days of action lead up to a thrilling climax and then a 40 minute break be taken.
It was probably suitable that the final wicket came from a referral after an incorrect umpiring decision. At least Marais Erasmus got this decision right. Judging by the massive ironic cheers when he picked up his match medallion at the end, the crowd were thinking the same. It's funny that there was no outrage over Brad Haddin not walking. Imagine if England had no referrals left either.
The most relieved man on the pitch must have been Steven Finn after his two over spell went for 24 runs which he then followed up by dropping Haddin when Australia were nine wickets down.
After his classic performance on Friday, Stuart Broad once more showed why he deserves to be nominated for the next Oscars. In an attempt to make sure his final over of the morning session was the last one to be bowled before the break, he spent a good minute taking his shoe off, looking around, before slowly re-tying it. It made no difference, though, as Graeme Swann had to wheel away for six more balls. The result was a maiden.
News breaking that Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell failed drugs tests. So that means the silver and bronze medals at every major 100m event are now more open than before.
Thiago Alcantara signs for Bayern Munich. The odds on them winning the Bundesliga next season must be similar to Celtic winning the SPL.
Also today, David Moyes is as quoted as saying that Wayne Rooney needs to stay at Manchester United to be a back-up for Robin van Persie. Ok, he said more than that, but I'm not sure that will exactly make Rooney feel more loved.
Arsenal beat the Indonesian All Stars 7-0. Wenger in?
Meanwhile...
Nothing dodgy going on here... http://www.africareview.com//Sports/Nigerian-clubs-suspended-after-scoring-146-goals/-/979186/1910164/-/l5pfj7z/-/index.html?relative=true
Tweet of the Week: Anton Ferdinand after John Terry's Dad was charged with racially aggravated assault -https://twitter.com/anton_ferdinand/status/354690764929896448/photo/1
Story of the Week: Some footballers move into coaching or the media when they retire. It looks like Ronaldo has different ideas - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2363517/Brazil-legend-Ronaldo-hopes-buy-Playboy-franchise-begin-soft-porn-magnate-career.html?ITO=socialnet-twitter-dmailsports&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=socialnet-twitter-dmailsports
Chelsea target Bruma was allegedly a victim of a kidnap attempt by Sporting Lisbon fans. Tottenham fans might attempt something similar with Gareth Bale
Headline of the Week: Bony offers Swans 'something extra'
Tyson Fury tries to rile up David Haye at their press conference. Please wake me up when they actually fight on September 28 - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/boxing/article-2360159/David-Haye-Tyson-Fury-clash-press-conference.html
Team gets relegated because a player didn't pay a £16 fine. Seems legit - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23259898
Fair to say Gavin Henson's time at Bath isn't going quite as planned... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-23286282
Sport this week:
The Ashes 2nd Test
The Open Championship - my each way tips are Els and Bjorn (so don't back them)
Tour de France
World Matchplay darts
Sunday 7 July 2013
Summer of sport: July 1-7
Monday
Some interesting developments in the women's fourth round at Wimbledon. Laura Robson, serving at 5-4 up in the first set tie-break, hit her second serve so badly it bounced before hitting the net, something I'd never seen before. In the second set, her opponent Kaia Kanepi had match point on her serve; her ball toss on the first serve was the worst I have ever seen. So bad in fact I swear it nearly went into the opposite tramlines. No surprise that after faulting on the first serve she followed with a double, although she did enough to see off Robson.
One of the features of Grand Slams is for the winners to fall on to the floor after the final point, or if you're Novak Djokovic start eating the grass. It's a bit more unusual to do it after reaching the quarter-finals though. Maybe it was a bit different for Sabine Lisicki who knocked out odds-on favourite Serena Williams, but Belgian 20th seed Kirsten Flipkins did the same after beating Flavia Pennetta. Maybe a slight overreaction?
Andy Murray v. Mikhail Youzhny has to be the battle of the worst challengers in tennis ever since Hawk Eye was introduced. And also a battle of the wounded with Murray clutching his back and Youzhny getting treatment on his shoulder. Fortunately, Muzz saw off the racquet-destroying Russian to set up a quarter-final clash with Fernando Verdasco.
In the cricket, Graeme Swann went for an x-ray on his arm, causing the nation to hold its breath like a broken metatarsal before a World Cup. Or not. Seeing as it was just bruising. Still, he might not be needed if Joe Root keeps taking wickets.
At Lancashire in the domestic Twenty20, a classic scenario in the first opener. Both openers were caught in the middle, only for Ashwell Prince to jog through so that his partner Stephen Moore got run out. Very classy.
Tuesday
According to Sky sources, Chris Samba is going back to Anzhi Makh... Makh...Makh, whatever they're called. Another success story at QPR. I do love it when the 'Sky sources understand' tweet comes up on Twitter, especially when the story has been broken about two days earlier. It goes down alongside Jim White on transfer window day as something which was funny to begin with and is now a parody of itself.
More good news for QPR fans with Steve McClaren joining the coaching staff. Clearly they are trying to help any Dutch signings bed in quickly.
Good to see Joe Kinnear at it again. After claiming a week ago he would not do any more interviews he then decided to say he was better than every other Director of Football. Apparently he has also won every award there is to win as a player. I'm sure we can think of some new ones for him.
England's match against Essex lost its first-class status due to the Essex bowling attack going off injured. Probably from all those Jonathan Trott fireworks.
An interesting interview between Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen. Some good quotes from KP, saying Brett Lee's spell at the Oval in 2005 wasn't very good (how did he see the ball at that pace?) and he didn't find facing Glenn McGrath very difficult. Try telling Michael Atherton that. Maybe KP forgets that McGrath broke his ribs in 2006.
Wednesday
Horror in Ireland as BOD is dropped. If the ECB is the England and Wales Cricket Board, should the British and Irish Lions become the Dragons?
Busy day for me today. Had to travel to Essex overnight to help make up the numbers.
Some beastly performances in the opening quarter finals at Wimbledon, first from Juan Martin del Potro who looked like he was going to go off injured after game one but then hammered David Ferrer, a man who if you listen to the commentators would not look out of place on Street Fighter. At the same time the machine (no, not James Wade) Novak Djokovic came from two breaks down in the second set to beat Tomas Berdych in three. That could be a stunning semi... and a decent tennis match.
Frankie Boyle adequately summed up Andy Murray's first two sets against Fernando Verdasco, the man with the most coiffeured hair in sport. The clearly uncontroversial comedian tweeted: "Nothing more Scottish than watching a guy in sportswear fuck up a court appearance #wimbledon." Quite. Until he won that is. Unfortunately what followed was a painful interview by Garry Richardson. I am not a man who will kick someone after making a mistake, like Geoff Shreeves after that Barcelona-Chelsea match a couple of years ago. But I've never enjoyed Richardson's line of questioning. In fact, there are very few good post-match interviews. They normally go along like this:
Interviewer: "How do you feel after winning?"
Player: "Good."
Interviewer: "You started badly. Was it because of yourself or your opponent?"
Player: "A bit of both."
Interviewer: "How did you turn it around?
Player: "I improved, he got worse."
Interviewer: "What do you think of your next opponent?"
Player: "It will be a tough match."
Interviewer: "Thank you for your excellent responses."
Thursday
Roberto Mancini is quoted as saying he doesn't know why he got sacked by Manchester City. Does the fact that every player seemed to hate him have something to do with it?
Coventry City are set to ground-share with Northampton Town, a town which is 34 miles away. I know Coventry fans miss watching Clive Platt but this is a step too far. Maybe the ground will be more than half filled for a change.
The new Fifa rankings had Colombia in third. Have the Fifa officials been smoking something?
Friday
Amir Khan wins the award for the best dressed in the Royal Box, rocking the place with his salmon suit. Let's be honest, he could be there in a mankini and nobody is going to tell him to change.
Lots of good semi jokes flying around today from Gary Lineker, Jeremy Clarkson and even Sky News. Shame they couldn't finish them off.
Opening semi of the day was truly arousing. The longest in Wimbledon history between the machine and the limping Argentine. Djokovic is an absolute cocktease of a player, offering you the possibility that he will be beaten before taking that away with some breathtaking tennis. Even when serving for the match he gave Del Potro a break back point before dashing his hopes with some first serves. Maybe one day the crowd will stop taking the side of his opponent.
Great drama was everywhere. In this day of watching more than one sporting match at the same time, as Janowicz started imploding in the third set against Murray, Lancashire needed three off the last ball against bitter rivals Yorkshire and ended up tieing the match. Having been cruising all the way through their innings it was a good point for Yorkshire, and an even better celebration from that hero Ryan Sidebottom.
Back at the tennis, not sure why they closed the roof at 8:45. If anything that's the perfect time to start some garden cricket...
Quote of the match came from Andrew Castle: "If you can keep your girlfriend happy you're doing well."
Saturday
The start of the sporting weekend began in style. Even when the Lions were winning early in the second half I felt disappointed. I get the impression that part of the Lions' appeal is to play sexy rugby and so far they had just done it all at the scrum which nobody seems to understand. But they turned it on in the final twenty-five minutes. Watching the Aussies get stuffed in their back yard is like sending me off for a weekend of sun, beer, garden cricket and falafel... with a horny and single Megan Fox. After last Saturday's defeat and the promise shown by the cricketers in their warm-up matches, I was starting to worry that the Australians were beginning to turn a corner. Let's hope this rout is a sign of things to come.
The women's Wimbledon final lasted 1 hour and 21 minutes. How do they get equal pay when they play so much less? Shouldn't the juniors get paid the same amount then? A good suggestion I heard was to pay competitors by sets won, which would certainly be fairer.
Poor form by John Inverdale. I know I can't preach about sexism but saying Marion Bartoli isn't much of a looker is not just acceptable on TV and, to be honest, it's like me having a go at someone for having a big nose.
Notts continued their incredible limited overs form which has seen them lose just one match in the YB40 and Twenty20 competitions so far. It's a shame you just know they'll cock it up later. I love watching David Hussey play though. Let's just be glad he's not in the Ashes.
Sunday
Only one story dominating the agenda today. But apart from Mamma Mia on ITV there was the Wimbledon final.
Now, I don't know about you, but I feel a bit short changed. I mean, only three sets? That's not what we expect. If it's any consolation to Djokovic it's that he had a better day than the umpire who called out during a point in the first set only to allow play to continue. Early in the next set he then overruled a fault called on the Murray to serve only for replays to show it was actually out.
The commentary team the BBC put forward was probably not universally popular. Still, Andrew Castle provided some mild humour by identifying Tim Henman's Mum and Dad, only for the former to actually be somebody else. It may be the first Grand Slam final where a commentator was informed that he had a new parent.
The biggest losers were Wayne Rooney - whose hair transplant seems to be about as strong as his relationship with the Manchester United crowd - and Alex Salmond, who rose the Scottish flag after Murray's win only for the BBC to move somewhere else. The Lions get Daniel Craig watching, Murray gets a bunch of politicians.
Some good and bad news for Murray. The good is that Garry Richardson wasn't there to interview him at the end. The bad is that he will actually have to turn up for SPOTY this year otherwise his new found popularity might recede as much as Rooney's hairline.
I will say this though. Murray's win will do more for British tennis in the future than any amount of funding from the LTA. The problem for him is what next? I might sound a bit ridiculous (for a change) but wouldn't it be great if Murray could commit to the Davis Cup and try and help Britain win it? With lots of good doubles players it's not impossible. Golf has the Ryder Cup, team sports have the internationals, so why should we not try and achieve international success in tennis?
Meanwhile...
Tweet of the week: @ESPNcricinfo - "When Chris Rogers last played for Australia, they were coming off a 16-Test winning streak. Fair to say times have changed since."
Story of the week: Boozy Sri Lanka cricketer tries to open a plane door whilst in the air - http://www.espncricinfo.com/srilanka/content/story/646865.html
Some fans don't take relegation as well as others - http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/video/2013/jul/01/argentina-independiente-fans-attack-president-relegation-video?CMP=twt_gu
Collapse of the week: No, not the Australian scrum but Pakistan women who went from 101-2 to 116 all out against England, thus losing by 111 runs
Picture of the week: What's Murray got in his bag? https://twitter.com/_itsjustcalvin/status/353248726384517121/photo/1
Spoilsports of the week: You're Bournemouth, you get a friendly with Real Madrid, you charge... £60 for an adult?!
The Spain-Tahiti award for mismatch of the week: Adebayo Akinfenwa - well known tank - arm wrestling against Darren Gough - http://instagram.com/p/bT_LcnjSpW/
The Elle Macpherson award for the body: Football had Diego Forlan playing on with his top off having been celebrating his goal and rugby now has its own equivalent. Step forward Jean Deysel http://www.rugbydump.com/2013/07/3284/jean-deysel-plays-on-despite-getting-jersey-ripped-by-rene-ranger
Sport next week
There's the Ashes and... well who cares about the rest? Check out my preview here http://jlamy.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/ashes-preview.html
Some interesting developments in the women's fourth round at Wimbledon. Laura Robson, serving at 5-4 up in the first set tie-break, hit her second serve so badly it bounced before hitting the net, something I'd never seen before. In the second set, her opponent Kaia Kanepi had match point on her serve; her ball toss on the first serve was the worst I have ever seen. So bad in fact I swear it nearly went into the opposite tramlines. No surprise that after faulting on the first serve she followed with a double, although she did enough to see off Robson.
One of the features of Grand Slams is for the winners to fall on to the floor after the final point, or if you're Novak Djokovic start eating the grass. It's a bit more unusual to do it after reaching the quarter-finals though. Maybe it was a bit different for Sabine Lisicki who knocked out odds-on favourite Serena Williams, but Belgian 20th seed Kirsten Flipkins did the same after beating Flavia Pennetta. Maybe a slight overreaction?
Andy Murray v. Mikhail Youzhny has to be the battle of the worst challengers in tennis ever since Hawk Eye was introduced. And also a battle of the wounded with Murray clutching his back and Youzhny getting treatment on his shoulder. Fortunately, Muzz saw off the racquet-destroying Russian to set up a quarter-final clash with Fernando Verdasco.
In the cricket, Graeme Swann went for an x-ray on his arm, causing the nation to hold its breath like a broken metatarsal before a World Cup. Or not. Seeing as it was just bruising. Still, he might not be needed if Joe Root keeps taking wickets.
At Lancashire in the domestic Twenty20, a classic scenario in the first opener. Both openers were caught in the middle, only for Ashwell Prince to jog through so that his partner Stephen Moore got run out. Very classy.
Tuesday
According to Sky sources, Chris Samba is going back to Anzhi Makh... Makh...Makh, whatever they're called. Another success story at QPR. I do love it when the 'Sky sources understand' tweet comes up on Twitter, especially when the story has been broken about two days earlier. It goes down alongside Jim White on transfer window day as something which was funny to begin with and is now a parody of itself.
More good news for QPR fans with Steve McClaren joining the coaching staff. Clearly they are trying to help any Dutch signings bed in quickly.
Good to see Joe Kinnear at it again. After claiming a week ago he would not do any more interviews he then decided to say he was better than every other Director of Football. Apparently he has also won every award there is to win as a player. I'm sure we can think of some new ones for him.
England's match against Essex lost its first-class status due to the Essex bowling attack going off injured. Probably from all those Jonathan Trott fireworks.
An interesting interview between Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen. Some good quotes from KP, saying Brett Lee's spell at the Oval in 2005 wasn't very good (how did he see the ball at that pace?) and he didn't find facing Glenn McGrath very difficult. Try telling Michael Atherton that. Maybe KP forgets that McGrath broke his ribs in 2006.
Wednesday
Horror in Ireland as BOD is dropped. If the ECB is the England and Wales Cricket Board, should the British and Irish Lions become the Dragons?
Busy day for me today. Had to travel to Essex overnight to help make up the numbers.
Some beastly performances in the opening quarter finals at Wimbledon, first from Juan Martin del Potro who looked like he was going to go off injured after game one but then hammered David Ferrer, a man who if you listen to the commentators would not look out of place on Street Fighter. At the same time the machine (no, not James Wade) Novak Djokovic came from two breaks down in the second set to beat Tomas Berdych in three. That could be a stunning semi... and a decent tennis match.
Frankie Boyle adequately summed up Andy Murray's first two sets against Fernando Verdasco, the man with the most coiffeured hair in sport. The clearly uncontroversial comedian tweeted: "Nothing more Scottish than watching a guy in sportswear fuck up a court appearance #wimbledon." Quite. Until he won that is. Unfortunately what followed was a painful interview by Garry Richardson. I am not a man who will kick someone after making a mistake, like Geoff Shreeves after that Barcelona-Chelsea match a couple of years ago. But I've never enjoyed Richardson's line of questioning. In fact, there are very few good post-match interviews. They normally go along like this:
Interviewer: "How do you feel after winning?"
Player: "Good."
Interviewer: "You started badly. Was it because of yourself or your opponent?"
Player: "A bit of both."
Interviewer: "How did you turn it around?
Player: "I improved, he got worse."
Interviewer: "What do you think of your next opponent?"
Player: "It will be a tough match."
Interviewer: "Thank you for your excellent responses."
Thursday
Roberto Mancini is quoted as saying he doesn't know why he got sacked by Manchester City. Does the fact that every player seemed to hate him have something to do with it?
Coventry City are set to ground-share with Northampton Town, a town which is 34 miles away. I know Coventry fans miss watching Clive Platt but this is a step too far. Maybe the ground will be more than half filled for a change.
The new Fifa rankings had Colombia in third. Have the Fifa officials been smoking something?
Friday
Amir Khan wins the award for the best dressed in the Royal Box, rocking the place with his salmon suit. Let's be honest, he could be there in a mankini and nobody is going to tell him to change.
Lots of good semi jokes flying around today from Gary Lineker, Jeremy Clarkson and even Sky News. Shame they couldn't finish them off.
Opening semi of the day was truly arousing. The longest in Wimbledon history between the machine and the limping Argentine. Djokovic is an absolute cocktease of a player, offering you the possibility that he will be beaten before taking that away with some breathtaking tennis. Even when serving for the match he gave Del Potro a break back point before dashing his hopes with some first serves. Maybe one day the crowd will stop taking the side of his opponent.
Great drama was everywhere. In this day of watching more than one sporting match at the same time, as Janowicz started imploding in the third set against Murray, Lancashire needed three off the last ball against bitter rivals Yorkshire and ended up tieing the match. Having been cruising all the way through their innings it was a good point for Yorkshire, and an even better celebration from that hero Ryan Sidebottom.
Back at the tennis, not sure why they closed the roof at 8:45. If anything that's the perfect time to start some garden cricket...
Quote of the match came from Andrew Castle: "If you can keep your girlfriend happy you're doing well."
Saturday
The start of the sporting weekend began in style. Even when the Lions were winning early in the second half I felt disappointed. I get the impression that part of the Lions' appeal is to play sexy rugby and so far they had just done it all at the scrum which nobody seems to understand. But they turned it on in the final twenty-five minutes. Watching the Aussies get stuffed in their back yard is like sending me off for a weekend of sun, beer, garden cricket and falafel... with a horny and single Megan Fox. After last Saturday's defeat and the promise shown by the cricketers in their warm-up matches, I was starting to worry that the Australians were beginning to turn a corner. Let's hope this rout is a sign of things to come.
The women's Wimbledon final lasted 1 hour and 21 minutes. How do they get equal pay when they play so much less? Shouldn't the juniors get paid the same amount then? A good suggestion I heard was to pay competitors by sets won, which would certainly be fairer.
Poor form by John Inverdale. I know I can't preach about sexism but saying Marion Bartoli isn't much of a looker is not just acceptable on TV and, to be honest, it's like me having a go at someone for having a big nose.
Notts continued their incredible limited overs form which has seen them lose just one match in the YB40 and Twenty20 competitions so far. It's a shame you just know they'll cock it up later. I love watching David Hussey play though. Let's just be glad he's not in the Ashes.
Sunday
Only one story dominating the agenda today. But apart from Mamma Mia on ITV there was the Wimbledon final.
Now, I don't know about you, but I feel a bit short changed. I mean, only three sets? That's not what we expect. If it's any consolation to Djokovic it's that he had a better day than the umpire who called out during a point in the first set only to allow play to continue. Early in the next set he then overruled a fault called on the Murray to serve only for replays to show it was actually out.
The commentary team the BBC put forward was probably not universally popular. Still, Andrew Castle provided some mild humour by identifying Tim Henman's Mum and Dad, only for the former to actually be somebody else. It may be the first Grand Slam final where a commentator was informed that he had a new parent.
The biggest losers were Wayne Rooney - whose hair transplant seems to be about as strong as his relationship with the Manchester United crowd - and Alex Salmond, who rose the Scottish flag after Murray's win only for the BBC to move somewhere else. The Lions get Daniel Craig watching, Murray gets a bunch of politicians.
Some good and bad news for Murray. The good is that Garry Richardson wasn't there to interview him at the end. The bad is that he will actually have to turn up for SPOTY this year otherwise his new found popularity might recede as much as Rooney's hairline.
I will say this though. Murray's win will do more for British tennis in the future than any amount of funding from the LTA. The problem for him is what next? I might sound a bit ridiculous (for a change) but wouldn't it be great if Murray could commit to the Davis Cup and try and help Britain win it? With lots of good doubles players it's not impossible. Golf has the Ryder Cup, team sports have the internationals, so why should we not try and achieve international success in tennis?
Meanwhile...
Tweet of the week: @ESPNcricinfo - "When Chris Rogers last played for Australia, they were coming off a 16-Test winning streak. Fair to say times have changed since."
Story of the week: Boozy Sri Lanka cricketer tries to open a plane door whilst in the air - http://www.espncricinfo.com/srilanka/content/story/646865.html
Some fans don't take relegation as well as others - http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/video/2013/jul/01/argentina-independiente-fans-attack-president-relegation-video?CMP=twt_gu
Collapse of the week: No, not the Australian scrum but Pakistan women who went from 101-2 to 116 all out against England, thus losing by 111 runs
Picture of the week: What's Murray got in his bag? https://twitter.com/_itsjustcalvin/status/353248726384517121/photo/1
Spoilsports of the week: You're Bournemouth, you get a friendly with Real Madrid, you charge... £60 for an adult?!
The Spain-Tahiti award for mismatch of the week: Adebayo Akinfenwa - well known tank - arm wrestling against Darren Gough - http://instagram.com/p/bT_LcnjSpW/
The Elle Macpherson award for the body: Football had Diego Forlan playing on with his top off having been celebrating his goal and rugby now has its own equivalent. Step forward Jean Deysel http://www.rugbydump.com/2013/07/3284/jean-deysel-plays-on-despite-getting-jersey-ripped-by-rene-ranger
Sport next week
There's the Ashes and... well who cares about the rest? Check out my preview here http://jlamy.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/ashes-preview.html
Ashes preview
3 reasons England will win
1. A top three who should score runs - Cook and Trott can score big and Root has shown a similar appetite for Yorkshire
2. Graeme Swann - Turning pitches against left-handers is Swann's wet dream. Showed against New Zealand he's lost none of his skill but has a worrying act of getting injured at the minute
3. An excellent home record in Tests - South Africa might have won here but ignoring them, the last side were India in 2007, nine series ago
3 reasons Australia might cause an upset
1. Michael Clarke - An absolute run machine. Since the start of 2012 he has scored 1960 runs from 15 match with an average of 85.21. That includes three double hundreds (two of which came against South Africa) and a triple against India. He has defied the South African pace attack and the spin of India in their own conditions. His only weakness is his back
2. Michael Clarke (just kidding)
3. A good pace attack - Starc, Pattinson, Siddle, Harris, Faulkner, Bird and Watson. Maybe not quite as good as England's but they are all good bowlers. England have struggled against left-armers as well
4. History - The 1989 tourists were dubbed the 'worst side ever to leave Australia' just like the current lot are. They ended up winning 4-0
Bets
Some selected odds from Lambrokes:
Phil Hughes to go the whole series without scoring a run against spin - 45/1
Phil Hughes to get dropped mid-series - 1/2
Shane Watson to not hit a hundred - 2/1
Michael Clarke to score over 50% of Australia's runs - 10/1
Ricky Ponting to get a re-call - 25/1
Australia to use more than two opening partnerships - 30/1
England to remain unchanged throughout all five Tests - 3/1
Australia to go into a Test without a recognised spinner - Evens
David Warner to get in a fight on the field - 500/1
England - a summary
As Andrew Strauss wrote last weekend, it's an unusual move for coach Andy Flower to change his opening partnership just before a major Test series, but Nick Compton has been removed for Joe Root. This is one potential area of concern, as a struggle for Root could damage his confidence. Other personnel concerns are about Steven Finn as the third bowler with his pace and accuracy struggling.
Those who think England will run away with the series should see the Tests against New Zealand as a warning. It just takes another injury to Graeme Swann or Kevin Pietersen, or Jimmy Anderson breaking down, and that optimism will be dampened.
One thing which has been picked up is a failure to score big totals like the ones posted against Australia and India a couple of years ago. The win in India was led by Cook and Pietersen with the bat but against New Zealand it was often the middle and lower-middle order which came to the rescue. Similar problems again could prove disastrous.
Australia - a summary
It's hard to know where to begin with Australia. A couple of weeks ago they were a laughing stock, but suddenly they seem to be getting their confidence back under Darren Lehmann. Still, even if the problems with homework and David Warner's behaviour may have been wiped from the slate, a batting line-up which is desperate for Clarke to score runs could struggle badly, especially if the captain's back flares up again.
A new opening batsman in Chris Rogers, lots of places up for grabs and a spinner who cannot secure his place, Australia are deserved underdogs. But a long list of excellent pace bowlers who can all bat and recent performances in Tests (India aside) shows this is a side who cannot be underestimated. Conditions at Trent Bridge will be conducive to a result if the weather is dodgy, and Australia could spring a surprise.
Player by player guide:
Here is how the rankings system works:
England:
Alastair Cook: 8.5 - A talisman in big oversees wins but finds it harder against the moving ball at home. Fair to say he has good memories of playing Australia
Joe Root: 7 - Has done everything asked of him so far in his career and now has a Test hundred to his name, but will have to make another step up to prove he should have been picked over Nick Compton. His off-spin could prove useful if pitches turn
Jonathan Trott: 8.5 - England's Mr Reliable would normally be a definite 9, but his standards have dipped slightly. His average since 2012 is 42.45, not because his form has dropped but because he has not been converting starts into hundreds like he used to. In this period he hit nine 50s and two hundreds but that also includes a number of other starts which he failed to convert. Like Cook he often struggles against left-hand seamers which might explain why he did not score big against New Zealand
Kevin Pietersen: 8 - Like Cook and Trott he has scored big runs against Australia and looks in excellent touch once again. Assuming he is fully fit, expect probably one match winning innings, if not a consistent number
Ian Bell: 7 - It may have gone under the radar but Bell should feel his place in the side is under threat. From the start of 2012 he averages 32.07 with one hundred and once more he is getting out cheaply, a problem which he looked to have sorted out. A couple of quiet Tests and even his excellent fielding at short leg might not be enough to keep him in the side
Jonny Bairstow: 6.5 - A lack of cricket both this winter and since the New Zealand Tests have hampered his progress but he is a good counter-attacking player and has shown already he has the bottle for the big stage
Matt Prior: 8.5 - After the winter his rating would have been even higher but an uncharacteristically poor summer so far, with few runs and unusual errors behind the stumps, have seen him slip from his normally incredible standards
Stuart Broad: 8 - Like Pietersen a man who will normally win you a match but might not deliver Test after Test. Showed his best form two years ago against India when he was all over their batsmen and England fans will hope for a repeat
Graeme Swann: 9 - Quite simply, in my opinion, the one player England cannot afford to lose. A match winner with the ball, useful with the bat and an excellent slip catcher, England look extremely vulnerable when the off-spinner is not there
James Anderson: 9 - Alongside Swann as the player England need most. Possibly the most skilled bowler in world cricket (if not the best) he will fancy his chances against the Australian openers before Swann starts wheeling away
Steven Finn: 7 - A worrying loss of form means Finn can not be relied upon here, but his pace and knack of picking up wickets will probably give him the edge over Tim Bresnan. Will need a quick start, though, with the more versatile Yorkshireman back to full fitness and form
The Finn/Bresnan/Onions debate: Finn has the pace, the height and the knack of picking up wickets. Bresnan is accurate, can reverse the ball and bat. Onions is an excellent stump-to-stump bowler and is effective against left-handers. If the pitch is dry and rough I'd lean towards Bresnan and if it's green then Onions. Finn's form is a concern but he would still be a decent choice if selected.
Australia (probable line-up):
Shane Watson: 8 - A Test batting average of 35.34 is misleading. Watson finds it difficult to hit hundreds, with his last coming at Mohali in October 2010, 20 Tests ago. But few players survive the new ball as well as him, and considering the fragility of the Aussie batting line-up (and the importance to protect Michael Clarke) putting Watson back to the top of the order is a shrewd move. If Lehmann can coax the best from him with bat and ball, Watson could be on of the stars of the series. Early indications are good if his runs against Somerset and Worcestershire are to go by
Chris Rogers: 7 - Cricket Australia haven't got much right recently, but picking the Middlesex opener is an exception. A first-class average of 50, a domestic average of 65.83 this season, and plenty of experience opening in England, Rogers is the perfect choice alongside Watson. Taking that record to the international stage, though, will not be easy
Ed Cowan: 6.5 - A dogged batsman who sells his wicket dearly, Cowan was well liked by previous coach Mickey Arthur but is not a scorer of big runs. Has scored for Nottinghamshire this summer, but showed his failings with four fifties and no hundreds. Will probably keep his place in the team even if it's in a different position to one he is used to
Phil Hughes: 6 - The biggest enigma of Australian cricket, Hughes has a suspect technique which saw him dropped last time he was here. In five Tests against England he has scored just 154 runs with a top score of 36. In India he at one staged faced 39 consecutive balls against spin, scoring no runs and being dismissed four times.
Hughes has pedigree though, with back-to-back hundreds in South Africa and runs against Sri Lanka in the Australian summer. England bowlers will be glad to see him, though
Michael Clarke: 9 - His batting has already been mentioned but his captaincy is also very good. He won in the West Indies declaring behind in the first innings and in India he declared his side's first innings at 237-9 just to get a few overs at the Indian openers on the first evening. Like Brendon McCullum, Clarke will attack England at all opportunities
Steven Smith: 6.5 - A late addition to the side after Warner's suspension and Clarke's back problems, Smith is only meant to be with the tourists until the second Test but could gatecrash the side. Scored 133 for Australia A against Ireland and 161 from four innings in India. Runs against Worcestershire will only have helped his cause. Is seen as a batsman but bowls handy leg-spin
Brad Haddin: 7.5 - Lost his place as wicket-keeper to Matthew Wade through no fault of his own but is the sort of character Lehmann will want in the side and has scored runs against England in the past. The vice-captain bats in a similar counter-attacking vein to Matt Prior but is not as secure with the gloves on
Peter Siddle: 8 - Often underrated by those outside Australia, Siddle will steam in all day, give the batsmen no respite and can take wickets with the new and old ball. Siddle proved himself as the leader of the attack when he bowled himself to exhaustion in Adelaide where he tried to take the final South African wickets, and he did well in the last two Tests in India.
Siddle's Test average of 28.84 is pretty good and in his two series against England he has averaged 30.8 and 34.56. Also useful with the bat (he top scored with half centuries in both innings of the final Test in India), Siddle will almost certainly keep his place despite a slow start to the tour
Mitchell Starc: 8.5 - A potential superstar. Similar to Mitchell Johnson in name, bowling action and the way he plays the game, Starc seems to be the better bet to be a mainstay of the Australian side. After one successful Test against India and the West Indies, Starc really announced himself in another of his one-Test series, this time against the number one ranked side in the world at Perth. Clean bowling Alviro Peterson and Jacques Kallis in successive overs with inswinging deliveries, Starc could repeat Johnson's performance against England at Perth from the last Ashes series if the ball swings. Likewise, he can prove expensive if conditions are not in his favour.
Starc is also probably the most talented tail-end batsman from either side. He averages over 32 with the bat from his nine Tests, including 68* from 64 balls against South Africa and an incredible 99 in the dust bowls of India
James Pattinson: 8 - Like Starc, Pattinson is 23 and is another who can become a world star. His bowling average from 10 Tests is 23.37 and he impressed with his pace against India. Like Starc (and indeed Siddle) he can bowl 90+ mph and has an excellent yorker. Again, as with Starc, he has suffered from injuries but has been back to full health and could be a big threat with ball in hand. Like his fellow bowlers he is also more than handy with the willow
Nathan Lyon: 6.5 - Sorry to say but Lyon is the weak link of the Australian side. He is not a bad bowler, as his average of 33.18 shows, but it is clear that his own team do not rate him. Dropped after one Test in the spinners' paradise of India, the attempt to fast-tract Fawad Ahmed's citizenship after 15 first-class matches is revealing. Possessing a doosra he calls "Jeff", it would be no surprise if Lyon was jettisoned at some point
The other tourists:
Ashton Agar - 19-year-old left-arm spinner who has hit three 50s from his nine first-class matches. Did well with Australia A and is a definite contender for Lyon's place
Jackson Bird - A control bowler with an excellent first-class record and 11 wickets from his two Tests against Sri Lanka at 16.18 runs apiece, he is another exciting seamer who could come in and took wickets against Worcestershire
James Faulkner - A highly-rated all rounder (especially by Shane Warne) who bowls left arm over and is more than handy with the bat as showed in the Champions Trophy. Will probably be a mainstay in the Australian team in all three formats in the future
Ryan Harris - Another top seamer who can hold a bat, 33-year-old Harris averages 23.63 from 12 Tests and has troubled England in the past but is injury prone
Usman Khawaja - A Test average of 29.22 from six Tests is not much, but he is highly rated and a 73 against Somerset will have done him no harm. Number six is the position which looks hardest to call with David Warner and Steve Smith around, so if given the chance Khawaja needs to start well
Matthew Wade - A wicket-keeper whose Test average of 34.61 is only slight worse than Haddin's, Wade might find himself displaced because Haddin is seen as the better option with bat and gloves
David Warner - Almost certain not to start after being banned from the warm-up matches for punching Root, Warner could find himself in the middle order where he is less exposed to the new ball. A free scoring batsman with a respectable Test average of 39.46, his lack of form is a concern but a clean slate under Lehmann could be in his favour.
Overall scores (based on possibly line-ups): England - 87, Australia - 81.5
Best combined team
1. Cook
2. Watson
3. Trott
4. Pietersen
5. Clarke
6. Root
7. Prior
8. Starc
9. Broad (close call with Pattinson)
10. Swann
11. Anderson
The grounds
Trent Bridge - Normally a swingers' paradise but has done less this summer and the last two First Class matches have seen stacks of runs. The pitch will be dry and could turn later on
Lord's - 2009 saw England finally win at the great ground against their main rivals. If it's sunny expect runs galore (pitches sometimes improve over the match) but any cloud cover will offer assistance to the seamers
Old Trafford - Most likely to be a quick, bouncy wicket with a dry outfield which should assist reverse swing. Spin is also expected to play a big part at the end. There's a reason England love playing here
Chester le-Street - Four wins from four here for England but hard to know what to expect. Four first-class matches this season have seen the pace bowlers do well
The Oval - If England are not ahead or have the Ashes sealed expect a dry wicket which will turn from day one. Otherwise, a flat pitch could be expected
Overall prediction
Conditions and the toss at Trent Bridge will have a massive effect. If it's bowler-friendly and Australia win the toss the whole series can change. Otherwise, it's hard to see past an England win. I'm going 2-1 but I expect it to be tight throughout the series
Top run scorer:
England - Trott, Australia - Clarke
Top wicket taker:
England - Anderson, Australia - Starc
1. A top three who should score runs - Cook and Trott can score big and Root has shown a similar appetite for Yorkshire
2. Graeme Swann - Turning pitches against left-handers is Swann's wet dream. Showed against New Zealand he's lost none of his skill but has a worrying act of getting injured at the minute
3. An excellent home record in Tests - South Africa might have won here but ignoring them, the last side were India in 2007, nine series ago
3 reasons Australia might cause an upset
1. Michael Clarke - An absolute run machine. Since the start of 2012 he has scored 1960 runs from 15 match with an average of 85.21. That includes three double hundreds (two of which came against South Africa) and a triple against India. He has defied the South African pace attack and the spin of India in their own conditions. His only weakness is his back
2. Michael Clarke (just kidding)
3. A good pace attack - Starc, Pattinson, Siddle, Harris, Faulkner, Bird and Watson. Maybe not quite as good as England's but they are all good bowlers. England have struggled against left-armers as well
4. History - The 1989 tourists were dubbed the 'worst side ever to leave Australia' just like the current lot are. They ended up winning 4-0
Bets
Some selected odds from Lambrokes:
Phil Hughes to go the whole series without scoring a run against spin - 45/1
Phil Hughes to get dropped mid-series - 1/2
Shane Watson to not hit a hundred - 2/1
Michael Clarke to score over 50% of Australia's runs - 10/1
Ricky Ponting to get a re-call - 25/1
Australia to use more than two opening partnerships - 30/1
England to remain unchanged throughout all five Tests - 3/1
Australia to go into a Test without a recognised spinner - Evens
David Warner to get in a fight on the field - 500/1
England - a summary
As Andrew Strauss wrote last weekend, it's an unusual move for coach Andy Flower to change his opening partnership just before a major Test series, but Nick Compton has been removed for Joe Root. This is one potential area of concern, as a struggle for Root could damage his confidence. Other personnel concerns are about Steven Finn as the third bowler with his pace and accuracy struggling.
Those who think England will run away with the series should see the Tests against New Zealand as a warning. It just takes another injury to Graeme Swann or Kevin Pietersen, or Jimmy Anderson breaking down, and that optimism will be dampened.
One thing which has been picked up is a failure to score big totals like the ones posted against Australia and India a couple of years ago. The win in India was led by Cook and Pietersen with the bat but against New Zealand it was often the middle and lower-middle order which came to the rescue. Similar problems again could prove disastrous.
Australia - a summary
It's hard to know where to begin with Australia. A couple of weeks ago they were a laughing stock, but suddenly they seem to be getting their confidence back under Darren Lehmann. Still, even if the problems with homework and David Warner's behaviour may have been wiped from the slate, a batting line-up which is desperate for Clarke to score runs could struggle badly, especially if the captain's back flares up again.
A new opening batsman in Chris Rogers, lots of places up for grabs and a spinner who cannot secure his place, Australia are deserved underdogs. But a long list of excellent pace bowlers who can all bat and recent performances in Tests (India aside) shows this is a side who cannot be underestimated. Conditions at Trent Bridge will be conducive to a result if the weather is dodgy, and Australia could spring a surprise.
Player by player guide:
Here is how the rankings system works:
0 – Kesteven
1 – Horrendous
2 – Shocker
3 – Why always me?
4 – Liability
5 – Distinctly average
6 – Pretty, pretty, pretty… pretty good
7 – Gary Neville orgasm
8 – Shares in Kleenex have doubled
9 – Needs boning right now
10 – Babies were born on the back of his performances
England:
Alastair Cook: 8.5 - A talisman in big oversees wins but finds it harder against the moving ball at home. Fair to say he has good memories of playing Australia
Joe Root: 7 - Has done everything asked of him so far in his career and now has a Test hundred to his name, but will have to make another step up to prove he should have been picked over Nick Compton. His off-spin could prove useful if pitches turn
Jonathan Trott: 8.5 - England's Mr Reliable would normally be a definite 9, but his standards have dipped slightly. His average since 2012 is 42.45, not because his form has dropped but because he has not been converting starts into hundreds like he used to. In this period he hit nine 50s and two hundreds but that also includes a number of other starts which he failed to convert. Like Cook he often struggles against left-hand seamers which might explain why he did not score big against New Zealand
Kevin Pietersen: 8 - Like Cook and Trott he has scored big runs against Australia and looks in excellent touch once again. Assuming he is fully fit, expect probably one match winning innings, if not a consistent number
Ian Bell: 7 - It may have gone under the radar but Bell should feel his place in the side is under threat. From the start of 2012 he averages 32.07 with one hundred and once more he is getting out cheaply, a problem which he looked to have sorted out. A couple of quiet Tests and even his excellent fielding at short leg might not be enough to keep him in the side
Jonny Bairstow: 6.5 - A lack of cricket both this winter and since the New Zealand Tests have hampered his progress but he is a good counter-attacking player and has shown already he has the bottle for the big stage
Matt Prior: 8.5 - After the winter his rating would have been even higher but an uncharacteristically poor summer so far, with few runs and unusual errors behind the stumps, have seen him slip from his normally incredible standards
Stuart Broad: 8 - Like Pietersen a man who will normally win you a match but might not deliver Test after Test. Showed his best form two years ago against India when he was all over their batsmen and England fans will hope for a repeat
Graeme Swann: 9 - Quite simply, in my opinion, the one player England cannot afford to lose. A match winner with the ball, useful with the bat and an excellent slip catcher, England look extremely vulnerable when the off-spinner is not there
James Anderson: 9 - Alongside Swann as the player England need most. Possibly the most skilled bowler in world cricket (if not the best) he will fancy his chances against the Australian openers before Swann starts wheeling away
Steven Finn: 7 - A worrying loss of form means Finn can not be relied upon here, but his pace and knack of picking up wickets will probably give him the edge over Tim Bresnan. Will need a quick start, though, with the more versatile Yorkshireman back to full fitness and form
The Finn/Bresnan/Onions debate: Finn has the pace, the height and the knack of picking up wickets. Bresnan is accurate, can reverse the ball and bat. Onions is an excellent stump-to-stump bowler and is effective against left-handers. If the pitch is dry and rough I'd lean towards Bresnan and if it's green then Onions. Finn's form is a concern but he would still be a decent choice if selected.
Australia (probable line-up):
Shane Watson: 8 - A Test batting average of 35.34 is misleading. Watson finds it difficult to hit hundreds, with his last coming at Mohali in October 2010, 20 Tests ago. But few players survive the new ball as well as him, and considering the fragility of the Aussie batting line-up (and the importance to protect Michael Clarke) putting Watson back to the top of the order is a shrewd move. If Lehmann can coax the best from him with bat and ball, Watson could be on of the stars of the series. Early indications are good if his runs against Somerset and Worcestershire are to go by
Chris Rogers: 7 - Cricket Australia haven't got much right recently, but picking the Middlesex opener is an exception. A first-class average of 50, a domestic average of 65.83 this season, and plenty of experience opening in England, Rogers is the perfect choice alongside Watson. Taking that record to the international stage, though, will not be easy
Ed Cowan: 6.5 - A dogged batsman who sells his wicket dearly, Cowan was well liked by previous coach Mickey Arthur but is not a scorer of big runs. Has scored for Nottinghamshire this summer, but showed his failings with four fifties and no hundreds. Will probably keep his place in the team even if it's in a different position to one he is used to
Phil Hughes: 6 - The biggest enigma of Australian cricket, Hughes has a suspect technique which saw him dropped last time he was here. In five Tests against England he has scored just 154 runs with a top score of 36. In India he at one staged faced 39 consecutive balls against spin, scoring no runs and being dismissed four times.
Hughes has pedigree though, with back-to-back hundreds in South Africa and runs against Sri Lanka in the Australian summer. England bowlers will be glad to see him, though
Michael Clarke: 9 - His batting has already been mentioned but his captaincy is also very good. He won in the West Indies declaring behind in the first innings and in India he declared his side's first innings at 237-9 just to get a few overs at the Indian openers on the first evening. Like Brendon McCullum, Clarke will attack England at all opportunities
Steven Smith: 6.5 - A late addition to the side after Warner's suspension and Clarke's back problems, Smith is only meant to be with the tourists until the second Test but could gatecrash the side. Scored 133 for Australia A against Ireland and 161 from four innings in India. Runs against Worcestershire will only have helped his cause. Is seen as a batsman but bowls handy leg-spin
Peter Siddle: 8 - Often underrated by those outside Australia, Siddle will steam in all day, give the batsmen no respite and can take wickets with the new and old ball. Siddle proved himself as the leader of the attack when he bowled himself to exhaustion in Adelaide where he tried to take the final South African wickets, and he did well in the last two Tests in India.
Siddle's Test average of 28.84 is pretty good and in his two series against England he has averaged 30.8 and 34.56. Also useful with the bat (he top scored with half centuries in both innings of the final Test in India), Siddle will almost certainly keep his place despite a slow start to the tour
Mitchell Starc: 8.5 - A potential superstar. Similar to Mitchell Johnson in name, bowling action and the way he plays the game, Starc seems to be the better bet to be a mainstay of the Australian side. After one successful Test against India and the West Indies, Starc really announced himself in another of his one-Test series, this time against the number one ranked side in the world at Perth. Clean bowling Alviro Peterson and Jacques Kallis in successive overs with inswinging deliveries, Starc could repeat Johnson's performance against England at Perth from the last Ashes series if the ball swings. Likewise, he can prove expensive if conditions are not in his favour.
Starc is also probably the most talented tail-end batsman from either side. He averages over 32 with the bat from his nine Tests, including 68* from 64 balls against South Africa and an incredible 99 in the dust bowls of India
James Pattinson: 8 - Like Starc, Pattinson is 23 and is another who can become a world star. His bowling average from 10 Tests is 23.37 and he impressed with his pace against India. Like Starc (and indeed Siddle) he can bowl 90+ mph and has an excellent yorker. Again, as with Starc, he has suffered from injuries but has been back to full health and could be a big threat with ball in hand. Like his fellow bowlers he is also more than handy with the willow
Nathan Lyon: 6.5 - Sorry to say but Lyon is the weak link of the Australian side. He is not a bad bowler, as his average of 33.18 shows, but it is clear that his own team do not rate him. Dropped after one Test in the spinners' paradise of India, the attempt to fast-tract Fawad Ahmed's citizenship after 15 first-class matches is revealing. Possessing a doosra he calls "Jeff", it would be no surprise if Lyon was jettisoned at some point
The other tourists:
Ashton Agar - 19-year-old left-arm spinner who has hit three 50s from his nine first-class matches. Did well with Australia A and is a definite contender for Lyon's place
Jackson Bird - A control bowler with an excellent first-class record and 11 wickets from his two Tests against Sri Lanka at 16.18 runs apiece, he is another exciting seamer who could come in and took wickets against Worcestershire
James Faulkner - A highly-rated all rounder (especially by Shane Warne) who bowls left arm over and is more than handy with the bat as showed in the Champions Trophy. Will probably be a mainstay in the Australian team in all three formats in the future
Ryan Harris - Another top seamer who can hold a bat, 33-year-old Harris averages 23.63 from 12 Tests and has troubled England in the past but is injury prone
Usman Khawaja - A Test average of 29.22 from six Tests is not much, but he is highly rated and a 73 against Somerset will have done him no harm. Number six is the position which looks hardest to call with David Warner and Steve Smith around, so if given the chance Khawaja needs to start well
Matthew Wade - A wicket-keeper whose Test average of 34.61 is only slight worse than Haddin's, Wade might find himself displaced because Haddin is seen as the better option with bat and gloves
David Warner - Almost certain not to start after being banned from the warm-up matches for punching Root, Warner could find himself in the middle order where he is less exposed to the new ball. A free scoring batsman with a respectable Test average of 39.46, his lack of form is a concern but a clean slate under Lehmann could be in his favour.
Overall scores (based on possibly line-ups): England - 87, Australia - 81.5
Best combined team
1. Cook
2. Watson
3. Trott
4. Pietersen
5. Clarke
6. Root
7. Prior
8. Starc
9. Broad (close call with Pattinson)
10. Swann
11. Anderson
The grounds
Trent Bridge - Normally a swingers' paradise but has done less this summer and the last two First Class matches have seen stacks of runs. The pitch will be dry and could turn later on
Lord's - 2009 saw England finally win at the great ground against their main rivals. If it's sunny expect runs galore (pitches sometimes improve over the match) but any cloud cover will offer assistance to the seamers
Old Trafford - Most likely to be a quick, bouncy wicket with a dry outfield which should assist reverse swing. Spin is also expected to play a big part at the end. There's a reason England love playing here
Chester le-Street - Four wins from four here for England but hard to know what to expect. Four first-class matches this season have seen the pace bowlers do well
The Oval - If England are not ahead or have the Ashes sealed expect a dry wicket which will turn from day one. Otherwise, a flat pitch could be expected
Overall prediction
Conditions and the toss at Trent Bridge will have a massive effect. If it's bowler-friendly and Australia win the toss the whole series can change. Otherwise, it's hard to see past an England win. I'm going 2-1 but I expect it to be tight throughout the series
Top run scorer:
England - Trott, Australia - Clarke
Top wicket taker:
England - Anderson, Australia - Starc
Monday 1 July 2013
Summer of Sport June 24-30
Monday
The week starts well with rumours that we're trying to re-sign Wes Morgan. It won't happen, but it temporarily gets my hopes up anyway. Also, Australia continued their mission to self-destruct entirely before the Ashes by sacking their coach Mickey Arthur and replacing him with Darren Lehmann. It seems so ridiculous that I have to feel to there is a cunning plan somewhere.
The start of Wimbledon today. Some pearls of wisdom coming from Tim Henman during the Federer-Hanescu match. "It could be very one-sided, but you never know." Now I'm a big fan of Tiger Tim, but in the commentary stakes he's more Shearer than Neville.
I know people were complaining about Rafa Nadal's seeding for Wimbledon but I didn't think it was because it was too high. Always a shame to see him knocked out early.
England drop the Compdog for their four day match against Essex. Clearly his strike rate was just too high for the selectors.
Tuesday
A wonderful day spent in the sun watching a dead game at Trent Bridge with pizza for lunch. After a day of mostly blocking apart from a bit of lusty Andre Adams hitting at the end, it was to the Oval where England lost by 5 runs again, this time to New Zealand in the most pointless series possibly ever seen. James Tredwell and Ravi Bopara, who had had excellent figures in the Champions Trophy, both saw their two overs go for 32 runs.
Wednesday
Something about Federer has always bugged me. I know he's won Wimbledon seven times but he does strut around in his creme jackets like he owns the place and trying to get the umpires to turn off hawk eye. So I was very pleased to see him hit a 90+ mph shot at his opponent Stakhovsky's head at 4-3 in the third set, nearly taking his opponent out with one hit. The glare which came afterwards was priceless. I wish we saw more of that from Fed .
Unfortunately for tournament officials, the final will have to be played in the next few days while there are still people standing. Or they will have to start the tournament again but play it with everyone injured. And while we talk about people slipping around, why not watch this (again) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or_yD9kzQ_c
I feel sorry for the people on court two who had to listen to Sharapova play De Brito in what was a screamathon. Fair to say if you had a threesome with them you would need earplugs to get through it.
Thursday
Another great moment for Australia with their decision to clear captain James Horwill of stamping in the first Lions Test challenged by the IRB. At least on the pitch their cricketers were putting in a better effort against Somerset before rain came.
People complain that Test cricket can last five days and be a draw but isn't it the same in a way with a 120 minute football match without a single goal? Still, Italy v. Spain was a decent game and the penalties were outrageous. Pirlo is brilliant, he could make cleaning toilets look sexy.
Friday
Good to finally see some celebrities in the Royal Box. The Duchess of Cornwall is ok, but nothing can beat a bit of Geoffrey Boycott who, as one person put it, preferred centre court to be uncovered.
On the court, Laura Robson put in a controlled performance to move to the third round. Hours later, two more cricketers in Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss were being interviewed at the tennis. The interviewer asked Cook about the problems hitting Australia and he straight batted the question back, saying England just ignore these things. Strauss, when asked the same question, said how he loved it and how funny it was, showing how people can speak much more freely when no longer playing sport.
Murray then completed the British double on centre court, let's hope he continues this form next week.
A lovely evening spent watching cricket on TV, cricket on my laptop, with another cricket commentary in the background and reading a cricket book. All at the same time.
Saturday
Clearly whoever was playing in the rugby on Saturday morning had been watching Kamran Akmal wicket-keeping or had butter on their fingers because the ball spent more time on the floor than to hand. The undoubted highlight must be George North taking out Israel Folau like a pick-up truck before dumping him to the floor (with care of course).
Any disappointment in the rugby was tempered by Laura Robson's comeback win over Marina Erakovic. The more we get to see of Laura, the better.
Clearly the Tour de France was getting confused by the Scotland football team, parking the bus. The Tour was boosted by Lance Armstrong's comments that only people on drugs can win it. Maybe Lance is just a little bitter that his cheating got caught. Only a theory.
Sunday
England begin their preparations for the Ashes with a warm-up game against Essex. Ravi Bopara won the toss, said it looked a lovely pitch to score runs on, then elected to bowl having had a word in his ear. Clearly Alastair Cook fancied getting the pads on.
Peter Andre Villas-Boas is quoted as saying he wants to quit coaching in the next ten years to take part in the Dakar rally (http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/tottenham-manager-andre-villas-boas-claims-2010008). I didn't realise AVB was renowned for his sense of humour.
A good if unspectacular day of sport. Runs for Graeme Swann and Tim Bresnan against Essex, Paul Casey registering a win at the Irish Open where all four Irish major winners missed the cut, a win for Mo Farah and a blow-up of tyres at Silverstone which seemed very similar to the plot of Cars 2 which I watched this week.
The problem Rory McIlroy has is he seems to spend more time taking on robots on the range than actually trying to win tournaments, as this excellent video showed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft2fLuz9mF0
Perhaps England's 2-2 draw against Brazil was a better result than people thought. Must make us one of the favourites for next year... Still, it's interesting to see Spain put in another poor performance after their win against Italy. After Barcelona's humiliation in the Champions League semi-finals have they finally been caught up?
Meanwhile...
Story of the week: Spain players robbed supposedly after playing strip poker http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/spain-players-were-robbed-in-brazil-during-strip-poker-party-globoesporte/
Tweet of the week: US Soccer Guy - "Donny Simpson gets over his Mother Tulisa heartbreak by signing up for the Queens Power Rangers! #QPRfranchiseenhancement"
The George Osborne award for how to raise money goes to Macclesfield Town (until they scrapped it): http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23065970
Ronaldinho endorses his club Atletico Mineiro's brand of condoms. It looks he will no longer be lobbing seaman from from 40 yards. Also, the comment on the article which stated: "Ronaldinho's face on anything is a good contraceptive." Well played.
Fifa, possibly the most successful dictatorship of the modern era, ignore protests going on Brazil and announce their champagne of the World Cup. You've got to hand it to them, not only do they ignore all criticism but they know how to rub it in your face as well.
Looks like Sylvain's been going the Distince http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4990139/Sylvain-Distin-says-hes-milkman-to-cheat-on-partner.html
Transfer rumour of the week: Manchester United to bid for Messi (no, seriously) http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/the-worst-transfer-story-ever-man-united-set-to-swoop-for-messi-jeremy-butler-sunday-life/
Sport this week
Not a bad week. The possibility of the final Lions Test and then Murray v. Djokovic the following day could make it an unbelievable weekend.
Wimbledon will dominate this week, with the Tour de France in the background and the build up to the Ashes reaching new heights.
The week starts well with rumours that we're trying to re-sign Wes Morgan. It won't happen, but it temporarily gets my hopes up anyway. Also, Australia continued their mission to self-destruct entirely before the Ashes by sacking their coach Mickey Arthur and replacing him with Darren Lehmann. It seems so ridiculous that I have to feel to there is a cunning plan somewhere.
The start of Wimbledon today. Some pearls of wisdom coming from Tim Henman during the Federer-Hanescu match. "It could be very one-sided, but you never know." Now I'm a big fan of Tiger Tim, but in the commentary stakes he's more Shearer than Neville.
I know people were complaining about Rafa Nadal's seeding for Wimbledon but I didn't think it was because it was too high. Always a shame to see him knocked out early.
England drop the Compdog for their four day match against Essex. Clearly his strike rate was just too high for the selectors.
Tuesday
A wonderful day spent in the sun watching a dead game at Trent Bridge with pizza for lunch. After a day of mostly blocking apart from a bit of lusty Andre Adams hitting at the end, it was to the Oval where England lost by 5 runs again, this time to New Zealand in the most pointless series possibly ever seen. James Tredwell and Ravi Bopara, who had had excellent figures in the Champions Trophy, both saw their two overs go for 32 runs.
Wednesday
Something about Federer has always bugged me. I know he's won Wimbledon seven times but he does strut around in his creme jackets like he owns the place and trying to get the umpires to turn off hawk eye. So I was very pleased to see him hit a 90+ mph shot at his opponent Stakhovsky's head at 4-3 in the third set, nearly taking his opponent out with one hit. The glare which came afterwards was priceless. I wish we saw more of that from Fed .
Unfortunately for tournament officials, the final will have to be played in the next few days while there are still people standing. Or they will have to start the tournament again but play it with everyone injured. And while we talk about people slipping around, why not watch this (again) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or_yD9kzQ_c
I feel sorry for the people on court two who had to listen to Sharapova play De Brito in what was a screamathon. Fair to say if you had a threesome with them you would need earplugs to get through it.
Thursday
Another great moment for Australia with their decision to clear captain James Horwill of stamping in the first Lions Test challenged by the IRB. At least on the pitch their cricketers were putting in a better effort against Somerset before rain came.
People complain that Test cricket can last five days and be a draw but isn't it the same in a way with a 120 minute football match without a single goal? Still, Italy v. Spain was a decent game and the penalties were outrageous. Pirlo is brilliant, he could make cleaning toilets look sexy.
Friday
Good to finally see some celebrities in the Royal Box. The Duchess of Cornwall is ok, but nothing can beat a bit of Geoffrey Boycott who, as one person put it, preferred centre court to be uncovered.
On the court, Laura Robson put in a controlled performance to move to the third round. Hours later, two more cricketers in Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss were being interviewed at the tennis. The interviewer asked Cook about the problems hitting Australia and he straight batted the question back, saying England just ignore these things. Strauss, when asked the same question, said how he loved it and how funny it was, showing how people can speak much more freely when no longer playing sport.
Murray then completed the British double on centre court, let's hope he continues this form next week.
A lovely evening spent watching cricket on TV, cricket on my laptop, with another cricket commentary in the background and reading a cricket book. All at the same time.
Saturday
Clearly whoever was playing in the rugby on Saturday morning had been watching Kamran Akmal wicket-keeping or had butter on their fingers because the ball spent more time on the floor than to hand. The undoubted highlight must be George North taking out Israel Folau like a pick-up truck before dumping him to the floor (with care of course).
Any disappointment in the rugby was tempered by Laura Robson's comeback win over Marina Erakovic. The more we get to see of Laura, the better.
Clearly the Tour de France was getting confused by the Scotland football team, parking the bus. The Tour was boosted by Lance Armstrong's comments that only people on drugs can win it. Maybe Lance is just a little bitter that his cheating got caught. Only a theory.
Sunday
England begin their preparations for the Ashes with a warm-up game against Essex. Ravi Bopara won the toss, said it looked a lovely pitch to score runs on, then elected to bowl having had a word in his ear. Clearly Alastair Cook fancied getting the pads on.
Peter Andre Villas-Boas is quoted as saying he wants to quit coaching in the next ten years to take part in the Dakar rally (http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/tottenham-manager-andre-villas-boas-claims-2010008). I didn't realise AVB was renowned for his sense of humour.
A good if unspectacular day of sport. Runs for Graeme Swann and Tim Bresnan against Essex, Paul Casey registering a win at the Irish Open where all four Irish major winners missed the cut, a win for Mo Farah and a blow-up of tyres at Silverstone which seemed very similar to the plot of Cars 2 which I watched this week.
The problem Rory McIlroy has is he seems to spend more time taking on robots on the range than actually trying to win tournaments, as this excellent video showed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft2fLuz9mF0
Perhaps England's 2-2 draw against Brazil was a better result than people thought. Must make us one of the favourites for next year... Still, it's interesting to see Spain put in another poor performance after their win against Italy. After Barcelona's humiliation in the Champions League semi-finals have they finally been caught up?
Meanwhile...
Story of the week: Spain players robbed supposedly after playing strip poker http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/spain-players-were-robbed-in-brazil-during-strip-poker-party-globoesporte/
Tweet of the week: US Soccer Guy - "Donny Simpson gets over his Mother Tulisa heartbreak by signing up for the Queens Power Rangers! #QPRfranchiseenhancement"
The George Osborne award for how to raise money goes to Macclesfield Town (until they scrapped it): http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23065970
Ronaldinho endorses his club Atletico Mineiro's brand of condoms. It looks he will no longer be lobbing seaman from from 40 yards. Also, the comment on the article which stated: "Ronaldinho's face on anything is a good contraceptive." Well played.
Fifa, possibly the most successful dictatorship of the modern era, ignore protests going on Brazil and announce their champagne of the World Cup. You've got to hand it to them, not only do they ignore all criticism but they know how to rub it in your face as well.
Looks like Sylvain's been going the Distince http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4990139/Sylvain-Distin-says-hes-milkman-to-cheat-on-partner.html
Transfer rumour of the week: Manchester United to bid for Messi (no, seriously) http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/the-worst-transfer-story-ever-man-united-set-to-swoop-for-messi-jeremy-butler-sunday-life/
Sport this week
Not a bad week. The possibility of the final Lions Test and then Murray v. Djokovic the following day could make it an unbelievable weekend.
Wimbledon will dominate this week, with the Tour de France in the background and the build up to the Ashes reaching new heights.
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