Banned Amir defends club appearance June 8, 2011 BANNED Pakistan bowler Mohammad Amir has denied flouting his suspension and insists he did no wrong in turning out for a club team in Surrey. Amir, 19, was banned for five years for the part he played in the spot-fixing scandal that marred last summer’s Test series against England. But Amir appears to have contravened [...]
England left feeling flat by Lord’s pitch June 7, 2011 Strauss blames dead surface for tepid draw and hopes Anderson will return for the series decider ENGLAND captain Andrew Strauss blamed the lifeless Lord’s pitch for his side’s failure to force a victory on the final day of the second Test. Alastair Cook continued his rich vein of form by reaching his sixth century in [...]
WINDOW PAIN: PRIOR SAYS SORRY FOR INJURING FAN June 7, 2011 ENGLAND wicketkeeper Matt Prior was forced into making a public apology to confused MCC members at Lord’s after breaking a dressing room window with his bat. Prior was run out following a mix-up with Ian Bell and once he had returned upstairs, according to an England and Wales Cricket Board statement, his bat handle “bounced off the [...]
Feisty Broad still well worth his Test place June 7, 2011 WE may not have had the explosive finish we were treated to in Cardiff, but Lord’s certainly provided more positives than negatives for England. This is as powerful a batting line-up as England have ever produced and they compliment each other splendidly. With Kevin Pietersen back in the runs the top seven are bang in [...]
London trio handed tough Heineken Cup assignments June 7, 2011 PREMIERSHIP champions Saracens have avoided the big-hitters in the draw for the group stages of next season’s Heineken Cup, but capital rivals London Irish and Harlequins have not been so fortunate. Sarries have swerved any previous winners of Europe’s premier competition and line-up in Pool 5 alongside two-time finalists Biarritz, Welsh region Ospreys and Treviso. [...]
Fulham have made good appointment in Jol, says World Cup winner Cohen June 7, 2011 Craven Cottage hero believes Dutchman has attributes to pick up where Hughes left off FULHAM great George Cohen has backed Martin Jol’s appointment as manager after the Cottagers moved quickly to hire the Dutchman as a replacement for Mark Hughes. Former Tottenham boss Jol has signed a two-year contract thought to be worth £1.5m a [...]
FAN’S VIEW June 7, 2011 This is good news for all Fulham fans everywhere. You never know what’s around the corner – we weren’t exactly going ballistic when we got Roy Hodgson but that proved a perfect appointment, and on the face of it this seems to be another one. The quality of the last three managers indicates the way [...]
Crouch denies he’d ever turn his back on England June 7, 2011 TOTTENHAM’S Peter Crouch insists he is fully committed to England but admits the thought of quitting international football has crossed his mind following his latest snub. The 30-year-old boasts an impressive strike rate for his country having netted 22 goals in 42 games but has been constantly overlooked for selection in the last year by [...]
Fifa chief Blatter’s Domingo tactic is a wander into Alan Partridge territory June 7, 2011 IN the hit TV show, as Alan Partridge becomes increasingly desperate, his pleas for a second series laughed off by smug TV executives, his suggestions for new programmes become more and more ludicrous. “Arm-wrestling with Chas and Dave?” Partridge offers apologetically, inviting derision. “Youth hostelling with Chris Eubank?” he whimpers, before the piece de resistance: “Monkey [...]
Woods pulls out of US Open June 7, 2011 GOLF: Former world No1 Tiger Woods will miss the US Open next week because of injury. The 35-year-old suffered a sprain to his left knee and a mild strain to his left Achilles tendon during the third round of the Masters in April. “I am extremely disappointed I won’t be playing in the US Open [...]