Put aside the ineffectual attempts by the ICC to remove corruption from cricket, ignore Lord Condon’s warnings regarding Asian betting syndicates and their influence and even allow the disturbing accusations that players’ families were threatened to pass and you are left with only one thing really – that three Pakistan players cheated for personal gain (allegedly).

Innocent until proven guilty is right and proper and as such the remaining games of the tour should go ahead. Those three under suspicion should not play a part simply because it would cast doubt on any result but they shouldn’t be prematurely pilloried by the public or press. They may be innocent.

However, if they are found guilty they should receive far more than a lifetime international ban. They should not be allowed to play professional cricket of any kind ever again and they should be prosecuted and jailed. Harsh? Damn right. How else will the message that corruption and cheating will not be tolerated get through not only to players but those influencing them?

I wrote a piece about corruption in sport a while back in which I pointed out the rather obvious fact that the more money there is in sport the more corruption there will be. Cricket and Hanse Cronje in particular were touched upon.

The introduction of Twenty20 cricket and the Indian Premier League have only increased the opportunity for shady characters to influence results and incidents.

The fact that this latest scandal has hit Test cricket is odd but hardly surprising. The question now is what can and will be done about it?

The three players in question – Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir – have been charged and suspended, yes, but how they are going to be investigated is what concerns me. Clearly the ICC did little last time despite Condon’s warnings and their public announcements of non-tolerance are hollow.

I think they worry too much about the public image of cricket. To undergo a thorough and likely damning investigation right across the sport would tarnish it, of that there is no doubt. But surely it is better to do that now than to have every result in doubt forever?!

A clean sport would receive far more public support than one suffering from even a suspicion of corruption. Right now, the cricket watching public are disgusted. It can’t go on.

It has to start with the ICC taking a stand now, in conjunction with the police and other authorities in every cricketing nation. Arrests, prosecutions and jailing should take place and that HAS to include the players found guilty too. Often sportsmen get away with actual criminal charges simply because of who they are, but that can’t continue.

Yes, the dodgy bookies and dealers need to be taught that they can’t influence sports but the players also need to learn that, whatever the related circumstances, they simply cannot agree to assist them.

As a fan of many sports, not just cricket, it would put me right off if I thought there was any chance what I was watching was somehow tainted and I would rather see my sporting heroes banged up than have the whole sport ruined.

If, for example, Ryan Giggs was found guilty of match fixing I would gladly though sadly see him punished to the fullest extent of the law. Giggs is my ultimate sporting hero. That’s how strongly I feel about it and imagine most sports fans would feel too.

So come on…let’s put a stop to this in cricket and every other sport now before the whole thing is rendered pointless. Investigate, charge, prosecute and jail. Enough is enough, especially in cricket.

Colin Montgomery has picked his team for the Ryder Cup and there are a lot of first timers involved, all winning their places through playing good golf. There are no favourites chosen, in that respect Monty has been ruthless, leaving out the likes of Paul Casey and Justin Rose. This I’m a fan of, but the lack of experience in the team is a worry, it must be.

There are no less than six debutants in the team, all but one qualifying automatically after good seasons on the tour, the other, Edoardo Molinari joining his brother Francesco (another debutant) via wildcard after winning the Johnnie Walker Championship. The rest include Martin Kaymer of Germany, Ross Fisher of England, Peter Hanson from Sweden and the outstandingly talented Rory McIlroy from Northern Ireland.

All have had great seasons and deserve their place ahead of more established and experienced stars – Monty has picked on form, not reputation. With one exception; Lee Westwood.

Westwood, who has six Ryder Cups under his belt, is currently recovering from a calf injury and may not make it but Monty obviously feels his experience is needed in a team of rookies. I agree. Despite the fact he won’t play any serious golf between now and October, he’ll be a fantastic boost to the team. Should he not, Justin Rose, with two PGA tour titles to his name this season, will step in.

The other two wildcards were given to the equally experienced Major winner Padraig Harrington and England’s Luke Donald. Strong picks again, though Harrington appears to be the only one NOT picked on form, but for his Major titles. Plus, he hasn’t won a Ryder Cup match since 2004, so the pressure will be on him.

Despite the relative inexperience of half the team, this looks a side with a good balance and underlines the strength of European golf at the moment. The fact that the likes of Paul Casey and Sergio Garcia (playing at least), for example, aren’t included shouldn’t be a cause for concern, but a statement of strength to the Americans.

It’s a risk, yes, but a calculated one on Monty’s part and the presence of Miguel Angel Jiminez alongside Westwood and Harrington should calm any debut nerves. Graeme McDowell, too, has one Ryder Cup on his CV and will be an important part of the team.

Monty’s real strength and advantage over his counterpart Corey Pavin, however, is the team he has assembled to work behind the scenes and in the dressing room.

Working as his vice captains and monitoring the play as it unfolds across Celtic Manor will be Thomas Bjorn, Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley.

Bjorn brings passion, McGinley tactical know-how and Clarke…well, Clarke is just huge in personality and influence. Like the playing team, the backroom staff is well balanced and will serve Monty well.

When announcing his final line-up, Monty also added Sergio Garcia to his vice captains, purely on the fact Garcia ASKED to be included somehow. This, according to Monty, “shows what the Ryder Cup means to him and he is going to be a great asset to us” – can’t argue with that, frankly.

I really can’t remember a stronger dressing room in recent Ryder Cup history, certainly not when Nick Faldo lost two years ago. Perhaps when Ian Woosnam led Europe to victory at the K Club in 2006 with a record equalling points total.

The inclusion of Clarke I particularly like as I’ve always been a big, big fan of his. The only shame is that it means Jose Maria Olazabal has to stay home, with long standing injury problems given as the reason. Seems a weak excuse to me, but as I said, Monty is being ruthless, such is his desire to beat America.

Back to the playing staff, though, and who I’ll be watching closely. Definitely the Molinari brothers playing together (the first time brothers have done so since 1963) but it’s McIlroy that really excites me. Just 21 this kid seems to have it all and I can’t wait to find out how he’ll fair in the pressure cooker that is the Ryder Cup. I really hope he puts on a show.

Nothing will please me more than to see Monty lift the Cup on October 3rd in Wales. Despite the fact he can be a right moody bugger you can’t question his passion for the game or the Ryder Cup and what he has available in talent and support is unsurpassed. The Americans, I don’t think, have the answer to this team.

Full European Ryder Cup Team

Captain: Colin Montgomerie
Vice Captains: Darren Clarke, Sergio Garcia, Thomas Bjorn, Paul McGinley

• Lee Westwood (Eng) Age 37; Previous Ryder Cups 6
• Martin Kaymer (Ger) 25; Debut
• Rory McIlroy (NI) 21; Debut
• Graeme McDowell (NI) 31; RC 1
• Ian Poulter (Eng) 34; RC 2
• Ross Fisher (Eng) 29; Debut
• Francesco Molinari (Ita) 27; Debut
• M A Jimenez (Spa) 46; RC 3
• Peter Hanson (Swe) 32; Debut
• Padraig Harrington (Ire) 38; RC 5
• Luke Donald (Eng) 32; RC 2
• Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 29; Debut

2010 Ryder Cup, October 1-3, The Celtic Manor Resort, Newport, Wales

The 2010 Ryder Cup will be shown live on Sky Sports and in 3D for the first time on Sky 3D, the first residential 3D channel in Europe, launching on October 1st.

Useful Links

• Official Ryder Cup Site
• Official Ryder Cup Twitter Page
• Official Ryder Cup Facebook Page

Will Tiger Woods get back to doing what he does best now he is divorced?

*cough*

Bagging birdies…

Tiger Woods has reined supreme over the golfing world for five years, holding the number one spot since 2005, but his position is now under threat from the supremely consistent Lee Westwood and Phil Mickelson.

The WGC-Bridgestone Invitational tees off today, Woods defending the title he has won seven times in Ohio. Should he fail to do so, he could lose his number one position to either Mickelson or Westwood.

Here’s how. If Westwood wins and Woods is outside the top two, he will become world number one. If he finishes second, Woods fails to finish better than tenth and Mickelson DOESN’T win the tournament, he will become world number one. If Mickelson wins the tournament, he will become world number one. If Mickelson finishes in the top four and Woods fails to finish in the top 37 (yes, THIRTY SEVEN), he will become world number one.

It’s a bit complicated, but basically the odds on favourite to be the best golfer in the world come Sunday is Lee Westwood – despite never winning a major.

There’s a few stumbling blocks. First of all, while Westwood is in fantastic form, Woods LOVES this course. If he is to regain some of the form he has lost since his fall from grace, it could well be here at Firestone. Then consider this – Westwood will tee off next to Woods for the first two rounds. That’s pressure, playing alongside the man you are trying to depose!

It’ll be compulsive viewing, and you’ll want to keep an eye on Mickelson too, of course. For me, I really hope Westwood does it, his game deserves it and it might just give him that boost to win that first elusive major.

I did consider doing a daily round up of all the action from the Open at St Andrews, but Louis Oosthuizen changed all that with his runaway victory. I wanted to wait and see whether his game would hold up under the pressure or if he’d crumble as the likes of Paul Casey and Lee Westwood attempted to chase him down.

In the end, of course, his game not only held up but shone. Not at any point did he look like he would lose his cool or his control and his mastery of the links course in tough, windy and wet conditions was a pleasure to watch.

This was golf at its best. There were other brilliant rounds over the four days, not least from Casey, Westwood and the young Rory McIlroy who, despite a torrid second day, recovered superbly to finish tied third on 8 under after a 68 on the final day.

If it hadn’t been for that 8 over 80 on the second day, we could have had a much tighter finish. Casey will feel disappointed with his 75 on the last day as again, he could have challenged Oosthuizen with a better day.

One proud man, the South African winner aside, will be Lee Westwood. He remains the nearly man at majors, but his last round of 70 gave him second place on his own – and did beat Oosthuizen’s calmly taken 71.

For a while it looked like The Open record win of 8 shots clear was under threat. Woods – whose poor putting kept him out of contention here – was the last man to win by that margin, and Westwood ensured he retains that record by pulling back Oosthuizen to a 7 shot victory.

Will Louis gone on to be a great golfer in the same mould as compatriot Ernie Els? On this evidence, he has the game and temperament so why not? He needs to push on from here now, get consistency and challenge for more major honours.

Justin Rose, who I was following closely, sadly failed to perform. He missed the cut on Day Two but I remain hopeful that the 29 year old will one day capture a major. However, if anything, I want Westwood to do it first. He’s so close to it it must be weighing on his mind and his golf does deserve it.

The next golf I’m looking forward to now is the Ryder Cup. Should be brilliant. The USA remain strong but there has clearly been a resurgence in European golf over the last couple of years – a quick look at the final leaderboard here at the Open shows that. The five behind Oosthuizen were all Europeans. Bodes well, I hope!