Category Archives: BatnBall

Justin Rose finally fulfilling his potential?

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Justin RoseRemember when amateur golfer Justin Rose tied for fourth at the Open Championship in 1998 at the tender age of 17? Ah, what promise he showed, what potential, what hopes we had for the next great English golfer (if you ignore the fact he was born in South Africa that is).

Rose turned professional a week after his remarkable Open achievement and promptly missed 21 cuts in a row, dropping out of the pubic eye as he struggled to get to grips with the professional side of golf. He won his first tournament in 2002, the Dunhill Championship in, ironically, South Africa and established himself on the European tour.

It looked as though he was going to have a comfortable, fairly successful but not brilliant career. Another Englishman failing to fulfil his early potential.

Skip forward to present day. Rose is now 29 and, having switched to the PGA Tour from the European Tour, has recently won his first tournament in the US, the Memorial Tournament. He carded a final round 66 to win by three strokes.

His form is continuing to improve and at the end of the second day at the Travelers Championship Rose leads by four shots after two highly impressive rounds of 64 and a brilliant 62 yesterday, recording five birdies on the back nine at River Highlands Club in Conneticut.

One tournament, or even two, does not make a career but it does look like Rose’s growing maturity is allowing his golfing gifts to come to the fore (pardon the pun). Should he qualify for the Open Championship at St Andrews we’ll see if he has grown into the golfer we all thought he could become.

Fingers crossed, because I like Rose and would like to see him win at least one Major in his career. That fourth place way back in 1998 was enough for me to want that.

England limited overs success continues in style

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Stuart BroadEngland won their seventh one day international in a row, beating Australia comfortably by four wickets – the same as they did in the first match earlier in the week.

A two-nil lead in the series against Australia builds on the World Twenty20 title England won in the West Indies and they can wrap it up early with victory at Old Trafford on Sunday.

The perhaps surprising success of England’s limited overs side in the last year or so can be put down to picking the right players in the right positions for the right matches, something that hasn’t always been done. The selectors have at times been ruthless, leaving established Test players out in favour of young, promising players like Craig Kieswetter and Michael Yardy.

Bringing those players in alongside more experienced players like Collingwood and Pietersen has worked and England are reaping the rewards now.

There were no heroics from Eoin Morgan this time, England having to rely on a team performance with solid innings from captain Andrew Strauss (51), Pietersen (33) and Paul Collingwood (48). Morgan, however, still top scored with 52 as England successfully chased down 240 target set by Australia in Cardiff.

Special mention must go to Stuart Broad who took 4 wickets for 44 runs to keep Australia’s total down on his 24th birthday. When taking Tim Paine’s wicket he became the youngest bowler to take 100 ODI wickets. Happy birthday and congratulations to Broad!

The one downside on the day was the failure of Kieswetter with the bat, scoring just 8 runs. If he wants to keep Matt Prior out of the side he will need to do better. Fortunately for him the selectors aren’t as inclined to chop and change on a match to match basis for reasons of form and he will remain in the side for the next game.

Watching England play cricket is a joy at the moment and long may it continue – especially into the Ashes Series Down Under this winter…

Aussies undone by multi-national England

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Eoin MorganEngland, led by a South African partnered by a South African  and whose star player is a South African, had to rely on a brilliant innings from an Irishman to achieve a well deserved victory over Australia in the first of of a six game one day series.

Set a target of 268 by Australia in their 50 overs, England opened with captain Strauss and new discovery wicket keeper batsman Craig Keiswetter. Strauss hit two fours in the opening over but was out soon after for just 10 runs with England on 16.

It won’t be the innings Strauss wanted, as his position as limited overs captain is under scrutiny following Collingwood’s brilliant captaincy when England won the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies. The England hierarchy will keep faith in him for a while yet, but Strauss is in desperate need of a decent score soon.

Pietersen, England’s third South African on the day, came in to share a partnership of 50 with Kieswetter but again fell short of his own high standards, getting out for just 29. When Kieswetter went for 38 and Paul Collingwood quickly followed for only 11 England looked in serious trouble at 97 for 4.

But they needn’t have worried. Up stepped Eoin Morgan to share partnerships of 95 with Luke Wright and 71 with Tim Bresnan to take England to the brink of victory. Bresnan fell for 27 with England just five runs short of victory, Michael Yardy clipped a single to get Morgan back on strike and the Irishman duly wrapped up his century and victory with a four.

It was a mature innings from the man who is fast overtaking Kevin Pietersen as England’s premier batsman, at least on the one day stage, and it is surely only a matter of time before he becomes a regular in the Test side.

England take a 1-0 lead in the series, with the second game scheduled for tomorrow in Cardiff.

There are questions to be answered still, however, not the least the issue of who should captain England’s limited overs side. Strauss remains undisputed Test captain, and rightly so, but he will be feeling pressure over his role in this team. Without runs he is a liability as an opener and there are several players waiting in the wings to take his opening place. That would mean a new captain would have to be selected, likely to be Collingwood despite his claims he isn’t interested in captaining the one day side again.

The other question mark is over the wicket keeper batsmen position. There’s no doubt that Kieswetter is up to the job whereas Test player Matt Prior has found himself out of the side due to lack of runs. Kieswetter is the better batsman, Prior, at the moment, the better keeper. But whereas you can learn to keep wicket, you cannot learn to be a better batsman than than the skills you were given. Is Prior’s tTest place under threat then? Time will tell.

For now, England can celebrate taking the lead in this series and will look to push on in Cardiff. Strauss, though, is going to have to play better.

WIMBLEDON: Andy Murray begins his quest for a first Grand Slam

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Andy MurrayYou may have missed the fact that Wimbledon begins on Monday thanks to the World Cup, but those annoying gaps between matches in South Africa can soon be filled with the rather more tranquil scenes on offer from the grass courts of SW19.

All British eyes will, of course, be on Andy Murray as we look for a first male British winner since Fred Perry in 1936. Does he have a chance?

No, of course not. Especially this year as his form and, seemingly, mental attitude has been appalling since he reached the final of the Australian Open. On the clay surface he has suffered defeats in early rounds and even though the switch to grass at Wimbledon it looks to me like his confidence has been shot to pieces, despite his public denials that this is the case.

That grass is Murray’s favourite surface is somewhat misleading anyway. 12 of his 14 titles have been won on hard courts, only one having been won on the green stuff. His semi final appearance in last year’s tournament was the best he has achieved at Wimbledon, though he will point out it has been steady progress from his third round, fourth round and quarter final losses in previous years.

We’d all like Murray to pick up a first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon but much like Henman before him, I don’t think he has what it takes to ever win one, let alone under the incredible pressure he is always under at this tournament. No amount of screaming or showing off of biceps will change my mind.

The form man going into Wimbledon is without doubt Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard’s fifth French Open title was won just a couple of weeks ago. You can’t count out Roger Federer either, winner of this tournament on six occasions, including last year. His star has fallen somewhat, having won only one title so far this year, albeit the Australian Open in which he defeated Murray.

There are, of course, a few others to consider. Robin Soderling and Juan Martín del Potro to name just two. But those of you hanging your hopes on Murray will be disappointed and probably quite early on in Wimbledon’s fortnight. . At least you’ll have the World Cup to cheer you up. Or maybe not…

England versus Bangladesh – where’s the value?

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Kevin Pietersen

Pietersen: Just not up for it

The only thing that’s certain when one of cricket’s top teams plays Bangladesh is that Bangladesh will lose – unless it rains. The questions I want to try and answer here are – what’s the point in a team as poor as Bangladesh even playing in these Test matches and what’s the point in the better teams playing Bangladesh? Who learns anything?

Geoffrey Boycott was asking the same questions on Test Match Special after the first Test at Lords. He came to the conclusion that it can’t be good for an emerging nation to continually lose at Test level. I agree. Bangladesh, obviously, don’t.

Yet it must damage confidence, will, desire and just puts an air of negativity amongst the players. There will always be the argument that testing yourself against your betters allows you to grow and improve and that is true to an extent. But surely you have to have a hope of inflicting defeat on your opponent for that to be the case.

For Bangladesh, playing against the likes of England and Australia is counter-productive. It’s a test, sure, but only of their player’s will to continue turning out for their nation.

And what of the better team? Today saw the start of the second Test between England and Bangladesh at Old Trafford – what will England get out of it? You would perhaps think that a chance to really swing the bat and rack up a huge score would inspire, but it’s the opposite. Just look at Kevin Pietersen for example. He can hardly be bothered playing.

Far from allowing the batsmen and bowlers to expand on their skills it deadens them. There is no challenge, no risk, no fear of defeat. And so they become lazy. Witness the morning session today – Strauss and Trott gone in just four balls. Why? They simply did not bring their A game. Credit must go to the Bangladesh bowlers, of course, they did their jobs well. But I believe England allowed them to do so by simply not being ‘up for it’.

It is hardly worthy preparation for an Ashes series Down Under either.

Mr Boycott’s suggestion that Bangladesh should not be troubing the international elite but should instead by facing County sides around the world until they are more prepared to handle the rigours of the full Test arena. It’s not a bad idea, but it’s not the money spinner that various cricket boards would want. Ah, money again. Always crops up doesn’t it.

A better idea would be to create a second tier of international sides. Bangladesh, Zimbabwe (when possible), Ireland, Scotland all battling it out for promotion to full Test status for the following 12 months perhaps. It has its flaws but could be worth a try to help the lesser nations find their feet within the game.

Given enough time, of course, Bangladesh could establish themselves as a serious cricketing nation. As could Ireland, Scotland et al. But why not help them along the way with a better structured international set up. Just a thought…

Do you agree or disagree? Let us know in the comments.

Hussey blitz sends Australia into ICC T20 final

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Michael Hussey has just this minute sent Australia into the ICC Twenty20 World Cup final with an astonishing 60 in just 24 balls.

Michael HusseyHussey hit six sixes and three fours as he helped his side chase down the impressive 191 set by Pakistan. Australia looked in dire trouble at 62 for 4 until Cameron White hit a good 43 – with five sixes of his own – before being caught by Hafeez off the bowling of Aamer. It could all have been over there but Hussey was having none of it. In at number seven, he came out swinging, determined to get Australia over the finish line.

He duly did that, the winning runs coming off another massive six to give Australia a three wicket win.

Described on Sky Sports as the greatest Twenty20 match ever, it sets up an England v Australia final on Sunday in Barbados. While Paul Collingwood’s men would have been feeling rightly confident following a 100% winning streak from the Super Eight stage, they must now be feeling doubt set in after Australia’s display tonight.

Nevertheless, England have been good themselves and the final should make for a cracking game of T20 cricket. We’ll be watching it – hope you can join us!

What do you reckon – best run chase you’ve ever seen? So says Jonathan Agnew on Test Match Special. Is he right? Let us know what you think in the comments.

England reach T20 World Cup semis with 100% record

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England’s ICC Twenty20 World Cup squad may have stumbled into the Super Eights group stage thanks to weather and the much criticised Duckworth Lewis method of scoring – a no result against Ireland and a defeat to the West Indies in the opening stage – but the fact they got there seems to have breathed new life into Paul Collingwood’s men.

Eoin Morgan

Morgan's 40 off 34 helped England top Group E

A 100% record since then sees them top Group E ahead of Pakistan and means they will avoid Australia and instead face the runner up in Group F in the semi finals.

The three match winning streak took in Pakistan (beaten by six wickets), South Africa (beaten by 39 runs) and last night’s impressive and calm beating of New Zealand by three wickets.

Kevin Pietersen, who we had a little problem with in the run up to the tournament, starred against Pakistan and South Africa, scoring 73 and 53, but was missing against New Zealand as he’d flown home to attend the birth of his son. It didn’t matter though.

A sensible, calm and determined England recovered from 60-3 in the eighth over chasing 149 to win in no small part to impressive innings Eoin Morgan and Luke Wright  who added 52 before Tim Bresnan rounded off the three wicket win with a four. Earlier England’s bowlers had kept New Zealand’s scoring to a minimum in the opening overs before they found their feet to reach 149-6 in their 20 overs.

England had already qualified for the semi finals thanks to Pakistan’s defeat of South Africa earlier in the day, but Collingwood knew the importance of keeping a winning momentum going into the knockout stages and he made sure his team knew it too. It was impressive stuff and will no doubt increase confidence throughout the squad.

Pietersen will be back for the match, which could be against any one from Sri Lanka, India or the West Indies. The good thing is, they will avoid Australia. England may fancy a bit of revenge against the Windies after the controversial Duckworth Lewis result in the first round. We’ll find out later today as India play Sri Lanka and Australia face the West Indies.

Whoever it is, England are looking good and there’s a belief growing that they could go all the way. But whisper it…this IS England, after all…

What do you reckon – do England have a chance of winning the trophy or will they choke as the pressure grows? Let us know in the comments.

Englishmen looking good at Players Championship

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Luke Donald and Lee Westwood are handily placed just one shot off the lead after the first round of The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. However, a confident feeling Tiger woods is only three shots further back.

Lee Westwood

Westwood: In with a shout at Sawgrass

Both Englishmen dropped just one shot but enjoyed six birdies in the opening round, while Woods had a shakier, but far more competitive round than that seen at Quail Hollow last week.

American J. B. Holmes and Australian Robert Allenby lead the way on six under but perceived wisdom suggests the course will favour Allenby – and other more strategic players – over the big hitters such as Holmes. That’s why Donald and Westwood will fancy their chances over the next three days.

Woods, too, is clearly feeling better about his game but some of his shots were wayward – not least at the 7th where he skied his shot, making just 190 yards. Another surprisingly low scorer on Thursday was Phil Mickelson. He matched Woods’ 70 for the round and said: “Shooting 70 today isn’t the round you want.”

Indeed not. That it’s an upturn for Woods shows how far he had fallen and how far he has to go to get back to anything close to where he was before his troubles.

We expect J. B. Holmes to fall away over the next 54 holes while Donald and Westwood remain consistent. Woods will consolidate his improvement but not challenge and Mickelson has work to do, but think he’ll finish higher than Woods. So do we predict an English winner at The Players Championship? No, not yet. Allenby has the game to win this and Donald has been disappointing for quite a while. Westwood, however, is in with a great shout.

The weather and subsequent conditions will play their part too. Thursday was ideal, but Saturday looks like being windier and may see some rain. Who will stand up to the changing conditions best is yet to be seen.

Who do you think will win The Players Championship? Will it be a shoot out between Westwood and Allenby or will we have a surprise winner in Donald – or someone else entirely? Give us your thoughts and predictions in the comments.

Corruption in Sport: A Growing Problem

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Pick a sport. Any sport. We bet that in the last 10 years there has been at least one story regarding some kind of corruption or scandal relating to it.

Corruption in Sport

Where there's money there's corruption

It’s a growing trend. The more money there is in a sport, the shadier the characters attracted to it, looking to make a killing off the back of the participants. The really sad thing is, some of those participants seem only to keen to jump on the bandwagon and make a killing for themselves.

Or, if not being tempted by dodgy syndicates, some are taking it upon themselves to drug themselves up in the pursuit of personal glory…and personal wealth. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, sport would appear to be in serious trouble right now.

The most recent corruption case hit snooker, with world number one John Higgins alleged to have accepted money to lose certain frames in future events. Caught on camera by a News of the World sting, it does seem as though Higgins, recently knocked out of the World Championships at the Crucible by Steve Davis, is guilty as charged.

He, of course, has denied it and there will be an investigation, with snooker supremo Barry Hearn adamant that penalties and punishment will be swift and firm. If only other sports took such a strong and direct view.

Football, awash with money, has attracted many allegations, not least in Italy but in other countries as well. Betting scandals are the most common, of course, but the various governing bodies prefer to talk big about sorting it out and then sweep it under what must be a very big carpet.

In the UK it is usually in the transfer market where scandals arise. Who can forget the George Graham bung affair all those years ago? With agents, managers and directors involved, there are payments shooting left, right and centre. Harry Redknapp, famed wheeler and dealer as well as top manager, remains, as far as we know, under suspicion for his transfer dealings while with Portsmouth. He, as do most, maintains his innocence.

It’s a different story in China. Just last year 16 people were arrested for match fixing and bribery. Once caught, they didn’t attempt to hide the fact – they simply claimed that as everyone was doing it they had to, just to be competitive. Not the strongest of arguments, eh.

Corruption takes many forms. Over in Australia rugby side Melbourne Storm are at the centre of a huge scandal for making secret payments to their players to get them to stay with the club. Storm are owned by Murdoch’s News Limited and he himself has just been hit with a near A£500,000 fine for breaking the strict salary cap rules.

In cricket we’ve always had the ball tampering allegations, but the sport has always suffered from allegations of corruption which culminated in Lord Condon’s investigation following the Hanse Cronje affair (he admitted taking bribes to give information and fix matches on behalf of bookmakers). His report was damning, but little was done.

Even now, corruption, it seems, is rife. The Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi has been suspended pending an investigation into broadcasting and franchise corruption.

Performance enhancing drugs

Drug cheats

Then you have the less complicated but no less damaging scandals involving drug taking. Athletics and cycling have suffered most over the last decade or so. Every Olympics, Commonwealth Games and World Championships sees an athlete punished for drug taking. And the drugs scandal that rocked cycling was huge.

As we said earlier, the pursuit for personal glory and wealth – and the belief that you must take drugs to keep up with everyone else who is – is what drives these sportsmen and women to break the rules. But it leaves the integrity of sport in tatters.

So what can be done? The Government in the UK has an anti-corruption body. But what powers they actually have is unclear. Interviewed on radio 5Live this very morning regarding the John Higgins allegations, they urged any sports person approached about match fixing or similar to contact them immediately – but what are they going to do? And will the ‘whistle blower’ also be punished – in which case where is the incentive to come forward?

It’s not an easy issue. Where there is money there will be crime and corruption. Sport makes money. It takes strong, decisive, swift and brutal action to keep it under control, let alone stamp it out. We’re not sure there is yet the desire for that happen. Too much money to be made.

In the meantime, us spectators and supporters just have to hope that our chosen sport is as free from scandal as possible and that the events we are watching and emotionally involved in are fair contests in which the best man – or team – wins. It’s a shame this is being ever more cast into doubt.

What’s your take on the direction of sport and the amount of corruption therein? Which scandal has upset you most? Or maybe you think it’s not as bad as it seems and sport is ok? Let us know in the comments.