31/10/2011 – Van Persie hat-trick as Arsenal and Chelsea serve up treat.

Another blockbuster weekend in the English Premier League saw the derby focus switch to London as Chelsea hosted an improving Arsenal. In a game that had defensive purists tearing their hair out, Arsenal twice came from behind to run out 5-3 winners at Stamford Bridge. Talisman Robin Van Persie netted a hat trick to continue his outstanding scoring form (he has now scored 28 goals in 27 fixtures for Arsenal in the 2011 calendar year). Andre Villas-Boas will not be satisfied with a defensive display that made it all too easy for the Gunners at times. John Terry, in particular, will want to forget the slip that let in Van Persie for Arsenal’s fourth, crucial goal. Arsene Wenger’s team now moves to seventh in the table – just three points behind the Blues. Wins for Manchester United and Manchester City mean the Sky Blues’ maintain their five point lead at the top of the table.

Van Persie is now averaging over a goal a game for Arsenal in 2011.

   

The F1 travelling circus made its first ever stop off in India this weekend as the Buddh International Circuit hosted the country’s inaugural grand prix. The surroundings may have been new but the action on the track was very much ‘same old, same old’ as Sebastian Vettel converted a pole position into a comfortable race victory (his 11^th of the year). Jenson Button was again the more impressive of the McLaren drivers, taking a hard earned second place ahead of Fernando Alonso. Sadly, for his team mate Lewis Hamilton, it was another familiar story as he clashed with nemesis Felipe Massa. On this occasion the stewards placed the blame for the incident on the Brazilian, who was deemed to have given Hamilton insufficient space as the Brit tried to overtake him at the fifth corner. The crash ended any podium hopes for Hamilton who came in a lowly seventh.     

England hosted Wales in their opening game of the Gillette Rugby League Four Nations. The game was a comfortable warm up for the English who ran out 42 – 4 winners. Wigan’s Sam Tomkins helped himself to four tries against a Welsh team who had included eight part time players in their squad. Although the score line read impressively, the Welsh troubled England at times and got just reward with captain Lee Briers’ consolation try. England will need to step up the performance level for their next game against tournament favourites Australia – who beat New Zealand 26 – 12 in their opening game.

After the disappointment of the One-Day Internationals, England salvaged a little pride in their Twenty20 game against India on Saturday. Returning from injury, Kevin Pietersen hit 53 from 39 balls to help England to an eight ball victory. Pietersen was lucky not to be out on one as he was dropped from a fairly regulation looking catch. He went on to display some spectacular shots, including a switch-hit six, to accelerate England towards their target of 121. The victory ensures captain Graeme Swann’s team remain at the top of the Twenty20 rankings.   

Wimbledon Champion Petra Kvitova clinched the season ending WTA Championship with victory over Victoria Azarenka. Newcastle’s Nile Ranger has been charged with drunk and disorderly behaviour after a night out in the city centre, 48-hours before his team were due to play a Premiership fixture at Stoke.   

And finally, readers of a certain age may remember a ‘Fast Show’ sketch in which a feckless husband returns home with the weekly shop only to reveal his own interpretations of his wife’s list – each item being introduced with a hopelessly optimistic “Even better than that….”. Well, it seems everyone’s favourite young Italian striker may also have a case of the ‘selective interpretations.’ Sent out by his mother and tasked with the reasonably simple quest of buying an iron, Super-Mario returned some hours later followed by a John Lewis van containing a giant trampoline, a Scalextric, two Vespas and a table tennis set. Needless to say, not an iron in sight!

24/10/2011 – City bring the fireworks to Old Trafford.

Balotelli made the headlines for all the right reasons after scoring twice against United.

The balance of footballing power in Manchester underwent a decisive shift yesterday as Manchester City thrashed United 6-1 at Old Trafford. The defeat, United’s worst at home for 84 years, saw City take a five point lead over them at the top of the Premiership. Firework fan Mario Balotelli opened the scoring in the first half and added a second midway through the second half after United had defender Jonny Evans sent off. Sergio Aguero got City’s third before a well placed shot from Darren Fletcher gave United a glimmer of hope. The floodgates opened in the last few minutes though as Edwin Dzeko scored two in three minutes either side of a David Silva strike. Bragging rights this morning belong firmly in the sky blue side of the city.

New Zealand ended their 24 year wait for another rugby world cup victory as they beat France 9-8 at Eden Park. New Zealand join southern hemisphere rivals South Africa and Australia as the only teams to have won the trophy on two separate occasions. Many had expected New Zealand to dominate the French as they did in their earlier pool game. This was not the case, however, with Lievremont’s team offering stubborn resistance and never letting New Zealand run away with the game. Each team managed a try apiece with the result ultimately coming down to the boot of fourth choice All Black fly-half Stephen Donald, who kicked the winning points. Captain Richie McCaw had the honour of lifting the Webb Ellis trophy in front of an ecstatic home crowd.     

There was more tragedy in the world of motor sport this weekend as Italian rider Marco Simoncelli died after a crash at the Malaysian MotoGP. His death comes a week after Indy car driver Dan Wheldon was killed in another crash in Las Vegas. 24 year old Simoncelli’s bike veered across the track in the second lap of the race and he fell into the path of two oncoming riders. His helmet was dislodged in the crash with both riders hitting him. After success in both the 125cc and 250cc classes, Simoncelli moved into premier class racing for the 2010 season. He was a member of the San Carlo Gresini Honda team.  

Luke Donald ensured he would finish top of the PGA American money list after taking victory at the Disney Classic. The World Number One hit a final round of 64 to take the title by two strokes in Florida. An impressive final day display included six birdies in a row on the back nine. Donald will now aim to become the first every golfer to top the money lists on both sides of the Atlantic. The Englishman leads the European list by over £1m, but is not expected to compete in all the eight remaining events as his wife is due to give birth to their second child in the next fortnight.

In other news, Chelsea lost ground in the title race as they were beaten 1-0 by QPR and had both Jose Bosingwa and Didier Drogba dismissed. Despite leading his team to defeat in the RWC final on Sunday, France flanker Thierry Dusautoir has been named the IRB player of the year.    

And finally, many of us are of the opinion that footballers earn pretty extortionate wages for the arduous task of chasing a ball around a field for 90 minutes each week. It seems that in Belgrade they have found a means of curbing any sense of unchallenged entitlement to such wealth. Chairman Vladan Lukic recently fined nine of his first team for lack of commitment after a friendly game. Fair enough you might think; however, his team did win the game 3-1 and one of the players fined the most actually scored one of the goals. It would be interesting to see how such exacting standards would be received by some of our more pampered Premier League performers…

17/10/2011 – French rob Welsh (with a little help from an Irishman)

Captain Sam Warburton has been banned for three weeks following his dismissal.

Wales’ mightily impressive run at this year’s Rugby World Cup was brought to a frustrating end at the weekend as they lost to the French. Reduced to 14 men within the first 20 minutes, after captain Sam Warburton was sent off, the Welsh continued to play in the character they have shown throughout the tournament and really should have triumphed in a game they ended up losing 9-8. Warburton’s dismissal was the controversial turning point of the game. Whilst referee Alain Rolland could be said to be sticking to the letter of the law, his decision went against what most would consider to be the spirit of the game. Despite their numerical handicap, Wales had opportunities to reach the final and will rue missed kicks from James Hook, Stephen Jones and an agonisingly close effort from Leigh Halfpenny. In a repeat of the 1987 final, France will face hosts New Zealand who were far more impressive in dismissing Australia 20 – 6.

In the weekend’s football, Manchester City displaced neighbours United at the summit of the Premier League after an impressive 4 – 1 win over Aston Villa. Goals from Mario Balotelli, Adam Johnson, captain Vincent Company and James Milner sealed an emphatic win for the Blues ahead of next weekend’s Manchester derby. United could only manage a draw away to rivals Liverpool. On his first start in seven months, captain Steven Gerrard put Liverpool ahead with a low free kick. Spanish keeper David de Gea kept United in the game with a string of good saves before Javier Hernandez snatched the Red’s customary late equalizer.    

Tragedy struck in Las Vegas yesterday as British Indy Car racer Dan Wheldon lost his life after a horrific pile up. The accident, which took place during the Las Vegas Indy 300 event, involved 15 cars. Questions concerning the length of the Vegas circuit, as well as the width of the track, which allows several cars to race side by side, are now being raised as officials examine the causes of the crash. Wheldon, originally from Emberton, had won the Indy 500 in May and was in line for a $5 million pay-out had he won the Vegas event.  

In the weekend’s Korean Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton came back into some form after sealing pole position and then delivering a disciplined race to take the second spot on the podium. Hamilton lost the lead on the first lap to newly crowned world champion Sebastian Vettel and had no answer to the Red Bull’s pace. With the win out of his grasp, it required all of Hamilton’s skill and concentration to stay ahead of Vettel’s team mate Mark Webber. The Red Bull first and third sealed the Constructor’s Championship for the team and confirmed their dominance in 2011.

Andy Murray leap-frogged Roger Federer to the world number three ranking after winning the Shanghai Masters. The victory was Murray’s third tournament success in a row after a fruitful few weeks in the Far East. Playing Spaniard David Ferrer in the final, Murray had a relatively routine victory sealing the title in two sets – 7 -5, 6-4.

In other news, Nathan Cleverly defeated challenger David Bellow in a 12-round thriller to retain the WBO light-heavyweight belt. Cycling World Champion Mark Cavendish signed for Team Sky where he will join fellow Brit Bradley Wiggins.     

And finally, Dan Wheldon’s triumphs on the road will be well documented over the next few days. However, he was also a committed supporter of the Alzheimer’s Association – Wheldon’s mother was diagnosed with the disease in 2009. Wheldon was wearing the charity’s logo as he sealed victory in the Indy 500 and would no doubt want his legacy to include this important and personal contribution. For more information on the Alzheimer’s Association, click here.

10/10/2011 – England’s nose dive.

In a less-than-glorious weekend for England’s rugby and football teams, one was dumped out of a World Cup whilst the other limped into the European Championships. England’s rugby team ended their mainly miserable excursion in New Zealand as they were beaten 19 – 12 by a rejuvenated French team. An experimental Martin Johnson line up – which included both Jonny Wilkinson and Toby Flood – continued making the same old mistakes in conceding damaging penalties. Johnson’s future will now come under scrutiny as the post-mortem of the campaign begins.

England never looked like making their third successive final.

In perhaps the most hotly anticipated of the quarter-finals, the youthful exuberance of the Welsh overcame Irish class and experience as they ran out 22 – 10 winners. Magnificent defence and a high tackle count proved the foundation of the Welsh victory as they repelled every Irish onslaught with ferocity and power. Tries from Shane Williams, Mike Phillips and Jonathan Davies broke Irish hearts and likely signalled the last appearance at a World Cup for players such as Ronan O’Gara, Paul O’Connell and – destined for legend – Brian O’Driscoll. In the other quarters, a dogged Argentinian display kept New Zealand at bay for a while but could not hold back the inevitable as the All Blacks ran out 33 – 10 victors. Defending champions South Africa are out, beaten 11 – 9 by the young guns of Australia.

In what should have been happier news for English fans, their football team secured qualification for Euro 2012 with a 2 – 2 draw in Montenegro. Goals from Ashley Young and Darren Bent had put Fabio Capello’s team in a comfortable position approaching half time. As has so often been the case in the past though, they conspired to make life unnecessarily difficult for themselves. A goal conceded on the cusp of half time gave the Montenegrins fresh impetus going into the second half. A disciplined performance was needed and this was just what England could not deliver. In the 73^rd minute, a rash kick-out from temper-in-chief Wayne Rooney brought an inevitable red card. Montenegro surged forward in the closing minutes and scored a deserved equaliser through Andrija Delibasic at the death.

Sebastian Vettel capped a near perfect season by securing his second consecutive F1 World Championship in Suzuka. Third place was more than enough for the German driver to take the title with four races of the season still remaining. Vettel becomes the youngest ever double world champion in history and has won an incredible nine of the 14 races so far this season. Jenson Button took the race victory in Japan with Fernando Alonso claiming second but the weekend was all about the coronation of the latest German to threaten to dominate the sport.

Staying in Japan, Andy Murray played some of his best tennis of the season to beat arch-nemesis Rafa Nadal 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 in the Japan Open in Tokyo. Nadal, who had a 13-4 head to head with Murray coming into this game, took the first set but was then blown away by the step up in quality from the Scot – who conceded just four points in the whole of the third set. Murray will now aim to displace Roger Federer as world number three by defending his title in Shanghai next week. In a rare achievement, Murray also claimed the double’s title in Japan alongside brother Jamie.

In a thrilling finale, Leeds Rhinos claimed a 32 – 16 victory over St Helens in Rugby League’s Grand Final. Nigel Worthington today announced that he will step down as Northern Ireland boss after Tuesday’s European Championship qualified with Italy.   

There was dwarf tossing, a mysterious blonde and last, but my no means least, a spot of ferry diving. This weeks ‘And finally’ can only belong to England’s rugby anti-heroes! Their performances on the pitch may have been somewhat insipid but no one can accuse them of not fully entertaining with their extra-curricular antics. Martin Johnson was driven to distraction, but boys will be boys and we can only be grateful that the 2015 tournament in England will allow our press even greater invasion of the lads’ nights out!

26/09/2011 – Folly of Scotland.

Scotland dispair as Argentina claim late victory.

In one of the more engaging (if not high scoring) games of this year’s Rugby World Cup, Scottish hopes of qualification were dealt a massive blow after they were defeated 13-12 by Argentina. With eight minutes to go, Scotland held a six point lead and looked in relative control. However, a jinking run from winger Lucas Amorosino through some poor defence resulted in the only try of the game and allowed Felipe Contepomi to kick the conversion and steal the game. Scotland’s only remaining hope is to defeat an England side who looked much more impressive in their 67-3 rout of Romania. There were hat tricks for wingers Mark Cueto and Chris Ashton as a weakened Romanian team offered little resistance. However, there were enough mistakes from the English to ensure that Martin Johnson will still not be entirely satisfied going into the final pool game.

In the weekend’s Premiership action, Manchester United dropped their first points of the season as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Stoke. Another thumping Nani strike put United in the lead before a strong response from Stoke resulted in a Peter Crouch equalising header. United are now level on points at the top with rivals Manchester City – who fought to a tight 2-0 win over Everton. Mario Balotelli came off the bench to open the scoring in the second half before James Milner converted from a delightful through ball from David Silva. A Chelsea victory aided by Fernando Torres’ second goal in two games would be music to the ears of most Blue’s fans. However, as with most things associated with the temperamental Spaniard, the story was not quite that simple. A coolly taken Torres strike did set the Blues on their way to a 4-1 victory over Swansea. Unfortunately, he was then sent off for a foolish two footed lunge on Swans’ midfielder Mark Gower.

Manxman Mark Cavendish has claimed the Cycling Road World Championship title after a tight sprint finish in Copenhagen. Cavendish was quick to acknowledge the debt he owed to the eight man Great British team whose efforts delivered him to the position from which he could strike for home. He becomes the first Britain to hold the title since Tom Simpson in 1965. Cavendish stole victory ahead of Australia’s Matt Goss after a gruelling uphill sprint finish. He adds the rainbow jersey to the green jersey he won at this year’s Tour de France.     

Sebastian Vettel is now just one point away from securing the F1 World Championship after he produced another flawless performance to take victory in Singapore. Jenson Button’s second place finish ensured the young German would have to wait at least one more race to secure the title but, with a single point needed from the 125 still available, it would be a foolish man who bet against him. Lewis Hamilton was once again embroiled in some controversy, eliciting this reaction from Brazilian Felipe Massa after puncturing his tyre after another aggressive overtaking manoeuvre.

England’s cricketers ended a triumphant summer with a bit of an anti-climax as they lost their final Twenty20 International to the West Indies. Britain’s Andy Murray claimed tennis players could strike over proposed changes to the season’s calendar.

And finally: no one likes to lose. It is in the makeup of every professional sportsman to view victory as the only available option. However, as the poet alluded to, it is often how we treat the inevitable disasters that marks us out. Pity Luton’s Alex Lawless then who, trailing at half time to old club York, broke his own hand by venting his frustration on the changing room wall. Not only does Lawless face a self-inflicted spell on the side lines, it is also likely he will be fined by the club for, what we can only presume to be, rank stupidity!

19/09/2011 – Irish Eyes Are Smiling

To begin with, apologies for the absence of the last few weeks – vincemcmurraysports has been moving house (a stressful affair). From our new vantage point we can survey an exciting period of sports action. The Rugby World Cup is well under way, the Premiership season is heating up nicely, and the World Championship Athletics have been and gone (quicker than a Usain Bolt start). The run up to Christmas is certainly a hectic period for the sports fan!

Ireland will now be the favourites to top Pool C.

Down in New Zealand, England secured their second victory in the group stages with a 41 – 10 victory over Georgia. Two tries apiece from Chris Ashton and Shontayne Hape ensured that the score line was given a underserved gilt edge. Indiscipline remains a serious concern for Martin Johnson’s side with 65 penalties conceded in their last five tests. The game (and result) of the tournament thus far was undoubtedly Ireland’s 15-6 victory over Tri-Nation’s champions Australia. In a forward dominated game, the Irish had too much for their in-form opponents (with Paul O’Connell, in particular, outstanding). The victory raises the prospect of an Ireland – Wales quarter final after the Welsh scraped a 17-10 victory over the Samoans.

Manchester United once again stole the show in the Premiership as they beat arch-rivals Chelsea 3-1 at Old Trafford. In a strange game, which could have easily ended 6-6, Chelsea created many more chances than their hosts but could not match United’s clinical edge. A header from Chris Smalling and a Wayne Rooney tap in sandwiched a Nani screamer as three shots on target delivered United a three goal lead at half time. Fernando Torres scored only his second ever goal for Chelsea to pull one back in the second half and to say he should have increased his tally would be a bit of an understatement (see ‘And finally’). United are now clear at the top after Fulham came from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw against Man City. Arsenal’s woes continued with a 4-3 defeat at Blackburn whilst Tottenham discovered some form as they thumped Liverpool 4-0.

There was sad news from the world of horse racing today as the death of Ginger McCain was announced. 80 year old McCain will always be best known as the man who guided Red Rum to three Grand National victories. More than 25 years after Red Rum’s last victory he then secured a record fourth National success with Amberleigh House. A forthright and outspoken character, McCain’s status is likely to be cemented alongside that of his most famous charge.

In other news, Justin Rose triumphed in the BMW Championship in Chicago, taking the title by two shots from Australian John Senden. Leinster’s 28 game winning record at the RDS was brought to an end as Glasgow Warriors beat them 23-19.   

And finally, as alluded to above, Fernando Torres should have had (at least) a brace of goals this weekend. His miss is certainly the most spectacular of this season so far but, for sheer simplicity, does it compare with this howler from Diego Forlan during his time at United? We’ll let you be the judge.

22/08/2011 – England pass every test!

Cricket’s number one team, England, completed a dominant series victory over India with an innings victory at The Oval. Having set the tourists a competitive total of 591 in the first innings, Andrew Strauss’ team restricted them to a reply of 300. Forced to follow on, India could not even match this in the second innings and were bowled out for 283. Heartbreakingly, Sachin Tendulkar came within nine runs of his 100^thtest century before being bowled out for 91 by Tim Bresnan. Amazingly, the visitors had been at 262-3 at one point before suffering a painful collapse that was in-keeping with their form throughout the series. Graeme Swann took figures of 6-106 in the second innings to finish with nine wickets in the match. Ian Bell took man of the match at The Oval while Stuart Broad was named man of the series.

England complete a series whitewash over India.

Today saw the announcement of the home nations’ rugby world cup squads for next month’s tournament in New Zealand. Scotland confirmed Alastair Kellock as their captain for the tournament but Coach Andy Robinson omitted No8 Johnnie Beattie. Chris Cusiter and Mike Blair were both included after overcoming fitness concerns.  Sam Warburton will become Wales’ youngest world cup captain as he was named in a squad that had no place for veteran Martyn Williams (who sits on 99 caps). Ireland will give 15 players their world cup debuts as they name a squad which will be led by Brian O’Driscoll.     

Andy Murray took the Cincinnati Masters title after world number one, Novak Djokovic, retired injured in the second set. Having taken a competitive first set 6-4, Murray was 3-0 up in the second when his opponent threw in the towel. Although not the way that Murray would have wanted to seal his seventh Masters title, his form in Cincinnati will still give him much confidence going into the US Open at Flushing Meadows. A tired looking Djokovic will hope he has sufficient time to regain his energies and rediscover the form that has seen him lose only twice in the whole of 2011.

Chelsea look to have agreed a deal with Valencia to bring 23 year old Spanish playmaker Juan Mata to Stamford Bridge. Although the fee is undisclosed, it is thought the transfer will be worth in the region of £25 million to the Spanish club. The conclusion of the Mata signing has led to speculation from some (not least of all Harry Redknapp) that Chelsea’s interest in Luka Modric will now cease. In other transfer news, a deal is now thought to be close between Arsenal and Manchester City to conclude the on-going saga of Samir Nasri’s move north.      

In other news, the FIA will ban the use of DRS at Spa’s infamous Eau Rouge corner this weekend due to safety concerns. Arsène Wenger has been handed a two match ban by UEFA after passing messages to coach Pat Rice whilst banned from the touchline during his side’s Champions League qualifier with Udinese.  

Finally, Barcelona added the Spanish Super Cup to their already overflowing trophy cabinet after they beat arch rivals Real Madrid 5-4 on aggregate. The entertaining contest was once again marred by red cards and unnecessary histrionics (not least from Jose Mourinho). Here, The Independent looks back on a fixture that has rendered eight red cards in just seven games since the ‘Special One’ landed en España.

08/08/2011 – Blue Moon rising (then falling)

A thrilling opener to the football season saw Manchester United overcome rivals Manchester City after a dramatic comeback in the Community Shield. A packed house at Wembley saw United dominate for most of the first half with City struggling to gain any foothold in the game. Debutant Ashley Young impressed for United as they looked by far the more likely to take the lead. Given his side’s superiority, Sir Alex Ferguson would have been somewhat bemused to see his side come in at half time two goals down. City took the lead through a Joleon Lescott header after an inviting centre from David Silva. The lead was doubled on the cusp of half time after a speculative Edin Dzeko strike embarrassed the other United debutant – Spanish keeper David De Gea. Time and time again United prove they can never be written off, regardless of deficit, and they rallied magnificently after half time. A controlled volley from Chris Smalling cut City’s lead before a flowing move involving Wayne Rooney and Tom Cleverley was converted emphatically by Nani. The Portuguese winger then went on to seal victory in the last minute of injury time, coolly rounding Joe Hart after lax City defending from a break away.

Two goals from Nani dashed City's hopes.

In Scotland, Stuart McCall’s Motherwell are the early table toppers after a 1-0 victory against Hearts. Jamie Murphy sealed victory after Hearts’ disciplinary woes continued with Ian Black seeing red after a challenge on Keith Lasley. Celtic maintained their winning start to the season with a 1-0 victory away at Aberdeen. Anthony Stokes sealed victory for Neil Lennon’s team after good work by Kris Commons. In less welcome news for the hoops, left back Emilio Izaguirre looks set to miss the next six months of the season after suffering a fractured ankle in the game. Full Scottish results can be seen here.

In the weekend’s Rugby Union World Cup warm up games, England edged a close encounter with Wales by 23 points to 19. Despite being outscored by three tries to two, England navigated their path to victory via the boot of Jonny Wilkinson. A strong showing from Wales, especially in the second half, will give them hope when the teams meet again in Cardiff this weekend but a brace of drop goals from Wilkinson ultimately proved the difference. An injury to captain Lewis Moody will be a concern for Martin Johnson this close to the campaign in New Zealand. Andy Robinson’s Scotland will take some encouragement from a 10-6 victory over Ireland at Murrayfield. A late try from Joe Ansbro gave the Scots victory over an under strength Irish team.

Captain Kevin Sinfield was the hero as Leeds beat Castleford in their Challenge Cup semi final. Sinfield kicked a penalty in sudden death extra time to give his team a 10-8 victory and earn them their second successive appearance in the Challenge Cup final. Castleford lead the game with minutes to go but a late Kallum Watkins try took the game to extra time. A debatable penalty decision for a high tackle gave Sinfield the opportunity to seal victory and break Castleford hearts. Leeds will meet Wigan in the final after the Warriors fought to a 18-12 victory over St Helens. A Saints fight back from 18-2 down came too late in the game and Wigan held on to secure a long awaited return to Wembley after a 13-year absence. 

In other news, Tiger Woods’ ex-caddie Steve Williams was perhaps aiming a shot at his former employer as he claimed helping Adam Scott to the WCG Invitational was the “sweetest (victory) of his life.” Indian pace bowler Zaheer Khan has been ruled out of the remaining two tests of the series with ankle and hamstring injuries.  

Finally, attention to detail is something of a necessity in most fields of life and can often be crucial when it comes to the world of sport. Pity then the Manchester City clerical staff who listed the club’s official kit as red on the club’s website. Some oversights are more understandable than others; this is not one of them.

25/07/2011 – 2000 not out!

Anderson takes figures of 5-65 as he tears through India.

England were the victors in a thrilling opening test of the series against India at Lord’s. The 2000^th test match ever played was as exciting as most others in recent memory as England relied on a final session wipe out of the Indian rear guard to secure the win. England had battled to a significant lead after the first innings but a disappointing second innings (rescued only by the heroics of Matt Prior and Stuart Broad) meant that the tourists went into the fifth day with realistic hopes of drawing the test. James Anderson crushed any such ambitions though with a dominant display of pace bowling to end the Indian resistance. England will now turn their attention to the second test at Trent Bridge on Friday knowing that a series victory by two clear matches will place them at the top of the world rankings.   

Lewis Hamilton secured his second victory of the F1 season as he won a closely fought German Grand Prix. Hamilton, who had qualified second on the grid, got a far better start than pole sitter Mark Webber and took the lead into the first corner. Never able to pull convincingly ahead, the British driver constantly tussled with Webber’s Red Bull and the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso as the lead frequently changed hands. Pit stop tactics looked like they may prove crucial but, despite losing the lead in the second set of stops, some thrilling overtaking manoeuvres from Hamilton ensured he ended the race on top of the podium. Championship leader Sebastian Vettel had a frustrating home grand prix and finished in fourth (the first time he has failed to reach the podium all season). 

Amir Khan took a big step forward in silencing his naysayers with a fifth round knockout of experienced American fighter Zab Judah. Khan was on top from the start against former world title holder Judah who struggled with the Bolton fighter’s speed and accuracy of jab. A vicious body blow in the fifth round was enough to end the fight. Judah complained the blow was low but television replays indicated it was above the belt. After the fight, Khan talked of his ambition to move up the pound for pound rankings and targeted the undefeated Floyd Mayweather as a future opponent. In the British heavyweight title fight, Tyson Fury defeated holder Dereck Chisora on points after a scrappy 12 rounds of action. The height and reach advantage of the Manchester fighter proved crucial with his London opponent being confined to short bursts of attack. With both fighters talking up the prospect of the victor going on to challenge Wladimir Klitschko, it seems Fury may now have this opportunity. However, the Ukrainian WBO, IBF and WBA champion will have seen little to worry him in what was an entertaining but, ultimately, sophomoric contest.         

Suspended president of the Asian Football Federation Mohamed bin Hammam was handed a lifetime ban from football after being found guilty of bribery allegations by FIFA. The man responsible for helping secure the 2022 World Cup for Qatar claims the ban is an unjust form of “revenge” handed down by Sepp Blatter. The allegations of bribery relate to bin Hammam’s challenging of Blatter for the FIFA presidency. Bin Hammam claimed he will appeal the decision and looked to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the Swiss Civil Court for justice after describing FIFA’s appeal committee as a “kangaroo court”.     

In the final stage of the Tour De France, Mark Cavendish confirmed his position as one of the greatest sprint cyclists of his generation as he secured the green jersey in Paris. Claiming his third stage victory in as many years at the Champs Elysees, the ‘Manxman’ became the first ever British winner of the green jersey. He also took his total haul of stage victories in the competition to 20, putting him joint sixth on the all time list. The overall tour was won by Australian Cadel Evans who, in time honoured tradition, will share his winner’s cheque of £430,000 amongst his BMC teammates.

In the Copa America final, A Diego Forlan brace and a man-of-the-match performance from Luis Suarez helped Uruguay to their 15^th victory in the competition. Paraguay were the losing finalists, suffering a 3-0 defeat. At the Diamond League meet in Monaco, Mo Farah and Tiffany Ofili-Porter set new British records in the 5000m and 100m hurdles respectively.      

Finally, in less uplifting scenes in Monaco, French 1500m competitors Mahiedine Benabbad Mekhissi and Mehdi Baala were involved in a bizarre punch up after the race. It is unclear exactly what provoked the scrap but there is known to be a history of bad blood between the two. In terms of clean punches landed, it ranked pretty close to the Fury – Chisora fight of the following eve!

Click here for a newly published Opinion piece on Oscar Pistorius.

18/07/2011 – Northern Ireland’s third best golfer?

42 year old Darren Clarke continued Northern Ireland’s recent dominance of golf’s Majors by claiming the 140^th Open title at Royal St George’s this weekend. Clarke held his nerve on the final day to score a par 70 and hold off the challenge of Americans Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickleson. Coming into the fourth round with a one shot lead over Johnson, Clarke made a birdie on the second hole to pull away from his playing partner. However, it was 41 year old Mickleson who applied the real pressure over the opening nine holes. Pulling level with Clarke at five under following an eagle at the seventh, it looked like the momentum was with the American. A loss of concentration in missing a regulation putt at the 11^th seemed to derail the left hander though, and when Clarke went on to match his eagle at the seventh it seemed the Claret Jug was destined to be heading to Portrush. A calm back nine sealed the victory for the popular Northern Irishman who set a record in winning the Open at his 20^thattempt.

Clarke becomes the third Northern Irish winner in the last six majors.

Mark Cavendish retained the green jersey in this year’s Tour De France after sealing his fourth stage win. The victory took Cavendish’s career total stage victories to 19 and gave him the record of being the only man in history to take four road stage wins in four consecutive tours. Cavendish credited the victory to his HTC-Highroad team after a disciplined ride saw his teammates deliver him victory over the 200km stage. French rider Thomas Voeckler maintained the yellow jersey for the sixth consecutive day although dismissed his chances of overall victory setting them at “zero percent.”

South America’s two leading football nations both suffered shock quarter final defeats in the Copa America. Brazil missed all their penalties in losing to Paraguay 2-0 in a shoot-out. Paraguay had keeper Justo Villar to thank for keeping them level over 120 minutes as Brazil created a host of chances. However, when it came to spot kicks, Villar only had one save to make as Elano, Andre Santos and Fred all managed to miss the target from 12 yards sending the eight time winners to an embarrassing defeat. Hosts Argentina were also dumped out of the tournament by an impressive Uruguay side. Diego Perez gave Uruguay an early lead before Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain netted an equalizer. Both teams were reduced to 10 men before the game went to penalties. Want-away Manchester City striker Carlo Tevez missed the crucial spot kick ending Argentinean hopes.        

In the Women’s World Cup final, Japan shocked favourites USA to claim the trophy. Japan’s women (or ‘Nadeshiko’ as their fans refer to them) twice came from behind in the game which stood at 1-1 after 90 minutes and 2-2 after extra time. Keeper Ayumi Kaihori was the Japanese hero saving two out of three of the American spot kicks and allowing team mate Saki Kumagai to seal victory with the fourth penalty. The US team were magnanimous in defeat with keeper Hope Solo claiming that Japan had “something bigger” working for them in the wake of the recent Fukushima disaster. The crucial penalty shootout also set a record for the most tweets per second beating other peaks such as the breaking news of Osama Bin Laden’s death.

In other news, Wales’ Rugby World Cup opponents Samoa claimed a memorable 32-23 victory over Australia in Sydney. The visitors outscored their more fancied hosts by four tries to two. Football transfer gossip continues unabated, but one move which looks likely to proceed is that of Carlos Tevez to Brazilian club Corinthians. It is thought that upwards of £40 million has been offered for the Argentinean who scored 20 goals for Manchester City last season.

Finally, this year’s Open had much to offer itself to the more sentimental golf fan. As well as the hugely popular victory for Northern Ireland’s ‘third best’ golfer, there was also a more than respectable four rounds from American icon Tom Watson. The five time Open champion’s round of 72 in the pitiless conditions on Saturday was considered by many to be the best of the tournament and, to general delight, the old master also managed a hole in one at the sixth on Friday. Living proof that class is very much permanent.