Great Britain to head to Rio Olympics with strongest ever track and field squad, says athletics chief July 13, 2016 Medal-hunting Great Britain will head to next month’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro with their strongest ever track and field squad, according to athletics team leader Neil Black. Team GB chiefs have announced an 80-strong party for the Games, which begin on 5 August, as they bid to improve on the haul of six medals won [...]
Sunderland demand FA speed up decision on whether to hire Sam Allardyce as England boss July 13, 2016 Sunderland chiefs have called on the Football Association to move quickly and appoint a new England manager after Black Cats boss Sam Allardyce was interviewed for the vacancy on Tuesday. The club confirmed that Allardyce had left a pre-season training camp in Austria to hold talks with the FA over succeeding Roy Hodgson, who quit [...]
Past is the past: Mohammad Amir–inspired Pakistan will be a stern challenge for England July 13, 2016 All the talk is of convicted spot-fixer Mohammad Amir returning to Test cricket and he is a big reason why I expect Pakistan to provide a stern challenge for England when the four-match Investec series gets underway at Lord’s on Thursday. The 24-year-old looks to be bowling pretty well and swinging the Dukes ball late, [...]
Dustin Johnson targeting hat-trick of wins, Claret Jug and No1 ranking at Troon July 13, 2016 In-form Dustin Johnson believes that his Major breakthrough at Oakmont last month has multiplied his chances of scooping the Open Championship at Royal Troon, which begins on Thursday. Johnson confesses he rarely wants for confidence, but the world No2 says that winning the US Open – and following it up with victory in the WGC [...]
Premier League pre-season fixtures: Tottenham’s travels down under top Manchester City and Manchester United’s trip to China July 13, 2016 Brexit may have cast doubt on the future of UK trade, but there’s at least one British export showing no signs of shrinking this summer: Premier League football. Just this month alone teams will be jetting on pre-season tours to China, America, Australia and Scandinavia where thousands of eager fans are waiting to lap up [...]
England skipper Alastair Cook urges debutant Jake Ball to seize Test opportunity and rip through Pakistan July 13, 2016 England skipper Alastair Cook has backed seamer Jake Ball to rack up the wickets when he makes his international debut in today’s first Investec Test against Pakistan at Lord’s on Thursday. Cook has confirmed that Nottinghamshire quick Ball, who has claimed 96 first-class scalps, has been given the nod over Middlesex rookie Toby Roland-Jones to [...]
Cricket betting: Comeback kid Mohammad Amir to shine – but England to take series July 13, 2016 England swatted Sri Lanka away in an underwhelming start to the cricketing summer and now face a far stiffer opponent in the shape of Pakistan. The two nations have a chaotic cricketing history, littered with controversy and confrontation. If Mike Gatting’s famous finger-wagging with umpire Shakoor Rana in 1987 wasn’t bad enough, Inzamam-ul-Haq then refused [...]
Cricket betting: Forcing a result could be step too far for England at Lord’s July 13, 2016 When Pakistan last played a Test at Lord’s in 2010, three of their players ultimately ended up serving time in jail. Fast-bowler Mohammad Amir, who was convicted of deliberately bowling no-balls in exchange for cash alongside Mohammad Asif, returns to the home of cricket today after serving a five-year ban from the game. The bad [...]
Rory McIlroy deepens golf’s Olympic snub row by saying he may not even bother watching on TV July 12, 2016 Four-time Major winner Rory McIlroy has stoked golf’s Olympic row further by saying he may not even watch the competition in Rio next month because he considers it to be of such little significance. McIlroy pulled out of the Games citing fears over the Zika virus, a position also adopted by Jason Day and Dustin [...]
Bolton heyday shows that England candidate Sam Allardyce is more than just a firefighter July 12, 2016 You don’t need to cast your mind back far if you want evidence of the importance a strong team identity: it was the foundation of a Portugal side that won Euro 2016 even though they were without Cristiano Ronaldo for most of Sunday’s final against France. Portugal weren’t the only team to benefit from a [...]