SPORT | IN BRIEF May 19, 2010 Flintoff not focused on Australia CRICKET: Andrew Flintoff is refusing to discuss playing Twenty20 cricket in Australia until he recovers from his long-running knee injury. Flintoff has been linked with bids from Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria, but the former England captain says he is focusing solely on returning to county cricket with Lancashire in August. [...]
Carragher enticed back by Fabio factor May 19, 2010 ENGLAND defender Jamie Carragher admits Fabio Capello was a decisive factor in his decision to come out of international retirement. Carragher turned his back on England in 2007 after becoming frustrated that his consistency at club level had not earned him more than a bit-part role. But Capello enticed the centre-back, 32, back for this [...]
LONDON 2012 MASCOTS LAUNCHED May 19, 2010 WENLOCK and Mandeville, the mascots for the 2012 London Olympics, were unveiled last night. Designed to look as though made from steel, Mandeville (left) is named after Stoke Mandeville, the birthplace of the Paralympic Games, while Wenlock’s name comes from a Shropshire town that hosted a precursor to the modern Games.
Platini rides to England’s aid May 18, 2010 ENGLAND’S floundering bid to host the 2018 World Cup received a much-needed shot in the arm last night when two of the global game’s most powerful men, Michel Platini and Jack Warner, insisted the proposal remained strong. The country’s hopes of staging the tournament for the first time since 1966 nosedived after Lord Triesman, the [...]
Twickenham’s superheroes can lift us, insists Barrett May 18, 2010 CAPTAIN Kevin Barrett is hoping a record-breaking Twickenham crowd can roar his England superheroes to victory in the London Sevens at the weekend. The Saracens scrum-half leads out the Red Rose in front of an expected 60,000-strong crowd for their first round of pool stage matches on Saturday. Currently sitting fifth in the IRB World [...]
Triesman departure sparks FA scramble May 18, 2010 A MASS scramble has begun to land the job of the most powerful man in English football following Lord Triesman’s resignation as chairman of the Football Association on Sunday. Triesman stepped down both from the FA and as chairman of England’s 2018 World Cup bid after he was secretly recorded telling a friend that Spain [...]
Barca target Fabregas in Gunners crisis talks May 18, 2010 CESC FABREGAS was last night on collision course with Arsene Wenger after reputedly telling the boss he wants to leave Arsenal and rejoin Barcelona. The Gunners captain reportedly flew back to London from Spain for crisis talks with Wenger – on the day when Barca president Joan Laporta hinted he would be interested in bringing [...]
Saracens boss Venter suspended for final but hooker Brits escapes ban May 18, 2010 SARACENS boss Brendan Venter is set to be banished to the stands for his side’s first ever Premiership final after he was last night handed a 14-week touchline ban. Venter received a 10-week ban after being found guilty of making provocative and/or inappropriate gestures to the crowd following Saracens’ win at Leicester on 8 May. [...]
Strauss played part in our triumph, says Collingwood May 18, 2010 ENGLAND Twenty20 captain Paul Collingwood insists his team’s World Cup triumph owed much to Test skipper Andrew Strauss. Strauss was not in the Caribbean to witness Collingwood’s men scoop England’s first International Cricket Council tournament in 35 years of trying. But Collingwood believes the dazzling success can be partly attributed to the culture established by [...]
Foster looking to revive career with Birmingham move May 18, 2010 BIRMINGHAM have moved quickly to lay the groundwork for next season with a double swoop for England goalkeeper Ben Foster and Spanish youngster Enric Valles. Foster, 27, is poised to complete his £6m move from Manchester United after undergoing a medical in the midlands yesterday. He will be expected to be the Blues’ new No1, [...]