Commonwealth Games: What to look out for in first few days of Glasgow 2014 July 23, 2014 Today Sir Bradley Wiggins will bid for his first Commonwealth Games gold medal on day one in the track cycling team pursuit alongside England colleagues Ed Clancy, Steven Burke and Andy Tennant; England’s Brownlee brothers, Olympic champion Alistair and former world champion Jonny, and Jodie Stimpson all have triathlon medal ambitions; Scottish swimmer Michael Jamieson [...]
Poppy link to Queen’s horse July 23, 2014 THE HORSE feed firm linked to the Queen’s mare Estimate says poppy seeds may have led to the 2013 Ascot Gold Cup winner testing positive for Morphine. Dodson and Horrell denies any contamination occurred on its site and confirmed an investigation is underway with a supplier regarding product Alfalfa Oil Plus. “It appears that any [...]
Critics forced Prior decision July 23, 2014 RELENTLESS media scrutiny was a principal factor in wicketkeeper Matt Prior quitting England duty for the rest of the summer, says Sussex manager Mark Robinson. Prior cited injury when making the announcement after England’s defeat to India in the second Test at Lord’s on Monday. “The media have hunted him mercilessly and made his position [...]
Vorm happy to vie with Lloris after joining Davies at Spurs July 23, 2014 HOLLAND goalkeeper Michel Vorm insists he is not worried about playing second fiddle to established No1 Hugo Lloris after completing his move to Tottenham last night. Vorm joined Spurs along with Swansea team-mate Ben Davies, the Wales defender, in a deal that sees Iceland midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson travel in the opposite direction. “Every club has [...]
The 2014 Commonwealth Games, and five other reasons Glasgow is still city of culture July 23, 2014 The Commonwealth Games opened in Glasgow last night and over the next two weeks tens of thousands of Londoners will make their way to the cultural heart of Scotland. They come as Scotland edges ever closer – according to the polls – to independence, giving the international showcase even more significance. But unlike other cities [...]
England back Cook to save series and job July 22, 2014 ENGLAND cricket chiefs have ignored the clamour to end Alastair Cook’s torturous reign as captain and backed him to engineer a dramatic change of fortune in the current Test series against India. Wicketkeeper Jos Buttler’s call-up in place of Matt Prior, who bowed out of the series citing fitness concerns following Monday’s second Test defeat [...]
Queen’s Ascot Gold Cup winner in positive test July 22, 2014 THE QUEEN’S horse racing interests were last night embroiled in a doping controversy after it emerged that 2013 Ascot Gold Cup winner Estimate had tested positive for the banned drug morphine. The five-year-old mare, trained by Sir Michael Stoute, is one of five horses from various stables whose samples from post-race tests showed traces of [...]
Squash ace Matthew beats Farah and Wiggins to flagbearer role July 22, 2014 THREE-TIME squash world champion Nick Matthew admits he is humbled to have been chosen to carry England’s flag at today’s Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in Glasgow. Matthew, 33, enjoys a low profile despite his numerous successes but was nominated by his team-mates ahead of household names such as Mo Farah and Sir Bradley Wiggins. “I’m [...]
Dyke in North Korea jibe at Fifa and rules out fresh World Cup bid July 22, 2014 FOOTBALL Association chairman Greg Dyke has compared world governing body Fifa to North Korea and pledged that England will not bid to stage a World Cup while Sepp Blatter remains president. Dyke told a Culture, Media and Sport select committee yesterday that the FA and other European associations opposed Blatter but that he remained popular [...]
Cricket Comment: Fear of failure crippling England means selectors must break cycle July 22, 2014 I DON’T want to hammer England’s selectors. They generally get it right. There is a huge gap between county and Test level and not everyone is able to bridge it, yet they tend to choose well. But they really must grasp the nettle right now and remove captain Alastair Cook. England cannot get any worse. [...]