Injury-hit Strettle’s back with a wing and a prayer May 26, 2010 DAVID STRETTLE has vowed to take his England chance with both hands this summer – to end two years of injury hell. The 26-year-old wing has been rewarded for his blistering end-of-season form for Harlequins with a place in the starting XV to take on the Barbarians at Twickenham on Sunday. Now, he aims to [...]
Venter to miss final after losing RFU appeal May 26, 2010 SARACENS director of rugby Brendan Venter will be banned from the touchline for his side’s Premiership final against Leicester on Saturday after losing his appeal against a 14-week ban last night. The South African was handed the punishment by a Rugby Football Union disciplinary panel last week for “making provocative and inappropriate gestures” during the [...]
Stars won’t be sold, neither will club this year, says Hicks May 26, 2010 LIVERPOOL co-owner Tom Hicks insists manager Rafael Benitez has a “substantial” transfer budget at his disposal this summer – and has vowed not to sell star assets Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres. Hicks, though, says he and partner George Gillett are unlikely to sell the Anfield club any time this year, and are still holding [...]
Carragher’s ready to play anywhere May 26, 2010 ENGLAND defender Jamie Carragher, who quit international duty over his frustration at being overlooked at centre-back, has vowed to play wherever he required at the World Cup. Carragher, 32, has been enticed back to the England squad after manager Fabio Capello pleaded with the experienced and versatile Liverpool stalwart to end three years of self-imposed [...]
Question marks remain over tour, admits Strauss May 26, 2010 ANDREW STRAUSS admits it will take some time yet for him to prove whether his decision to sit out the recent Bangladesh tour was vindicated. The England captain returns to duty this morning when he leads out his side for the first Test against Bangladesh at Lord’s, taking over the reins from Alastair Cook, and [...]
Time for Morgan to stake his claim in the Test arena May 26, 2010 HE’S taken Twenty20 by storm – now Eoin Morgan has the chance to prove he can do it at Test level, and I’ll be intrigued to see how he gets on. Morgan has concentrated on making an impact in the shorter forms of the game, but he is likely to need a period of adjustment [...]
Bolt eyes 300m mark May 26, 2010 ATHLETICS: Usain Bolt has his sights set on a third sprint world record – this time in the 300m. The 100m and 200m record holder will race the distance for the first time in the IAAF World Challenge in Ostrava later today with Michael Johnson’s time of 30.85secs the mark to beat. “I’m looking forward [...]
Kartik puts Warwicks in a spin May 26, 2010 CRICKET: Spinner Murali Kartik helped Somerset cruise to a nine-wicket victory over Warwickshire in the County Championship at Taunton. The Indian claimed figures of 6-61 to dismiss the visitors for 207, leaving Somerset with the easy task of knocking off the remaining 45 runs. In division two, Glamorgan thrashed Leicestershire by 10 wickets after skittling [...]
Exeter Chiefs seal promotion May 26, 2010 RUGBY UNION: The Exeter Chiefs clinched promotion to the Guinness Premiership for the first time in their history last night after sealing a 29-10 victory over Bristol in the Championship play-off. Stand-off Gareth Steenson kicked six penalties and two drop goals before Luke Arscott added a late try as the Chiefs clinched a 38-16 aggregate [...]
Barry’s hopes still hang in the balance May 25, 2010 GARETH BARRY has been given until the last possible minute to prove his World Cup fitness after undergoing scans on his injured ankle. The Manchester City midfielder saw a specialist last night to determine the severity of the ligament damage suffered in the penultimate league game against Tottenham earlier this month. City initially set Barry’s [...]