Vaughan: We won’t back out of Lord’s war July 10, 2008 England captain Michael Vaughan has issued a battle cry to South Africa ahead of the first Test at Lord’s this morning, insisting: We will not be bullied by you. Relations between the sides have been strained in recent years with visiting captain Graeme Smith having been involved in exchanges with both Vaughan and South African-born [...]
Fledgling Broad prepares for his toughest test yet July 10, 2008 Stuart Broad admits facing South Africa this summer will prove the toughest challenge of his fledgling Test career. The 22-year-old paceman will win his seventh Test cap at Lord’s this morning when the Springboks arrive for the first in a four-match series. After impressing in the one day set-up, Broad has now emerged as England’s [...]
Chambers faces double trial July 10, 2008 Sprinter Dwain Chambers will discover his Olympic fate in the High Court next week – but only after he succeeds in a trial of a different kind in Birmingham tomorrow night. Chambers launched his bid to run in Beijing next month by formally challenging a British Olympic Association by-law which prevents athletes who have failed [...]
Transfer free-for-all signal worrying times July 10, 2008 Whether it’s it’s Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid saga, Frank Lampard’s proposed move to Inter Milan or Emmanuel Adebayor’s exit from Arsenal there seems to be a worrying trend dominating the European transfer market at the moment. For some reason we now have a no holds barred situation where clubs are advertising their intended target through [...]
Hleb poised to seal £14m Barca switch July 10, 2008 Arsenal midfielder Alexander Hleb is set to complete his long-awaited move to Barcelona, after the two clubs reportedly agreed a fee of £14.3m. Hleb, who has been linked with a move from the Emirates all summer, is poised to sign a four-year deal with Barcelona after rejecting the chance to join Bayern Munich. Arsenal have [...]
Arsenal’s Hleb refutes rant at team-mate and manager July 9, 2008 Arsenal midfielder Alexander Hleb last night attempted to build bridges with the club by denying reports he had launched a verbal attack on his manager and team-mates. Hleb, whose expected move to Barcelona has failed to materialise, was yesterday claimed to have criticised midfielder Cesc Fabregas and Gunners boss Arsene Wenger. The Belarus international moved [...]
Lampard and Drogba will stay at Chelsea, says ‘So-So One’ Scolari July 9, 2008 Luiz Felipe Scolari yesterday announced his arrival as Chelsea manager by insisting that, contrary to expectation, midfielder Frank Lampard and striker Didier Drogba would not be departing the club. Lampard is the subject of a renewed £7.9m bid by Inter Milan and is yet to commit his future to Chelsea, but, speaking in his first [...]
England will need to up their game to tame in-form South Africa July 9, 2008 After twice taking on and comfortably beating what is a transitional New Zealand side, England will undoubtedly go into tomorrow’s first Test against South Africa confident of continuing their encouraging run. But one thing’s for certain, they’re going to have to step up their game because these South Africans will provide a much sterner test. [...]
Nadal told to rest after epic July 8, 2008 Rafael Nadal began his first day as Wimbledon champion with an order to rest by doctors following his epic five-hour marathon with Roger Federer in Sunday’s final. The Spaniard is still struggling with a knee injury suffered in his third round match against Mikhail Youzhny and will not now defend his Mercedes Cup title in [...]
Ross has found form at just the right time July 8, 2008 For several years now, I’ve been monitoring the progress of a young man who I always felt had the potential of becoming a future major champion. Playing from Wentworth, down the road from me, Ross Fisher caught the eye from a very young age, but has never quite had the breaks needed to force his [...]