Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Prescription eyegalsses
England hoping to turn the tables
The annual update from the ICC discards results pre-dating August 2005 - and South Africa's recent improvements are therefore reflected to the extent that they have moved up from fourth to second behind Australia, while England have dropped down one position to fourth.
India, who have also fallen one place to third, could regain second spot if England beat South Africa in the four-match series which starts at HQ on Thursday.
Australia's 23-point lead means they will remain clear leaders, even if South Africa were to beat England 4-0 this summer - an unlikely result in a series expected to be highly competitive.
A draw or better for South Africa will ensure they stay second at the end of next month.
England would need to win by at least two matches to go back above South Africa, but only a 4-0 success would be enough for Michael Vaughan's team to usurp India too. In the individual player rankings, both England and South Africa remain well-represented in the top 20.
Among the batsmen, the tourists' Jacques Kallis is sixth and captain Graeme Smith 12th - while for England, South African-born pair Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Strauss are 10th and 16th respectively.
South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn is within a whisker of replacing Muttiah Muralitharan at the top of the bowlers' rankings, and Makhaya Ntini is fifth.
England have four bowlers in the top 20 - although two of them, Matthew Hoggard and Andrew Flintoff, will not be in action at Lord's.
Kallis is the world's top all-rounder, with Flintoff third.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Airline Credit cards
Hleb leaves for good
The Belarus international has been consistently linked with a move away from Emirates Stadium since the end of the season, with the likes of Inter Milan, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid all mentioned alongside favourites Barcelona in the battle for his signature.
But despite making complimentary noises about his time with the Gunners, his suggestion that "in life, everything changes", could be interpreted as confirmation that he will be on his way sooner rather than later.
"I am very grateful to Arsene Wenger. He is the best coach of my career. And not just a coach. He is a very good man and intuitive psychologist. I very much appreciate his support," he told www.tut.by.
"I talked to him twice before the end of the season (about my future). It is also not that easy for me to leave this club, because it has become my home. I think he is upset, though it is better to ask him, maybe he is glad."
Hleb added: "In life, everything changes. I believe that there are 10 top clubs in world football, and when a couple of clubs are interested in you and offer better terms, I believe that others would have done exactly the same.
"But Arsenal is dear to me, I am grateful to Wenger for everything he has done for me.
"As an Arsenal player, I can say that there is no better club in the English Premiership."
Hleb, 27, also sought to clarify his relationship with Fabregas, insisting the pair got on well after reports that he had branded the Spain midfielder "selfish".
"Cesc and I understand each other very well on the field. And it is very, very pleasurable for me to play with him.
"He's a very pleasant guy both in life and as a footballer. He is just more egoistic in goalscoring opportunities, if he had a chance to score, he always used it, unlike me."
Pepperjam and its uses
Fisher fulfils his promise
The 27-year-old from Wentworth captured only his second European Tour title by a magnificent seven-stroke margin at The London Club, completing the runaway 20-under-par success by holing a bunker shot at the last.
Harrington, joint 17th but a massive 18 strokes behind, said of the winner's performance: "I don't think anybody out here would be surprised. He's well capable of doing this, and more regularly."
Fisher has jumped from 21st to 11th in the Ryder Cup race, and from 23rd to sixth on the Order of Merit. His world ranking is up as well, of course, nearly 50 places from his previous 104th.
"This is a massive achievement," said Fisher. "Most of the guys say that the first win is hard, but the second is even harder.
"It was a strange week really. No practice round, a course record, four rounds under 70 in very testing conditions - a phenomenal victory.
"For some reason I felt a sense of calmness inside. I drove the ball nigh-on perfect all week and told myself to stay patient and believe in my ability."