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| Lindsey Vonn falls, bruises bone in left arm LIENZ, Austria (AP) -- Vancouver Olympic favorite Lindsey Vonn bruised a bone in her left arm following a crash on the opening run of a World Cup giant slalom on Monday.... hosted.ap.org |
Robinson, No. 10 UConn beat Notre Dame 82-70 HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Stanley Robinson scored 22 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds to lead No. 10 Connecticut over Notre Dame 82-70 on Saturday, giving the Huskies their first Big East win of the season.... hosted.ap.org |
Rob Bagchi: Rebels' easy road to reconciliation Memories of the rebel tours of South Africa 20 years ago should not be allowed to fadeAny England cricket tour of South Africa is a thing of wonder for those of us for whom the anti-apartheid movement was the defining political cause of our youths. At times during the 1980s it seemed like the fall of the National Party's regime would never happen as trade with the Republic continued virtually unhindered and the Gleneagles Agreement, discouraging sporting contact and competition, was regularly flouted by rugby union boards and unofficial cricket sides.I remember listening to the speeches of Jesse Jackson and Trevor Huddleston in Trafalgar Square in November 1985 which inspired great hope and, like many consumers at the time, rigorously boycotting Cape produce and Barclays Bank, laughing uproariously at the pungent boldness of the Spitting Image song, I've Never Met a Nice South African, but feeling utterly deflated by the announcement of rebel tours made up of cricketers I respected and expected to have noblerinstincts.The argument used by players such as Geoffrey Boycott, Graham Gooch and John Emburey in 1982 as they emerged after their cloak-and-dagger flight and slipped through customs at Johannesburg's Jan Smuts International Airport was that they had a fundamental duty to themselves and their families to earn a living, just as others were doing.And there is little doubt that a cricketer's lot during the offseason back then was one of relatively meagre rewards. One thinks of the conversation between Emburey and Gooch reproduced by Simon Hughes in A Lot of Hard Yakka. The Middlesex spinner tells his old friend that he fancies a winter job in computers. "What you going to do?" said Gooch. "Paint 'em?"So they took the money, channelled through South African Breweries but ostensibly from the Pretoria government, waited for their three-year bans from international cricket to end, and those who were young enough were welcomed back into the fold.The Australian rebels, led by Kim Hughes in 1985-86 and 1986-87, also got off relatively scot-free. When he arrived in South Africa Hughes mouthed the usual platitudes about being "an ambassador for sport" and an "ambassador for humanity". Justifying his decision to play there by pointing to the South Africa XI's inclusion of the non-white Omar Henry, Hughes professed his belief that his tourists were genuinely making a difference.Leaving aside the matter of whether such tokens of tolerance were anything more than the South Africa board's canny PR machine in full effect, it barely glossed over the fact that his principal motivation was the rancour he felt at the Australian board and the six-figurecheque.The nearest I got to airing my disgust at one of the rebels was during a one-day international at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1990. When Carl Rackemann came to field on the rope I could not pass up the opportunity to ask him whether his Krugerrands had made him happy. He didn't hear me above the din and in retrospect, given that he bought his father a tractor with the proceeds, I recognise they probably had.The Sri Lanka and West Indies scratch sides fared less well and rehabilitation for the majority of those players who went to South Africa from 1982 to 1984 is still some way off, and ultimately possibly unachievable. When Viv Richards said "I would rather die than lay down my dignity" in condemnation of the tourists who accepted "honorary white" status, it was pretty clear that there was no way back.But for others the road to acceptance has been remarkably obstacle-free. None more so than for Mike Gatting's team of two decades ago, three of whom – their captain, the double rebel Emburey and Paul Jarvis – were selected for the 1992-93 tour of India as soon as their bans had elapsed. The makeup of that squad caused outrage, particularly over the omission of David Gower, and I vividly remember the sense of injustice that Gower, who had remained loyal to his employers, was the fall guy to make way for Gatting in the rush to let bygones be bygones. Let's not forget either that David Graveney, who was the tour's manager as well as heading up the players' union, went on to become England's chairman of selectors.Twenty years on from that last rebel tour it is as if history has been swept under the carpet. Whenever it is brought up there follows a waltz on the head of a pin from the protagonists who reject all notions of amorality and immorality. In the understandable desire for truth and reconciliation that characterised South Africa's evolution into a democracy, the English and Australian rebels seem to have benefitted from the reconciliation aspect without ever having really to face responsibility. They have been forgiven but what they did should never be forgotten.CricketEngland in South Africa 2009-2010Rob Bagchiguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
South Africa show that England are still well off the pace South Africa demolished England to win the final Test today. On a pitch that for once throughout offered a challenge to batsmen rather than purgatory for bowlers, the ferocious firepower of Morne Morkel and the young thruster Wayne Parnell cut down the England order as easily as scything corn. Dale Steyn hardly got a look in. Beginning the day in a position that was already bordering on the precarious, only Paul Collingwood, carving away as must have Horatio on the bridge, offered anything approaching resistance making 71 before he fell to a sucker first ball from the part-time spinner JP Duminy.Wickets tumbled to Morkel, three of them for no runs in the space of six deliveries, while Parnell collected the early wicket of Kevin Pietersen, for whom many had forecast, more in hope than anything, a restorative innings of genius. England failed to make it even to lunch and the possibility that rain showers might offer a stay of execution, the final wicket falling to Duminy with the very last ball of the session. All out for 169, the match was lost by an innings and 74.Thus did South Africa square a series that had they lost would have brought charges of grand larceny against the England team. When they reflect on it during their journey home, Andrew Strauss and his men might well concede that to draw a series against a side that was demonstrably the better over the course of four intense matches represents a considerable achievement. It might even have satisfied their secret ambition before the series began in Centurion a month ago. They have shown themselves to be a coherent unit of generally battling cricketers, although that is some distance from being a side of real top quality. The starkest difference between the two sides comes in the seam and swing bowling where five or six miles per hour makes all the difference.In this match, South Africa lost seven wickets in 119 overs and at times batted with considerable ease, while, by contrast, 20 England wickets fell in 90, no batsman ever looking truly comfortable. To progress up the world ladder, especially when playing away from home, England need to unearth pace to match that which once was provided by Steve Harmison and Andrew Flintoff. As to where that might come from, the question is met with a shrug and a shake of the head.There will be some changes to the personnel after this tour, some terminal, others temporary. A tour to Bangladesh begins next month, and if this is regarded as something of an opportunity to throw in a few new ingredients then India's batting performance yesterday has shown the potential folly in taking too cavalier a view. The squad will be announced tomorrow and clearly there is an opportunity to give a break to some who might need it.Jimmy Anderson has done well to survive a consistent knee niggle, and Strauss has looked a jaded figure on this tour, his batting a reflection of that. The word is that he will captain the one-day side and then leave the Test matches to Alastair Cook, his heir apparent in as much as he is vice-captain. Geoff Miller, the national selector, is adamant that Cook, a discreet presence on the field, offers more than might be anticipated in the dressing room. But there is opportunity for Strauss to rest during the World Twenty20 in May and towards the middle of the summer. Better in fact that he leads in the Tests in Bangladesh than the one-day series.One hopes that England do not view this series triumphantly. They steamrollered South Africa in Durban, but were hanging on by a thread at both Centurion and Cape Town, and now marmalised at the Wanderers. The batting has been underpinned by Collingwood, superb throughout in both defensive mode and, as today, when attacking, his 71 containing 12 fours and a six. But Ian Bell has gone some way to re-establishing himself, (although talk of a move back to No3 is fanciful) and Cook has learned a bit more about the art of leaving the ball as an opener. Against that Strauss has struggled consistently, his best moment coming in the first innings of the first Test, Jonathan Trott has got more frenetic as the tour has progressed and is a way now from convincing that he is the true answer to first wicket down, and Kevin Pietersen, while looking better than for some while in his last innings, is not the dominant player he can be.Of the bowlers, Anderson and Stuart Broad had their moments, the latter especially in Durban where he sent down the decisive spell, while Graham Onions created problems without gaining reward, something that may dog him through his career. Replacing him with Ryan Sidebottom for the final Test was harsh, and brought little but ruddy-faced endeavour: Sidebottom might have played his final Test. Instead, it was Graeme Swann's Âoff-spin that led the way, his knack of gaining wickets in his opening over now almost supernatural. The true test for him, a bowler of simple skills well executed, will come when he faces sides second time around. Matt Prior has improved his wicketkeeping beyond recognition from the ham-fisted efforts of a year ago, but his batting record still flatters to deceive: six is a place too high.England came out today determined to take the fight to South Africa, but found the challenge too great. Pietersen flashed outside off-stump and was caught behind and then Morkel had Bell taken at second slip, Prior top edging an attempted pull second ball – a stroke of such throw-in-the-towel rashness that it brought angry headshaking in the dressing room – and Broad was caught down the leg side off his glove, given out on referral by the South Africans. His petulant departure for a dismissal obvious on replay just makes him look stupid. Someone needs a word.England in South Africa 2009-2010England Cricket TeamSouth Africa cricket teamAndrew StraussKevin PietersenCricketMike Selveyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Brit bookies cut odds on Woods playing at Masters LONDON (AP) -- British bookmaker William Hill has cut the odds on Tiger Woods playing at the Masters.... hosted.ap.org |