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| Nottinghamshire win County title • Nottinghamshire 400-9, Lancashire 11-3• Match drawnIn its history of somewhere between 120 and 184 years, depending on your point of view, the much maligned but still highly prized County Championship has surely never come to a climax like this.After spending the best part of three days in the pavilion – mostly because of rain but briefly on Tuesday evening because of the glare of the sun – and apparently powerless to prevent Somerset coming from behind to pinch their first title, Nottinghamshire snatched it back on a dramatic last afternoon. This draw left them level on points with Somerset but they have taken the title by virtue of having won one game more. An innings of gumption and brilliance by Samit Patel, and an equally valuable one from the overseas pro Adam Voges, fired them towards the first innings total of 400 required for maximum batting points, although after a nervy clatter of lower-order wickets it took numbers 10 and 11, Ryan Sidebottom and Darren Pattinson, to eke out the last 10 runs against the Lancashire spinners."The important thing was not to panic, and to stay calm," said Sidebottom, although that was way beyond his captain Chris Read. "Watching that from the dressing room was the most nervous I've been all season," Read said. "One wicket then and your dreams are pretty much shattered. Adam [Voges] was kicking the walls after getting out. We were all just praying that the big bowling guys could get us over the line."The calculated gamble that the reigning champions, Durham, would hold up Somerset in the north-east and that Kent would deny Yorkshire at Headingley, had already paid off, meaning that Notts now had 18 overs to take three wickets and claim the single bowling point necessary for the title.They needed fewer than five. Sidebottom, who had been released from England's one-day squad to play his last game for the county before a probable return north to either Lancashire or Yorkshire next season, opened up with an unsuccessful over from the Statham End, then switched to the Stretford End and struck immediately, as the young Lancashire opener Karl Brown was taken low down by Alex Hales at first slip.Andre Adams, the 35-year-old New Zealander who as the First Division's leading wicket-taker has done as much as anyone to fire Notts to the title, then had Mark Chilton caught behind at the start of the next over, and three balls later it was all over. Shivnarine Chanderpaul was a fittingly high-calibre 68th victim of the season for Adams, the left-hander edging a ball that was angled across him, and snapped up inches from the turf by Patel.Nottinghamshire's joy was unconfined, the frustration of those first three days and the tension of these final hours released in exuberant celebrations that began on the square and continued all the way back to the dressing room that they had earlier been so keen to escape. "It's been an incredible day, and an incredible rollercoaster way to end the season," said Read, the chirpy Devonian wicketkeeper, champagne still dripping from his cap."We needed the sun to shine and to believe we could achieve what we wanted to do, which was 311 in a day [they had resumed on 89 for two] and three Lancashire wickets. We were relying on other results as well, and big thank yous to Kent and Durham. But I couldn't believe it when we got to the ground and they said we weren't going to be starting on time."However during that one-hour delay ordered by the umpires to allow the wet areas on the edge of the square to dry – a first example of the determination to avoid even a suggestion of anything untoward throughout the day, which also saw Jack Birkenshaw representing the England and Wales Cricket Board as match referee, and Lancashire making life as difficult as possible for Notts throughout – Yorkshire collapsed against Kent, and Somerset were struggling for wickets against Durham.Suddenly, the initiative that Notts had been struggling to recapture since David Hussey returned to Australia last month – with consecutive defeats by Durham and Yorkshire squandering the chance to have the title wrapped up before this game – was available again. It was Patel who seized it, with 96 from 91 balls in a fifth wicket stand of 153 in 28 overs with Voges, who went on to 126 from 183. "That's the best Samit has played all year, and it says a lot about him that he did it when it really mattered," said Mick Newell, Notts's low-profile coach who, with Read, Patel and Paul Franks, was celebrating his second championship in six seasons. While the players were spraying champagne, Newell was thanking the Lancashire groundstaff, for whom this was also an emotional day.On Monday they will begin the work of relaying and reorientating the square, so that the pitches run from north to south rather than east to west, with the pavilion behind the bowler's arm, meaning that the sun should never again stop play at Old Trafford. Read and Newell both admitted that they had considered the possibility of it doing so for one last time to deny Notts the Championship. Barring that, or the even less likely occurrence of Lancashire ending their infamous wait for the title - now 76 summers and counting - this was a perfect way to mark the end of an era.County Championship Division OneLancashireNottinghamshireCricketAndy Wilsonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
One hundred British medal hopefuls for 2012 #005: Nathan Robertson Britain's Olympic silver medallist from 2004 is building a new partnership with Jenny Wallwork"In the mixed doubles Jenny [Wallwork] and I got into the world's top 10 earlier this year and will be top seeds at the Commonwealth Games. We've been doing some team bonding at Center Parcs and, if we perform to our best, it should be good enough."We're an improving pair who only got together in 2008 so, if we can keep stepping up a level in every competition, then we're capable of challenging the top pairs in the world. Once you get into the top 10 you play the best more frequently."When I play in the men's doubles with Anthony Clark, we're both 33 and have the experience and the quality and our main concern is to stay injury free. With Jenny, the challenge is very different – she's 23 and improving all the time. I had a lot of success with Gail [Emms] and when she retired [after the 2008 Olympics] I took on a new challenge with a young player who isn't at the same level. My job is to use my experience to build her up so we can become as good a partnership."China are by far the dominant nation in badminton and have huge numbers of players. But it isn't impossible to win an Olympic medal; we've shown that in the past [with silver in 2004]. We can't compete with them overall but can certainly nip in and get a medal. It is about continuing to improve and performing when it matters."Key statisticsMixed doubles major honours (all with Gail Emms)Olympic silver 2004, world champion and Commonwealth Games gold 2006Olympic recordAthens 2004 silver; Beijing 2008 QF2009 world rank34th (with Wallwork)2010 world rank11th (with Wallwork)World rankings 1 Widanto/Natsir2 Gunawan/Marissa3 Mateusiak/Zieba4 Laybourn/Rytter Juhl5 Jiaming/YawenMain rivals for 2012 Too early to tell. Any of the world's top 10. Even the world No1 pair lost in the last eight at last month's world championshipBiographyBorn 30 May 1977 in NottinghamEducated Dayncourt comprehensive; full‑time badminton player since age of 16Favourite film Scarface or AnchormanFavourite book Andre Agassi's autobiography, Open. He was one of my sporting heroes growing up and learning the back story behind what you saw out on court was the best thing about the bookFavourite band I don't have one, I'm more into R&BOutside badminton I ... play golf and spend time with my 12-year-old daughter; and I'm into online scrabbleWhat would you have done if badminton hadn't worked out? It would have had to be something else within sport. Become a Formula One driver?Training"We don't have an off- and on‑season – it's a 12-month period where we work towards major events. We'll have a training block of eight to 12 weeks beforehand, split into three sections where we start with heavy weights, then strength building and by the time we're close to the event it's about speed. We also do long, hard sessions on the court."Olympic countdown26-31 Oct 2010Super Series – Denmark Open Odense, Denmark2-7 Nov 2010Super Series – French Open Paris, France18-23 Jan 2011Super Series – Malaysia Open KL, Malaysia8-13 Mar 2011All England Premier Super Series 2011 Birmingham, England22-29 May 2011Sudirman Cup Qing Dao, China21-26 Jun 2011Super Series – Indonesia Open Jakarta, Indonesia8-14 Aug 2011World Championship London, EnglandJan 2012 onwardsSchedule still to be confirmedIn numbers2 Medals Great Britain has won in Olympic competition since badminton's entrance in 19928 Badminton medals China won at Beijing 2008 – more than the next three nations in the table combined206 Official badminton smash world record, in miles per hour, recorded by doubles player Fu Haifeng in 2005Center Parcs is the official partner of Badminton England. Visit www.centerparcs.co.ukBadmintonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
SNL edges ASU game in Saturday TV ratings Arizona State couldn’t beat Oregon State on the field Saturday but fared well with the television ratings. feeds.bizjournals.com |
Robert Kitson: Time to praise Pacific Islanders The Pacific Islanders' impact on the club game leaves us in no doubt which is the greatest rugby region of allEuropean rugby has become so used to their unsung presence that, sometimes, it takes them for granted. No self-respecting team is without one, to the point where you wonder why the International Rugby Board bothers holding a World Cup to identify the sport's most prodigiously talented region. I refer, of course, to the magnificent men of the Pacific Islands, whose impact grows ever more pronounced with each Heineken Cup season.Take last weekend, for example. No one in Reading could fail to notice the hard-tackling shaggy blur that is Seilala Mapusua, with Elvis Seveali'i, Sailosi Tagicakibau, George Stowers and Chris Hala'ufia also contributing fully to London Irish's win over Munster. Cencus Johnston was the man of the match for Toulouse in their win over Wasps, for whom David Lemi scored a super-sharp try. A thunderous charge from Alesana Tuilagi saved Leicester from Italian oblivion against Treviso while the broad-smiling Napolioni Nalaga registered the crucial try for Clermont. Did you see Joe Tekori rampaging around for Castres on Friday night? Perhaps you were simply following the irresistible, immovable object that is Soane Tonga'uiha.Little wonder Toulouse have just signed Rupeni Caucaunibuca, despite considerable evidence he is not quite the spectacular matchwinner he used to be. Leicester are even rearing yet another Tuilagi in the form of 19-year-old Manu, a young man who already weighs close to 17st but, according to his Tigers colleagues, is the most disciplined member of the world's most imposing rugby family. "If I was a member of the opposition I know which one of us I'd run at," says the self-deprecating Dan Hipkiss, Tuilagi's fellow midfielder. Even if Samoa have just lost to England in the Commonwealth Games quarter-finals they are already the reigning Sevens world champions. And so on and so on ...It makes you think, doesn't it? Fair play to the International Rugby Board for its recent funding initiatives but what would happen if Samoa – population 179,000 – had the same preparation time as England? What if more island players represented the country of their birth rather than looking abroad for economic or family reasons? What if – and this is the real biggie – teams such as England stopped off in Apia en route to Australia or New Zealand? New Zealand have still never played a Test match there; imagine the local interest it would generate if the All Blacks were to break the habit of all our lifetimes.Financial imperatives, inevitably, are used to beat such romantic notions into submission. There is, in fairness, nothing remotely romantic about trying to tackle Tuilagi and co on a rock-hard field a long way away from your favoured local orthopaedic surgeon. But when you see Mapusua off-loading sweetly and tackling like a human wrecking-ball, or Tagicakibau cruising into yet more cleverly conceived space you can only conclude international rugby is the poorer for the inequality of the arrangements. Some of the big hits can stray the wrong side of brutal but take away its South Sea bubbles and this season's Heineken Cup would be significantly flatter.Blurred visionGood evening and welcome to ITV, the latest broadcaster to pay for a slice of the Heineken Cup action alongside Sky Sports, France Televisions, Canal+, Sky Italia, S4C and RTE. You may have spotted the glaring omission from the list. True, the BBC still has the Six Nations and some autumn international action but the corporation's oval-ball portfolio will soon shrink to the point of invisibility. It has failed to secure either the TV or radio rights for next year's World Cup in New Zealand and the meagre coverage of rugby union on 5 Live on the average Saturday afternoon is a persistent irritation. You can argue all you like about satellite and digital broadcasters not reaching a mass audience but at least they feign a genuine interest in the sport.Centre stageWorth watching this week ... Regan King (Scarlets). By now you will have probably seen this season's most spectacular try to date, scored by the Scarlets against Perpignan at the weekend. As so often, the splendid King was at the heart of it, supplying one of two successive back-door passes that elevated the move far above normal midfield orthodoxy. King and co go to Leicester on Sunday; it is an ideal chance for the Kiwi to show that he remains among the classiest centres operating in Europe.Heineken CupSamoa rugby union teamRugby unionRobert Kitsonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
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