| Crosby looking for ways to stay 'as unpredictable as possible' Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby's mission for the 2010-11 season is to keep us all guessing. rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Panesar and Tremlett make the cut as England come of age • Selectors pick two bowlers who turned their careers around• England squad want to focus on Ashes after Pakistan turmoilIt is a sign of England's rude health that the announcement today of the Ashes squad was so free of surprises. For the selectors that predictability is a luxury, a symptom of the team's consistency over the past 18 months. For the pundits it is a curse. As was anticipated, the two spots in the 16 that were still the subject of debate, the reserve spinner and the fifth seamer, went to Monty Panesar and Chris Tremlett. "It's never easy," the national selector, Geoff Miller, said of his task, "but it could have been a lot more difficult."At the press conference conversation soon turned back to other things, chiefly the fallout from the Pakistan series, described by the tourists' one-day captain, Shahid Afridi, as "one of the most difficult tours of my 14-year career"."It was difficult to even venture out of the hotel," Afridi added. "There were people hooting at us and there was lot of pressure on the players."The England and Wales Cricket Board has sent a letter to Ijaz Butt, the chairman of its Pakistan counterpart, the PCB, demanding "a full and unreserved apology" for his allegation that England players were involved in fixing the result of the third one-day international last Friday. If they do not get it, then "legal proceedings will be commenced without further notice"."In terms of the issues that have come up recently we will be seeking some resolutions to that," reiterated England's manager of cricket, Hugh Morris. "We were extremely disappointed, we expect an apology. We have asked for that apology. As far as the players and the management team are concerned all of our attention is focused on Australia. That is absolutely our primary focus."Back on that topic, the closest anyone came to a raising an eyebrow was on hearing of Tim Bresnan's inclusion ahead of Ajmal Shahzad. Even that decision was soon tempered by a qualification. Shahzad will fly to Australia with the main squad to take part in the warm-up matches before joining up with the England Performance Programme group later in November.That squad were also named today. They will be based in Perth and Brisbane and are made up of a mix of promising young players in need of a first taste of international cricket and several older hands, who will be first reserves for the main squad, including James Tredwell, Michael Carberry and Craig Kieswetter. Ravi Bopara was not among them, which seemed odd given he has also just been awarded an incremental central contract, but Miller said the management had agreed it would be better for Bopara to play first‑class cricket in South Africa instead.The other conspicuous absentee was the leg‑spinner Adil Rashid, omitted from both the Test and the Performance squads despite taking more wickets than Panesar in the County Championship this season. "Adil has been around us for a couple of years now, and if he wasn't going to get into the squad it was a necessity to give him a bit of a break," Miller said. "So he is just going to have a break from bowling. We will reassess him after Christmas when the Lions go out to the West Indies. I think a break will do him good, the decision was made by him, ourselves and Yorkshire."As outraged as they will be at the omission of their man, Yorkshire supporters can at least take heart that he will not be spoiled by a winter spent carrying drinks, which is what many were moaning about back at the start of this summer.Besides, Miller explained, Panesar has, like Tremlett, benefited from having "new areas". In Panesar's case it is probably safe to assume they are still good ones. Miller soon corrected himself. He meant "new clubs". Panesar, Miller said, has developed as a person as much as he has as a player since moving to Sussex from Northamptonshire this year. "It was up to him to go away and resurrect his career," Miller said. "There were times we thought he was not thinking for himself. He has been given the onus to do that at Sussex. He has set his field and had conversations with his captain and coach."Tremlett is another who has benefited from the change of county, moving from Hampshire to Surrey. "Last season I did stop enjoying cricket a little bit and that's why I felt I needed a fresh start at Surrey. Now my confidence is as high as it has ever been." He admitted that at the start of the season he was not thinking of an England recall, but by the end of it he was. "It wasn't really on my radar, until these last couple of months," he said.Miller said: "Chris has led the attack and done really well at Surrey as opposed to being an ordinary bowler, like he was at Hampshire. Conditions in Australia should suit him so he got the nod on that."His inclusion is a clear sign that England have concocted a strategy based on bounce rather than swing; rarely can such a tall trio of fast bowlers as Steve Finn, Stuart Broad and Tremlett ever have been gathered together in one squad.England cricket teamAshesECBCricketAndy Bullguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Skyline offers free coney for Reds fans Skyline Chili restaurants are celebrating the Cincinnati Reds’ first trip to the playoffs since 1995. On Oct. 6, Reds fans who wear their team gear — hats, jerseys, T-shirts, pins, etc. — to a Skyline Chili location will receive a free cheese coney with any menu purchase. feeds.bizjournals.com |
Brooks Conrad's error in ninth gives Giants 3-2 win in Game 3 San Francisco rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Brooks Conrad's third error of the game to claim the lead in the NL division ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Athletes warn PM not to axe school grant Dozens of British Olympic medal-winners have written to PM condemning decision to withdraw ÂŁ162m of annual fundingDozens of British Olympic medal-winners have made a direct plea to David Cameron to reverse the planned ending of the ÂŁ162m annual grant to schools that helps encourage pupils to play sport.Olympic champions such as heptathlete Denise Lewis, javelin thrower Tessa Sanderson and cyclist Jason Queally are among 75 athletes who have written to the prime minister seeking an urgent meeting and demanding a rethink of an "ill-conceived" policy they claim will damage children's health.The strongly worded letter was organised by Gail Emms, who won a silver medal in the badminton mixed doubles at the 2004 Olympics.It comes as concern mounts about the potential impact of education secretary Michael Gove's decision to axe ÂŁ162m-a-year in funding, from the end of March 2011, for 450 school sports partnerships (SSPs) across England."With one ill-conceived cut you are on the brink of destroying everything schools, clubs and the national governing bodies of sport are doing to ensure this and future generations embrace sport and physical activity, not shun it", they write."As past and present Olympic, World, Commonwealth and European athletes, we cannot stand by and watch as your government threatens to destroy any hopes this country has of delivering a genuine London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic legacy."The move is potentially embarrassing for Cameron, who this week flies to Zurich to help lobby members of Fifa, football's world governing body, for England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup.Gove has said he is handing responsibility for pupils' participation in sports to schools themselves because the SSPs, set up under Labour, have failed to get enough children playing sport regularly.But the athletes' letter warns that: "The future health of all our children is at risk if you axe this funding. We urge you to act now, please, prime minister, and look again at the permanent withdrawal of funding for school sport partnerships before you condemn millions of children to a lack of sporting opportunities and therefore a bleak future of lethargy, obesity and unhappiness."Ivan Lewis, the shadow culture, media and sport secretary, seized on the athletes' letter. "David Cameron needs to understand that the sense of anger among our elite athletes is growing. We strongly urge the prime minister to take personal responsibility and reverse this decision. On his return from Zurich he should meet urgently with our elite athletes who are best placed to tell him how we guarantee the future success of sport in our country."Brigid Simmonds, chair of the CCPR (Central Council of Physical Recreation), which represents UK sports' governing bodies, warned that primary schools would be particularly badly hit by Gove's decision, as they were less able than secondaries to teach sport."Ring-fenced sports funding has ensured that sport isn't the Cinderella of the education department, as it has often become. It's easy to overlook the benefits of a good physical education – school sport not only keeps kids fit. It is also proven to increase educational attainment", she said.The signatories also include sprinters Marlon Devonish and Jason Gardener, who won gold in the 4x100m relay in 2004; boxer James DeGale, who took gold in Beijing in 2008; and Leon Taylor, who won a silver medal in diving in 2004 in Athens.David CameronSchool fundingSchoolsDenis Campbellguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |