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| Andrew Strauss hopeful England will have the edge Andrew Strauss is hopeful England will have the psychological edge when their Test series against South Africa resumes on Boxing Day. England clung on draw the first Test at Centurion, despite losing five wickets for 13 runs on the final evening. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |
England deny withdrawal from games • Chief executive denies Telegraph report• Foreign Office has not advised against travelCommonwealth Games England has strenuously denied claims that it will withdraw from next October's event in Delhi over security concerns.A front page report in today's Daily Telegraph quotes a senior Whitehall source as saying there is "virtually no chance" an England team will be sent to India.The CGE chief executive, Ann Hogbin, said: "That is definitely not the case. Our current and strong intention is to field a team for the Games in Delhi next year."Of course, we have a duty of care to the athletes and other team members which we take very seriously. Despite having been given extensive briefings from relevant authorities we have not received any indication that we should not participate in the Games and we will continue to work hard to put in place the best possible arrangements for our team."A statement from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office read: "The FCO has not advised any of the British teams not to participate in the Commonwealth Games."We are aware that the Commonwealth Games Federation had some concerns about preparations for the Games. We continue to work closely with the Indian authorities who are doing everything they can to ensure a safe and secure Games."The Games' organising committee chairman, Suresh Kalmadi, said the Telegraph report was well wide of the mark."England have said the report is baseless," Kalmadi said. "Security is certainly not an issue. A foolproof security was discussed for the Games during the security liaison conference in New Delhi in September."Experts from 26 of the 71 nations which will participate in the Games, including Britain, Australia and New Zealand, took part in the conference and expressed satisfaction with the preparations. India formed the liaison group due to heightened safety fears over travelling to New Delhi for the competition.England's chef de mission, Craig Hunter, said the team was all set to travel to India for the Games. "It is our intention to send a strong team to the Games and we are very much looking forward to it," he said on the team's official website.The chief of Australia's Commonwealth Games team, Perry Crosswhite, said Australia was comfortable with the level of security in place in Delhi."I have nothing new to change our view … everything is on track to go," he said. "We will take the best advice we can get and at this stage it [security] is adequate."I have not had one athlete, one manager, one coach – no one has contacted me with the view that they shouldn't be going. We don't want to force athletes to go, they have to make their own decision, but no one has raised it."The Games will happen. Whether it's only one team out of 71 nations, it won't be good for the Games, but they will happen. I'm not a security expert but they've employed people that are and the reports are good. These days security is a major issue everywhere."The issue of security for the Games, which are scheduled to take place from 3-14 October, has been under scrutiny after a number of terrorist incidents in the region. Several major sporting events have been moved from the subcontinent.The England team withdrew from the World Badminton Championships in Hyderabad in August after terrorist threats. In March the Sri Lanka cricket team were attacked while being driven to a match in Lahore, Pakistan. Twelve gunmen attacked their convoy and six Sri Lankan players were injured.After that incident, the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament was moved to South Africa.Commonwealth Games 2010Commonwealth GamesIndiaguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Former boxer Lou Savarese fits into new business role As a professional pugilist, Lou Savarese knew how to take a punch and dole out some hefty shots of his own. Now he’s stepping into the entrepreneurial ring and taking a swing. bizjournals.com |
Churchill Downs tweaks Oaks, Derby Infield Club Churchill Downs racetrack will make several changes to its Infield Club for the 2010 Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby races. feeds.bizjournals.com |
Kevin Mitchell: Warren's pique at Khan won't last The promoter has bemoaned the death of loyalty in sport, but will not let that stand in the way of businessFrank Warren says he feels "gutted and let down" by Amir Khan, who has followed Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe out the door. "I should have learned my lesson by now," Frank said. "Unfortunately, there is no loyalty in sport any more."Nor is there a tooth fairy or any chance of West Ham winning the Premier League in our lifetime.Chill out, Frank. You've got a whole stable of terrific fighters. Not sure what the problem is. Khan was a free agent, he fights for a living and he wants to break the States. Go for it. Don't be surprised, though, if Warren promotes him again in the future. There is a young guy called Kell Brook who'd love to fight Amir.Well, so would a lot of people – because they'd get the biggest payday of their careers, and they'd fancy their chances in chasing down that soft chin. Dmitriy Salita couldn't find it, though. Nor will Ricky Hatton, if that fight ever happens.Also, getting weary of the Khan-Hatton speculation. Do the fight, guys, or don't do it.Murray countersAndy Murray is big on boxing and has worked out with Amir Khan. But he doesn't reckon the training methods in the gym are much good for his tennis."The thing that's a bit different with boxing is that they are quite old-school, the training I've seen them do. I've seen quite a few boxers train and it's just different."Old school is good. Particularly as his mate Amir trains with Manny Pacquiao who… no, leave it.Arum the magicianYou've got to hand it to Bob Arum. He walks away from the wreckage of Pacquiao-Mayweather (for which he was partly responsible, but let's not go over that again), and finds work for three of his other fighters who are vaguely in that mix around 10 stone.The disgraced Antonio Margarito has a gig against Carson Jones (24-7-1) on the undercard of Manny's fight against Joshua Clottey in Texas on 13 March, and what a shock that is. Bob clearly has friends in Texas.He's also trying to get Miguel Cotto to share a ring with Yuri Foreman at the Garden, maybe in June.Cotto has had it tough lately, beaten up by Pacquiao then losing his father, to whom he was very close. I hope he's getting well paid, because he will probably not be in the right frame of mind for a while yet.Say it ain't so, EvanderIf you were in any doubt as to why 47-year-old Evander Holyfield was fighting 41-year-old Frans Botha in Kampala on 20 February, the answer is coming at you, courtesy of tmz.com, with crushing predictability.Right. Money. And lots of kids and alimony and desperation and memories. For a guy who is always pleasant, who trusts in God and says he leads a righteous life, Evander certainly lives on the edge.He hasn't fought since going the distance with Nikolay Valuev in December 2008. Botha's last ring appearance was a snoring match against the 39-year-old Cuban defector Pedro Carrion (8-1-1) in Germany in October in defence of his WBF title. No, I'm not sure why, either.It can only get sadder.Amir KhanManny PacquiaoRicky HattonBoxingKevin Mitchellguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |