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text-decoration:none; } img {border:none;} The Sport Review: “Thomas
Waldrom targets England World Cup spot” plus 3 more- Thomas Waldrom targets England World Cup spot - Think twice before ditching the one-day international - Cesc Fàbregas hopes to be fit for Blackburn’s visit to Arsenal - Dani Alves agrees new deal to end talk of Barcelona exit Thomas Waldrom targets England World Cup spot Posted: 23 Mar 2011 04:54 PM PDT Leicester Tiger’s New Zealand-born No8 Thomas Waldrom is keen to play for England after discovering his grandmother was born in this country. The 27-year-old, who joined the league leaders last summer, had already expressed his desire to play for Martin Johnson’s side once he had completed the required 36 months of continued residency. Waldrom quickly realised he could be pulling on the white jersey in time for the rugby World Cup, which starts in September in his native homeland, after a meeting with his agent and a late-night call to his mother to confirm his grandmother was English. “In theory, I could play tomorrow if they wanted me. I don’t have to wait three years any more,” Waldrom told the Leicester Mercury. “My agent came round for a catch-up and he brought the pamphlet with the International Rugby Board’s rules regarding qualifying after residency,” “My wife was going through the criteria. She saw the line about being able to qualify immediately if one of your grandparents was born in the respective country. “I remembered reading somewhere that my grandmother was English. I rang up my mum in New Zealand, where it was four o’clock in the morning. “I apologised for waking her up and asked if nana was born in England. She said yes, and that she also had the birth certificate to prove it.” The former Crusaders and Hurricanes back-row forward is keen to remind the All Blacks of his ability and insists he would have no problems playing against the team he has supported all his life. “It would be a great honour to put the [England] shirt on,” Waldrom added. “It would be a privilege to play against the All Blacks if the chance came along, and would be a chance for me to show them just how good I am.” Waldrom has made 15 (1) appearances for Leicester this season, scoring two tries. He will face fourth-placed Bath on Saturday at the Recreation Ground. The Tigers haven’t lost away from home since in the Aviva Premiership since their defeat at Gloucester on 30 October. Think twice before ditching the one-day international Posted: 23 Mar 2011 04:37 PM PDT If Test matches are a long banquet of delectable food and scintillating company, and Twenty20 is a wolfed-down, but instantly satisfying hamburger, where does that leave the 50-over game? What those calling for the abolition of the one-day international should ask is this: is a cricket fan to live by banquets and burgers alone? In his piece just before the start of the World Cup, Tom Clarke explained why he believes the one-day international was a moribund format that should be dispensed with. Although parts of this debate have been trodden before – Shane Warne wrote in The Times in 2009 that 50-over cricket should be abolished – many of the points made are worth discussion. The argument—a compelling one—is that real, cricket-loving "purists" get what they want from the Test format, and that Twenty20 provides the glamorous spectacle of instant, money-soaked pleasure that draws in a bigger, younger audience. In a crowded fixture list, what function is the ODI really serving? Surely we could dispense with it, as a practical decision, to make the world game better: to free-up the schedule and allow greater specialisation by players, making for improved quality in the two remaining formats. An overcrowded schedule has little to do with there being one too many formats and a great deal to do with greedy and ineffectual administrators Too short to ever rival the complexity and subtlety of Test cricket, and too drawn out to match the powerful intensity of Twenty20, 50-over cricket is, many would have it, the worst of both and the best of neither. First, to the issue of the schedule. Yes, there is too much international cricket. The players are playing too much, they get injured, the quality drops, the games lose their meaning. One less format to fit in to the calendar would ease the burden on today's top performers, and allow the likes of Yuvraj Singh that long-earned sit down he has been so visibly requiring. But in truth, there was too much cricket being played even before Twenty20 began. There are not just too many ODIs being played (seven at the end of the Ashes series was truly ridiculous) but too many Tests and too many Twenty20s. There have been three Twenty20 World Cups in three years. Overkill seems an inadequate word. An overcrowded schedule has little to do with there being one too many formats and a great deal to do with greedy and ineffectual administrators. If 50-over cricket was to be abolished, it would not be long before the ICC saw those long stretches of blank space on the calendar (think of it, there might be a day when there were no international matches being played at all) and filled them in with lots more juicy Twenty20s. Because, one year to the next, the ICC and the national boards would be making less money if they organised fewer games – and that is not a move they are prepared seriously to countenance. In short, governing bodies cannot be trusted to limit the amount of cricket in the schedule. There should be less of all of them, not none of one. That being the case, we should think very carefully before we cast aside a format which has seen so many great games. What 50-over cricket provides that Twenty20 doesn't, as Peter Roebuck has previously touched on, is the opportunity for greatness. A batsman can make a brilliant, match-winning hundred—as Andrew Strauss did in England's tie with India this World Cup—he can fight against the odds and the apparent flow of the game and prove something about himself. Likewise a bowler, given 10 overs, can bowl a genuinely great spell – a match-changing quota of overs of supreme wicket-taking quality sustained over 60 deliveries. The match is long enough to allow for some of the ebb and flow that makes a match not only unpredictable, but memorable. And what is more, it can do this in a match that starts and finishes on the same day. Spectators who pay to watch these matches can be drawn into a meaningful contest—maybe glimpse greatness—and watch the conclusion themselves that evening. Anyone around at the end of England's games against South Africa or India or West Indies this World Cup would not recommend the abolition of the format. Fifty-over cricket is also the game most commonly played by amateur cricketers. Competitive leagues play something similar, if not identical to 50-over matches, and ODIs are the professional game they can most relate to. Watching Tendulkar construct an innings over 50 overs can provide inspiration for those who play the game at their schools or local clubs. These amateur players also happen to be the most active and commercially attractive group of cricket consumers. While non-cricketers might turn up to a Twenty20 for a sausage roll and a grin, lovers of the game are fully engaged in what they see, they buy lots of kit and cricket-related paraphernalia. They are valuable to advertisers as well as to administrators. And dropping the 50-over game would cripple domestic teams. One-day games as well as Twenty20s are the lifeblood on which a county club runs. But it would be farcical to continue making time in the crowded county schedule for a format not played by the England team. Without the income provided by these fixtures the counties could barely stay afloat. With all that county cricket provides in live spectacles for cricket lovers and in players for the international game, there are grave consequences to consider before ditching the ODI. The arguments for abolishing 50-over cricket are compelling. But this is a format that many people would be sad to see go, and the benefits to be reaped by ditching it are not real enough. Like an ageing middle-order batsman who has finished a lot of innings and got his team out of a few scrapes in his time, he should only let it go if he’s convinced the young buck snapping at his heels will actually make things better. Cesc Fàbregas hopes to be fit for Blackburn’s visit to Arsenal Posted: 23 Mar 2011 12:52 PM PDT Arsenal captain Cesc Fàbregas hopes to have recovered from his hamstring injury in time to face Blackburn Rovers after the international break. The 23-year-old Spaniard has been suffering from a recurring hamstring problem and has not played since Arsenal’s 4-3 aggregate defeat by Barcelona two weeks ago. Fàbregas, who returned to training on Monday, is aiming to be fit in time for Rovers’ visit to Emirates Stadium on 2 April. “My injury is getting better,” he said via TwitCam on Wednesday. “It’s been a shame but I started running on Monday and everything is getting better. “I needed my time, because it’s been a weird season for me with injuries and I just wanted to make it right, and I want to come back stronger than ever and hopefully fitter than ever so it won’t happen again.” The Gunners skipper added: “Hopefully you will see me play again against Blackburn if I am fit.” Dani Alves agrees new deal to end talk of Barcelona exit Posted: 23 Mar 2011 12:20 PM PDT Barcelona defender Dani Alves has agreed a contract extension to keep him at Camp Nou until 2015. The announcement ends speculation linking the 27-year-old with a move to the Premier League after both Chelsea and Manchester City were rumoured to be interested in signing the Brazil right-back. “Barcelona announces that they have reached an agreement with Dani Alves to extend his contractual relationship with the club for three more seasons until 30 June 2015,” read a statement on the Barcelona website. Barcelona sports director Andoni Zubizarreta said: "This is the news we were all hoping for, both the club and player. “The negotiations were long but never tense and his performances on the pitch have been as good as ever.” Roberto Mancini’s City were heavily linked with Alves last week after talks over a new deal temporarily stalled. “I don’t feel Barcelona have been doing their utmost to renew my contract,” the former Sevilla star said last week. “What I want is for them to value me depending on my importance and influence within the squad. If they do that, I’ll be over the moon. Alves added: “If not, thanks for these years at the club.” His new deal is expected to make the Brazil international, who joined Barça from Sevilla in 2007 for £36m, one of the highest-paid players at Camp Nou. You are subscribed to email updates from The Sport Review To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. Email delivery powered by Google Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 -- Posted By Mas Item Arekjowo to The Sport Review at 3/24/2011 12:03:00 AM -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Gugukluhayat" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/gugukluhayat?hl=en.
