The Sport Review: “Ireland fume as 2015 World Cup is cut to 10 teams” plus 3 more |  |
- Ireland fume as 2015 World Cup is cut to 10 teams
- Cech warns Man Utd: Chelsea want revenge for final defeat
- Blatter and Bin Hammam to contest Fifa presidency
- Novak Djokovic storms to fourth 2011 title in Miami
| Ireland fume as 2015 World Cup is cut to 10 teams Posted: 04 Apr 2011 02:55 PM PDT
The decision to exclude all non-Test playing nations, including Ireland, from the 2015 ICC World Cup has been met with wide condemnation in the cricket community.None of the four Associates who took part in the 2011 competition will have the chance to play in Australia in four years’ time. The ICC Executive Board met in Mumbai just two days after the 2011 final and confirmed the decision made in October 2010 to reduce the 2015 tournament to 10 teams. But the door, left slightly ajar in October, was firmly slammed shut on the likes of Ireland and Netherlands by restricting the competitors to Test sides only. The decision seems scarce reward for the fantastic strides Irish cricket has made in the past four years. As well as beating England this time around, they saw off Pakistan and Bangladesh in the Caribbean in 2007. Several of the squad involved in those famous victories used twitter to lash out against the ICC. Surrey and Ireland batsman Gary Wilson said: "What is going on? Excuse the French but that is a sh*t decision! Not a world cup now, just a trophy with 10 teams. Heads up their own a***s." Wicket-keeper Niall O'Brien added: "just got of the field and I’m gutted with this news! This could halt the progress of Irish cricket beyond repair. So sad now." Barry Chambers, the Media Manager of the Ireland side, laid down a particularly damning view of the ICC. He tweeted: "ICC – no morals – no sense of fair play or natural justice. They are a disgrace and unfit to govern." The unhappiness at the decision was echoed by the vast majority of the cricket community. Former England all-rounder Andrew Fintoff was one of many to stick up for the Irish, saying: "I agree with all you Irish lads, you deserve to play world cup cricket! Should appeal!” The 2019 tournament in England will see some form of qualification introduced but by then the majority of the current Ireland set-up may have retired. The ICC has tempered their decision by expanding the bi-annual World Twenty20 to 16 teams but it is unlikely to appease Ireland. |
| Cech warns Man Utd: Chelsea want revenge for final defeat Posted: 04 Apr 2011 04:16 AM PDT
Petr Cech has warned Manchester United that Chelsea are ready to exact revenge for their 2008 Champions League final defeat by knocking them out of this year’s competition.Carlo Ancelotti’s men host the Premier League leaders in the first leg of their quarter-final clash with United at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday. Sir Alex Ferguson’s United beat Chelsea in the final two years ago on a penalty shoot-out, and the Blues goalkeeper still believes the Red Devils were lucky to win that game in Moscow. “The records will say they won the game but they didn’t really win it. They just had more luck in the shoot-out than we had,” he told The Sun. “What’s in the past is in the past. We are looking forward to the future and we hope this time it will be us who go through. “We still go into that game with confidence because our record against Manchester United in recent years is very good, especially at home. “We go into the game thinking it could be the advantage. If we get a good result, we’ll be in a good position.” The 28-year-old Chelsea stopper believes facing English opposition is an advantage at this stage of the competition, and he hopes the Blues will be able to make amends for a disappointing domestic campaign by landing Europe’s premier club trophy. “An advantage for us is that we know their players and their team, and going to Old Trafford we will not discover anything new,” he continued. “We’ve played there many times and won there last season, so we can be positive. “It’s a pity we’re not in the position in the league where we wanted to be. But in terms of progress in the Champions League, we are in a good position. “We are hoping we can manage to go through. The belief is coming back into the team and we are feeling confident because we are on a good run of results.” Cech added: “The Champions League is such a special trophy but I don’t think you can compare it or wonder whether it would cover not winning the title. They are two completely different things.” |
| Blatter and Bin Hammam to contest Fifa presidency Posted: 04 Apr 2011 01:46 AM PDT
Mohamed Bin Hammam and Sepp Blatter will contest the Fifa presidency after no new figurehead came forward to challenge the pair, the governing body has confirmed.Bin Hammam, the Asian Football Confederation chief, now has two months to convince Fifa’s membership that it is time for a change as he bids to become the ninth president of the Zurich-based organisation. Blatter, who was elected in 1998, is seeking a fourth term in charge but recently announced that he will step down in 2015 should he be re-elected in June. Fifa refused to confirm the two-horse race until Monday to ensure that no last-minute nominations that pre-dated the 1 April deadline had arrived over the weekend. A statement read: “The Fifa general secretariat received two candidatures for the Fifa Presidency by the statutory deadline (1 April 2011, midnight CET) in accordance with the Fifa Statutes. “The election for the Fifa presidency will be held in Zurich on 1 June 2011 within the framework of the 61st Fifa Congress.” Fifa presidents1) Robert Guérin (1904-1906) – France |
| Novak Djokovic storms to fourth 2011 title in Miami Posted: 04 Apr 2011 12:53 AM PDT
The two big Masters finals that bring the spring hard-court season to its climax are separated by just two weeks.They have the same size draw, the same size prize, and are played in the same country. But not since 1995 had they featured the same two protagonists. Then, Andre Agassi gained revenge in Miami over Pete Sampras, who had won in Indian Wells. This time, it was world No1 Rafael Nadal attempting to turn the tables on world No2 Novak Djokovic. So good had been the form of both men in Miami that between them they had held 87 of 88 service games, with Nadal dropping just the one serve to concede the only set from either racket on their routes to the final. However, the Djokovic streak had been truly jaw-dropping: 25 consecutive wins since December 2010, three consecutive titles, and just five sets dropped from 62 played. He was also aiming for the big triple crown of the tennis season's first swing: the Australian Open and these two prestigious Masters. So there was something in the air for this final. It was going to be a close one, just as their Indian Wells match had been, and the record-breaking crowd— enthusiastic, vociferous and split down the middle in their allegiance—was electric with anticipation. The gusty conditions initially seemed to make life a little harder for Djokovic, and a bad mishit in his second service game handed Nadal an early break. But Nadal, too, looked edgy on his serve, first with a double fault, then a wild off-forehand and finally with a wayward backhand. The nine-minute game offered up three break point chances to Djokovic, but Nadal slugged his way to a hold and a 3-1 lead. Nadal took further advantage of the conditions by playing high, slow, spinning balls that veered with the wind, and errors started to leak from the Djokovic racket as he conceded another break. It took an eight-minute game for Nadal to stretch the lead to 1-5, and that was a sign that Djokovic was getting to grips with the wind and finding his length, pace and a couple of delightful drop shots. The Serb broke serve and pulled back to 4-5, forcing Nadal to serve out the set 6-4. Battle was well and truly engaged at the start of the second set as both ran down everything their opponent could throw at them, from drops to volleys to searing baseline angles. Even the hyper-fit Nadal looked winded by their exertions. But Djokovic had clearly worked himself into a rhythm and, with the wind dropping, he eliminated the errors and began to drive Nadal deep into his backhand corner. Nadal, for his part, continued too often to play his backhand slice to Djokovic's stronger backhand wing and was persistently punished. The swing in momentum drew an early break for Djokovic to lead 3-0. Nadal managed a break point chance to level things up, but Djokovic continued to counter the Spaniard's game and out-think him on almost every play. One moment he dropped a volley short and the next he lobbed over Nadal's head. First he hit wide to the forehand then wide to the backhand, challenging his opponent to change his tactics. And while Nadal's serve sank into the sub-60 per cent zone, as it had done at Indian Wells, Djokovic was able to serve out comfortably to love and level the match, 6-3. Nadal began to look weary both physically and mentally, and the sweat streamed from him. This was gruelling, intense stuff and there was no let-up at the start of the third set as Nadal was forced to defend his opening serve for almost nine minutes. The clock had already ticked over the two-hour mark, but neither player gave an inch as the set pounded its way through a further hour and a quarter with not a break on either side. Only a tie-break could decide this one and that, inevitably, had the crowd on its feet from the start. The first five points went against serve before Djokovic managed to hold and then pull clear with a backhand down-the-line winner, 6-2. At the third time of asking, he struck the decisive blow to take his seventh Masters title and his 26th match win in a row. Djokovic continues to impress in so many ways. Not only is he supremely confident but he is mentally agile in coming up with a different game-plan for whoever he is playing. Most important of all, though, he has become physically resilient, with no sign of the breathing or energy problems that dogged his former years. Anyone who can stand toe-to-toe with Nadal for more than three hours—and look the fresher man at the end—is an athlete of the first order. Djokovic and Nadal now have 25 matches under their belts, more than either has played against Roger Federer—though they have some way to go to emulate Sampras and Agassi who met 34 times. But at just 23 and 24 years of age respectively, and now benefiting from the top two places in the rankings, there is clearly a lot more water to pass under the bridge of the Djokovic/Nadal rivalry. As they switch to clay, the question on everyone's lips will be: can Djokovic beat Nadal for the first time on the red stuff? If he can, the Miami champion will justifiably have that No1 ranking in his sights by the end of the year as well. |
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