Merry Cricket!!

ENGLAND RETAIN THE ASHES DOWN UNDER FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 24 YEARS!

They took the Test in Melbourne by an innings and 157 runs. Absolutely brilliant stuff from England. They dominated throughout, never giving Australia a look in.

After bowling them out for 98 on day one, England reached a frightening total of 513 (Trott hitting a magnificent unbeaten 168 - he has the highest average of any English batsman in Australia). Australia then went back in to bat and got off to a promising start, reaching 99-1. Bresnan, however, decided to ruin their comeback party. He took three huge scalps for five runs (Watson, Ponting and Hussey) - leaving Australia on 104-4 - to push England once again into the ascendency. The Aussie's ended day three on 169-6, still 246 adrift of the tourists. The end, it seemed, was most definitely in sight and England walked onto the MCG today knowing victory was merely a formality.

Despite a spirited last day from Australia, and a 50+ partnership between Siddle (40) and Haddin (55 not out), England cruised to a major victory. They celebrated, beautifully, with a mass 'sprinkler' dance-a-thon.

Strauss, in his post-match interview, was already focussed on Sydney and winning. Win (or draw) Sydney and win the Series; win the Series and beat the Aussie's for the first time in 25 years. For my entire life. Incredible. Bring on January 3rd!

More Straussisms:

- 'damp squib' (an expression of the posh)

- 'you know...'

- 'to be honest'

- 'dig/dug deep'

I'll keep you blogged...

Christmas Cricket Good Times

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

I do hope everyone had a lovely day. I, myself, had a super time with the famile - we ate a lot and played silly games and opened lots of presents. I got a poodle and a hamster and have called them Sassy LeClassy and Ralphy. They are with me right now, actually. Sassy is from Hong Kong and Ralphy is from England. They are toys.

The best Christmas present, however, was the one the England cricket team gave me in the small hours and into Boxing day. First day of the Melbourne Test (the penultimate of the series) and England, fresh off a crushing defeat, need to put on a strong display in order to put them back in the ascendency to regain the Ashes and win Down Under for the first time since the mid-eighties. Bresnan was in for Finn but otherwise England put up an unchanged team. There were two dropped catches before Tremlett made the first break through and Watson had to walk for just 5 runs. Bresnan struck next just a few overs later that saw Hughes leave for 16. Not a good start for the Aussies but a great start for us. And it just kept getting better as wicket after wicket fell. Ponting fell for 10, 'Mr Cricket' Hussey for 8 (YES PLEASE), Smith for 6, Clarke for 20 (top scorer...), Haddin for 5 (after this wicket Australia found themselves at 77-7. Delightful.), Johnson for a duck, Sidde for 11, and finally Hilfenhaus for a duck.

This, dear readers, meant that England had bowled Australia out for 98. Ninety eight. 98. 98 all out. I'm sorry, but I can't type that enough. 98 ALL OUT. Merry Merry Merry Christmas. That was Australia's lowest Test score at the MCG against England. What a great time for that statistic. England then came into bat and Strauss and Cook constructed a beautiful, clean and controlled 157-0 by the days end of play. That's already a lead of 59 and no English wickets have fallen. Merry Christmas everyone.

I'll keep you blogged...

Hmm...

So we lost. Not just a little bit, but big time. A comprehensive, sound, solid drubbing. It didn't seem possible after the first day and well into the second - I went to sleep comfortable in the knowledge that we'd bowled the Aussie's out for a meagre 268 and were on 71-0 and looking pretty peachy. I woke up six and a half hours later to Australia batting which was not a good sign. A woeful England batting display and an inspired Mitchell Johnson meant Australia were still in the lead as they entered their second innings. 81 runs ahead to be specific. The Aussie's then reached a pretty respectable but not unattainable score of 309, leaving England needing 401 runs to win. England's second batting attempt, however, was woefully rubbish as they were dismissed for a pathetic 123.

Australia have levelled the Test at 1-1 with two Tests to go. It's not the end of the world, we still have a better chance than Australia of retaining the Ashes. We have, however, made it a little more difficult for ourselves; a little more tense. The Aussie's will now have the momentum and will be feeling pretty good at the next Test. We need to make a good start on Boxing Day. We need to get our mojo back. We need to remember how to bat again.

I have noticed some Straussisms that amuse me:

- 'sub-par' (an expression often used to describe their batting)

- 'brand of cricket'

More to come if and when I notice them.

I'll keep you blogged...

Welcome to Perth

Perth: the most isolated city in the world. Cricket stadium: the Wacca (these Aussies...). England lead 1-0 after two tests and a win here will seal the Ashes for us. A good first day is a must. We win the toss and opt to field. A few early wickets perhaps, some good low-scoring overs. The possibility of bowling them out on the first day again? Surely not.

Well, actually, surely yes! (Or whatever the opposite to 'surely not' is...) England put on a beautiful display and reduced Australia to 268 all out. The Aussie's were 69-5 at one point so did well to reach that total, thanks mostly to 'Mr Cricket' Hussey, Haddin and Johnson (who was having some beef with Anderson which I always love in cricket. They get so bitchy. It's brilliant.) who all hit half centuries in an otherwise uninspired batting display. Collingwood made a stunning catch to oust Cap'ain Ponting (is his job in jeapordy?) who had played a few pretty tasty balls and looked to be settling in for a thrilling innings. He was pretty peeved to have to leave, I would think. And much more peeved to witness the fast and disturbing demise of his team. By the end of play Strauss and Cook had steered England nicely to 29-0.

Boy, I wish I had Sky Sports. Anyone want to buy me a subscription for Christmas?

Also, my brother just showed me the light and posted a link to Swann's Video Diaries of the Ashes. They are hilarious. Please find it on youtube. Seriously worth it.

I went to a Carol Service last night. One I used to sing in every year. It was great and nostalgic and really quite beautiful. It felt good to sing choral music again. I need to join a choir. I miss it. And I was killing those high notes (in a good way).

I'll keep you blogged...

Snooker

Oh, Higgins, how we've missed you. He just beat Mark Williams to win the UK Title and the last of 2010 10-9 in an epic comeback. He trailed Mark throughout the match, losing 6-2 and 9-5, and looked dead and buried when Williams went within a frame of victory. He admitted afterwards that he thought he'd get 'a frame or two back' after Mark reached 9 but thought he was out of it. Not so much, Higgins my dear, not so much. He went on to win five fine frames in a row and consequently a third UK Championship title.

It was a great match. Free, flowing, and very fast. Anyone who thinks Snooker is a boring sport should watch that game. A tearful Higgins dedicated his win to his ill father. I can't remember seeing Higgins that tearful before. I think that victory meant a lot to him. He's had a tough year - he was banned from playing for six months after failing to report a match-fixing approach. I don't really get how The News of the World got away with that; surely that's entrapment? Why wasn't it illegal? That's probably a dumb thing to say but I honestly think it's completely unfair. I cannot imagine Higgins doing anything like match fixing. I, for one, am pleased as punch that he's back and has so far made three out of three finals and won two of those.

I'll keep you blogged...

.............................................

00:57 - ENGLAND HAVE WON THE SECOND TEST OF THE ASHES BY AN INNINGS AND 71 RUNS!!!!

I'll keep you blogged...

Mourning

I am in mourning.

Stuart Broad has had to go home after suffering an abdominal strain. No more Ashes for him. No more Australia for him. He said playing an Ashes series in Australia has always been a dream of his so he must be seriously disappointed right now, especially as England have such a good chance of winning this one. Man, he must be gutted.

Poor poor Stu. My heart goes out to you you beautiful man. Although you'll be back in good ol' Blighty now so perhaps we'll happen to meet and you'll realise we were made for each other...

Ok, perhaps not.

But hey, who cares about all of that (I do!), England are about to win the second Test of the series!! Australia are on a pathetic 286-8. YES PLEASE!!!

I'll keep you blogged...

Birthday!

Yesterday was my birthday. I turned 25 and went to see Harry Potter. Yes, Harry Potter. It was excellent. I thoroughly recommend it. A bit scary actually. Well, a lot scary - Ralph Fiennes is a convincing bad guy.

So forgive me for not updating yesterday but I was out partying hardy with Ron (I wish). Luckily, I only have good things to report.

Lets do the football first. Nasri put on a scintillating display for Arsenal and helped them to a 2-1 win at home against Fulham in what was a great match (by all accounts - I did not actually see it because of all that partying but I read about it and rejoiced in their glory). To add to the joy, Chelsea continued their poor form and drew with Birmingham. Man U are yet to play (playing tomorrow eve) so have a game-in-hand but as it stands right now in the table, Arsenal are top on 32, Man U second on 31, and Chelsea third with 30. If Man U lose tomorrow I will be a happy ducky...

I've been watching the Aegon Masters Tennis at The Albert Hall which has been great. Ivanisevic won the singes today. Tiger Tim got to the semi-finals. All the matches are so entertaining because everyone's so layed back. The doubles are especially great. The final was between Pat Rafter/Peter McNamara and Henry Leconte/Mansour Bahrami. All good people - my crush on Pat Rafter lives on even though he no longer has the ponytail - and such entertainment. Even my mother was happy to sit down and watch these four going at it. Bahrami is a genius.

Ok, enough messing around, lets get down to the important stuff. Cricket. The Ashes. Second Test, Day 2-3. So England had got off to the perfect start - bowled the Aussie's out for a delightful 245. They needed to back this up with a powerful batting display - a win here would be a huge step to retaining The Ashes and winning Down Under for the first time since the mid-eighties. Strauss and Cook strutted out onto the field, no doubt feeling upbeat and confident thanks to the impressive bowling and fielding the day before. Strauss, however, was not to personally continue this Aussie massacre. He had a brief lapse of judgement and left a ball he thought would miss the stumps... unfortunately, it did not.

So in trots Trott. Cook and Trott put on another great partnership - 173 runs. Then Pietersen joined the festivities and quickly clocked up a meaty 85. Cook, however, once again looked the best as he hit a 136 not out.

Day 3 and Australia need an early wicket in order to stop the rot and have any hope of getting something out of this second Test. Pietersen looks the more likely to go out as he's the more flamboyant player and therefore more at risk but it's steady Cook who goes first. A great ball from Harris forced him into an inside edge and wicketkeeper Haddin takes a fine diving catch to his right. Cook went for 148 after batting for 1,058 minutes since his last dismissal in the first innings of the opening Test in Brisbane. That really is a long time and pretty amazing.

On comes Collingwood (all-together now - 'The Paul Scholes of Cricket' (can I put my own quote in quotation marks? Audacious)) and notches up a handy 42 before an lbw sees him off. Pieterson, meanwhile, has notched up a 150 and pleased as punch he is about it. He let out a squeal of delight as he hits his hundred; his first Test hundred since March 2009. Bell, on fine fettle for some time now, came out firing, notching up a 41 not out by the days close. Pietersen finished the premature end-of-day (due to rain) with 213. That's two innings in a row with a player hitting a double century. None too shabby.

So England finished the day 551 - 4, which is 306 runs ahead. It's more than likely Strauss will declare overnight as there are more rain storms predicted over the next two days. Whatever happens ours is a very commanding position to be in and we should - should - win this Test.

I'll keep you blogged...

Cricket = good times

Oh, England, how I adore thee.

Australia were dismissed for 245, thanks largely to a stunning 4-51 by one Jimmy Anderson who was singing like a Kookaburra from the very first ball. Last night, through a foggy sleepy haze, I read that Katich had gone out for a 'diamond duck' and Ponting for a 'golden duck'. I have just been feverishly looking these terms up and have discovered that a 'diamond duck' either refers to a player being dismissed without facing a ball (usually run out), as was the case for Katich, thanks to a magnificent throw by Jonathon Trott, or going out to the first ball of a match. A 'golden duck' is assigned to a player being dismissed by his first ball. Phew, now we've got that sorted.

Anderson's blistering start, which saw Australia 2-3 after only 15 minutes of play, set the tone for much of the first day. Hussey, once again Australia's best player, hit an impressive 93 but could hardly expect to have done better than that as his support was quickly dwindling. The tail-end of the Aussie batting order is none too good.

So a strong, sensible and intelligent bowling and fielding display by England. This bodes very well indeed. If England can capitalise on their early advantage in Adelaide this could be an all-important Test for them. A win here would set them in very good stead indeed for the rest of the Ashes series.

Cannot wait for Day 2.

I'll keep you blogged...

Sickness(cont.)

Ok, back to the stats.

Strauss described Cook's 235 not out as "one of the best hundreds I've seen by an England player." Cook's score was the highest in a Test at The Gabba, his highest in a Test, the highest score by an Essex batter in an Ashes Test, and his and Trott's stand of 329 was the highest score by an England pairing in Australia, and the highest score by any visiting pair at The Gabba. It was also only the second time ever there have been two triple-hundred partnerships (Hussey and Haddin for the Aussie's) in the same Test. Oh, yes, and the highest partnership score ever at the Gabba. Eevr. Phew! There are more but quite frankly I'm confused by all the numbers...

So, they drew. After all that excitement it seems bizarre that neither team actually yielded any points. But this is good; it means it's all in the balance. The next Test is deliciously soon - starts on Friday in Adelaide. BRING IT ON!

And the tennis. Oh, the tennis. Ray-ray/GoNads semi-final was amazing. Best match of the competition by far. Ray-ray was so close to victory but, crucially, GoNads won the vital points; the deciding points. It really was a great match. A very wise friend of mine told me, with great authority, that Ray-ray would have won had it been a five-set match. I am inclined to agree.

So the final - GoNads, world number 1, winner of three out of four Slams in 2010, versus The Fed, world number 2 and all-time best tennis player (in some peoples' opinions) ever. What a way to end the season. Was it a Wimbledon final 2008 special? No. But it was a pretty good match nevertheless. Three sets, which is always good. Fed completely dominated the first with some amazing serving, great attacking play, and a very effective cross-court backhand. GoNads looked out-of-sorts, out-played and out of ideas, but GoNads being GoNads he fought back bravely in the second set to take the match to a decider. So we were into a third set to see who wins the last prize of the 2010 season. In the end, The Fed kind of ran away with it - I think GoNads' epic with Ray-ray took more out of him than he thought. But that's taking nothing away from The Fed's performance. He was truly awesome. Everything was working. He had his Fed-head truly on. The win ties him with Sampras and Lendl who all have five year-end titles to their names.

So that's goodbye to tennis for a few weeks. How very sad. Thank goodness I have the Ashes to occupy my mind and blog.

I'll keep you blogged...

Sick Note

Hello folks. A sickness has kept me from you but I'm back, fighting fit and raring to go.

First I must talk about the crazy first Ashes test. England did not have a good time of it their first innings. They were bowled out for 260, and could hardly make an impression on Australia who reached a monstrous and seemingly test winning 481 (with Hussey (195) and Haddin(136) producing a record stand of 307). Things were looking pretty grim as England needed to reach 221 just to make Australia bat again. Grim, that is, until Strauss and Cook strode onto the field.

Strauss, who'd been bowled for a duck in his first innings, hit a calmly impressive 110 before Trott(135no) and Cook(235no) put on 329, the ninth highest England stand in history. And that was not the only record to be broken. By the time England declared on 517-1 (yes please!) a draw was all but decided and so it proved the next day when Ponting ended their innings early, settling for that draw.

Will write more later... just realised the time and I have tennis to play!

I'll keep you blogged...

Day 5 at the O2 and first day of The Ashes

Tonight I babysat and was able to watch Sky Sports in HD on a big screen... It was pretty darn good. I saw Ashes highlights and Ray-ray beat Ferrer to go through to the semi-finals belongside The Fed. Group A will play their final round robin matches tomorrow but people seem pretty certain it'll be a GoNads and Djoko show. GoNads is pretty much a dead cert., but if Roddy beats GoNads in straight sets and Djoko loses, Roddy goes through. If Djoko loses and Roddy loses Berdy goes through. If Djoko wins, Djoko goes through. So yes, anyone but GoNads and Djoko is unlikely, but nowhere near impossible. I'm still going for the Rodster!

And the much anticipated Ashes? Well, not the best start in the world I have to say. Strauss was bowled for a duck on the third ball, Trott went soon after, and pretty soon England's batsmen were dropping like flies. Helped enormously by a sterling performance by Australia's Peter Siddle who got a hat-trick on his 26th birthday. Pretty good going. England were bowled all out for 260 even. The Aussie's are currently 63-0. Hmm. Time for Swann, I think. We need to make a break through here.

I'll keep you blogged...

Day 4 at the O2

Ok, last night Ferrer played The Sod and was beaten 7-5 7-5. Sod was solid and pipped Ferrer to the post on the important points.

Today I was at the O2 again and saw a pretty bog-standard doubles match and a mostly bog-standard singles. Ok, that's a little harsh. Both matches were great because they're tennis but the doubles didn't ever really take off and Moody and Norman won pretty easily in the end. There were a few great shots - some excellent cross-court volleys - but mostly it was pretty cut and dry. Blimey, how many cliches can I find to describe what was essentially a dull match?

The singles was a lot better for the first ten games. Berdy and Roddy were serving very well indeed but also returning well. It was a pretty fast-paced match. They were both looking good and I was having good feelings about the match. I could see it going all the way. At five-all it looked for all the world that the first set would go to a tie-break (especially after Roddy missed two set points on Berdy's serve at 15-40) but then Rod inexplicably lost his serve and Berdy held his and suddenly Rod was a set down. The second set was over in a blur of decent play (Berdy) and bad grace (Rod) with Berdych beating A-Rod 7-5 6-3. Not the match I was hoping for but on the plus side I was really close to the players and had a magnificent view of their derrieres.

Shallow? Moi?

And tonight GoNads crushed Djoko 7-5 6-2. Djoko had some bizarre eye issue and said he 'couldn't play' from 5-5 in the first set. I hate to be cynical but doesn't that just sound like Djoko? I mean, you can't imagine The Fed or GoNads ever complaining about an eye problem and claiming they couldn't see the ball. I don't know about Djokovic. I want to like him but sometimes he makes it so hard.

Arsenal are making me unhappy.

THE ASHES HAVE BEGUN!!! Oh boy, Strauss got bowled for a duck. That may not be a good start.

I'll keep you blogged...

Fed/Ray-ray (cont.)

And the master-class is over. The Fed beats Ray-ray 6-4 6-2. Fed was awesome and Ray-ray was not so much.

"Surprised how clean the result is but I don't think Andy played his best match, that's for sure."

He is a shocked man. Seems bemused that it was so easy. Lovely and eloquent as ever. Think he's going to have a shower then go out and see the sights.

Ray-ray will have to beat Ferrer on Thursday to have any chance of going through. It's not all over, but he needs to pick himself up quickly. He needs to up his first serve percentage and his groundstrokes need more on them and more penetration. Basically, he needs to be better.

Tonight Ferrer plays The Sod, both of them battling for any chance of making it through. I will, of course, let you know what happens there. And tomorrow I'll be at the O2 again, watching the beautiful Roddy play one Tomas Berdych, in another must win match. Bring it on. Come on A-Rod!!

I'll keep you blogged...

Fed/Ray-ray (cont.)

Oh dear. The Fed races into a 4-0 lead with a double break over an annoyed and uninspired looking Murray. He's shaking his head and arguing with the Umpire. He is not a happy boy.

He manages to save two break points and gets a game on the board in the second set, only for The Fed to breeze through a service game to 15. It's 5-1 and Ray-ray's chances are looking pretty darn slim. Not the huge game everyone was talking about then.

I'll keep you blogged...

Fed/Ray-ray (cont.)

Ok, The Fed claims the first set 6-4. Not too shabby but Ray-ray never really got off the blocks. He was a looking a little livelier towards the end of the set and even got to 0-30 on Fed's serve in that last game. He needs to pick his game up if he wants to take this all the way.

I'll keep you blogged...

Fed/Ray-ray (cont.)

Ray-ray seems to be having some wardrobe malfunctions. He's changed his top already and is yanking at the shoulders of his new one like it's too small. Very odd. But then, that's Andy Murray for you. He's a break down, serving at 1-3 but is 40-15 up.

His shorts are pretty tight, I did notice that as he walked out. Tighter than he usually wears. It's a very slim-fit outfit in general. Tis like a lady when she loses weight and starts wearing tighter clothes to show it off. Who knows.

Ray-ray is not happy out there. He's not won too many points on The Fed's serve which is very unlike him, but more than that he's not even really made Fed play on his serve. Very very unlike him.

Uh oh, the muttering has begun. Never a good sign.

4-3 to The Fed, still with a break.

I'll keep you blogged...

Fed/Ray-ray

Fed wins the toss and elects to receive. How very interesting. 30-30...

Ray-ray has got his game-face on, big time. 40-30...

A deuce in the first game. Tension is palpable.

Ray-ray can't seem to get a first serve in.

Break point Fed!

First 'Come on' from Ray-ray as he makes a good first serve. Deuce again.

Game point to Ray-ray after he pulls Fed out wide and forces him to make a forehand error.

Game Ray-ray. Phew. I hope they're all going to be like that.

I'll keep you blogged...

Tour Final Time

Howdy Doody.

Ray-ray made a more than impressive start to the final competition of the season with a 6-2 6-4 win over a surprisingly flat Sod. (Hahahaha...) He said the court is unusually slow for a hard court which doesn't bode well for anyone who has to face GoNads (Oh, Roddy, how unlucky you are). Well done Ray-ray - It's the big Fed next and I have to say he was in mighty impressive form last night. I was there, with the Fathership (still harping on about Spurs, I might add), as The Fed crushed Ferrer (that was a mouthful for the Umpire, believe me) 6-1 6-4. I'd barely got through my second hot dog by the time it was done. The Fedhand was working to perfection and some of the shots he pulled off were unbelievable. Ferrer did not play badly (although his serve was a little ropey), just Federer played really really really well. I worked out that it was the first time, unbelievably, I'd ever seen Fed play in the flesh so was pleased he was somewhere near his best. It was a pretty awesome sight. He's just so effortless and a really classy guy. And his skin colour is even better in real life. Like caramel. Yum. Plus he gave me one 'Come on!' which I truly appreciated. Still nothing sexier.

Today I watched poor Berdy battle hardy but with little joy as he was soundly beaten by a clinical Djoko, 6-3 6-3. Berdy looked out-of-sorts and continues his poor run of recent weeks, but that's not to say that he didn't try everything to make some kind of impression on the match. He's really been struggling for form and Djoko's love of long rallies and scrapping wasn't helping him find any at the O2. Lets hope he can find something for his next match.

Tonight Roddy plays GoNads in what I'm hoping will be the first great singles game of the competition. Come on three sets! I feel good about Roddick. It's his year I think...

I'll keep you blogged...

Wednesdays child...

Oh, I can't believe it. Spurs beat Arsenal at home (The Emirates, that is) for the first time in 17 years, and what a weekend to do it.

Chelsea lost to Birmingham (what now?) and this was our chance to go top of the table and really assert ourselves. Yes, ok, Chelsea losing to Birmingham was unexpected but who are we to look a gift-horse in the mouth? This was our time; our chance; our moment. And we couldn't take it. Now we're lagging behind in third, on the same goal difference as Man U. Not good. Not good at all. And to make matters worse, I've had my Spurs-fan father gloating all afternoon. Bleurgh.

On a brighter note, just got home from a Thanksgiving feast at a friend's house and feel full of good food and laughter. Thank you Fryer Boys!

I'll keep you blogged...

Brilliant

Commentary comment of the week (month/year):

"These lads are the peas and pies of sport."

I love it.

I'll keep you blogged...

Online!

I'm finally back online! I went to an internet cafe in town yesterday to blog and got through a marathon one, was about to post, when the stupid screen went blank and I was reliably informed that my 'session had timed out'. My session? What now? I was not told I only had a certain amount of time. I wasn't working to a deadline. I was casually perusing the good old internet and taking my time over facebook stalking, idle shopping, and looking up tennis tickets. Stupid stupid stupid.

But here I am, back in the comfort of my own home, with a fully functioning internet connection. Ok, lets go.

DARTS. I love darts. I love how they come on to ridiculous songs and high five awaiting fans. I love how they kiss their wives/girlfriends/sisters/mothers before stepping up onto the Oche. I love how they all have nicknames like boxers. I love how Ted 'The Count' Hanky throws his little rubber bats out into the crowd. I just love all the hype and drama. The other day I watched Mark Webster (who I think is cute. So sue me. My brothers say it's because compared to other darts players he's the only semi-normal looking one, but I still think he's cute.) play Gary Anderson. Mark had to win 5-1 otherwise he wouldn't make it through to the next round. A tall order right? That's what I thought, but pretty soon he was 4-1 up and had six darts for the finish. Six darts. He didn't do it. I could believe it. The poor guy looked close to tears as he closed out the match 5-3. A win, but not good enough to progress. Tough. Tis on ITV4 every night - if you're in the mood for over-weight red-faced men, bling to the max, drunken dancing and singing fans and pretty impressive maths, give it a watch.

FOOTBALL. So England were pretty dismal again. Lost to France last night 2-1. The scoreline is a poor reflection of the quality of the match as England were out-played and out-classed for at least 80% of the game. Crouch restored our blushes somewhat right at the end by scoring a pretty decent volley with practically his first touch after coming on as a sub, but all in all we were poor. So what else is new?

On a brighter note, the premier league had a great weekend. If you're an Arsenal fan, that is. Man U drew, Chelsea lost (to a brilliant Sunderland), and Arsenal won. Thank you very much.

TENNIS. The Sod beat Monfils to win his first Masters and overtake Ray-ray as number four in the world. Ray-ray moves down to fifth ahead of the Tour Finals at the O2, starting this Sunday. It makes the competition very interesting, however, as Djoko, The Sod and Ray-ray will be competing not just for a victory but for third, fourth and fifth places in the rankings. Could Ray-ray win and therefore finish the year third in the world? That'd be good. He's got The Fed, The Sod and Ferrer standing in his way; and that's just the round-robin stage. I'll be there on Sunday evening and know now I'll be seeing The Fed play Ferrer. Can't wait.

F1. VETTEL WINS FORMULA 1 2010 (by four points)!! Very exciting last race. All Alonso had to do was come third (where he started on the grid) and he would be the champion. Easy, right? Not so much it turns out. He ended up coming in 7th and Vettel's sensational drive (starting on pole and sticking to it) meant he stole the title by four measly points. If I were Alonso I'd be seriously peeved at my tactical team for getting it all wrong. Vettel becomes the youngest driver to win the title (taken from Hamilton) and the weepiest. He was crying like a babe in arms. But good for him. I like Vettel. He's all cute and smiley and I think deserved to win. Yes, he may be a little impetuous, but then so is Hamilton and I like him too. Good for you Sebastien Vettel.

CRICKET. Australia have names a 17 man team for the Ashes. 17. That's a lot. More than England, which is very unusual. But Australia have many an injury/fitness issue so having some back ups is highly necessary. And they should be worried because England are looking good in their warm-up tests. They won, then drew (mostly due to bad weather), and are currently most definitely up against Australia A, even without their four first choice bowlers who are all happily aclimatising in Brisbane ahead of the first Ashes test on the 25th November. The second-choice bowlers got Australia A all-out for 230 (mostly thanks to Tremlett - 4-54) and are currently 335-5 thanks to a Bell(118)/Collingwood(74) partnership worth 198. Another good day at the office and another warning to Australia that England are well and truly up for this Ashes series. Bring it on!

Gosh. I think that's it. Time for a shower and some Christmas shopping methinks.

I'll keep you blogged...

YAY!

Roddick completes London line-up!!

Oh, how very happy this headline made me feel. Roddy will be joined by GoNads, The Fed, Djoko, Ray-ray, The Sod, Berdy, and Ferrer. Those are some potentially great matches. Who would I like to see the most? Hmm, probably The Fed. I haven't seen him for years. The Fed against Roddy would be the ideal. Yum, yum and yummer. The Fed's lovely skin... Roddy's lovely shoulders/arms/stomach... Yes please. Come on organisers - make Sunday night a Fed/Rod match please!

Ray-ray fought impressively against Cilic to beat him in three tense sets - 7-6 (8-6) 3-6 6-3. He's into the quarter-finals where he will play Gael Monfils (whose impressive win over Verdasco - 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-2), 7-5 - ended Verdasco's hopes of qualifying for the tour finals, and therefore helped Roddy get his place so I am an even bigger Monfils fan at the moment... if that made sense...) which should provide another stern test for him. The Fed went through, as did Dave and Melzer.

It's times like this I wish I had Sky Sports...

Cricket and Collingwood (94) helped England reach a respectable (but not great) first-innings score of 288-8. They need another stella bowling performance to keep South Australia's batsman at bay and give themselves a chance at another victory.

Oh yes, and Joey Barton is a thug.

I'll keep you blogged...

Football Wednesday

Lots of football matches happened today. I've just got back from an excellent evening of tennis, cheese and flirting so feel in fine spirits and wanted to update myself and your lovely selves on the goings on of Football Wednesday - that exciting time when we get an extra MOTD (which I missed).

The main event was the Man U v. Man City derby and, as ever, it was disappointing. 0-0 draw that was pretty dire by all accounts. "I don't think I've seen a more awful performance in all my years as a City fan." I think that pretty much sums it up.

What else? Liverpool drew with Wigan - hah! Villa beat Blackpool. Everton drew with Bolton. Blackburn beat Newcastle. West Ham drew with West Brom. Chelsea beat Fulham - Boo!! They're on 28 points now, Man U are on 24 and thanks to Arsenal's 2-0 defeat of Wolves today they're up to 23 points. Chelsea just need to lose a couple of matches and I'll feel good about everything.

Elsewhere, Ray-ray came through a tough match to beat Nalbandian in three sets - 2-6 6-4 6-3. He'll play Cilic next which will prove a stiff test indeed. The Fed saw off home favourite Richard Gasquet, an out-of-sorts Djoko defeated Juan Monaco, and Roddy crushed Jarkko Nieminen 6-1 6-4 and will meet Ernest Gulbis in the next round. He needs a few wins in Paris in order to secure his place at the ATP tour finals. I really hope he gets in.

I'll keep you blogged...

Big time sport news!

Arsenal lost to Newcastle today. They lost to Newcastle. I mean, come on. Newcastle. No offence to Newcastle but... NEWCASTLE! 1-0. Just not good enough. To make matters worse (people say it's a good thing but I see it as a golden opportunity lost), Liverpool managed to beat Chelsea 2-0, which would have meant we'd be only two points behind them. But no, because we always lose at shocking times we're still five adrift and Man U have leap-frogged us to second. Not good enough.

In brighter, better news, England won their first warm-up match Down Under thanks largely to great bowling (Swann especially) and Strauss making a 120 not-out. Pretty decent start all round because they won against some odds which always helps when preparing for a big event. You want to have to work for a victory. To feel as if you've really had a good scrap in order to get the mojo working. England have done that beautifully over the last three days. I'm really excited about The Ashes, not only because it's always a good competition, but also because I really think we have a good chance this year. And in Australia. That would be amazing.

Elsewhere in F1 Vettel beat Webber for a Red Bull one-two in today's Brazilian Grand Prix to clinch the constructor's championship and also keep the title race alive. It was a pretty bog-standard race after they'd all managed to pass poor Hulkenberg. Hamilton was passed by Alonso after a poor corner and Button managed to finish fifth. It leaves Alonso, Webber and Vettel all in contention for the title ahead of the final race of the season. Hamilton could win but would need to come first and for none of those three to score, which is unlikely, you have to admit. My brother wants Alonso, I'm all for Webber... we'll see.

What else? The Fed beat Djoko in Basle which gives him his fourth (out of eight finals) title of the season, and his 65th career title which pushes him one clear of Sampras's record and fourth on the all-time list. The Ray-ray Bro's (love it!) also won their first doubles ATP tour title in Valencia, which is amazing. It was truly hard fought as well - 7-6 (8/6) 5-7 10-7. I wish I could have seen that match. Good on the brothers!

I'll keep you blogged...

I wish Annabelle Croft would brush her hair!

I'll keep you blogged...

Doha

I have been avidly watching the WTA Championships in Doha. I like the round robin system. I like that you can lose and still play the next day. It's interesting to see how players react to a loss. Usually they'd have a week or two to practice more and work on their weaknesses but in Doha they have to get up the next day and play another top 8 player. It's a good insight into their mindsets, I think. It's all about their mental toughness.

So far the results have been a little surprising. Two players are noticeably under par - Dementieva has an ankle injury and Jankovic is suffering from some kind of nasty bug. Tis sad because I like both of them and they've really been struggling. Janko is already out having lost two straight matches and Dem (?) has to beat Sam Stosur today if she's to play any further part in the competition. Stosur, however, is looking in scary form. She avenged her French Open final defeat against Scary Schiavone by beating her on the first day in two sets, then demolished a previously very impressive looking Wozza in straight sets. Another lady in impressive form is the rejuvenated Zvonareva who beat both Janko and Azarenka in straight sets.

I want Clijsters to win overall, as ever, but I'm hoping for a few good matches before that final. These end of year championships have such potential for some great battles but so often fall short of expectation. Hopefully this year that'll change.

So I am once again pleased with Arsenal. They've progressed into the last eight of the Carling Cup. Could this be the first trophy in five years? God, I hope so. They beat Newcastle 4-0, and even without the controversial second goal it was a resounding win.

I had all kinds of great Fed Facts for you but, as ever, my internet is playing up and won’t stay connected long enough for me to check them. It’ll have to wait until next time. They are pretty good though.

I’ll keep you blogged...

Ray-ray Rules!!

Yes Ray-ray! He thumped The Fed 6-3 6-2 in a resounding victory. It took one hour and twenty five minutes for Ray-ray to seal his sixth Masters 1000 title. It seems to have done wanders for his self belief. He's already talking about winning a Slam which is a big change from his 'I don't know' after the lacklustre defeat to Wawrinka in the third round of the US Open. I'm really hoping the next step is a great run, and potential win, in the World Tour Finals at the end of November. It'd be great for him to win that. Even though I have mixed feelings about Ray-ray (the attitude is sometimes just so poor), I want to see him win a Slam. I think he deserves one. He definitely has the game for one. He can beat The Fed, GoNads, Djoko... he just needs to do it at the Slams. He needs to find a way to bring his best tennis to the Slams and he will win. He's too good not to. But the next couple of years are vital. He needs to do it in this time or I fear he won't do it at all.

I'll keep you blogged...

Many Updates

The Premiership is back in action after an International break this weekend. Arsenal are taking on Birmingham and will hope to end their poor run. I'm thinking a 4-1 win. That's be good huh? Oh, and Chelsea to lose. Come on The Villa! Yeah!

In the world of tennis Ray-ray has marched with great certainty through the Shanghai Masters, not dropping a single set. He'll be facing either The Fed or Djoko in the final, contending for his second tournament if the year. I think he needs this one. He needs something to give him a little self-belief before going into the ATP World Tour Finals. It'd be great if he could win that. Ending the season on a real high. Fingers crossed for this final though.

The Commonwealth Games have come to an end. England's total medal haul was 143. Pretty good I'd say. 37 Gold, 60 Silver and 46 Bronze. We came third overall as India pipped us to second place by winning a final Gold on the final day whilst we could get only Silvers out of our three Badminton finals. Australia won a ridiculous amount of medals. There was no catching them. Tom Daly won a second Gold for the individual diving and dedicated his wins to his father, who couldn't be in Delhi because he's going through chemo. Lovely young man that Tom Daly. Excellent teeth.

Ah, the sun is shining and blue skies prevail so I'm off out to play some tennis. Pattie Schnyder is playing Andrea Petkovic in the first of the ladies semi-finals in Shanghai. It's turning into quite the battle. Petkovic has battled her way to one set all after Schnyder was winning a set and 3-1. Now Petkovic looks well and truly to be in charge. The rollercoaster that is a tennis match.

Am reading a great book at the moment - Get Her Off The Pitch by Lynne Truss. She wrote Eats, Shoots & Leaves which is one of my all-time favourite books. She was also born in Kingston and went to Tiffin (where I did not go - too stupid to get in - but it's still in my area). Plus she was a Sports Journalist for four years. I like her a lot.

I'll keep you blogged...

Dismal England

Just watched England play Montenegro. Pretty poor, I have to say. They were unlucky with a couple of penalty shouts (one stonewall hand ball) but mostly it was just a poor display. No drive, very little penetration, very few shots on or off target, no passion. I mean, really, it reminded me of the 0-0 against Algeria in the World Cup. Bleurgh.

My sporting highlight of the day: India winning the women's 4 by 400 relay. Very exciting stuff. The noise... I've never heard anything like it. The crowd, not at all biased, were going insane. England took a pretty good Bronze but quite frankly I didn't care as I was celebrating India's victory. It was pretty cool. You could tell, even on TV, that the atmosphere was electric in the stadium.

Also the lovely Tom Daly and Max Brick won the synchronized diving which is great. I like diving. It's elegant and pretty and intricate and concentrated. It's really quite beautiful. I'm going to enjoy watching the individual finals tomorrow.

I'll keep you blogged...

Internet Grrr...

My internet has decided to only work for about five minutes at a time, which means I start writing and get a whole post done, then try and submit it but find I can't because I no longer have a connection. I can't even save it. I can't tell you how many times I've started a post over the past six days...

Here we go again.

So many things have happened. The Commonwealth Games have been going on for a couple of weeks and there has been some drama. After all the 'will the rooms be ready in time' madness there have been yet more dramas - people being disqualified, athletes getting sick, talk of the pool water being dirty... it's been quite the soap opera! And also quite the medals fest (is that how you spell it?) for England - 111 as I type. 27 Gold, 49 Silver, 35 Bronze. Not too shabby at all. Highlights for me? Men's Gymnastics all-round competition, any swimming (I can't get enough of the swimming), and ladies 100m (for the drama drama drama!).

Ok, what else? Hamilton's run of bad luck/form continues. The Japanese Grand Prix was a wash out for qualifying so the qualifying and race all took part on the same day. Hamilton suffered a five-place grid penalty for changing his gearbox (a necessary change say his team) and started in eighth. He got a great start and was looking at coming in fourth in the closing stages of the race when he lost third gear and was easily passed by Button. He came in fifth and drops to fourth in the constructor championship. Vettel and Webber finished with a Red Bull 1-2, with Alonso slipping in third. Hamilton is all but out of the title race.

If you're reading this it actually worked so I'm smiling from ear to ear right now.

I'll (try to) keep you blogged...

Woohoo...

Ok, so I've composed myself enough to be able to talk about our victory. By God, was it exciting! I've never known golf like it.

First of all the final day is on a Monday for the first time since the first ever Ryder Cup in 1927. An extra day of a well-known sporting event always provokes excitement. It's like finding that the last present under the Christmas tree is yours - just when you thought all the joy was over, there's more. So it's majestic Monday and people all over Europe (and, I guess, America) are pulling sickies to watch (or if you're like me and too poor to have Sky Sports, listen) what is sure to be a great day of golf. They were not disappointed.

Lee ‘Gangster’ Westwood (Why do I call him that? Answers on a post card please.) started proceedings against Steve Stricker. Lee’s brilliant Ryder Cup performance didn’t quite find him on this extra day and he eventually lost the match. First blood to the US. The score was now 9 1/2 – 7 1/2. That was too close for my liking. The nail biting continued as the next match went the way of the US also, bringing the score to 9 1/2 – 8 1/2. One point. Eek!

Then came two stalwarts of the team – Luke Donald and Ian Poulter, with a point each. And a hard-fought, very exciting shared point from Rory McIlroy made Europe’s total 12. Looking good. However that pesky Tiger had something to say about The USAs chances and trounced his Molinari brother (Francesco), and that seemed to pump his fellow Americans up as Overton, Mickelson, and the two Johnson’s all won their matches too. With Jimenez winning his and Fowler birdie-ing the last four holes to draw level with a devastated looking E. Molinari who was sailing smoothly to victory until Rookie Ricky found some magic. The score after all these results with only one match to go?

13½ – 13½.

Ahhhh!!

The drama. You couldn’t write it. It was all down to one Graeme McDowell against one Hunter Mahan. G-Mac (as the media and players have affectionately nicknamed him) had been up all day but was down to only 1up when he was our last hope. Whether he knew that or not I don’t know but I’m guessing by the way he celebrated winning hole 15, and consequently going 2up, he had to be somewhat aware that it was pretty important he win. And by gum, win he did.

Europe beat America 14 ½ - 13 ½. The second Mahan concedes there is complete pandemonium as the team, the caddies, and pretty much every member of the crowd rush to McDowell to celebrate. There was A LOT of noise on the radio. I myself was jumping up and down. What a great memory to have been there – made me wish I’d driven there through the night.

Great game. Absolutely fantastic weekend+day. The drama was beyond belief. Who would have guessed it’d come down to the wire? After America’s start and then Europe’s come back... Brilliant stuff.

The only negative? Now we have to wait a whole year for the next one. Will Europe retain the Cup? Bring on 2011.

I’ll keep you blogged...

Ryder Cup...

WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Internet Breakdown

I would like to apologise for my absence - my internet decided not to work. But it's back now and I'm back now and the sports fun can continue. Hurray!

Today I want to talk about golf. Not a lot of people like golf. It's long and boring and often incomprehensible. I admit I don't know a whole lot about golf - not all the strange rules or what, in the Ryder Cup, the difference is between 'foursomes' and 'fourballs', but I know I like it and I'm excited to spend time to find out all about it. That's one of the greatest pleasures in my life, not just in sport but in everything; learning about things I'm interested in. There's such delight in discovery.

So the Ryder Cup. So exciting! I'd never really watched it before but I love how they go around together and all wear matching outfits. (The great debate: who's outfit is better, America or Europe? Tough call. Europe is stylish and simple and shows off Lee 'Gangster' Westwood's new figure nicely but America is bold and a beautiful purple and I love the cardigan thing. It's such a hard decision. I change my mind every hour. Right now I'm preferring Europe. The red emblem on the America outfits clashes horribly with the lovely purple which is swinging it in Europe's favour.) I love how when they do a good shot they pat each other on the back and high five and hug. It's all so raucous and celebratory and so un-golf-like. It's nice to see the players interacting with each other as golf is usually such an individual sport.

Moreover, the play has been really exciting. The momentum is swinging back and forth. America were up now it looks like Europe are going to go ahead. As it stands right now it's Europe 5-6 America but Europe are up... ooo, 6-6! The two Mcs beat Zach Johnson and Hunter Mahan. The crowd are going mad. What I was trying to say is Europe are up in three of the four games still being played and the fourth is tied and would get half a point should it end that way. As it stands Europe will finish the day 91/2 - 61/2. That is pretty damn good. COME ON EUROPE!

Uh oh... America just got one back. Matt Kuchar putts a long birdie to go 1up against the Molinari brothers. (The Molinari brothers... brilliant. They sound like great soap opera bad guys.)

The drama is quite immense. If there was ever a time to get into golf, the Ryder Cup is it.

I'll keep you blogged...

Football Folly

There is some voodoo working on football. People are losing that really should not lose. In the Carling Cup Spurs, Everton, Chelsea, Bolton, Man City and Liverpool all went out within a couple of days of each other. Spurs lost to Arsenal (thank you very much) which is understandable and nothing to be downhearted about, but Chelsea lost to Newcastle, Everton lost to Brentford, Northampton beat Liverpool, West Brom beat Man City and Burnley beat Bolton. That's a lot of crazy results. I was really thinking Man U would go out to Scunthorpe (what a story that would be) but no such luck.

Onto the weekend and the madness continues into the Premiership. West Brom beat Arsenal 3-2 (nooooooo!) and Man City beat the so-far unbeatable Chelsea 1-0. Man U need to be beaten by Bolton today and I'll be convinced there's a hex afoot.

Just watched the Singapore F1 and once again, for the second week in a row, Hamilton crashed out due to over-zealous driving. He needs to go for it, obviously, and I actually like the fact that he pushes things and goes for what he wants seemingly no matter the consequences, but obviously consequences catch up with you eventually and he's finding that out the hard way. He needs to take a lesson from his driving partner, Jenson Button, and exercise a little caution. Who knows who's going to win now.

I'll keep you blogged...

Cricket news

So I went to see the cricket and... we lost. This should be depressing news, and it kind of is, but a number of things make me feel otherwise:

1. All the drama off the cricket field. The day before the match Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Butt was reported to have told India's NDTV channel: "There is loud and clear talk in bookie circles that some English players were paid enormous amounts of money to lose. No wonder there was total collapse of the English side." He said that about the previous ODI match on Friday, where England lost a dramatic match to some great bowling, namely by Umar Gul who spun his way to victory. The allegations had the England team hurt, outraged and completely jaded about playing cricket with Pakistan. I think they'll be very glad when this series is over.

2. Due to the drama, the match was very close to not going ahead at all. I was checking the BBC sport homepage every fifteen minutes just waiting for the report to come up that the match had been cancelled. When I got to Lord's and the teams came out, the sun was shining and the cheers were ringing, that was enough for me to feel happy. Despite the loss, just being there and enjoying the game in its purity (please no more match fixing - who are these people? What gives them the right? Who do they think they are?) was enough for me. Plus Stuart Broad was fielding for a long time right in front of me. Yum yum.

3. Ok, Stuart Broad can be a reason all of his own. I say again, Yum. Check out the picture ^^^ (I like to think he was waving only at me :-D)

4. I had a dream the night before that the guy I ended up sitting next to (it was bound to be a guy) spilt a full pint in my lap and was generally a complete idiot. I feared he'd be an awful boat shoe wearing preppy rah rah idiot. Sure enough when I got to my seat I was on the isle (a good thing - I am not a window seat person. When they give the choice on the plane I'm everyone's dream companion because I want that isle seat. I like to have the freedom to jump up and down. I like to get up and walk.) and next to me were two big burly looking guys. They didn't look preppy but I was still wary. Nothing was said for the first twenty minutes or so until I took a sandwich out of my bag and the guy closest to me said 'I hope you've got enough in that bag for all three of us' and smiled a great big smile at me. From there on in I knew it was going to be a good day. Chris and Matt turned out to be golf pros, which is pretty cool in itself, and good good guys, which is very cool. They were offering to buy me drinks, said they'd streak with me to get Broad's attention, all in all they were excellently pleasant company. If you ever want a golf lesson with a good guy go to the Golf Pro shop/course in Richmond and ask for Matt. (Sorry Chris but I can't remember where you work...)

5. England lost the toss and Pakistan chose to bat first. This afforded them a huge advantage as the sun was shining and visibility was perfect on a batters field. When England came to bat the sun was going down and those pesky twilight hours proved to be England's downfall as Bell, Collingwood, Strauss, Yardy and Bresnan all found it very hard to even see the ball, let alone read it. What had been a batters pitch soon turned into a bowlers as Pakistan got the ball moving notably more than England had been able to, despite Swann's magnificent 4-37, and were bowled out for 227 in 46.1 overs, 38 runs short. That means the series is level at 2-2 and tomorrow's match at The Rose Bowl in Southampton will be the decider. That's kind of exciting.

6. My Dad came along after work and watched England's innings with me, which was lovely. He was a bit peeved at how much he still had to pay considering he'd missed half the game but I think he had a good time anyway. I hope he did. And we saw one of the oldest tracks in London at Baker Street tube station which was exciting (for an architect and an architect's daughter).

So yes, we lost, but was it still worth going? Most definitely. There's nothing like live sport. I looked up at the press centre (you know, the big alien bubble - cool looking pod thing) and got chills at the thought that one day I might be in there. Very very cool.

I'll keep you blogged...