´óÏó´«Ã½

Time for a teaser to tickle the brain this grey autumn day: is professionalism killing sport?

A punchy opener, but one being teed up by former Kent, Middlesex and England batsman for a special edition of

Smith, who gained a double first at Cambridge before turning to professional sport, was always a little more cerebral than your average sportsman; when he discussed ethics, he wasn't talking about the county skippered by Graham Gooch.

Read the rest of this entry

A quick rugby quiz question for you - which man had a decisive say in the result of the last World Cup final, the Lions v South Africa series in 2009 and the Heineken Cup final of 2004?

If you said the video ref, or television match official, give yourself an extra biscuit to go with your mid-morning cuppa.

It might sound a little disingenuous, but cast your mind back - Mark Cueto's 'try' in the corner, ruled out by after almost three minutes of sifting through replays; Jaque Fourie's late try for the Springboks in the key second Test, awarded by Dickinson after ruling that Mike Phillips' tackle had not taken the centre into touch; Rob Howley's larceny on the dawdling Clement Poitrenaud, only awarded by Alain Rolland after recourse to Alan Lewis and his monitor upstairs.

All of which explains why I decided to watch from the dark confines of Sky TV's broadcast truck in the Adams Park concourse, rather than the usual spot in the main stand.

Seated at the back is 59-year-old Geoff Warren, one of the most experienced TMOs on the planet. "My usual heart-rate is between 45-50 bpm, but when a big decision comes in, you watch - it'll leap to 120," he grins.

At his disposal, several vital tools: a large TV monitor, controlled by Sky's broadcast director; a pair of headphones with mic attached, connecting him to on-pitch ; a stopwatch, to provide back-up to the clock in the stadium; a copy of the laws of rugby ("Just in case..."), a bottle of water, and a large pack of Werther's Original, the latter presumably in case any of his decisions leave a bad taste in the mouth.

Read the rest of this entry

There's a simple rule to watching sport: the closer you can get to the action, the more you'll see. And the more you see, the more you'll understand.

This is why, early on a fresh September morning, I am hammering round the streets of King's Lynn in a car driven by a man I have never met before, a chap on a penny farthing wobbling into the gutter as we career past, and 84 of the world's better bike riders closing in rapidly on our rear bumper.

Stage Six of the has just got under way. The car belongs to a race official, and will be tracking every move the peloton makes. The riders include Bradley Wiggins, Geraint Thomas and Mark Renshaw. The penny farthing? I'm not quite sure, but if he doesn't get out of the way sharpish, it won't just be his rear tyre that's pancake-flat.

Read the rest of this entry

"The battle of all battles," England coach Gary Street had dubbed the women's rugby World Cup final before kick-off, and it turned out he knew what he was talking about.

Not that his prescience will come as any consolation.

What will hurt him even more is that, for large parts of this thunderous encounter, his side had the advantage of playing with superior numbers.

As New Zealand fly-half Anna Richards was sin-binned midway through the first half by austere referee Sarah Corrigan for persistent infringement, the partisan home crowd at The Stoop roared in anticipation of an English onslaught. When prop Mel Bosman joined her in the hutch seven minutes later, the decibel level doubled.

Read the rest of this entry

And so, with a fizz and a bang, the 2010 summer of athletics comes to an end. In its place springs a desire to dish out some well-earned gongs and brickbats to sum it all up.

Yep - I know we've still got the and to come. Hence the use of the world 'summer'. For the same reason, performances from the indoor season have also not been considered.

Everything else is fair game. So feel free to argue with my choices, suggest your own and come up with additional alternative categories too. Sadly there are no tangible prizes to dish out, but it should always be more about glory than gold, no?

Read the rest of this entry

It was a bravura innings from the former England batsman - a century smashed off just 68 deliveries, the ball clattered to all well-rounded corners of The Oval, the crowd rapturous in their applause.

Unfortunately for Kevin Pietersen, the former England batsman in question was Worcestershire's .

and then back in the hutch for a mere meandering 38 as his first match for Surrey ended in heavy defeat.

Pietersen loves this particular patch of south London. It was here that he hit that magnificent 158 to seal the Ashes win five years ago; here that he put India to the sword for another century two years later; and here just two summers ago that he marked his first Test as England captain with a swashbuckling 100 against a stunned and silenced South Africa.

Initially there were a few familiar glimmers of the glamourpuss of old. The fancy-dan sunglasses were lowered into place, the pulled high up his arm, a security guard trotting alongside him as he came down the pavilion steps.

Read the rest of this entry