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Fakes no more; Egypt's Olympians get genuine gear
Turkish boxing official dies in London
Badminton players angered by schedule mix-up
Olympics: Tsonga fears early end to medal dream
Fears grow over fate of Syrian city of Aleppo
UN official: Assad regime could crumble soon
Iran begins stockpiling 3-month food supply
Egypt's president meets Hamas leader
Oil rises on expectations for economic stimulus
Euro rallies as Germany, France promise action
Gorilla in Prague Zoo accidentally hangs himself
Gayle inspires as Windies take command in 1st Test
The wait is over: Olympic opening ceremony starts
Hashim Amla a bearded batting wonder
England didn't play like No 1 team, Anderson admits

Fakes no more; Egypt's Olympians get genuine gear

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Two days after the country s Olympic committee chairman said he had opted for fakes because the real thing was just too expensive, Nike said Friday it was donating gear to the Egyptian athletes. "We are extremely happy that while these athletes are enjoying the greatest sporting event they will be able to wear genuine Nike product," the company said in a statement. Egypt s committee chairman admitted earlier this week that the committee decided to go cheap because the designer sports labels, whose goods can range in price from $300 to $500 per athlete, were not something it could afford given Egypt s precarious economy. The country s popular uprising and the 17 months of political uncertainty that followed drove away investors. Egypt s tourism industry took a big hit, and the country s foreign currency reserves have dropped by more than one-half since the uprising. But athletes complained about the knockoffs. Synchronized swimmer Yomna Khallaf tweeted it was "frustrating" she had to spend more than $300 of her own money to buy training gear she could work with. The fakery, she said, included bags with large Nike logos on the front, and zippers with "Adidas" on them. "It s good news for us," the head of the Egyptian delegation in London, Maj. Gen. Ahmed Fouly, said following the announcement. "I thank them for this effort." Nike s official distributor in Egypt said it first learned about the team s counterfeit gear when some of the athletes approached them to exchange sizes. "We sent a notification to (Egypt s) Olympic committee and they didn t take it seriously," said Shaher el-Shafei, marketing director for the distributor, Allied Trading and Consultancy. El-Shafei said they offered to sell the team outfits that included a tracksuit, T-shirt, socks, a pair of shoes and flip-flops for about $215 each, while the Chinese distributor sold the same for about $90 each. Egypt s Sports Federation set up a committee to investigate the counterfeit clothes and the country s chief prosecutor was investigating the case. Fouly rejected the notion that going public with the fake goods was intended to pressure Nike into handing the gear over for free. "For Nike, this is very good," Fouly noted. He added that Egypt s government had offered to pay for the gear on Thursday, but Nike then said it would provide it all for free. Nike s shipment isn t due to arrive in London until Saturday.

Turkish boxing official dies in London

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Olympic boxing official Garip Erkuyumcu of Turkey was found dead in his London hotel room, the International Boxing Association said Friday. "Garip was loved and respected by everyone who knew him and he will be missed by all of us at AIBA," the governing body s president C.K. Wu said in a statement. Turkish Boxing Federation chief Bayram Altug said a colleague found 73-year-old Erkuyumcu dead in his bed on Thursday. A heart attack was suspected but autopsy results were expected to determine the exact cause of death, the Turkish boxing body said. Erkuyumcu was a member of AIBA s refereeing and judging commission and would have been assisting boxing referees at the London Olympics. Erkuyumcu s body would be flown back to Turkey next week, the national federation said.

Badminton players angered by schedule mix-up

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Badminton players have criticized a dramatic, last-minute overhaul of their match schedules at the Olympics, saying that the changes could affect their performance. The Badminton World Federation apologized Friday for the "inconvenience caused" by the revision, made after it became clear that the initial schedule did not meet competition regulations. Badminton organizers had agreed with the IOC to arrange the group-stage games so that top-ranked players would play first against bottom-ranked players. But the initial schedule did not take this into account and, therefore, had to be changed. The new timetable will mean some athletes will have to play two matches in a day, or at other times of day than they originally expected.

Olympics: Tsonga fears early end to medal dream

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France s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga fears his Olympic dream could come to a premature end after the world number six was handed a tricky first round clash against Brazil s Thomaz Bellucci. After two strong showings on his last two visits to Wimbledon, Tsonga is expected to mount a strong challenge for a medal in the Olympic tennis event, which gets underway at the All England Club on Saturday. The 27-year-old became the first player to come from two sets down to beat Roger Federer in a Grand Slam in the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2011 and then reached the last four at the All England Club earlier this month before losing to Andy Murray. With that kind of pedigree, Tsonga could pose a serious threat to tournament favourite Federer and world number two Novak Djokovic, but he is more concerned with his first round opponent. Bellucci, ranked 40th in the world, has never been past the fourth round of a major, but the left-hander has been in good form of late. He reached the semifinals at the Stuttgart Open and won his third career title at Gstaad, beating world number eight Janko Tipsarevic in the final, and Tsonga believes he is in for a tough battle to reach the second round. "It s not a good draw. I know it will be difficult. In the first round I will play a player who is confident and has been playing well the past few weeks," Tsonga said on Friday. "At least I feel good. I had a good Wimbledon so I m sure I will play well on this surface. I will give my best and I hope I will come back with a medal." Tsonga, an Australian Open finalist in 2008, is competing in the Olympics for the first time and the flamboyant Frenchman admits the experience is a dream come true. With that in mind, he is desperate to conquer his nerves against Bellucci and enjoy a long run. "Playing in the Olympics? It s something crazy for me. I dreamed about it when I was a kid and now I m here. I lived the Olympics from the inside, it s something beautiful." Meanwhile, Tsonga s compatriot Julien Benneteau has set his sights on a revenge mission against Federer. Benneteau was on the verge of a stunning upset of Federer when he stormed into a two-set lead against the Swiss great in the Wimbledon third round this year, only to crumble as the eventual champion hit back to win in five sets. Benneteau, who has been drawn against Russia s Mikhail Youzhny in the opening round, is scheduled to face Federer again in the second round and he said: "It s a difficult first round and if I win I will have a rematch with Roger but we will see. "We know that Roger wants to win the gold in singles, it s one of his major goals this year after Wimbledon and he won that, so it s going to be tough, but you never know." While Benneteau can t start dreaming of downing Federer just yet, Spain s David Ferrer, ranked fifth in the world, believes there will be plenty of shocks at Wimbledon as the event is only played over the best of three sets, meaning even a couple of poor games can be fatal. "There are going to be more surprises," Ferrer said. "It s more difficult to break on grass and in five sets you have more margin. The Olympic Games always bring some surprises." Ferrer s compatriot Nicolas Almagro is just happy to be competing after struggling with a shoulder injury. "This has been a difficult week for me," the world number 10 said. "I have spent most of the time seeing the doctor, trying to heal my shoulder. "It s obvious that if these weren t the Olympic Games, I would have ruled myself out and I wouldn t be here, but this is a tournament I am very excited to play and it is worth the effort."

Fears grow over fate of Syrian city of Aleppo

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International concern was mounting Friday over a looming massacre as Syrian troops bombarded the besieged city of Aleppo with artillery, strafed it with aircraft and pulled in major reinforcements ready to crush the outgunned rebels. The battle is one of the most important of the 17-month-old uprising. With a population of about 3 million, Aleppo is Syria s largest city and commercial hub, a key pillar of support for President Bashar Assad s regime. The rebels controlled several neighborhoods but were facing reports of troops and tanks massing outside the city. The nonstop fighting in Aleppo has already claimed the lives of at least 145 rebels and civilians in the last six days, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay expressed "deep alarm," saying in a statement that the "reported build-up of forces in and around Aleppo, bodes ill for the people of that city ... it goes without saying, that the increasing use of heavy weapons, tanks, attack helicopters and reportedly even jet fighters in urban areas has already caused many civilian casualties." In at least two formerly rebel-held Syrian towns over the summer, al-Qubeir and Houla, hundreds of civilians were killed after pro-regime militias moved in, according to activists. It has been a difficult two weeks for the Syrian government with rebel assaults first on the capital, Damascus, and then on Aleppo, as well as several high-profile defections and a bomb that killed four top security officials. The government, however, struck back and quashed the assault on the capital with a combination of heavy weapons and house-to-house searches. Scores of people were killed. Similar tactics were expected in the coming days to keep Aleppo from falling into rebel hands. "I think there will be a huge massacre in Aleppo," said Michel Kilo, a veteran opposition figure living in exile in Paris. "There will be a terrible revenge against civil society." He said all of Aleppo, once believed to be a regime stronghold, was revolting against Assad s regime. His concerns were echoed by British Foreign Secretary William Hague and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, both of whom called on Assad to immediately halt the attack on Aleppo. "I am deeply concerned by reports that the Syrian government is amassing its troops and tanks around Aleppo, and has already begun a vicious assault on the city and its civilians," Hague said, speaking at the opening of the Olympics in London. "This dire situation illustrates very strongly why the people of Syria needed the UN Security Council resolution we proposed last week." Speaking at the same event, Ban added that "the violence from both sides must stop for the sake of the suffering civilians of Syria." Western nations in the Security Council have been trying to pass a strong resolution condemning Syria and imposing harsher international sanctions. Russia and China have blocked them, citing concerns that they could pave the way for foreign military intervention as was the case in Libya. The threat of Libyan forces retaking the rebel stronghold of Benghazi in March 2011 resulted in a UN-mandated no-fly zone that opened the way for a vigorous NATO bombing campaign. Russia maintains that NATO overstepped its bounds and does not want that to happen in Syria too. As a result, there is little the international community can do to help the rebels surrounded in Aleppo or in other Syrian cities like Hama, Homs, Deir al-Zour and Daraa, where there are daily reports of bombardments and casualties. Activists estimate more than 150 people are killed every day nationwide. July is set to become the bloodiest month of an uprising that activists say has claimed 19,000 lives since it began on March 2011.

UN official: Assad regime could crumble soon

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The UN s outgoing chief observer in Syria said Friday it s just a matter of time before President Bashar Assad s regime crumbles, but that the violence of the civil war could worsen if Syria uses the full force of its military. Maj. Gen. Robert Mood, whose three-month mission in Damascus ended last week, also said the situation in Syria is likely to remain unstable even if Assad s government steps down. "It s impossible to imagine a future in Syria where the current people in power remain in power. So in that view, it s just a matter of time before this regime collapses. And that is how it s supposed to be," Mood told a news conference in Oslo.  That could happen, he said, if more members of the military simultaneously leave the ranks of the government to join the opposition. But Mood also said that if Assad s regime collapses, it might not be the end of Syria s many problems. "That might not be the start of a dialogue. That could easily be the start of a situation that is way worse," he said. Since last week, Syrian rebels have made a run on the country s two largest cities, Aleppo and Damascus. Regime forces have responded with overwhelming firepower, ushering in some of the most serious violence the cities have seen in 17 months of conflict. On Friday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Syria not to launch an offensive against rebels in Aleppo amid reports of an army build-up in that city. "I urge the Syrian government to halt their offensive," Ban said at an Olympics event in London alongside British Foreign Secretary William Hague. "The violence from both sides must stop for the sake of the suffering civilians of Syria." Assad "must call off this assault," said Hague, adding: "This utterly unacceptable escalation of the conflict could lead to a devastating loss of civilian life and a humanitarian disaster." Mood warned that Assad s regime still has great military muscle left to apply in the conflict and that the situation could very well carry on for months or even years. "The government has large military forces that still haven t been used to the full. Even if we in the past few weeks have seen combat helicopters and planes, there is still much (of that) left," he said, according to NTB, the Norwegian national news agency. "When it comes to violence, they have no sense of understanding for what we call proportionality." In Morroco, Foreign Minister Saadeddine El Othmani said in an interview with The Associated Press on Friday that if Assad is removed, a transitional government must reflect Syria s diversity. He said the opposition groups fighting Assad are not unified, so that a transitional government "must unite the maximum number of tendencies ... to avoid civil war and tearing Syria apart." The minister said Morocco will host the next Friends of Syria gathering of Western and Arab nations opposed to Assad, likely in early September. He wants Russia and China, which boycotted previous meetings, to be present. Their backing is needed in the UN Security Council to ramp up pressure on Assad.

Iran begins stockpiling 3-month food supply

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An Iranian news agency is reporting the country has begun to stockpile a three-month supply of foodstuffs for its population. The Friday report by semi-official Mehr quotes deputy industry minister Hasan Radmard as saying the country has been buying wheat, cooking oil, sugar and rice for the food reserve. Radmard said the decision came based on a decree by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in recent weeks. Part of the purchased foodstuffs has already been imported, he added. Iran s trade with other countries has been hindered since the United States and the European Union imposed a banking and insurance embargo on Tehran over its disputed nuclear program. The West suspects Iran is pursuing nuclear weapon, a charge Iran denies.

Egypt's president meets Hamas leader

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Egypt s President Mohammed Morsi met for the first time with Gaza premier Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, an offshoot of Morsi s Muslim Brotherhood movement. Egypt s official news agency MENA quoted Morsi s spokesman Yasser Ali late Thursday as saying that the two discussed "solutions to lift the siege" of the Gaza Strip, as well as efforts toward reconciliation between Hamas and its rival, western-backed Fatah. MENA said that Haniyeh was part of a 16-member delegation which crossed to Egypt from the Rafah border crossing on Wednesday for a three-day visit. He will also meet with new prime minister Hesham Kandil. The meeting was the first between Morsi and Haniyeh since Morsi assumed his post on June 30. Shortly before the visit, Egyptian authorities ordered freer temporary entry into the country for Palestinians, easing long-imposed travel restrictions that hit Gazans in particular. Hamas was jubilant over Morsi s election, hoping the Egyptian leader would help Gaza s flagging economy. Hamas officials in the territory have said that once Morsi settles into his job, they expect him to transform the Gaza-Egypt border crossing into a vibrant cargo route with free trade zones. Analysts believe that creating such a link would keep Hamas in power for years, reviving an economy battered by a blockade imposed by Israel and Morsi s predecessor, Hosni Mubarak, after Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. Haniyeh s visit comes a week after a series of meetings between Egypt s Muslim Brotherhood and Palestinian leaders. Last week, Morsi met Hamas political chief Khaled Mashaal and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The Muslim Brotherhood s top leader, Mohammed Badei also met with the Ramadan Shallah, the head of Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, on Wednesday.

Oil rises on expectations for economic stimulus

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The price of oil climbed for a fourth day on expectations of more efforts by government officials and central bankers to help the global economy. China is planning to pump billions of dollars into housing projects and other infrastructure to support its construction industry. The European Central Bank hinted that more support could be in the works for Europe s debt-ridden nations, while the leaders of Germany and France vowed to do everything they can to keep the eurozone intact. There s also the chance the Federal Reserve could roll out new measures to spark a U.S. economy that grew at a tepid annual rate of 1.5 percent from April through June. Any new government stimulus could reinvigorate consumers and spark spending and borrowing, which would prop up energy demand. "Markets are buoyed right now by expectations that the ECB or the Fed will announce new stimulus measures," said Gene McGillian, a broker and oil analyst at Tradition Energy. The ECB and the Federal Reserve both have meetings next week. Benchmark U.S. crude added 74 cents on Friday to finish at $90.13 per barrel in New York. It gained $2 over the past four days, but still had a decline for the week because of a $3.30 drop on Monday. Brent crude, which sets the price for oil imported into the U.S., added $1.21 to end at $106.47 per barrel in London. The stimulus hopes outweighed fresh reasons for concern about the U.S. economy. U.S. economic growth came in at just 1.5 percent for the second quarter. And a measure of consumer sentiment fell in July as people worried about their job prospects. In other energy futures trading, natural gas prices fell by 9.5 cents to end at $3.01 per 1,000 cubic feet. Heating oil added 2.1 cents to finish at $2.89 per gallon while wholesale gasoline added 7.4 cents to end the week at $2.888 per gallon.

Euro rallies as Germany, France promise action

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Promises from the leaders of Germany and France that they will protect the euro pushed the single currency to its highest point against the dollar in three weeks. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande released a joint statement Friday saying they will do anything they can to stop the 17 countries that use the euro from breaking up. They didn t offer details. The euro has been weakening in recent weeks on fears that Spain may need a bailout. The statement comes a day after European Central Bank head Mario Draghi made similar comments, which also sent the euro higher. The euro jumped to $1.2389 Friday afternoon, its highest point against the dollar since July 6. It was worth $1.2286 late Thursday. The British pound rose to $1.5723 from $1.5690. The dollar fell to 0.9749 Swiss franc from 0.9775 Swiss franc and to 1.0043 Canadian dollar from 1.0097 Canadian dollar. The dollar rose to 78.61 Japanese yen from 78.21 yen.

Gorilla in Prague Zoo accidentally hangs himself

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The zoo officials said in a statement that 5-year-old Tatu was found hanging with a rope around his neck Friday morning in a sleeping room. Spokesman Michal Stastny said all attempts to revive Tatu failed. He said there were no cameras in the room and it is not clear exactly what happened. Mammals curator Pavel Brandl said Tatu likely unbraided one of the dozens ropes the gorillas use in their pavilion for climbing and put a strand around his neck before hanging himself. "It was an accident," Brandl said. He said the ropes are checked daily. Brandl said another gorilla, Kamba, appeared to be trying to help Tatu when zookeepers arrived but "it s hard to say what exactly she was doing." Director Miroslav Bobek said the death was the most tragic event at the zoo since flooding in 2002 killed more than 100 animals. The zoo still has six gorillas, and they are among the most popular animals there. Tens of thousands of people watched Tatu s birth online on May 30, 2007.

Gayle inspires as Windies take command in 1st Test

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Chris Gayle marked his return to five-day cricket by hitting 150 as the West Indies moved past New Zealand s 351 all out on the third day of the opening Test here to build up a healthy lead. At the close, the hosts were 442 for 6 - a lead of 91 - with Gayle and Kieran Powell both hitting centuries before Assad Fudadun and Narsingh Deonarine weighed in with half centuries to give the home side a solid edge as the Black Caps struggled even given some swing from the new ball. Deonarine was still there on 54 with skipper Darren Sammy on eight after Fudadin fell to the bowling of Williamson for 55. Gayle, who was playing his first Test for more than 18 months due to his stand-off with the West Indies Cricket Board following comments he made about officials in a radio interview, smacked 17 boundaries and four sixes as he made his mark in a 206-ball inning before falling to the bowling of Kane Williamson. The 32-year-old enabled the hosts to put on 254 for the first wicket alongside Kieran Powell before Brendon McCullum took the catch in the deep. Earlier, Gayle had brought up his 14th Test ton by smashing Chris Martin for six over midwicket, having earlier hit four successive boundaries off the same bowler. Powell also made a century pull to the boundary through square leg off Neil Wagner before going caught behind for 134 including 22 boundaries and a six of 288 deliveries as Wagner bagged his first Test wicket. But the West Indies carried on regardless of having their openers back in the pavilion as Fudadin and Samuels took them through to 352 for 2 at tea, a run ahead. Martin Guptill laid the foundation for what appeared a solid first innings score for the Black Caps with a spirited 97 but spinner Sunil Narine took a maiden five-wicket haul, finishing with five for 132, to undermine the tourists. Gayle and Powell then set the stage for an exciting denouement. The West Indies have dominated the tourists so far this summer, taking the Twenty20 series 2-0 in which Gayle was awarded man of the series, and the ODI series 4-1 in which Gayle made an aggressive century and half-century.

The wait is over: Olympic opening ceremony starts

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Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins rang a 23-ton bell at the Olympic Stadium Friday to end Britain s seven-year countdown to the London Games and launch an extravagant opening ceremony celebration that included James Bond, the Bard and a Beatle. The show kicked off with a film about the River Thames, followed by a countdown and the release of four balloons carrying the five Olympic rings to the edge of space. The ringing of the giant bell ushered in what promised to be a quirky three-hour journey through British culture and history. Thousands of athletes were set to parade before 60,000 spectators, including Queen Elizabeth II and an A-list of global celebrities. Earlier Friday, Big Ben chimed 40 times, the British Air Force s Red Arrows aerobatic team flashed low over London trailing red, white and blue vapor trails at 8:12 p.m. 2012 on the 24-hour clock and South Korean archers were on target with two world records at Lord s. Seven years after the British capital won the right to host the Olympics, the curtain was finally raised on the 30th edition of the Summer Games. After two days of football preliminaries outside London, the host city held its first Olympic competition Friday archery at the hallowed cricket ground. There was some confusion at the site when people mistakenly thought they could enter the free competition without a ticket. There were no such problems on the pitch, where South Korean archers set the first two world records of London 2012. Im Dong-hyun, who is legally blind, broke his own individual record for 72 arrows and joined Kim Bub-min and Oh Jin-hyek to set a team record for 216 arrows. "This is just the first round, so I will not get too excited by it," Im said. Big Ben, one of the city s most recognizable landmarks, chimed for three minutes in honor of the opening ceremony featuring Queen Elizabeth II and directed by celebrated filmmaker Danny Boyle. Oh, and 70 sheep, 12 horses, 10 chickens and three sheep dogs, among others, with former Beatle McCartney reportedly set to end the three-hour show. The weather office had predicted a dry evening, but a summer shower soaked thousands of spectators just before the ceremony began. In other Olympic news, talks were under way to allow a female judo athlete to compete for Saudi Arabia after the sport s governing federation said she would not be allowed to wear a headscarf in competition. Saudi Arabia, which sent its first two female Olympians to the London Games, had only agreed to let women participate if they adhered to the kingdom s conservative Islamic traditions, including wearing a headscarf. But on Thursday, the International Judo Federation said Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani would not be allowed to wear a headscarf because it was against principles of judo and raised safety concerns. Negotiations are continuing. A South Korean sailing coach was heading home in disgrace before the ceremony even began. The South Korea Sailing Federation said coach Lee Jae-cheol was sent back after being stopped by police for drunk driving after attending a banquet hosted by the mayor of Weymouth outside London. The federation apologized on Lee s behalf. On Saturday, archery was to present its first medals in men s team competition, part of a blockbuster 19-sport schedule on the first full day of competition. One of the biggest events Saturday will be the men s cycling road race featuring Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins and world champion Mark Cavendish, who could help give Britain its first gold medal of the games. "It s a dream team," Cavendish said. "We ve got the first and second of the Tour de France, four guys who won stages at the Tour de France, the British champion, four guys incredibly motivated, four guys incredibly patriotic, incredibly loyal to each other." Other sports included women s basketball featuring the gold medal-favorite United States against Croatia and perennial silver medalists Australia against Britain, and preliminary women s beach volleyball at the Horse Guards Parade. At the Aquatics Centre, Australian Stephanie Rice hoped to repeat her 400-meter individual medley gold medal from Beijing. Other sports included men s bantamweight and middleweight boxing, the dressage portion of three-day eventing in equestrian, fencing, gymnastics, judo, rowing at Windsor outside London, shooting, table tennis, handball and tennis at Wimbledon.

Hashim Amla a bearded batting wonder

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Hashim Amla s triple-century at The Oval did several things for the team and the series: it completely shut England out of the Test and set South Africa up for a magnificent victory, which has in turn given them a fine chance to wrest the No. 1 spot from England. It did something significant for the batsman too: before he began the innings, Amla s Test average was 46.98; when he finished it, the average had climbed to 50.26. For the last few years Amla has played a brand of cricket that clearly proves he is among the top batsmen around today, but it was the unbeaten 311 that finally took his career average beyond the mark that has historically separated the great batsmen from the very good. Finally, in his 60th Test match, Amla s average breached the 50-mark. The way he has been batting over the last few years suggests it will stay there for a long time. It s true that the significance of a 50-plus average has diminished over the last decade, thanks to the overall dominance that batsmen have enjoyed during this period: among the 32 batsmen who have scored 4000-plus runs at 50-plus averages, almost 50% have played a major chunk of their cricket in the 2000s. Given his immense batting talent, though, it feels right that Amla has breached the 50 mark; if anything, it would appear even more incongruous, in this era of batting dominance, if his average stays below 50. He clearly belongs in the elite club. That Amla had to wait 60 Tests for his average to touch 50 is because he had to carry the burden of a poor start in international cricket: in his first 15 Tests, he averaged 25.50, with one century. (Click here for Amla s cumulative numbers in Tests.) Since then, he has been on a tear, averaging more than 60, with 14 hundreds in his last 45 Tests. Another factor that has dampened Amla s overall numbers is the conditions in which he has played the majority of his cricket. South Africa has clearly been the most bowler-friendly country over the last few years: since the beginning of 2004, the batting average in South Africa is 30.07, the lowest among all countries; it s 39.60 in Pakistan, and 35.70 in India. In the 60 Tests that Amla has played, the overall batting average is 32.48; compare that with the numbers in the Tests that, say, Gautam Gambhir has played, and the difference becomes apparent: Gambhir s Test career has also spanned almost the same period, but in the 48 Tests that Gambhir has played in, the overall batting average is almost 10% higher, at 35.66. Add that factor to Amla s batting average, and it goes up from 50.26 to almost 55. (Though admittedly, India s poor bowling attack is also a reason why the averages are high in matches featuring Indians.)Currently Amla averages 58.58 in away or neutral venues (up from 51.34 before the Oval Test) and 43.38 at home - a difference of 15.20. The numbers aren t dissimilar to those of two of his contemporaries, Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers. Smith averages 55.44 overseas and 44.64 at home (difference 10.80), while for de Villiers the corresponding numbers are 60.02 and 40.89 (difference 19.13).

England didn't play like No 1 team, Anderson admits

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England fast bowler Anderson admits team could not handle pressure of defending No 1 Test status.England lost by an innings at The Oval in the first Test of their series against South Africa, which will decide the top ranking. After overtaking India during last summer s 4-0 whitewashing, England have now lost five of their last nine Tests and although a draw against South Africa will keep them at No. 1, their tenure has been far from convincing. England only managed to take two wickets in 189 overs at The Oval, whilst being bowled out twice, with the difference between runs per wicket for each side the biggest in Test history. South Africa can seal the series with victory in the second Test at Headingley, starting on August 2, but Anderson said England will strive to make sure their performance matches up to what is expected of the top team in Tests."When you re trying to become number one in the world, you re trying to chase everyone else down and now we re the ones being chased," Anderson told the Evening Standard. "So it s a different position we re in and maybe we ve not quite come to terms with that yet."It s a different challenge that comes with different pressures. People expect you to win and to play well every week and, in reality, that s not going to happen. You re going to have days or weeks where you re not quite on top of your game and unfortunately, this was one of those weeks. We ll just have to make sure we come back strongly. "It was our goal for a number of years to get to the top of the rankings and when you get there, you want to stay there. We know if we lose the series, we won t stay there. People expect you to play as the number one team in the world and we didn t do that this week." Anderson said that England s batsmen could learn from the performances of Jacques Kallies, who scored an unbeaten 182, and Hashim Amla, whose triple-hundred was the first in Tests by a South African. The bowlers would also attempt to replicate the "intent and aggression" shown by South Africa s attack. "We re a very good unit when we re aggressive and in batsmen s faces and we probably didn t do that as well as we could, even if it s hard to be aggressive when you re bowling at two guys who have scored hundreds," Anderson said. Ian Bell has spoken of the need for England s players to discuss what went wrong during the first Test and Anderson reiterated that the squad would be frank with each other in trying to improve their showing in Leeds. "We re an open and honest dressing room and we re critical of each other, constructively," he said. "After a game like that, everyone is encouraged to speak their mind and there is no bullshit. "It s something Andy Flower brought in when he became coach and it s something that s helped us improve. Andy encourages everyone to speak, whether they have played one Test or 100. When I started playing, that wasn t the case. There would be a few senior voices in the dressing room and that would be it, and maybe that s why we weren t as successful then. "Now the honesty we have and the respect we have for each other means that when someone speaks, everyone listens, no matter who they are. We don t sit there for hours talking drivel. It could be 10 minutes, it could be half an hour but then it s done. You move on and you focus on what you can do better at Headingley." England have announced ahead of the second Test that the fast bowlers Steven Finn and Graham Onions will be available for Middlesex and Durham, respectively, in their Championship matches starting on Friday. Ravi Bopara, the current incumbent at No. 6, can play for Essex against Worcestershire in the CB40 on Sunday, the same day that England will name their squad for Headingley.

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Cricket - Sports

Saturday, July 28, 2012

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