“Our defence now has an air of flair and stability,” Souyave said.The midfield, often including two more teenagers, Lucilla Wright and Carol Voss, has also looked impressive.ENGLAND SQUAD (World Cup qualifying tournament, Harare, Zimbabwe, 1-12 August): M Davies (capt), J Sixsmith (both Sutton Coldfield), K Bowden, P Miller, J Mould, C Voss (all Leicester), K Brown, L Copeland, M Nicholls, J Smith (all Slough), T Cullen, C Reid (both Hightown), J Empson (Canterbury), H Rose (Univ of Massachusetts), D Marston-Smith (Clifton), L Wright (Olton Terraquest). Taken out of the midfield, Bowden has teamed up with the evergreen Karen Brown at full-back. Hockey
Maggie Souyave, the England coach, has maintained her faith in youth with the squad announced yesterday for next month’s World Cup qualifying tournament in Harare, writes Bill Colwill.
Souyave has kept together the side which returned from South Korea on Sunday having so narrowly been squeezed out of the prize-money in the Six Nations Cup.The England coach is particularly pleased with the progress of 19-year- old Kirsty Bowden. Replacements: M Caputo, M Brial, M Cockbain, S Payne, D Herbert, S Larkham, A Blades, M Hardy, E Flatley.. The full-back Matthew Burke and centre Jason Little return from injury at the expense of Stephen Larkham and Daniel Herbert.AUSTRALIA (v England, Sydney, Saturday): M Burke; J Roff, J Little, J Holbeck, B Tune; T Horan, G Gregan; T Coker, D Manu, B Robinson, D Wilson; J Eales (capt), G Morgan; C Blades, M Foley, E McKenzie (one from Coker, Manu, Robinson or Wilson to be omitted). I wanted them to know that we [the Australian selectors] were disgusted with what happened.”The uncapped prop Cameron Blades, hooker Michael Foley and lock Garrick Morgan have been drafted into the side to add scrummaging power for the match at the Sydney Football Stadium.
Rugby Union
Greg Smith, the Australia coach, told his players to show more aggression after making six changes for the one-off Test against England on Saturday.
Smith, “disgusted” by his side’s performance in their 30-13 defeat by New Zealand in Christchurch last Saturday, criticised the forwards, with the front row bearing the brunt of his anger.Smith said: “I don’t believe we did justice to ourselves. Selected: 32 M Sciandri (GB) La Francaise des Jeux +16sec.Overall standings: 1 Cipollini (It) Saeco, 16hr 10min 12sec; 2 Zabel (Ger) Telekom +14sec; 3 C Boardman (GB) GAN +27; 4 J Ullrich (Ger) Telekom +29; 5 F Vandenbroucke (Bel) Mapei +33; 6 A Olano (Sp) Banesto +37; 7 L Jalabert (Fr) ONCE +39; 8 P Lino (Fr) Big Mat +52; 9 F Moncassin (Fr) GAN +55; 10 O Camenzind (Swit) Mapei +55; 11 P Luttenberger (Aut) Rabobank +56; 12 D Rebellin (It) FDJ +57; 13 D Nardello (It) Mapei +1min 05sec; 14 J-C Robin (Fr) US Postal Service +1:08; 15 F Andreu (US) Cofidis +1:11; 16 R Virenque (Fr) Festina s/t; 22 B Riis (Den) Telekom +1:32 Selected: 36 M Sciandri (GB) La Francaise des Jeux +2:10.. With riders climbing out of ditches on both sides of the road, the tangle of bodies and bikes cleared to reveal Switzerland’s Tony Rominger, fourth overall, with a “complex fracture” of his right collar-bone.TOUR DE FRANCE Third stage (224km, Vire to Plumelec): 1 E Zabel (Ger) Telekom 4hr 54min 33sec; 2 F Vandenbroucke (Bel) Mapei; 3 B Riis (Den) Telekom; 4 L Jalabert (Fr) ONCE; 5 D Rebellin (It) La Francaise des Jeux; 6 A Olano (Sp) Banesto; 7 J-C Robin (Fr) US Postal; 8 J Ullrich (Ger) Telekom; 9 L Dufaux (Swit) Festina; 10 P Chanteur (Fr) Casino; 11 R Virenque (Fr) Festina; 12 B Hamburger (Den) TVM; 13 P Luttenberger (Aut) Rabobank; 14 L Brochard (Fr) Festina; 15 C Boardman (GB) GAN; 16 A Elli (It) Casino; 17 V Ekimov (Rus) US Postal; 18 P Lino (Fr) Big Mat; 19 F Escartin (Sp) Kelme; 20 S Heulot (Fr) La Francaise des Jeux all same time. His team manager, Antonio Salutini, was again fined SFr1,000 for allowing it to happen.Cipollini also lost out in an intermediate sprint snatched by Zabel, who is back in the green jersey of the leading points scorer, which he carried to the final podium in Paris last year.During the last 30 kilometres Francois Simon set off on a solo run, doubtless inspired by racing through Saint-Meen-le-Grand, the birthplace of Louison Bobet who twice won the Tour.The Frenchman’s quest for glory ended five kilometres from the finish, but he missed the mass pile-up that split the field. Cipollini collects nicknames as often as he changes the colour of his racing shorts, but that short hill to the chequered flag took the snarl out of his power finishing.Officials also took 200 Swiss francs (pounds 90), the currency of world cycling, from his wallet for a third day for wearing shorts that matched his leader’s jersey instead of the regulation black. Cycling
Erik Zabel yesterday achieved the breakthrough that the sprinters of the Tour de France had sought since Mario Cipollini’s yellow shadow fell over the race three days ago.
For once the fast-finishing Italian was not hovering as Zabel forced his way to the front in an uphill sprint at Plumelec to win the 224-kilometre leg from Vire, and pose a new threat to Cipollini’s reign.The Tuscan’s overnight advantage of 36 seconds over Chris Boardman melted to 14 seconds clear of Zabel, the German team-mate of the 1996 Tour winner Bjarne Riis, who took third yesterday.Britain’s yellow-jersey for a day cut his losses to 27sec on Cipollini, and Boardman is third overall after finishing in the same time as Zabel and 18 others at this Breton town.Cipollini was 11sec adrift as Zabel picked up 26 crucial seconds with a sprint that had until now failed to tame the man who likes to be known as the “Lion King”.
There have been a couple of times when I have feared for my safety.”n Wayne Grady, who was involved in a three-way play-off at the 1989 Open at Royal Troon, has withdrawn from next week’s Open championship No reason has been given.. “I don’t know if alcohol creates a problem, but in baseball they have banned the sale of alcohol after three o’clock. Norman, who was involved in an incident at the Kemper Open when he thought a spectator told him to “chunk it in the water”, is concerned that crowds are not so much fuelled by Tigermania as booze “I have seen a change over the last few years,” he said. I think it is great the support you get when you come back home to Scotland.”Norman thinks Scottish fans are “the best in the world” and lamented the sort of gallery at Congressional which so disturbed Monty. I am playing well enough to enjoy myself, and in most walks of life, if you enjoy what you are doing, you are usually quite good at it.
There are expectations on me here, but I have never backed away from that. “Somebody upstairs didn’t want me to win that day,” Monty said.”I am not thinking any further forward than tomorrow and I will go out there to enjoy myself. Monty was scuppered by Peter O’Malley, seven under for the last five holes, in the 1992 Scottish Open. By then, Montgomerie had completed his preparations, which probably need not have been anything more taxing than slipping on a video of his last- round 62 in retaining the Irish Open on Sunday.Montgomerie was fourth in the inaugural event here last year, five behind Thomas Bjorn, but no Scot has won in Scotland since Ken Brown at the Glasgow Open in 1984. Lehman, after a lie-in, headed out for his first practice round at four o’clock yesterday after telling his wife he would be back at nightfall.
“The beds were not big enough,” the 6ft 3in South African said. “It was either Liezl [his girlfriend] sleeping on the floor, or me.”After two weeks off since following up his victory at Congressional by winning the Buick Classic, Els has been working hard to regain his touch. Els had to move rooms three times in his hotel on Tuesday night. Vijay Singh did not make it past immigration at Miami Airport as his visa has run out and he had to withdraw. No wonder Norman is swapping his Gulfstream for a Boeing, a transaction that might put his appearance in this tournament in future years in doubt.Some problems of international sportsmen can be identified with more readily. There are other arrangements that can be made, and the sponsors, Gulfstream, offered to fly Lehman, Stewart and Tommy Tolles over from Chicago.They should have left after the Western Open on Sunday night, but mechanical problems on their plane delayed their arrival until Monday evening. Greg Norman, deposed as No 1 by Tiger Woods’ victory in America at the weekend, US Open champion Ernie Els, Colin Montgomerie, Tom Lehman and Nick Faldo head a line-up which has Jose Maria Olazabal, Ian Woosnam, Bernhard Langer, Seve Ballesteros and Payne Stewart as part of the chorus line.Lyle Anderson, the president of Loch Lomond, insists appearance money, or even the legal “facility fees”, are not being paid.