Jonny Wilkinson missed England training for Toulon game

Jonny Wilkinson will not be released to join up with England's elite squad when they assemble on 8 August, the fly-half's French club Toulon have confirmed

 

Toulon said Wilkinson "will respect his agreement and be available for the first game of the Top 14 on 13 August".
England boss Martin Johnson is consideration to be happy for Wilkinson to stay in France with Toulon. Johnson also said there had been "close and friendly consultation" with all clubs over player attendance.
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) has an agreement with English clubs over player let go outside the official international windows, but has to discuss individually with French sides. Back row James Haskell and lock Tom Palmer, who play for French team Stade Francais, have also been called up for the week-long England training campsite by Johnson.

Lewis Hamilton thrilled by five-way battle for F1 title

 

Lewis Hamilton says he is keyed up by the intense competition for the Formula 1 drivers' championship - with five men in conflict to win the title.

The top five drivers are divided by 20 points going into the summer break with Red Bull's Mark Webber in top spot after he won the Hungarian Grand Prix.
McLaren's Hamilton told his website: "We'll take up again as if it's the start of the year, with everything to play for.
"None of the top three teams are really behind on points. That's thrilling!"
With seven races to go, Hamilton has 157 points, four points behind Webber, even as Webber's team-mate Sebastein Vettel is third on 151 points, McLaren's Jenson Button is fourth on 147 and Ferrari's fifth-placed driver Fernando Alonso is on 141 points.

Gareth Thomas caps rugby club move with call-up to Wales squad

Gareth Thomas is rest to win his first rugby league cap after being named in Wales's training squad for the Alitalia European Cup.
Thomas, 36, a former British and Irish Lions captain, who won the last of his 100 caps in rugby union at the 2007 World Cup, in his first season of league with Crusaders.
He said,‘It is a great feeling,' 'To be able to stand for Wales in a different sport, in such a short space of time, is a massive, massive honour and achievement for me.'

Cricket: Tendulkar rest to break record

Sachin Tendulkar is set to become the most capped test cricketer while India plays Sri Lanka in the third and final match.
The 37-year-old batting huge, who is the most creative run getter in both tests and one-day internationals and who has the most number of centuries in both versions, will exceed former Australia captain Steve Waugh when he plays his 169th test.
"It has been a very long journey. The 169th test. I still remember the first test match that I played against Pakistan," Tendulkar said today. "Very happy that I have had the freedom of such a long journey at international level and this was my dream. To play for India was my dream and getting to play 169 test matches is unbelievable."

TEST APPEARANCES - ALL TIME LEADERS

168 - Sachin Tendulkar (India)
168 - Steve Waugh (Australia)
156 - Allan Border (Australia)
146 - Ricky Ponting (Australia)
145 - Shane Warne (Australia)
141 - Rahul Dravid (India)
140 - Jacques Kallis (South Africa)
134 - Mark Boucher (South Africa)

Death a twice loss for rugby and cricket

Eric Tindill, the only man to play tests for New Zealand in both cricket and rugby, and preside in a test in both, has died in Nelson. He was 99 years old.
At the same time as others have become known as double rugby-cricket internationals though appearing only in tour games as different from tests in one or the other sport, Tindill was single in his four-strong achievements.
A halfback or first five-eighths for Wellington, Tindill played 16 matches for the All Blacks, include one test, a 13-0 loss to England at Twickenham in 1936.
Fourteen years later he was refereed three tests, two between the All Blacks and the British Lions, and then one against Australia in 1955. Tindill played five cricket tests as a wicketkeeper-batsman between 1937 and 1947, his first appearance against England at Lord's. His first-class career spanned 18 seasons.

Andrew Flintoff lined out for rest of the spell by Lancashire

England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff leftovers hopeful of making his long-awaited comeback from injury but has not set himself a timescale after his domestic season was ended in advance without him playing a match.
The 32-year-old has not played since the the final Ashes Test nearly a year ago, after which he underwent two operations on his right knee and his comeback for Lancashire 2nd XI this week was aborted as a defensive measure.
His province have ruled him out for the remainder of the domestic season - which in reality is only six weeks - in order for him to continue treatment work.This latest delay also rules him out of next month's Twenty20 Champions Trophy in South Africa where he was due to play for Chennai Super Kings.

Colombo test:India draw with Sri Lanka

Second Test, Colombo:

 

 

Captain Kumar Sangakkara made 42 not out to turn his side to safety, the hosts reaching 129-3 when the two teams decided to shake hands.India had finally been bowled out for 707 in their first innings close to the end of the morning session, giving them a fine first-innings lead of 65.

conversely they simply didn't have enough time to force a positive result, meaning Sri Lanka stay 1-0 up in the series with one Test to play.

India Keep stay the best in Tests:

 

India remain top of the International Cricket Council Test ratings next their draw in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo. India are now 11 points clear of second-placed South Africa and will remain top of the rankings irrespective of the outcome in the third Test.

The ICC finished their annual update of the ratings which will now see India remain at the top of the table until the end of their current series which ends on August 7, when the ratings will again be updated.

Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag balanced India

Second Test, Colombo,(day three):

Sachin Tendulkar hit his 48th Test century and Virender Sehwag made 99 to boost up India's hopes of avoiding defeat in the second Test against Sri Lanka. India, chasing 642-4 declared, began well until Sehwag fell to Suraj Randiv, just one run withdrawn of a 21st Test ton.

Murali Vijay (58) and Rahul Dravid (3) were both out in quick sequence. But Tendulkar's stylish 108 not out in an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 141 with debutant Suresh Raina (66*) helped India to 382-4 by close of play.

Scoreboard:

Sri Lanka 642-4 dec v India 382-4

Sachin Tendulkar* 108(181)

Suresh Raina* 66(133)

One major finally in hand, Creamer wants more

Paula Creamer still plays with bandage. What she no longer plays with is a weight.

Even though Creamer won't turn 24 until a week from Thursday, after she returns from Royal Birkdale and the final LPGA Tour major of this year, few other players so youthful have received so much inspection for failing to win a major.

At least that's one difficulty she won't face this week at the Women's British Open.
Paula Creamer of USA plays on the fifth hole through the third round of the Evian Masters women's golf tournament in Evian, eastern France, Saturday, July 24, 2010. Creamer still plays with a bandage, which proved easier than playing with a burden. The 23-year-old American no longer faces questions regarding when she will win a major.

World Badminton Championships 2011 coming soon

The 2011 BWF World Championships will take place in London, offering badminton fans a sneak preview of the world’s top players in the countdown to the 2012 London Olympic Games. Hosted by BADMINTON England, the BWF World Championships will be played at the world-famous Wembley Arena from 8 -14 August, 2011.

China is currently the most successful nation in the history of the World Championships with 49 titles since 1977 (excluding 2010), but the Chinese are expected to be pushed all the way by players from Denmark, Indonesia, Korea and Malaysia. They will be joined by players from the host nation who will be out to impress ahead of the 2012 London Olympic Games. Top stars such as Nathan Robertson and Anthony Clark will lead the charge in the men’s doubles, and rising talent like Rajiv Ouseph and Andrew Smith will be battling to make their mark on home soil.

England won one gold and two silver medals at the 2006 Championships in Madrid, Spain with Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms securing the gold medal and Anthony Clark becoming one of few players in the world ever to win two medals in the same World Championships. The BWF World Championships is an annual event except in the year of the Olympics and the 2010 edition will be played in Paris, France, in August.

Galle 2nd Test: Sangakkara & Paranavitana take SL as control

Captain Kumar Sangakkara and Tharanga Paranavitana struck their second successive centuries as Sri Lanka took firm control of the second cricket Test against India in Colombo on Monday. Sangakkara (130 not out) notched up his 23rd Test century while Paranavitana (100) scored his second ton as the Lankan batsmen piled up the agony on a listless India by reaching a commanding 312 for two at close on the opening day.

The Indians, who desperately need to win the match to level the three-match series and retain their number one position, put up a rather pathetic bowling display to allow the hosts to get off to a flying start. Mahela Jayawardene (13) was giving Sangakkara company at stumps as the hosts dominated on a very good batting track at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground.

Electing to bat, the two Lankan openers Tillakaratne Dilshan (54) and Paranavitana provided a rollicking start to the innings, capitalising on some wayward and insipid bowling by the Indians.The depleted Indian bowling attack, badly missing the services of pace spearhead Zaheer Khan, just did not ball in the right areas to pose much problems for the hosts who scored at a brisk pace right through the day.

The National Lottery's London 2012 Games Hot Air Balloon Takes Off

From the heart of the Olympic Park, The National Lottery today launched its London 2012 Games hot air balloon, which will embark on a nationwide tour this summer.

Lifting off at the Olympic Park, the hot air balloon took its first tethered flight with Olympic canoeing gold medallist, Tim Brabants, Olympic gymnastics bronze medallist, Louis Smith and Olympic 400m hurdles bronze medallist, Tasha Danvers onboard. The hot air balloon will visit cities throughout the UK, giving members of the public the chance to fly in the balloon, accompanied by elite athletes.
Over £25 million a week is raised by Lottery players for projects across the UK that make a real difference to people’s lives. The National Lottery is contributing up to £2.2 billion to fund the infrastructure and the venues for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and their legacy, as well as enabling around 1,400 talented British athletes to benefit from world-class coaching and support through UK Sport's World Class Performance Programme.

Peter Keen, Director of Performance at UK Sport, said: “Lottery funding has changed the face of sport in the UK and has contributed to a total of 438 Olympic and Paralympic medals for Great Britain since 1997. The hot air balloon tour is a great way for the public to meet local elite athletes, and for those athletes to be able to thank Lottery players for their support.”

Australia skid to fourth place in ICC Test rankings

Leeds: Australia has slipped to fourth place in the ICC rankings after drawing a Test series against Pakistan at England. Leeds defeat was Australian captain Ricky Ponting's first Test loss against Pakistan.The loss at leading, combined with Sri Lanka's crushing victory over India in the teams' first Test at Galle, has resulted in Australia shedding three ratings points and dropping from third in the Test rankings to fourth with 116 points, replaced by Sri Lanka, who moved from 115 points to 119.