Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Sports World |
| Posted: 02 Nov 2010 07:11 AM PDT Bradford Bulls are used to breaking records for all the right reasons but the 2010 Super League certainly didn't follow in that suit. After years of success in the top tier of British Rugby League, Bradford had a season of turmoil and couldn't buy a win towards the end of the season. Steve McNamara was released to take charge of the England national team after losing eight straight games and the team didn't perform throughout the season meaning they missed out on the super league play-offs for the first ever time. After the Bulls' worst ever season in the top flight, those over at rugbyboots.net were aware that changes had to be made to ensure the club improved on and off the pitch and the board soon got their act together and drew up some very ambitious and solid plans. As Bradford prepare for the 2011 season they look to be in good shape as the new arrivals have benefitted not just the playing staff but the coaching staff too with the appointment of Mick Potter as head coach. Something of a coup after Potter guided St Helens to back-to-back grand finals. Also after not having a strong enough squad to compete for the top eight last season, Potter made sure he used all his contacts to attract the very best players on the market to come and play for him at Odsal. He looks to have done that with ease and the squad is shaping up to be a strong group of players who have the talent and potential to make an impact on Super League's elite next season. Chev Walker looks set to reignite his career after a horrific leg break at Hull KR and Gareth Raynor looks set to revive his work in rugby after a spell in prison. Potter has also handed Championship player Shad Royston the chance to prove himself amongst the very best players in the country and Bryn Hargreaves joins the coach at Bradford from St Helens. Bradford needs some big presence in the forward line and have added Olivier Elima from Catalans to their squad for the forthcoming campaign and given former Wigan winger Shaun Ainscough the chance to continue his impressive scoring record on the wing. The best signing Potter has made since his arrival at Odsal is the addition of Matt Diskin who has joined from Yorkshire rivals Leeds Rhinos. Diskin is one of the best hookers in English rugby and was a loyal servant at Headingley but needed a fresh career move and there's no better club to join if it's a challenge a player wants. The biggest disappointment for Potter is the loss of Steve Menzies who has despite his age shown a lot of commitment and desire when donning the Bulls jersey and was a big hit with the fans. The Bulls will also have to fill the void left by Matt Orford if they want to create chances after he showed a lack of loyalty and asked to be released from his contract. The Bulls new signings may take time to gel and perform as a team but once they do click they are sure to be a handful for most sides and are sure to put the disappointment of 2010 behind them with a solid performance in 2011.  |
| Is Graeme Swann the key to an England Ashes victory? Posted: 02 Nov 2010 02:27 AM PDT There are several cricketing plaudits who have tipped England to retain the Ashes in the latest series which starts later this month in Australia. However, most have added a caveat to their predictions by adding England will win provided Graeme Swann stays fit and bowls at his best down under. It must have been very unnerving for them and for all English cricket fans for that matter therefore, when they learned that the brilliant off spinner had damaged a finger on his bowling hand during net practice at the weekend. The players and staff have been quick to confirm that the injury is not too serious and needed only minor strapping and that Swann was almost certain to play in the forthcoming warm up match against West Australia on Friday. Swann is undoubtedly pivotal to England's chances of bringing back the urn from Australia for the first time since 1987. Since making his Test debut against India in December 2008, the 31 year old has gone on to play in 24 test matches, taking 113 wickets for just 26.55 runs apiece, he is currently ranked as the best spin bowler in the world and the second best bowler in the world of any kind. He has become the real talisman of the England team over the last year or so. He has taken five wickets in a test match nine times already, including twice against Pakistan in the recent 3-1 series victory in England. He also took a ten wicket haul earlier in the year against Bangladesh finishing with match figures of 10/217. His performances this year earned him the ECB cricketer of the year award. In the 2009 Ashes series in England, Swann easily proved himself to be the best spinner of either side, taking 14 wickets at an average of 40, he also took seven Australian wickets in the recent five match ODI series also played in England, which the home team won by 3-2. What makes Swann such a danger as well as a potential Ashes series winner is his ability to know when to attack. He appears to have discovered more ways to dismiss batsmen than other off-spinners, which he continues to prove time and time again. He has a phenomenal ability to bowl very quick off-spin without ever losing the spin on the ball, which only very few off-spin bowlers have managed to achieve; this quick ball has become a key weapon in his comprehensive armoury. He is also a great studier of batting technique and the Australian batsmen can be certain that he will have spent long hours looking for their weaknesses and that he will know when best to expose them. Although Australia are odds on favourites to win the series, Swann is the favourite in both the England Top Bowler and the Series Top Bowler markets to take the most wickets. He is also a good looking bet to be the first England player to achieve a five wicket haul in the series. It should also be noted that Swann, certainly at County level is regarded as a genuine all rounder who has proven himself as a good quality test batsman too. He averages over 25 with the bat currently, but against Australia in the 2009 series he averaged a very respectable 35.57 with a top score of 63 made in the fourth test. In fact Swann scored a total of 249 runs in that series which was only bettered by Andrew Strauss (474), Matt Prior (261) and Paul Collingwood (250). It is easy therefore to see why so many plaudits are tipping Swann to be the Ashes series winner, it just needs the other England bowlers to be a trifle more gentle with him in the nets and avoid hitting those magic fingers, particularly on his bowling hand. In the Ashes odds, Swann is the 5/4 favourite to be England's top bowler across the five tests and 7/2 favourite to out perform Australia's bowlers to be named top ahses series bowler and if he is to play as pivotal a role as many expect, then it may well just be worth a flutter!  |
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