And as Mark Butcher followed him back to the pavilion after the first ball rendered him apparently incapable
And as Mark Butcher followed him back to the pavilion after the first ball rendered him apparently incapable of co-ordinating his limbs, Holding murmured, in a tone that suggested he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing, "How do you play a delivery like this? Impossible. Michael Holding, who inspected the surface in his stead, could have used a marrow. It was less like a cricket pitch than the surface of the moon interrupted by brief outbursts of grass.After the toss, Brian Lara, was asked what he thought of it. There was a pause while he weighed the demands of truth and diplomacy "We have to wait and see," he concluded. He battled to lead all scorers with 20 points.Amaechi's first field basket capped a 10-2 run to give Sheffield a 26- 23 lead and Michael Payne's three- pointer took them 31-30 ahead.Eric Burks and Ryan Cuff tore Sharks defence to shreds in a 12-0 run which they extended to 22-5 to lead 52-36 at the interval. Leopards gave Sharks a three minute start to the second half, being out-scored 7-0 and Sheffield stayed within 12 points in the third quarter to trail 65-57.- Richard Taylor. Not content with a performance in the middle that should by rights bring him sport's first Victoria Cross, Alec Stewart also came up with the line of the week at the press conference that followed the abandonment of the first Test in Kingston (Sky Sports 2, BBC1).
Black and blue, he sat down and announced, "I look like a lady who's just appeared in a French courtroom," referring to Geoff Boycott's conviction across the Channel this week for using his girlfriend for battering practice. Boycott's subsequent ditching by the TV people meant that we were deprived of his famous key insertions into the wicket before battle commenced. The physical contact owed more to the Five Nations, but the Leopards survived the scrum at the Brentwood Leisure Centre last night to earn an 86-77 win that puts them joint top of the Budweiser League with London Towers. John White sliced through Sheffield's defence for 11 points out of a first quarter lead of 21-16, while on defence Makeeva Perry and Robert Youngblood were psyched up for John Amaechi's first game in the capital's hinterland since returning to England. Youngblood's aerial block sent the 6ft 10in Amaechi clattering into the basket support, but the England centre took the wake-up call. "Things that have gone on in that meeting today are nothing short of disgraceful."Hetherington, who is also a member of the Super League board of directors, denied any personal motive. "International board business is closely linked with Super League business and our rationale was simply that Britain's one representative should be someone with day-to-day involvement with Super League," he said.- Dave Hadfield. The vote went 15-14 in favour of a motion from Gary Hetherington of Leeds, seconded by Chris Caisley of Bradford, that Super League should nominate the international board representative, falling one vote short of the 16 needed to make the change."If it was an attempt to drive me out of the game, it has failed," he said.The row with which the meeting ended will only deepen the perception of a game divided."The game is not capable of withstanding much more of this conflict and division," said Sir Rodney, whilst the First and Second Division Association, whose clubs, with three exceptions, supported him, called for a judicial review of what it's general manager, Bob Scott, called "the way in which the game is being manipulated."There is a sinister and insidious campaign being waged against the Chairman of the League," said Scott. The chairman of the Rugby League, Sir Rodney Walker, has survived by a single vote an attempt to unseat him from the game's international board as hostilities flared again between him and Super League.
The ideological split between the two camps opened wide again last night at the meeting of the Rugby League Council in Leeds when Super League clubs staged what their lower division counterparts termed "an ambush". Sir Rodney, who ousted Maurice Lindsay from his position as chief executive of the Rugby League earlier this month, called the effort "an unnecessary and disgraceful attempt to humiliate me".He said: "It is the first time in the history of the game that there has been any suggestion that the chairman of the Rugby League should not be this country's representative in the international arena."I think people will be shocked that such an attempt should have been made today."Sir Rodney described the move as "orchestrated" in that it came after two clubs had left the meeting. I plunged backwards into the shallow warmth of the paddling pool, whereupon a collision with a girl paddling a float in the shape of a giant frog caused me to scramble, splutteringly, to my feet.No way I would want to be out there on a day like this. No siree.A small boy in goggles leapt off the side of the pool towards me, creating an explosion of noise and spray. There was no question about it - when it came to football, absence made the heart grow fonder.Recently I found myself following a Sunday morning football game through the window of an indoor pool I was visiting with my daughter I know. Wiping the water from my forehead and eyes, I thought once again how glad I was not to be out on that pitch...Actually it was then that I was caught by another little wave - nostalgia.Shortly before the end of the match, the side defending the nearest end conceded a goal, and there was something about the slumped shoulders of the defenders as they straggled back upfield for the kick-off which registered on me.Soon afterwards, those same players were fetching down the nets, the smaller ones wobbling about on the shoulders of their taller team-mates, before returning to the changing-rooms like a tribe - the Mud People It was a glimpse of a tribe I missed belonging to..
In 1987, when Tottenham Hotspur eventually lost 3-2 to Coventry City, I was engaged in a behind- the-scenes type feature of the occasion which meant, basically, that I couldn't just sit down and watch the game because I had to busy myself around the stadium.As the match began, I was being given a guided tour of the turnstiles, and when a huge roar issued from within - Clive Allen having put Spurs ahead after two minutes - I will never forget the sound of the fans' pounding against one of the perimeter doors. But there we are.Aligning myself unobtrusively with one of the sub-aquatic heating vents, I was able to look out upon the rainswept, windblown figures busying themselves in the visible segment of play with some smugness.Did I wish I were out there? No fear No thanks. As the roars from inside the ground rose, so did the urgency of the supporters' requests.At that moment, as far as those fans were concerned, the game - which turned out to be a decent 1-1 draw, dignified primarily by a well-struck equaliser from Robbie Fowler - was a pouting temptress.When that situation is replicated on FA Cup final day, the emotions are supercharged. As the barrier heaved and shifted under the pressure, I felt like a besieged mediaeval personage.Not too long afterwards, Coventry equalised, and once again thwarted fans made their impression on the Wembley woodwork, although this time their chanting had a different regional bias. The winger has the ball, he's beaten the full-back, and over comes the... housing estate.There is a line in Philip Larkin's Whitsun Weddings where rail travellers en route to London sight "someone running up to bowl".That phrase expresses the tantalising nature of these fleeting shows - you don't get to see the outcome of the match, probably not even a passage of play.I confess there have been times when such sporting excerpts have caused me to crane my head along carriage windows or, shamingly, to rubberneck at the wheel of my car.The logical extension of this argument holds good.
If restricted access stokes up the appreciation for a sporting event, potential or actual exclusion can drive people to a frenzy of interest.Arriving late for West Ham's match against Liverpool earlier this season, I witnessed a fervent discussion outside the Boleyn Ground between a tout and a group of home fans. Worth thinking about... "Cargo dangerous through infestation." A ship carrying groundnuts and wheat dumps its cargo at sea because an infestation of kharpa beetle is discovered. Who is liable? The more you read into it, the trickier it gets...Unremarked riches, all demanding examination as the paint dries on the readied brush. Who can say how much appeal the obligation to do otherwise lends to the reading? All you can say is that if you had all day to pore over the papers, you would probably chuck them swiftly on to the recycling pile.Now, God knows, there are plenty of boring football matches. But when you have neither the time nor opportunity to watch properly, the spectacle takes on a special compulsion.Matches spotted while travelling by rail have always intrigued me. CBS Sportsline have a good skating page as part of their Olympic coverage.The US have the two teenage favourites for the gold in the women's figure skating, Tara Lipinski and Michelle Kwan. There's something irresistible about football matches you only glimpse.