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The West Indies finally won their first match this tour in the first of back to back 20/20 Internationals.  Having lost against Derbyshire earlier in the week and admitting they hadn’t played much 20/20 it looked odds on that England would continue to turn the screw.  But on an Oval pitch and conditions, which offered the bowlers no swing, the Windies seemed to find the flash and dash approach of 20/20 suited their style.  They rattled off 208-8 and at one point looked like they might beat the 221 record set by Australia in this form of the game.  Funnily enough, that was scored against England as well.  They were helped it has to be said by some mediocre bowling and by new Captain Collingwood failing to keep enough fielders in the ring and conceding a no-ball.

England came out and set about their task with determination, with Prior in particular looking menacing.  But the ususal flurry of early wickets left them chasing over 12 an over from early into the innings and when KP got himself run out it looked all but over.  Incidentally KP managed to roll around for 5 minutes in true Premiership style clutching his knee having dived to try and make his ground.  Fortunately I think this was more due to embarrassment then actual pain.

England did go on to make a fight of it though led by Captain Colly, who made 79.  He was helped it has to be said by Powell who dropped him (Bumble correctly pointing out that Powell himself was the only  person in the ground who was surprised given his fielding record), and also by a poor umpiring decision when he was clearly out LBW.

Although England did lose the match it wasnt until the last few balls that the game was over.  At least then the crowd had some excitement and enjoyed plenty of boundaries and some good cricket.  That’s what this form of the game is designed for and for once it has delivered.  Let’s hope today’s game does the same!

Wimbledon began with the usual script.  A delayed start due to the rain and Britains best hope for years of producing a champion dashed before they even started when Andy Murray withdrew due to his injured wrist.

They continued to follow the well worn pattern when Tim Henman got off to a good start against Carlos Moya and then had to go off due to rain.  When play resumed it became a typical Henman nail biter, going to a final fith set, with Henman keeping the partisan crowd on the edge of their seats.  Then surprisingly it went against script.  Henman won. Yes Henman won.  Instead of bowing to the pressure of the occasion he battled back from 4-2 down in the final set and typically needed 7 match points to win before taking that final set 13-11.

Could it be that when the pressure is off him to a certain degree - he is now ranked 78 in the World - that this will be his year?  A long shot I know, particularly with the awesome Federer looking to make it 50 straight wins on grass today.  But the draw has opened up for him and he is playing another Spaniard in the next round, who despite saying he “loves playing on grass” will not be looking forward to the clash.

What an irony it would be if he were to go all the way this year, when most, (myself included), expected him to fall at the first hurdle.  Time will tell but stranger things have happened - remember Goran’s year - he was a wild card entry and still managed to claw his way to the final and win.  Although of course he did get to play a certain Tim Henman in the semi-final…

Paul Collingwood has predictably been given the job on England One Day captain, which oculd be seen as somewhat of a poisoned chalice.  However, the upside is that it probably can’t get an awful lot worse than the Australia tour and the World Cup.

He is already making the right noises, saying that England need to be more aggressive.  Hopefully then that means the end of Bell taking 20 overs to score 30 runs before getting out, and will mean Pieterson promoted up the order.  One thing is for sure - it has got to the be right approach.  Not forgetting that the game is a spectator sport, there is nothing worse then seeing England go down without so much as a fight, with the exception of KP and Collingwood himself of course.

The old Vaughan/Fletcher theory of attacking in the final 10 overs when the field is out and in most cases we only have  a couple of wickets left and too much to do was clearly flawed - it seems only they couldn’t see it.

Let’s just hope that Collingwood delivers what he is promising.  Time and again England captains and coaches of both cricket and football teams say one thing and deliver something else entirely.

I stayed up until 10:45 on Sunday to watch the US Open final round.  That’s quite late for me on a school night, but I went to bed safe in the knowledge that Angel Cabrera was hoem and dry with a 2 shot lead and only a couple left to play.  He did eventually win by a shot but in a much tighter finish then I might have thought thanks to a course which tested the nerve and skill to the limits.

Having stretched his lead to 3 shots. Cabrera went on to bogie holes 16 and 17 and scramble a par to finish at 5 over par.  With Tiger baring down on him it was odds on a draw at least and the final going on to the Monday.  However, the course defeated even the great Mr Woods, who posted only one birdie in 32 holes and finished 6 over par.

So the question.  Is this the future of golf?  With equipment and technology improving all the time, courses are becoming easier and easier and the pros are used to finishing anywhere above 10 under par.  If they go for a long drive and miss the fairway they are still able to hit the green with their second.  The greens are so receptive that they can knock to within a few feet of the pin and give themselves chance after chance of making birdie or eagle.  Yet put the ball in the right place and you had a chance.  This made for a much better tighter and closer spectacle.  And let’s not forget its the watching public that pay the wages, so the more entertaining it is the better.

Surely its better and cheaper to grow the rough longer and make the greens slicker than it is to lengthen the courses and try and restrict the technology.

I totally disagree with the commentators who said it was bordering on being unfair.  It was a true test and for a high handicapper like myself its truly gratifying to see the pros 3 and 4 putt and struggle to hit the green from the rough.  Lets hope that Carnoustie gives them a true test too.

I stayed up until 10:45 on Sunday to watch the US Open final round.  That’s quite late for me on a school night, but I went to bed safe in the knowledge that Angel Cabrera was hoem and dry with a 2 shot lead and only a couple left to play.  He did eventually win by a shot but in a much tighter finish then I might have thought thanks to a course which tested the nerve and skill to the limits.

Having stretched his lead to 3 shots. Cabrera went on to bogie holes 16 and 17 and scramble a par to finish at 5 over par.  With Tiger baring down on him it was odds on a draw at least and the final going on to the Monday.  However, the course defeated even the great Mr Woods, who posted only one birdie in 32 holes and finished 6 over par.

So the question.  Is this the future of golf?  With equipment and technology improving all the time, courses are becoming easier and easier and the pros are used to finishing anywhere above 10 under par.  if they go for a long drive and miss the fairway they are still able to hit the green with their second.  The greens are so receptive that they can knock to within a few feet of the pin and give themselves chance after chance of making birdie or eagle.  Yet put the ball in the right place and you had a chance.  This made for a much better tighter and closer spectacle.  And let’s not forget its the watching public that pay the wages, so the more entertaining it is the better.

I totally disagree with the commentators who said it was bordering on being unfair.  It was a true test and for a high handicapper like myself its truly gratifying to see the pros 3 and 4 putt and struggle to hit the green from the rough.

Lewis Hamilton made it 2 wins in two races after driving to victory in the American Grand Prix yesterday, and in doing so no doubt increased the tension inside the McLaren camp.

Alonso joined McLaren as World Champion, and is clearly in the best car from a manufacturers perspective.  However, he is struggling to keep up with the dynamic 22 year old Brit and is starting to vent his anger in the media.

His outburst last week where he stated that McLaren were favouring Hamilton because he is British is just the first sign.  He was clearly frustrated this week as well when running on less fuel he caught Hamilton, but Hamilton calmly held the racing line and Alonso was unable to pass.  Frustration mounted and the Spaniard pushed too hard and ultimately lost time by running over the grass.  After that he was probably told to preserve second place in order to give his team the one/two finish.  This means that the new kid on the block has made it 7 podium positions in 7 starts and has a 10 point lead over his team mate.

But does Alonso have reason to complain?

Not in my book he doesn’t.  The public pay a fortune to watch a race and deserve to watch it being fought fairly.  Alonso had the same chances in qualifying as Hamilton to get pole and failed to do so.  Hamilton was well within his rights to maintain the racing line and therefore stop his team mate from over taking and therefore secured his second win. 

Rather than being favoured by McLaren, it may well be that the answer lies elsewhere.  According to Alain Prost, who knows a thing or two, Hamilton is a much smoother driver than Alonso, which means that it is much easier to set his car up. 

To my laymans eyes, they are in identical cars, and Hamilton is quicker.  End of story.  Nobody has a divine right to the World Championships.  If you are quick enough you win.  Maybe Alonso needs to realise that and stop his moaning.

I flicked the Canadian Grand Prix on just in timeto watch the last 2 laps and for once it was perfect timing.  Lewis Hamilton was in the process of making F1 history, winning his first Grand Prix and extending his 100% record of podium positions, making it 6 out of 6 in his rookie year.

He is keen to try and play down his chances of becoming World Champion at the first attempt, but he clearly has the talent and nerve to do so.  Although never really seriously challenged he had to contend with 4 safety car periods and could have been forgiven for thinking that each time his lead was cut back, it might not be his day.  But it was his day and could also be his season. 

It should make for some interesting dynamics for the next race, with Alonso the current World Champion and number 1 McClaren driver now 8 points behind Hamilton having finished 7th.  Following all the talk after the last race about Hamilton being told to let Alonso win and so secure maximum constructor points, I can’t see Hamilton readily doing the same again (although it has to be mentioned they were cleared of any wrong doing of course).  In fact, as Alonso will no doubt be getting first choice on any enhancements and modifications, if he finishes behind Hamilton in the next race, there could be a major upset within the ranks.  It would prove or at least give a strong hint that Hamilton is a much better driver than Alonso and would therefore no doubt give the Spaniard and Ron Dennis the McClaren boss food for thought.  Would he want to continue with Alonso as his number 1 driver or would he back his prodigy to the hilt.

If nothing else this season has proved that Dennis knows talent when he sees it, having sponsored Hamilton since he was a teenager.  Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though - it is still his rookie season and he is still only 22, but if he doesn’t make it this year then surely its only a matter of time before he becomes the next British World Champion. 

Sorry Jenson Button and David Coulthard, but it looks as though its time for a new era.

Frankie Dettori finally claimed his first Derby on Saturday on the massive favourite Authorized.  All the pre-race chatter was about the little Italian, which is normally a bad sign, but he managed to live up to the hype, as did Authorized, romping home by a country mile, much to the disgust of the bookies.

He compounded their misery 24 hours later, winning the French Derby on on Sunday riding another short odds favourite Lawman.  Like red buses. You wait for years and then two come along at once…

The double Derby result is estimated to have cost the bookies around £100M, which I’m sure will upset nobody other than the bookies themselves.  After winning all 7 races on the card a few years back when he again cost them a  fortune, I suspect that Mr Ladbrookes et al can’t wait for the little man to retire.

So the first international at the New Wembley kicks off tonight at 8:00pm and most would have thought that the new stadium would have seen the beginning of a new era.  However, struggling for confidence it would seem, McCaren has gone full circle and the line up will resemble that of the last one Sven put out as will the tactics no doubt.

McClaren will be relieved that Michael Owen has fought his way back to fitness (imagine if he gets injured tonight!), and has to my mind made the right decision in recalling Beckham.  I said on many occasions on this and on my myspace blog he should never have been dropped from the squad in the first place.

Beckham was a victim of a media hell bent on removing him from the team and blaming him for any poor performance. with a view to getting Aaron Lennon into the team and BBC Pundit Ian Wrights adoptive son Sean Wright-Phillips.  Need  I say more.

Clearly short of confidence after the World Cup, it was understandable that Beckham resign the captaincy, but McClaren should have left him in the squad and therefore avoided an embarrassing U-turn.  Instead he has tried unsuccessfully to ring the changes.  Love him or not though you have to respect the way that Beckham has made McClaren reconsider.  With his money and in the twilight of his career he clearly still loves playing for his country.  Unfortunately you don’t get that impression from a few of the other players.

One final point on tonights team. Why oh why is he persisting with Gerrard and Lampard?  Shurely he has seen enough to know that they cannot play together - I thought in the last match he showed that he had made his decision and the right one by going with Gerrard.  But it would appear that Lampard was injured afterall and that McClaren had not made a decision and dropped him.

Not a great start so far for the new England boss - the big decisions he has made he has retracted and he seems incapable of making any others and sticking to them.  Let’s hope it all comes good tonight and next week against Estonia  - but I have my doubts.