Silverstone expects to the future

Silverstone has submitted plans to additional secure their futurity that has been described as the most significant in the circuit's 60-year history.

Aylesbury Vale District Council and South Northants District Council last week received a comprehensive outline planning application that will transform the Northamptonshire estate if given the green light.

Silverstone has already experiment a track revamp, and this year the fresh £27million pit-and-paddock complex was unveiled.

Even so, in a bid to get one of the leading venues in the UK, the plan now is for a business park, Technology Park, education campus, three hotels, ancillary retail and spectator facilities that include a Welcome Centre and Museum of Motor Sport, also as a kart track and outdoor stage.

Silverstone Holdings Ltd managing director Richard Phillips said: "This is the most important initiative that Silverstone has taken in its 60-year history.

"Approval of this planning application will help maintain Silverstone's position as a leading global centre for sport, leisure, education and technology, and support its vision of becoming a world-leading motor sport destination."

British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC)

Chairman of the British Racing Drivers Club, Stuart Rolt say: "The submission of this planning application is a big step forward in releasing the commercial potential of Silverstone and its 760-acre estate.

"The timing of this planning application is closely linked into the process we are currently undergoing to seek potential investment from third parties that will enable us to move forward with our plans more rapidly."

Rolt and Phillips both confirmed at last month's British Grand Prix that for the development to succeed, outside investment was needed as they could not support such an important financial undertaking.

It is estimated the development will make around 8,400 permanent jobs in the firms and activities pulled to the site, plus an average of around 550 construction jobs per annum throughout the development phase.

India Sorted with West Indies for Under-19 World Cup

India clubbed with West Indies, Zimbabwe and Papua New Guinea for the preliminary phase of the ICC Under-19 World Cup to be held in Australia next year.

The occasion will get happening in Queensland exactly one year from now and Scotland will be there as the leading Associate after winning eight of their nine matches during the qualifiers, which happened in Dublin and Derry.

Defending champions and hosts, Australia, will head Group A have been drawn alongside 1998 winner England, Nepal and Ireland, the ICC said in a declaration.

Group B is made up of the last event's runner-up and two-time winner Pakistan, New Zealand, Scotland and Afghanistan while 2000

2008 champion India have been concerned Group C along with West Indies, Zimbabwe and PNG. Sri Lanka, South Africa, Bangladesh and Namibia make up Group D.

Haroon Lorgat

ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said, "The ICC U19 Cricket World Cup is a very important tournament for us and I want to congratulate those six teams who have qualified to take part in Queensland next year."

"This tournament has proved to be an important stepping stone for elite young cricketers aspiring to play international cricket. It's an opportunity for them to develop and test their skills in a high-pressure situation against the world's best at this level," he added.

Shane Long Wait for West Brom Finally Over

Shane Long

West Bromwich have at last signed Reading striker Long for an unrevealed fee, the club have confirmed.

Shane has put pen to paper on an initial three-year agreement with the option for an added twelve months.

Roy Hodgson

Long becomes Baggies head coach Roy Hodgson's sixth signing of the summer with the fee understood to be an initial £4.5million, rising to a promising £6.5 million with add-ons.

He is presently on international duty with the Republic of Ireland, preparing for clash with Croatia in Dublin.

Barclays Premier League

But Long will be in contention to make his West Brom debut in Sunday's Barclays Premier League clash with Manchester United at the Hawthorns.

West Brom

Albion declared the deal after the results of Long's medical proved positive. He becomes their sixth signing of the close season but the first for whom they have paid a transfer fee.

Billy Jones, Gareth McAuley, Zoltan Gera and Marton Fulop were Bosman transfers while Ben Foster signed on a season-long loan from Birmingham.

Shane Long celebrating

Long has been Baggies head coach Roy Hodgson's number one striker target across the summer to provide support for last season's top scorer, Peter Odemwingie.

He scored 25 goals for the Royals previous season and was joined with a move to West Ham.

John Madejski

Reading also confirm Long's move in an announcement with Chairman Sir John Madejski saying: "Shane has been a conscientious and loyal servant for Reading.

"Water will always find its own level, and nobody can deny a talented young player the opportunity to play at the highest level when they have the ability to do so.

"Had we won (the play-off final) at Wembley, I have no doubt that Shane would still be playing for Reading, but we wish him great luck at West Brom."

Brian McDermott

Reading manager Brian McDermott said: "West Bromwich Albion and Roy Hodgson are very lucky to get Shane and I'm sure their fans will see what a great talent he is and how hard he'll work for the team."

Indian players set for world badminton meet

Wembley Arena Indoor Stadium, London

Saina Nehwal lone trust in women’s singles as world meets to be dress rehearsal for 2012 Olympics.

A young Indian contingent will be testing its skills at the World Badminton Championships which get under way in London on Monday. The tournament, which ends August 14, will be will be held at the 12,500-capacity Wembley Arena Indoor Stadium, which will also be the venue for the sport at the 2012 London Olympics.

This will be a great chance to impress national coach Pulela Gopichand as Kashyap Parupalli and Ajay Jayaram will spearhead the dispute in the men’s draw.

This would be Kashyap’s third outing in the World Championships. In 2009, when the event was carried on first time in India at his hometown Hyderabad, he lost in the second round and in 2010; he lost in the first round in Paris.

Kashyap Parupalli

However Kashyap has improved extremely over the last year with remarkable wins over higher ranked players and has also bagged the Commonwealth Games bronze medal. Going into the tournament as India No. 1, Kashyap would be looking to showcase his talent and go as far as achievable. He will face Dieter Domke of Germany in the opening round.

Ajay Jayaram

Indian No. 2, Ajay Jayaram will be playing his awfully first world championship. He will be against Japan’s Kenichi Tago who is the 15th seed. “The preparations have been good and I am up for the challenge. This is a huge occasion and probably the biggest tournament, so, I am very excited,” said Jayaram.

“I have been training hard for this and tried to improve my game, I feel quite fit, so, let’s hope for the best,” he added.

Jayaram has impressed against the likes of world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, 2010 world champion Chen Jin, world No. 3 Peter Gade a moment ago. Although he has not defeated them, Ajay has taken his matches versus them till the very end, where higher ranked players have withered away fast.

He said, “I have come quite close against top players, but could not finish of the games. Hopefully, if I meet them now I can beat them.”

Saina Nehwal

The women’s draw has the only entry of Saina Nehwal, who has got a first round bye. The seed No. 6, has shown that she can easily arise to the dominant Chinese players. The world No. 6, a winner of three Super Series titles, would be looking to win the honored tournament.

In men’s doubles, India’s No. 1 seasoned pair Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas will face Michael Fuchs and Oliver Roth of Germany. Young pair of Pranav Chopra and Tarun Kona will fight it out versus Hung Ling Chen and Yu Lang Lin of Chinese Taipei.

Kona, who played in the 2009 world championships in India with Arun Vishnu, would be facing the same opposition in the first round. He said, “We were too young when we played them last time. This time we are more prepared and our aim is to win.”

Jwala Gutta and Ashvini Ponnappa

In the women’s doubles event, 2010 Commonwealth gold medallists Jwala Gutta and Ashvini Ponnappa are up against Eva Lee and Paula Lynn Obanana of USA in the first round.

In mixed doubles Diju Valiyaveetil is approaching back after his long have a rest after recovering from the medical treatment he had to undergo along with Jwala. The 16th seeds have got a first round bye.

Winning the tournament would be intend for all, but in hindsight the Indian players would be looking at the World badminton Championships as a springboard to next year’s Olympics.

David Nalbandian crashes out in Washington

Defending champion David Nalbandian dropped out of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington DC at the first hurdle as he was defeated by James Blake.

David Nalbandian, seeded eighth, never establish his rhythm as he lost 6-2 6-4 in the second-round clash.

The Argentinian was the only seed to lose as number 11 John Isner topped Tobias Kamke 6-1 6-3, 13th seed Kevin Anderson beat up to dispatch qualifier Chris Guccione 3-6 6-2 7-6 (7-0) and number 16 Jarkko Nieminen beat Igor Kunitsyn 7-5 6-4, all in second-round clashes.

David Nalbandian

The balance of the action was in the first round, and was highlighted by a lengthy battle between Grigor Dimitrov and Tim Smyczek, which finally saw Dimitrov come through 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-3).

Ryan Sweeting beat Alex Bogomolov Jr 6-2 6-4, Flavio Cipolla dispatched Marsel Ilhan 7-5 6-0 and Michael Berrer was a 7-5 6-1 winner over Paolo Lorenzi.

Wildcard Ryan Harrison advanced with a 6-4 1-6 6-1 win over Mischa Zverev, Somdev Devvarman beat Denis Gremelmayr 6-2 6-3 and Tommy Haas beat Amer Delic 6-2 6-3.

"How can India expect to beat us?"

Ian Botham

Ian Botham considers England as "cricket kings of the world" and can predict them displacing India from the number-one position.

"What we saw at Lord's was the sort of performance you would need from the best team on the planet and there will be more to come before this series is over," said the former all-rounder.

"At some point, England will take the No.1 title from India officially and then an era of dominance should go behind, because we are well in front of the pack. Every department is covered and without a weak link," he added.

England beat India by 196 runs in the opening Test of the four-match series, putting up a proven performance against their depleted opponents, who were a bowler short after Zaheer Khan's hamstring injury.

And Botham feels that India's hopes of beating a strong English side - on home soil - with a depleted unit are in vain.

"How can India hope to beat us, especially with their injury worries?," asked the 55-year-old.

"And as good as some of India's players have been over many years, I don't see how they can get back into this series against a side as confident as England. And they will get better, because there is a hunger in the dressing room to search for that bit extra."

The second Test of the series is to be played at Trent Bridge from Friday and the legendary all-rounder warns India to beware of some fierce bowling from the hosts.
"England will have two bowlers on home turf, while a third - Jimmy Anderson - never leaves without a five-fer in his back pocket. And judging by the way he is bowling at the moment, India should be happy if all he takes is five wickets," Botham said.

"The great thing about this England team is that they are all peaking together and dovetail like the best teams do."

Botham also appreciated Kevin Pietersen for his unbeaten 202 innings at Lord's.

"In terms of the way it started when things weren't easy and then ensuring he was still there and cashing in after he had made his first hundred. That is what Test match batting should be about," the former cricketer said.

Strauss and Dhoni

"Matt Prior performed magnificently again. We know his batting ability is as good as any Test middle order batsman, but his glovework was in the top bracket too."

Botham also confessed that Stuart Broad had silenced his critics with seven wickets from two innings in the first Test, but stands by his previous comments about the 25-year-old.

"On an unhelpful wicket the bowlers hunted as a pack and I have to doff my cap to Stuart Broad, who took all the criticism that came his way then hit back in the best possible way with wickets.

"I was one of those calling for him to be dropped before the game and I stand by those words because the Broad we saw at Lord's was not the one we had been watching earlier.

"I hope he pushes on from here and doesn't let it be his only performance of the series. He also showed maturity in the way he handled his lbw knock-backs, although it is ridiculous that the DRS is not being used," he said.

Criticising Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) for not using the full Decision Review System in the series, Botham said, "It is time India accepted it and understand that the game is not here just for them. Everybody wants the full DRS."

Tiger Woods tumbling down world golf rankings

Tiger woods in press conference

Tiger Woods is out of the world's top 20 for the first time since January 1997.

The man who is expected to declare later this week that he is returning to action at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Thursday, held the number one spot for more than 11 years in 10 different spells has not played since May 12 because of knee and Achilles tendon hurts.

He has dropped from eighth to 21st in the golf rankings in that time and last Wednesday announced on his website that he will not have New Zealand caddie Steve Williams by his side on his return.

"I think it's time for a change," he said without naming a replacement.

Sad Tiger woods

In a television interview in his home country Williams, with Woods for 13 of his 14 major wins and surprised by the decision, said: "You could say I've wasted the last two years of my life. I've stuck with Tiger and been incredibly loyal.

"I'm not disappointed I've been fired - that's part of the job - but the timing is extraordinary."

Referring to the sex scandal that rocked sport at the end of 2009 Williams also stated: "I, along with a lot of people, lost a lot of respect for Tiger.

Disappointed Tiger woods

"I pointed out before his return at The Masters at Augusta in 2010 that he had to earn back my respect."

Meanwhile, Sergio Garcia has earned a place in next week's world championship by keeping his place in the game's top 50.

Back to form with two consecutive top-10 finishes in majors and a play-off defeat in Germany in between, Garcia is 48th going into this week's Greenbrier Classic in West Virginia.

Alex Noren's runaway win in Sweden moved him up from 92nd to 70th, but he already had a place in Akron thanks to his Wales Open victory last month.

Latest leading positions in the world golf rankings:

Position	Name	Points
1.	Luke Donald	9.72
2.	Lee Westwood	8.33
3.	Martin Kaymer	7.26
4.	Rory McIlroy	7.06
5.	Steve Stricker	6.94
6.	Phil Mickelson	6.27
7.	Dustin Johnson	5.75
8.	Jason Day	5.44
9.	Matt Kuchar	5.38
10.	Nick Watney	5.24
11.	Charl Schwartzel	5.21
12.	Graeme McDowell	5.20
13.	Bubba Watson	4.77
14.	KJ Choi	4.71
15.	Paul Casey	4.62
16.	Ian Poulter	4.45
17.	Adam Scott	4.05
18.	Hunter Mahan	3.78
19.	Robert Karlsson	3.75
20.	Retief Goosen	3.67