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How times change. There was a time when Manchester City could bumble along all season and even flirt with relegation without anyone throwing their toys out of the pram. It was City after all. What else would anyone expect?

These days it's a different story. People have been talking up City as title challengers this season, but one away loss at Wolves later and sections of the media are speculating that Roberto Mancini could be forced out of his job.

According to The 'soar-away' Sun, the City players don't much like Mancini and are plotting to get rid of him. This is not in the least bit surprising. As tyrants go, perhaps only Hitler has given his subordinates more reason to start conspiring against him and hiding bombs under tables.

You don't see Manchester City's players spending all afternoon on Twitter, like old @rioferdy5 down the road. That's because Mancini has them in training after lunch, when the rest of the Premier League population are settling down to a little Call Of Duty.

Criticise his methods and you end up out on loan at Cardiff. Craig Bellamy was one of the Premier League's better players last season, but Mancini was willing to send him into the depths of the Championship, for showing dissent. At least Bellamy gets some afternoons off now.

Then there was the recent criticism of English players' drinking habits, in which Mancini suggested that he would prefer his players to enjoy an evening with a random woman after the game. No wonder he wanted to sign Wayne Rooney.

If you're a strict disciplinarian manager, then you've got to accept that no one will really like you. The players will tolerate having a manager that they hate if they are getting results, but if they're not, then expect mutiny.

Some poor results could be on the cards for City, because for all the money they've spent, they don't look nearly as potent a force when Carlos Tevez is out. Not only is Tevez probably injured until the Manchester derby, but at the moment, he's back in his native Argentina. Mancini had better hope that his moody star will come back.

Although Tevez is Mancini's star player and captain, by all accounts they don't have a very good relationship. However, as Tevez doesn't speak a word of English, becoming best mates with him would represent a challenge for most Premier League bosses.

Suddenly a fourth placed spot doesn't look so nailed on. Spurs pipped them last season and are only two points behind at the moment, despite having the distraction of a Champions League campaign. City are currently 1.58 to finish in the top four and Tottenham are 3.95.

There are also other teams with the ability to challenge. After a shaky start Everton are picking up some decent results and are just four points behind City. Even those perennial relegation strugglers Liverpool are only five points adrift. Everton are 7.4 to qualify for the Champions League, with Liverpool at 7.0.

Manchester City have got so much quality within their squad that even if they're not playing at their best, they are still going to pick up results. I expect them to be there or thereabouts, but everything seems so delicately balanced that it's always a possibility that they could implode.

When you spend big on players, you don't just get star quality - you also get a side portion of ego. With Mancini bringing a pretty large sense of self worth to the table himself, City are a ticking time-bomb waiting to go off.

By Dan Fitch

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Given that there are four of them, and nobody rates them equal to the majors, the World Golf Championship 'tag' for events such as this has always struck me as slightly inappropriate. Sure, this is a big event with a high-class field, but does the winner really deserve to be labelled a 'world champion'? This year's renewal of the HSBC-sponsored leg in Shanghai does, however, take on extra significance due to a unique scenario in the rankings, which could see any one of four players emerge as world number one on Sunday.

Doubtless, that battle between Lee Westwood, Tiger Woods, Martin Kaymer and Phil Mickelson will dominate the week's narrative, but punters might do well to assess each of these four market leaders on their most recent form, rather than the long-term performance that determines the rankings. None of them appeal for my money.

New number one Westwood bizarrely fulfilled that career ambition without hitting a ball, when Kaymer failed to make the top-two at Valderrama last week. He probably deserves the accolade as nobody has been more consistent over the past 18 months, and he'd almost certainly have reached number-one already had he not picked up a calf injury this summer. Nevertheless, unless Worksop's finest can swiftly bounce back from that injury, his new-found status will struggle to last the month, or even the week. Apart from the Ryder Cup, Lee has completed only one event since the Open in July.

If the market is a guide, punters retain plenty of faith in Tiger's ability to reclaim his crown immediately. Of course, it is easy to imagine a scenario where Tiger rises to the new challenge and rediscovers his old self, but rather less easy to construct a case for backing him. Granted, he played one superb round when last seen in the Ryder Cup singles, but there is nothing in his post-scandal form to justify favouritism against this line-up, let alone odds of 9.2. He failed to win on any of three previous visits to Shanghai when dominant, so is hard to fancy after registering just two top-tens in 2010.

Of this new 'big-four', Kaymer definitely has time on his side at 25. He could well be number one before the month is out, with the looming Dubai World Championship bound to be pivotal. However, so far as this week is concerned, Kaymer is hard to fancy straight after a very disappointing weekend around his favourite golf course at Valderrama and looks in need of a couple of a break.

Mickelson rates the likeliest candidate in my view, on the basis of his course form, winning twice from three cracks at Sheshan International. Phil's positive attitude when playing in this part of the world is unrecognisable from the serial failures seen on other overseas trips. Like Tiger, though, Mickelson seems priced on past form rather than anything recent. He's only registered one top-ten since the US Open, with personal troubles and injuries perhaps taking their toll.

Ultimately, while the rankings race makes for an interesting sideshow, we shouldn't read too much into it. There is very little to separate the world's top 40 or so players, and golf is going through a transitional period. The older generation, headed by Woods, Mickelson and Westwood, remain ultra-competitive, but we see another young superstar emerge virtually every week, just as Kaymer has over the past few months. How long before the likes of Rory McIlroy, Seung-Yul Noh, Rickie Fowler or even Matteo Manassero are challenging the elite?

Laying the big-four equates to a combined price of around 3.3, or alternatively there could be some value to be found amongst the rest. World number seven Paul Casey, for instance, could easily have been in the rankings mix now if he hadn't suffered injury woes over the past year. He seemed almost back to his very best during the Fedex Cup, and rates good value at 22.0 having never finished worse than 11th at Sheshan. I also like Nick Watney as a trading option at 30.0. Watney is bang in form, going close on his last two PGA Tour starts, and demonstrated the suitability of his power game for Sheshan when finishing fifth on last year's course debut.

By Paul Krishnamurty

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Back in the 1970s when Liverpool ruled the football roost the club had a policy of trying to add two players a season to their squad. One would normally be a top established star, the other a gamble from the lower divisions.

The idea was that the big name gave an injection of quality, and the guy from more humble surroundings brought enthusiasm and desire as he fought to take his big chance. So, for instance, Bob Paisley's first two signings were Terry McDermott from Newcastle, and a kid called Phil Neal from Northampton.

McDermott cost £175,000 and took two years to establish himself. Neal, for whom Paisley paid a bargain £60,000, went on to collect more winners' medals - 23 of them if you include five Charity Shields - than any other Liverpool player even in that glittering era. Which just goes to show that the best buys in the transfer market don't always come from the biggest spends.

The debate between cost and value is even more valid 35 years later. Wayne Rooney's ham fisted statement accused Manchester United of lacking ambition because they weren't paying out for the world game's established glittering names. The form of Mexican Javier Hernandez, whose £6million fee would barely pay seven months of Rooney's new contract, suggests they don't necessarily need to. 'Chicharito' was again a constant threat during Manchester United's 2-0 win over Tottenham - even if it was Nani's controversial goal that got the headlines.

Rooney's confusion between bling and proper diamonds came because he was looking down the road at the £200million plus spent by Manchester City since their new Arab owners moved in. I don't suppose he would have "Sky Plussed" the full version of City's 2-1 defeat at Wolves, but if so he'd have certainly seen that big money doesn't equal big success. The debut of £24million 'Super Mario' Balotelli was a preening, hand throwing, hissy fit of bad body language. Meanwhile Wolves' big stars were Matt Jarvis, a £600,000 recruit from Gillingham, and David Edwards who was a tad more expensive at £675,000 from Luton. Wolves remain in the bottom three but look worth laying for relegation at 2.14. City are not worth backing for the top three at 2.6.

Of course Arsene Wenger has long been harangued by Arsenal fans who have the same lack of understanding. "Why doesn't he buy an established star?" is their constant moan. Alex Song, who cost barely one million from Bastia four years ago, provided an answer by getting the late winning goal that scored a 1-0 win over West Ham. The Gunners go into second place, and are 2.4 to be there or better at the end of the campaign.

Chelsea remain five points clear, and now 1.65 title favourites, and there aren't too many cheap players in their team. But it was still one of them, Daniel Sturridge, who made enough impact after coming on as a sub to help inspire the late Branislav Ivanovic goal that secured a 2-1 win at Blackburn. The 21-year-old was one of those home grown talents allowed to get away from Manchester City for a mere £3.5million.

Newcastle paid a fraction more than that to sign Kevin Nolan, but there's value several times over there. Never mind the hat-trick that brought a 5-1 derby victory over hapless Sunderland and encouraged optimistic Geordies to back them down to 6.4 to finish in the top six. He's had a huge influence behind the scenes too, not least as temporary landlord to wayward young striker Andy Carroll, who seems to be responding to some guidance.

In yesterday's other local scuffle, incidentally, it was Academy product Ciaran Clark who was the best player on show out of Aston Villa and Birmingham's 0-0 draw.

Of course Mark Hughes was the man who squandered a good deal of all that money at Manchester City, but since taking charge of Fulham he has gone back to the same sort of cautious talent spotting that built his reputation at Blackburn. Carlos Salcido and Moussa Dembele cost a combined £6.6million, and both starred in the 2-0 home win over Wigan. It put Hughes's team in the top half of the table and they are 3.0 to stay there.

Left back Salcido at £1.6million certainly looks better value than Liverpool paying nearly three times as much for Paul Konchesky. The Reds were unconvincing at Bolton despite Maxi Rodriguez grabbing a late winner - but then the club are still picking up the pieces from Rafa Benitez - who paid out £229million on a total of 76 signings during five years in charge, with not a lot of top quality players to show for it. Perhaps Roy Hodgson needs to take a scouting trip to Northampton

By Ralph Ellis

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Andrew French likes X-Factor as much as the next man but there are a fair few things about it that get under his skin. Here are his top ten causes for irritation...


Anyone who makes a 'phone' symbol with their hand

As Dermot reads out the phone number at the end of the judges' verdict, any performer who then makes a 'phone symbol' with their hand to their ear should instantly be deducted a portion of any votes they get. We know how voting works, we know what a phone is and what it does - you're making yourself look stupid.

Shoulder pumps

While we're on the subject of Dermot, he's rapidly losing my patience with the continual 'shoulder pumps' as he embraces contestants. Mix it up a bit O'Leary. Throw in a back slap, a ruffle of the hair, even the cheesy old high-five. But please, stop greeting them as if you're about to form a scrum.

Matt Cardle's prayer

I can't be the only one who's noticed it? As the judges pour out their usual dose of brown-nosing to young Cardle, the pop-star-in-waiting proceeds to put his hands together in a praying manner, touches his fingers on his lips and then turns his hands towards the judges. What's that all about? More importantly, do something else Cardle, it's boring - especially as you look like you'll be hanging around a while.

Nailing it

There are plenty of phrases that could be contenders for 'X Factor Bingo', but "nailed it" gets my vote. Could the four highly-paid judges perhaps invest some of their wonga in a book of phraseology? We know what you're saying, but it's getting so wearing to hear you say it about virtually every performer, every weekend.

'I'm safe' mock surprise

There's a pop career, with the associated cash, at stake here folks. So let's drop the act of pretending you really didn't expect to be voted in for another week. They scream, they cry, they run amok with mouth open. But do we believe them? I don't. Let's see someone just run off the stage with one finger in the air, Alan Shearer-stylee. Max respect for the first contestant to do so.

Disingenuous concern for your rivals

So, we get down to the acts that are in the bottom two. Obviously, not a nice place to be. But surely, deep down, you are seriously hoping the other act forgets their words, hits several bum notes and generally cracks under the pressure. So why is it, when you get saved by the judges, you say 'sorry' to the other act? Get off it. Just milk the crowd and leave the loser to wallow in self pity.

Naff 'biggest test yet' comments

Back to the judges. As we prepare to see each act, we get a bit of film of the week's events for that act, and usually one of the rival mentors pops up saying 'This is the biggest test yet for X' or 'X really will have to raise their game this week'. Stunning insight. Of course it gets harder each week. It's a bleeding knockout competition.

Mentors introducing their acts

Surely the single most pathetic use of their time. Our professional, qualified host (O'Leary) makes a big play of handing over to the respective mentor to introduce their act. And what do we get? 'Next up, is X' . . . or 'And now, X'. Makes you wonder how much rehearsal time they use on that piece of epic theatre.

The Sunday results show - as a whole

Sorry, but this ranks right up there with the National Lottery programme on a Saturday night when it comes to spending an hour doing something that needs no more than 10 minutes. We get a couple of 'stars' screeching through their latest 'hit' (I give you Katy Perry as a prime example), a chat with the mentors (previous form suggests that's pointless) and, finally, the results and the sign-off. On the Lottery, I want to know if I'm rich. On X-Factor, I want to know who's going home. End of.

Voiceover man

Boy he's annoying. Last year, his way of saying 'Oll-eee M-uuuuuurs' grated the hell out of me. Thankfully, we won't get him yodelling John Adeleye's name anymore. But what is this guy like at home? Booming things like 'Cup of teeeeeea' or 'What's fooooor din-nerrrr'

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In the midst of contract negotaitions involving the flawed Wayne Rooney, Spanish supremacy in the Champions League and now further concerns over the 2018 World Cup bid, Feizal Rahman assesses just how low English football has sunk.


For someone who has returned to these shores following a two-month sojourn from all things football, there appears sufficient reason to believe that the English game is now going through some sort of mini-crisis. As if humiliation for the national side at the World Cup wasn't enough, now the pride and joy that is the Premier League looks to sit firmly in the shadow of La Liga.

Barcelona and Real Madrid presently sit at the head of the Champions League winner market at 4.6 and 4.9 respectively, with only English league leaders, Chelsea, close to challenging for favouritism at 5.2.

So while Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi tear it up in Spain, back in England, an embarrassingly out of form Wayne Rooney demands a 100 percent pay rise as he sits on the sideline and England World Cup captain, Steven Gerrard, languishes in the relegation zone. Not a single English player was shortlisted for this year's inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Or award - only the second time in 15 years that a player from the national side has failed to feature in the governing body's shortlist, which this year has 23 candidates on it, bizarrely including Sunderland's Asamoah Gyan.

Perhaps then, it is with some mindful intent that attention this week has been somewhat refocused onto the increasingly heated battle for the right to host the 2018 World Cup. England is the current 1.94 favourite to win the FIFA Exceutive Committee's vote on 2 December, with Russia trading at 2.52.

The lines between football, politics and business have long been blurred - inextricably linked to the billions in cash now gushing between the game's global power bases. But when the Croxteth boy who'd play for free can hold the most famous club in the world to ransom, you know the sport has taken a wrong turn somewhere. With weeks before a potential return to action, not to mention the impressive form of Javier Hernandez, Wayne Rooney is out to 29.0 to be the Top Premier League Goalscorer.

And when the supposed guardians of the beautiful game morph into mudslinging electioneerers, there is scant hope for the future. Did the head of the Russian bid team, Alexei Sorokin, really raise any eyebrows when highlighting the high crime and alcohol consumption rate in London? Those who actually live in the capital would surely have just muttered, "Yeah, tell me about it".

Yet, the England bid team - along with certain media outlets who frequently fill their pages with alarming tales of Bacchanalian high streets - reacted as if Sorokin had defecated at the gates of Buckingham Palace. By acting like blabbermouth schoolchildren telling teacher, what good can possibly come to England's already damaged bid? Instead, there is a heavy stench of desperation and clear signs that despite our supposedly superior claim to be hosts, we actually need the World Cup more than Russia or any of the fellow bidders.

As with the 2012 Olympics, it's apparent there is an aim to paper over the considerable deficiencies we have within sport in this country. So on the one hand we promote ourselves as a nation of sporting greats while, on the other, our actual success on the field paints a very different picture.

The advent of the Premier League in 1992 gave the national game a fillip but it was only after the impact of Euro 1996 that English football was catapulted to the level of the Italian and Spanish leagues, with major foreign stars attracted by gleaming new stadiums and mouthwatering pay cheques. And it will be the lure of even more private money - able to attach itself to the World Cup brand - that the English FA will be praying for, particularly in light of the recent government cuts to the sporting budget.

With England's Golden Generation now exposed as nothing more than a Brass Bunch, there's little hope of sufficient emerging talent to form a team capable of challenging the Spanish, Germans and Dutch at the next few tournaments. England are 10.0 to win Euro 2012, having traded as low as 6.6 before their South Africa struggles. So as with 1966 - and this should be of no surprise to anyone - hosting the World Cup in 2018 may provide the nation's only possible chance of winning it.

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Stand by for one of the more depressing and at the same time amusing cameos of the television year on Sky Sports this Sunday morning.

The script is simple and runs as follows: First, Eddie Hemmings, Stevo and the rest of the Sky rugby league posse work themselves into a lather trying to convince the watching multitude that England (or Great Britain as was) have the weapons to beat arch rivals Australia in their second Gillette Four Nations match.

Second, the England (or GB) team come up short after giving their all.

And third, Eddie, Stevo and company then conduct a lengthy post mortem in which they frown a lot and trot out a dozen weird and wonderful reasons why the men from Down Under still have a physical and mental edge over the best that Super League has to offer.

Betfair's layers feel it is no better than 1.12 that we will be treated to this same old post mortem again in the aftermath of Sunday's Melbourne showdown at 07:30.

And if we do then be sure that it won't be long before the arch-patriot Hemmings blames the defeat either on the ref or the so-called fact that we allow too many foreign players to stifle the progress of British youngsters in Super League.

England took a pasting on their last visit to Melbourne a couple of years ago and it's very hard to envisage them springing a major surprise in the outright market now that the exciting Michael Shenton has joined Adrian Morley and Jamie Peacock on the injured list.

However, the handicap market is a different question altogether and if England can be backed with a start of 18 or more they look worth a small interest to improve on last week's anti-climactic 24-10 defeat against New Zealand.

Many observers - including coach Steve McNamara - felt England failed to rise to the intimidating physical presence of the Kiwis and by the time the likes of Shenton, Sam Tompkins and James Roby found their stride they were just too far behind.

A stronger mental approach will be essential in a sudden death match here and plenty of punters will be expecting the Aussies to run right over the English defence having shaken off some ring rust against Papua New Guinea last week.

However, the Aussies are also operating minus some key personnel at the moment and England are surely a better side than they showed in Wellington.

I won't be going mad. But I will be looking for some English pride to show itself and if it does then this could be closer than the line makers suggest.

What would be your gameplan if you were coaching the Kiwis ahead of their Saturday clash with PNG this week?

The outright win looks a formality for Stephen Kearney's men, who are trading at 1.02 to beat a side who are hugely committed yet overmatched at this level, but there could be some mileage in backing the Kiwis to cover a start of 42 or thereabouts.

The reasoning behind such a play is simple. First, New Zealand are fully capable of winning by that sort of margin if they put their minds to it. And second, they probably will be chasing a runaway win to aid their points difference just in case England shock Australia.

Dry conditions in Rotorua would improve the chance of a wide margin win and with the mighty Benji Marshall pulling the strings from half back again the powerful Kiwi runners should get multiple chances to cross the whitewash.

By Graham Cunningham

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Hi Tom, and first of all how's the shoulder?

It's good, thanks. It's been well documented what I've gone through after two operations - the first one unfortunately didn't heal - but I got back at the end of last season and hopefully it's standing up well now.

You started learning the guitar while you were out. How's that coming on?

I'd say well, but I'm still terrible even after about 18 months now. But I'm absolutely hooked, I can't put the bloody thing down, much to my girlfriend's annoyance. She's still waiting for when I can play a few tunes on it!

At least your form on the rugby pitch has been good?

To be honest that's hard to judge when as a team you are not putting in performances that are as good as you hope for. We were glad to edge one at Sale last week so there's no hitting a panic button yet. I just need to go away and look at the little things I can do to help out.

The most encouraging thing must be that your shoulder is standing up to all the hits.

My position, as openside flanker, and the way I play generally, is pretty physical. I certainly don't mind running around in the loose with the ball, but my game is based around the contact in the tackle area and trying to make a nuisance of myself, so it has pleased me to feel confident with the more physical stuff.

Everybody in rugby is so much bigger, stronger and harder. Is collecting injuries just an occupational hazard? Martin Johnson never seems to be able to pick a settled England side.

It's difficult to say. You get your runs of luck where nothing happens and then you get times where unfortunately it seems everything comes at once. But I think the way the game is played is as much a factor, which is sometimes overlooked. The way people are hit in collisions, how they are hitting rucks, the way defences are, all that has a knock-on effect for the number of collisions, never mind the size of the guys involved. At least the clubs are realising it and doing the best to look after their players. I'm particularly lucky at Wasps that they do the best to manage the players throughout the year. They still aim to be winning every weekend, but not at the player's expense.

That must get harder as the Aviva Premiership becomes more even. Who'd have thought Exeter would come in and win games immediately, for instance?

That's brilliant from their point of view. I've been down there, they are really keen on their rugby, and it is absolutely fantastic what they are doing. They've just showed other teams you can't take them lightly, don't think "we can send the guys who have not had much game time and give them a bit of a run out". But you're right, all that does make it that much more difficult in terms of trying to get through the year injury free, because you do have to front up and be right on that limit physically every week.

You've not had the best start so is the Heineken Cup a good thing for you now?

I think so, it's a change of focus, in the way you prepare, there aren't too many better mindsets than the Heineken Cup, especially for us going down to France where you have to handle the passion of their crowd. But if you can get off to a good start, you can take it back into your domestic competitions. Certainly we are not panicking in terms of how it has gone so far but we need to start making up wins and this is a good way to go about it

How do you rate the strength of the Premiership compared to the other European Leagues? Last year wasn't the best in the Heineken Cup.

That's an interesting one, it is difficult to know the ins and outs of the French League. They have a far longer season and play more games than we do. I also think the Irish and Welsh can manage players more. On the other hand I know Shaun Edwards is a great believer that when you get to that tail end you want players who have been there and who are battle hardened, week in and week out. Physically you might need to wrap yourself in cotton wool for games, but if you get guys who get on that roll domestically and carry performances into the European competition I think that can help.

What's your view in the salary cap debate?

I'm a fan of anything that keeps the game working. If the salary cap is what the game needs to stay afloat and continue to grow steadily, then that has to be the best thing

But you've lost some of your best players, not always for money but it's a factor?

It has been, there's no getting away from it, but that's happened with us before that we have lost big name players. The important thing for the club is whoever is there, and wants to be there. They might not be guys who are the highest profile players, but the guys at Wasps I know I am more than happy stepping out onto the pitch with every week, regardless of how much they are being paid compared to the guy wearing the shirt opposite.

We hope so and wish you luck. We've a free £50 bet in aid of a charity of your choice to say thanks for your time.

I'll follow a lot of other rugby guys who I know have supported the Matt Hampson Trust - and I'll back the soccer boys at the Wycombe stadium to win League Two at 10.5. They've definitely got the talent to do.

By Ralph Ellis

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I'm confused about Gavin Henson. One minute I switch on the telly and he's battling his way across the ice to the most northern point in Europe in a race with Footballers' Wives actress Susie Amy and some bloke from Hollyoaks; turn over and he's shimmying around the dance floor in Strictly; open the papers and he's going to sign for Saracens and be a proper rugby player again.

I'm reliably informed by my daughter-in-law, who watches these things, that 5.6 for Henson to be voted off from Strictly this weekend is pretty good value - far more worth backing, she says, than the 50.0 for him to go on and win it. She reckons he is much more likely to be champion in 71 Degrees North, although sadly that bit of info is not much use as it was filmed months ago so you can't get a bet on!

But while he's still on our screens in either sequins or fur coat and ice boots, the bigger question is whether Saracens can really bring him in from the cold in a rugby sense. The deal to complete his release from Ospreys should be complete in the next day or so, but the question then is whether a man who has not performed competitively for 18 months can really waltz back into the Aviva Premiership and then the Six Nations (not to mention the small matter of a World Cup).

It's not as if he's easing himself back in at a gentle level. Saracens are 5.8 to finish top of this year's regular season table, and the signing shows they are deadly serious about doing it. With Derick Hougaard injured they needed a top fly half and if they can get Henson up to speed there aren't many better. Wales coach Shaun Edwards wants him back too, and kicking coach Neil Jenkins is also looking forward to seeing him in action.

Opinion is split among rugby people. Rob Andrew reckons returning after such a long break will be no different to players who recover from serious injury - after all Matt Stevens will also be playing for Saracens in January after two years enforced break. On the other hand Matt Dawson is far more dismissive. "If we are talking about one of the all-time greats there's just a chance it could be possible. Am I putting Gavin in that category? No" is his damming verdict.

My view? Well I'm not normally a fan of comebacks, but at 28 Henson might just be young enough to still recapture the physical fitness he'll need. And oddly enough his experiences in reality TV might even help him bring a different and more relaxed approach to the game which will encourage him to express his undoubted flair.

He'll also give Sarries another star name to boost a squad that's definitely deeper this season than it was last term when they were a whisker away from being Premiership champions. Appearing at Twickenham on May 28 is a bit of TV that Henson really would love to be a reality.


Five things you might not know about Neil Jenkins

1.Born July 1971 in Church Village in the Rhonda Valley, his dad was a scrap metal dealer

2.After going to the local comprehensive school, Bryn Celynnog in Beddau, he was 18 before he joined Pontypridd to start playing rugby - but within nine months of making his first team debut he was picked for Wales.

3.He took just 28 Test matches to become the nation's record points scorer

4.He was the first player in the history of the sport to reach 1,000 international points, a landmark passed in 2001 against France in Paris

5.His brother in law used to entertain crowds in matches he played in by wearing a ginger wig and plastic ears before kicking an inflatable plastic sheep over the crossbar.

By Ralph Ellis

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Now maybe I shouldn't be so vocal in backing England coach Andy Flower over his decision to ban families from the start of the Ashes. After all I shall be at The Gabba on November 25 to watch the first balls bowled and the delectable Mrs Ellis will be with me.

The difference is I won't be playing. In fact I won't even be writing about it. We've managed to elbow a couple of days in Brisbane into the itinerary of a long-planned, once-in-a-lifetime holiday to Oz, and the only thing I'll be tapping into a keyboard will be a couple of teasing texts back home!

Of course if I had been working on the tour, well then I'm afraid the good lady would have been back in Blighty trying to catch up with it on the telly, just as she's been for all the other trips I've been lucky enough to be sent on. Work is work, family is family, and in my experience when you try to mix the two you end up looking after neither of them properly.

That's certainly the view of Flower as he sets out this weekend with his touring party, with the best chance of an England team of winning a Test series Down Under since Mike Gatting boarded the plane 24 years ago. He's told his 16-man squad, and support staff, that they won't be allowed to see their families until after the Perth Test has ended on December 7.

"We need that period at the start of the tour... it is important to get together and focus fully on the game," he says.

Hooray! There have been too many England squads in the past who have set off on cricket tours with the appearance of heading for a boozy holiday with a game or two thrown in. We've had the "Fredalo" affair in the West Indies, we've had players dashing home to see babies born, we've had gaggles of girlfriends, wives and kids round the hotel pool. The story goes that Steve Harmison spent much of the night before the first Test in Brisbane in 2006 fussing about his family, and we all know what happened when he bowled the opening ball of the Ashes series next day.

You sense there is a big opportunity for England, now 3.35 to win the series. The Aussies have so many problems. The latest doubt is over new bowling discovery Doug Bollinger who returned early from India suffering a stomach muscle strain which is starting to make him a doubt for the beginning of the season. In fact Michael Clarke had only 12 players available for the final ODI (which thankfully for him was rained off) after Michael Hussey was also sent home.

Of course nobody expects England's players to live like Trappist monks for the whole tour. Five months away including the World Cup is a long time, and it makes sense to make families welcome later in the trip. But Flower is absolutely right to want to get his team totally focused on winning from the word go. He's also insisted that the first matches will be proper competitive games, instead of the nonsense 13- or 14-a-side affairs which were played four years ago. The Ashes in Australia is arguably the most mentally daunting series in world sport, and nothing but total concentration will get you through.


Five things you might not know about Doug Bollinger...

1. Born July 1981 in the Baulkham Hills suburb of Sydney, he was 15 before he started playing cricket when he joined a local club Seven Hills Toongabbie.
2. After leaving school he worked in the mail room of a solicitor's office, then washed cars, built fences, and worked in a sports store - selling Australian cricket shirts.
3. He marked his call into Australia's elite cricket squad in 2008 by getting hair transplants and swapping a bald head for a thick toupee.
4. He celebrated his first international five wicket haul by kissing the badge - except his kissed the Foster's advertising logo by mistake.
5. He met wife Tegan during a cricket tour to Australia's Gold Coast - but lost her phone number. Fortunately she kept his. They have a 15 month old daughter called Skye.

By Ralph Ellis

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Darren Sammy was first man from St Lucia to play international cricket and last week he achieved another first by becoming West Indies captain. The new skipper has been talking a good game, promising to be bold and frank and to bring the joy back to Caribbean cricket. But the reality is that he has one of the most difficult cricket jobs in the world, a job that begins next month when he leads a mixture of jaded veterans and callow youths on a tour of Sri Lanka.

His appointment was, at first glance, a surprising one. A dogged seam-bowler, he has played just eight Tests and, although he does have a healthy bowling average of 27.74, 12 of his 27 wickets have come against Bangladesh. He has won praise for his work rate and determination and no doubt earned much credit with the WICB when he refused to join his fellow players by striking during the Bangladesh series back in 2009, but still, it is surely too early in his Test career to elevate him to captain.

And yet, on closer inspection, who else could the WICB pick? The previous captain Chris Gayle and his most likely heir, Dwayne Bravo have refused to sign their central contracts. Of the other veterans, Ramnaresh Sarwan has been dropped and Shivnarine Chanderpaul has shown himself not to be cut out for leadership. Brendan Nash was the only other option, but there are, unfortunately, historical reasons why the WICB might be reluctant to appoint a white captain.

The decisions of Gayle and Bravo not to commit themselves to international duty is another blow to Caribbean cricket and, by implication, for the smaller cricket boards around the world. England and Australia, with their financial resources, might be able to keep their best players committed to the cause, but the likes of New Zealand, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Bangladesh will find it increasingly difficult in future to stop their most talented players becoming freelancers.

The situation is particularly desperate though in the West Indies, where the WICB is engaged in almost permanent struggle with the players association, the WIPA and has an old fashioned approach to dealing with the modern professional, paying even its star players a pittance by international standards, whilst treating them in a high-handed fashion. All of this against a background of a domestic cricket infrastructure that is in a state of galloping disrepair.

It will be little surprise, therefore, if the next generation of West Indian cricketers choose to become free agents and the cream of Caribbean talent will only be sporadically available for international duty. It would be a shame for world cricket, but a disaster for the West Indies if their promising young players, such as batsmen Adrian Barath and Darren Bravo, all-rounder Andre Russell and quick bowlers Kemar Roach and Nelon Pascal were only seen in domestic Twenty20 tournaments.

Against this background, short term expectations are set at the usual low level. A tour of Sri Lanka is one of the toughest on the circuit and it is hard to see Sammy's men having any success in the three match Test series, though they might have more joy in the five one-day internationals and Twenty20 match that follow. And there is the opportunity to make some progress here. If the youngsters play well and Sammy starts to look the part, it will have been a relatively successful tour. They will also have gained vital experience of South Asian conditions ahead of next year's World Cup, a tournament for which they are currently priced at 22.0 outsiders.

By Andrew Hughes

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