Jaques to be Yorkshire lynchpin
Posted on | April 24, 2012 | No Comments
Yorkshire are striving to get out of LV County Championship Division Two at the very first attempt and in Phil Jaques they have a man that can fire them to promotion.
It was a season to forget in 2011 for the Tykes and relegation from County Championship Division One was the catalyst for a winter overhaul at Yorkshire, with Jason Gillespie named as first-team coach under director of cricket Martyn Moxon and a host of names exiting the county.
One of the first things they did with regards playing personnel was to re-sign the Australian Jaques for the 2012 and 2013 campaign as an overseas batsman, and the left-handed run-machine is going to be their star man in Division Two.
The 32-year-old got Yorkshire back into the top flight during a previous stint in 2004 and 2004 – where he scored 2,477 runs for Yorkshire at 61.92 with a top score of 243 – and fans will be dreaming he can repeat that success this time around.
Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale knows what Jaques is capable of with the ball and reckons the Aussie will be the main man around the county this campaign.
“If we can build around him that’ll help our batting points a lot,” he told BBC Radio Leeds.
“His record speaks for itself in England and around the world, he’s a brilliant addition to the team.”
Gillespie said after his appointment his aim was to shake things up at Yorkshire and promised attacking cricket to get them out of LV County Championship Division Two – if he lives up to that promise and Jaques gets on form with the bat then Yorkshire will be the ones to beat.
Betfair cricket odds and Betfair IPL odds are to be dictated by the development of this story.
Marco Botti on the rise
Posted on | April 24, 2012 | No Comments
Marco Botti is one young trainer who is certainly and rapidly making a name for himself as a major player in top international races. Last month he won over £1 million in prize-money from just three on World Cup night in Dubai and he showed with Gitano Hernando that he could compete at the top level when given the right ammunition as he sent that colt to Santa Anita to take the Grade 1 Goodwood Stakes.
Another area where he has proved to be a real punters friend is with his all-weather runners. Take a look at his record at Kempton for example where the young Italian trainer has a terrific record over the past five years, recording a mammoth £519 profit if online racing fans had backed all of his runners (237) to a £10 level stake over that period, while at Wolverhampton taking the same scenario and stakes returns a £160 profit.
Botti likes both tracks and seeks to introduce plenty of his younger horses at Kempton Park. He’s clearly a trainer on the up and has a 100-box stables being built on Newmarket’s prestigious Bury Road. Botti is hoping that construction will be complete by the end of this year and that will give him 20 more boxes to the number that he currently has available. New owners are the lifeblood of any yard and already this year Botti has picked up couple from his homeland, where racing and racing betting is undergoing a torrid time and owners from there are taking a look at the opportunities in the UK.
As things stand Botti is very optimistic that he can beat last year’s total of 46 winners and as things stand he looks in good shape to be able to do that especially with that £1 million head start and things can only get better from here especially with plenty of quality in the stable, ranging from some very decent three-year-olds to a very strong squad of older horses headed by such names as Fanunalter, Law Of The Range and Planteur.
Lancaster looks to tempt Smith
Posted on | April 24, 2012 | No Comments
Stuart Lancaster will try and tempt formerNew Zealand attack specialist Wayne Smith to join the new-look England coaching setup, following the failure by the RFU to snare Saracens chief Andy Farrell on a full-time basis.
With Smith on board England’s rugby betting odds would significantly improve although it would not affect any Aviva Premiership betting odds.
Smith was part of Graham Henry’s World Cup winning All Blacks’ coaching set-up that triumphed last year, before linking up with South African side the Chiefs, helping the club to top spot in the Super Rugby table. The formerNew Zealandinternational has indicated he would be keen to return to international rugby at the end of the season, withEnglandnow apparently eager to add the 55-year old to their coaching setup.
Writing in his blog, recently, Smith hailed the jobLancasterhad done since taking over the side followingEngland’s disappointing World Cup campaign, claiming the team had an exciting future under the new head coach.
“Stuart Lancaster has done a hell of a job in his short time as national coach,” Smith claimed.
“If I was an England supporter I would be pretty excited. But Lancaster will know that as far as England have come, they will have to keep improving if they are to compete with the southern hemisphere.”
Smith has made it clear he wouldn’t want to leave the Chiefs until the end of their current season, which would rule him out of this summer’s tour of South Africa should he accept any offer from the RFU. Lancaster would then be forced to bring in someone on an interim basis, however, will keep Smith has his main target as the side begin to plan for the 2015 World Cup.
InexperiencedLancasterwill know how essential it will be to have someone with Smith’s experience as part of his coaching setup and will be desperate to agree a deal when he, reportedly, flies out toSouth Africato meet his target for talks.
O’Leary heads to England
Posted on | April 24, 2012 | No Comments
London Irish have bolstered their ranks ahead of next season with the signing ofIrelandinternational scrum half Tomas O’Leary fromMunster. The 28-year old has spent his entire career atMunster, and has now decided to leave the club and take a bet on Aviva Premiership. There had been plenty of rumours linking O’Leary with a move toFrance, with Perpignan sounded out as a possible destination, although, the scrum-half has accepted the offer from the Exiles and is betting his future in London.
O’Leary had established himself asIreland’s first choice number-nine, playing a role in his country’s Grand Slam winning year of 2009. It’s been a different story this year, however, with the 28-year old falling down the pecking order both with his club and his country. A lack of regular action prompted O’Leary to make the decision to leaveMunster, now hoping to cement his place in the London Irish side.
The 2008 Heineken Cup winner admitted he was hoping to continue his successful career at his new club, making it clear he was looking forward to testing himself in a new league.
“I have been lucky enough to be part of winning teams at both Munster and Ireland and hope for even more success as a London Irish player.”
“Joining London Irish presents a new and exciting chapter in my career and one that I am really looking forward to.”
“I am looking forward to working alongside Brian and the coaching team and testing myself in the Aviva Premiership and playing alongside a very talented squad at London Irish.”
O’Leary will know the only way he is going to re-establish himself in Declan Kidney’s plans will be if he manages to get a good run of games under his belt. The scrum-half will be looking to get his London Irish career of a strong start, which would boost his chances of getting himself back into the international picture.
