Hashim Amla, who originally may have thought that he was on holiday in England, has suddenly been landed with a major challenge.

With captain Graeme Smith out of action with his tennis elbow, the Dolphins star, whose speciality has been Test cricket, is now the new opening partner for Herschelle Gibbs.

“Obviously I’m sorry that Graeme is out with his injury, but from a personal point of view I’m looking forward to the challenge,” said Amla. “It’s a major opportunity,” said the Dolphins star who was included in the one-day squad as a back-up top-order batsman.”

Amla couldn’t have a more important challenge on his hands. South Africa are 2-0 down in the one-day series and obviously every match now in the remaining five-match series is crucial to South Africa’s chances of securing a come-from-behind victory. The Proteas have done it before in 2003 when they arrived in Pakistan just days after their tour of England and quickly went 2-0 down before recovering to win the series 3-2.

Beijing – Jamaica’s Usain Bolt blazed to victory in the 200m final on Wednesday in a world record 19.30 seconds to secure the first men’s Olympic sprint double since 1984.

In a run no less sensational than his world record performance in the 100m final last Saturday, the 21-year-old destroyed the field to clinch his first major title in his specialist event.

Churandy Martina of Netherlands Antilles took silver in 19.82 and bronze went to defending champion Shawn Crawford of the US in 19.96 after his compatriot Wallace Spearmon was disqualified for running out of his lane.

American Carl Lewis was the last man to win both sprints at the same Games in Los Angeles and Bolt became just the ninth athlete to achieve the feat.

The previous world record was 19.32 set by Michael Johnson of the US in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics final.

Bolt started well again to hit the front before he came off the bend and he powered down the straight to win by at least five metres.

The 6ft 5in (1.96m) former world junior champion owned the best time of this year (19.67) and finished second behind American Tyson Gay at the 2007 world championships in Osaka.

When an injury at the US trials deprived Gay of the chance to run the 200m in Beijing, Bolt immediately became a strong favourite for the event.

Doubling Up

Bolt’s coach Glen Mills had always wanted him to emulate Johnson by doubling up in the 200 and 400 but he had never enjoyed the tougher training for the one-lap event.

The pair reached an agreement last year that if he broke the Jamaican 200m record of 1976 Olympic champion Don Quarrie, he would be allowed to try the 100 and the reggae-loving Bolt duly delivered.

The impressive 10.03sec he ran in his first outing in the 100 in 2007 was just a prelude to his remarkable assault on the event in 2008 and he has now set new world marks.

A keen cricketer before he turned to athletics, Bolt first announced his talent when he became the youngest world junior champion by winning the 200m in Kingston in 2002 at the age of 15.

By Peter Bills”Nineteen-nil and lucky to get the nil”, as an old Irish forward of the 1950s vintage once remarked, after a hammering one day at the hands of England.

In this case, lucky was the word. Had Daniel Carter kicked with his normal metronomic accuracy rather than like a drunk trying to hit a tin can in a high wind, New Zealand would have been out to 30 and a hiding would have become a humiliation.

Cape Town and one victory, commendable as it was, does not make this All Black side the best in the world, nor the Springboks the worst.

Much work lies ahead for New Zealand, not least to address the fact that without Richie McCaw, they are half the side.

His was a phenomenal performance, a comprehensive display and one of the great individual performances of recent years.

If you were there, count yourself privileged to have seen it at first hand. But when McCaw isn’t there, New Zealand don’t look the same side.

But the worries were all South Africa’s after this Test. Zero points is always a concern. They had enough ball to win a match, had three scoring chances in the first half alone.

Yet they failed to put a single point on the scoreboard chiefly because of the All Blacks’ world-class scrambling defence, and their own disturbing lack of control and composure at critical moments.

A total of 546 caps for the South Africans added up to hardly any composure whatsoever when scoring situations arose. No one led decisively from the front, no one put up their hands and said “follow me” and no one seemed to counsel the patience required, sometimes to work their way through nine or 10 phases inside their opponents’ 22 before making the decisive incision.

There are some harsh, uncomfortable truths for the South Africans to digest from this failed performance. The first is that John Smit’s leadership qualities are hugely missed by this Bok side. There is a worrying lack of direction without him, a sense of rush and unco-ordinated effort that resembles headless chickens hurtling around the place.

The second lesson is that you cannot, in the modern rugby world, allow your focus to slip one iota during the period of preparation. It was obvious to outsiders all week that the All Blacks were focused, clinically committed and dedicated to the task before them.

By contrast, the Springboks were bothering themselves with dinners, silly wigs and special celebratory cakes to mark Percy Montgomery’s 100th cap. You could never imagine an All Black side allowing themselves to be photographed, laughing themselves silly in blond wigs 24 hours before a major Test match.

That alone told you everything about South Africa’s lack of intensity and cold, ruthless readiness for the contest. It looked like it, too, when they got out there at Newlands on Saturday.

Their coach has to bear the responsibility for the preparation – he makes the calls, judges what is and is not permissible. South Africa got it wrong this week and they should know it. But problems of a longer-term nature exist. Schalk Burger’s lack of construction, accuracy and precision at the breakdown was badly exposed by McCaw. Likewise, for a player winning his 50th cap, Juan Smith never got his head above the ranks.

Victor Matfield’s chief contribution was to argue constantly with the referee and, in a sense, he was right. Matt Goddard was weak, a craven figure who wouldn’t punish the cheating by both sides at the breakdown for most of the first half.

Only yellow cards will persuade players to stop cheating and killing the ball at the breakdown under these new laws.

But that doesn’t explain away South Africa’s defeat. Despite an obvious advantage in the set scrums and the excellence of “Beast” Mtawarira, they looked rudderless.

Teams can reinvent themselves inside seven days, as New Zealand proved a few weeks back in turning the Sydney defeat into a decisive win over the Wallabies in Auckland. But watching Wallaby coach Robbie Deans will have taken careful notes on Saturday.

It won’t be easy for the Boks to get past Deans’s men in Durban this Saturday, especially if their preparation is again so laissez-faire.

Arthur Turner

Graeme Smith’s undefeated century at Edgbaston was the best and most significant innings of his Test career and showed that he is destined for greatness as both player and captain.

He took charge of a precarious situation and ensured that he became only the third South African captain to win a Test series in England – and the first in 43 years. He enjoyed his finest hour both as captain and player.

For a 27-year-old, Smith has an excellent record both as player and captain. He is developing into an astute captain and player for his country, whether one likes him or not. He has what it takes as a person, player and captain to achieve greatness. This Test series victory in England is his best achievement and the first signs of what will hopefully be a lengthy unbeaten run.

However, to achieve true greatness as a captain Smith needs to win Test series’ against Australia both home and away and the Cricket World Cup. He will have a great opportunity to win a series against Australia at the end of the year.

Smith will probably have two more opportunities in his career to win the World Cup for South Africa in India in 2011 and Australia in 2015.

In the Test arena Smith is already South Africa’s most successful captain having led the Proteas to 29 victories in 59 Test matches. However he needs to improve his performances as captain in the ODI version of the game as his win ratio is only 62.85% in a 133 matches. This in comparison to Hansie Cronje who has a win ratio of 73.3% in 138 matches. Cronje’s record is the third best in the history of ODI cricket.

Smith has an outstanding record as an opener in both Test and ODIs and possesses the ability to dominate attacks and score big hundreds.

Even more remarkable

In Test cricket he has an average of 49.69 with a strike rate of 62.12 in 69 matches. His ODI average is currently 41.11 with a strike rate of 81.89 in 133 matches. He has scored 16 Test tons with four being double hundreds and seven ODI centuries.

When one considers Smith’s age and that he opens the batting in both forms of the game and has captained the team for most of his international career, his record even more remarkable. He has also had to deal with a certain amount of instability during his five year tenure as captain with three coaches and four selection conveners.

At English county level Smith has also made his mark by leading Somerset to victory in the Twenty20 Cup in 2005 and played a major role in the Rajasthan Royals winning the inaugural Indian Premier League earlier this year.

There are probably only three other captains in the history of South African cricket that can be classified as bordering on greatness in the context of their era and achievements, namely Peter van der Merwe, Ali Bacher and Cronje.

Van der Merwe led South Africa to victory in England in 1965 and against Australia in 1966/67. Bacher led South Africa to a 4-0 whitewash against Australia in 1970. These are the only two series’ that South Africa have won against Australia.

Cronje had a great record in both Test and ODI cricket as captain. However much of his success has subsequently been undone thanks to his involvement in match fixing.

Smith has already easily surpassed the achievements of the other three captains both as a leader and player and is destined for greatness, not only in a South African context, but as one of the all time legends of the game.

URUMQI, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) — Police intensified road checks in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Tuesday, after the violent attack on police in the border city of Kashi on Monday, which left 16 policemen dead and 16 others injured.

    Authorities in Kashi reinforced police power at road entries to the city on Monday afternoon, and ordered a full security vigilance in public places including government office buildings, schools and hospitals.

    A Xinhua reporter in Kashi said that police demanded bag checks on passengers passing through road checkpoints, and got on vehicles to carry out security checks.

    In Xinjiang’s capital of Urumqi, special police used wireless ID check devices in routine street patrols. A special police on duty said that the digital device can trace the ID data through the police network, and send out alerts if an ID match that of a blacklisted suspect at large.

    Fully armed local traffic police began to patrol on buses since early last month, to look over whether there are suspectable materials and people.

    ”The security overruns everything,” said Han Shubin, the Nanjiao Police Station deputy director in Urumqi.

    Ye Xiaofan, a local resident, said that passengers were very cooperative when they saw policemen got on bus for checks. “Their work is to crack down crimes and make us safe. It is our duty to cooperate with them,” she said.

    All the 16 injured policemen in the Kashi attack were still treated at the Kashi Prefectural People’s Hospital. Four of them were in the hospital’s ICU, while the other 12 were out of danger, according to hospital source.

    The two attackers detained by police on the spot were identified as two Uygur men, aged 28 and 33, respectively, according the local police.

    The incident is still under investigation. China’s counter-terrorism experts and Xinjiang’s public security department suspected a terrorist plot behind the attack.

    The Spanish government on Monday expressed its strongest condemnation on the attack in Kashi. Spain reinforced its “radical condemnation to the terrorism in all of its kinds.”

By Peter Bills

New Zealand surprised the rugby-playing world in Auckland on Saturday. They gained instant revenge on the Australians with a performance that was so structured and traditional that it could have come out of the 1980s.

Hard, tough, powerful foraging by the forwards in all phases; direct running and clever kicking by the backs. It might just have shown the northern hemisphere that the new ELVs are not the devil personified. And it was a tremendous Test match.

But can these All Blacks back up such a wonderfully convincing performance with a display of similar conviction in Cape Town on Saturday week?

The Springboks are always happiest when confronted with a bruising physical contest and will adapt better to those tactics. So how do the All Blacks get past them?

One thing is for sure. Saturday’s display will have given Bok coach Peter de Villiers food for thought. New Zealand have clearly raised the bar.

All Blacks coach Graham Henry wasn’t focused on that after Saturday’s Auckland triumph. He was just relieved the New Zealanders had salvaged their reputation and perhaps his own skin.

As Henry said: “We changed the game plan around and the guys executed that exceptionally well.”

Henry and his colleagues got it as wrong in Sydney as they got it right in Auckland. Daniel Carter and Jimmy Cowan kicked intelligently and constantly forced the Wallabies back.

New Zealand won the match by doing the simple things effectively, dominating the line-outs, the scrums and the breakdowns.

There was one other quality that tilted the match their way. Old-fashioned pride in the jersey, and the burning desire to see off any opponent, to tackle, cover, run and attack until it hurt.

The fact that the All Blacks were allowed to scrum by South African referee Mark Lawrence, and the Australians were not allowed to collapse scrums at will, made a significant difference.

The Wallabies’ back row was unable to break early, to roam free to do damage. Instead, Richie McCaw was first at most breakdowns and he laid the foundations for his team’s victory as New Zealand won the breakdowns 24-8.

Sometimes, you just have to acknowledge a supreme individual performance. Given that he hadn’t played a match for weeks, McCaw’s display was outstanding. As the world acknowledges his excellence, so New Zealand should fear his absence. Without him, the All Blacks are half the side.

Such was the All Blacks’ superiority that when Ma’a Nonu scored four minutes after half-time, the match was over at 28-10. New Zealand had been better in every aspect, prop Tony Woodcock burrowing over for the first two tries. Carter’s five penalty goals kept the scoreboard ticking over and Nonu’s last-minute try gave the All Blacks their bonus point.

By Richard Sydenham

BIRMINGHAM (Reuters) – Paul Collingwood, without a test century in more than a year, was recalled to the England side along with fit-again bowler Ryan Sidebottom for the third test against South Africa starting on Wednesday.

Fast bowler Steve Harmison, named in the preliminary 13-man squad and hoping for a recall after being dropped after the winter tour to New Zealand, was left out along with Stuart Broad.

“We felt on this ground the extra depth in our batting would help,” Vaughan told reporters at Edgbaston on Tuesday. “We felt the three-man seam attack and Monty (Panesar), who should bowl more this week, was good enough to bring us the result we need to get back in the series.”

England trail 1-0 after losing the second test by 10 wickets at Headingley.

“Harmy was very close (to being picked). It’s a sign for him that he has got a chance of getting back in the squad. He’s not in the eleven this week but who’s to say he won’t be in the eleven the week after,” added Vaughan.

While Broad has managed three wickets at an average of 96 in the two matches so far, Collingwood has scored just 92 runs in first-class cricket all season in nine innings, with a top score of 44 not out for his county side Durham.

“He has struggled of late,” Vaughan said of Collingwood, who was dropped for the second test.

“But he averages over 40 in test match cricket, he brings his fielding, his energy, his bowling on this kind of wicket could be useful, he is a good man to have around the team and he is a good thinker on the game. He knows he needs to start scoring runs, as a few of us do.” 

Left-armer Sidebottom, England’s top-ranked bowler, is recovered from a stiff back.

South Africa are set to play Andre Nel in place of fast bowler Dale Steyn, who sustained a broken left thumb in the previous test and was advised to take two to three weeks rest.

England: Andrew Strauss, Alastair Cook, Michael Vaughan (captain), Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, Tim Ambrose, Ryan Sidebottom, James Anderson, Monty Panesar.

Tiger Woods is on pace to pass one billion dollars in career earnings by 2010, becoming the world’s first billionaire to accumulate his fortune by playing sports, says Forbes Magazine.

The 14-time major championship winner earned $115 million in 2007 alone, said the American magazine which annually ranks the world’s richest people with its Forbes’ Celebrity 100 list. English footballer David Beckham was the No 2 sportsman on the list with earnings of $65 million.

“It will be an unprecedented occurrence,” the magazine said. “There are plenty of billionaires who have excelled at sports like Switzerland’s richest man and champion sailor Ernesto Bertarelli. But there are no billionaires who accumulated their fortune by playing sports.”

The magazine goes on to say in its Wednesday edition that while tycoons like Bill Gates accumulated his wealth by holding a stake in a company with soaring profits, Woods is unique because his massive fortune was earned through pay cheques.

Woods is a sports marketer’s dream, having earned more than $750 million in endorsement deals to date in his career. At 32, Woods has won 50 tournaments faster than any player and is closing in on Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 major championship wins.

The nine-time PGA player-of-the-year is extremely popular and likeable. When he is playing in a tournament, television ratings increase by at least one third and often more — like his recent stunning victory at the US Open in San Diego.

He has lucrative endorsement and sponsorship deals with companies like Nike, Buick and Gillette which help make up nine-tenths of his totals earnings and will land him $90 million in 2008, says Forbes.

Nike Golf registered over $600 million in sales in 2007. The American shoe giant didn’t even have a golf line of shoes and clothing before it signed Woods to a contract in 1996.

Gatorade is also launching a new line of sports drinks, called Gatorade Tiger.

Woods is expected to miss the remainder of the golf season, while he recovers from knee surgery. He captured the 2008 US Open in a playoff despite playing with a torn ligament in his left knee.

Johannesburg – World Cup winning Springbok coach Jake White says he would rather be remembered as a rugby man than as a coach – and he has taken the first step in leaving a legacy that could have a huge impact on rugby in South Africa.

In conjunction with Richmark Holdings (Pty) Limited, of which he is the marketing director, the official launching of the Jake White blog and Youtube Channel was announced on Wednesday.

With Youtube being the leading online video community in the world, the blog and channel have as its aim the furthering of White’s achievements.

More importantly, White feels it can be of benefit to the rugby community at large, in South Africa and overseas.

“The venture will give me the opportunity to stay in rugby and share some views,” he said at the launch.

“I can, for example, assist with coaching at all levels by sending out drills. Take the top 100 schools in South Africa, for example. I will be able to receive and send on their videos and highlight moves or mistakes in those videos.

“I will be able to add to the game generally and give back to rugby by showing highlights, giving feedback and adding value to the people and coaches in South Africa – and elsewhere – in terms of rugby.

“The biggest thing, I think, is the opportunity to share my thoughts and those of others with coaches.”

White says he has come to realise that he won’t be able to keep everyone happy.

“I encourage opinions. That way, I can at least comment,” he said.

“I want this thing to be a positive about rugby. There are too many negative things in the game in South Africa.

“This can become massive. Rugby is a global game, and the whole world wants to know what’s happening.”

On the current Tri-Nations series, White said that the Springboks should have an excellent chance to win the competition this year.

“We’ve won one overseas, and also have a nucleus of players where all the forwards have played 50 matches or more or are closing in on their half-centuries.”

He would not comment on the Boks’ performances to date other than to say that he would never have left out Percy Montgomery for the Test against Australia last weekend.

“Even if he is not regarded as the best, his input, just having him around in the change room, is a massive plus.”

White said that the future of rugby in South Africa looked sound with virtually all the active World Cup winners still young enough to play in the 2011 World Cup.

“That is a huge plus,” he feels. – Sapa

By Ashfak Mohamed

The time has come for Springbok coach Peter de Villiers to make some tough selection calls for the home leg of the Tri-Nations series.

Having won only one match out of three, albeit an historic first-ever triumph over the All Blacks in Dunedin on their overseas tour, the Boks have not looked a settled unit.

There have been changes in every match of De Villiers’s tenure so far this year, which shows that he is either not sure of who his best 15 players are or, more tellingly, that he is picking certain players more on reputation than current performance.

At flyhalf, Butch James continued his good World Cup form against Wales, but in the three Tri-Nations Tests, he was not convincing at all. He is unsure of his tactical kicking, he seems to have great difficulty in getting his line away, while his biggest strength, his defence, has also let him down.

James did not have nearly the same influence on proceedings as either Dan Carter or Matt Giteau, and if on top of that he misses tackles, then why is he in the team?

De Villiers will to think carefully about giving Stormers flyhalf Peter Grant a proper chance to prove that he can cut it at Test level.

The one-off Test against Argentina in Johannesburg on August 9, the week before the massive Tri-Nations game against the All Blacks at Newlands, is the ideal opportunity for De Villiers to see if Grant is good enough.

Grant was the top South African flyhalf in the Super 14. This was his second season at that level, so surely he must now be given a fair chance in the Bok side.

De Villiers must also make a firm choice at No 8. Joe van Niekerk was a surprise selection against the All Blacks. He did not stand out in the Wellington Test, but improved in Dunedin. He was then left out in Perth, with Pierre Spies starting. But Spies, as he has throughout this year, again looked off the pace.

Ryan Kankowski was the top SA No 8 in the Super 14, but unfortunately got a bad knock to his head against Italy. He may have been still recovering from that knock, but he should also start against Argentina, as he has terrific pace and is ideally suited for the new-era fast-paced game under the ELVs.

And, talking about loose forwards, where does Luke Watson fit into all of this? De Villiers started with him at flank in Schalk Burger’s injury-enforced absence against Wales, and then played him off the bench against the All Blacks.

Perplexingly, Watson was dropped for the Wallabies game, even though the Aussies had two specialist fetchers in George Smith and Phil Waugh.

De Villiers will obviously not contemplate dropping Victor Matfield, but it has to be said that Matfield was well below his best in two of the three Tests. On Saturday he uncharacteristically dropped a few kickoffs, did not really feature in general play and did not look to be a particularly inspiring captain either.

Andries Bekker has made a telling impact every time he has come off the bench, so Matfield needs to step up and remind us that he is the best lock in world rugby.

Francois Steyn’s status in the squad also has to be clarified. Is he a flyhalf, outside centre, fullback or utility back? I would leave him on the bench to cover all those positions, if he must be in the squad. Steyn did not have a good Super 14, so what is his claim to a Bok spot? Last year’s performance at the World Cup? That should not be the yardstick for a place in the team.

Other positions under scrutiny include fullback, right wing and scrumhalf.

Conrad Jantjes has been mostly outstanding this year for the Stormers and the Boks, while Percy Montgomery is the veteran with the calming influence.

At No 14, JP Pietersen leapfrogged Tonderai Chavhanga and Odwa Ndungane to start the last two Tri-Nations Tests, but has not impressed. De Villiers should make use of Chavhanga’s extreme pace in the drier SA conditions.

Ricky Januarie was the match-winner in Dunedin with a superb solo try, but he struggled to clear the ball from the breakdowns in Perth. Whether that was his fault or the forwards not protecting him is up for debate.

Fourie du Preez made an encouraging return from a hand injury for the Blue Bulls in the last two weeks, so De Villiers will have to decide what he is going to do there.

The Boks can still grab the Tri-Nations, but they have to probably win all three Tests at home to have a chance of clinching the trophy.

They certainly can do it, but it will be up to De Villiers to show conviction and make a few brave selections if his team are to triumph.