The Jester from Leicester was the night's entertainment - Photo Nux CCA
Snooker loopy
The people who say that snooker is a dying sport have already closed their minds to it, and their opinions will not be changed. The evidence to the contrary, however, was there for all who want to see it with a magnificent final which saw Mark Selby claim the Masters title at Wembley for the second time in only his third attempt. He did so by reeling off the last four frames to turn a 9-6 deficit into a 10-9 victory. Ronnie O’Sullivan has been on the wrong side of comebacks recently - his defeat to John Higgins in the semi-finals of the UK Open was brave but in vain - but in the process he has produced some of his best snooker, and forced his opponents to do the same. When the best players produce close contests, the results are captivating.
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South Africa secure some of what they deserve
Sadly the English cricketers could not muster such a contest against the South Africans as the gripping Test series reached its conclusion. Having refused to be cowed in the First and Third Tests and in the process securing priceless draws, England simply appeared to have run out of fight by the time they reached the Wanderers. But had one suggested that England would not be beaten over the course of Test, Twenty20 and ODI series against South Africa, it would have been a struggle to find anyone who would have believed it. There’s something disheartening about the end of the series, and the same issues of under-performing batsmen and unspectacular bowlers remain from the Ashes series, but the feeling lingers that the side is moving in the right direction.
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A Savage face shot
One crumb of comfort of being stuck on the road on a Sunday afternoon is the chance to follow the football on the radio. Sometimes you get a cracking match, and the vivid words of the commentary team combined with the flights of your imagination produce huge excitement. Sometimes you have to make do with a damp squib of a game, such as the one between Aston Villa and West Ham yesterday, with ‘expert’ analysis from the man with far too much of a media profile, one Robbie Savage. Just when you’re ready to give up on the radio, though, the summariser catches a ball flush on the face, and it’s all worthwhile.
