Flintoff highlighted how important he is to Michael Vaughan’s side when he scored consecutive centuries at Bristol and Lord’s but his

Flintoff highlighted how important he is to Michael Vaughan’s side when he scored consecutive centuries at Bristol and Lord’s, but his fitness record suggests there will always be periods when he is unable to bowl. The 46 year-old’s thorough and innovative approach to coaching, helped Gloucestershire win seven one-day titles during his five seasons at the county, and this win allowed New Zealand to maintain their 100 per cent record under his guidance. Since Bracewell took over as the national coach in December 2003, New Zealand have won each of the three one-day competitions they have played in.”We have shifted back to specialisation,” said Bracewell, when asked about the secret of his success. John Bracewell believes England’s selectors need to return to picking specialists if they wish to become a competitive one-day team.

“We are lucky in that we have two guys like Chris Cairns and Jacob Oram, who are specialist all-rounders, and they make one hell of a difference to our side They make it so much easier for us to organise ourselves. The New Zealand coach gave his advice after watching his side thrash the West Indies by 107 runs in Saturday’s NatWest series final at Lord’s.
This victory allowed Bracewell to add another accolade to his ever improving curriculum vitae. The Welsh rider, 21, served notice of her ability to win an Olympic medal by taking the penultimate stage on Saturday, and held on to the overall lead on Sunday’s ceremonial last stage.. The US Postal rider Jose Azevedo, the only Portuguese rider this year, would probably have been over the limits on the hand-luggage had he tried to check in with the large Brittany foal he was given by the Lamballe local council at the start yesterday in recognition of their town being twinned with the town of Oliverio da Bano in Portugal.In any case, given his role as a key climber for Lance Armstrong, with the Pyr?es fast looming on the horizon, long before he can test his ability to handle four-hooved means of transport, Azevedo’s skill on two pedals are likely to be first put to the test.* Nicole Cooke has won the women’s Giro d’Italia – arguably the toughest race on the women’s circuit – at her first attempt. Once Bettini’s charge had fizzled out, a more determined move by the Luxembourg national champion, Kim Kirchen, gained the Fassa Bortolo pro a handful of metres as he dodged round the last left-hand bend some 200 metres from the finish.However he was outstripped by Hushovd – another national champion – with an impressive final surge that took him past Kirchen almost on the line.The burly Norwegian made no bones about why he had managed to hit the jackpot on such tricky terrain “I’m one of the strongest on uphill sprints.

I had so much power it was really easy, and I had a lot of confidence, and knew if everything went well I could win.” The Cr?t Agricole pro has already spent one day in yellow early on in the race and another in the green jersey worn by the points competition leader, and yesterday he received the kisses from a third set of hostesses.A pleasant enough change for the 26-year-old, but what has not altered for the Tour has been the weather, with rain falling virtually non-stop on every stage since it set out from Belgium a week ago last Saturday. He has plenty of speed but he can switch off and tuck in, and I think he will go on any ground.”. A powerful last lunge by Thor Hushovd earned the Norwegian sprinter his second Tour stage win as the race ended its long march from Li? in Belgium to Brittany in the far-flung north-west of France with an unusually complex bunch sprint at the summit of a nasty little drag on one of the coastal resort’s seven hills. “I bought him to go hurdling – that was the plan and I will stick to it. He will probably have a two-month break and then go hurdling Those two wins were a bonus. Besides, the handicapper will hit him now and he will have to go near enough into Listed class now.”We will have to school him but I think he will go very well over hurdles – he looks tailor-made for the big novices’ hurdle at Aintree. It seems the National Hunt sphere remains the grey’s playground.”I haven’t spoken to Mr Wylie, but I don’t think Arcalis will run on the Flat again,” Howard Johnson, the trainer, said yesterday.

He was being monitored by the course doctor, Peter Phillips, while Dobbs received a kick on his left leg but was otherwise uninjured.While he contemplates his injuries, Holland can at least send up thanks to Arcalis, Saturday’s John Smith’s Cup winner, who denied Fallon another victory when getting up close home to beat The Queen’s Promotion at York.Arcalis has now won both his starts on the level since being bought privately out of Lynda Ramsden’s stable by Graham Wylie, the computer man with a penchant for jumps racing. Holland, who was stood down for the day, had somersaulted when hitting the ground and sustained widespread bruising. Thus Ladbrokes quote him at 8-1 for the championship.Holland is different. He keeps his own counsel in the jockeys’ quarters and is perhaps the only man who can plot a coup in the knowledge that, one day, he might be king. When Ladbrokes offered 5-1 about the Mancunian yesterday at 12.40, with Fallon at 1-5, they were soon accommodated.