Are there any positives for England?

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If you have been living in a hole (sleeping) for the last few days, or just given up on England in ODI cricket, you may have missed that they are out of the World Cup after a fourth defeat in five group stage matches. Eoin Morgan's side slumped to defeat to Bangladesh for the second World Cup in a row and now many questions will be asked. There are not any good signs, surely?

The English, not just in cricket but in sport in general, love to talk about the positives after a heavy defeat. Peter Moores' team have had plenty of crushing losses in the last few months in One Day Internationals to stew over and that dreadful form did not only continue, but worsen at the World Cup.

England's latest self-destruction confirms fall from grace

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England's lower order inevitably folded amidst a flurry of feeble shots parallel to those played by their more heralded team-mates yesterday. The biggest worry for Andy Flower, Alastair Cook and the beleaguered batting line-up is that they can't put together an acceptable innings on pitches flatter than the Dutch landscape, and against an Australian side who hadn't won a Test in nine before this series.

The shot that Cook played yesterday morning set the tone for a disappointing effort at batting for two days, but it was the way they subsided to a successive first innings collapse that will worry Englishmen the most. 

Why England can still retain the Ashes despite their deficiencies

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England took a battering from a bunch of fired up Australians over the weekend and have a mountain to climb if they are to regroup and retain the Ashes, especially after the loss of top order mainstay Jonathan Trott. Harsh words were sent in England's direction from both on and off the pitch and it could be these that spur Alastair Cook's men back into action. 

Anyone who thinks that England are going to be thrashed in this series are deluded, but it is certain that they are going to have to work hard to keep hold of the precious urn.

England rock Trott will be sorely missed

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For decades England trialled multiple top order batsmen for the vacant number three role, from county run machines (e.g Mark Ramprakash and Graeme Hick) to young prodigies (e.g Rob Key and John Crawley), but all failed to meet the demands of being the first man in after the new ball in Test match cricket. 

But then came the answer to the woe; the latest world-class South African-born batter Jonathan Trott. For the four years since his Ashes-winning hundred at the Oval in 2009 he has been the glue that has given the England team their greatest level of stability in many a year.

Broad criticism helps Dar and Clarke avoid inquisitions

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The Ashes is back. People all over the country are forgetting to check football transfer news or read the latest article about Andy Murray because of the wicket-tumbling, tail-end wagging and controversial scenes in Nottingham.

One thing is for certain; even the most patriotic Englishman should not assume that victory is in the bag despite Ian Bell's heroics taking his team's lead over 300. This match has been unpredictable from the off and the Aussies have quelled the naive doubts of supporters and pundits alike - they are very much up for the fight.

Adam Scott closes Lytham wound in style

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The Masters. Pure sporting theatre as always. In the midst of heartbreak for so many, there was adulation for Adam Scott as he conquered the undulations of Augusta National to end the Australian Green Jacket curse.

Many demons were banished today; Scott's collapse at Royal Lytham and St Annes is now a distant memory and there will finally be a Masters winner down under.

England should take plenty of positives from tricky New Zealand series

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Colin Cowdrey, Michael Atherton, Ricky Ponting, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Paul Collingwood. Add Matt Prior to the list of batsmen who have all stood in the face of extreme adversity to see their teams to unlikely draws. Today was a day that saw England muster all the fight and desire in the world to hang on against a determined New Zealand side. 

While Prior's innings was magnificent, Ian Bell set the tone with a near six-hour vigil reminiscent of Collingwood at Cardiff in 2009. 

Today was an excellent day for England as very few thought, at 90-4 and with an inexperienced middle order, that they stood much of a chance of saving the series. 

What resulted was a day of thrilling Test match action that made many watching at home wish that they were filling up an empty-looking Eden Park.

Can Ian Bell Finally Bring His Test Form to the One-Day Arena?

The first time Ian Bell was put under the microscope was back in the 2005 Ashes series when he looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Aussie greats Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne made a mockery of Dayle Hadlee's comment that Bell was the best 16-year-old he had ever seen. That series he scored just 171 runs in five matches at an average of just 17.1. 

However Bell was still seen to be one of England's brightest prospects and started to improve on the international arena. He scored three centuries in a Test Series against Pakistan batting at number six a year later and continued his progress with an improved performance against Australia, albeit in a 5-0 defeat. Despite this he took a long time to get his One Day International career off and running as he struggled to distinguish quick-scoring stroke-play from rash shots. One of the reasons he found one-day cricket hard was that his position in the batting order always fluctuated and with it so did his role in the side.

In August 2007 Bell finally scored his first ODI century against India; in his 46th innings. Many thought that this would be the turning point to allow him to kick-on and become a one-day regular for England. These hopes failed to materialise as his form in all types of the game began to suffer and he lost his Test place with his average around the 40 mark and question marks over his ability to score runs in a crisis. But he won his place back towards the end of the 2009 Ashes series and proved his worth with a battling fifty on his return. 

His career really took a turn for the better during the Test series in South Africa in 2009/10. He scored a match-winning unbeaten 140 in the second Test and a crucial series-saving 78 in the final match as England held on for a dramatic 1-1 draw. His magnificent form continued into 2011, although he continued to struggle to seal a place in the one-day side after a disappointing 2011 World Cup. Nevertheless his form in the longer format of the game was only getting better and he finished the 2011 season with 950 runs at an average of 118.75, including a career-best 235 against India in his final innings of the summer. 

Surprisingly though, that one-day spot continued to elude him as he could not find a big innings. His strike-rate was not high either; at just 74 runs per 100 balls faced. As a result he was left out of England's one-day squad that played on the sub-continent in 2011/12 and did not look like winning that place back. However Kevin Pietersen's shock retirement from ODI's and T20i's gave Bell another shot at securing a place in England's top order. 

That shot came today and he took his chance in commanding style, scoring only his second hundred in 105 innings. He scored at over a run a ball and was the lynch-pin in England's excellent total of 288-6, the base for a 112 run win over the West Indies.

Bell feels as though he has improved as a player since he last featured in England's one-day top order: 

"I'm a better player now than last time I was at the top of the order. Hopefully I can take my Test match form into one-day cricket now."

Captain Alastair Cook thinks Bell is 'what England need at the top of the order' and "that's why [England] pick people with good technique to try to get through the new ball and play an innings like Bell did. I think he has improved as a player - he has worked his socks off and is getting the rewards."

England are desperate to become more of a force in ODI cricket and Bell's fluent stroke-play at the start of the innings could be just what they have been missing. After the tougher test of Australia later this summer we might know then if the Warwickshire batsman has finally put his one-day demons to bed. 

Paramedics at the Racecourse

In an age of health and safety regulations one may think that horse racing would not be one of the more dangerous sports. But this would be an inaccurate statement. Every time a jockey rides a horse, especially in a jump race, they know there is a chance they could sustain a serious injury.

Last year for example, 22-year-old jockey Peter Toole fell at the first fence at Aintree on Grand National day while riding 100-1 outsider Classic Fly. He sustained serious injuries including bleeding on the right side of his brain and had to be put into a medically-induced coma. 

Just three days later amateur jockey Richard Hawkins was knocked out when he fell off Tiger Dream in a handicap hurdle at Taunton. Like Toole, he also had to be treated in intensive care before making a full recovery.The same year young amateur jockey Willie Twiston-Davies broke his leg in an unlikely fall and had to be taken quickly to Warwick hospital for an operation. Despite the severity of their falls, not one of Twiston-Davies, Toole and Hawkins suffered career-ending injuries.

These stories may have not had such successful endings had it not been for a group of people who seem to go rather unnoticed at a racecourse. This is despite being crucial in helping keep jockeys safe, especially in the event of a fall.

There are always plenty of paramedics scattered around the stands, the grounds and the jockeys’ weighing room on race day and they have more incidents to deal with than people expect. At Uttoxeter racecourse two weeks ago one paramedic said that: “We (paramedics) have had to work with jockeys regularly in the past on race days.” He also said that the most common injuries sustained by jockeys are to the spinal area or the shoulders. This is usually caused by falling backwards off racehorses of which some can travel at over 40 miles per hour.

Another medic said that doctors “work closely with the vets” who also attend race day to look after the horses. They also play a crucial role as horses are injured even more often than the jockeys as a result of their falls. This was shown last month when five horses died at the Cheltenham Festival and a further two at the Grand National.

The medic also said that: “An ambulance and a doctor always follow the horses around the track”.

But it is not just jockeys that paramedics attend racecourses in order to deal with; they also have to help injured spectators. Injuries happen to spectators surprisingly often at a racecourse, and usually from relatively mundane incidents. Although strange things can happen, for example a horse jumped into the crowd, injuring seven people during a Steeplechase in Victoria, Australia.

But at Uttoxeter races a St John’s Ambulance paramedic said that the majority of accidents involving spectators at racecourses are ‘drink-related’. He said he has had to attend to a couple of freak accidents: “There was an incident last year when someone took strong medication, passed out and caused themselves a head injury.

They were knocked out and we had to take them to the nearest hospital.”

He added that at a racecourse such as Uttoxeter fewer accidents occur than at higher-attended meetings such as Cheltenham or Ascot. He said that: “Uttoxeter is not usually very packed, and normally not many people come here.” As paramedics are still kept busy at a small meeting like this, then that shows how important they can be. 

Watch horse jump into crowd at Steeplechase Meeting Victoria:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8gyFdJB34c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT8Mc_SrtSw