Birmingham Post

Cricket: The Oval Last Night

Cricket: Barristers Give Grimleys a Right Old Battering ; John Bright Trophy

Despite Britain's Monsoon weather, the John Bright Trophy just about managed to keep afloat this week with two games played and two cancelled in Birmingham's corporate cricket tournament. A sunny Wednesday evening at Britannic Park, Moseley, saw St Philips Chambers in title contention form with a third successive win in the tournament sponsored by Williams de Broe.

Motor Racing: Hamilton Confident of Defying Ferrari's Surge ; Formula One: French Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton is confident of a hat-trick of grand prix wins tomorrow, despite an apparent resurgence from Ferrari. McLaren have totally dominated the last three races, with Hamilton and Fernando Alonso claiming successive one-two finishes to open up a 35-point gap over second-placed Ferrari in the constructors' championship.

Golf: Whitehouse and Scotland in Close Contention ; Golf: French Open

Remember the name Zane Scotland? Ten years ago, he was the winner of a national newspaper competition to find Britain's answer to Tiger Woods.

Cycling: Entertainment On the Trail of the International Man of Mystery ; Book Review in Search of Robert Millar by Richard Moore Harper Sport

4sportsbooks.co.uk price: pounds 9.59, saving 40% on rrp With the Tour de France less than a fortnight away, it seems peculiar that Britain's most successful professional cyclist, the only English-speaking man to win the King of the Mountains title (in the 1984 Tour), is not busy conducting a succession of media interviews prior to the cycling calendar's greatest annual event.

Motorcycling: Vermeulen Slips Into Pole Berth

Rizla Suzuki rider Chris Vermeulen has claimed pole position for today's A-Style MotoGP Dutch TT. The 25-year-old Australian was fastest in wet conditions during yesterday afternoon's qualifying session at the 2.8-mile Assen circuit.

Ryuichi Kiyonari

Ryuichi Kiyonari, the series leader in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, clipped a tenth of a second off the Knockhill lap record in free practice ahead of Sunday's seventh round. The HM Plant Honda rider clocked a best time of 48.334 seconds, at a speed of 94.69mph around the 1.27-mile Scottish circuit to finish two tenths ahead of his team-mate Jonathan Rea.

Horse Racing: Nosferatu in Mood to Draw Blood

Nosferatu can defy an unfavourable draw and present Amanda Perrett with her second John Smith's Northumberland Plate victory at Newcastle. High numbers are traditionally a disadvantage in this two-mile feature but Nosferatu looks to have enough potential to shrug off that burden and supplement Bangalore's victory in 2002.

Poker: Automatic Reaction to Being Under the Gun

I sometimes feel that, by revealing poker tactics you may have spent years fine-tuning, you're giving part of your game away. Perhaps that's too selfish of me, although it would take up more space than we have here to explain the most complicated of them. In truth, the majority of poker strategies are underpinned by mathematics, with their use at the table ultimately determined by the pattern of an opponent's play - assuming there is one.

Determined O'connor Harbouring Ambitions ; London 2012 Is Already Beckoning for One Kidderminster Teenager.

Fran O'Connor is a young lady who is really enjoying life in the fast lane. This time last year, the Kidderminster schoolgirl was just a normal teenager with a hobby she loves.

Football: Experienced Saddlers in the Hot Seat ; Football: League One

Walsall manager Richard Money has admitted he has been forced to consider the pressure of playing at the Banks' Stadium to inform his recruitment policy. Money, who last week signed a three-year contract with the League Two champions, claims he is looking not just for certain types of players, but more particularly kinds of people who can cope with the demands of the Walsall supporters.

Rugby Union: Rodwell Keeps Faith with Moseley After Rejecting Other Overtures ; by Brian Dick Rugby Correspondent

James Rodwell, one of Moseley's crown jewels, has revealed he turned down two offers from higher-ranked clubs to remain at Billesley Common next season. The 22-year-old loose forward is one of the division's brightest stars and his performances since he broke into the Moseley team, midway through the 2005-6 campaign, have led many to label him as a potential Premiership player.

Athletics: Butterworth Rising to the Challenge

High-flying Louise Butterworth makes her Great Britain debut at next month's European Under-23 Championships - just three years after taking up athletics. The 22-year-old, who was born in Paignton but now competes for Birchfield Harriers, was this week selected for the GB team that travels to the Hungarian city of Debrecen, where she has an outside hope of a medal.

Athletics: Derham Bids to Extend Her Unbeaten Run

Birchfield Harrier Zoe Derham will hope home advantage will help her continue her dominance of British hammer throwing at tomorrow's ThrowsFest at the Alexander Stadium. The 26-year-old, who claimed a respectable fifth as part of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team that won promotion back to the European Cup Super League last weekend, will look to extend her five-month supremacy in domestic competition.

Earnshaw Is Eager for Premier Return

Robert Earnshaw has admitted the lure of playing Premier League football was behind his decision to leave Norwich City for Derby County. The 26-year-old joined the Rams yesterday for a club-record fee of pounds 3.5 million - a bid which activated a buy-out clause in his contract.

Derry Face Crippling Trip to Armenia After Draw

Derry director Michael Burns admits the Champions League first- round draw is a "nightmare" for the club. The Candystripes must travel to the other side of Europe to face Armenian champions Pyunik, with the reward for the winner a second- round clash against Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk.

Virus Rules Out Hodgson

Charlie Hodgson did not fly to Portugal with the rest of England's World Cup training squad after developing symptoms of a viral gastro-enteritis. Dotors decided the Sale fly half should stay at home to speed up his recovery and reduce the risk of the virus sweeping through the squad.

Boxing: Mcdermott Swats Aside Mclntosh

Darren McDermott defended his Midland Area middleweight title with aplomb as he outclassed the hapless Conroy Mclntosh inside two rounds at Dudley Concert Hall. The 28-year-old made light of Mclntosh's pre-fight bluster whereby he claimed he was going to 'break McDermott's ribs' with a performance of ruthless quality.

Cricket: West Indies Stunned As Shah Saves England ; Twenty20: England V West Indies the Oval: England /West Indies

Owais Shah went most of the way towards regaining an England place he was unlucky to lose with a brilliantly-improvised, unbeaten 55 from 33 balls to rescue a match that was all but lost here yesterday. He led his side to victory helped by rookie Dimitri Mascarenhas whose 18 from 16 balls completed a match-winning partnership of 69 off 36 balls. The West Indies were stunned but they missed a crucial trick when they won the big advantage of winning a second successive toss on the same good str...

Cricket: Morgan's Elevation Sets Up Morris As Contender for Ecb Chairman

David Morgan, chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, has been confirmed as the new president of the International Cricket Council, leaving an election to decide his successor that could pave the way for Sir Bill Morris to become the first black chairman of a major sports governing body in England. The appointment of Morgan (pictured, right), was announced at a press conference at the Brit Oval yesterday afternoon before the second International Twenty20 match.