Jonathan Trott wins England player of the year award

Jonathan Trott’s run-scoring feats during the past 12 months were recognised when he was named England’s cricketer of the year by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) at a ceremony at Lord’s here yesterday.

The award, voted for by the British cricket media, is given to the player who has had the greatest impact upon England’s performances from the start of the 2010 international season until the end of the World Cup.

In that time the South Africa-born Trott played 32 times for England, scoring 2,246 runs at an average of 68.06.

This included seven hundreds and a highest score of 226, against Bangladesh in a Test at Lord’s last year.

His Ashes average of 89 was second only to Alastair Cook, whilst his first over run out of Simon Katich during the second Test Match in Adelaide, helped set England on the road to Ashes victory.

“I am both extremely humbled and proud to have been named England Cricketer of the Year after what has clearly been the most enjoyable year of my cricketing career so far,” Trott said.

“It is an honour to represent England and it has been a privilege to be involved in such a successful, hard working team,” the 30-year-old Warwickshire batsman added.

“I wouldn’t have won this award without the commitment and support of my team mates. This award really belongs to the entire England squad and management team that have provided such a supportive and professional environment that has allowed me to prosper as a cricketer and a person.

“There is still much hard work to be done and improvement to be made and I look forward to making further contributions to a successful England team for a long as possible.”

Trott’s good form continued with 203 during England’s recent innings win in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Cardiff.

That left him with a Test average of 66.67 - second only to that of Australia great Sir Donald Bradman’s mark of 99.94 among batsmen who’ve played at least 20 Test innings.

BMW riders, manager unsatisfied with ‘weak performance’

BMW has vowed to recover from a disappointing World Superbike round at Miller Motorsports Park after both Leon Haslam and Troy Corser struggled to maintain a consistent race pace.

The manufacturer had been expected to challenge towards the front of the field prior to the weekend, but while Troy Corser qualified in sixth position and led initially after a fast start, both he and Haslam couldn't sustain their form to the chequered flag.

Indeed, while Corser led until lap six, he faded dramatically with tyre problems to finish in 13th, while Haslam was left a disgruntled eighth. The pair fared no better in race two, Corser falling after clipping a kerb at Attitude, while Haslam crossed the line 13th.

Tellingly, BMW's top representative in both races was its satellite Italia rider Ayrton Badovini, who managed sixth and ninth place finishes. It is form that BMW Motorsport Director Bernhard Gobmeier was not pleased with.

“This was a very disappointing weekend,” he said. “We cannot be satisfied with results like these. We ended up way behind our own expectations. We now have to analyse the reasons for our weak performance. We have to and we will work hard to perform better soon.”

Indeed, Haslam was keen to draw a line under a weekend in which he struggled for form throughout, particularly in the dry.

“This was a race weekend to forget. We have identified some issues, and we have to solve these. I am confident the entire team will work hard to take us further up the order soon. We need to go away from here and regroup if we want to be strong for the next races. We must now look to move forward with the bike.”

Interestingly, despite his struggles, Haslam has actually gained a place in the overall standings at the expense of Jonathan Rea in fifth place. However, he leads a close group of five riders, with just 12 points covering him down to Jakub Smrz in ninth. Troy Corser, meanwhile, is down to 14th.

Melandri 'didn't expect' front row start

Though he is already a winner at World Superbike level, Marco Melandri notched up another milestone in his burgeoning Yamaha career by claiming a maiden front row start at Miller Motorsports Park.

His first visit to the American circuit, Melandri shrugged off his inexperience and the wet conditions to make steady improvements over the course of Superpole, snatching the third fastest time with his final effort.

Only the second time he has out-qualified Yamaha team-mate Eugene Laverty, who starts alongside him in fourth place, Melandri was pleased – and surprised – to be as high as third.

“I actually didn't expect to secure a front row place. I'm really happy and I want to thank the team for their hard work over the weekend. [The first day] didn't go as well as I'd have hoped and the morning was also very difficult in the heavy rain.

“We changed the set up and made great progress before this afternoon. I don't know what the weather will be like in the races and a lot depends on that. I'm really pleased with today but tomorrow could be another story. I hope luck will be on my side!”

Checa splashes to another Miller pole

Carlos Checa has taken his fourth World Superbike pole position of the season at Miller Motorsports Park after a last gasp lap sneaked him ahead of Jakub Smrz in the dying moments of the session.

Though the Spaniard had been the favourite to secure the top spot following his dominant turn during FP1 and Q1, the arrival of rain proved something of a leveller throughout the three qualifying phases.

Nonetheless, the battle for pole position would eventually come down to Checa and Smrz, the pair capitalising on the improving track conditions to trade fastest laps with every lap attempt. As it happens, Smrz's effort of 1min 58.390secs looked good enough to secure a second-career pole position as Checa fell short in three of the four sectors.

However, a determined push in the final sector would prove crucial for Checa, the Althea Ducati man denying his Effenbert-Liberty counterpart by less than a tenth of a second.

As lap times improved with every revolution, those crossing the line last fared better on the timesheets, with Marco Melandri pushing up into third position for his first front row start in Superbikes.

Monza double winner Eugene Laverty made it two Yamahas on the front row in fourth after another fine qualifying performance, the Irishman getting the chance to start up top for the third race in succession.

Sylvain Guintoli made his first appearance inside the top eight shootout since the Phillip Island season opener, the Frenchman completing a good day for Effenbert-Liberty Ducati by claiming fifth on the grid.

Troy Corser starts in sixth place, the Australian getting somewhat bottled up behind Max Biaggi during the final qualifying phase but holding on to out-qualify the Italian.

Indeed, the reigning champion endured a rather frustrating SP3 session as he ran off track on his final flying lap, Biaggi rather clumsily dropping the RSV-4 at low speed as he struggled to find grip on the very muddy infield.

Ayrton Badovini joins him on the second row, the impressive Italian cracking SP3 for the first time in his career aboard the satellite BMW Italia.

Elsewhere, there was disappointment for the British contingent as Tom Sykes bowed out of SP2 in tenth place, while Leon Camier and Leon Haslam were in the wars in 11th and 12th.

Camier had looked a favourite for pole position having topped both of the day's wet sessions, but a dramatic high-side in SP1 left him on the back foot. Though he recovered to the pit lane to jump on his spare bike, it was only good enough to scrape into SP2, before settling for 11th. Haslam, meanwhile, took a tumble to leave himself in 12th.

Jonathan Rea, who tested at Miller Motorsports Park prior to this event, was also left disappointed in 13th after being bumped down towards the end of SP1, the Castrol Honda rider joined by his team-mate Ruben Xaus and Monza podium winner Michel Fabrizio.

Guerrero apologises for fan incident

Hamburger SV striker Paolo Guerrero has admitted throwing a bottle at a fan who was shouting abuse at him was the biggest mistake of his career.

The Peruvian threw a plastic bottle in the face of a fan as he left the pitch following his side’s 0-0 draw with Hannover 10 days ago.

His actions saw him fined heavily by his club and banned for five matches by the German Football Association.

“That was the biggest mistake of my career,” Guerrero said in Sport Bild magazine.

“I am still horrified when I see the pictures. I still can’t understand my reaction.

“Something like that has never happened to me. I am normally not an impulsive person.”

Guerrero’s contract at the HSV Arena runs out at the end of the season, but, despite the incident, he is confident they will offer him a new deal.

“I am certain that the club will do something so I stay,” he added.

60 paragliding athletes to attend Indonesia tournament

Jakarta - Sixty paragliding athletes from eight countries have registered for taking part in a tournament dubbed "Indonesia Open" to be held in Sigi District of Central Sulawesi, on June 18 to 25, a media reported here on Monday.

The eight countries are Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Romania, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, France, Russia and the Philippines, FX Murdianto, chairman of the Central Sulawesi Aero Sport Federation (FASI) was quoted by Antara news wire as saying.

The athletes have confirmed their intention to participate in the competition which would consist of two cross-country flight numbers.

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