The Sports Matrix: Wednesday 10 August 2011

Murray crashes out in Montreal

Andy Murray went out of the Montreal Masters yesterday, losing 6-3, 6-1 to world No 35 Kevin Anderson in just 69 minutes. Murray was sloppy in his first tournament appearance since Wimbledon, just 19 days before the start of the US Open. MORE

Westwood plots care-free victory

Lee Westwood, the world No 2 hoping to win his first major at the USPGA Championship this week, plans to relax. “I’ll try to play this tournament like I don’t really care,” he said, “have a free and clear mind and play like it doesn’t really mean anything.” MORE

England have case of the Moody blues

England do not know yet whether Lewis Moody’s knee injury will keep him out of the World Cup. “All we can do is give him time and see how things develop,” said coach Graham Rowntree. “This is a week by week thing.” MORE

London top-flight games under threat

The Premier League will ask clubs to make a decision tomorrow evening on whether the weekend’s fixtures – especially the three games in London – will go ahead, after tonight’s friendly between England and the Netherlands was cancelled. MORE

Prohibit fancied at Nunthorpe Stakes

Prohibit’s trainer Robert Cowell yesterday backed the horse at next week’s Nunthorpe Stakes at York. “He’s the one there to be shot at,” he said, “but I’m really looking forward to it. And so long as there’s a good pace in the race I think he’ll run really well.” MORE

Chamakh: Cesc and Nasri will hit road

Arsenal striker Marouane Chamakh has admitted his fear that both Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri will “likely” leave the club this summer. Chamakh told French television that they would be sold once Arsène Wenger had found replacements.

Veteran Aldama makes British team

The British team for the World Championship in Daegu was announced yesterday, including Yamile Aldama, who will be 39 years old when the event starts later this month. The triple jumper will be the oldest ever British debutant. MORE

Dhoni hopes for big boost from Sehwag

India captain MS Dhoni hopes that the return of opener Virender Sehwag will inspire his team to improvement today: “We all know an aggressive opener can have a very big impact on the opposition bowling attack, so he’s a very good player to have in the side.” MORE

Robertson defends safety strategy

Hugh Robertson, the Minister for the Olympics, yesterday assured representatives from 200 countries that security plans for next year’s Games will prove adequate in the wake of rioting: “The security planning for the Olympics has been incredibly detailed.” MORE

Opinion: James Lawton

While sport can ultimately never be more than a triviality, a certain measured celebration is surely permitted if the England of Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss confirm their status as the world’s leading Test team. MORE

Strauss: We can cheer up nation

England captain Andrew Strauss hopes that success for his team in the third Test, which starts at Edgbaston this morning, can raise the spirits of a troubled nation. “Clearly there are big things going on in the country at the moment,” Strauss said. “This is a chance for cricket to provide a feel-good factor and show that not everything out there is bad. “Let’s divorce the cricket match from what is going on. When you watch these things on television it’s horrific and it’s far from England’s proudest moment. All of us agree on that and are incredibly disappointed to see it happen. But in terms of preparing for a cricket match it hasn’t affected us much.” There have been disturbances in Birmingham, but Warwickshire issued a statement yesterday confirming that the match would go ahead as scheduled. There will be 300 stewards on duty and a much smaller police contingent. The ground will be full for the first three days. England will make one change from the team that won at Trent Bridge, with Ravi Bopara replacing Jonathan Trott. Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag will open for India. MORE

England keen to keep foot on pedal

England hope to learn the lessons of Headingley 2009, when they lost badly to Australia, knowing that a win would secure them the series. “We started looking too far ahead then, at the outcome of the game,” captain Andrew Strauss said yesterday. MORE

Beach volleyball test runs smoothly

Despite the riots, the Olympics beach volleyball test took place at Horse Guards Parade in central London yesterday. “We will do whatever to not even risk putting in danger anybody here,” said the event director, Angelo Squeo. MORE