Talking Sport: Bowlers bid to clock 100mph milestone

Speed guns are focused on fast bowlers to see if one of them can bowl at 100miles and hour which is the magic figure. That’s all very well but the deliveries have got to be accurate as well, otherwise you get a keeper diving all over the place and cursing fluently.

In footie, the aim seems to be the first player to score a goal after 100 minutes in a 90-minute match.

Chelsea’s John Terry went close in the draw with Everton, scoring after 98 minutes, which did not impress visiting manager Roberto Martinez and left us thinking that Sir Alex Ferguson’s famous time-keeping watch would have burst into flames.

Many moons ago before the age of the cursed computer, I worked on a sports paper in Leeds and it was expected that the paper, complete with match reports, scores and league tables, would be on sale in the city centre before five o’clock to catch the fans returning from the United game.

With a 20-minute half-time these days and stoppages for somebody to scratch his backside or tie a bootlace – not easy with fancy boots and half of them can’t fasten them anyway– we’d have been lucky to be on the streets before Strictly Come Watsit was on the telly at eight o-clock.

A great performance by England’s cricketers to clinch the series in South Africa, led by Stuart Broad’s outstanding bowling in the second innings and a marvellous 100 from Joe Root.

Broad earned high raise because he bowled 10 overs on the trot at altitude in Johannesburg. I wonder if he could do that in the altitude of Delph and Dobcross in the Heavy Woollen Cup. Now that would be a test.

BBC radio, predictable as ever, informed us breathlessly that Kevin Pietersen had scored 68 in a T20 game in Australia for Melbourne Shirt Rivers or somebody. They forgot to mention that Yorkshire’s Adel Rashid was leading wicket taker in that competition. They probably don’t realise he played for England as well.

Liverpool were left kicking themselves after losing to their deadly rivals Man U. The Scousers don’t seem to kick much else because they’ve managed just 25 goals in 22 league games including four at Man City and three against Arsenal. They spent a fortune on striker Christian Benteke and sent him on for the last nine minutes.

Britain’s former world heavyweight boxing champion David Haye duly flattened some overweight Aussie in his comeback fight after more than three years out. It’s incredible how often these opponents are dredged up, who look as if they have just come out of the pub, but more than 16,000 turned up to watch – and they banned bear baiting.

The opponent, one Mark de Mori, was helped to his corner wearing an oxygen mask. He looked as if he needed one to climb into the ring never mind get out of it. He wouldn’t survive in the altitude of Delph and Dobcross.