Formula One pitched up in Bahrain, where Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton cruised to his third grand prix win of a season he already looks destined to dominate. Just as predictable as Hamilton’s win was the ongoing stink over F1’s determination to stage races in a country where, according to Amnesty International, torture, arbitrary detentions and excessive use of force against activists and government critics are widespread. Even so something seems to have clicked with the sport’s controlling body, which has taken the unexpected step of formulating a human rights policy despite F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone’s previously stated views on the subject: “We don’t go anywhere to judge how a country is run. I keep asking people, ‘What human rights?’ – I don’t know what they are.” The times, it seems, may be a-changin’.
FA Cup final finally set
Football fans who enjoy categorising teams in alphabetical order were quietly thrilled as Arsenal and Aston Villa made it to the FA Cup final. Defending holders Arsenal needed extra-time to beat Championship side Reading 2-1 while Villa defeated Liverpool by the same scoreline, thus rudely scuppering Reds captain Steven Gerrard’s hope of crowning his Anfield career in the FA Cup final on his 35th birthday. One can only hope Gerrard’s impending $6m a year contract with LA Galaxy will help to ease the blow. In the Premier League, Chelsea took a huge step towards the title after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Manchester United. In Spain, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi ticked off another mind-boggling career landmark with his 400th goal for the La Liga leaders in their 2-0 win over Valencia.
Anderson’s England record
English cricket’s incoming boss Colin Graves had already dismissed West Indies as a “mediocre” side, so it was inevitable that England would fail to beat them in the first Test in Antigua, which petered out to a draw. Luckily for England’s management, the focus afterwards was on Jimmy Anderson, the fast bowler who is now his country’s leading Test wicket-taker after Windies captain Denesh Ramdin became his 384th victim. “I am hugely proud,” Anderson said afterwards. “I love taking wickets. It is a dream come true to play for England, let alone for 100 Tests.” Anderson overtook Sir Ian Botham’s previous best wicket tally, but is in no danger of bettering the legendary all-rounder’s 5,200 Test runs for England.
Djokovic’s domination
Fearsome tennis automaton Novak Djokovic maintained his world domination at the Monaco Masters, defeating Tomas Berdych 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 for his third successive ATP World Tour win. Berdych at least had the minor consolation of becoming the first person at the tournament to take a set off the world No 1. Djokovic, meanwhile, is now on a 17-match unbeaten run and is more than 5,000 rankings points ahead of world No 2 Roger Federer.
