Sport magazine 308

Issue 308 | June 7 2013

Jenson Button and his fight against obscurity

“I DON’T EXPECT SUCCESS I PREPARE FOR IT” RYAN REYNOLDS

BOSS BOTTLED. FRAGRANCE FOR MEN

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Contents

18

Issue 308, June 7 2013 Radar 04 Colour vision A new London exhibition celebrating the early days of sport in colour

06 The promotion business Neil Warnock on what the Premier League new boys need to be doing over the summer months

08 Ashes to taches One of sport’s great rivalries, as documented in a new talkSPORT book oFeatures this coming week

18

Jenson Button It’s not that long since he was Formula 1’s centre of attention, but now Jenson Button is fighting hard to stay in the racing limelight

Cover image: Matthew Stylianou/Corbis Outline. This page: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images, Mike Hewitt/Getty Images, Clickspeed Photography 2011

25 ICC Champions Trophy All the teams, all the potential danger men, and not one but two chats: with England thrasher Jos Buttler and the one and only Chris Gayle

31

British & Irish Lions Our panel of experts looks back on tours of the past and analyses what lies ahead for the class of 2013

25

34

34 Isle of Man TT Behind the scenes at the iconic but notoriously dangerous races

Extra Time

04

44 Grooming Every man wants and needs a new fragrance for the summer. We have two pages for you to choose from

48 Gadgets The robot that will hoover your home and intimidate you at the same time

50 Kit June: what better month for picking up a new pair of football boots?

54 Entertainment

54

The Stone Roses get a loving Shane Meadows treatment, while Pitt Cue Co. releases a sizzling cookbook | June 7 2013 | 03

Radar

In association with Offside Sports Photography from originals by Gerry Cranham

Red is the new black

04 | June 7 2013 |

W

imbledon and the All England Championships are a bastion of tradition, and the only Grand Slam where the players must wear white. That didn’t stop the tournament from embracing (or being embraced by) modernity by becoming the first event ever broadcast in colour on British shores, in the summer of 1967. The system coped well with green and white, and since then it’s moved on to a veritable rainbow of sporting shades – from the cool blue of the Olympic pool to the reddish-purple of Sir Alex Ferguson’s nose. Artist James Straffon has created a series of limited-edition colourised prints from the early days of colour sports broadcasting for his exhibition Chroma – And the Defining Moment, which opens in London this month.

June 17-23, 11am-6pm. Showcase Gallery, 33-35 St John’s Square, Clerkenwell, London, EC1M 4DS

p06 – Neymar v Messi: the Catalonia comparison

p08 – Allan Lamb dressed like a fairy

p09 – Face an over from Jimmy Anderson

Radar

Neymar v messi

Promotion prep T

he 2013-14 Premier League new boys have a tough act to follow, with two of the three promoted teams from last season surviving – and surviving pretty comfortably, at that.

Cardiff, Hull and Crystal Palace have just 10 weeks to ready themselves for life at the top.

But how exactly do they do that? We asked Neil Warnock, who in more than three decades as a manager has won seven promotions (two of which were to the top tier), for his expert advice...

M

eet Barcelona’s new forward pairing. Neymar has vowed to “make Messi better” when they team up next season, which is some task.

Some have questioned whether the Brazilian’s talents will translate to the big leagues, and last season’s league stats seem to suggest that he might struggle to live up to his new teammate’s exploits.

All statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com, where you can find yet more stats

Tip 1:

Tip 3:

Put up or shut up

Know what you need

“The promoted teams have to try and buy three or four players early doors – basically, as soon as possible. That’s the most important thing, by a mile. They need to look for the players they think will improve the team. And I think the sooner they sign the players they want, the better. When I was at QPR, we didn’t sign anyone until the end of August because of the takeover. And, by then, all the players that I wanted had already gone. There were none left. Norwich and Swansea had signed most of the players I wanted...”

“The thing about the Premier League is you have to score goals to survive. The reason Crystal Palace have gone up is because of Wilfried Zaha; because of his two goals in the semi final, then his performance in the final – when it was only him on the pitch who was going to create or score a goal. You need that in the Premier League, and I don’t think Palace will have Zaha there next year, so they have the most difficult job of the three clubs.

They have to find goals from somewhere, and that’s not going to be easy.

“Cardiff can score goals with the forward line they have, but I think they need two or three good defenders if they’re going to survive. Hull are similar to Palace in that they have to sign players who will score goals – but they do have the best base of all three. They have a decent back line, and they’re not bad in midfield either. They do have to concentrate on strikers, though, because I don’t see many goals in their team at the moment. Steve Bruce will know all that though, I’m sure.”

Tip 2: Choose wisely “Clubs shouldn’t look to sign the top players for massive amounts of money. They need to be shrewd. You might pick up the odd one for £3m or £4m, but other than that you’re just looking at the players that will fit in with your squad. It’s not crucial that they have a lot of Premier League experience, either.

Some of the lads I was looking at – like Danny Graham and Ashley Williams – hadn’t.”

06 | June 7 2013 |

Neil Warnock’s book The Gaffer: The Trials and Tribulations of a Football Manager, published by Headline, is out now, priced £16.99

32

Games played

17

46

Goals

14

40

% of team goals

27

1.4

Goals per game ratio

0.82

All pictures Getty Images

Zaha (far left): Palace need to sign another player who will create goal-scoring chances; Graham (left): had little top-flight experience before performing well with Swansea; Williams (above): has adapted well to the Premier League

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Radar

Speedy boarding T

he Williams F1 team have learned a thing or two about travelling in the 30 or so years they’ve been jetting around. This range of luxury luggage by Dom Reilly is emblazoned with the team’s logo, and is exactly what their drivers would use if they didn’t have people to carry their stuff.

See the full range at domreilly.com

rival read

1994: Shane Warne upholds his reputation...

A

n intense rivalry between two sporting giants and dressing up like a fairy aren’t as incompatible as you might think, as you can see from this picture of England cricketer Allan Lamb. That’s just one of the treats contained in Ashes, Clashes and Bushy Taches – talkSPORT’s irreverent waltz through Ashes history featuring not one but two Moustache XIs, and memories from some of the greatest players to have appeared in the iconic series.

Ashes, Clashes and Bushy Taches, by Gershon Portnoi is out now, £10 1979: Ian Botham enhances his stature...

★★★★★ ZOO

All pictures Getty Images

© 2012 Headshot Film Investments, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Packaging © Entertainment One UK Ltd 2013. All Rights Reserved.

08 | June 7 2013 |

In the line of fire

1986: Allan Lamb destroys his credibility

“STALLONE IS BACK TO HIS BEST” ZOO

WATCH IT NOW ON | 09

All pictures Getty Images

F

ancy yourself as a batsman? Want to test yourself against the best? Just plain crazy? If any of the above apply to you, and you think you would really, truly like to face an over from one of England’s greatest bowlers, this summer offers you a chance to do so.

Jimmy Anderson, he of 307 Test wickets, is the face of Strongbow’s Earn It campaign (see what they’ve done with the stump?) and, as such, will be flying in to pepper one lucky fan with six of the best later this summer. So, if you really do fancy facing him, and aren’t worried he might take your head off, then chuck your bat in the ring right now.

Entries close June 23, strongbow.com

Radar Editor’s letter A step back? Hodgson ponders an unpredictable retort for Gary Lineker www.sport-magazine.co.uk @sportmaguk facebook.com/sportmagazine

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Speaking the truth Gary Lineker gets slated for England rant, but didn’t he just say what we all thought?

Editor-in-chief Simon Caney @simoncaney

While we spend a whole season listening to predictable dross from the chaps on the sofa, it is Lineker who would make the best pundit of the lot. Last week he was at it on Twitter – the only place where he is really allowed to voice an opinion. As a lacklustre England laboured against the Irish, Lineker labelled their system (correctly) “predictable and dated”.

He went on: “Even though results haven’t been great, felt tactically England were maturing, but this is a step back to the dark ages of 2 lines of 4.” Hardly a devastating summation, but at least it’s an opinion.

Immediately, he came under fire. First off, that renowned footballing brain Terry Butcher, currently the manager of Inverness Caledonian Thistle but said to be in line for the big job at Doncaster, said Lineker “showed a lack of tactical and professional understanding”. Meow.

Joe Hart added: “They can tweet all they want from their sofas – we’re out here doing it.” Lineker had a little while ‘out there doing it’ himself, as 80 caps and 48 goals testify.

He always showed a canny reading of the game, allying great pace with vision to fashion just the ounce of space required to score 282 club goals in his career.

The bottom line in all of this is that England are okay, but not great. Roy Hodgson has brought stability, but is working with a set of players who may still not qualify for the World Cup finals. There is no mileage in pretending all is well, and Lineker’s views are absolutely fair.

Our man Bill Borrows gives his own inimitable thoughts on Jose Mourinho overleaf, so I’ll keep it brief. Jose is great to have around, and it will be an enjoyable romp – but I am puzzled by the level of mystique Chelsea fans attach to him. He’s not back to complete unfinished business, that’s for sure. Roberto Di Matteo did that for him.

Twenty years on from the Ball of the Century, that fizzing leg-break that Shane Warne produced with his first delivery in Ashes cricket, it’s worth looking back at his legacy.

Warne showed you didn’t have to bowl at 90mph to win matches. He made cricket an art form again. If we see his like again in the next 20 years, we’ll be very lucky.

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LAUNCH OF THE YEAR

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10 | June 7 2013 |

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Friedemann Vogel/Getty Images

N

ot my place to tell Match of the Day how to use their ‘talent’, but maybe they should rethink what they do with Gary Lineker.

Colour reproduction: Rival Colour Ltd Printed by: Wyndeham Group Ltd

Radar Opinion

Flats on Friday

It’s like this…

Bill Borrows

David Lyttleton

“

We all need a fat man behind us

A

s you might expect, there is an unwritten rule in professional sport that declares moaning illegal. Of course, there will always be the odd individual who refuses to bite his lip. But my view was always that if there is work to do and you are paid to do it, then you’re going to do it either way – so why moan all the way through and make it even harder for yourself and everyone around you? These moaners are often referred to as ‘sappers’ because of the effect their negativity has on the energy of a group.

For years, I played with a bloke called Duncan Bell. Now, the aptly named Belly played more than 300 first-class games on the tighthead and represented England, so he was a tough old bird – but he did waste a lot of invaluable breath bitching and moaning over the course of a long career.

I remember him whingeing like a baby during a quite horrific pre-season fitness session that required us both – two relatively large gentlemen – to hit the deck, ‘bounce’ back up, run a long way, and repeat for what seemed like hours. Admittedly, it was an extreme session and one that sticks in the memory – but it had to be done and it needed doing properly.

Belly, however, wouldn’t stop muttering. “This is a joke; they’re just being tw*ts for the sake of it,” he said, referring to the fitness coaches. “Belly,” I replied between shuttles. “Why don’t you just shut up and run?” He agreed in principle, before reverting to type as the next stage of the session began.

12 | June 7 2013 |

As I look back, though, I realise that every time he moaned, I felt better. The reason for this is either worrying or natural – I can’t work out which.

He is a massive, powerful man and was never built to run very far, so I would invariably be a good way ahead of him when it came to fitness sessions, and I now recall clearly taking heart and running faster because there was somebody suffering so much more than me. I didn’t enjoy his suffering, and would always, always help a man in need – that’s what team sport is – but not being the worst made me feel good. As soon as he retired and I found myself lagging behind the young bucks come pre-season, I realised how much I missed him.

The moment this came to me was while cycling at a barely possible 2.8mph up a gruesome hill in the West Country in training for the Deloitte Ride Across Britain. Within our group – which includes Lewis Moody and Danny Grewcock – I’m comfortably the worst cyclist, and I realise now that I have become their emotional safety net. No matter how hard things get, they can always think of me and take heart that life could be a lot, lot worse.

As you read this I will be in my tent, preparing for a 5.30am wake-up on Saturday morning – and, god willing, we will average 107 miles a day for nine days. I am terrified and it may even prove too much, but I refuse to moan about it. Now, how many free cakes will it take for me to persuade Belly to join us? @davidflatman

L

ike a dog returning to its sick,” was one phrase I remember using in my fanzine at the time. Howard Kendall had decided to desert Manchester City, claiming his dalliance with the club I loved was merely ‘an affair’ and attempting to dress up his decision to go back to Everton with the cod respectability of returning to his ‘wife’. It was a very public humiliation.

Another contributor reflected: “The Greeks have a saying: a wise man never washes in the same part of the river twice.” It struck me as abject nonsense at the time, and 23 years later it still does. Surely, that is precisely the place where you should return to wash. But I think he was trying to say that you shouldn’t go back.

Kendall (still the last English manager to win a major European trophy with an English club – just before he left his ‘wife’ to further his European ambitions in the wake of the post-Heysel ban on English clubs), delightfully, was then sacked after securing Everton’s mid-table status but failing to rekindle the old magic.

Incredibly, he turned up at the Goodison Park back door one last time, in 1997, in a foredoomed final attempt to breathe life into a relationship that died years earlier.

Kevin Keegan would know the feeling. He left Newcastle as a player, climbing into a helicopter while still wearing his kit, before returning almost eight years later to manage a club on the brink of relegation to the third tier of English football. The honeymoon was sensational. Promotion, European football, title contenders… too good to be true, almost.

Having raised expectations to an unrealistic level but unable to win the title, Keegan instigated the break-up.

And then he was off, before coming back in 2008 via a bunk-up in west London, a front-page gig with England, and a sensational one-night-stand at City. And then he left the northeast once again – but this time with a painful divorce after failed mediation.

Compared to Harry Redknapp, or ‘Judas’ as he was occasionally known at Fratton Park, he had it easy.

But ‘Arry hardly helped himself by joining Southampton.

Leaving your wife is one thing; shacking up with her half-sister five minutes away is completely different.

Securing relegation is a partial pardon, but then going back to Portsmouth and leaving after finally making it right (winning the FA Cup) is Jeremy Kyle territory.

So, good luck, Jose. After a year without silverware at a time when Barcelona finally looked vulnerable, let’s see how ‘special’ you really are. The Chelsea fans I know are nervous. You can see why. @billborrows

Plank of the Week

Dawn Approach, Epsom (still running, presumably) Bloody horse. Stupid bloody horse. Nailed on, they said. Would love the course, they said. 5/4. The smallprint: may become unaccountably nervous in presence of large crowd. Stupid bloody horse.

Frozen in time

Massimo Bettiol/Getty Images

TAXI! Flagging a taxi down in the West End these days can be a drawn-out affair, so you can understand why this chap is chancing his arm with one of those unlicensed rogues. But wait a minute!

That’s not a moody hackney carriage operator, it’s Jari-Matti Latvala of Finland driving in the WRC Greece last weekend. And, as far as we know, he has not yet done The Knowledge.

14 | June 7 2013 |

| 15

The walls are closing in on jenson buTTon Jenson Button

Alexander Klein/AFP/Getty Images

I

t wasn’t meant to be like this. With Lewis Hamilton gone, 2013 was supposed to be the year that Jenson Button made his own mark at McLaren.

Instead, after just six races of the new season, the pressure is coming from every corner.

With the clock ticking on his top-level career, Button finds himself duelling with precocious new colleague Sergio Perez – not for podiums and prizes, but for a share of the scraps with the mid-table teams.

Going into this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix, Button lies 10th in the standings, with his team languishing behind the likes of Force India in the Constructors’ Championship. Button has stepped

18 | June 7 2013 |

somewhat out of the limelight since his move to McLaren, but as far as the fight for the world title is concerned, he’s in danger of slipping into permanent irrelevance.

We caught up with the 33-year-old after another frustrating weekend in Monaco, where he eventually came home sixth after an incident-packed race.

He is the first to acknowledge that things haven’t exactly been going to plan for him or his team.

“It’s been a bit tricky for us this year,” admits the Englishman, who now resides permanently in the principality. “We started with a completely new car for 2013, because we felt that last year’s car had run out of development. It was only a few weeks ago

that we really had a good understanding of the car and where we needed to take it.”

A string of mechanical issues and pit-stop problems over the past couple of years have cost Button points. In Malaysia, a pit stop cost him a chance at victory when his wheel wasn’t secured properly – incredibly, the second time that’s happened to him in under a year.

“We’re our own worst enemy,” said a frustrated Button in a rare outburst after a qualifying problem before the Monaco GP. Can he explain why? “We’re working flat out, and we have seen improvement in terms of pace,” he says. “But then you make a mistake and you don’t get a result because of that.”

What about McLaren’s decision to design a completely new car for 2013, rather than build on the previous year’s work? “The start of the year was more about understanding the car,” he says.

“We couldn’t understand why the car wasn’t there in terms of pace – it didn’t quite add up, but now we understand it. We thought the mid-grid teams would have a new car for this year, but that hasn’t been the case. Everyone’s just developed on what they had last season. We’ve stood out a lot this year in terms of not performing, but I think that’s because we’ve tried something new and no one else has.”

Button insists that the Malaysian pit-stop problem won’t happen again. Even so, we put it to him that

wondering whether his wheels are going to drop off at any moment can’t help his confidence.

“Every single pit stop this year has been great, apart from one,” he insists. “Since then, we haven’t had any issues, and I think the guys have done a great job of getting over that problem – and of being both consistent and fast at pit stops.”

Button sees progress throughout the team, although that is yet to be translated on to the track.

“It’s definitely improving,” he says. “It’s just that it’s so competitive in Formula 1, that to make any big leap is really impossible.”

Lewis Hamilton might just disagree with that.

His Mercedes team weren’t expected to be > | 19

Jenson Button

“i think when you coMe into a new teaM, or a teaM like Mclaren, you obviously want to perforM – but there always has t0 be a balance” competitive this season, but they have taken the last four poles, and victory in Monaco. Many questioned Hamilton’s decision to move away from McLaren, but it’s Button who finds himself falling behind. And any frustration he feels at being outgunned by his former teammate is likely intensified by the fact Mercedes has its roots in Brawn GP – the team Button won the Drivers’ Championship with in 2009. Many questioned his decision to move to McLaren immediately after that, asking whether the then world champion would be able to compete on an equal footing with Hamilton, who had been there since the age of 13.

Four years on, and Button is now the old hand on the team, although he insists that the atmosphere hasn’t changed much since Hamilton’s departure.

“It’s difficult to compare, really,” he tells us. “You move on, things change. I don’t think the change in personnel is really a reason for a different environment. It’s more that we’re just not winning at the moment.”

Button is certainly less of a strain on the team’s PR department than Hamilton could be. So, is he relishing the opportunity to just get on with the job – without the negative attention that his teammate’s presence sometimes brought? “It’s difficult not to be in the public eye at McLaren,” he reflects.

“Lewis does his own thing, and I do my own thing, so it doesn’t make a difference whether Lewis is in the team or not.”

teaM talk McLaren have long maintained a policy of no team orders, but the appointment of the relatively inexperienced Sergio Perez to join Button will have given him hope of being the de facto number one.

The Mexican has been refusing to play ball, though – they’ve clashed on several occasions this season, with Button complaining to his team over the radio more than once. He deftly changes the subject, however, when we ask if this is how he envisaged life post-Hamilton.

“I feel very happy within the team,” he tells us.

“Obviously we want better results than we’re having, but I’m happy with the atmosphere and my role.

It’s good that I have a teammate who’s competitive.

You want someone who is fast and can push you.”

Not off the track, though. Button has been around long enough to understand that Perez simply wants

to make an impression at his new team: “I think when you come into a new team, or a team like McLaren, you obviously want to perform – but there always has to be a balance.”

Button doesn’t think such a balance should be artificially induced, however. Despite being someone who would probably benefit from them, he remains steadfastly opposed to team orders. “Formula 1 is a team sport,” he tells us. “Every driver deserves to have his own chance. It’s so hard to get into Formula 1 in the first place, let alone to get into a front-running team, so every driver deserves his chance to shine. I don’t feel there should be preferential treatment within any F1 team.”

flying solo Not only is he expertly diplomatic, but Button has never punched anyone in the face. We’re asking not because we’re sizing him up for a fight, but because that’s exactly the treatment former world champion Kimi Räikkönen suggested the Brit’s new teammate might benefit from after they clashed in Monaco.

There’s a pause when we ask Button how he’s getting on with his new colleague. “Things are fine,” he says. “You know Checo is… he’s had an interesting year. Obviously he’s had his issues, mostly with Kimi at the weekend.”

Button has also had his issues with the 23-yearold. He insists he’s never been tempted, although he does intercept the question with an ominous: “We deal with everything in-house.”

Ten years Perez’s senior, Button is well versed in dealing with things that way: he is as smooth in his handling of the media as he is on track. We suggest that a different person comes across on the team radio during races, particularly when Perez is the subject of conversation. “When you’re in a race there’s a lot of emotion, and you’re racing,” he says. “You’re not thinking about being broadcast to the world.”

The implication is that, the rest of the time, Button is very aware of what is being shared with the fans and media. “I am who I am, so I don’t go around to try and publicise what I’m doing away from the circuit so much,” he tells us when we ask him whether he’s consciously decided to shy away from the celebrity lifestyle in recent years. “The stuff that I want to keep private, I try to keep private.”

Aside from the occasional bike ride around Monaco with the famously reticent Paul di Resta, Button doesn’t really socialise with the other drivers at all. >

Montreal Madness Paul Gilham/Getty Images, Mark Thompson/Getty Images

This week’s race in Canada is one with happy memories for Button – he reminded us of his incredible victory there in 2011:

“everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong. i had five pit stops, a drive-through penalty, a broken front wing, a crash with My teaMMate and with another world chaMpion, i was last twice, and won the race on the last lap. it was action-packed, and a race i will definitely reMeMber as one of My best.”

20 | June 7 2013 |

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Jenson Button

“i can’t see myself still racing in my 40s. i feel very young but With a lot of experience.

We’ll see hoW many more years i have left in the sport” rain man

Vladimir Rys/Getty Images, Tom Gandolfini/AFP/Getty Images

Button is famously adept at racing in wet weather, so does he pray for rain?

“When you’re in a quick car, you don’t hope for rain because you’re near the front and there’s more that can go Wrong. but When you’re in a car that’s in the midfield, then yes, you definitely Want it to rain. it Was a bit like that in qualifying in monaco – q2 Was Wet and We Were right near the front. i like it When it rains noW because it gives us an opportunity. but When We’re fighting at the front again, you’d rather it Was dry. i like both conditions, but you have to make sure you’re competitive in both.”

“You’re there to do a job,” he insists. And that frosty relationship isn’t reserved only for drivers from rival outfits. He tells us his relationship with Perez is “the same” as that which he had with Hamilton – largely non-existent. “I’ve never really been that close to a teammate before, and I’m not now,” he explains.

“When we’re at the circuit, we work together, we share every bit of information and I think he learns a lot. Away from the circuit, I have my own friends who I hang out with – and I’m sure he has as well.”

last chance?

As senior partner, Button might feel he’s entitled to be treated as number-one driver, although he insists he’s not feeling the pressure that might come with that role. “Maybe there is [more pressure], but I don’t feel it at all,” he says. “I’m happy being the experienced driver. It’s my 14th year in F1, but I still feel like a kid every time I drive. It’s a good balance.”

A job for life is there for him at McLaren should he want it, according to their managing director Jonathan Neale. And Button’s importance to the team is heightened by their impending link-up with Honda, who will supply McLaren’s engines from 2015 and with whom Button worked for six years. He has no intention, then, of giving up any time soon?

For our race preview of this Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix, turn to page 36 The Jenson Button Trust Triathlon in aid of Help for Heroes takes place on Sunday July 14 at Luton Hoo. For more information and to enter, visit www.jensonbutton.com/triathlon 22 | June 7 2013 |

“I can’t see myself in my 40s still racing F1, no – but I’m loving the sport at the moment,’ he explains.

“I feel very young but with a lot of experience, which is a great position to be in. But, for the moment, I’m working as hard as I can to get us back to the front.

We’ll see how many more years I have in the sport.”

Button is in physically great shape – he’s certainly no latter-day Nigel Mansell – and he doesn’t believe age is an issue: “I don’t think there’s any limiting factor for the drivers; it’s not like we can only go so fast through a corner only because our bodies will let us.”

Michael Schumacher remains the only driver older than 30 to have won the championship this century, however. And, with plenty more young talent flying off the Red Bull conveyor belt, that seems unlikely to change – although Button remains positive he can buck that trend: “I’m always striving to be the best, and racing with McLaren you normally have a chance every year of fighting for the title. Before we think about the championship, though, we have to start fighting for podiums and race wins.”

With this year’s championship gone, and memories of his title with Brawn GP four years ago fading fast, you could be forgiven for thinking the walls are closing in. But Button has come back from the brink before – he didn’t even have a team to drive for in the winter of 2008. Doing it again at this stage of his career would make him a truly unforgettable man.

Amit Katwala @amitkatwala

ICC Champions Trophy

Best of the best

All pictures Getty Images

Group B

Group A

The eight finest one-day nations in cricket are in England (and Wales) for the Champions Trophy. As the hosts begin against Australia on Saturday, we assess each team’s chances England

Australia

Sri Lanka

New Zealand

Home conditions can help, but a one-day series loss to New Zealand has put England’s chances into sharp perspective.

A lot depends on white-ball menace Steve Finn and Stuart Broad being fit. Of the batsmen, Jonathan Trott has taken over Kevin Pietersen’s role circa 2006-2009: a player the media enjoy criticising, even though he’s the one making all the damn runs (Trott averages more than 50 in ODIs). Overall, a good side that may just lack the X-factor that KP would bring – a proven, world-beating, limited-overs superstar.

A minimum of 26 meetings between England and Australia are set to take place over the next eight months across all three formats of the game.

It all starts at Edgbaston on Saturday, and modest, unassuming captain Michael Clarke knows that – alongside his own undoubted class – Australia have the batting clout to cause problems via David Warner, Phil Hughes and Adam Voges. They have a battalion of rapid, if injury-prone, quick bowlers too, although the lack of a top-class spinner remains their Achilles’ heel.

Illustrious names top the Sri Lankan batting line-up, but that’s been the case for a while now and Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and co haven’t fully translated their rich class into tournament success since 2002. Nuwan Kulasekara can swing the ball both ways, but English conditions in June may not be the ideal setting for Sri Lanka’s spinners. Captain Angelo Mathews is coming off a poor Indian Premier League – but not being among the favourites may suit the oft-tipped Lions.

Always a limited-overs threat, the Kiwis are ideally prepared after their one-day wins against England. Brendon McCullum is an imaginative captain capable of meting out hefty wallops with the bat, but he will know that, Ross Taylor aside, his team lacks batsmen of the very top quality. That hasn’t stopped New Zealand doling out upsets in the past, however, and the bowling attack is well suited to English conditions. Pace bowler Trent Boult will be missed through injury, but they welcome back the guile of Daniel Vettori.

Danger man Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler are capable of playing inventive shots to all areas of the ground. We talk to the latter on page 26.

Danger man Big-hitting blonde bombshell Shane Watson crushed 135 from 98 balls against the West Indies in a warm-up game.

Danger man The slingshot delivery, toe-crushing yorkers and unorthodox hair of Lasith Malinga make him one of the hardest limited-overs bowlers in the world to face.

Danger man Seven-toed wonder Martin Guptill is in scorching form. Alec Stewart called his 189 at the Rose Bowl the best one-day innings he’d seen.

India

South Africa

West Indies

Pakistan

If the reigning ODI world champions were a boxer, they’d pack a mighty punch but have a glass jaw. Their batting boasts huge strength in depth, with captain MS Dhoni the ideal man to call on in a run chase. But the bowling leaves much to be desired. Young Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 23, has shown promise and the ability to move the ball off the seam, but spinners Ravi Ashwin and Ravi Jadeja could make for easy pickings on English pitches.

Will need to post big totals, but have the batsmen to do so.

It’s a sign of South Africa’s strength that, even without burly titans Graeme Smith (injured) and Jacques Kallis (resting), the Proteas still look well capable of winning this competition. Hashim Amla averages a handy 56.6 in ODIs, and South Africa proved last summer that English pitches suit them. A hostile fastbowling attack is fronted by Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, though their ‘spinners’ are not of the highest quality – plus they still carry that ‘tournament chokers’ tag.

The Windies players have embraced Twenty20 so successfully that they’re in danger of the 50-over game being actually too long for them.

Still, any team that features the dynamic batting of Marlon Samuels, big-slogging Kieron Pollard plus you-know-who at the top of the order will always be a threat (although playing the swinging ball has proved a challenge of late). They have some good pace bowlers – in particular Kemar Roach – and if Sunil Narine can be at his bamboozling best, you wouldn’t write them off.

The mavericks of international cricket. No one can be sure whether Pakistan will lose three games and go home early or win five successive games and take the trophy – but it’s unlikely to be anywhere in the middle. They boast a spin attack that can fox any side, but their batting does not brim with the potent – if erratic – menace of old. Captain Misbah-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez are run accumulators rather than express scorers.

Responsibility may fall on the gifted shoulders of Nasir Jamshed at the top of the order.

Danger man Just 24 years old, yet having already scored over 4,000 ODI runs, Virat Kohli is a dreamy strokemaker.

Danger man South Africa bat deep, but rapidfire AB de Villiers stands out.

The innovative shotmaker tops the ODI batting rankings.

Danger man When Chris Gayle is on song, it’s often said that the fielders are spectators and the spectators are fielders. We catch up with him on page 29.

Danger man Beware of the doosra. England will be thankful they’re avoiding the turn, control and variety of Saeed Ajmal. > | June 7 2013 | 25

ICC Champions Trophy

Jos Buttler Getting the scoop from England’s explosive young wicketkeeper/batsman How much are the England team looking forward to this competition?

“The Champions Trophy is a really exciting tournament – short, sharp and really competitive. It’s great that it’s in England and obviously an advantage, because most of our guys will have played at the venues quite a lot. We know the conditions well and we have home support, which can be really influential.”

Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

You’re still just 22. What do you think your main strengths are, and where are you trying to improve?

“My wicketkeeping is something I’m determined to improve. I feel like I’ve got huge potential as a wicketkeeper. My strength so far is probably my shotmaking. I think I’m quite an inventive batsman.”

Which is your favourite shot?

“The scoop is probably the most noticed. I do enjoy playing that. It’s a completely premeditated shot.

You plan to take it on before the bowler has bowled the ball – and then hopefully it’s in the area you want it to be. It’s a strength of mine, so I’m always looking to play it if the field dictates it. Sometimes you just get a gut feeling of when to play it. The challenge is trying to choose the right times to go for a shot.”

Which of the England players do you most enjoy keeping wicket to?

“Jimmy Anderson, probably. He’s a phenomenal bowler – one of the best in the world – so it’s great 26 | June 7 2013 |

that I get the best seat in the house to watch him at work.”

Did you have a favourite cricketer growing up?

“Adam Gilchrist was someone I always looked up to.

He changed the role of a wicketkeeper, and I always enjoyed watching his explosive batting. Also, Steven Waugh – captain of a great Australian side while I was growing up – and Jonty Rhodes for his athletic fielding. That was amazing to watch.”

What about the best bowler you’ve faced so far?

“I’d say Saeed Ajmal. I played against him in a tour game at Somerset and, unfortunately, he also got me out on my ODI debut [against Pakistan in 2012].

So I’ve played against him a few times, and he’s a very skilful bowler who can spin the ball both ways. He’s the hardest I’ve come up against.”

You’ve made your mark in Twenty20s for England.

How different a skillset is the 50-over game?

“It’s an extended version, but I think some of the evolution of Twenty20 has crept into 50-over cricket.

But, with the start of an innings having the two new balls, that’s a bit more Test-like. So there’s elements of both of those forms in one-day cricket. It’s long enough for quality batters to bat at the top of the order and score big... and it’s short enough for people coming in at the end to have a real influence.

So it’s a great all-round game.”

In an ideal situation, you’re involved later in a batting innings. Is that a role you enjoy – coming in and looking to score quickly at the end?

“Yes, I think it’s a role with quite a lot of responsibility.

Also, with the new rules, with an extra fielder in the circle, there’s a bit more emphasis on scoring a lot of runs later in an innings. But you have to adapt. I could be coming in at 250/4 or it could be 40/4, so you have to be adaptable and able to play the situation.”

Chris Gayle does work in the gym in order to sculpt his mighty guns. Do you think hitting the weights helps a batsman looking to play big shots?

“Gym work does have something to do with it.

Strength helps you hit the ball, but there are some great strikers of the ball around the world who aren’t big guys. Bat speed and timing are equally important as how strong you are.”

What are England’s chances of winning this?

“There’s huge confidence in the squad that we can do well. We have a pretty good record in England recently – plus we have some outstanding, worldclass players who have delivered on the big stage.

So hopefully we can really challenge for it.” > Jos Buttler was interviewed while being dressed by McCann Bespoke, who have also made the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy winners’ blazers. For more information, please visit www.mccannbespoke.com

There are always improvements to make.

More power. Greater speed. Quicker recovery.

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ICC Champions Trophy

Chris Gayle The West Indies opener tells us we wouldn’t like him when he’s cranky

Is the Champions Trophy a tournament that you enjoy playing in?

“It will be a good competition. So many great sides: eight top teams. The West Indies have a lot of experience from nine years ago, when we came here and won this, so those things are a positive for us – especially being T20 champions last year as well.

But it’s tough: Pakistan, India and South Africa is a huge group.”

Do you enjoy playing in England? Might we see you playing with Somerset this year at all?

“Hopefully you will. This [England’s domestic Twenty20 competition] is the only major T20 tournament I’ve not played in. But if the opportunity presents itself, I would love to dominate this format

England v Australia Edgbaston, Sat June 8, 10.30am Sri Lanka v New Zealand Cardiff, Sun June 9, 10.30am Australia v New Zealand Edgbaston, Wed June 12, 10.30am England v Sri Lanka The Oval, Thurs June 13, 1pm England v New Zealand Cardiff, Sun June 16, 10.30am Sri Lanka v Australia The Oval, Mon June 17, 1pm

India v South Africa Cardiff, Thurs June 6, 10.30am West Indies v Pakistan The Oval, Fri June 7, 10.30am Pakistan v South Africa Edgbaston, Mon June 10, 1pm India v West Indies The Oval, Tues June 11, 10.30am West Indies v South Africa Cardiff, Fri June 14, 10.30am India v Pakistan Edgbaston, Sat June 15, 10.30am

of T20 here. But, yes, I do like playing cricket in England. You score a nought and you still get a cheer!

[Mimics polite applause] The crowd is great.”

If you were bowling to yourself, where would you pitch the ball?

“In the slot – so I can hit it. [Laughs] I don’t know where I’d pitch it, to be honest. I’d be nervous if I was bowling to myself. I’d hope I wasn’t in a cranky mood.”

You won the World Twenty20 with the West Indies last year. Who partied longest out of everyone?

“Well, that was a very special win. Number one. Who partied longest… umm, me. It was non-stop. I didn’t go to sleep for two days afterwards.”

Alex Reid @otheralexreid Chris Gayle was speaking at the launch of the Chris Gayle Academy, a sporting social development programme designed to unlock the potential of young people to become role models in their communities. See cricketforchange.org.uk

Knockout phase

Group A

Fixtures

Mark Nolan/Getty Images

You had another good Indian Premier League season in 2013. How confident are you that you can take that form into the Champions Trophy for the West Indies?

“Yeah, I feel like I can continue with my form from India. We have a new captain in [Dwayne] Bravo taking over and [Kieron] Pollard has been striking it well, so hopefully those guys taking part in the IPL

can transfer how they’ve been playing to the West Indies. That way we can get a kick-start against Pakistan and gain some momentum in the first match. I strongly believe we can get the job done.”

Group B

When you’re batting in limited-overs cricket, you always seem so calm. Do you ever feel pressure or stress at all?

“You do feel the tension, but what makes it easier for me is the day before the game, you analyse the bowlers you’re going to be coming up against.

In your mind, you picture yourself and how you’re going to play those bowlers before you go to bed.

Then, when you get out there, you might feel a couple of butterflies – but once you get past those first couple of balls, you gain in confidence and can get the upper hand.”

Winner Group A v Runner-up Group B The Oval, Wednesday June 19, 10.30am Winner Group B v Runner-up Group A Cardiff, Thursday June 20, 10.30am Final Edgbaston, Sunday June 23, 10.30am

All matches shown live on Sky Sports 1

| June 7 2013 | 29

The British & Irish Lions

the teamsheet Sir Ian McGeechan OBE

pride of lions

With just 15 days until the first test, sport chats to four lions legends about the class of 2013 and great lions tours gone by

Scott Quinnell After leaving the 1997 tour early because of injury, returned to play a key role in all three Tests on the 2001 tour

Paul Wallace Called into the 1997 tour late, but went on to become one of only five men who played every minute of all three Tests

Stuart Barnes Captained the Lions in their first tour game in 1993, and has covered every subsequent tour as a commentator

breakdown, Dennis might come in and the Aussies give away someone like George Smith – I think that’s important to us.”

Will Genia and Quade Cooper: the danger man and the enigma

Jamie Roberts and Brian O’Driscoll showing off their strong rapport in South Africa in 2009

Warren Gatland has picked a Welsh-dominated squad – will we see a Welsh teamsheet playing a Welsh style in the Tests?

IM: “It’s not that simple. The great thing about the Lions is that the chemistry is different. Often, when you look at what the Lions have done and the way they’ve played, it doesn’t follow one country – it just reflects that group of players and the way the coaches have developed them. Go back to O’Driscoll and Roberts four years ago – they’d never played together, but they spent time together on and off the field and built a really strong rapport.

The important thing is to be open-minded. Players will be asked to do different things to what they’re used to.”

PW: “The massive Welsh influence is a big issue, though. They haven’t beaten Australia down there, so just to play their way and slightly adapt might not be the way. It’s all about the guys who hit form on that tour, though. I reckon there will probably be about five players in the Test team that none of us picked pre-tour – as long as the coaches have that open mind.”

SB: “Everyone’s favourite game is saying who’s going to be in the Test team, but it’s not necessarily about who’s going to be in the team – it’s about how they’re going to play that will win the Test matches. There is a slight question about that because it’s not just how Wales play under Warren, it’s also how Wasps played under him. The high intensity, massive collisions, hit the breakdowns – it worked at club level, and it’s worked very well for Wales. But we are stepping up a level here.” > | June 7 2013 | 31

David Rogers/Getty Images, Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

First things first, gents – how are the Lions going to beat Australia in the Tests?

Stuart Barnes: “They’re going to have to stop Will Genia.”

Scott Quinnell: “With physicality, yeah. This has got to be the biggest squad ever to leave these shores.”

Ian McGeechan: “The big thing will be getting the forwards to carry big, getting attackers on the shoulders and creating space for the 10 and 12 to have a real go at that fly-half channel.”

SB: “That’s got to be our best attacking weapon, because Jonny Sexton is so good playing quite flat. And, if you have people like George North coming off him, and Brian O’Driscoll’s ability to use that first step and open holes for Jamie Roberts, they can cause mayhem. There’s a feeling that the Lions are big and powerful and will smash them up front, while the Aussies are quick behind and will run us ragged. But Australia actually play quite patient rugby.”

IM: “That’s why Quade Cooper could be important for them, just for that little bit of an X factor.”

SB: “Would you play him?”

IM: “I would, because Genia likes him in that half-back combination.

Unlike South Africa and New Zealand, though, Australia don’t have the strength in depth – and they need their best players fit.”

Paul Wallace: “True, and they don’t have much tight-five cover.

The Lions could dominate the lineout because they have that strength in depth, and options with people like Tom Croft.”

SB: “Yeah, and that could force Australia to pick a player like David Dennis – he’s not a bad player, but he’s not top-notch.

Suddenly, where Australia in the past have done this brilliant thing of putting two sevens on and just strangling the

Played eight Tests across two Lions tours in the 1970s before leading them four times as head coach (1989, 1993, 1997, 2009)

The British & Irish Lions after 1997. There were a lot of different coaches and ideas, but ’09 took the Lions back to where we want to be – and that’s why Warren Gatland is the right guy to coach this year.”

SQ: “We’ve all sat here and picked Test teams for weeks, but in 1997 you wouldn’t have picked your team before you left, Geech?”

IM: “No, no way” SQ: “But that was the best side at the time. Wally [Paul Wallace] came through, Jeremy Davidson was outstanding, the back row all came through. It just kind of develops because people pull on a Lions jersey and either disappear or grow.”

IM: “And that’s the biggest challenge of coaching: not pre-judging. You can’t start with a Test team on week one, because all you do is turn everyone else off.”

SQ: “That’s what happened in 2005.”

How important are the build-up games for both sides?

IM: “Huge, because it’s all about using combinations in the warm-up games and seeing what starts to work and what’s clicking. What you have to do – the biggest lesson I learned – is to train to win the Tests. From day one in 2009, we trained to beat South Africa. We wrote the provinces off and all we talked about was the way we wanted to play – and we did it with every player in every game, so there were no mixed messages.”

SQ: “How much of that is about not showing your hand? You want to build, but not show your hand coming into the first Test.”

IM: “I don’t think you can, because you’re still evolving. Just going back to the last tour, there were certain things we decided we’d cover and certain things we didn’t in particular games. One day, it’s all about the defence; the next, we’re focusing on hitting those inside shoulders in support. It’s perfecting those little things in the warm-ups, then hoping it all comes together for the Tests.”

SQ: “That’s the hardest thing on these short tours. With 20 games or so, you can build these understandings and these principles. With 10, it’s much more of a struggle.”

SB: “And Warren has got that message. That’s why, almost within days of taking up the post, he said it’s possible that the Lions will drop provincial games because they’re focused on the Tests.”

SQ: “That’s one of the reasons why we’ll be stronger this year than we have been previously. We lost that feeling of one unit 32 | June 7 2013 |

The greatest Lions: McGeechan (front right) and the New Zealandconquering class of ‘74

Celebrating the series win over South Africa in ‘97: the Lions have lost three series since

Do you remember when you first got named? We presume you didn’t find out by watching TV… IM: “I got a printed letter, and then you had to reply because it said something like you were invited to join, then you had a card to fill in to say you accepted the invitation.”

PW: “I got the phonecall in 1997 because I wasn’t in the original squad. Geech didn’t pick me!”

IM: “You only missed the first three days.”

SQ: “They were the best!”

IM: “It was only day four when we first went to the pub, actually. It was the Wallace influence!”

SQ: “I think 1997 was a letter originally, which arrived on the morning of the announcement.

The horrible thing then is you go in and stand around saying nothing and looking at everyone else, until someone whispers: ’Have you got your letter?’

I remember Allan Bateman saying it, and then you stand there and wait for the next person. It was incredible, but you couldn’t go around yelling ’Yes! I’ve been picked!’ because there were other people in the squad there and you weren’t sure whether they’d had the call.”

SB: “And just to complete the step from letter to modern day, we found out by…”

SQ: “…carrier pigeon?”

SB: “Ceefax! Geoff Cooke was tour manager and he said he’d phone on the Sunday if we were in. I stayed up until 2am and heard nothing, then I didn’t go to work the next day and I came back from the pub later all sort of drunk and depressed. I turned on Ceefax and it read: ’Webb and Probyn only Englishmen to miss out.’ I was so self-pitying that I thought they couldn’t even be bothered to mention the fact I’d not been picked. Then it scrolled from page one to two, and it had ‘Barnes’. It was an amazing moment, because it was the most depressing day of my career and then the best. It does amazing things to players, doesn’t it?”

Mark Coughlan @coffers83 The British & Irish Lions Tour is part of a live summer schedule of sport available on Sky Sports HD and on the move via Sky Go

Allsport, Allsport UK/Allsport, David Rogers/Allsport

How much has the whole feel of the Lions changed over time?

IM: “I remember going with one coach and one manager. You had two liaison officers, and they had a list of where you might eat, where the doctor is, where you could find a physio and all the opening times. If you got injured, they put you in a taxi, you got treated and got a taxi back. The big difference is the coverage, though. In 1989, I think there were a dozen journalists. We used to have the press conferences beside the training pitch because I wanted the media to have an idea of what we were trying to do.”

SB: “Now I want to see training, and there’s not a chance!”

IM: “Then you look at four years ago, when we were in a room with 30 television cameras and 200-odd journalists for the announcement of the Test team. It’s a different ball game.”

SB: “As the media, we’re part of that change. Some of the midweek games in 1993 weren’t even on TV. Sky got the rights in ’97, so every game was live, and people really came to realise what the Lions was. The Lions was an odyssey for rugby people that few others knew about – it’s now a bit like the Ashes, one of the things that takes rugby away from its ghetto. There’s now more media, more pressure, more coverage, more money.”

The British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia 2013 Live and exclusive national radio commentary of every match only on

Sat June 1 Lions v Barbarians (Hong Kong, 12:30am) Wed June 5 Western Force v Lions (Perth, 11:00am)

Sat June 8 Queensland Reds v Lions (Brisbane, 10:30am) Wed June 12 Combined NSW & Queensland Country v Lions (Newcastle, 10:30am)

Sat June 15

NSW Waratahs v Lions (Sydney, 10:30am)

Tue June 18 ACT Brumbies v Lions (Canberra, 10:30am)

Sat June 22 1st Test: Australia v Lions (Brisbane, 11:00am)

Tue June 25 Melbourne Rebels v Lions (Melbourne, 10:30am)

Sat June 29 2nd Test: Australia v Lions (Melbourne, 11:00am)

Sat July 6

3rd Test: Australia v Lions (Sydney, 11:00am)

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Isle of Man TT

“I’ve lost a feW frIends round here, but I knoW they’re lookIng doWn and lookIng after me, and they Were doIng What they loved.

It’s hard. It’s hard to let go of thIs drug We all seem to have under our skIn”

W

e’re clambering over a fence into a stranger’s garden when the uniqueness of the Isle of Man TT really hits home. Every year, a woman named Roz throws open her house on Bray Hill, to spectators of the most dangerous motorbike race in the world. You can’t get there via the roads because they’re closed for the event, so we skirt alongside garages and squeeze past sheds to make our way. The bathroom walls are decorated with photos of illustrious former guests such as Valentino Rossi.

We huddle at the foot of Roz’s driveway, with just a line of police tape separating us from the bikes and sidecars flying past at 160mph.

Even the people who do this kind of thing for a living are taken aback – MotoGP and Superbike racer John Hopkins watches, mouth open in awe, as the quickest riders take to the air, a 34 | June 7 2013 |

few feet from hedges and garden walls.

“This is the closest I’ve ever seen a race bike at speed,” he says. “I can’t believe I go quicker than this on the track.”

Of course, tracks have speed traps and run-off areas – but if it goes wrong on this island, you don’t get a second chance. Since the race began in 1907, more than 250 people have lost their lives around the undulating 37.8-mile Mountain Course – riders, marshals, and spectators. With this in mind, we inch back from the roaring engines, asking one of the locals whether anyone had ever come off the circuit in this particular place. “It used to be much bumpier through here,” comes the answer. “They’ve flattened it out, but before that a lot of people said hello to the hedges.” Reassuring.

John McGuinness is a 41-year-old from Morecambe with crooked yellow teeth, patchy grey stubble and a

sizeable belly straining against his leathers. He’s also one of the greatest racers in the 106-year history of the TT, with 19 race wins in 17 years of racing. That puts him second in the all-time rankings behind Joey Dunlop, who racked up a record 26 TT wins before being killed in a crash in Estonia

at the age of 48. We speak to McGuinness right after a practice session for the TT Zero, the grand old race’s attempt to embrace modernity with electric bikes.

“It’s not the future, is it?” he asks with a wry smile. The future is catching up with McGuinness, though,

in the shape of Michael Dunlop – Joey’s 24-year-old nephew. “He’s the new hotshot,” says McGuinness. “A few other riders are chomping, nipping at my heels and stuff. They have been before and I’ve managed to beat them.”

The youngest Dunlop has already beaten McGuinness in three races at this year’s TT, which ends today with the flagship Senior race. But the older man proved he still has what it takes by setting a course-record lap in Sunday’s Superbike race, at an average speed of 131.67mph. He will need a few more years at the top if he wants to break Joey’s record, though – unless he can better the feat of Ian Hutchinson, who won five races at the 2010 TT. “If I do five in a year, I’ll do a nude streak down Douglas promenade,” he threatens. “It’ll be shocking, like – me naked – but I’ll do it.”

He continues: “I just wanna win – Joey’s out there at 26 wins, I’m on 19.

I’m still a hell of a long way off, really.”

the iron giant

Conor Cummins is still hunting for his first TT victory. He’s a giant of a man – fitting, on this misty island whose place names seem lifted from a fantasy novel. A local boy, Cummins would get up at the crack of dawn to watch the bikes going by, and tells us that the TT is all he thinks about, 24/7.

He’s experienced the dark side of the island, too – a sickening crash in 2010.

Losing control of his bike at the Verandah, Cummins was thrown down the side of the Mountain, bouncing like a rag doll and breaking like porcelain.

Three years on, the 27-year-old has been rebuilt with metal rods (four in his back, plus two plates and 16 screws in his left arm), and insists his body is in ‘mint’ condition and ready for the physical battle of the TT. “I’ve been determined since I hit the ground that I was gonna get back out there,” he tells us. “I was weak as piss [after the crash]. I couldn’t control anything. My left side was smashed – my right side was mint, but all my effort and time went into getting my left side sorted because I was so bloody weak. I couldn’t go round left-handers to start with, I was that weak. But I’ve done seven laps out there today – over race distance – and I feel great.”

danger men

At the paddock, there’s a festival atmosphere – motorbike fans from all over the world soak it up, freely enjoying the kind of access to riders and machines that you’d have to be Bernie Ecclestone to get at a Formula 1 race. Sponsors’ banners hang everywhere. William Dunlop (left),

Action from this year’s TT (clockwise from top left): the giant frame of Cummins; McGuinness races down the Mountain towards Creg-ny-baa; riders wait at the start line; William Dunlop stops for refuelling

older brother of Michael, laments the increasing professionalism of the race, telling us that it has “spoiled the fun”.

There remains a very amateur feel to proceedings at times – at one stage, practice is halted because of a house fire in Kirk Michael, and over the TT radio service there are sporadic parochial announcements: “A silver Skoda is blocking access to emergency vehicles at Ramsey. Please move it.”

The banners and hand-painted timing boards at the start line obscure a huge graveyard directly opposite the main TT grandstand – perhaps fitting, considering the race’s well-known dark side.Someone tells us about the wife of Yoshinari Matsushita, who has spent the week grieving in and around the paddock, waiting for a flight home after her husband was killed in a crash during practice on Tuesday.

The riders we speak to are aware of the grim spectre lurking round every fan-lined corner, but they can’t and won’t let it faze them. “There’s danger in all walks of life,” says Cummins, as we sit in his team’s garage (it’s actually just a big tent) after a session.

“I mean, there’s five f**king litres of petrol right there – one nasty spark and we’re both burned to a crisp.”

“I do think about it,” says McGuinness.

“The law of averages says it’s going to get me one day, so I need to retire soon. I’ve seen some of my mates crash, and some of my mates have lost their lives round here, and I’ve come across some accidents and they scare me. I’ve lost a few friends round here, but I know they’re looking down and looking after me, and they were doing what they loved. It’s hard. It’s hard to let go of this drug we all seem to have under our skin.”

Amit Katwala @amitkatwala

bird basher The walls and houses aren’t the only obstacles facing the riders, as John McGuinness explains:

“i’ve hit pheasants, blackbirds, rabbits, ducks. all sorts of things. i hit a pheasant two years ago. i think it was a pheasant – bloody big thing – and it came through the screen, smashed the bodywork, smashed the screen, bent the clutch lever and it hit me in the chest. i had to stop, because it was like a sucker punch. i couldn’t breathe – i got winded. it broke all the front of the bike. i had blood all up my neck, up in my helmet and my mouth and my face. it was horrible. horrible. i’ve had them wedged inside the front of the bike and i’ve had ’em cooking on the exhaust. a blackbird cooking on the exhaust is not nice – it’s not like cooking a turkey.” | 35

7 Days

JUN 7-JUN 13 HIGHLIGHTS » Golf: US Open » p38 » Tennis: AEGON Championships » p40 » NBA: Miami Heat v San Antonio Spurs » p42 » Athletics: Oslo Diamond League » p42 » Football: European Under-21 Championship » p43

OUR PICK OF THE ACTION FROM THE SPORTING WEEK AHEAD

SUNDAY FOrMULA 1 | CANADIAN GrAND PrIX | CIrCUIT GILLES VILLENEUVE, MONTrEAL | SKY SPOrTS F1 7PM

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Fists might fly

However, it's their ‘secret tyre test’ with Mercedes prior to the Monaco Grand Prix that has given this saga its latest twist, with both Red Bull and Ferrari

points behind the ever-dominant Sebastian Vettel in top spot.

The triple world champion’s nearest rival, Kimi

lodging formal complaints, claiming the German

Räikkönen (pictured), is 21 points behind in second.

team had broken a strict ban on testing during

He rolled in 10th in Monaco, and might find it difficult

the season.

to keep both hands on the wheel after his tête-à-tête

Those protests won't do anything to help the

with McLaren's Sergio Perez. The Ice Man lost his cool

They're not exactly renowned for rising above

already fractured relationships between the teams,

with the Mexican's aggressive overtaking in Monte

petty squabbles in Formula 1. So it comes as no

just when the championship is starting to heat up.

Carlo; asked after the race whether the drivers would

surprise that, as the teams head to North America,

Nico Rosberg was the man to beat last time out,

have a word with Perez, he snapped: “That won't

they do so amid fresh controversy.

winning from pole in Monte Carlo exactly 30 years

help. Maybe someone should punch him in the face.”

With tyre management issues blighting the season,

after his father Keke took the chequered flag on the

Back to those secret tests, though – and Lewis

Pirelli have promised to introduce new compounds

French Riviera. He will need to add a few more wins

Hamilton, fourth in the standings but still waiting

– but sadly for racing fans, they won’t be available

to his tally if he is to stake a claim for the Drivers’

to hold his own clenched fist aloft in victory this

until the British Grand Prix in three weeks’ time.

Championship, however – Rosberg lies sixth, 60

season, will quietly hope they have helped his cause.

36 | June 7 2013 |

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7 Days THURSDAY > GOLF | US OPEN | MERION EAST COURSE, PENNSYLVANIA | SKY SPORTS 2 2PM

Five who might If Tiger doesn't win, then one of these could Sergio Garcia Race rows aside, Garcia is having a solid year, and his tortuous putting stroke has been replaced by one that sees only Woods having more joy on the greens this season. Tee to green, Garcia has always been sensational.

Matt Kuchar It's time the in-form Kuchar – winner of The Memorial last week – won a Major.

He has the game for Merion, and is putting well. He is one of the tour's plodders who gets the ball in the hole.

No frills: perfect for Merion.

Bill Haas Haas hits it straight and finds greens.

A solid putter (if not in Woods' class), the only thing letting him down in 2013

The wicker men

a reduced problem this week, though – there are only two on the course.

Merion, in Pennsylvania, is a quirky and historic course.

instead of flags, plays host to the US Open – the second

Founded in the 19th century by Merion Cricket Club, it

Major of the year. And, from Thursday, all eyes will be on

was the site of Bobby Jones' 'impregnable quadrilateral'

Jim Furyk

one man. Because this tournament is Tiger Woods' best

in 1930, when he won the US Amateur there (having

Whatever people have said about

opportunity to win his first Major since 2008.

already captured the US Open, British Amateur and Open

Furyk's swing, it works well at US

True, Woods had a meltdown last weekend, carding

Championships), and the place where Ben Hogan won the

Opens. A winner in 2003, he has five

44 over nine holes at The Memorial Tournament in Ohio.

US Open after a near-fatal car crash 16 months previously.

other top-fives to his name. He is not

Overall, however, he has been magnificent this year – with

It's consistently recognised in any list of America's finest

having his best season, but this event

four wins from seven strokeplay tournaments on the PGA

courses and has hosted four previous US Opens – though

is right up his street..

Tour. The key is his rejuvenated putting. This year he leads

none since 1981, when Aussie David Graham emerged

the tour on the greens, picking up an average five shots

victorious. It will be set up to be tight, as ever with the

a tournament on his opponents with his flat stick alone.

US Open, placing increased emphasis on accuracy with

Crucially, this year's US Open venue, Merion East, is not a long course – and whoever has the greatest control over

every club in the bag, and the greens will be pacey.

One sideshow will be the meeting of Woods and Sergio

their short irons will be challenging come next Sunday

Garcia, whose recent history is not exactly harmonious.

Matteo Manassero

evening. Step forward Woods, who has been imperious

After Garcia made a 'fried chicken' quip at the BMW PGA

At the age of just 20, the newly

this year from short distances.

Championship, he has spent every waking hour doing

crowned BMW PGA champion appears

nothing but apologise. While he was welcomed warmly

capable of anything. The biggest

unpredictable driver. Jack Nicklaus says that, despite

by the crowds at Wentworth, he will get a frosty reception

criticism aimed at him is a lack of

Merion being relatively short, the driver could come into

in Pennsylvania. That's a shame, because it will almost

length off the tee (around 273 yards),

play on eight holes – and Woods' stellar iron play will be

certainly distract the volatile Garcia – who is perhaps the

but that's not an issue at Merion. Forza!

worth nothing if he's stuck behind a tree.

man best equipped to give Woods a run for his money.

Indeed, all that stands in his way is a sometimes

38 | June 7 2013 |

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Main: Andy Lyons/Getty Images. All other pictures Getty Images

Merion East, the golf course that uses wicker baskets

has been his par-5 performance. That's

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.

7 Days MONday > TeNNIS | aegON CHaMpIONSHIpS | QueeN’S CLub, LONDON | bbC TWO 1pM

Kicking Queen's

Friday Rugby League | WIDNeS VIKINgS v WIgaN WaRRIORS | STObaRT STaDIuM SKy SpORTS 2 8pM

Wigan look for number 11 On the face of it, Wigan’s visit to Widnes on Friday looks to be a straightforward task for the league leaders. Warriors coach Shaun Wane will, however, be taking nothing for granted – on their artificial pitch, the Vikings can be a tough prospect. Wane will also remember last season, when the Warriors were beaten 37-36 at the Stobart Stadium.

Despite winning their previous game against Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 36-23 – the Wigan’s 10th successive Super League victory – it needed a few stern words from coach Wane after a lacklustre first half to spark a much-improved performance

With last year's tournament more memorable for

after the interval. They still possess quality

David Nalbandian's disqualification after he kicked a hole

all over the park, from Sam Tomkins (below)

in the shin of an elderly linesman than for the identity of the

at full back, and Pat Richards and Josh

winner (Marin Cilic – since you ask), the organisers will hope

Charnley on the wings, to a strong pack

this year's AEGON Championships pan out rather differently.

of forwards .

Nalbandian’s absence through injury is a good start, but

Widnes have had an up-and-down season,

much depends on the fitness of Andy Murray (left) – who at

typified by their performances over the past

the time of writing is still recovering from the back injury that

two weeks. After their defeat to (then) bottom

ruled him out of the French Open. The Scot lifted the trophy in

club Salford at Magic Weekend, the Vikings

2011, but was sent packing early by Nicholas Mahut last year. If

fought their way to a draw against the Catalan

Murray is fit in time for this year's event, he'll be keen to remain

Dragons last Sunday .

in the competition a little longer to ensure his competitive instincts are sufficiently sharpened for Wimbledon.

Before anyone steps foot on the grass of Queen’s, however,

Widnes stand-off Kevin Brown is a talented footballer and a superb organiser, while Rhys Hanbury is always a threat from full back.

But their pack will have to front up to have

know who’s going to be in them at the time of going to press,

any chance of gaining a vital two points that

but we’re certain both the women’s (Saturday 2pm, ITV) and

would take them within striking distance of

men’s (Sunday 2pm, ITV) will be well worth watching.

a playoff place.

Clive Mason/Getty Images, Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

there are of course the French Open finals to enjoy. We don’t

40 | June 7 2013 |

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7 Days SUNDAY NBA | NBA FINALS GAME 2: MIAMI HEAT v SAN ANTONIO SPURS | AMERICAN AIRLINES ARENA | ESPN 1AM

Turning up the Heat So the favourites, and defending

Led by the evergreen Tim Duncan

champions, made it to the NBA

(who at 37 years old is having one of

Finals for a third season running,

his finest seasons in years) and Tony

but only by the skin of LeBron James'

Parker, Spurs are in their first Finals

(right) gritted teeth. It took Miami

since 2007, and should prove an even

Heat until the final game of their

sterner test to Miami than the Pacers

seven-match series against the

were in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Indiana Pacers to produce the kind of

Miami, however, have the

dominating basketball many thought

unstoppable force that is James as

would see off their challengers in a

well as Dwyane Wade, whose 21

far more straightforward fashion –

points and nine rebounds sent Heat

rolling their opponents 99-76.

flying over the finish line in game

After two days to recover and

seven. They also have home-court

regroup, Heat were back on court

advantage and the better regular-

again for game one of the Finals last

season record. Not many will be

night, against a San Antonio Spurs

betting against them repeating their

side that have had their collective size

success of last year, but it might just

20s up since finishing off a sweep of

take the full seven games to get

Memphis Grizzlies on May 27.

them there.

THURSDAY ATHLETICS | BISLETT GAMES | BISLETT STADIUM, OSLO | BBC THREE 7PM

A name for all seasons Jessica Ennis might wish to forget

the same Ennis though, for she is

the last time she competed at the

now to be called Jessica Ennis-Hill

Bislett Games in Oslo. Last season,

(by those who can be bothered),

she was set to run the 100m

after her wedding to partner

hurdles for what was considered

Andy last month.

an important tune-up event ahead

time of it in Oslo last year,

Olympic champion's eagerness to

setting a new stadium

run a fast time earned her a red

record of 9.79s for the 100m.

card and disqualification for

This time, the Jamaican is signed

jumping the gun on the start line.

up for the 200m and will have

Next Thursday, she'll return to

42 | June 7 2013 |

Usain Bolt had a better

of the London Olympics. But the

Frankie Fredericks' 1996 stadium

the Bislett Stadium to try to put

record of 19.82s in his sights as he

that right in what will be her

continues his build-up to the

highest-profile outing since

World Championships in Moscow

the Games. Don't expect to see

in the second week of August.

SAtUrDAY FOOTBALL | U21 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP | ENGLANd v NORwAy HAMOSHAvA STAdIUM, PETAH TIkvA | Sky SPORTS 2 5PM

The young ones

With the senior citizens putting their feet up for the summer, the kids are out to play – and the European Under-21 Championship is their chance to shine.

With Italy in the rear-view mirror

(at the time of going to press, we can only presume that England nicked an early goal, played negatively for 85 minutes and conceded a late equaliser), it's on to the decisive group games against Norway and Israel (Tuesday 5pm, Sky Sports 2) for Stuart Pearce's England.

With the top two sides in the group qualifying for the semi finals, four points could be enough for England – who will be relying on the solid spine of Steven Caulker and Craig Dawson at the back, and Liverpool duo Jordan Henderson and Jonjo Shelvey in the 'engine room'. It's out wide where the real interest comes, though. Tom Ince should return after missing the Italy game through suspension, while Wilfried Zaha (pictured) will hopefully have shaken off an ankle injury.

The combination of ability, experience and creativity makes this a dangerous team. But then again, this is England –

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images, Warren Little/Getty Images, Stu Forster/Getty Images

don't expect anything other than an emotional rollercoaster.

| 43

Extra timE

P54 Come on ian, let’s go to the stoning

Making the most of your time and money

2

Grooming

1

Smells like summer 4

1. Paul Smith Sunshine Edition

3

Grapefruit and black peppercorns give way to a heart of coriander seeds, nutmeg and star fruit. Outlook: sunny. £26 for 100ml | Available nationwide

2. L’Occitane En Provence Eau Captivante

5

Aromatic Provençal herbs meet zesty lime and bergamot in a blend of sparkling green and woody aromas. £21 for 50ml | www.loccitane.co.uk

3. issey miyake L’Eau D’issey Pour Homme Summer

Bursting freshness of kiwi and grapefruit with a middle accord of pineapple and nutmeg. A vibrant fruit salad. £40 for 125ml | boots.com

Woody, aromatic and inspired by the “intensity of warm summer evenings”.

Less barbecue and warm beer; more watermelon and Egyptian basil. £47 for 100ml | boots.com

5. Hugo Boss Orange man

An aromatic summer cocktail of crisp apple, warm frankincense, comforting vanilla and bubinga wood. Like a boss. > £39 for 60ml | boots.com 44 | June 7 2013 |

Photography byJames Lincoln, jameslincoln.co.uk

4. Eau De Lacoste L.12.12 Noir

Extra time Fragrance Special 1. Carolina Herrera 212 Men Summer

Citric spiciness with a splash of aquatic freshness and a musky finish. Girl’s name. Man’s scent. £38, 100ml | Exclusive to debenhams.com

2. Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Living Stromboli

A woody water fragrance that takes its name from the volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Explosive. £45, 75ml | boots.com

3. 7 Loewe

Pepper bay essence, red apple and rose-muguetneroli are among the key notes in a scent “inspired by the bullfighter”. Olé! £43.50, 50ml | thefragranceshop.co.uk

4. Acqua Di Parma Blu Mediterraneo

All the effortlessly cool, crisp quality you’d expect from AdP in Bergamotto di Calabria flavour. Bella. £74, 150ml | acquadiparma.com

5. Fan di FENDI Pour Homme Acqua

Italian (they know their scents) bergamot, lemon and lavender with sea accords. Launches July. £58.50, 100ml | Exclusive to harrods.com

3 1

2

5 4

46 | June 7 2013 |

et

Gadgets

tHe RoBotS ARe CoMiNG

Don’t panic - their primary objective is to clean, and not to destroy all human life. Just make sure you don’t make too much mess

Samsung NaviBot CornerClean

There should be a law against making robots that look this evil. Yes, the NaviBot CornerClean is designed to be a force for good, mapping out your living area with brand new technology before automatically sweeping clean your floors. Its droneinspired styling leaves us feeling fearful, however, even if our carpet is spotless.

TBC | samsung.com

Aves Air Digital Radio

About the size mobile phones used to be before they started getting bigger again, the Aves Air is an ideal option for keeping up with sporting events on the go, or while you’re at other sporting events. It’s a better end-of-season option than trying to check the results on your phone (when you are at the mercy of the 3G gods) or on Twitter – which, as Tottenham fans found out only last month, isn’t always accurate. £47 | amazon.co.uk 48 | June 7 2013 |

Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini

If you’d love a Samsung Galaxy, but can’t afford to hire someone to carry the massive thing around, this downsized version might be for you. With a screen size of 4.3 inches, it still boasts a larger display than the iPhone 5, but you will actually be able to use it with one hand. It’s not quite as powerful as its big brother, with a lower-spec 8-megapixel camera. It’s much cheaper, though, and will fit in your pocket without burning a hole in it. £TBC | ee.co.uk

Beats by Dr Dre x Futura Solo HD

Futura is one of the most respected icons in the street art and graffiti movement – but, of course, you knew that. He’s teamed up with Dr Dre, who’s taking some time out from his growing village practice to launch these limited-edition Beats headphones. They draw inspiration from Futura’s famous ‘Atom’ series of prints, and are definitely not just covered in a random selection of coloured lines. But, like we said, you knew that. £170 | Apple store exclusive Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

Sony Xperia Z. ™

With all-you-can-eat data.

On our new Ultrafast network.

All without the hefty premium.

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0800 358 4265 Visit a Three Store or go online Sign up for 24 months on Ultimate Internet 500 Plan to get this deal · Prices may vary in line with RPI · You’ll need an Ultrafast ready device (such as this the Sony Xperia™ Z) for use on our Ultrafast network (using DC HSDPA technology) which covers 80% of the UK population · The speeds you’ll get will vary by location, coverage, demand & TrafficSense™, which is a system we use to manage data on our network to ensure the best experience possible for the majority of our customers · See how at Three.co.uk/network

Et

Kit

bring your boots

The footy season's done and dusted – time to chuck out those ancient (10-month old) relics and treat your feet to a shiny new pair of goal-getters

under Armour blur Carbon iii

Weighing in at just 6.25 ounces, the latest incarnation of the Blur Carbons are clearly built with a light feel in mind. That's not to say they've skimped on the comfort, though – their 4D Foam inner moulds to your foot to prevent slippage and create a custom fit, while the Micro G cushioning absorbs shock and adds to your comfort. Under Armour's rising influence in the footballing world continues. £150 | underarmour.com

adidas nitrocharge 1.0

The most exciting revamp since the early Predators offers cushioned pads in both heel and toe for protection, while a leather and synthetic upper – featuring an 'Energysling element' – aids 'energy return'. In laymen's terms, they play hard, strong and long. £150| adidas.co.uk/nitrocharge 50 | June 7 2013 |

nike Hypervenom

The new offering from those swooshy chaps introduces a hypersensitive NikeSkin upper that 'becomes one with the foot' for better control, plus a split-toe plate design and new stud layout to increase mobility. Wazza wore 'em against Brazil, and look how good he was! £160 | nike.com

Puma evosPEED 1.2

The evoSPEED might be built for… well, the clue's in the name, but it's not all lightness and pace. The monolayer upper enhances your feel, and hopefully your first touch (especially in the wet), while an EverFit cage in the midfoot optimises your movement. £145 | prodirectsoccer.com Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

Guess which of these men got treatment from our online doctor?

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Which englAnd plAyer dressed up As A WomAn in the AdelAide red light district?

And Which Aussie opener prActised nAked in front of the mirror on the first morning of the Ashes?

Which Aussie skipper got fit for the Ashes by shovelling coAl on the voyAge to englAnd?

OUT NOW! order from

Extra time Helen Flanagan

52 | June 7 2013 |

| 53

elen Flanagan is the actress, model and writer (according to her Twitter bio) recently voted the sexiest woman in the UK by the readers of a magazine that is not this one. But that is not to say we disagree.

We’re sure her other half – Manchester City benchwarmer Scott Sinclair – concurs. If the former Coronation Street and I’m a Celebrity…

Get Me Out of Here! star is anything like Sport, however, she’s probably spent the previous 10 months checking to see if Sinclair is still where she thought he was and wondering if he might be better off somewhere else.

We’ve looked. He’s still there, Helen. And he is a celebrity...

H

Up your street Stacey Clarke/Lipstick Syndication

Pitt Cue Co. The Cookbook

oInk oInk, My good MAn

Popular London eatery shares the secrets of its meaty success, while Michael Shannon serves up a chilling hit

Book

Exhibition

Carnaby Street’s Pitt Cue Co. restaurant is as petite as its queues are long – so for fans of delicious barbecue, this new cookbook could be a hog-send.

A guide to all things Southern US barbecue, it’s a good deal more than a recipe book that covers how to create your own perfect smoked brisket, pulled pork shoulder, burnt ends mash or chipotle and garlic confit slaw.

There are also features on pig farming, equipment and cooking methods, plus a history of barbecue in the USA. And, if wolfing down delicious animals in a napkin-destroying feast wasn’t enough of a sin for you, there’s also booze: the cookbook includes a guide to creating the full range of Pitt Cue Co. cocktails, such as the New York Sour, Bourbon Hot Toddy or their infamous Pickleback.

It’s all written in a punchy and light-hearted style, which makes it an enjoyable read, even if your attempt to imitate their sticky bourbon and cola pudding ends in a gooey mess.

Out now

Film

Made of Stone

Shane Meadows’ take on The Stone Roses’ epic return is more love letter than investigative documentary. He focuses on the band’s rise and rebirth, less so on the tensions between the key quartet – but the film captures both the fans’ passion and the thrilling gigs. Even Ian Brown’s vocals are on-song (except when he’s calling his drummer “a c**t”).

Out now 54 | June 7 2013 |

Hate Mail KK Outlet, Hoxton

“Dear Dave, I saw your Mum coming out of Chicken Cottage.”

When illustrator Mr Bingo sent a tweet asking if anyone wanted an abusive postcard, he didn’t expect 50 instant replies. Since then, a cult has grown around his mail, each quirky insult undercut by a charming illustration or triumphant typography. This exhibition in Hoxton Square showcases 220 of his best, so pop along to see it. You bellwhiff.

Opens today

Music

Howlin Jagwar Ma

Noel Gallagher and The xx have given this Sydney psychedelic indie-pop duo the royal seal of approval – and their debut makes it easy to understand why.

The baggy, updated Madchester stylings come complete with hypnotic hooks (witness album opener What Love), while the vocals have a dreamy allure.

Dazed, but in no way confused.

Out Monday

Film

The Iceman

Music

Before he stars as General Zod in Man of Steel next week, Michael Shannon makes plenty of people kneel before him in this biopic of infamous Mafia killer Richard Kuklinski. Family man by day (his profession is kept secret from his wife and kids), sociopathic hitman by night – this represents a powerhouse performance from an actor at the peak of his powers.

Out today

The Wack Album The Lonely Island

A third album of dance, R&B and rap parodies from Andy Samberg (aka Young Sandwich) and co.

The quality is hit and miss, but the guests (Justin Timberlake on 3-Way, T-Pain on I F**cked My Aunt) are first rate. Plus, who else would write a rousing anthem to semicolons that references both Angela Merkel and furry alien Alf? Out Tuesday

Download the free Sport iPad app from the Apple Newsstand

Paul Winch-Furness

ET

Entertainment