England complete India whitewash

By Sam Sheringham
BBC Sport at The Oval

Fourth Test, The Oval (day five):

England 591-6 v India 300 & 283

Swann was the pick of England's bowlers as India collapsed at The Oval Graeme Swann bowled England to another stunning victory over India to complete a 4-0 series whitewash, as Sachin Tendulkar fell nine runs short of a landmark 100th international century.

Tendulkar and Amit Mishra looked to be batting India towards safety as they frustrated England with a partnership of 144 at The Oval.

But Mishra was bowled by Graeme Swann (6-106) for 84 and Tendulkar, who had ridden his luck to reach 91, was out to a marginal lbw decision in the following over.

India's remaining batsmen were skittled in quick succession as England stormed to victory by an innings and eight runs - their seventh innings triumph in 13 Tests - midway through the afternoon session on the final day.

Continue reading the main story First Test, Lord's: England beat India by 196 runsSecond Test, Trent Bridge: England beat India by 319 runsThird Test, Edgbaston: England beat India by an innings and 242 runsFourth Test, The Oval: England beat India by an innings and eight runs

When they finally broke the Mishra-Tendulkar partnership, England were ruthless, claiming India's last seven wickets for 21 runs in 94 balls, with Swann finally making his mark on the series with a spell of four wickets for seven runs.

It was England's first whitewash over India since 1974 and completed a memorable series in which Andrew Strauss's men usurped the visitors as the top-ranked Test side in the world.

"We had to work pretty hard for that," England captain Andrew Strauss told BBC Radio's Test Match Special. "When you enforce the follow-on, you're always asking a lot of the bowlers especially on a flat wicket. They stuck at it. To bowl India out for 300 and 283 on that wicket is quite a performance."

After India resumed their second innings on 129-3 - still 162 runs adrift of England - Tendulkar got his score ticking over with a four off the second ball of the day and reached his 61st Test fifty off 74 balls.

Continue reading the main story England - Stuart Broad182 runs, highest 74 not out25 wickets, average 13.84India - Rahul Dravid461 runs, highest 146 not out

Nightwatchman Mishra, who had served notice of his batting ability with a breezy 43 in the first innings, started to find the boundary with regularity, taking the partnership past fifty with a flick to the midwicket fence.

Tendulkar played and missed twice in a Broad over as he got bogged down in the fifties, but he eventually broke the shackles with a trademark drive through the covers for a boundary.

With Tendulkar edging closer to his hundred, the air of expectancy grew around The Oval, as a vast Indian contingent cheered his every run.

But the pressure seemed to weigh heavily on the 38-year-old's shoulders as he offered England a string of chances.

First, Alastair Cook at short leg just failed to hold on to a sharp bat-pad chance off Swann, then Matt Prior dropped a tricky caught-behind chance off the spinner, who also had a close lbw appeal turned down.

Mishra had equalled his highest first-class score with his 10th boundary when he finally succumbed in the 41st over of the day, bowled by a quicker ball from Swann that fizzed past his outside edge.

Tendulkar's show-stopping demise arrived in the following over when he played across a Bresnan delivery and was given out by Rod Tucker, with replays suggesting the ball would have clipped the top of leg stump.

With the "Little Master" back in the pavilion, India seemed to lose their stomach for the fight as England's bowlers ruthlessly finished off the match.

Suresh Raina was trapped on the crease by Swann before MS Dhoni and RP Singh were both caught off edges in the same over from Stuart Broad.

Gautam Gambhir sliced to backward point and last man Sreesanth was clean bowled after missing a huge leg-side heave off Swann.

After the match, England were presented with the ICC Test Mace to mark their status as the world's number one side.

View the original article here

Live - England v Netherlands

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

£50m tuition cash goes to England

11 February 2011 Last updated at 09:02 GMT By Ciaran Jenkins BBC Wales education correspondent The assembly government is meeting the cost of extra fees for students from Wales Around £50m of assembly government funding per year will flow into English universities due to a tuition fee grant for students living in Wales.

Details of exactly how the grant will be funded have emerged for the first time in figures released to BBC Wales under the Freedom of Information Act.

The assembly government will meet the cost of extra fees for students from Wales attending any UK university.

The education minister said the policy was affordable and right for Wales.

From September 2012, tuition fees at Welsh and English universities will increase but students from Wales will be subsidised by the assembly government wherever in the UK they study.

This means they will pay no more than they pay now.

The total spending on grants for Welsh students over the next nine years will be £1.5bn, of which £427m to English universities.

The figures show that the total cost of the new grant will be £183m in 2015-16, the first year that all students at university will be subject to the new fee arrangements.

Of this, £51.7m will go to English or other UK universities outside Wales who have accepted students from Wales.

Continue reading the main story

There is already a growing funding gap between English and Welsh universities...”

End Quote Paul Davies AM Welsh Conservative education spokesperson However, the assembly government insists the policy is affordable as Welsh universities will benefit from £85.3m in 2015-16 raised from charging higher fees to students from elsewhere in the UK.

In addition, the university teaching budget will be cut by 35%.

The policy would not be cost-neutral as proposed changes to the way loans are repaid in future, including lifting the repayment threshold from £15,000 to £21,000, would cost the assembly government £18.7m in 2015-16.

In January, BBC Wales revealed that universities in Wales received an estimated £80m less funding than universities in England in 2009.

Over a decade, the funding gap grew from just £20 to £900 less per student.

Paul Davies AM, Welsh Conservative education spokesperson, said he had concerns about whether the assembly government's tuition fees policy was financially sustainable as a result of the latest revelations.

"There is already a growing funding gap between English and Welsh universities, which means less investment in world-class facilities and fewer experienced teachers and lecturers to help our universities compete and help educate the entrepreneurs and intellectuals of tomorrow's Wales," he said.

Continue reading the main story 2011-12 £0m2012-13 £8.9m2013-14 £26.2m2014-15 £41.7m2015-16 £51.7m2016-17 £56.3m2017-18 £59m2018-19 £60.6m2019-20 £62.3m2020-21 £64mSource: Welsh Assembly Government (through Freedom of Information request)"The historic under-funding of Welsh universities will not be achieved by subsidising English universities to the tune of £50m every year at the expense of the Welsh higher education sector."

The assembly government made a number of assumptions in costing its tuition fees policy and insisted the figures provided "an illustration only".

The success of the policy depends on Welsh universities receiving additional fees income from students from the rest of the UK, therefore if numbers decreased in future, Welsh universities would face a financial shortfall.

Katie Dalton, president of students union NUS Wales, defended the assembly government's plans for tuition fees saying they were good for Welsh students.

She told BBC Radio Wales: "We were extremely pleased with the outcome for Welsh students."

With regard to the estimated £50m that would leave Wales, Ms Dalton added: "The model suggests that the money will be replaced by increased fees coming from non-Welsh students from the rest of the UK - mainly English students.

Continue reading the main story

We are protecting students ordinarily resident in Wales from the impact of higher fees and increased levels of student debt”

End Quote Welsh Assembly Government "Looking at the devastating cuts hitting the teaching budget in England...that's not happening to the same level in Wales so it's actually been suggested that the funding gap may actually narrow."

Education minister Leighton Andrews told BBC Wales the policy was "right" and "affordable."

A Welsh Assembly Government spokesperson said: "The minister's statement on 30 November last year made it very clear that the additional fee support to be given to students ordinarily resident in Wales will be funded by a transfer of resources from the HEFCW [Higher Education Funding Council for Wales] teaching grant.

"The net cost of the £97.6m for 2015-16 is the rough equivalent of a 35% cut in the current HEFCW teaching grant.

"The financial modelling already provided extends beyond the current budget period and offers an illustration only.

"The model we have set out is affordable and sustainable but the balance of funding between different elements of the higher education and student finance resource budget going forward will be dependent on future budget decisions.

"The policy we have announced is the right one for Wales. We are protecting students ordinarily resident in Wales from the impact of higher fees and increased levels of student debt."

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

England 59-13 Italy

England (31) 59
Tries: Ashton 4, Cueto, Tindall, Care, Haskell Cons: Flood 5, Wilkinson 3
Pen: Flood
Italy (6) 13
Try: Ongaro Con: Mi Bergamasco Pens: Mi Bergamasco 2

Highlights - England 59-13 Italy

Winger Chris Ashton became the first England player to score four tries in a Five/Six Nations match since 1914 as his side thumped Italy at Twickenham.

Ashton claimed his first after three minutes, celebrating with a trademark dive over the line.

England cut loose at the end of the half, Ashton, Mark Cueto and Mike Tindall all crossing before the break.

Danny Care, James Haskell and Ashton (twice) scored in the second half as England recorded an impressive victory.

Following England's opening-day win over Wales in Cardiff, Martin Johnson's men headed into the Twickenham contest full of confidence but with a warning from their manager not to take the Italians lightly.

Ashton runs in four England tries

But a few spells of possession apart, there was little sign of the Italy side that ran Ireland so close in their first game in Rome last week.

Ashton was the spearhead of England's display as he became the first man to score four tries in a Six Nations match, taking his total to nine tries from nine Tests.

He has now scored six tries in England's two Six Nations matches so far, already equalling the record of six tries in one Six Nations campaign currently held by England's Will Greenwood and Shane Williams of Wales.

As well as being the first man to score four tries in a Five/Six Nations match since Ronald Poulton against France 97 years ago, Ashton is the first man to score a hat-trick for England since Jamie Noon against Scotland in 2005.

The tone was set in the opening three minutes when England's livewire scrum-half Ben Youngs took advantage of forwards in the Italian defence to release Leicester team-mate Flood.

Johnson happy but still eyes improvement

Flood burst into space and after drawing Italy full-back Luke McLean, the impressive 25-year-old passed to the supporting Ashton on his left shoulder, the Northampton wing having a clear run to the line and scoring the try with a swallow dive that will not be welcomed too warmly by England's management team.

Italy responded immediately, Mirco Bergamasco kicking a penalty after Nick Easter conceded a penalty from the kick-off and although Flood replied with three points of his own, Bergamasco converted a penalty when centre Shontayne Hape fell foul of the referee.

The visitors enjoyed plenty of possession just before the halfway point of the first half but a lack of incision out wide meant England's defence coped comfortably with the blunt Italian threat.

Bergamasco had the chance to reduce the deficit to one point on 21 minutes when blind-side flanker Nick Wood failed to release a tackled player but the Italy wing pushed his effort right from long range.

The rest of the half was all England as the hosts effectively sealed the victory with three tries in 10 minutes.

Ashton got the first of these when his superb support play, which was a feature of his game all day, crashed over after Hape broke through the Italian defence and offloaded.

Mallett disappointed with 'poor' Italy

Cueto was rewarded for an industrious display as he scored England's third try on the 30-minute mark. Cueto's break from deep put England on Italy's five-metre line and the Sale wing was played in by a neat inside ball from Flood for his first try in 19 Tests.

Number eight Easter set up the fourth try when he barged through the Italian defence before passing out of the back of his hand to the supporting Tindall.

Italy's challenge was already a tough one but it was made nigh-on impossible when prop Martin Castrogiovanni was sin-binned for slapping the ball out of an England hand right at the start of the second half.

England made a host of substitutions but the Twickenham faithful did not have to wait long for another score, Ashton supporting a tackled Matt Banahan near the line to bundle over for his hat-trick.

Haskell stretches over the line to score for England late on

Flood and Youngs received a warm ovation as they departed the scene with a job well done on 55 minutes and their half-back replacements were soon on the scoreboard, scrum-half Care bursting through a large gap in the Italian defence to score a try that fly-half Jonny Wilkinson converted.

Italy are nothing if not stubborn and they grabbed a consolation through substitute hooker Fabio Ongaro with 10 minutes to go after a rolling maul fell over the England line.

That was not going to take the gloss of England's performance, though, flanker Haskell charging over from 22 metres out as Italy's defence crumbled while Ashton scored his fourth try with four minutes left on the clock after Banahan launched a counter-attack from inside his own half.

England, who have scored a half century of points for the first time since 2007, now have home games against France and Scotland and are still on course for their first Six Nations title since 2003.

England: Foden; Ashton, Tindall, Hape, Cueto; Flood, Youngs; Corbisiero, Hartley, Cole, Deacon, Palmer, Wood, Haskell, Easter.
Replacements: Thompson, Wilson, Shaw, Fourie, Care, Wilkinson, Banahan.

Italy: McLean; Masi, Canale, Sgarbi, Bergamasco; Orquera, Semenzato; Perugini, Ghiraldini, Castrogiovanni, Del Fava, Geldenhuys, Bernabo, Zanni, Parisse.
Replacements: Ongaro, Lo Cicero, Dellape, Barbieri, Canavosio, Burton, Garcia.

Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.