There is much to admire about Manchester United at present. The Premiership’s top side are playing with such panache that there is only one conclusion to draw: that this is a side on the point of a significant arrival. It has been suggested that the transfer of Ruud van Nistelrooy could be a devastating blow to United’s hopes of overhauling Chelsea.

Three weeks ago, both the Champions Trophy and the Proteas were in the dock, accused of promoting listless, bloated, second-rate cricket; of privileging corporate waffle over pragmatic common sense. This week, both were cleared of all charges and carried shoulder-high from the court, writes Tom Eaton.

Petr Cech insists the last thing he remembers is jogging the length of the pitch to change ends immediately before kick-off. The Chelsea goalkeeper spoke publicly last week for the first time since clashing with Reading left-winger Stephen Hunt only 20 seconds into the champions’ 1-0 win at the Madejski Stadium.

England’s one-day cricketers have taken all sorts of abuse while wending their losing way around the world. The coach has been told to go and the players questioned about their desire, but no one has considered the ”socio-economic” roots of their game — until now.