Honda tests spark Stoner rumours

Stoner has been driving in the second tier of the V8 Supercars. Source: Supplied

MOTORCYCLE great Casey Stoner will become the world's fastest test rider when he makes a dramatic return to MotoGP in a series of private sessions with Honda.

The return to bikes has fuelled speculation that Stoner is set to make wildcard race appearances this season.

The two races at the centre of the rumours are the Australian and Japanese Grands Prix in October.

Stoner, 27, will end his nine-month retirement from MotoGP at the Motegi circuit in Japan next week with a two-day test aboard Honda's world championship winning RC213V.

He will rejoin the Honda team in Japan on August 6-7.

Honda has confirmed that Stoner will ride a prototype of its 2014 model being readied for next season in a clear effort to strengthen its championship campaign.

Stoner retired at the peak of his career last November having won two MotoGP world championships and 38 races.

He switched to the second-tier V8 Supercars series this year but has now agreed a deal that will see him complete four Honda test sessions before the end of the season.

Stoner admitted he had missed the thrill of two wheels but was "still happy" with his decision to stop full-time bike racing.

"But there are times when I miss riding my RC213V so I am really happy that Honda have asked me to do some testing in Motegi this year," Stoner said.

"It will allow me to enjoy what I miss which is riding a MotoGP bike."

A spokesman for the Honda Racing Corporation said that wildcard race appearances were not part of the plan.

"There have been rumours of a wildcard races for Casey but this is out of the question,'' HRC team principal Livio Suppo said.

But Stoner's return to a full-scale test program with Honda, which could be as many as eight days across four appearances, is more than riding just for fun.

Crucially Honda want Stoner's assessment of its RC213V which is locked in a tense struggle with Yamaha for this year's world championship.

Honda rookie Marc Marquez leads the championship after his third win from nine races in the US Grand Prix.

Yamaha contender Jorge Lorenzo, who has ridden for a month with a triple fracture in his left collarbone, is 26 points behind in third place.

"With testing you always want a fast rider but maybe Casey is too much," Suppo said.

"When you have a new bike it is good to have a test rider who can really push the limit before you give the bike to the factory riders.

"If you do something you do it properly which is why HRC have agreed with Casey come and do a series of four test sessions in Japan."

Honda MotoGP boss Shuhei Nakamoto is delighted that Stoner will again work with Honda saying the talented Australian rider "woke up our engineers" during his two years with the company.

Stoner won the 2007 world championship with Ducati and his second title in his first season with Honda in 2011.
 

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Argus put the writing on wall

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Don Argus (R) presents his report into the state of Australian cricket in August 2011. Source:AFP

The man who reviewed the trembling foundations of Australian cricket two years ago spotlighted the batting frailties that have been brutally exposed in the current Ashes series.

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The Argus Report detailed four key batting weaknesses that required urgent attention, but the distressing news for Australia is that all of the problems remain unsolved.

These were a failure to bat for long periods, an inability to handle the moving ball, a poor approach to spin and generally flawed techniques.

The damning report could have been written yesterday in the wake of Australia's 347-run loss to England at Lord's.

The battle to find a long-innings player stretches all the way down to club cricket where the days of Matthew Hayden-style bat-until-sundown marathons on the Brisbane grade scene have been generally consigned to a bygone era.

Even at Sheffield Shield level, the long-stay batsman has become a rarity with no batsman scoring more than three Shield centuries last season.

A decade ago, Michael Bevan scored eight Shield centuries in a summer and Matthew Elliott seven.

Australia's batting in the first two Tests was so poor teenager Ashton Agar is Australia's leading run-scorer.

His 130 runs for the series are 50 fewer than England's Joe Root managed in one innings at Lord's.

The mesmeric swing bowling of Jimmy Anderson has again confounded Australia and a recent tour of spin-friendly India did nothing to ease Australia's anxiety against slow bowling.

Clever off-spinner Graeme Swann, who like Anderson has 13 wickets from two Tests, has cast a spell over an Australian side whose body language betrays signs of tension when they come to the crease.

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Shane Watson is so concerned at his inability to turn starts into major scores he recently phoned former Middlesex all-rounder turned media pundit Simon Hughes at 10pm to ask whether he had any thoughts on the issue.

Watson has now been given out lbw a higher percentage of times than any other long-serving batsman in the history of Test cricket, an extraordinary 24 times from 77 Test innings - 31.16 per cent.

Australia have precious few alternatives for the remainder of the series.

But coach Darren Lehmann has ruled out adding reinforcements to the Australian squad for the remainder of the Ashes.

Ed Cowan is with the squad but he has been neither dynamic or stoic on tour.

David Warner has been sent to Zimbabwe to find form but failed twice in his first tour game and has been desperately out of form.

The English county scene has three Australian-raised players near the top of the averages - sadly one is retired from Shield cricket, one played for the West Indies and the other wants to play for England.

Simon Katich, 37, has amassed 874 first class runs for Lancashire.

Though he said this week he never actually retired from international cricket, Katich called a halt to his first-class career in Australia last year - and that will be enough for Australia not to consider picking him here.

Australia would have loved to get their hands on Sydney-born Sam Robson, 24, who is second behind Joe Root on the English first-class run scorers list with 907 at 60.46 this season for Middlesex.

He has declared his allegance to England. The quirky entrant on the county averages is former Queensland batsman Brendan Nash (907 runs at 60.46 for Kent) who played 21 Tests for the West Indies.

Some pundits, like West Indian great Michael Holding, predict several grim years ahead for the batting line-up.

Shane Warne has spotlighted a general lack of composure.

"The Australian batsmen are playing adrenalin cricket and are in a hurry to impose themselves on England," Warne wrote in the London Telegraph.

"Patience is the key. They have to trust their defence and bat for long periods without going into their shell."

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Ex-partners in badminton brawl

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Badminton is back in the news for all the wrong reasons. Source:AAP

The Badminton World Federation has launched an investigation after a fight broke out between two former partners at the Canada Open doubles final on Sunday.

During a change of ends, Bodin Issara lunged at Thailand compatriot Maneepong Jongjit, chasing him onto a neighbouring court before punching him several times.

Issara was dragged away and held down by coaches and tournament staff, while his partner, Thai Pakkawat Vilailak, escorted a now shirtless Jongjit off court.

Issara, who needed two stitches, claims Jongjit hit him with a badminton racquet. The pair had already received a warning from the referee following a verbal exchange.

Jongit and his partner Nipitphon Puangpuapech, also of Thailand, were awarded the victory after Issara was shown a black card.

"The events surrounding the conclusion of this match will be thoroughly investigated by the BWF," the federation said in a statement on Monday.

"The world-governing body has procedures in place to deal with such situations and this matter will be referred to the disciplinary committee."

Jongjit and Issara were among the top-ranked badminton pairings and reached the quarterfinals at the 2012 Olympics.

They split in January, when Issara retired to take care of his ailing mother, but was soon competing again with another partner.

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Reds need to rework style

Richard Graham will undertake a Reds review with Ewen McKenzie. Picture: Bradley Kanaris Source: Bradley Kanaris / CourierMail

FALLING from their top dog status as Australia's leading provincial side is the wake-up call that the Reds need a tweak of playing style to evolve in 2014.

Reaching the Super Rugby finals for a third straight year is a worthy achievement but the decay in results against other Australian sides this season tells a fuller story.

The Reds stormed through seven of their eight local derbys last season yet won just four, drew two and lost two this season as the ACT Brumbies took the mantle as leading Aussie side.

That the Brumbies bullied the tryless Reds in the physical battle for their 24-6 win in the opening round proved somewhat prophetic.

It was the same shortcoming in the collision zone that scuttled the Reds in Saturday's play-off crash to the Crusaders when the Reds vaunted attack was kept tryless again.

A Reds review, involving 2014 coach Richard Graham and the departing Ewen McKenzie, will produce a blueprint of improvements needed.

The need to fast track some bigger backs for attacking options outside Will Genia and Quade Cooper is essential.

Powerful 105kg centre Samu Kerevi, 19, has been signed to the Reds' extended squad for 2014 for just that project.

He has been a seven-try star for his club GPS with his raw, exciting Fijian running game.

A 10-win season for 2013 produced highs but also areas to improve on.

HIGHLIGHT

The 31-23 upset of the champion Chiefs in Hamilton in Round 9 was everything the Reds strived for and reached too rarely in 2013. Genia and Cooper ran the show, the high workrate backrow fleeced turnovers, skipper James Horwill was all power from his opening run and it was worth a four-try bonus point.

LOW POINT

The lame, tryless 19-12 tumble to the lowly Western Force at Suncorp Stadium in Round 5 was a stinker.

BEST PLAYERS

1 Liam Gill, 2 Will Genia, 3 James Slipper.

ON THE RISE

Nick Frisby, Chris Feauai-Sautia, Albert Anae, Liam Gill, Jake Schatz, James Slipper.

FAR MORE EXPECTED IN 2014

Ben Daley, Mike Harris, Dom Shipperley, Ben Tapuai, Jono Owen.

QUADE-O-METER

A 7-out-of-10 season for Cooper who was down on linebreak assists (8) and try assists (6) but showed vastly improved defence by not figuring in Super Rugby's top 20 for missed tackles.

RICHES-TO-RAGS

After a fine opening month, centre Ben Tapuai's mid-season fadeout cost him his Wallabies spot.

LOST IN REHAB

Injury-plagued back Aidan Toua played just two hours of rugby for the Reds. Five games in three seasons is diabolical output from a talented player.

THE CREATIVE

The 11-man rolling maul, with backs joining in, that shocked the Chiefs with a Schatz try.

BEST MILESTONE MAN QUOTE

Prop Greg Holmes (106 games) on his tattoos: "Zero ... they are no good on chubby, white blokes."

BEST TRY

The 95m classic against the Sharks in Round 13 that featured a bullocking Feauai-Sautia and a masterful Will Genia, who stabbed a grubber into Rod Davies' arms.

SOLO SPECIAL

Winger Luke Morahan's brilliant kick-and-regather try to stun the British and Irish Lions.

LIONS FEVER

A 50,136-fan blockbuster on Reds-Lions night at Suncorp Stadium.

LEADING TRYSCORERS

Davies (5), Schatz (4).

DEPARTURE GATE

Digby Ioane (Stade Francais, France), Radike Samo (Kintetsu Liners, Japan), Morahan (Western Force), Jono Lance (NSW Waratahs).

PROBLEM SPOTS

Centre, fullback, backrow.

CAN IT BE FIXED?

Big expectation falls on the squad's youngest back, Feauai-Sautia, to terrorise from outside centre in 2014. The Reds desperately need to find more thrust from big ballrunners with Ioane leaving.

The same goes for the backrow. Ed Quirk scored a smashing 35m try through four NSW defenders in round 2 and that running venom rarely surfaced again. It's getting the balance right for Quirk because only four players in Super Rugby made more than his 214 tackles, according to Rugbystats.com.au.

More thrust from fullback is needed but any No. 15 has to be a tackler too in the frontline when Cooper is in the backfield.

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Smith carries $1.5m price tag

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Cameron Smith ... will attract a $1.5 million a season price tag. Source: Mark Evans / News Limited

THE Broncos will need to offer $1.5 million a year to lure home the game's greatest hooker, Cameron Smith.

With the NRL salary cap increasing to $6.55 million for the 2015 season, an $800,000 increase on this year, and likely cap exemptions for marquee talent, Smith could become the country's highest paid footballer.

Several player managers told The Courier-Mail on Monday that Smith would earn as much as $1.5 million a season in his next deal due to his match-winning talent and marketability.

That figure would be 22 per cent of the NRL's 2015 salary cap, leaving the club that signs Smith $5 million dollars to spend on the remaining 24 players in their squad.

Melbourne Storm officials recently began informal talks with Smith about his next contract, expiring at the end of 2014.

Melbourne have proven that a team made of play-making stars propped up by journeyman and rookies wins premierships, as opposed to an even spread of the salary cap.

Kerrod Walters, recently named as hooker in the Broncos' greatest grand final team, rated Smith as a "must buy" for his former club.

Walters said if the Broncos could not secure Smith's signature they should plonk current No.9 Andrew McCullough in front of re-runs of Storm and Maroons matches so he can study how Smith plays.

Walters backed the comments of former Broncos skipper Darren Lockyer, who said the club must make Smith their priority.

"Andrew is a good player, but if Cameron Smith is on the market you do all you can to get him," Walters, who won two premierships with the Broncos, said.

"It would be silly not to go after him.

"In the modern game he's the best there is. My brother (Steve) was very good but in the modern game Smith is something else.

"Andrew is going OK this year, but Smith is the guy he needs to study. It is difficult for Andrew because his team is not going well but I would be getting him to study a lot of Smith's games to take his performance to that next level."

Fellow Storm stars Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk are contracted until the end of 2015 and 2016 respectively.

Coach Craig Bellamy just signed a new five-year deal.

NRL chief operating officer Jim Doyle recently revealed the governing body was considering introducing cap changes to keep superstars of interest to rivals codes in the NRL.

The game's administration are reviewing the A-League's marquee player system.

Adopting that system would help the Broncos secure Smith, as they are one of very few profitable NRL clubs and have cash outside the NRL's annual grant to offer.

The best paid NRL players in Robbie Farah, Johnathan Thurston and Greg Inglis currently earn near $1 million a year.

Smith said before Origin I that his next contract could be his last.

"I'm 30 this year so if I sign a lengthy deal, it's more than likely going to be my last one ... so it won't just come down to someone throwing an offer and me accepting it," Smith told The Courier-Mail.

"When I first started playing, I always said I wanted to be a one-club man but as we've all seen with 'JT' (Thurston) and his last negotiation, it is a pretty important contract for me."

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