Hamilton takes Top Gear challenge

From BBC Sport

Formula One star Lewis Hamilton is to swap his multi-million pound, 230mph McLaren to drive a modest family car for BBC Two’s Top Gear show on Sunday.

Hamilton gets behind the wheel of a Suzuki Liana and takes on Top Gear’s resident driver The Stig by trying to post the fastest lap around a track.

The 22-year-old Briton is out to beat The Stig’s blistering time of one minute 44.4 seconds.

Hamilton’s time will be revealed during the programme which starts at 2000 GMT.

Former Formula One stars Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill, Jenson Button and Mark Webber have already taken part in the programme’s “star in a reasonably priced car” feature.

The select group of former drivers is pitted in a separate category to stars such as Hugh Grant, Simon Cowell, Ellen MacArthur and Gordon Ramsay who have all taken the challenge in the past.

Hamilton, who narrowly failed to win the world championship in his rookie season after losing out to Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen by one point, also goes head-to-head with presenter Jeremy Clarkson in a studio interview.

The McLaren driver talks about the thrill of crashing and how he still cannot avoid his dad’s driving tips.

“He truly believes he’s a better driver than me and that if he had been given the opportunity, he would be in F1 right now,” said Hamilton, who also admits it has been his dream to appear on the show.

Elsewhere in the interview, Clarkson asks who Hamilton would want to be his team mate next year and speculates he presumably wants someone useless - to which the driver answers: “Do you want a go?”

BBC 606 Debate: Can Hamilton beat The Stig

Where you can find all you dont need to know about lightsabers

Pak Spin-Cornered Tigers Face Extinction

From Cricinfo writer Kamran Abbasi’s Blog-Pak Spin ‘The Mysterious World of Pakistan Cricket’

Pakistan fans have been wondering for over a year about what happened to the legendary cornered tiger spirit? The Twenty20 world Cup offered a brief reminder of what it was meant to be like but ever since Shoaib Malik’s team has been cornered and cowering. The captain has faced criticism for his unwillingness to bare his teeth and his fellow writers have barely raised a growl.

Encouraging performances have been sporadic and insufficient to revitalise Pakistan’s Tigers, young of age but weary of soul. As if a loss of spirit wasn’t enough, the physical health of Malik’s shrinking violets means that they are barely able to field a team in Kolkata. A psychiatrist would be examining the likelihood of psychosomatic illness.

Unfortunately for Pakistan it is the bowlers who are afflicted. By some margin they have been the better half of Malik’s team, and it is the batsmen, who failed so miserably in the second innings of the first test, who must now carry the battle to India.

I hate to say this but Pakistan’s best bet in Kolkata must be a draw. With the bowling attack that they are rumoured to be able to muster, India’s batsmen must sense a kill. The cornered tigers face extinction. This is a battle for survival. Pakistan fans will want to know their team has the stomach for it.

Click here to get to Kamran Abbasi’s blog